Nadene Goldfoot
There are two problems in dealing with Iran. Israel would like to bring a halt to Iran's development of nuclear items such as bombs and such that would be destined to be dropped on Israel. The United States just wants to slow down Iran's nuclear development. Their aim is just to buy time.
The Oregonian's article this morning from New York Times tells of Netanyahu feeling that Obama is too vague about Iran's limits in how far they can go. He doesn't see a clear red line and Iran doesn't see a strong determination to stop its nuclear project. This is because they haven't stopped their production activities at all.
Israel has been talking about attacking Iran's nuclear production on their own but doesn't want to. They would like the USA to join them. The USA is trying to forestall an Israeli attack while making the Iranians take the situation more seriously.
One thing the USA is doing is installing a new radar system in Qatar. Israel and Turkey already have this. They want to "form a broad arc of anti-missile coverage." Qatar is not necessarily a friend of Israel, but may suffer the consequences of Iran's mission as well along with Saudi Arabia. They are of a slightly different Muslim theology than Iran. Iranians are Shi'a following the Jafari code (fiqh) and Saudi Arabia and Qatar are Sunni who follow the Hanbali code. The religious leader of Qatar is Qaradawi, who is very anti-Jewish. They have this one hatred in common with Iran. Qaradawi is also the religious influence in Egypt, which doesn't help matters.
Back in 2007 Israel hit Syria's nuclear reactor and it took weeks to become clear that it was Israeli jets that did the job, or at least most think it was Israel. There was no retaliation and was a success. Whoever hit it did it early enough to cause complete damage. Now Iran's facility has gone underground and is so secret that it would be impossible for Israel to strike and destroy it. It's gone on too long. There may be one window of opportunity coming up, but would take more than just Israel to stop it.
We know that Iran at this point is not taking the USA and 25 other nations seriously in their sanctions against Iran. Yet the USA thinks of a military strike that could trigger an Iranian reaction and unleash a new conflict in the Middle East. So we get back to Israel's idea of a stern red line set by the international community letting Iran know just how far they can go. Israel will not be the only ones hurt in Iran's unleashing nuclear powers but the whole world will also suffer from it. Iran is not a sane dependable nation at this point in time. Their leaders are meshugenas. That's why they must not get nuclear capabilities.a
Update: 9:27am General Martin Dempsey, US Chairman of Joint chief of Staff, told the British last week that the the USA doesn't want to be "complicit" in an Israeli attack on Iran. He also warned against a go-it-alone military action. This announcement changed this position of the USA in that the situation had to be reassessed now.
Will Iran take any sanctions seriously now that they know that an attack is not a possibility?
Resource: Oregonian 9/4/12 page A3 At issue, Tehran's nuclear program: US takes steps against Iran, aims to head off Israeli attack
http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-chastised-israel-seeks-way-forward-u-over-152725950.html
There are two problems in dealing with Iran. Israel would like to bring a halt to Iran's development of nuclear items such as bombs and such that would be destined to be dropped on Israel. The United States just wants to slow down Iran's nuclear development. Their aim is just to buy time.
The Oregonian's article this morning from New York Times tells of Netanyahu feeling that Obama is too vague about Iran's limits in how far they can go. He doesn't see a clear red line and Iran doesn't see a strong determination to stop its nuclear project. This is because they haven't stopped their production activities at all.
Israel has been talking about attacking Iran's nuclear production on their own but doesn't want to. They would like the USA to join them. The USA is trying to forestall an Israeli attack while making the Iranians take the situation more seriously.
One thing the USA is doing is installing a new radar system in Qatar. Israel and Turkey already have this. They want to "form a broad arc of anti-missile coverage." Qatar is not necessarily a friend of Israel, but may suffer the consequences of Iran's mission as well along with Saudi Arabia. They are of a slightly different Muslim theology than Iran. Iranians are Shi'a following the Jafari code (fiqh) and Saudi Arabia and Qatar are Sunni who follow the Hanbali code. The religious leader of Qatar is Qaradawi, who is very anti-Jewish. They have this one hatred in common with Iran. Qaradawi is also the religious influence in Egypt, which doesn't help matters.
Back in 2007 Israel hit Syria's nuclear reactor and it took weeks to become clear that it was Israeli jets that did the job, or at least most think it was Israel. There was no retaliation and was a success. Whoever hit it did it early enough to cause complete damage. Now Iran's facility has gone underground and is so secret that it would be impossible for Israel to strike and destroy it. It's gone on too long. There may be one window of opportunity coming up, but would take more than just Israel to stop it.
We know that Iran at this point is not taking the USA and 25 other nations seriously in their sanctions against Iran. Yet the USA thinks of a military strike that could trigger an Iranian reaction and unleash a new conflict in the Middle East. So we get back to Israel's idea of a stern red line set by the international community letting Iran know just how far they can go. Israel will not be the only ones hurt in Iran's unleashing nuclear powers but the whole world will also suffer from it. Iran is not a sane dependable nation at this point in time. Their leaders are meshugenas. That's why they must not get nuclear capabilities.a
Update: 9:27am General Martin Dempsey, US Chairman of Joint chief of Staff, told the British last week that the the USA doesn't want to be "complicit" in an Israeli attack on Iran. He also warned against a go-it-alone military action. This announcement changed this position of the USA in that the situation had to be reassessed now.
Will Iran take any sanctions seriously now that they know that an attack is not a possibility?
Resource: Oregonian 9/4/12 page A3 At issue, Tehran's nuclear program: US takes steps against Iran, aims to head off Israeli attack
http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-chastised-israel-seeks-way-forward-u-over-152725950.html
Feeling so vulnerable, Israel needs strong assurances from its key ally, said Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN and confidant of Netanyahu. "We have to hear something a lot more concrete, a lot more public from the U.S., which is the leader of free world. What is it going to do?" Gold told Israel Army Radio. (AP-New York Times)
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