Obama: Iran Can Go Nuclear

Is he nuts?

Obama says Iran's energy concerns legitimate
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 9:24 AM

LONDON -- President Barack Obama suggested that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy _ provided it proves by the end of the year that its aspirations are peaceful.

In a BBC interview broadcast Tuesday, he also restated plans to pursue direct diplomacy with Tehran to encourage it set aside any ambitions for nuclear weapons it might harbor.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity. But the U.S. and other Western governments accuse Tehran of seeking atomic weapons.

"What I do believe is that Iran has legitimate energy concerns, legitimate aspirations," Obama said, adding that the international community also "has a very real interest" in preventing a nuclear arms race.

The president has indicated a willingness to seek deeper international sanctions against Tehran if it does not respond positively to U.S. attempts to open negotiations on its nuclear program. Obama has said Tehran has until the end of the year to show it wants to engage with Washington.

"Although I don't want to put artificial time tables on that process, we do want to make sure that, by the end of this year, we've actually seen a serious process move forward. And I think that we can measure whether or not the Iranians are serious," Obama said.

Obama's interview offered a preview of a speech he is to deliver in Egypt this week, saying he hoped the address would warm relations between Americans and Muslims abroad.

"What we want to do is open a dialogue," Obama told the BBC. "You know, there are misapprehensions about the West, on the part of the Muslim world. And, obviously, there are some big misapprehensions about the Muslim world when it comes to those of us in the West."

Obama leaves in the evening on a trip to Egypt and Saudi Arabia aimed at reaching out to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims. He is due to make his speech in Cairo on Thursday.

Obama sounded an optimistic note about making progress toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although he offered no new ideas for how he might try to secure a freeze on new building of Israeli settlements. The United States has called for a freeze, but Israeli leaders have rejected that.

Asked what he would say during his visit about human rights abuses, including the detention of political prisoners in Egypt, Obama indicated no stern lecture would be forthcoming.

He said he hoped to deliver the message that democratic values are principles that "they can embrace and affirm."

Obama added that there is a danger "when the United States, or any country, thinks that we can simply impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture."

Morphing Serpent Stew

In case you weren't looking, there is a new alliance forming in the Middle East. While Hillary was pushing the “red button” with the Russians and Obama was writing a $900 million check to Gaza, Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq started rearranging the furniture in the Helen Keller School for Blind Foreign Policy. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069327.html

This development should have the appropriate Washington agencies with their eyebrows raised. It should also be causing some serious heartburn in Israel. Now that it is “all but certain” that Israel will have to “go it alone” in the nuclear disarming of Ahmadinejad, it is time for those who care, to reflect on what the new terrain will look like the morning after Iran's nuclear capability is set back a few years. Ahmadinejad has promised to turn the Middle East into an inferno. That promise most likely includes the assets the US has deployed to the Persian Gulf, and more specifically the Straits of Hormuz. Since the word is out that Ahmadinejad's nuclear toys may be ready within a year, the clock is ticking down rapidly for Israeli action. Mr. Netanyahu and most sane casual observers understand the issue is one of survival for Israel. But what does this situation hold for the rest of the planet?

If you feel the United States economy is healthy and robust right now, you can skip the rest of this and go on to something more important. However, some financial analysts feel the US economy is currently struggling just a little bit, and will continue struggling until the middle of 2010. Well, Mr. Netanyahu can't wait until mid 2010 to take action. The bottom line in this situation involves the disruption of the flow of oil that would surely occur nearly instantaneously in the event of Israeli action against Iran. The immediate effect on the price of gas in the US and Europe could be a doubling in a week, and perhaps much higher in the following week or weeks. That would play havoc with the US economy, as would the response to such events on Wall Street. Depending on the nature of the Arab world's reaction to an Israeli attack on Iran , the price of gas might be the least of our worries.

If the Hezbollah and Syria, together with the remnants of Hamas were to strike out at Israel in a coordinated fashion, Israel would have their hands full on two fronts and possibly with some Air Forces from Iran. It does not take much imagination to envision a long line of martyrs signing up to wreak havoc against Israel. US and Israeli embassies would surely be targeted by radical Islamic terrorists where convenient. Now for the nightmare scenario. If it appears Israel is losing ground against those attackers, and the fight is a fight for survival, is it conceivable that Israel would resort to a practical demonstration of the fact that they have their own nuclear arsenal? At this point, the crystal ball becomes useless.

It should suffice to say, that it would behoove the President to immerse himself and his key advisers in the Department of Defense and the State Department in a dialogue concerning how the US will respond to any action initiated by Israel, and the subsequent response by Iran. Hopefully, that dialogue would include advising both China and Russia of the limits of US reaction. By the same token, both China and Russia should be involved in providing mutual assurance that the Middle East inferno will not be stoked until it consumes a much larger portion of the planet. The time for dialogue with Iran will end very soon. It is now time for cooperative dialogue, without arrogance, with all the major stakeholders. Anything less is unacceptable. One brief look at a map of the Middle East should cause some serious analysis of the nature of this new “alliance” forming among and between Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria.


This post was written by our new guest contributor, James Newman, Lt. Col, USAF (ret). Thank you Jim, for a wonderfully written and insightful look into the current issues facing this tumultuous region.

Is Israel Ready to Hit the Button?

Events, diplomatic relations, and headlines of late clearly show that Israel is being pushed farther and farther into a corner. Hillary admonishes them for not following the "road map" to peace with the Palestinians. Obama signs a big fat $900 million check to rebuild Gaza, with no way to control whether Hamas will get it's hands on the money. Russia is wheeling and dealing with Iran to provide missile defenses, all the while laughing at Obama's overtures to "talk it over" first. Iran continues to squeal that Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth, and now we learn that they may have enough material to make not one, but 50 nukes, and within a year. With unapologetic hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu about to take the helm, will Israel wait for outside forces to gather beyond their control? My guess is no, as their options are becoming more limited by the day.

This article from the Jerusalem Post demonstrates the growing likelihood that Israel will take action, and perhaps in the not so distant future.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1236103158937

Russia Recognizes a "Girly Man" When It Sees One

So much for Obama's grand visions for having tea and crumpets and "talking through" all of our differences with the malevolent forces in the world.

"RUSSIA BRUSHES OFF OBAMA: NO 'HAGGLING'
Tue Mar 03 2009 09:15:17 ET

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Tuesday showed willingness to discuss the US-planned missile defence system opposed by Moscow, but without 'haggling' linking it to Iran.

Medvedev was commenting during a visit to Spain on an alleged offer by US President Barack Obama to halt the defence system if Iran could be convinced to give up nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in Madrid, Medvedev welcomed the 'positive signals' coming from the Obama administration with which he hoped to reach 'agreements.'

'Haggling,' however, was not 'productive,' Medvedev said".

Lessons From The Past: Security Matters

While the economy eclipses all else as the banner topic of this election, and America looks inwardly at its growing financial pains, there are critical lessons from the past that we cannot afford to ignore. As comparisons are made between the current economy and that of the Great Depression, one should take note of what occured as a result of the government policy of the time to focus internally while ignoring international security issues.

During the Depression of the 1930's, America was not at war. While FDR worked to address the economic mess left by the Hoover administration, America's financial crisis spread outwards to Western Europe, resulting in a similar inward looking focus in those countries. This left the previously weak military powers of Japan and Germany to blossom and grow unchecked, which ultimately resulted in Hitler's rise and the the first invasion of US soil in 130 years by the Japanese on December 7, 1941.

In today's era of easy international travel, combined with the advent of biological and chemical weapons, dirty nuclear bombs, assymetrical warfare fought by Islamic terrorists, and the unstable and emerging nuclear powers of Pakistan and Iran, an inward focus would prove to be even more devastating than in the past. No longer is America as geographically protected as in the 1930's, when the vast expanses of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans served as a natural defense barrier. We cannot afford protectionist policies, and a decreased military presence. Despite our current economic pain, we cannot afford to focus inwardly, while allowing rogue nations to build their power unchecked. When Hitler invaded Western Europe and pushed the Brits back to England, America was there to bail them out and defeat the Nazi's, and subsequently end the war with the defeat of Japan. If such a global conflict were to arise today, and we needed someone to watch our back, who would be there to save us? That's correct. Nobody.