Saturday, March 03, 2012

Obama On Iran

I find myself at something of a loss for words, not really coherently able to respond to Obama’s position on Iran as stated most recently in preparation for the Israeli state visit. He says,

"I think both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say," and adds, "I don't bluff."

Is that what this has now boiled down to; some sort of international dick measuring contest? Did the media swooning over the Bin Laden assassination go to his head? Do we really want our chief executive strutting around talking like some sort of schoolyard bully? All over loyalty to and protection of some foreign nation with which we do not even have so much as a formal friendship treaty?

"Every single commitment I have made to the state of Israel and its security, I have kept," Obama said. "Why is it that despite me never failing to support Israel on every single problem that they've had over the last three years, that there are still questions about that?"

He doesn’t keep his promises to the American people on a particularly reliable basis, but he claims 100% rigorous reliably loyal support in keeping promises to Israel. Did I mention that we do not have a single formal treaty with them? So why does he have more fealty to the Israelis than he does to the American people who elected him?

And his reason for threatening to go to war with Iran, to take America into yet another “war of choice” despite there being no attack on us nor any imminent threat of attack?

"It will not be tolerable to a number of states in that region for Iran to have a nuclear weapon and them not to have a nuclear weapon. Iran is known to sponsor terrorist organizations, so the threat of proliferation becomes that much more severe."

The threat not to us, but to “a number of states in that region” and the possibility of a nuclear weapon falling into the hands of terrorists because Iran “sponsors terrorist organizations.” Pakistan has had nuclear weapons for many years, and we are pummeling them with missiles from drones on an almost daily basis because of the terrorist organizations within their borders. They harbored, we claim, Osama Bin Laden. How many of their nuclear weapons have fallen into the hands of terrorists?

It appears that Cheney’s “1% doctrine” is far from dead.

And please do not overlook the implication in his “I don’t bluff” that he believes that the choice is his and his alone, and that Congress plays no role. If he wants to take this country into a war against Iran, he will do so whether Congress or the American people want that to happen or not. He is, after all, the Commander In Chief.

2 comments:

  1. I want to know what these 'promises to Israel" actually are - or are they pseudo-promises that a politician can wiggle out of? Probably just like his "bluff", which the Iranians just might call him on....

    Nothing good is coming of this, whatever happens.

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  2. Anonymous1:56 PM

    Isn't it interesting how the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) is making its final voyage to the Arabian sea (to meet up with TWO carrier battle groups that are already there)? We've got so many boats over there that I don't think they have enough room to turnaround and come back.

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