Israel Matzav

Oh my: Obama's former Secretary of Defense blasts Iran deal

Shades of Winston Churchill. Shortly after Chamberlain's infamous appeasement of Hitler in 1938, Churchill told Chamberlain in the House of Lords:

“You were given the choice between war and dishonour.  You chose dishonour and you will have war.”

Although he's not likely to be President of the United States, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has essentially just said the same thing to President Hussein Obama regarding his sellout to a nuclear-armed Iran (Hat Tip: Memeorandum). 

In an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times on Friday, Panetta, a Californian who also served as head of the CIA, says that “the Iran deal provides the United States with an opportunity to define a policy of strength, not ambivalence, in the Middle East.”

Yet President Barack Obama has done the opposite, using the Iran deal as an way to cement Iran as a regional power, in pursuit of what he calls a “new equilibrium.”

Panetta’s argument is for a dramatic shift in Obama’s stance.

He concedes that critics of the Iran deal are right:

In itself, the Iran deal would appear to reward Tehran for defying the world, make funds available for its extremist activities and generally make it stronger militarily and economically. Although the agreement provides for a temporary delay in Iran’s nuclear enrichment capability, it allows Tehran to retain its nuclear infrastructure and obtain sanctions relief. The risk is that Iran could become an even bigger threat to the region.

He adds: “Let’s face it, given the situation in the Middle East, empowering Iran in any way seems like a dangerous gamble.” The deal, he says, is motivated by the fear of war, not sound strategy.

However, the deal could work if Obama would “make clear that the fundamental purpose…is not just to constrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions but to build a strong coalition that will confront both Iran and terrorism in the future.”

But Obama and Kerry are too busy kissing up to the Ayatollah and Hassan Rohani to do anything of the sort. It is likely that there will be another war. This one will be a nuclear war. But Obama is hoping that it will at least take place after he leaves office and his legacy (such as it is) is cemented.

What could go wrong? 

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat, John Kerry, Leon Panetta, nuclear weapons

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:47 PM