Earlier today, I noted the skewed morality of left-wing writers in general, and Salon’s Glenn Greenwald, in particular, who consider the mysterious deaths of Iranian nuclear scientists to be an act of terrorism. Quite the contrary, I think it’s clear the Iranians are the terrorists and it is the duty of both the United States and Israel to do anything in their power to pre-empt Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon. But it’s worth adding to the discussion that it appears President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are eager to avoid being labeled terrorists by left-wing pundits. The United States has not only disavowed any participation in attacks on Iranian nuclear personnel but went so far as to actually condemn the killing.
Given that this administration has fully embraced the doctrine of targeted killings of terrorists and regards drone strikes against individuals and groups that Washington deems bad guys, its scruples about knocking off people involved in a project that would give the ayatollahs the ability to pull off a second Holocaust seems curious. The reasons U.S. officials have given for their opposition to the assassinations also fall flat.
According to the New York Times, the U.S. opposes any such attacks because they “could backfire by undercutting future negotiations and prompting Iran to redouble what the West suspects is a quest for a nuclear capacity.”
First of all, the entire notion that “future negotiations” have any chance of getting Iran to back down from the nuclear brink is entirely without foundation. Iran’s only motive in allowing the administration to believe in the possibility of such talks is to string them along and thereby allow their nuclear scientists more time to perfect their plans. The idea that they would “redouble” their quest is also farcical because Iran is already going all out to achieve this goal. The only thing that will convince the Iranians to give up their dream of a bomb is to both enact and enforce crippling sanctions such as an oil embargo that could bring their economy to halt or to use force.
Given the adamant nature of the administration’s denials about the assassinations, this is probably no ruse. But if the U.S. is not helping Israel in its alleged efforts to make it more difficult for the Iranian scientific community to work on the nuclear project, it may be one more sign that Obama is not really serious about stopping Iran. This could well be one more signal that, the president’s rhetoric notwithstanding, Israel is being left alone to face this deadly threat to its existence. It may well be we will now hear more from the left about labeling Israel a terrorist state because of the Iranian nuclear scientists. But as with many other instances in which its right to self-defense has been attacked, Israel’s leaders will likely choose to risk the name-calling if it means that measures they have undertaken will significantly reduce the threat to their nation.
Greenwald sees a Jew toss a gum wrapper in the street and calls that Zionist Eco Terrorism. We should not expect anything else from the man who used to write for Pat Buchanan, legally defended Matthew Hale and printed in his blog that a big regret in his life is that he was too young to help the Nazis march in Skokie. I'll give you this. Maybe it is terrorism. And so what? We no longer live in the world where we have the luxury of chasing old Nazis in South America 25 years after they murder millions. Iran is building nuclear weapons to annihilate the Jews. They say they are. Fair enough. That's the risk they take. Which part of never again doesn't make sense to the Greenwalds of the world? Which part of this time we''re heavily armed and we will fully expend our right to self defense by any means necessary so as to avoid marching into the showers this time? Because that's what irritates Greenwald and his ilk the most. That Jews assert their right not to be exterminated. No more no less.
Very brave of Greenwald to have wanted to march with the Nazis in Skokie. n nWonder how he would have liked to try and march with the real Nazis. n nThe ass would have ended up a a puff of smoke.
I can't wait for Greenwald's hissy fit when the Israelis nuke the Ayatollahs, the Hiizbollah and Hamas. I'm counting the days.
Obama seems to say one thing (like he's the greatest defender of Israel ever) and do something else. Besides that, so much of what he's done in the last year or so is to push a decision until after the election. Can anyone trust the decisions as he will make them after the election based on the dichotomy of his words and actions?
There's no way Obama will ever agree to attack Iran before the November elections. n nFor one thing, Obama can't afford to lose any of the loony left who think it's never okay to use military force. Nor will his taking action win him any points with the mushy middle who cares primarily about the economy. And since America attacking Iran is good for Israel, that's three reasons Obama will never do it. n nI hope the Israelis are smart enough to figure that out. They're on their own.
I presume that the motorcycle used for this assassination was equipped with a very good muffler — in order to continue the plot of Graham Greene's "The Quiet American". n nAmerican CIA "Secret Team" assassinations by C4 bombs has a history almost as long as that of the CIA itself (since 1947). n nPerhaps with Francis Fukuyama's recanting, this will not be how it ends at "The End of History", but rather with his newest Foreign Affairs article, "The Future of History", we will begin to see violent foreign affairs like this assassination, and Obama's many drone assassinations, becoming unacceptable to an increasing number of countries (and world citizens) outside of this disguised and disgusting global 'Vichy Empire'. n nBest luck and love to the "Occupy Empire" educational movement. n nLiberty, democracy, justice, and equality nOver nViolent/Vichy nEmpire, n nAlan MacDonald nSanford, Maine n
The Jews usually stand alone. Obama, however, always uses the whiff of negotiations to pretend that actual containment of possible threats is counterproductive, because, we are told, the real containment is in doing nothing much and pleading for our enemies to come to the negotiating table by closing our eyes, chanting magic spells, and offering pieces of our allies up as sacrifice. Unfortunately, for Israel, their skin in the game is the actual collateral here. Brain dead power.