WarSclerotic

Iran’s long, greedy fingers have reached nearly everywhere: Iranian operatives have taken over the presidential palace in Yemen; a Revolutionary Guard general was killed near the Israel-Syria border, and deep in the Iranian mountains, Tehran is building a secret launching facility housing ballistic missiles that carry unconventional warheads — and these revelations only date back a few days.

Iran has been inserting itself into every possible Islam-related conflict and terrorism theater worldwide, be it as an active participant, a sponsor, a weapons supplier, or an instructor; all while adamantly pursuing the developments of weapons of mass destruction, long-range missiles, and nuclear weapons. Still, is it no secret that U.S. President Barack Obama has long ago reached the conclusion that Iran, as a nuclear-threshold state, poses no threat to U.S. interests.

The American president’s detractors would say this conclusion stems from weak foreign policy, meant to prevent a conflict between Washington and Tehran at all costs, while his supporters would say that this conclusion is the product of careful and informed foreign policy, as while Iran might pose a threat to many nations, the U.S. is not one them, and therefore it should not be dragged into unnecessary wars.

Whatever Obama’s motives may be, Israel cannot toe this line. With all due respect to the shared interests Israel and the U.S. have, their interests seem to collide in this specific case. It is unfortunate that the Obama administration refuses to back Israel completely in this case, but that is simply the reality. If Iran decides to make good on its threats and launch long-range ballistic missiles at anyone, chances are its target would be Tel Aviv, not New York.

Nitpicking over protocol — on whether or not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation to address Congress on the Iranian threat was coordinated with the White House, whether Obama had taken offense, and whether his decision not to meet with Netanyahu was meant to teach the Israeli prime minister a lesson or truly was in line with administration protocols saying such meetings are not held during election time in a visiting leader’s country — shifts the focus to insignificant details.

When the rare opportunity to convince Congress — not only to support new sanctions on Iran despite Obama’s objections, but to pass them with a two-thirds majority that would prevent a presidential veto — presents itself, Netanyahu, as Israel’s leader, is obligated to seize it.

It is hard to expect the leaders of the Left to rise above election considerations and congratulate Netanyahu on this achievement, but their hysteria in confounding. After all, they are the ones who argue that Netanyahu is a diplomatic failure and that his policies have resulted in Israel’s international isolation. In other words, since he is bound to fail in Washington, what are they so worried about?