Thursday, April 12, 2012

Obama is playing make-believe




Obama is playing make-believe

Boaz Bismuth

Let's give credit where credit is due: Iran vowed to never give up enriching uranium, it vowed never to shut down the underground facility at Fordo, which was built secretly (because that is what you do when you have nothing to hide) near Qom – and so far, it is keeping all its promises.

At the end of the week, most likely in Istanbul, Iran will enter another round of nuclear negotiations with the six world powers following two failed rounds (in Geneva in 2009 and in Istanbul in 2011). U.S. President Barack Obama is willing to accept a civilian nuclear program in Iran, but that is not enough for Tehran. That is how it is when your supreme leader is convinced that you are in fact the seventh world power.

No wonder Jerusalem is worried. On one side there is Iran: serious, focused and determined. On the other side we have the American president, who, while voicing the same demands as Jerusalem, is for some reason playing make-believe, just like he did in 2009.

Obama truly believes that he can bend the will of the Iranians using sanctions and negotiations, or with negotiations and sanctions. Here is a reminder: In June 2009 the Iranian people showed great courage and took to the streets to protest the fraudulent presidential elections. The green 'where is my vote?' protest movement rapidly turned red with blood, but the American administration, which was too busy preparing for talks with the ayatollahs in Geneva, may have missed its opportunity to topple the Iranian regime (an opportunity it did not miss in Egypt). The ayatollah reciprocated with ungratefulness and overt contempt during two rounds of negotiations.

Even today, be it with leaks or declarations, the Americans have succeeded in making Iran believe it is invincible and that attacking its nuclear facilities would be no less dangerous to the world than the bomb the Iranians are busy developing. It is no wonder then that the head of Iran's nuclear program, Fereydoon Abbasi, announced Sunday that Tehran rejects both of the U.S.'s demands – giving up uranium enrichment to 20 percent purity and the decommission of the Fordo facility. By the way, one day after the media reported the resumption of nuclear talks between Tehran and the West, and one day after the meeting between Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran's ambassador to Paris said the very same thing.

Obama fails to understand that Iran has already programmed its GPS en route to its desired destination: a nuclear bomb.

Iran is even keeping the location of the upcoming meeting with its fellow world powers vague. Turkey, which poses a threat to Damascus, is no longer such a good friend of Iran's, and Istanbul is no longer the obvious location for talks. Turkey was suitable, then Beijing or Baghdad seemed like a better choice, and suddenly Istanbul is an option again. Tehran is not showing signs of stress – on the contrary, Tehran is acting like a spoiled princess.

Meanwhile, far from our Passover and matzah, South Korea and Japan are not only concerned about North Korea's preparations for test-launching a ballistic missile, but also about its plan to carry out a third nuclear test.

Several months after being sworn into office, Obama unveiled his vision of a nuclear weapon-free world in Prague. There was not a single person who didn't get excited by his magical promises. Obama's game of make-believe may have begun back then.

Obama, the man with the vision, needs to understand that since he has taken office, North Korea has carried out another nuclear test and Iran has not deviated one iota from its path to a nuclear weapon. What more do these two class bullies need to do to convince principal Obama that the time has come not to attack, God forbid, but at least to stop playing pretend?

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=1698

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