Bridging the U.S.-Israeli Gap On Iran

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Washington Post Opinions- By Editorial Board, Published: September 7 ~ THE POINTLESS kerfuffle in Charlotte over whether the Democratic Party platform would contain a reference to Jerusalem obscured the fact that the Obama administration and the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu continue to have a real and dangerous difference of opinion. The issue is not the location of Israelโ€™s capital โ€” President Obamaโ€™s position is identical to those of previous Democratic and Republican presidents โ€” but the question of what to do about Iranโ€™s nuclear program.

That there are differences between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu over the urgency of considering military action against Iran has been evident for some time. The White House has been saying that, despite Tehranโ€™s progress in enriching uranium and refusal to bargain seriously with an international coalition, there remains โ€œtime and space for diplomacy,โ€ a position weโ€™re inclined to agree with. Israel, suggesting that Iran is approaching a โ€œzone of immunityโ€ in which its program would be nearly invulnerable to attack, has been signaling that it could act unilaterally in the coming months.

The acuteness of the differences was reflected in comments this week by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House intelligence committee, who said he witnessed โ€œa very sharp exchangeโ€ between Mr. Netanyahu and Dan Shapiro, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, during a Aug.โ€‰24 meeting. โ€œIt was very, very clear that the Israelis had lost their patience with the administration,โ€ Mr. Rogers said in a radio interview. Though Mr. Shapiro and Israeli officials denied that an argument had occurred, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak repeated Thursday that โ€œthe clock is ticking at a different paceโ€ for the United States and for Israel in judging the Iranian threat.

Many Israeli analysts believe Mr. Netanyahu will probably hold off on military action for now because of strong domestic opposition as well as pressure from Washington. But the disagreement is still damaging. It conveys to Iran that there is no need to worry about a war; certainly, the countryโ€™s leaders have been behaving as if they feel no pressure to compromise. It also creates the bizarre spectacle of senior U.S. military and diplomatic officials focusing their time and attention on trying to prevent an Israeli attack rather than an Iranian bomb.

In the past week Mr. Netanyahu has hinted at how the U.S.-Israeli difference could be overcome: through a clear public statement by Mr. Obama of a willingness to take military action if Iran crosses certain โ€œred linesโ€ in its nuclear program. Israel has been seeking such a declaration for some time, but Mr. Obama has limited himself to saying that his policy is to prevent Iran from obtaining a weapon and that โ€œall options are on the table.โ€

Certainly there would be dangers to a more explicit presidential statement, including that the United States would start down a slippery slope toward war. But if Mr. Obama really is determined to take military action if Iran takes decisive steps toward producing a bomb, such as enriching uranium to bomb-grade levels or expelling inspectors, he would be wise to say so publicly. Doing so would improve relations with Mr. Netanyahu and deter unilateral Israeli action โ€” and it might well convince Iran that the time has come to compromise.

The Thinking Conservative
The Thinking Conservativehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/
The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. We do this by sharing conservative opinions on all kinds of subjects, from all types of people, and all kinds of media, in a way that will challenge our perceptions and help us to make educated choices.

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