Now begins President Obama’s real test — not for reelection, but for peace. Coming to an ever-more-dangerous climax in sync with the US political campaign is the long-simmering crisis over Iran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency recently reported on possible Iranian progress toward nuclear weapons capability (new centrifuges in an underground enrichment plant). Israel sees Iran behind the July terror attack on Jewish tourists in Bulgaria. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has ramped up its already pounding drumbeat (Where, the Israeli prime minister demands to know, is the American “red line”?). Israeli civil defense measures include the distribution of gas masks. The Syrian crisis highlights Tehran’s influence, as Iran supplies weapons to Bashar Assad through Iraqi airspace. At last month’s meeting of non-aligned nations in Tehran, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon warned that “a war of words can quickly spiral into a war of violence.”
Comments
The last thing we need is another war with a medieval society that places such a low value on human life. However, it is frightening to contemplate this same society with nuclear weapons. Despite his contempt for Western Civiliation, I think Mr. Carroll would agree that our rational thinking and respect for life have prevented us from blowing this world into a radioactive dustbowl.
"Every day that war is postponed is a victory for better outcomes." Should this comment have been partially attributed to Neville Chamberlain?
I hope, James Carroll, that you are right, and not attributing more to Obama and his MO than truly exists in reality, which is what I fear. If the latter is true, other windows of opportunity may be closing while he stalls.
Rehab? Dare we ask? Mr. Obama is the Bobby Valentine of the real American league -U.S.! We are only in the 4th inning of what he considers a game and approaching the end of a disastrous season. We hired him as manager and half the team hates him and the other half are trying forget they hired him. He is wiley to be sure. Like Mr. Valentine, his moves have resulted in loss after loss. Iran is on its way to success in nuclear weapons and the its delivery system. Perhaps Mr. Obama is more like that comic book character Wiley Fox. His real acronym should be NATO -"no action, talk only". May I suggest that this discussion of what Mr. Obama's real test is not for reelection, but a graceful way to resign before he does Americans any more harm. He most assuredly does not need a contract for another season. We should have a secret team meeting and send him a message. Mr. Obama, find a job you can handle.
Diplomacy with the big stick behind our back is the right path. It wasn't long ago that we had poor intelligence about Iraq and over reacted. Our intelligence about Iran developing weapons may not be accurate. Let's continue on a path without military attacks that keeps all options open. Iran has few international friends: let's keep it that way.
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Read the historical behaviors of the power brokers who engineered the outbreak of WWI. Read the behaviors of the power brokers in Bush's back rooms, focusing from day 1 of his presidency on Iraq. They are very similar. The outcomes were tragic both times and we're continuing to live through the damages caused by the neocons' conviction that invading Iraq was smart. Those same neocons are now at Romney's side and pop up in interviews with the pundits, rattling their sabers and, possibly, interfering with sensitive diplomatic talks. There has been so much acrimony in our political discourse that it's overlooked that the leaders of some of these regimes actually pay attention to our internal stresses. And the politicos who stir the pot are never tasked with solving the problem, the President gets stuck with that.
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