I posted the main story last for a reason. This new nuclear site is a game changer in my opinion. It only accelerates and agitates the process, and time is not on our side here.
And then there was the speech. Netanyahu’s speech at the UN was the exact opposite of Gaddafy’s, meaning it was compelling and heart wrenching, and it was also an indicator of what could be next for Israel. Israel has made clear, time and time again, that Iran with a nuclear bomb is a threat to the existence of Israel and unacceptable.
That says to me that they plan on eventually attacking Iran and destroying their ability to manufacture a nuclear bomb. Israel did this with Iraq and Syria, so logic being, Iran is next. When this happens is anyone’s guess. Either way, Israel will not allow any threats to it’s existence, and will act accordingly.
The question I have with this, is what would the US reaction be if Israel tries to fly over Iraq to attack Iran? Or what would be the military reaction of Iran and how would that impact our mission in Iraq or Afghanistan? Interesting and scary stuff. –Matt
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At U.N., Iranian’s Speech Draws Angry Words From Netanyahu
By Colum LynchWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, September 25, 2009
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 — Brandishing Nazi orders for the extermination of Jews, Israel’s prime minister blasted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday for continuing to deny that the Holocaust occurred, and he rebuked U.N. delegates who had listened politely to the Iranian leader’s speech on Wednesday, demanding, “Have you no shame?”
“Here’s a copy of the minutes of the meeting of senior Nazi officials instructing the Nazi government exactly how to carry out the extermination of the Jewish people,” Binyamin Netanyahu said in a General Assembly speech that questioned the morality of engaging the Iranian leader. “Is this protocol a lie?”
Ahmadinejad accused Israel on Wednesday of manipulating the U.S. and European governments in the pursuit of “racist ambitions.” The remark prompted walkouts by the United States and other European and Latin American delegations.
But the Iranian leader also signaled during an interview earlier in the day with The Washington Post and Newsweek that he is willing to step up nuclear cooperation, including allowing Iranian nuclear experts to meet with U.S. and other Western scientists.
Netanyahu appealed to the U.N. delegates to stand up to Iran, saying that its government could not be trusted and that its nuclear program posed the greatest threat to democratic governments.
“Will the international community stop the terrorist regime of Iran from developing atomic weapons?” he said. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, the jury is still out on the U.N., and recent signs are not encouraging.”
Also Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Ch?vez told the General Assembly how moved he was by President Obama’s assertion that no country should dominate another, but he expressed frustration that the new U.S. leader has not acted on that view more firmly.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Lift the savage, murderous embargo” on Cuba, he said. “Are there two Obamas? I would like to believe the Obama I listened to yesterday.”
Speaking at the United Nations three years ago, Chavez called President George W. Bush a racist, imperialist devil who smelled of sulfur.
“It doesn’t smell of sulfur here anymore. It smells of hope,” he said Thursday. “Obama, come over to the socialist side! Join the axis of evil, and we’ll build an economy at the service of the people.”
Story here.
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Clinton calls for IAEA probe of Iran nuclear site
Fri Sep 25, 2009
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The International Atomic Energy Agency must investigate Iran’s newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant and Tehran must take immediate steps to show its program is peaceful, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.
“This is now a clear challenge to the international community,” Clinton told reporters in New York after Iran told the IAEA it had a second uranium enrichment plant under construction. The disclosure by Iran came just as six world powers and Iran prepare for rare talks on October 1.
“This facility sharpens our sense of urgency and underscores Iran’s absolute need to engage seriously with us on October 1 and take immediate steps to demonstrate the exclusively peaceful nature of their nuclear program,” she said after a meeting with Belgium’s foreign minister.
Story here
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Iran Nuclear Site Could Pose Test to U.S., Israel Ties
The disclosure of a second Iranian nuclear site raises questions about whether President Obama has enough influence to prevent an Israeli military strike.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Iran’s disclosure that it has been building a secret nuclear site ratchets up already simmering tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel, raising questions about whether President Obama retains enough influence to prevent Israel from launching a preemptive military strike should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government turn to its last resort.
Polls show Obama’s popularity is waning in Israel, where some say his administration is too conciliatory toward the Palestinians. He also took a beating in the Israeli press for his speech at the U.N. on Wednesday, when he warned that “America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements,” though Israeli officials continued to publicly praise him for his efforts at restarting peace talks.
The president made clear Friday that he remains committed to “serious, meaningful engagement with Iran” to deal with the nuclear issue through upcoming talks among Iran, Germany and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
But Israel views Iran as the world’s greatest threat and continues to keep a military option on the table. If push comes to air strike, can Obama step in the middle?
Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the U.S. president is on weak ground as the revelation over the nuclear site makes an Israeli strike appear more likely.
“He will strongly urge Israel against military action, but Israel will do whatever is in the best interest of Israeli security, and I don’t think that Barack Obama will have the political capital to prevent an Israeli strike if Israel chooses to go down that route,” Gardiner said.
Dan Gillerman, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told FOX News Friday that Israel is prepared to take military action if sanctions don’t work — and suggested that it was prepared to act alone.
“Israel is always close to a strike, because Israel cannot afford to be asleep,” Gillerman said. “Taking words from your president, yes we can. And if absolutely necessary, and if all other options are exhausted, yes we will. Israel cannot live with a nuclear Iran.”
He said a strike could have grave consequences and would not be clear-cut, since some facilities are near densely populated areas. But he said the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran would be worse than the consequences of Israeli military action.
The Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., had no comment on the newly disclosed Iranian nuclear site.
A U.S. official confirmed to FOX News that Washington has known about the second Iranian nuclear facility since the Bush administration but wanted to be certain of the intelligence on the facility before revealing its existence. Washington wanted a “slam dunk case,” the official said.
There had been no plans to go public with the information this week, in the middle of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York City. But Iran revealed the existence of its covert uranium enrichment site to the International Atomic Energy Agency after it discovered the project’s secrecy had been breached by Western intelligence.
Officials said the “heavily protected, heavily disguised” facility was not operational, but with about 3,000 centrifuges was a “few months away” from going live.
After Iran told the IAEA, Obama — along with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy — demanded Iran allow international weapons monitors to inspect the facility.
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remained defiant. In an interview Friday with Time magazine, he warned the United States not to pressure Iran on the issue.
“This does not mean we must inform Mr. Obama’s administration of every facility that we have,” he told Time. He warned that pressing the issue “simply adds to the list of issues to which the United States owes the Iranian nation an apology over. Rest assured that this will be the case. We do everything transparently.”
It’s unclear how Israel’s government will react to the disclosure, as well as Ahmadinejad’s unrepentant response.
Netanyahu used his address at the United Nations Thursday to assail Ahmadinejad for his denial of the Holocaust, as well as the United Nations for giving him a platform to speak.
Shortly before he was sworn in, the Israeli prime minister told The Atlantic that Obama must prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or Israel may have to resort to military force.
But he also indicated that economic sanctions could work.
For instance, Gardiner said, a complete European freeze on investment in Iran would have a “devastating impact” on its economy.
Jim Walsh, an international security analyst at MIT, said that in a “bizarre way” the disclosure of the nuclear site could actually temper Israel.
He said it could give Israel confidence that Western intelligence is strong enough to identify such covert facilities, and could give the West a strong enough negotiating position to extract meaningful concessions from Iran.
“One would hope they’ll realize that the jig is up, so to speak,” he said. “Cooler heads are going to prevail on this, presumably.”
Walsh said that despite strained relations between the U.S. and Israel currently, Israel will have to weigh its long-term relationship with the United States in pushing ahead with a military strike without U.S. consent. He suggested that a desire to retain that relationship would trump any itch to pull the trigger on a military strike.
Story here