ROMNEY WOULD APPROVE AN ISRAELI MILITARY STRIKE AGAINST IRAN, DESTROYING WORLD PEACE FOR NEXT 500 YEARS

Mitt Romney is in Israel and, in a talk that he will give today, he makes it clear that he would approve of any military strike that Israel may decide to carry out against Iran.  According to Romney, Israel has the right to bomb Iran to stop any nuclear "capability."  This means Romney would approve attacking Iran even if it never developed nuclear weapons, yet it had the "capability."

Harriet Sherwood writes in The Guardian:

"In comments echoing Netanyahu's position that a nuclear Iran is the biggest threat to the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Romney will say: "We have seen the horrors of history. We will not stand by. We will not watch them play out again."

"Preventing the Iranian regime developing a nuclear weapons capability "must be our highest national security priority," Romney will say according to excerpts of the speech released in advance. "The security of Israel is in the vital national security interests of the United States.""


And here's the irony—Israel has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has about 100 nuclear warheads, maybe more, while Iran is a signatory to the NPT, and has said that it has no intention of producing a nuclear warhead.

This is madness. Romney cavalierly approves of a strike against Iran for the act of processing uranium, something allowed to all signatories of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty! How many Iranians will the Israelis need to kill in order to stop Iran from developing nuclear power and even a nuclear deterrent?

Imagine Romney as President.  He would allow an illegal war against Iran that kill thousands of Iranians.  The result would cause hatred and killings for at least the next 500 years.

DON'T CAVE TO NETANYAHU ON BOMBING IRAN!

Pres. Barack Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday in Washington.  Netanyahu wants the U.S. government to commit itself to join in an attack against Iran.

Obama, don't cave in to that war monger Netanyahu.

Any attack against Iran will have terrible consequences for relations between the U.S. and Iranian people for the next 500 years and maybe more.  War has never solved any political disagreements between countries.

Rather, the U.S. government should look on Iran with respect and with a sincere desire to foster amicable relations.  American bombs will only kill Iranians and incite hatred and desire for revenge.

Stand up, Pres. Obama, for what is right.  Don't cave to Bibi Netanyahu.

OBAMA, STOP RUSH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN!

When Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu comes to Washington several weeks from now, besides addressing Israel's premier lobbying group in the U.S., AIPAC, he is expected to visit with Pres. Obama and pressure him on attacking Iran.

Mr. Obama, stand up to Netanyahu.  Don't let him bully you into sending American war planes to bomb Iran and kill thousands of Iranians.

OBAMA: RESIST THE ISRAELI PUSH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN

The Guardian carries an editorial today that warns of the terrible outcome if Israel mounts a bombing attack on Iranian nuclear development sites.

When Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, visits Washington in March to attend the national convention of AIPAC, the biggest and most bellicose Jewish organization unreservedly backing Netanyahu's Greater Israel policies, the U.S. president Barack Obama needs to tell him in no uncertain ways that the U.S. government will not participate in such illegal attack.

If Israel attacks Iran, there will be no peace in the Middle East, or in the world, for the next 500 years.  Stop the constant drumbeat telling the Iranian people that "all options are on the table."  That's only a euphemism for all-out war and destruction of the Iranian people and civilization.

STOP THE MARCH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN!

Israel again is clamoring for a strike against Iran.  Pres. Obama must resist these militaristic solutions to Iran's nuclear development.  So far there is no evidence that Iran wants or intends to make nuclear weapons.  Everything is innuendo:  Iran "might" have the capability to develop nuclear weapons, signs point to Iran's "desire" for nuclear weapons, Iranian agents are "suspected" in bombings of autos in Georgia and India, but so far not one shred of hard evidence.  Nevertheless there are some who would like nothing better than to drop bombs on Iran.

Imagine the death toll of Iranians in the case of an attack by Israel.  And imagine the lasting damage to world peace by going along with the present Israeli government in an attack against Iran.  There would be catastrophic conflict for the next 500 years.

CLINTON WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE IMPLIES IRAN IS BUILDING NUCLEAR BOMB

Hillary Clinton implies that Iran and its people are building a nuclear bomb. Where is her evidence? Words without basis have lasting consequences - consider what words about Saddam Hussein's imaginary nuclear arsenal did to the Iraqis.

Here is the BBC report on Clinton's speech in Qatar:

"US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the US would welcome peaceful engagement with Iran but not "while they are building their bomb".

"She spoke at the US-Islamic World forum in Qatar during a trip to rally Arab support for tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

"She said the West was "encouraging Iran to reconsider its dangerous policy decisions.""

Words like Clinton's will be taken by the militarists in Israel as a sign that they can attack and bomb Iran and in their zeal kill thousands of Iranians. Clinton more than implies that Iran is building a bomb. Stop this dangerous rhetoric until someone has proof and credible evidence.

Here is Al Jazeera's report on Clinton's comments:

"Speaking at a US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, Clinton said there was mounting evidence that Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapon.

""The evidence is accumulating that that's exactly what they are trying to do," she said."

Clinton's assertions remind me of the same reckless charges that led up to the disastrous War in Iraq. There is no evidence whatsoever that Iran wants a nuclear weapon. If Israel does attack Iran, I will blame Clinton and the antagonistic foreign policy of the Obama administration which allows Clinton to get away with these assertions.

GOOD NEWS: U.S. AGREES TO DIRECT TALKS WITH IRAN

At last we get some intelligent and sane approach to foreign policy. High-level representatives of the U.S. are to meet with their Iranian counterparts face-to-face. After eight years of a dangerous rejection by George Bush of talks with the Iranians, they are finally about to happen.

David E. Sanger and Mark Landler report in today's The New York Times:

"The Obama administration said Friday that the United States would accept Iran’s offer to meet, fulfilling President Obama’s pledge to hold unconditional talks despite the Iranian government’s insistence that it would not negotiate over the future of its nuclear program.

"The decision to engage directly with Iran would put a senior representative of the Obama administration at the bargaining table, along with emissaries from five other nations, for the first time since Mr. Obama took office."

Talks with the Iranians are far superior to the direction that Bush and Dick Cheney wanted to go: all-out war with Iran, bombing Iranian installations, perhaps even invading and occupying Teheran with hopes of downing the Islamic government.

And American involvement with Iranian leaders around a discussion table do a lot towards stopping Israel and the Netanyahu government from taking unilateral military action against Iran.

Up till now, it has been Russia led by Putin/Medvedev which has cautioned against military action. Witness the rumored secret trip of Netanyahu to Moscow this past Monday, reportedly to demand action against supplying Iran with defensive missile systems. Putin came out and warned against any attack against Iran.

Juan Cole in his Informed Comment has an interesting observation:

"Meanwhile, Russian PM Vladimir Putin warned against any attack on Iran, which he called "unacceptable" and said it would produce an explosion of terrorism. (Note: Russia is very close to Iran in the Caucasus). He even went so far as to reject any tightening of sanctions on Iran. These are the strongest words I've seen from Russia on the issue of an Israeli or American attack on Iran. I take it Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu's recent secret visit to Moscow went badly."

Some of the stalwart Bushian supporters are sure to rant and weep at U.S. talks with Iran. They will say that President Ahmadinejad is a dictator and ruthless in putting down peaceful Iranian protesters. And that the Supreme Leader Khamenei has no concept of individual liberty in a modern state like Iran. This is all no doubt true.

Nevertheless, the U.S. government must deal with whoever is in charge, and that means Ahmadi and Khamenei. The alternative - war - would result in at least 500 years of animosity and hostilities between Iran and the West, resulting in tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent lives lost. This must not be allowed to happen.

WHY SOME ISRAELIS WANT TO BOMB IRAN

What is the mindset of the Israeli leaders currently warning that the Israeli government may order an attack on Iran?

Greg Jaffe writes in today's website of The Washington Post:

"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday stressed engagement and economic sanctions to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, prompting his Israeli counterpart to insist that "no options" should be ruled out if diplomacy fails.

"Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, in a short news conference with Gates, who was visiting here, twice raised the possibility that military action might be needed to stop Iran's nuclear program.

""We clearly believe that no options should be removed from the table," Barak said. "This is our policy. We mean it. We recommend others to take the same position, but we do not dictate to anyone.""

Israel seems intent on bombing Iranian nuclear sites and thus starting a war with Iran. Why not attack Saudi Arabia or Iraq? The majority of Arabs in those countries have nothing but hatred for Israel's policies.

Is it because of Iranian president Ahmadinejad and his foolish comments about the non-existence of the Holocaust? But how can Israel start a war that would kill tens of thousands of people over mere words?

It must be because Iran supports financially Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. The connection between the Iranian government and Hezbollah is easy to explain: Hezbollah's members are Shiites as are a majority of Iranians. Iran's donations to Hezbollah are prompted by sharing a common view of Islam. As far as Hamas, every time Israel attacks Hamas as it did egregiously in the three-week bombardment this past January, Israel prompts its detractors including Iran to pony up more contributions for the suffering Palestinians.

The Israeli government has termed Iran the major support for "terrorists organizations," meaning Iran contributes to Hamas and Hezbollah. But suppose those groups are not "terrorists," but merely insurgents fighting Israel's harsh policies and its refusal to stop building settlements on Palestinian land captured in the 1967 War. What then? Israel would then have to confront its miserable and counterproductive strategy towards repressing Palestinian rights.

VP BIDEN CAUSES TROUBLE BY SAYING ISRAEL HAS RIGHT TO ATTACK IRAN

What in the world is VP Joe Biden up to when he says that the U.S. government will not object if Israel decides to attack Iran? Does he speak for Pres. Barack Obama? Is this the official government position? I hope not.

The BBC reports:

"Asked whether the US would stand in the way if the Israelis decided to launch a military attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, Mr Biden said Israel, like the US, had a right to "determine what is in its interests"."

My gripe is why Biden must come out and say these things. Israel under PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman might take Biden's statements as a green light to bomb Iran. These guys are itching to pull the trigger on Tehran for Ahmadinejad's statements that deny the holocaust and wish that Israel be wiped off the map.

Now the wish that Israel cease existing certainly is a strong unpleasant statement, but it does not justify starting another world war. After all, words are merely words, they are not aggressive actions. Iran has not invaded another country in the last 50 years, nor were Iranians the aggressors in the Iran/Iraq War in the 1980s. Many Iranians shout, "Death to America," but that does not justify an attack by the U.S. on those Iranians. That's what freedom of speech means, you can say almost anything you wish, and not have to fear that the listener will beat you up, or worse, kill you.

So Biden should shut up on this issue and make sure that he is not the catalyst for a destructive new war in the Middle East that will set back world peace for the next 500 years at least.

STOCK MARKET FALLS AFTER THREATS BY ISRAEL AGAINST IRAN

Any guess on why the stock market suffered a broad decline today? There was a report early on this morning that Israel said that Iran was making great progress in developing a nuclear weapon and that would be "unacceptable." Hearing that the stock market tanked.

Here's the story as reported by Mark Drajem and Janine Zacharia for Bloomberg:

"Iran is driving toward a ``major breakthrough'' in its nuclear development effort that poses an ``unacceptable'' danger, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz told a Washington audience today.

"Iran with a nuclear weapon is ``an existential threat,'' Mofaz said at a forum on Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. ``We have to make sure we are prepared for every option. All the options are on the table.'' "

First of all, there is no credible evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons or wants to develop them. To the contrary, Iran's supreme ayatollah has denied more than once that Iran wants nuclear weapons. And why would it want to have them? Lobbing a nuclear bomb at Israel would cause a catastrophic world war and Iran would be devastated. Remember what Hillary Clinton said about her reaction to such an event. It was obscene, that Iran would be annihilated.

Second. Iran has the right, as does every other signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes. India, not a signatory, is being pressed by Bush and the United States, to accept highly sophisticated nuclear technology. But the Bush people are castigating Iran for doing what it is permitted under the NPT.

According to Faiz Shakir of Thinkprogress.org, Seymour Hersh recently described a meeting in Dick Cheney's office not long ago where participants discussed drawing Iran into a fight, by dressing Navy Seals as if Iranian sailors and have them stage a mock attack on a U.S. warship.

Writes Shakir:

"During the journalism conference event, I asked Hersh specifically about this meeting and if he could elaborate on what occurred. Hersh explained that, during the meeting in Cheney’s office, an idea was considered to dress up Navy Seals as Iranians, put them on fake Iranian speedboats, and shoot at them. This idea, intended to provoke an Iran war, was ultimately rejected . . ."

The whole idea of luring Iran into a fight shows the desperation of the Bush people as well as the anti-Iranian war mongers in the Israeli government led by Ehud Olmert.

If the stock market fell today on mere reports of Israeli threats, what would it do if there were an actual attack either by the U.S. or Israel?

But the stock market is the least consequential of all possible effects. There would be enmity between Islam and the West for the next 500 years. The whole Middle East would remain in turmoil and conflagration. If you think that the level of "terrorism" is excessive today, it would be raised to the tenth power, maybe even to the hundredth. Bush's predilection for "endless war" would certainly become reality. And the whole world would suffer the consequences because of the war mongering of Cheney, Bush and Olmert.

ISRAEL PREPARES FOR ATTACK AGAINST IRAN

Instead of telling Israel of its unqualified support, the United States should do everything within its power to prevent Israel from attacking Iran.

The BBC reports that Israel's defense minister has once again said that Israel is thinking of hitting Iran:

"Israel's defence minister has warned of his country's readiness to act against Iran if it feels threatened.
Ehud Barak, speaking in Tel Aviv, said Israel had "proved in the past that it won't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake". "

First of all, there is no hard evidence that Iran is building, or plans to build, facilities to develop nuclear weapons.

Secondly, even if Iran wanted nuclear weapons, why must it be deprived while Israel has in storage some 200 nuclear bombs? Israel never joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so why should the U.S. and other countries approve of its nuclear arsenal while at the same time saying that Iran would never be permitted to have nuclear weapons?

Thirdly, the only country in the history of the world that has ever dropped nuclear bombs on populations is the United States. The U.S. incinerated over 100 thousand in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Then it turns around and tries to appear virtuous and pure in describing Iran as a world threat. What hypocrisy!