DIRTY DANCING WITH IRAN

 

John Boehner, as speaker of the House of Representatives, holds a very important position in the hierarchy of American politics.  Should anything happen to the president, and the vice president is unable to take over, it’s the speaker of the house who is next in line.  The irony of that succession should be apparent to all, for if there are any two political actors more at odds with one another in government these days, its Mr. Boehner and the president.  That’s, in part, what makes Mr. Boehner’s invitation to the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to address congress March 3 so exacerbating for the president.  The president and the prime minister really do not see eye to eye, and the president claims that the invitation to the Israeli prime minister was made without consulting the White a House, a breach of protocol, if only unwritten.  On top of that, some in Israel believe that Mr. Netanyahu is using the address to congress to bolster his own popularity back home just prior to national elections.  And so the whole thing is sort of messy—Boehner is perhaps trying to embarrass the president, the prime minister may be using the speech as political clout, and the once behind-closed-doors tension between the Israeli and American leaders is suddenly glaringly thrust into the public eye.  Then again, these decisions are rarely neat and clean.  Politics can get down and dirty—that’s for sure.  But this entire episode should move us to ask—Just why does the president care that the representative of one of America’s closest allies, Israel, addresses congress, even if he wasn’t consulted.

What the president may be most concerned about is what Mr. Netanyahu is going to say, and what he will probably say is that the United States is inches away from cutting a deal with a country that has consistently threatened Israel and the west.  That’s right.  Word on the street is that Mr. Obama is now willing to concede to Iran certain limited nuclear capabilities.  Should Iran, a country that has repeatedly voiced its sworn commitment to destroy Israel, be given even limited nuclear capabilities?  Is that a wise move on America’s part, Iran having threatened America as well?  According to Mr. Netanyahu, it is an exceedingly risky agreement and exposes the west, particularly Israel, to eventual nuclear attack.  It was Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister’s policy of appeasement that allowed an untrustworthy and power-hungry Hitler to throw Europe into a devastating World War.  Is Mr. Obama about to commit the same error in conceding nuclear power to a bellicose and belligerent Iran?

These are important questions that all of us need to ask as we listen to the viewpoints of pundits and commentators more in the know than any of us.  But this I will say.  If I were Binyamin Netanyahu, and I felt that my closest geopolitical ally was about to make a mistake that throws my country into jeopardy, I’d be on a plane to talk to congress as well at the first invitation.  My first and foremost duty is not to Mr. Obama, but to my country.  It just so happens in this case, as in so many cases when it comes to dealing with the Middle East, the interests of Israel and America are closely aligned, although clearly the president in this case doesn’t see it that way.

Oh, well—as I said earlier, politics can get pretty down and dirty.  By the same token, I cannot think of anything more down or dirty than conceding to Iran any nuclear capability in exchange for some promise that it’s going to behave in the future.  Mr. Netanyahu—welcome to America.  Go to congress and speak the truth.