Effect of Iran/Israel/US on Election 2012

[Proud Liberal Dem]

Foreign policy is, of course, a legitimate topic of debate in Presidential elections, however, I am VERY concerned about the way the "debate" over what to do in regards to Iran is unfolding and I am concerned about the prospect that decisions might be made in regards to Iran on the basis of political calculations made by Israeli leaders (and our own) and NOT what is really best for the country and, more importantly, the world.

I believe that President Obama is a serious, educated, and well-informed person and it's clear to me that he is not itching for war with Iran nor do I really think he's going to be goaded into it by Netanyahu nor his Republican opponents. However, it greatly concerns me that the Republicans' politicking over Iran and even working behind-the-scenes with Netanyahu to pressure President Obama into a military conflict with Iran runs a real risk of destabilizing a tense situation that could, realistically, end up bring on military conflict in the end that should not even be necessary even if it's not us that pushes the button.

I wholeheartedly agree with President Obama that there has been far too much "loose talk" about war with Iran and Republicans IMHO need to sit down and STFU and let President Obama manage the situation how he sees fit while he is in office and stop attempting to undermine him. Although I do not want to see things come to military conflict nor do I believe that it is what President Obama wants, I have every confidence that if military action ends up being necessary, President Obama will make the responsible decision but, in the meantime, the interests of world peace and stability are NOT going to be served by a bunch of politicians here and in Israel running around urging President Obama to hurry up and pull the trigger before all other avenues have been exhausted and all other considerations taken into account.

Foreign policy decisions are NOT like domestic policy decisions like "Obamacare" that can just be kicked around and they should not be treated so carelessly (recklessly) by Republicans IMHO. This is not even to mention the fact that, for all of their bluster, a Republican President, if elected in November, is going to find it harder than they might think to muster the support of the American public, other countries, and, most importantly, the military to actually make good on their rhetoric and then what?

My ultimate worry is, of course, that they will manage to fool a lot of people into believing that their very survival (or their patriotism, if Jewish), depends on defeating President Obama and electing somebody who acts like their very first official act in office will be to launch a war with Iran.

[jaxx]

I just heard this being discussed on tv, the people pushing for war. The guy said that the majority of Americans and Israelis do not want war....
let's hope the McCain's and the Grahams and the 4 candidates stay the hell out of the mess.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

(03-05-2012 11:22 AM)jaxx Wrote:  I just heard this being discussed on tv, the people pushing for war. The guy said that the majority of Americans and Israelis do not want war....
let's hope the McCain's and the Grahams and the 4 candidates stay the hell out of the mess.

Yes, let's hope. I was really concerned to hear something on TPM a week or two ago about Lieberman/Graham trying to push some kind of legislation that would tie the President's hands on diplomacy. I don't know if that's still on the table or not but that would be extremely discomfiting IMHO.

[pappy]

I think that a largely ignored player in this international drama is Saudi Arabia.

If Israel and the US are the great and little Satan in Iran's eyes then Saudi Arabia rounds out their "Axis of Evil".

The Saudi's have much to fear from a nuclear Iran and, unless I am completely wrong, the Obama administration is working behind the scenes to use that fear in some unexpected way to take down Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. While all eyes are on the US and Israel the Saudi's may be up to some covert shenanigans of their own. Obviously they cannot be seen as supporting Israel but with their influence in the Middle East and their capabilities (no doubt supported by the US) they can be an effective ally against the Iranian hardliners.

[jaxx]

Monday, March 5, 2012
Tackling the myths about Iran

I will admit that for folks like you and me it can be hard to know much for sure about what is happening in Iran. The reasons are twofold: First of all, the Iranian government abhors sunshine. And secondly, the media in this country is infused with propaganda about that country and so its hard to sift through what's accurate and what's not.

<..> When we hear the GOP presidential candidates talk about Iran, they only refer to the crazed rantings of President Ahmadinejad while completely ignoring that he can do nothing without the blessing of Supreme Leader Khamenei.

Apparently these elections have been viewed as a contest between these two men and Ahmadinejad has been roundly defeated. In addition, he is now a lame duck in that he is constitutionally barred from running for a third term.

<..> Regardless of how you feel about the Obama administration, we cannot cede this issue to the neo-cons and their drumbeats for war and/or our own complacency about nuclear proliferation.

http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2012...-iran.html

Interesting article.

[NJMaverick]

that wants to see right wing nuts running our Country as well.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/new...s-1.416491

[Proud Liberal Dem]

(03-05-2012 11:44 AM)NJMaverick Wrote:  that wants to see right wing nuts running our Country as well.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/new...s-1.416491

I didn't explicitly put it in my OP but I'm really concerned about people like him trying to influence our political process in this way. We should all be really worried about such machinations, particularly when a major US political party not only sanctions it but actively encourages it. IMHO we should be Israel's ally/partner, NOT puppet.