Last week envoys from the U.S. and UK went to Israel to try to convince the Israelis not to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. I have a bad feeling that Israel will bomb Iran this year, probably in the next few months before the U.S. election. The Obama administration has said that all options are on the table, including military action. But, unlike his Republican opponents, Obama will not attack. I think bombing Iran to try to stop its nuclear weapons program will not be good in both the short and long term. But Israel does not see this and it will try to drag Obama into it during this election year, knowing that to not stick with Israel will cost him politically.
Most experts believe that even a successful bombing will only delay Iran from getting the bomb for a couple of years. The thing is you can't bomb away all the centrifuges. As long as the knowledge of how to do it is in the brain of scientists, Iran will eventually build a weapon. That is why there maybe more assassination attempts on Iranian scientists and then retaliations to Israelis by Iran. I can understand the Israelis want to delay Iran as long as possible since they are Iran's most likely target. But I don't see why Israel's worry should dictate our policy which in the long term will certainly failed. If we help Israel or even approve its action, our position of being an honest broker in the Middle East will deteriorate tremendously. Also an attack will raise nationalism in Iran and I think will allow the unpopular regime to stay in power much longer in the future. It will only serve to make Iran much more determined to get the bomb.
What about the short term? Israel will face artillery strikes from Hamas and Hezbollah for sure. Iran can't really shut down the oil lanes but will be forced to try and thus cause energy prices to skyrocket. This in turn will stop our economic recovery and perhaps lead to world economic collapse. More terrorists attacks against U.S. and Israel will certainly occur. Certainly Israel will be more isolated than ever after such an attack. I think Obama should, in no uncertain term, tell Israel that we would not support such an attack. Unfortunately, I don't think Israel will listen because it knows that once Obama is reelected, he certainly will not back an attack. So Israel will likely force his hand, probably as soon as the Republican nominee is known.
Monday, February 27, 2012
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First off, does this website look different to you? It's now all white and the page is pushed all the way to the left instead of the right.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I realize that our relationship with Israel is very important. However, I personally think that it gets in the way sometimes in the bigger picture. Ideally, I want peace in the region and want all people to prosper.
I don't think this can happen if Israel continues to play bully. I know what I say is controversial, but I have not seen the current administration in Israel try for any peace.
This is not to say that the Iranians are faultless here. They've been a pain in the ass, frankly, but what are the options here? We don't want them to develop nuclear weapons. So how do you stop them from doing it? I don't know.
I don't think that negotiating with them will do anything, because they could always develop them without anyone knowing. Now, I am wondering how they are going to test these weapons in the first place. If I were Iran, I would just pretend to have them and negotiate some kind of treaty.
As far as things go here, Romney has said all along that Israel is our ally and he would back whatever Israel wants. This to me, is a dangerous statement to make, because we need to take a stance of peace in the region. We've been looked on as a white devil in this region too long and we have the ability to change perceptions.
I believe Obama is doing this, but it's been a process slowed by things like the burning of the Koran, accidentally or not.
Now to more important things: Have you seen the contestant list for Dancing with the Stars?
Even though it's a show I do not watch, I just want to put early money on William Levy. I have no idea who this guy is, but he has Cheryl Burke as his partner and she always seems to get her partners competitive.
I originally was going to pick Donald Driver, but his partner is that girl Peta (not to be confused with the animal rights PETA) and I don't think she's a very good coach.
My dark horse, no pun intended, is Jaleel White, who will have Kym Johnston as his partner.
If I were actually watching, I would root for the beautiful Maria Menounos. She has Derek Hough as her partner, so she's an immediate contender.
One last thing, I am disappointed that there are no Asians on the show this season. If there were, I would feel compelled to watch the show!
-LBOAYM
The blog looks the same to me although when I do the comment, it looks different. I don't know why it is changed.
ReplyDeleteIsrael deserves our support because of what the Jews went through during the Holocaust and because Israel is only democracy in the Middle East. But its claim to be a true democracy is on shaky grounds. Certainly it is not more secular than Turkey. There is a vast difference between the life of a Muslim Israel citizen and Jewish citizen. There is even the difference between the ultra-orthodox and reform Jews. For example, the ultra-orthodox Jews do not have to serve in the military as is the case of all other males. And of course these are the same people who are most hawkish, claiming that all of Palestine belong to the Jews, not just where Israel was when the country was founded. Add to the land grab of the settlers with the blessing of the government and we should not support Israel unconditionally. I always said that we should ensure the survival of Israel but we have to say no when our interests do no intersect.
Israel also said today that it will not notify the U.S. ahead of time if it decides to attack Iran. This supposedly take the U.S. off the hook of other countries thinking that the U.S. helped in the attack. Of course, everybody will think that way anyway. This seems to me to be an attempt to make Obama look weak as he will not be consulted. I am sure the Republicans will use that against him.
I think we should put pressure on Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to speak out against Iran's nuclear ambitions. The truth is these countries also fear Iran because it is Shiite majority whereas SA and others are Sunni majority. But these countries are all too willing to let the U.S. and Israel do the dirty work and when Israel does attack, they won't hold back the Muslim anger. This is unacceptable and Obama should call them out on it.
How did you know so much about DWTS anyway? I had no idea that the contestants were announced until I saw it on your comment today. CNN didn't even have the partners list. I think you must be secretly practicing dancing or else how do you know so much?
Without knowing who his partner is I predict Jack Wagner to be in the top 3. He was a singer and popular soap opera star and recently was on cable advertising for songs of the 80's. I think a lot of women in their 40's or 50's will vote for him if he is half way decent. So without seeing how he dance, he is my pick.
Oh don't confuse my knowledge of DWTS with me knowing anything about the show! I must reiterate that I DO NOT watch the show, though I feel I must keep track with it, since I know that you are a big fan of ballroom dancing and have been known to teach others the finer details of ballroom.
ReplyDeleteJust like politics, I don't know anything, but for the sake of this blog, I feel I must keep up with current events just to keep a dialogue going here!
This brings to up a question that I figure you would be able to answer.
Let's say that I live in a county or even a state that has voted Republican for a long time and by all accounts will vote Republican.
If I wanted to vote for a Democrat in a presidential election, would my vote actually not count? I'm unsure of how the votes are counted in a presidential election.
All I know is that the popular vote doesn't count, right?
-LBOAYM
I detect sarcasm here. I think you have complained about the electoral college before. I agree it is a dumb way to elect a president. You should be thankful that you live in a state that in most elections is a battleground state. So your vote will count. I live in California where if the Democrats nominate Charles Manson, he would win. The same is true for Republicans in most southern states. Now what I don't understand is how did Romney and Santorum ended up with the same number of delegates yesterday even though Romney won the popular vote? Then how did it changed today to 16-14?
ReplyDeleteWhere was Mitt's headquarter in Novi on Tuesday? Did it caused traffic problems in my old neighborhood?
Obama is being accused of being weak by apologizing to the Afghans for the burning of the Koran. I don't get the criticism. We Americans apologize for the smallest of things. We accidentally bump into people in a crowded room and we say excuse me. The same if we burp, which a natural physiological function that shouldn't need to be apologized for. Yet it is considered bad manners if we don't apologize for these simple actions. Now you burn someone else's holy book and you don't apologize? It makes no sense to me. Plus it is done for the safety of our soldiers which is the most important concern here. Didn't they remember that Bush apologized to China for the spy plane incident to get the airmen back? How stupid and hypocritical are these Republicans?