Whether wittingly or witlessly, President Barack Obama is pursuing a neocon-charted path on Iran that parallels the one that George W. Bush took to war with Iraq – ratcheting up sanctions against the “enemy,” refusing to tolerate more peaceful options, and swaggering along with the propagandistic tough-guy-ism of the major U.S. news media.
The Obama administration is celebrating its victory in getting the UN Security Council on Wednesday to approve a fourth round of economic sanctions against Iran. Obama also is expected to sign on to even more draconian penalties that should soon sail through Congress.
Here, I thought the U.S. and Israel were ready to go 15 rounds in the Garden (not Eden).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’ insulted Vice President Biden, Middle East envoy George Mitchell, plus Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton warned Netanyahu that the building of more settlements in the West Bank definitely will slow peace efforts. Netanyahu basically said who cares.
And then I read this HAARETZ headline: Despite row, U.S. and Israel sign massive arms deal. What, so they can use them on us? You gotta be kidding. But no, there it is, in the first paragraph: “As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington this week absorbing the full wrath of the Obama administration, the Pentagon and Israel’s defense establishment were in the process of sealing a large arms deal.” Sounds like they’re playing, good cop, bad cop, n’est-ce pas?
“Well, isn’t that special,” Dana Carvey’s “Church Lady” smiles from cyberspace and asks, “Now, who could be behind that? (Beat) Saaatan?” Well, it certainly sounds like the great dissembler. As Haaretz says, “According to the deal, Israel will purchase three new Hercules C-130J airplanes. The deal for the three aircrafts, designed by Lockheed Martin, is worth roughly a quarter of a billion dollars. Each aircraft costs $70 million.” Ugh, I think, worth a quarter of a billion bucks, each plane $70 million? What? Who’s paying for this deal?
