While international attention focuses on an ‘Arab Spring,’ the prospect of a nuclear Iran still looms large over the region, argues Joel Starr.
‘Welcome to the earthquake!’ boomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to our congressional delegation last month in Jerusalem. ‘An Arab earthquake,’ he told us, ‘that has been shaking the Middle East politically, affecting all countries in the region except Israel. Why? Because Israel represents the only existing democracy in the Middle East where all of its citizens—Jew and Arab—already have a voice in their society.’
‘But,’ he added, ‘do not be distracted from the single most important pre-existing threat to Israel and the United States: Iran.’
In the midst of what some are calling the Arab Spring (after the 1968 Prague Spring) the United States should heed Netanyahu’s warning, and redouble efforts to contain and defeat the nuclear threat posed by Iran.
But it’s about more than Iran’s nuclear programme. The revolutionary spirit of hope and democracy that is now filling the Arab street must not be hijacked by radical fundamentalist thought fuelled from Tehran. Sustained and unwavering US support of Israel, while refocusing on the threat from Iran, will keep the pressure on this repressive regime, retard its nuclear development, and hopefully stunt ideological and materiel support to anti-democratic forces seeking to end the Arab Spring.
Of course Netanyahu’s warning isn’t new—he was warning about Iran as far back as 1996, when he addressed the US Congress during his first tenure as prime minister. US Sen. James Inhofe, who led our congressional delegation and is a member of both the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, has also been making such warnings on the Senate floor since 2002. But it’s clear that events in the Maghreb demand refocused attention on halting Iran’s nuclear and radical Muslim fundamentalist ambitions.
There’s no time to lose. Netanyahu said that we are in a ‘pivot of history’ where, unless we do something now, Iran will become the first militant Islamic regime to possess nuclear weapons.
Regardless of such warnings, it’s clear that the public at large doesn’t fully realize the nuclear threat posed by Iran to Israel and the United States (or as the Iranian mullahs call us, the ‘Little and Big Satan’). And to date, Arab ‘earthquakes’ haven’t interfered with Iran’s ability to fund terrorist organizations or develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The swift and deadly punishment meted out to Iranian Green Movement revolutionaries after their 2009 presidential election with no international repercussions speaks for itself.
Photo Credit: Daniella Zalcman
View as Single Page
Reddit
Digg
StumbleUpon
Delicious
Technorati
Yahoo
Google
Plurk
Sush
It is about time the united nation bring the state of Israel to justice but we all know that is not possible . It is about time to put a big stop to its occupation and nuclear activities but it is not possible . State of Israel is in breach oh tens of UN resolution not to mention those that has been vetoed by USA, has there been any economic sanction or military confrontation with Israel, but we all know that will not happen. It is about time IAEA to investigate Israel nuclear activities but that will never happen.
It is about time to put a leash on their big mouth specially that war monger Netanyahu.
By the way who gives the right who can have nuclear bomb ? UN ? UN is hopeless as long as we have five permanent member with right oh veto, you might as well call it United 5 nations,.
Every one talking about Iran nuclear bomb what about Israel 200 bombs.
Give us a break and stop sh….. stirring
ed
Oh, please. What Israel knows about the Middle East can fit in an egg-cup, which is why the US, for years deferential towards Israel’s much-vaunted ‘insights’, has made so many mistakes in its policies towards the region. If as Mr. Netanyahu says, the ‘earthquake’ shaking the Middle East hasn’t reached Israel it is because to all intents and purposes, Israel simply isn’t a part of the Middle East. But why on earth would anyone listen to a man who was such a resounding failure as PM the first time around and only seems to be doing better the second time around because the world is too preoccupied with events elsewhere in the region to bother paying him attention.
Finally, can we please stop trotting out the weary fallacy that Israel is the only democracy in the region? Lebanon, for all its many imperfections, is and has been democratic for longer than Israel.
commonsensefp
Congratulations Maj. Starr. I’ve been studying U.S. officials, analysts, pundits, and scholarly commentary, articles and books on the threat of Iran’s nuclear program and how to deal with it for a little over two years. Of all the possible categories, the most fierce competition has overwhelming been for which piece of work provides the worse analysis on the subject. There were lots of worthy contenders for this; which is why I’m very impressed with this piece. After giving it two full two reads I feel confident in saying this can be deemed the new worse piece I’m come across. At the very least it was the worst since the spate of books and commentary from around 2006-2007 by authors like Podhortez and the MEK people. Given that I know someone who has served our country so honorably in the U.S. army and at the Dept. of State could not be capable of such a thorough job of faulty reason, I would suggest you resist pressures from employers in Congress. That said, the line from PM Bibi about US receiving a “bargain basement deal” because we apparently derive some sort of security against Iran from our relationship with Israel is absolutely a priceless case of Irony.
Shyne
Insightful commentary. Of course, everyone concentrates on the hard targets, when it would be so much easier to take out the worker bees that keep the centrifuges spinning ….
bb
Oh boy, here we go again… war rhetoric, the big evil ‘Iran’ who commits
genocide in the name of democracy. Has over 1000 military bases over the world.
Ohhh.. lets all be afraid and start nuke’em them islamic bums.