Iranian strategy
The rejection by Iran of the reasonable proposal by the international community to transfer 75% of its partially enriched uranium to Russia and France for processing to higher levels should be the end of negotiations.
But, Iran is still extending the process, and the western nations are being suckered in. What part of "no" don't they understand. Do they think that by continuing to engage Iran that anything will change? On the contrary, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a speech on Tuesday made hard-line anti-American statements on the 30th anniversary of the take-over of the US Embassy in Tehran, accusing the US of "stabbing Iran in the back" and categorically denied that Iran would ever allow its uranium to be processed elsewhere. Yet, the Iranian negotiators continue to drag out the proceedings, and the hopeful West wait while Iran continues to enrich its own uranium.
Once again, in Morocco for a conference, Secty of State Clinton stated that the agreement to negotiate is not open-ended, but it certainly looks like it. They said that the process would end in September, but that is past and the indecisiveness of the Obama Administration continues. One reason for trying to persuade Iran to make an agreement was to avoid the need for Israel to strike Iran becasue of its development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. But, that seems more likely now.
Tuesday it was announced that Hamas in Gaza tested an Iranian missile fired into the Mediterranean Sea that had a range of 60 km, and could reach Tel Aviv and the densely populated heart of Israel. Of course, and this missile was probably smuggled into Gaza through Egypt in parts and then reassembled in Gaza with Iranian help. Why do the impoverished Palestinians in Gaza need such offensive weapons, except to strike at Israel and kill civilians.
To those who criticized the IDF's destructiveness and use of "disproportionate" force in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, I say that unfortunately there will have to be another round. What a pity that the IDF did not go all the way and destroy Hamas completely. If Hamas had been destroyed and Fatah reinstalled there, at least we would be dealing with a more "moderate" leadership. But, even if the schism within the Palestinians is in Israel's favor, having an Iranian proxy on our borders with long range missiles is unacceptable.
The Palestinians and the Arabs say that they won't negotiate with Israel until there is a total settlement building freeze, but why should Israel negotiate with them when they are maligning us through the UN, using the biased and flawed Goldstone Report. Let Obama dream of a peace process as many Presidents before him have done, but in reality it is a perilous process that we face.
But, Iran is still extending the process, and the western nations are being suckered in. What part of "no" don't they understand. Do they think that by continuing to engage Iran that anything will change? On the contrary, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a speech on Tuesday made hard-line anti-American statements on the 30th anniversary of the take-over of the US Embassy in Tehran, accusing the US of "stabbing Iran in the back" and categorically denied that Iran would ever allow its uranium to be processed elsewhere. Yet, the Iranian negotiators continue to drag out the proceedings, and the hopeful West wait while Iran continues to enrich its own uranium.
Once again, in Morocco for a conference, Secty of State Clinton stated that the agreement to negotiate is not open-ended, but it certainly looks like it. They said that the process would end in September, but that is past and the indecisiveness of the Obama Administration continues. One reason for trying to persuade Iran to make an agreement was to avoid the need for Israel to strike Iran becasue of its development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. But, that seems more likely now.
Tuesday it was announced that Hamas in Gaza tested an Iranian missile fired into the Mediterranean Sea that had a range of 60 km, and could reach Tel Aviv and the densely populated heart of Israel. Of course, and this missile was probably smuggled into Gaza through Egypt in parts and then reassembled in Gaza with Iranian help. Why do the impoverished Palestinians in Gaza need such offensive weapons, except to strike at Israel and kill civilians.
To those who criticized the IDF's destructiveness and use of "disproportionate" force in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, I say that unfortunately there will have to be another round. What a pity that the IDF did not go all the way and destroy Hamas completely. If Hamas had been destroyed and Fatah reinstalled there, at least we would be dealing with a more "moderate" leadership. But, even if the schism within the Palestinians is in Israel's favor, having an Iranian proxy on our borders with long range missiles is unacceptable.
The Palestinians and the Arabs say that they won't negotiate with Israel until there is a total settlement building freeze, but why should Israel negotiate with them when they are maligning us through the UN, using the biased and flawed Goldstone Report. Let Obama dream of a peace process as many Presidents before him have done, but in reality it is a perilous process that we face.
posted by Jack Cohen at 1:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home