The Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens rips President Obama's pre-emptive criticism of the 'inevitable critics' of his deal with Iran.
Yes, it’s worse. Much worse.
Yes, because what the president calls “this verifiable deal”
fails the first test of verification—mutual agreement and
clarity as to what, exactly, is in it.
Take sanctions. Iran insists all
sanctions—economic as well as nuclear—will be “immediately
revoked” and that “the P5+1 member countries are committed to
restraining from imposing new nuclear-related sanctions.” But
the Obama administration claims Iran will only get relief “if
it verifiably abides by its commitments.” The administration
adds that “the architecture of U.S. nuclear-related sanctions
on Iran will be retained for much of the duration of the
deal.”
So who is lying? Or are we dealing with a case of Mutually
Assured Obfuscation?
Yes, too, because the deal fails the second test of
verification: It can’t be verified.
Here again there are significant discrepancies between the
U.S. and the Iranian versions of the deal. The administration
claims “Iran has agreed to implement the Additional Protocol,”
a reference to an addendum to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty that permits intrusive inspections. But Tehran merely
promises to implement the protocol “on a voluntary and
temporary basis,” pending eventual ratification by its
parliament, inshallah.
We’ve seen this movie before. Iran agreed to implement the
Additional Protocol in 2003, only to renounce it in early
2006, after stonewalling weapons inspectors.
But even the Protocol is inadequate, since it doesn’t permit
no-notice, “anytime, anywhere” inspections. “A verifiable
agreement would require unfettered access to all key
facilities, personnel, documentation, and other information
being sought,” notes Olli Heinonen, a former top nuclear
inspector for the International Atomic Energy Agency. The
Protocol, he adds, “does not fully oblige this.”
Yes, as well, because Mr. Obama’s caveat, “if fully
implemented,” is catnip to the rulers of Iran. What happens if
Iran complies with every aspect of the accord, save one—for
instance, if it starts fielding more advanced centrifuges?
“The Iranian regime cheats incrementally, not egregiously,
even though the sum total of its incremental cheating is
egregious,” says Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense
of Democracies. Does anyone think Mr. Obama will walk away
from his deal at the first instance of Iranian noncompliance?
This is a president who failed to inform Congress of Russia’s
suspected violations of a 1987 nuclear arms-control treaty so
he could get his own treaty ratified by the Senate in 2010.
Yes, furthermore, because a deal that is “backed by the
world’s major powers,” as Mr. Obama says, is also beholden to
those powers.
...
So let me rephrase the president’s question: Is targeted
military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities—with all the
unforeseen consequences that might entail—a better option than
a grimly foreseeable future of a nuclear Iran, threatening its
neighbors, and a proliferated Middle East, threatening the
world?
I know my answer. What’s yours?
Targeted military action against Iran's nuclear facilities is most definitely a better option than a nuclear Iran.
Report: Israeli-made Hermes drone shot down over Baghdad
For the third time in a week, there is a report that an Israeli-made drone has been shot down. This time, the report comes out of Lebanon, the drone is a Hermes and the claim is that it was shot down over Baghdad.
According to a report on the Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV channel, considered a mouthpiece for the Hezbollah terror group, an Israeli drone exploded in mid-air
over Baghdad. The report claims that the drone was another Hermes-class
craft, the same type of drone that Iran claims fell over its airspace
earlier this week.
The report said that Iraqi army officials had gathered up what was
left of the drone, but were not commenting on the incident at this time.
A reporter on the ground in Baghdad said that staff from the US Embassy in Baghdad rushed to the scene of the crash in order to assess the situation.
On Monday, Iran claimed to have downed an Israeli drone as well. “A
spy drone of the Zionist regime (Israel) was brought down by a
missile... This stealth drone was trying to approach the Natanz nuclear
zone," the corps said in a statement on its official website
sepahnews.com. “This act demonstrates a new adventurism by
the Zionist regime... The Revolutionary Guard and the other armed forces
reserve the right to respond to this act," the statement added.
Iranian officials said that the drone was an Israeli-made "Hermes"
drone with a maximum flight range of 1,600 km (994 miles) and a 800-km
(500 mile) combat radius. The UAV's wings have a 5.5 meter (about 18
feet) wingspan, he added, and two high-quality cameras were mounted on
each end to capture precise images. The Al Mayadeen report said that the drone that fell over Baghdad was of the same type.
The drone that was shot down over Natanz is widely believed to belong to Azerbaijan. Hamas also claimed to have shot down an Israeli drone last week, but has yet to provide any evidence. The government and the IDF have had no comment about any of the drones supposedly shot down.
Israel launched attacks against its own embassies in New Dehli and Tbilisi in order to "tarnish Iran's friendly ties with the host countries," Iran said on Monday, after denying Israeli accusations that Tehran and its ally in Hezbollah were involved in the plots.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that "Israel perpetrated the terror actions to launch psychological warfare against Iran," according to the state Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
He said that such actions were in Israel's "innate nature," adding that Iran condemns terrorism in the strongest terms.
Two comments: We don't try to kill our own people to gain publicity or sympathy. And if we had tried, we would not have missed.
Ban Ki-Moon endorses Iranian conference on terrorism that blamed US, Britain and Israel
United Nations Watch's Hillel Neuer has sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon demanding that the Secretary General withdraw his support from an 'anti-terrorism' conference that took place in Iran on Saturday and Sunday. The conference blamed terrorism on the United States, Britain and Israel.
Organized by the Iranian government, the conference is entitled “International Conference on Global Fight Against Terrorism.” It began today and ends tomorrow. The opening message by Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei attacked “the United States, Britain and some Western governments, with a black record in terrorist behaviors,” “satanic world powers,” and “terrorist organizations such as the Zionism International Agency.” (http://www.icterrorism.com/en/?news=163)
The Iranian Supreme Leader further says on the conference website that “the creation and growth of the wild and blind terrorism is basically the result of the wicked policy of America and England,” and that “it is a duty for all Muslims to confront and fight this inauspicious offspring which is the clear example of corruption on earth and fighting with God.” (http://www.icterrorism.com/en/?page=200)
Inflammatory cartoons abound on the conference website. Several depict the United States as a purveyor of terrorism (http://www.icterrorism.com/en/?album=77). One image portrays innocent Middle Easterners as the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Another shows the Statue of Liberty, with Lady Liberty holding a stick of dynamite in her hand. Still another shows an Israeli soldier as a devil with horns.
If this were not enough, the conference openly defied the United Nations by prominently hosting Sudanese President Al-Bashir, against whom there is an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on the charge of genocide against the people of Darfur.
As you know, this conference is the height of cynicism. Iran is a leading sponsor of terrorism, arming and training terrorist proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Iran has been accused of sponsoring terrorist attacks in Iraq, and of now aiding the Syrian regime in the bloody repression of its own population. Iran has been condemned repeatedly by the UN General Assembly for severely violating the human rights of its own citizens, and is under UN sanctions for violating international law in its covert pursuit of a nuclear bomb. Last September, you rightly condemned Iranian President Ahmadinejad when he used the UN podium to accuse the US of perpetrating the 9/11 terror attacks.
In light of the above, we were alarmed to see that this Iranian propaganda vehicle not only features the UN logo on the home page of its website, implying UN sponsorship, but also appears to have received a special message from you that was read out in person by a UN representative in Tehran. A summary appears on the conference website under your photo (http://www.icterrorism.com/en/?news=216). According to the Mehr News agency, “United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sent a message to the conference, which was read out by UN representative Muhammad Rafiuddin Shah." The report goes on to say that "Ban thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran for organizing the conference."
Let's go to the videotape.
Either there is even more wrong at the UN than we thought or someone in the Secretary General's office really screwed up. Take your pick.
By the way, all of the cartoons that Neuer describes in his letter may be found here.
Haaretz reports that Holocaust Remembrance Day is being observed in Tehran on Thursday, "despite... Ahmadinejad's public denial of the Holocaust's existence."
A main memorial event will take place Thursday at the UN New York headquarters, and information centers in 63 different UN-member countries have received both written materials and documentaries on the Holocaust, surprisingly including centers in Tehran, Cairo and Beirut.
In addition to receiving the multimedia materials, information center heads have undergone a special UN sponsored course in Berlin both to educate them in Holocaust history, as well as provide training in organizing their own local Holocaust memorial events.
Kimberly Mann, head of the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Program, told Haaretz on Tuesday that Tehran, Cairo and Beirut are in fact amongst the major cities who received Holocaust education texts and films.
But if you think that means anything has changed in Iran's attitude toward the Holocaust... think again.
In advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on January 27, several Iranian websites published articles denying the Holocaust. The website of the Iranian "Adolf Hitler Research Society" (http://ns.gigfa.com/) recently posted an undated article titled "A Reassessment of the Holocaust," claiming that photos documenting the Holocaust were doctored and forged by the Jews. Also, on January 26, 2011, the Iranian semi-official news agency Mehr published the first in a series of articles by French Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson, titled "Holocaust: The Historic Fraud."
The article on the website of the Iranian "Adolf Hitler Research Society" (http://ns.gigfa.com/) stated that Israel and the West are disseminating lies and forgeries regarding World War II and the Nazis' extermination of Jews. To prove its assertions, the website presents what it claims are doctored photographs, accompanied by detailed explanations.
The society's main website contains various pages devoted to Nazism, Hitler's life, the history of the Third Reich, and other topics. It also links to the society's other websites, including a news website (/www.hitlernews.com) and an online bookstore (www.hitlertruth.com); the latter claims that it is against racism and is historical, not political, in nature.[1]
Iran claims that it shot down two Western spy planes in the Persian Gulf. As usual, it's a lie.
Iran shot down two "western drone reconnaissance" aircraft in the Persian Gulf, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander was quoted as saying by the semi-official FARS News Agency on Sunday.
"Many spy planes and advanced planes of our enemies have been shot down... We have also shot down two spy planes in the Persian Gulf," said Amir Ali Hajizadeh. "But it is the first time we are announcing it."
The US Navy's 5th Fleet, which is based in the Gulf, said it has no reports of aircraft downed "recently."
Hajizadeh did not specify when the aircraft were shot down.
The Revolutionary Guard commander said that after shooting down the planes Iran had copied them and produced them in mass numbers through "reverse engineering."
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
