During Benjamin Netanyahu's
speech before Congress today, the prime minister of Israel blatantly attacked President Obama's critical talks with Iran. Peter Baker of the
New York Times reports:
In an implicit challenge to President Obama, Mr. Netanyahu told a joint meeting of Congress that Iran’s “tentacles of terror” were already clutching Israel and that failing to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons “could well threaten the survival of my country.” The deal Mr. Obama seeks will not prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, he said, but “will all but guarantee” it.
This, Netanyahu does in our own country, invited here by our own Republican Congress. It's despicable, as well as
unprecedented. More importantly, Netanyahu's speech is extremely dangerous.
Brought here by Republican House Speaker John Boehner to spite President Obama, Netanyahu continues to push his war mongering agenda, well knowing crucial and sensitive multi-country
negotiations with Iran are taking place.
At the heart of the dispute between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu is a debate over the best way to curb Iran’s nuclear program. The United States, along with European allies, Russia and China, has been negotiating a potential deal in which Iran for at least 10 years would restrict the number of centrifuges it has for enriching uranium and open its program to international inspection.
The goal would be to limit Iran’s capacity so that it would take at least a year to build a nuclear weapon should it choose to violate or break the agreement. In theory, that would give the West enough time to respond. In exchange, international sanctions that have hampered Iran’s economy would be eased.
Given the last six months alone, Netanyahu seems to care little about international diplomacy, or staying
out of war. This is not a good person to be speaking on one of the most influential platforms in the world.
He continues to damage his own country's security and foreign relations, and many believe Netanyahu has
caused an increase in anti-Semitism across the globe while claiming to speak for the 'entire Jewish population'
- clearly he does not. Now it seems Netanyahu, with the help of the GOP/Republicans, seeks to sabotage America's foreign relations as well.
To actively oppose the current Republican/Netanyahu pro-war tactics, visit this Daily Kos page: 'Send a message to your legislators: No war with Iran. Give diplomacy a chance.'
More on this story:
New York Times
Daily Kos diarist, David Harris Gershon has been writing extensively about Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the prime minister's visit to Congress today. Gerhson's articles are highly recommended and can be found here.