Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Is Obama Going to Tell Israel to Sit on Its Hands (a la Bush 1 During the Gulf War) When He Briefly Opens the Window of Opportunity to Strike Iran?

That's the scuttlebutt, anyway:
Times of Israel – When he visits Israel next month, US President Barack Obama will tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a “window of opportunity” for a military strike on Iran will open in June, according to an Israeli TV report Monday evening.
Obama will come bearing the message that if diplomatic efforts and sanctions don’t bear fruit, Israel should “sit tight” and let Washington take the stage, even if that means remaining on the sidelines during a US military operation, Channel 10 reported. Netanyahu will be asked to refrain from any military action and keep a low profile, avoiding even the mention of a strike, the report said, citing unnamed officials.
In other words, let us handle it (shades of the era of Israelis "taking it for the team" when Saddam hurled his scuds into ha-aretz. Dare the Jews trust Obama to come through for them? Obama, who wants Islamophiles Brennan and Hagel to play key roles in defending the Nation? I say, sure, give this most radical leftists of presidents your trust, but only if, half in love with easeful death, the appeal of trying to earn  Obama's approval--a mugs game if there ever was one--exceeds the instinct for self-preservation. Alas, in Israel today, it's not at all clear which of the two--the desire to earn plaudits from Obama, or the impulse to survive, and to live and fight another day--is the stronger.

I realize it's hardly feasible, but my instinct would be to not allow the U.S. to dictate when said window can and cannot be opened. And, further, to understand that, whatever honeyed malarkey he's purveying at the time, it is evident that this president does not have our back--never has, never will. The solution, therefore, is drastic but likely to be effective: shut the window so that Barack Influenza cannot fly in, and open it only if and when you believe the time is right for Israel to act.

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