With the International Atomic Energy Agency set to release a new report next month detailing Iran’s efforts to create a nuclear weapon, Tehran’s main protector in the international community is making a last ditch effort to squelch the watchdog group’s efforts to blow the whistle on this threat.

Russia announced today it opposed the IAEA’s plans to publish a report about the military implications of Iran’s illegal push for nukes. In what can only be described as an utterly disingenuous appeal, Moscow said bringing out the truth would heighten suspicion about Iran’s nuclear program and “strain” efforts to bring about a diplomatic solution to the problem. They are right on both counts, but anyone who thinks Russia’s diplomatic ventures on the issue are aimed at stopping Iran from getting nukes hasn’t been paying attention the last few years.

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The Wall Street Journal has some of the specifics from President Obama’s student loan plan, which he’ll formally announce tomorrow at Auraria campus in Denver, Colorado. It sounds like he’s going to use executive power to institute a new loan consolidation program, and bump up the start date for an income-based loan repayment initiative that’s already been approved by Congress:

The change could affect an estimated 5.8 million people who hold two types of student loans—government-backed loans issued by the private sector under the Federal Family Education Loan program and “direct loans” issued by the government, an administration official said. Consolidating the loans would result in lower interest rates and reduced monthly payments, as well as additional loan-forgiveness and repayment options.

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On the matter of the Obama administration’s announcement that all of our roughly 40,000 troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year, a few thoughts:

1. Liberals who opposed the war and hated President Bush are now defending President Obama’s decision by arguing that the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), signed during the Bush presidency, set the end of 2011 as the official end of American involvement in Iraq. To gain a deeper understanding of matters, let’s turn to the New York Times , hardly a pro-Bush media outlet, on this matter: “At the end of the Bush administration, when the Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, was negotiated, setting 2011 as the end of the United States’ military role, officials had said the deadline was set for political reasons, to put a symbolic end to the occupation and establish Iraq’s sovereignty. But there was an understanding, a senior official here [in Baghdad] said, that a sizeable American force would stay in Iraq beyond that date.” The Times went on to report, “Through the summer, American officials continued to assume that the agreement would be amended, and Mr. Obama was willing to support a continued military presence.”

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It is testimony to the severity of the earthquake in Turkey that after two days of turning down foreign assistance and, in particular, desperately needed help from its nearby former friend Israel, Ankara has finally relented. The Jerusalem Post reports that after several rebuffs of Israeli overtures the Turks reached out to the Jewish state via its embassy. Tonight, a plane will carry the first of several loads of equipment to Turkey. But anyone believing this gesture marks a thawing of relations between the two countries is probably mistaken.

The first plane sent to Turkey from Israel was a civilian plane chartered by the Defense Ministry. The most logical explanation for this otherwise puzzling decision not to use a military aircraft is that despite backing down from their refusal to accept Israeli help, the ban imposed on Israeli military aircraft flying in Turkish airspace at the time of the Gaza flotilla confrontation between the two nations may still be in place. The alacrity of the Israeli response to Turkey’s need will, like most good deeds, probably go unrewarded as the Islamist government in Ankara continues to make a pitch for leadership of the Muslim world based on its hostility to its former strategic ally.

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According to Politico, “The Rick Perry relaunch has finally arrived.”

We’re told the Texan will “wage a more focused and aggressive campaign.” Perry’s new consultants are a “roster of some of the most nationally seasoned and toughest names in the Republican media world.” Not only that, “They’re disciplined.” And oh, how it shows. Because only a disciplined, well-oiled, purring-with-efficiency campaign would have their candidate double down on the birther story on the very day he releases his long-awaited economic plan.

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Recent events from the Middle East are no doubt providing further fodder for those concerned about the rise of Islamic sharia law: The leader of Libya’s transitional government said his country’s laws will be based on sharia, while in Tunisia an Islamist party, Ennahdha, won that country’s first free elections. Does this mean that the dark night of “Islamo-fascism” is descending across the Middle East? Probably not.

Saying a country’s legal system will be based on sharia law is about as descriptive as saying it will be based on the Ten Commandants or the teachings of Christ. Like Christianity, Judaism or any other religion, Islam is subject to countless interpretations. Sharia law has meant many different things in many different countries across the ages. Even Islamic fundamentalists are not all alike. Wahhabis rule in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, yet liquor is readily available in the latter but not the former.

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It’s fitting that Perry’s bringing in a former FEMA director to try to rescue his campaign from the brink of disaster. Joe Allbaugh – who also ran Bush-Cheney 2000 –and a handful of other establishment-type figures have just been hired as senior advisers. But is the shakeup too late, and too little, to save him?

Herman Cain is rapidly cementing his position as the non-Romney frontrunner. And the latest CBS/NYT poll shows Perry trailing not just Romney and Cain, but also no-shots like Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich.

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It is becoming fashionable to say—as Leon Panetta just did during his trip to Asia—that America’s withdrawal from Iraq, soon to be followed presumably by a departure from Afghanistan, will allow us to focus on the far-more-important Asia-Pacific region. I cannot deny the importance of Asia, where we face our only near-peer competitor in the world (China), but it is simplistic in the extreme to say that our drawdown in the Middle East will make us stronger farther east.

American power in the Far East, as elsewhere in the world, rests in large part on American credibility. That credibility has been hurt by our impending departure from Iraq, which will leave a nascent democratic state at the mercy of its enemies. It will be hurt even further if we pull most of our troops out of Afghanistan before that country has been stabilized—as President Obama is likely to do. That is a lesson that allies in Asia, such as Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea will learn from—as will China, which will have fresh cause to doubt American staying power in the fight for freedom.
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President Obama told an audience in Nevada on Monday that he will be regularly announcing “executive actions” his administration will take to “heal the economy” without the “dysfunctional” Congress.

“I’m here to say to all of you and to say to the people of Nevada and the people of Las Vegas, we can’t wait for an increasingly dysfunctional Congress to do its job. Where they won’t act, I will,” Obama said. “I’ve told my administration to keep looking every single day for actions we can take without Congress, steps that can save consumers money, make government more efficient and responsive, and help heal the economy. And we’re going to be announcing these executive actions on a regular basis,” according to the president.

The president’s formulation – to help “heal the economy” – got me thinking. Where oh where have we heard that verb “heal” before?

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Rick Perry just gave a red-meat-heavy speech on his “Cut, Balance and Grow” plan (which he also outlined this morning at the Wall Street Journal). But he was light on specifics. Here’s what we know about the plan so far:

1. He’s proposing an optional flat tax of 20 percent, allowing Americans to keep their current income tax rate if they prefer.
2. The new rate “preserves mortgage interest, charitable and state and local tax exemptions for families earning less than $500,000 annually, and it increases the standard deduction to $12,500 for individuals and dependents.”
3. His plan abolishes the death tax.
4. It lowers the corporate tax rate to 20 percent.
5. Eliminates the tax on Social Security benefits.
6. Caps federal spending at 18 percent of GDP, freezes federal wages and hiring.
7. Allows younger workers the option of placing their Social Security contributions in private accounts.

Perry also touched on Medicare and Medicaid reform (he proposes raising the age of Medicare recipients and handing over Medicaid to the states, among other ideas). It was a good speech. Perry was articulate. The question is whether he’ll be able to make the same arguments off-the-cuff. Based on Perry’s Q&A with the New York Times this morning – in which, as Jonathan wrote, he veered off once again into birtherism while trying to sell his plan – this is definitely a concern.

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The debate about the appalling effort by the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee to stifle discussion about Israel continues to simmer. As I wrote yesterday, the “Unity Pledge” promoted by the ADL and the AJC is aimed at removing Israel as an election issue in the upcoming presidential contest. Considering President Obama’s record on Israel has been the subject of non-stop debate since he took office, the pledge simply doesn’t pass the political smell test, as it would give him immunity for three years of picking fights with Israel’s government and tilting the diplomatic playing field in the direction of the Palestinians.

In today’s Tablet, Marc Tracy offers an interesting argument as a reason for conservative critics of Obama to observe the ADL and AJC’s oath of omerta about the president’s attitude toward Israel. Tracy contends that if Obama is re-elected despite a successful effort by Republicans to portray him as a foe of Israel, that would effectively destroy a bipartisan consensus on the issue. So according to this scenario, the best thing for friends of Israel to do is to keep quiet about Obama’s record lest he take revenge on the Jewish state in his second term. Yet what Tracy seems to ignore is if Obama truly were no friend to Israel or at the very least an unreliable one, his re-election would make the same point. That presents the pro-Israel community with the option of either staying silent about his record and thereby vindicating Obama’s decision to distance the United States from Israel or speak out and show that most Americans don’t support Israel. But this is a false choice.

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The New York Times published a condensed, edited transcript of an interview with Rick Perry today. Much of it was devoted to a defense of his flat tax proposal. Perry held his ground well in those questions and refused to concede that an abandonment of progressive taxation was unjust or that allowing the wealthy to keep more of their own money would harm anyone else.

But unfortunately for Perry, the Times reporters thought to ask him about his absurd comments about President Obama’s birth certificate, and the Texas governor responded by digging himself deeper into the hole he previously dug on this issue:

Q. Why did you choose to keep the birther issue alive?

A. It’s a good issue to keep alive. You know, [Donald Trump] has got to have some fun. It’s fun to poke him a little bit and say, “Hey, let’s see your grades and your birth certificate.” I don’t have a clue about where the president — and what this birth certificate says. But it’s also a great distraction. I’m not distracted by it.

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One aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has received more attention in recent years has been the topic of setting preconditions for negotiations. This is partially due to the Obama administration’s decision to demand a full settlement freeze–including “natural growth”–from Israel before the U.S. would throw its weight behind renewed talks.

It was poorly conceived, since prohibiting “natural growth” has no impact on borders and puts Palestinian day laborers out of work. And it didn’t do much to get negotiations going. But there is another reason preconditions should be used sparingly, and Abbas today demonstrated why. According to Haaretz:

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Politico is reporting on a trend others have been commenting on for some time: Democratic candidates are treating Barack Obama as if he has a communicable disease.

“In trips to Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — all states that he carried in 2008 — members of Congress were notably missing from the president’s side,” according to the story. “Though none came out and said they were deliberately avoiding him, they didn’t have to: Dodging a presidential candidate who’s riding low in the polls is a time-honored political practice.”

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It’s amazing that a simple shot of a man puffing on a cigarette can turn an otherwise boring political ad into a viral sensation:

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The JTA has published another article on the ousting of a Jewish Voice for Peace activist from the Jewish Federations of North America’s “Jewish Community Heroes” contest. While this specific tempest in a teapot has
thankfully received little traction to date, it nevertheless points to a debate about whether or not to welcome Jewish anti-Israelists into the communal fold that will likely figure at the center of American Jewish discussion for years
to come.

The JFNA is the organizing body for the many Federations around the continent, which collectively raise and distribute more than $3 billion annually for communal needs. The heroes contest is a three-year-old affair designed to garner greater, and well-deserved, attention for this work by allowing anyone to nominate individuals as a “hero.” Nominees can then collect online votes, and the top 10 finalists in two categories move on to a panel of judges, who
select a “hero” of the year who gets a $25,000 grant, as well as another four finalists who also get grants in the thousands of dollars, all through the Federation structure. Jay Feinberg, founder and head of the eminently worthy Gift of Life foundation dedicated to finding Jewish bone marrow donors and last year’s winner, is a good example of an ideal candidate.

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The ink on Israel’s ransom deal for Gilad Shalit is barely dry, but already, the first fruits are visible: Hamas’ success in obtaining 1,027 terrorists for one kidnapped soldier convinced Egypt to enter the hostage-taking business as well.

Today, Israel’s cabinet is set to approve freeing 25 Egyptian prisoners in exchange for Israeli-American Ilan Grapel. Though the exact prisoner list hasn’t yet been released, Egyptian press reports say all are suspected or convicted of crimes like murder, drug smuggling and human trafficking; an Israeli group says half were involved in terror.

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Former Mossad boss Efraim Halevy’s analysis of the Shalit deal and its implications is astounding.

Certainly it is likely factors like the regional instability created by the Arab Spring, a strategic aim to buttress Egypt’s fledgling government, and a desire to punish Abu Mazen for his unilateral statehood bid, all played a role in the timing of this deal. But the notion that the deal qualifies as “negotiation” with Hamas and that Israel should seize this opportunity to work towards peace with the terrorist organization is ludicrous, as Jonathan pointed out last week.

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