WarSclerotic

Netanyahu Rejects Iran Deal, Israel-Palestine Too | MJ Rosenberg.

( Important to read what lefty, self-hating Jews write.  So many of them.  This one from Huffpo. – JW )

MJ Rosenberg

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It has never been as clear as it is today that Americans who support a secure State of Israel have an obligation to oppose the Netanyahu government. That is not as daring as it sounds.
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Opposing Prime Minister Netanyahu only requires backing the efforts of our own government to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian agreement and a nuclear deal with Iran. In the past few days Netanyahu has gone to war with the Obama administration on both fronts.

Secretary of State John Kerry never had much of a chance to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. The Netanyahu government could not withdraw from the West Bank even if it wanted to, given the composition of the far-right coalition Netanyahu heads. But the fact is, it doesn’t want to. At some point, Kerry’s attempt to bring Israelis and Palestinians together was destined to collapse over the settlement issue.

However, to nip any possible progress in the bud, Netanyahu this week announced plans for 3,500 new settler homes in the West Bank. In other words, rather than playing along with Kerry and letting the talks collapse later, Netanyahu is pulling the plug out before it’s even in the wall.

He is taking no chance that somehow progress toward peace could break out. As for the question of what Israel will do when the Palestinian population in Israel and the occupied territories outnumbers the Jewish population, that isn’t his problem. He sees his job as preserving his coalition, not the Jewish state.

Even more destructive to the future of Israel is Netanyahu’s flat out rejection (in advance) of the agreement to end the stalemate over Iran’s nuclear development. President Obama, seizing the opportunity presented by the election of a pragmatic moderate as president of Iran, has come up with a formula under which Iran will put its nuclear program on hold for six months in exchange for the United States relaxing financial sanctions on Iran. It’s a first step designed to give both sides a half year to work out a comprehensive deal.

Netanyahu could not wait for the agreement to be announced before saying no. He went before the cameras to declare that Israel “utterly rejects” the agreement and does not consider itself bound by it. He does not want any sanctions on Iran lifted until its government fully complies, in advance, with the demand that Iran dismantle all aspects of its nuclear program. Israel, of course, has nuclear weapons while Iran doesn’t and Obama is working to ensure it never gets them.

It’s not hard to see that Netanyahu’s goal is not so much ending any Iranian nuclear threat as in ensuring that Iran is unable to assert any kind of leadership role in the region. And he believes that goal can only be achieved through military means, either an Israeli attack on Iran or, preferably, a U.S. war on the Islamic Republic.

Although top security analysts in both the United States and Israel agree that a military attack on Iran might not only fail to achieve its goals but could also engulf the region (including Israel, of course) in another war, Netanyahu is steadfast. He “utterly rejects” negotiations.

Of course, it is not likely he can stop a deal although it is obvious what his plan is. AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has already announced its plans to sabotage an agreement by getting Congress to enact additional sanctions on Iran at the same time that Obama is offering to lift them. Given that we are already in the 2014 Congressional campaign, Netanyahu assumes that he can count on beneficiaries of the lobby’s financial generosity to do what AIPAC tells them to do. In short, he is counting on AIPAC and its loyalists in Congress to play the role that is commonly ascribed to the “mullahs” in Iran: preventing peace by using its supreme power.

Friends of Israel need to ask what will happen if Netanyahu succeeds in his efforts to destroy chances for both an Israeli-Palestinian and a U.S.-Iranian agreement.

How long can Israel survive like this? How long can it continue to count on U.S. aid while it thwarts U.S. diplomatic efforts designed not only to help secure Israel but to preserve and protect U.S. interests in the Middle East?

As was demonstrated by the struggle over aid to the Syrian opposition, Americans across the political spectrum reject the idea of U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts. Lay aside the economic costs, think about the Americans who end up fighting and dying (or, often almost as bad, being grievously wounded) in these wars that can be avoided. Successive U.S. presidents have viewed continuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a threat to America’s interests. As for war with Iran, the war Netanyahu seems to prefer to a negotiated peace, that threat to Americans could not be more direct.

And then there is Israel itself. It took Jews 1900 years to re-establish statehood in Palestine. That state can be secured forever by an agreement with Palestinians to divide the land basically along the ’67 lines. Similarly, endorsing America’s effort to achieve an agreement with Iran can help eliminate the threat to Israel from the one regional power capable of posing one (Egypt and Jordan are at peace with Israel while even Syria has maintained the peace since 1973).

Sad to say, it is Netanyahu himself who poses the greatest threat to Israel. Fifty years before Israel was created, Theodor Herzl said, “if you will it, it is no dream.” Netanyahu seems hell bent to turn that dream, the one that was miraculously realized in 1948, to a nightmare. Hopefully, the United States will not permit that to happen.

World powers set for new round of Iran nuke talks | The Times of Israel.

As an optimistic Lavrov flies into Geneva hoping for a ‘lasting result,’ ‘disappointed’ diplomats say meetings likely to extend into next week

By AP and Times of Israel staff November 9, 2013, 10:06 am

US Secretary of State John Kerry, center, returns to his hotel following his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

GENEVA — As US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton were preparing for another day of nuclear negotiations with Iran, the Los Angeles Times reported talks were likely to spill over into next week.

Citing “disappointed” diplomats, the Times said a signing ceremony was not likely to take place on Saturday, even as P5+1 leaders were gearing up for another day of meetings aimed at narrowing gaps in search of a deal that would offer Iran sanctions relief in exchange for proving its atomic ambitions are peaceful.

Russia remained more optimistic regarding the talks, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flying into Geneva on Saturday to attend the sessions Moscow hopes will produce “a lasting result the entire world has been waiting for.”

Russia’s news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying that Russia’s level of representation at the meeting will be raised to ministerial.

Lavrov will accompany Kerry, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Ashton in the negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over Iran’s unsanctioned nuclear program.

A senior US official said Kerry and Ashton were to meet separately at the luxury Geneva hotel where they are both staying on Saturday morning before inviting Zarif to join them. There was no immediate indication of how long the three-way meeting would last. On Friday, the trio met for five hours.

The negotiations appear to have made some progress in a major diplomatic push despite fierce opposition from Israel and uncertainty in Congress.

Only China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi wasn’t expected to take part in the summit on Saturday. A Western diplomat in Geneva told The Associated Press that China is sending a deputy foreign minister to the talks.

“The meeting was productive but we still have more to do,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, confirming talks would continue on Saturday.

According to NBC, Friday’s snap arrival of so many high ranking officials “sparked a high level of anticipation in Geneva, with increased security, including bomb-sniffing dogs, and an influx of the world’s media.”

Officials had reported progress in Thursday’s talks. But comments from Kerry and his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany after they arrived in Geneva clearly indicated that obstacles remain in the way of any agreement offering sanctions reductions for nuclear concessions.

Israeli officials nonetheless criticized US President Barack Obama and the US government as though a deal with Iran was fait accompli, saying the president “is bringing about a disaster,” Channel 10 reported. The anonymous sources contended that Obama is pressured to arrive at a deal with the Iranians and wants to get the issue off the agenda.

Iran considers Russia most receptive to its arguments among the six world powers. For that reason, Lavrov’s presence would add additional muscle to efforts to seal a preliminary deal that the West hopes will culminate with serious constraints on Iran’s ability to turn a peaceful nuclear program into making weapons.

The talks primarily focus on the size and output of Iran’s enrichment program, which can create both reactor fuel and weapons-grade material suitable for a nuclear bomb. Iran insists it is pursuing only nuclear energy, medical treatments and research, but the United States and its allies fear that Iran could turn this material into the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

Kerry said there were “some very important issues on the table that are unresolved.”

“There is not an agreement at this point in time,” he told reporters.

In earlier comments to Israeli television, Kerry suggested Washington was looking for an Iranian commitment to stop any expansion of nuclear activities that could be used to make weapons, as a first step.

“We are asking them to step up and provide a complete freeze over where they are today,” Kerry said Thursday.

Six powers are considering a gradual rollback of sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. In exchange they demand initial curbs on Iran’s nuclear program, including a cap on enrichment to a level that can be turned quickly to weapons use.

The six have discussed ending a freeze on up to $50 billion (37 billion euros) in overseas accounts and lifting restrictions on petrochemicals, gold and other precious metals. But their proposal would maintain core sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and financial sector, as an incentive for Iran to work toward a comprehensive and permanent nuclear accord.

According to Channel 10, the deal in the works would have the Iranians halt uranium enrichment to 20 percent purity, and their existing stocks of 20% would be converted to fuel rods; enrichment to 3.5% purity would be able to continue at Natanz and Qom. Further, operations at the Arak heavy water reactor would have to cease. In exchange, the channel reported, the Iranians would have sanctions lifted on petrochemical products, gold, auto and airplane parts, and assets worth $3 billion would be unfrozen.

Tehran could be pressing for more significant relief from the sanctions as part of any first-step deal. Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Iranian delegation member Majid Takht-e Ravanchi as saying his country was asking for an end to sanctions on oil and international banking transactions crippling the ability to repatriate money from oil sales.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the first to arrive at the talks, spoke of progress, but told reporters “nothing is hard and fast yet.”

“I’ve come to Geneva to take part in the negotiations because the talks are difficult but important for regional and international security,” he said. “We are working to reach an accord which completes the first step to respond to Iran’s nuclear program.”

Israel has been watching the talks warily from the sidelines. It has frequently dangled the prospect of military action against Iran should negotiations fail to reach the deal it seeks — a total shutdown of uranium enrichment and other nuclear programs Tehran says are peaceful but which could technically be turned toward weapons.

“I understand the Iranians are walking around very satisfied in Geneva as well they should because they got everything and paid nothing,” Netanyahu told reporters before meeting Kerry in Tel Aviv.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said an initial agreement would “address Iran’s most advanced nuclear activities; increase transparency so Iran will not be able to use the cover of talks to advance its program; and create time and space as we negotiate a comprehensive agreement.”

US, French officials: Iran nuclear negotiations have reached an abrupt halt | JPost | Israel News.

After two days of negotiating with help from US secretary of state, French FM says no certainty of concluding talks; US diplomats tell ‘LA Times’ talks will at least continue until next week over disagreements in text.

PARIS- France said on Saturday there was no certainty nuclear talks under way with Iran in Geneva would succeed because of major stumbling blocks over an initial proposed text on a deal.

“As I speak to you, I can not say there is any certainty that we can conclude” the talks, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on France Inter radio.

Meanwhile, Western diplomats say they are disappointed at the progress of nuclear negotiations in Geneva, and expect discussions to continue at least until next week, Los Angeles Time reported on Friday.

Unnamed diplomats from Washington did not tell the Times why the talks had come to a halt, but the paper speculated that the disagreement could be over Iran’s construction of a plutonium reactor, a direct path to a nuclear bomb.

Part of the proposed agreement between Iran and the international community is that they would agree not to activate the reactor while an interim deal is in place.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and Chief Negotiator Abbas Araghchi was also skeptical about the success of the current talks, saying “negotiations have reached [a] critical, very sensitive situation, and it needs decisions at higher levels.”

‘Crisis of faith’ between Israel and US over possible Iran deal | The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu ‘in a state of shock’ over terms, believes agreement would enable Iran to become ‘nuclear breakout state,’ TV reports say; deal seen as putting an end to any Israeli military option

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama end a joint press conference in Jerusalem on March 20, 2013. (Photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “in a state of shocked disbelief” at the deal apparently taking shape in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli television news reports said Friday night.

Netanyahu, the reports on Israel’s Channel 10 and Channel 2 news said, had “an unprecedented confrontation” with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Tel Aviv on Friday morning over the possible deal, which he publicly described as “a very, very bad deal” and which he implored Kerry “not to rush to sign” and to “reconsider.”

The Netanyahu government is “in a crisis of faith” with the Obama administration over the possible deal, Israel’s Channel 1 News further reported, in part because it apparently differs in content from the terms that Kerry had previously described to Netanyahu. Other Israeli reports said Netanyahu felt he had been “misled” by the US over the terms of the deal.

Netanyahu, who blasted the possible accord as the “deal of the century” for Iran, believes it would enable the Islamic Republic to become a “nuclear breakout state,” the TV reports said — since Iran would retain its nuclear enrichment capabilities, and would thus be capable of racing to a bomb at short notice at a time of its choosing.

Israel, the TV reports said, also believes the US has been negotiating with Iran in a secret channel, without disclosing the content of those discussions to Israel.

The TV reports quoted unnamed sources on the Israeli political right accusing the Obama administration of “throwing Israel under the bus,” and leaning toward an agreement with Iran that would fatally puncture the carefully constructed international sanctions regime against Iran.

A series of analysts on the Friday night Israeli TV news broadcasts also assessed that Israel could not possibly strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities itself if the international community finalizes the mooted deal in Geneva. Israel “has no more military option,” a Channel 10 news analyst stated flatly, despite Netanyahu’s public declaration after his meeting with Kerry Friday morning that “Israel will do everything it needs to do to defend itself.” The report also said Vice President Joe Biden had recently assured President Barack Obama that Netanyahu would not strike at Iran.

“Netanyahu is in a state of shocked disbelief” at the imminent deal, Channel 10 news reported. It said the prime minister had not believed that a significant easing of sanctions was on the table in Geneva, but now was horrified to see that the emerging deal provided for a dramatic easing of sanctions against a mere Iranian promise to restrict uranium enrichment to 3.5%.

In his public comments Friday, a clearly agitated Netanyahu said that, under the deal, “Iran gets everything it wanted at this stage and pays nothing.”

Netanyahu — who in a clear sign of the Israel-US crisis, delivered the remarks alone, rather than at a traditional joint appearance with the visiting Kerry — added: “I urge Secretary Kerry not to rush to sign, to wait, to reconsider.”

The Channel 10 report said Israel’s security establishment was also “shocked” at the reported terms.

Kerry headed from Israel to Geneva, to take an unscheduled role in the nuclear talks there. Hours after he left, Obama spoke with Netanyahu by phone and was said to have underscored Washington’s “strong commitment to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

According to Britain’s Telegraph, the Iranian deal’s four main points are that Iran would stop enriching uranium to 20 percent and convert its existing stockpile into harmless uranium oxide. Iran would be able to continue enrichment to 3.5% purity necessary for nuclear power plants — but would agree to limit the number of centrifuges running for this purpose. The inactive centrifuges would be able to remain intact. Iran would also agree not to activate its plutonium reactor at Arak, which could provide an alternative route to a nuclear weapon, during the six-month period in which Iran would limit uranium enrichment to 3.5%. Lastly, Iran would agree not to use the advanced IR-2 centrifuges, which enrich uranium three to five times faster than the older model.

In return, the British paper reported, the US “would ease economic sanctions, possibly by releasing some Iranian foreign exchange reserves currently held in frozen accounts” and ease “some restrictions on Iran’s petrochemical, motor and precious metals industries.”

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 Thursday, Kerry stressed the negotiators in Geneva were requiring Iran to “provide a complete freeze over where they are today.” He argued that it was “better” to be talking to Iran, and seeking to “expand” the time it would take Iran to break out to the bomb, than not to be talking to Iran, and have it continuing to advance its nuclear program. “We have not taken away any of the sanctions yet,” Kerry said. “We will not undo the major sanctions regime until we have absolute clarity,” he said.