Tag Archives: Iran

Ron Paul: Neoconservatives backing Obama’s foreign policy

Ron Paul: “Some may notice that the neo-conservatives who masterminded the policy of global interventions are not complaining about the level of military and foreign spending. This is because rather than drawing down our costly interventions, Obama is largely staying the course on these issues. In fact, this week a group of leading neoconservatives met to discuss how best to support the President on foreign policy! I am disappointed and concerned that, in spite of a change in leadership, we will remain the policeman of the world, placing ourselves at grave danger in many ways.”

(Read more from campaignforliberty.com)

See Also: Caller to C-SPAN: Why Do You Keep Bringing These Neocons On?

Netanyahu: “The American president must stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons”

“In an interview conducted shortly before he was sworn in today as prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu laid down a challenge for Barack Obama. The American president, he said, must stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weaponsï¿½and quicklyï¿½or an imperiled Israel may be forced to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities itself.

‘The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons,’ Netanyahu told me. He said the Iranian nuclear challenge represents a ‘hinge of history’ and added that ‘Western civilization’ will have failed if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons.” (Read more from theatlantic.com)

Am I the only one who doesn’t like the idea of a foreign leader telling my president what his mission is?

US judge orders Iran to compensate family of IDF soldier captured by Hamas

“A US judge on Friday ordered Iran to pay $25 million plus interest to the family of IDF soldier Nachshon Wachsman, who was kidnapped and executed by Hamas in 1994.

Wachsman’s mother and six brothers filed the lawsuit in 2006 against Iran and its ministry of information and security, saying Tehran was responsible for the death because it provided training and support to Hamas. (AP)” (Read more from ynetnews.com)

Jurisdiction?

Obama and the Neocon Middle East War Agenda

by Stephen J. Sniegoski

“Many Americans, in fact, many people in the world, have been under the impression that Obama’s approach to foreign policy, especially as it pertains to the Middle East, would be the antithesis of that of the Bush administration. This dichotomy, however, is increasingly questionable as the professed advocate of change looks more like a proponent of continuation.

In fact, even during the Presidential campaign Obama did not present a consistently peaceful foreign policy. For example, immediately after becoming the de facto Democratic presidential nominee he addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby. He not only pledged full support to Israel but also expressed strong words against Iran – promising to do everything in his power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and demanding an end to Iranian support for Hezbollah and Hamas, the militant enemies of Israel, as the price for ending American economic warfare.

All of this can reasonably lead to the question: Will Obama’s Middle East policy differ significantly from that of the neoconservatives who were the driving force for the war on Iraq and have fashioned a broader Israelocentric Middle East war agenda? (The neoconservatives are the subject of my recent book: The Transparent Cabal: The Neoconservative Agenda, War in the Middle East, and the National Interest of Israel). Obama himself does not appear to be completely aligned with the neocon position as was John McCain. However, the President’s close advisors, such as David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel, Dennis Ross, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton, tend to be ardently pro-Israel and hawkish, reflecting a neocon orientation, even though none of these individuals are actually neocons.” (Read more from antiwar.com)

Israel gives US fresh intel on Iran Nukes

“American sources told the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan that Israel Defense Forces chief Gabi Ashkenazi provided fresh intelligence to the United States concerning Iran’s nuclear facility in Arak during his visit to Washington earlier this week, according to Israel Radio.

Ashkenazi on Monday said that while Israel was interested in exhausting diplomatic options against Iran’s nuclear program, the army must nevertheless prepare itself for a military attack. . . .

During a visit to Washington, D.C., Ashkenazi met with Dennis Ross, the designated U.S. envoy to the Persian Gulf, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the Iranian issue.

The IDF chief told Ross that Israel would not tolerate a nuclear Iran. He said that a diplomatic approach to Iran’s contentious nuclear program must be taken first, but said Israel must also prepare for other possibilities. ” (Read more from haaretz.com)

Have we already forgotten the bad intelligence about Iraqi WMDs provided by Israel, as reported here, here, here, and here?

Obama extends sanctions against Iran

More change we can believe in.

“Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:07:06 GMT

The US has extended a set of sanctions against Iran for another year over claims that Tehran is still a threat to US national security.

‘The actions and policies of the Government of Iran are contrary to the interests of the United States in the region and pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat’ to US national security and the US economy, President Barack Obama said in a Thursday message to Congress.” (Read more from atheonews.blogspot.com)

2003 – Ron Paul calls out Neocons

This is a new compilation to an old Ron Paul speech.

Israel Lobby Losing it’s Grip? UPDATE: Hell no! UPDATE2: Freeman dares speak out

“Retired Amb. Chas Freeman, who said today that he no longer accepts an offer to chair the National Intelligence Council, has just sent this message:

You will by now have seen the statement by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair reporting that I have withdrawn my previous acceptance of his invitation to chair the National Intelligence Council. . . . I do not believe the National Intelligence Council could function effectively while its chair was under constant attack by unscrupulous people with a passionate attachment to the views of a political faction in a foreign country. . . .

I am saddened by what the controversy and the manner in which the public vitriol of those who devoted themselves to sustaining it have revealed about the state of our civil society. It is apparent that we Americans cannot any longer conduct a serious public discussion or exercise independent judgment about matters of great importance to our country . . . The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired. . . .

The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth. The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors. . . . it is doing widening damage to the national security of the United States.

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“Charles (Chas) Freeman, who was slated to be picked as the new chairman of the National Intelligence Council, withdrew his candidacy for the post on Tuesday.

The move was announced in Washington by Dennis Blair, the director of National Intelligence. Since news of Freeman’s nomination, Jewish organizations have leveled criticism at the pick due to his history of opposition to Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories.” (Read more from haaretz.com)

This is dangerous. If the Israel Lobby can influence who joins the National Intelligence Council, they can further influence our perception of Iran. Here lies the road to (more) war.

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I’ll believe it when the Palestinians get their land back. I’ll believe it when we stop giving them billions a year in taxpayer money. Nevertheless, here are two headlines which caught my eye. I suspect the first one is just lip service.

Clinton: U.S. firm on commitment to two-state solution
(Read more from Haaretz.com)

Israel lobby fails to block key Obama intelligence appointment
“On Friday, Muckety reported: ‘Despite intense, behind-the-scenes lobbying by some Jewish groups, the Obama administration yesterday tapped veteran diplomat Chas W Freeman Jr to head the National Intelligence Council in what may be its most controversial appointment yet. As chairman of the National Intelligence Council, Freeman will be responsible for producing the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) – the classified document given to the president and senior intelligence officials that analyses threats to US security.’

In The National, Tony Karon observed: ‘If Israel and its backers are to persuade the Obama administration to accept their views on Iran, it is a less than helpful for the NIE be the province of a sceptical, independent thinker who believes that Israel’s interests are not necessarily those of the US. Renowned as a brilliant diplomat and analyst, even-handed in his assessments of the Middle East and not bound by the Israel-first consensus that the Israel lobby has fought so hard to establish in US Middle East policy, Mr Freeman was denounced by Steve Rosen, a former top American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) official, as ‘a profoundly disturbing appointment’.” (Read more from thenational.ae)

Gates: Iran “not close” to nuclear weapon

“Gates’ comments followed a televised interview with Adm. Mike Mullen, head of the U.S. military Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he believed Iran has enough fissile material to make a nuclear bomb.” (Read more from reuters.com)

Good! At least one of our leaders reads the National Intelligence Estimate: Iran ‘Halted’ Nuclear Weapons Program In 2003, Unlikely To Develop A Weapon In This Decade.

Bias media coverage spoiling for another war

Obama, Iran, and more of the same

“I must admit that, like most progressives and antiwar activists in the coalition that played a crucial role in the victory of President-elect Barack Obama, I have been greatly disappointed with his national security team (NST). Gone are all the hopeful signs of real change in the American foreign policy that we saw – as it now appears self-deludedly – coming with the election of Obama. Instead, we must confront the cold – but by now very familiar – reality that the main players in U.S. foreign policy for several years to come will be people we have disagreed with very strongly, even despised, over the years.

There is not even one progressive or antiwar voice with principled positions in Obama’s NST to counter all the pro-war people he has picked, even though when introducing his NST, Obama declared that he believes in having “strong personalities and strong opinions” and that he will welcome ‘vigorous debate inside the White House.’

I don’t want to rehash all the praise that Obama has been receiving for the selection of his NST from the neoconservatives and the War Party, which is a glaring sign of how terrible his NST is. Many people, including the author, have already done that. It should suffice to say that the neocons and the War Party could not have been happier with Obama’s NST. The turncoat Joe Lieberman, whose sole purpose in life seems to be starting a war with Iran, called Obama’s selections ‘virtually perfect,’ and Michael Goldfarb of the Weekly Standard declared that the selections indicate “surprising continuity on foreign policy between President Bush’s second term and the incoming administration. . . . The expectation is that Obama is set to continue the course set by Bush. . . .”

. . . .

In the Democratic debate in Philadelphia on April 16, 2008, [Obama] said,

‘I have said I will do whatever is required to prevent the Iranians from obtaining nuclear weapons. I believe that includes direct talks with the Iranians where we are laying out very clearly for them, here are the issues that we find unacceptable. . . . Now, my belief is that they should also know that I will take no options off the table when it comes to preventing them from using nuclear weapons. . . .’

Those are weapons that Iran does not have, and there is no evidence that it is attempting to get them.

In an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America on April 22, 2008, Obama said, ‘We shouldn’t allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, period. I have consistently said that I will do everything in my power to prevent them from having it, and I have not ruled out military force as an option.'” (Read more from antiwar.com)

Question: Can we create cult of personality to gain support of all the policies begun under our reviled President Bush?
Answer: YES WE CAN!

Family Guy visits Ground Zero

Report: US Asked Israel Not to Start Any Major Wars Until Obama Takes Office

from antiwar.com:

Amid several bellicose comments about the possibility of an impending Israeli strike against Iran Israeli Defense Ministry officials say they have been contacted by US officials who have asked them to refrain from launching any attacks against Iran until after President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. Likewise, the officials reportedly have cautioned Israel not to launch its long-reported ground invasion of the Gaza Strip until after the inauguration.

An Israeli attack on Iran would almost certainly be interpreted as an American attack, and would likely spark a broad war between Iran and the United States. That prospect, with less than two months before the administration change and President Bush keeping a close eye on his legacy, seems unappealing.

The Israeli military insists that, despite reports to the contrary, it has no intentions of launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip any time soon. On the other hand Israel’s elections are scheduled for early February, and with the hawkish opposition Likud Party leading in the polls the outgoing government might gamble on its ability to reap political advantage from a dramatic move on one or both fronts.

Iran Resolution Shelved in Rare Defeat for AIPAC

“‘We’ll resubmit it when Congress comes back, and we’ll have even more signatures,’ the resolution’s main author, New York Democrat Rep. Gary Ackerman, told the Washington Times, adding that the resolution currently has 270 co-sponsors, or some two-thirds of the House’s entire membership.

Still, the decision by the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Howard Berman, to shelve HR 362 marked an unusual defeat for AIPAC, according to its critics who charged that the resolution was designed to lay the groundwork for the Bush administration or any successor administration to take military action against Iran.” (Read more from antiwar.com)