Mister Moleman is pleased to present a new friend (actually an old friend of mine, but new to you), Mister Dave Smith. He is an old union man, now retired, who has made valuable anonymous contributions to this blog in the past. Today we celebrate his “coming out.”
by Dave Smith
Iran continues to play “rope-a-dope” with the US and the world. First, they rattle sabres, threatening Israel and the US with destruction (which they cannot yet carry out. They threaten closure of the Straits of Hormuz, our terror of higher gas prices. Then, they offer the “olive branch” of negotiations, to stall for a few months before they need to utter the next round of threats. All the while, they openly develop the weapons that will make them truly dangerous and make a second holocaust possible.
And the US policy? Admit military impotence (even shrink our own forces), worry about offending Iran, and put off serious sanctions until we can be sure they won’t affect oil prices. And warn Israel against taking action to defend themselves. “Leave it to us,” the US says.
I don’t know what Israel should do about Iran. But it seems obvious what America and our president should do.
America should say to Israel and the world, both privately and openly, that we will stand by our ally Israel with our full support in whatever actions its government decides are necessary to meet the Iranian threat.
We should do this because:
1: Israel is the frontline target of the threat, and has the most to gain or lose as a result of the decision;
2: Israel has shown itself to be judicious and cautious in making such security decisions in the past;
3: Israel is our only ally in the region, the only stable, democratic, free government in the region;
4: Israel is the only government in the region with a long-standing commitment to live in peace with its neighbors if given the opportunity.
We should of course agree to negotiations; but they should be conducted in a one-shot, closed door session to last no more than a day or two. If Iran really wants peace, they could have it in a day. But if they want to continue stalling, we should walk out.
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