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| Iran's Suprme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei (Ynet) |
When asked about this development, the President was
expected - at least by the press - to express outrage at Prime Minister Netanyahu’s
apparent disregard of his request to hold off on any military action until
U.S. negotiations with Iran over a nuclear deal had run itscourse.
But that was not the response they got. Instead, the
President simply stated that Iran cannot have a nuclear program. He
acknowledged that while talks are still scheduled, he is pessimistic that a
deal can ever be reached. In essence, he dodged the question - implying, perhaps,
that he no longer has a problem with Israeli military action at this time.
Iran, in turn, responded with its usual bellicose warnings,
threatening that any ‘enemy’ (read Israeli) action would be met with severe
consequences from the Islamic Republic.
What is also becoming increasingly clear is that Iran has no
intention of dismantling its nuclear program. In fact, they have accelerated
their enrichment efforts. Lest anyone on the political left question this,
even one of their most honored international institutions, the United
Nations, is sounding the alarm. as noted in Ynet:
- The
IAEA board has declared Iran in non-compliance for the first time in
nearly 20 years due to undeclared nuclear activity. Tehran has responded
by announcing new enrichment plans, upgrading centrifuges, and issuing
threats of retaliation amid fears of an imminent Israeli strike.
This is not rocket science. As President Trump correctly
stated: Iran cannot have a nuclear program. That means if they cannot be
stopped peacefully, they must be stopped militarily.
Israel has apparently notified the President of its imminent
plans, and he has not objected. He possibly even approved them.
If that’s the case, it doesn’t surprise me. If Israel, the
U.S.’s closest and most powerful ally in the Middle East, can carry out such a
mission, why should the U.S. risk a single American bomber? That said, the
President must know that an Israeli strike will be perceived by Iran as an
American-backed attack. If Israel attacks, they have already promised
retaliation against U.S. military bases in neighboring countries, such as Iraq.
If that happens, I don’t believe the President will take it
lying down. My guess is that the military options against Iran previously laid
out for him will be executed. That likely includes the deployment of
bunker-busting bombs targeting Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities.
One might think I’m happy about this turn of events. But the
truth is, I have mixed emotions.
On one hand, destroying Iran’s nuclear capability is a
necessity. An extremist Islamist nation, whose ultimate religious goal is to
establish a global Islamic order by any means necessary, must never be
allowed to acquire the means to destroy entire nations. They must be stopped.
By any means necessary.
On the other hand, I have no idea how many lives this will cost Israel - and the US. Iran’s religious fanaticism, combined with its highly trained and fiercely devoted Revolutionary Guard, means they will fight back with everything they’ve got. They believe they are fighting for God, and will joyfully scream “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) as they give their lives in pursuit of their ‘noble’ goal. Nor do I know whether US involvement will be protested by Americans - and to what extent.
At this point, I’m not sure what to feel - other than a
great deal of anxiety even as I feel we might not have much of a choice.