Obama’s Failures Necessitate Netanyahu Speech

Think back to how Americans felt in the days after 9/11. We all had a fresh sense of vulnerability.

This is how the six million Jewish citizens of Israel feel – every day.

Matt Mackowiak2

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which funds the terrorist group Hezbollah, poses an existential threat to Israel. How do we know? They regularly say they are committed to “wiping Israel off the face of the map.”

For many years, the Iranian regime has been secretly working to build a nuclear bomb. While they claim it is for “peaceful purposes,” Israel cannot afford to trust such an absurd statement.

Iran has consistently broken their word when it comes to their nuclear program.

They’ve signed at least three treaties (the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) promising not to possess them.

But their clandestine nuclear program continues to develop, with uranium mines, research reactors and uranium enrichment plants, with much of the technical assistance coming from Russia.

Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East and America’s strongest ally in the region, simply cannot afford to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon capability.

To date, all diplomatic efforts have failed, and Israel has retained the right to use military means to defend themselves and protect their citizens.

But futile, U.S.-led diplomatic efforts continue.

On Nov. 24, 2013, in Geneva an interim agreement was reached between Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – the U.S., Russia, China, the U.K. and France – plus Germany), which consisted of a short-term freeze of Iran’s nuclear program for decreased economic sanctions against Iran.

This was sold as a way to buy time for the negotiation for longer-term objectives to occur.

There have been zero significant achievements since then, despite two extensions.

The next deadline is late March, and as recently as Feb. 1, Secretary of State John Kerry said it “would be ‘impossible’ to extend nuclear negotiations with Iran if an agreement on fundamental principles is not reached in the coming weeks,” per The Washington Post.

If the stakes weren’t high enough, Israel’s next election is March 17.

To add to the controversy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on March 3, 10 days before his own reelection.

The protocol appears to have been violated, as the White House was not consulted on Netanyahu’s speech (although they were notified beforehand). It wasn’t consulted because it would have blocked such a speech.

White House relations with Netanyahu have never been worse, and the White House deeply fears that Netanyahu will deliver a passionate speech which argues convincingly against the Iranian nuclear deal.

While the White House has not even committed to bringing the deal to Congress for approval, Congress wants to hear from Netanyahu, and as of now, they will.

The backlash against Netanyahu has been fierce, with the Obama administration floating an unprecedented punishment of recalling the Israeli ambassador in Washington and several Democrat lawmakers announcing they will skip the speech. Even Vice President Joe Biden, who serves as President of the Senate, has scheduled foreign travel during Netanyahu’s visit.

In an ideal world for the Obama White House, Netanyahu wouldn’t give the speech, he would lose reelection and they could cut a weak, last-minute deal with Iran, which Congress wouldn’t have to approve.

But this will not happen.

Prime Minister Netanyahu appears committed to coming to the U.S., and he will find majority support for his views in the Republican-led Congress. His speech will lay out the stakes in moral terms, and there is no more effective spokesman for Israel than Netanyahu.

Should he win reelection, Israel will be more likely to take military action against Iran, with or without a nuclear deal.

In Munich two weeks ago, speaking to NBC News, Kerry said, “Either you make the decisions to prove your program is a peaceful one, or if you’re unable to do that, it may tell a story that none of us want to hear.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu will tell that story on March 3 to a joint session of Congress. It’s a story Americans, and specifically the Obama administration, need to hear.

Also see,

The Texas Legacy of Rick Perry

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