“All options are on the table” has been a sort of punctuation in US foreign policy with respect to Iran, a tacit threat of a military strike designed to “reassure” hawks of their potential bellicosity. The weekend signing of an interim deal with Iran should’ve brought that to an end.
But not where US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro was concerned, as in an interview with Israeli TV Channel 2, Shapiro once again talked up the prospect of the US using “the military option” against Iran.
Shapiro’s interview centered on downplaying the significance of the deal, which Israel’s government opposes, and playing up the possibility of the US attacking Iran for some imagined violation.
They ring particularly hollow at this point, however, as the US attacking Iran now would be virtually unthinkable, and Israeli analysts, who by and large support the deal, say they don’t see Iran violating it either. Rather, Shapiro’s comments come off as an insincere attempt to keep Israeli hawks’ hopes up about a war that, let’s face it, isn’t happening.
Goes to show PEACE never had a chance.
In the Iran preliminary six month deal the big winner is definitely Israel. Iran stops many of its programs but nothing was even mentioned about Israel joining the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) or of any need for reduction or destruction of their stockpile of nuclear weapons. Israeli leaders are already discussing the need to increase their fleet of submarines capable or delivering nuclear war heads
23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. 24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Now, if you can miss the prime movers there, you might also believe Saddam's gas moved to Syria, that North Vietnam attacked the Maddox, that Arabs run Hollywood, in Human-Amphibian transmogrification, in the aviational superiority of brooms, …, that certain bridges are 'reeeal cheap,' …., …
I am encouraged by the lack of pro-Israeli hasbara on Antiwar.com anymore. Several years ago, any realistic comment regarding Israel was attacked by hordes of these professional liars followed by a deluge of Islamo-bashing from the same. Now, nothing. What happened to them?
It is great to see the truth beginning to prevail – now if the truth would only start to appear in Congress and in a lot of pulpits on Sunday mornings.
They focused their efforts towards Reddit.
It's useless to argue much about Israel with people who hate Jews. That's what's happened to them. There is reason to criticize some of Israel's policies. But there is no reason to single Israel out, which is what makes it anti-Jewish.
Typical second rate Hasbara BS.
of course reasonable people do not hate jews, so much as the actions of certain jews- israeli regime and its supporters spcifically. just as people hate the action of certain other racist movements in history
I'd take issue with this no-reason-to-single-her-out biz. You can watch congress creatures parroting her, you can watch the rhetoric of her top banana (e.g., "it's 1938 again" and "world must" hurry to burn our witches for us), you can acknowledge her top notch espionage against the US generally –including e.g. the incestuous contracting with NSA, and you can watch as she sells nuclear fantasies (acknowledged to be fantasies by both US and Israeli intel) in her war against a potential technological and political rival. A good general rule is if there's someone other than her being 'singled out,' and you aint especially got 'em dead-to-rights, it's probably her scapegoat.
Very good question. I wish I understood why. S'pect it only appears as dramatic as it has when it's congruent with a prevailing spirit. I also haven't seen a self-proclaimed vet/wounded vet come here to flag-wave; most recently I've seen one here writing thoughtfully.
Denis Praeger within the last hour: ~"if the American people aren't bothered by Iran and Syria…by Hezbolla and whoever…what are they bothered by?" I think a new pattern, if not here, is to wail about cynicism regarding militarism as something like 'moral' exhaustion or degeneracy. You've just lost you're passion, see, you're decadent. We're probably still not to the point where we see that the word 'moral' often means something very different coming from them –Praeger seems to run 80% on general appeal to e.g. gender relations, feel-good self-help/'cognitive therapy' etc. …building/maintaining his base with that branding, then occasionally I hear these insinuations that there's something wrong with you 'cause you're not killing Arabs… If that has any success, it'll be interesting to see how/when that success is expressed. I s'pect people taken in by that don't talk as much as the freaks from the last decade.
More proof that Obama does not have control over messages being sent by his representatives. US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro makes it clear that he takes his direction from Tel Aviv and not Foggy Bottom…and most assuredly not from 1600. Time to replace the current ambassador with a non-Zionist, for a change.
About time Kerry pull that damn pacifier from the lips of Netanyahu and stop reassuring him that military options is still there on the table.
I think (hope) they are just trying to mollify the mad, foaming at the mouth dog, that is Israel, and privately telling Iran to please ignore this tactic since it means nothing.
Without the prospects of a genocide in Iran the Israelis will go into a deep depression. They have not had a bloodbath in several years now and the withdrawal syndrome is
Nah. Look out for provocations in Jerusalem. The Israelis will try to start a Third Intifada so they can whine about 'poor defenseless Israel surrounded by anti-semites who deny the Holocaust (TM) and want to wipe Israel off the Map.'
Look out for false flag operations elsewhere. Naftali Bennett has stated that the world shouldn't be surprised if a dirty nuke goes off in the US or in Europe. Fortunately all of Iran's nuclear material is accounted for and fully monitored, unlike Israel's nuclear weapons.
John F Kerry (the living JFK), could let Nutty Yahoo talk him into war with Iran. Kerry always flip flops. He supported the war in Iraq in the beginning. He opposed the war when the incumbent Democrats voting for the war lost their seats to Republicans. He regrets the Vietnam War but will do what Nutty Yahoo wants.
“All options are on the table” is an illegal threat of force by criminals.
"the deal" being forced on Iran is illegal dictatorial force, illegally limiting Iran's rights under international law, being carried out by isolated criminal states, the US, Britain, France, and Israel.
The rest of the world supports Iran's legal rights to use nuclear energy.
I wonder why the US doesn't? Could it be that it wants to invade Iran for a third time, perhaps kill another million Iranians, and go back to having complete control of Iran's energy resources?
And this illegal use of coercion and force, by the world's biggest violator of nuclear regulations, is considered laudable of Obama. It is a "great achievement" that he successfully used the strongest military force in world history, the US, to limit the rights of some small country who has never attacked anyone but has had over a million of its citizens killed in aggressive invasions by the US.