by Isi Leibler
 |
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did us proud when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week (click to see video). True to form he again employed his extraordinary communication skills to superbly present the case for Israel.
He was focused, factual, logical and persuasive as he implored
the US administration and world leaders not to be deluded by Iranian
President Hasan Rouhani’s charm campaign.
He interspersed his address with sensitive Jewish historical and
biblical references – citing the Maccabees, the Prophets, Jewish
powerlessness and pogroms and the determination of Jews to live in their
own land. As a Jew and as an Israeli, I was proud to be represented by a
leader presenting our case with such dignity and eloquence.
Netanyahu neutralized the critics who accused him of opposing or
“spoiling” diplomatic efforts. But he warned of the dangers of letting
the duplicitous Iranians off the hook unless they genuinely abandoned
their nuclear ambitions.
He declared that the fate of the Jewish state would not replicate
that of Czechoslovakia in 1938. In his words, Israel would “never
acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly
promises to wipe us off the map. Israel will not allow Iran to get
nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand
alone”. His speech may well prove as prophetic as Churchill’s warnings
about the Nazis.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly - other than to Israelis,
Diaspora Jews and our close friends - Netanyahu’s words appear to have
fallen on deaf ears. The applause at the conclusion of his address was
noticeably muted, a predictable response from an international body
which only hours after Netanyahu’s speech elected Iran as rapporteur for
its Disarmament and International Security Committee.
The attention of the US Congress is centered on the federal
government lockdown. Besides, most Americans are weary of wars and have
lost confidence in Obama’s leadership qualities, especially after his
appalling handling of the Syrian issue.
In general, world leaders are in denial and seek to avoid facing
the Iranian nuclear threat and resist the possible need to resort to
military action. In this as in many other issues, Israel remains ‘a
nation that dwells alone’.
In contrast, President Rouhani was practically embraced at the
General Assembly and by the global media. He smiled and talked about
diplomacy, with global leaders grasping his empty gestures and hailing
his purported moderation, despite his public record of cheating and his
blatant lies from the UNGA podium denying that Iran had ever sought to
obtain the nuclear bomb. Aside from sweet words Rouhani made no
concessions. The response to his glib assurances of Iran’s peaceful
intentions was chillingly reminiscent to the behavior of world leaders
following Chamberlain’s 1938 “peace in our time”.
If only those world leaders were right. Israel, the nation on the
frontlines, which Iran repeatedly describes as a cancer to be
eliminated, would have the greatest cause to celebrate if diplomacy
could persuade the Ayatollah Khomeini to abort his country’s nuclear
ambitions.
But as Netanyahu has so well-articulated at both the UN and
elsewhere over the last several years, diplomacy alone will not suffice
to stop the Iranians. Netanyahu can claim the credit for having
persisted in a global campaign to warn the world of the dangers of Iran
becoming a nuclear power. He has not been ‘warmongering’, as his critics
accused, but facing reality as he urged world leaders to impose
sanctions and threaten military action unless the centrifuges stop
spinning.
Netanyahu has left the door open to diplomacy. He simply reminded
the US and the world of Rouhani’s duplicitous record, referring to him
as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. He recalled that when Rouhani was
Iran’s Chief National Security Adviser and Head Nuclear Negotiator
between 2003 and 2005, he lied and stalled, and subsequently even
boasted about his success in “creating a calm environment”. He occupied
the role when Iran orchestrated the terrorist bombings of the Jewish
Community Centre in Buenos Aires.
Netanyahu has appropriately warned that unless there is a
dramatic turnabout (which Rouhani has never intimated he would make),
the Iranian strategy is to procrastinate with negotiations and con the
US and euphoric global leaders into providing them the time required to
achieve their objectives. As it now stands, the US has yet to receive an
Iranian response to Obama’s efforts to “engage” and the delays could
take us into 2014.
Netanyahu reminded world leaders that this was precisely the
route successfully travelled by the North Koreans who delayed and duped
the US until they achieved their goal. He warned that a nuclear Iran
would be like “another 50 North Koreas”.
Netanyahu also cautioned against “partial” solutions’ which
Israel would not accept. He urged that until such time as an agreement
is set in stone and implemented there should not be the slightest easing
of sanctions which, if prematurely lifted, would be almost impossible
to re-apply in the current climate. He also called for the imposition of
strict deadlines and demands for total transparency in terms of
implementation.
President Obama has, in a sense, given a nod to Netanyahu’s
demands. In a joint press conference prior to Netanyahu’s UN address,
both parties took care to avoid recriminations or display tensions. In
fact, Obama told Netanyahu what he sought to hear. He gave assurances
that he was “very clear eyed” and that Rouhani’s charm offensive and
nice words would not bring about an end to sanctions. He promised to
implement “the highest standards of verification in order to provide the
sort of sanctions relief they are looking for”. However, he declined to
provide any assurance not to ease sanctions until the Iranians
demonstrated that they had fully dismantled their nuclear weapons
program. Yet, he made it clear that “as president of the United States…
we take no options off the table including military options” -
expressions he had not used in the course of his UN General Assembly
address.
Nevertheless, in light of Obama’s behavior over the past month
and the virtual groveling to Rouhani, many will view his statement about
the military option remaining on the table, as yet another hollow
threat. However, should Obama achieve a genuine resolution of the
problem by diplomacy, Netanyahu and the people of Israel will be
cheering him all the way. But we should not hold our breath. The odds of
this happening are exceedingly remote.
Netanyahu is also painfully aware that the Israeli military
option is off the agenda as long as the US is engaged in diplomacy with
the Iranians.
Israel therefore faces a daunting diplomatic and political
challenge over the next few months. Our Prime Minister will once again
be walking a tightrope and also facing increasing pressures to make
further unilateral concessions toward the Palestinians – posing security
risks for our future.
Netanyahu’s challenge is to convey his message directly to
Congress and the American people. He must continue on his mission and
penetrate the American psyche until they accept that the threat Iran
poses is real and immediate, and if left unchecked will allow history to
repeat itself in a most terrible way.
He may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom
Isi Leibler
Source: http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=4835
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment