Curmudgeon's Corner

Iran, Israel & Us

Posted by Al Campbell on March 6, 2012

U.S., Political, Economy, Quality of Life

The latest step in the dance that has been ongoing for a long time took place yesterday in the Whitehouse when President Obama met with Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu.

This seems to have been a repeat of the last meeting possibly with a bit stronger talking line from our President.  He had earlier this week told us and the world that he "doesn't bluff" and that he "had Israel's back".  That 'bravado' didn't appear to impress Netanyahu who stood his ground by repeating that Israel reserved its right to defend itself as it saw fit.

There has been no mistaking that our country's senior leaders do not see eye to eye with Israel's senior leaders.  It might be a bit easier for us to not see the situation exactly as does Israel since we aren't quite as close geographically as is Israel to the source of concern.

Iran has made its intention quite clear over the course of time.  It has done so by both word and deed, at least so far as deeds can be verifed when the UN's efforts continue to be thwarted or dealt with in half-way measures that do not reveal anything.  There is growing, and seemingly well-placed, concern that Iran is very close to having a deliverable nuclear weapon, if it doesn't already have that weapon.  President Obama wants more time for his diplomatic policies to work and Israel says that there isn't enough time for those policies to work.

Push and shove are most likely going to bump into one and other and the time frame is rapidly compressing.  This region has been unstable almost since the creation of the Israeli state.  If this Israeli strike does occur, the world will be further destabilized.  The game will have been forever changed, if it has not already crossed that threshold.  Oil prices will skyrocket; economies will be further weakened; other of Israel's enemies will be emboldened, at least from a verbal perspective.

The United Nations is again proving itself ineffective in today's world.  President Obama may be on the right track or he may be on the wrong track.  There doesn't seem to be much indication that our policies have had a significant effect on Iran, other than to prompt them to become more belicose and to spend more of their national wealth on nuclear research, which they continue to bury deeper and deeper in the mountains in their country.

We are nearing the end-point.  Israel is unlikely to permit Iran to continue down its present path for more than another month or two at the most.

Once again, I am very happy to be somewhere other than in the Oval Office having to confront this decision.  There is a reason that this 'office' makes old people of its occupants.