Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Obama Pushing Israel to War?

Mr Putin said strikes on Iran would lead to an increase in terrorism in the region.

"This would be very dangerous, unacceptable. This would lead to an explosion of terrorism, increase the influence of extremists," he said when asked about the possibility of an attack.

"I doubt very much that such strikes would achieve their stated goal."

He called on Iran to take into account Israel's concerns and show restraint in its nuclear program.

"The Iranians should show restraint in their nuclear program. We have told Iran that it has the right to a civilian nuclear program but that it should understand what region of the world it is in," Mr Putin said.

Putin has given better direction concerning the Iran-Israel crisis that President Obama. Read his straight talk here.

Then we have this from the Wall Street Journal, which makes one wonder if Obama isn't pushing Israel to a pre-emptive air strike on Iran. Does he want Israel to do the dirty job so he doesn't have to make a hard decision?

Bret Stephens writes:

Events are fast pushing Israel toward a pre-emptive military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, probably by next spring. That strike could well fail. Or it could succeed at the price of oil at $300 a barrel, a Middle East war, and American servicemen caught in between. So why is the Obama administration doing everything it can to speed the war process along?

At July's G-8 summit in Italy, Iran was given a September deadline to start negotiations over its nuclear programs. Last week, Iran gave its answer: No.

Instead, what Tehran offered was a five-page document that was the diplomatic equivalent of a giant kiss-off. It begins by lamenting the "ungodly ways of thinking prevailing in global relations" and proceeds to offer comprehensive talks on a variety of subjects: democracy, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, "respect for the rights of nations," and other areas where Iran is a paragon. Conspicuously absent from the document is any mention of Iran's nuclear program, now at the so-called breakout point, which both Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his boss Ali Khamenei insist is not up for discussion.

What's an American president to do in the face of this nonstarter of a document? What else, but pretend it isn't a nonstarter. Talks begin Oct. 1.

All this only helps persuade Israel's skittish leadership that when President Obama calls a nuclear-armed Iran "unacceptable," he means it approximately in the same way a parent does when fecklessly reprimanding his misbehaving teenager. That impression is strengthened by Mr. Obama's decision to drop Iran from the agenda when he chairs a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 24; by Defense Secretary Robert Gates publicly opposing military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities; and by Russia's announcement that it will not support any further sanctions on Iran.

Read it all here.

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