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Russian Warships Dock In Iran for War Training

August 10, 2015

Russian Warships Dock In Iran for War Training, Washington Free Beacon, , August 10, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Iran has an observer status at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)Hassan Rouhani, Vladimir Putin / AP

[Iranian] military leader [Fadavi] went on to claim that “Iranian Armed Forces are now at the highest level of preparedness” and that “only the dead body of the American troops realizes the power of the Islamic Revolution.”

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Two Russian warships have docked in northern Iran for a series of naval training exercises with the Islamic Republic, according to Persian-language reports translated by the CIA’s Open Source Center.

The two Russian ships docked in Iran’s Anzali port on Sunday and will hold “joint naval exercises during the three-day stay of the warships in Iran,” according to a Persian-language report in Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency.

“The [Russian] warships, Volgodonsk and Makhachkala docked in Anzali Port [near the Caspian Sea], in the fourth naval zone, on the afternoon of 9 August,” the report says.

The war exercises come just weeks after Iran and global powers inked a nuclear accord that will provide Iran with billions of dollars in sanctions relief in return for slight restrictions on the country’s nuclear program.

Russian and Iran have grown close in recent years, with delegations from each country regularly visiting one another to ink arms deals and other agreements aimed at strengthening Iran’s nuclear program.

Russia and Iran agreed earlier this year to begin construction on several new nuclear power plants. Russia has also agreed to sell Iran a controversial advanced missile defense system that can prevent attacks by Western powers.

The Russian fleet docked in Iran’s port “carrying a message of ‘peace and friendship,’” according to Iranian officials quoted by Fars. The fleet was “welcomed by Iranian naval commanders and staff.”

The Russian commander of the fleet is scheduled to hold meetings with “local political and military officials” in Iran’s northern provinces, according to Fars.

Levan Jagarian, Russia’s ambassador to Tehran, reportedly attended the docking ceremony and called for “for boosting mutual ties between the two countries in various fields,” according to the report.

The two nations went on to say that “expanding bilateral economic, political, and military cooperation is among the priorities of the visit.”

A Russian fleet also docked in northern Iran in October.

Last week, a senior Iranian naval commander warned the United States against ever taking military action on Iranian interests, claiming that the response would be “unpredictably strong.”

“The western media are mocking at the U.S. for speaking of ‘on the table options (against Iran)’ because the U.S. always utters some words without the ability to materialize them,” Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Naval Commander Ali Fadavi was quoted as saying by the country’s state-run press.

Iran is “ready to give such a powerful response to the slightest move of the U.S. that it won’t be able to make any other moves,” Fadavi was quoted as saying.

The military leader went on to claim that “Iranian Armed Forces are now at the highest level of preparedness” and that “only the dead body of the American troops realizes the power of the Islamic Revolution.

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser and expert on rogue regimes, said the Obama administration is fundamentally misreading Iran’s intentions in light of the recently inked nuclear accord.

“We’re witnessing a new great game, and Obama is so self-centered he keeps playing solitaire,” Rubin said. “Obama simply doesn’t understand that the world is full of dictators who seek to checkmate America. What he sees as compromise; they see as weakness to exploit.”

Referring to a visit last week to Russia by IRGC leader Qassem Soleimani, who is responsible for the deaths of Americans, Rubin said it is clear that Moscow and Tehran aim to build a tight military alliance.

“Visiting Russia to talk arms purchases and now this naval visit, it’s clear that Putin and Khamenei will waste no time to really develop their military cooperation,” he said.

An axis between Russia, Iran, and North Korea is beginning to emerge Rubin said, citing official releases that a North Korean delegation is currently visiting Russia to tour war games sites.

“The Russian warship visit combined with North Korea scoping out war game sites in Russia suggest a new Axis of Evil is taking shape with Russia the lynchpin between Iran and North Korea,” Rubin said. “As for the United States, rather than the leader of the free world, Obama and Kerry have transformed us in much of the world’s eyes as the pinnacle of surrender.”

Meanwhile, Obama admitted Monday that Iran’s nuclear breakout time will shrink to “a matter of months” once the nuclear accord expires in around 15 years.

Categories: Foreign policy, Ideology, Iran scam, Iranian Threats, Middle East, North Korea, Obama, Obama's America, Obama's legacy, P5+1, Peace in our time, Putin, Russia, U.S. Military
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Obama Signed Off on Iran’s Right to Nuclear Program in Secret 2011 Talks

August 10, 2015

Obama Signed Off on Iran’s Right to Nuclear Program in Secret 2011 Talks

Obama misled nation about secret deals with Iran

BY:
August 10, 2015 1:14 pm

via Obama Signed Off on Iran’s Right to Nuclear Program in Secret 2011 Talks | Washington Free Beacon.

President Barack Obama approved of Iran’s right to operate a nuclear program in 2011 during secret meetings with Iranian officials, according to new disclosures by Iran’s Supreme Leader.

The comments, made earlier this year by Ali Khamenei, dispute claims by the Obama administration that it only began talking to Iran after the election of President Hassan Rouhani.

Khamenei revealed in a recent speech that talks began in secret with anti-Semitic, Holocaust denying former President Mahmoud Ahmadenejad. At this time, Obama told the Iranians he endorses Iran’s right to have a nuclear program.

“The issue of negotiating with the Americans is related to the term of the previous [Ahmadinejad] government, and to the dispatching of a mediator to Tehran to request talks,” Khamenei said in a recent speech translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“At the time, a respected regional figure came to me as a mediator and explicitly said that U.S. President [Obama] had asked him to come to Tehran and present an American request for negotiations,” Khamenei disclosed. “The Americans told this mediator: ‘We want to solve the nuclear issue and lift sanctions within six months, while recognizing Iran as a nuclear power.’”

“I told that mediator that I did not trust the Americans and their words, but after he insisted, I agreed to reexamine this topic, and negotiations began,” Khamenei added.

Other Iranian officials also have admitted that Obama’s goal from the get-go was to endorse Iran’s nuclear program and then lift economic sanctions on the country’s economy.

Secretary of State John Kerry sent a letter to Iran stating that the United States “recognizes Iran’s rights regarding” nuclear enrichment, according to another senior Iranian official, Hossein Sheikh Al-Islam.

“We came to the [secret] negotiations [with the United States] after Kerry wrote a letter and sent it to us via [mediator Omani Sultan Qaboos], stating that America officially recognizes Iran’s rights regarding the [nuclear fuel] enrichment cycle,” Al-Islam said in a recent interview with Iran’s Tasnim news agency, according to MEMRI.

“Then there were two meetings in Oman between the [Iranian and U.S.] deputy foreign ministers, and after those, Sultan Qaboos was dispatched by Obama to Khamenei with Kerry’s letter,” the official added.

Khamenei went on to tell him at the time: “‘I don’t trust them.’ Sultan Qaboos said: ‘Trust them one more time.’ On this basis the negotiations began, and not on the basis of sanctions, as they [the Americans] claim in their propaganda.”

This information has been confirmed by other senior Iranian officials, according to MEMRI.

Ali Akbar Salahi, the Iranian vice president and head of its Atomic Energy Organization, claimed in separate interviews this year that “the Americans initiated the secret talks with Iran in 2011-2012, and stressed his role in jumpstarting the process from the Iranian side,” according to MEMRI.

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MSNBC: Obama ‘stunning’ in vilifying of deal opponents

August 10, 2015

MSNBC: Obama ‘stunning’ in vilifying of deal opponents, Washington Free Beacon via You Tube, August 10, 2015

 

Categories: Foreign policy, Ideology, Iran scam, Israel, Media, Obama, Obama's America, Obama's legacy, P5+1, U.S. Congress, U.S. politics
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Israel is working at speed to convert Boeing 767 into a long-flight refueling tanker

August 10, 2015

Israel is working at speed to convert Boeing 767 into a long-flight refueling tanker, DEBKAfile, August 10, 2015

kc46aAmerica Boeing KC-46A refueling tanker

In an interview published by the German newspaper Der Spiegel on Aug. 8, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said: “Ultimately it is very clear, one way or another, Iran’s military nuclear program must be stopped. We will act in any way, including taking military action, and are not willing to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. We prefer that this be done by means of sanctions, but in the end, Israel should be able to defend itself.”

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US defense and air industry sources report that the Israeli Air Force may give up on the US Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus as its future refueling tanker for long-range flights because of delays in its delivery. Israel had first planned to take the Pegasus to replace its converted Boeing 707 when delivery was first to the US Air Force was scheduled for August 2017. But this week, the company put the date back by another eight months and the price increased by half a billion dollars.

American sources point out that if Israel wants to retain the option of attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities when Barack Obama exits the White House in January 2017, it can’t wait for the brand-new US Pegasus tanker, which doubles as a military transport plane, to come off the Boeing production line and be delivered to its air force. The Boeing 707 in current service, after a multibillion investment in its conversion to a long-flight refueling tanker, no longer meets the fluctuating conditions in the Middle East. Work is therefore going ahead on the conversion of the Boeing 767 as its replacement.

On July 22, DEBKAfile’s military sources revealed a mammoth transaction for Iran to purchase Russian UL78 MK1 (Midas) tankers with a range of 7,300km. (The distance from Iran to Israel is 1,200km). Each tanker is capable of spontaneously feeding 6-8 fighter craft.

This purchase represented Tehran’s aspiration – not just to draw level with Israel but to outdo its air force in range and fueling capability. This transaction no doubt spurred the decision by Israel’s defense chiefs to go ahead on its own project, instead of waiting for the American KC-46A to become available.
Israel Aerospace Industries [IAI] is therefore working at top speed on the Boeing 767, a long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner with a range of 7,000 to 11,000 km. The converted aircraft will be designated 767-200ER MRTT.

In an interview published by the German newspaper Der Spiegel on Aug. 8, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said: “Ultimately it is very clear, one way or another, Iran’s military nuclear program must be stopped. We will act in any way, including taking military action, and are not willing to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. We prefer that this be done by means of sanctions, but in the end, Israel should be able to defend itself.”

Categories: Defense of Israel, IDF, Iran / Israel War, Iran scam, Iranian missiles, Iranian nukes, Iranian Threats, Israel, Obama, Obama's America, P5+1
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Britain: The “Struggle of Our Generation”

August 10, 2015

Britain: The “Struggle of Our Generation”, The Gatestone Institute, Samuel Westrop, August 10, 2015

  • “We’ve got to show that if you say ‘yes I condemn terror — but the Kuffar are inferior’, or ‘violence in London isn’t justified, but suicide bombs in Israel are a different matter’ — then you too are part of the problem. Unwittingly or not, and in a lot of cases it’s not unwittingly, you are providing succour to those who want to commit, or get others to commit to, violence.” — Prime Minister David Cameron.
  • In a series of religious rulings published on its website, the Islamic Network charity advocated the murder of apostates; encouraged Muslims to hate non-Muslims; stated that when non-Muslims die, “the whole of humanity are relieved;” and described Western civilisation as “evil.”
  • The Charity Commission’s solution, however, was to give the charity’s trustees booklets titled, “How to manage risks in your charity,” and warn them not to do it again.

On July 20, Prime Minister David Cameron outlined his government’s plans to counteract Islamic extremism, which he described as the “struggle of our generation.”

In a speech before Ninestiles School, in the city of Birmingham, Cameron articulated a view of the Islamist threat that, just a couple of years ago, few else in British politics would have dared to support.

In a report for BBC Radio 4, the journalist John Ware described Cameron’s speech, and the government’s proposed counter-extremism measures, as “something no British government has ever done in my lifetime: the launch of a formal strategy to recognize, challenge and root out ideology.”

Cameron’s speech was wide-ranging. It addressed the causes, methods and consequences of Islamist extremism.

1199(Image source: BBC video screenshot)

We must recognize, Cameron reasoned, that Islamist terror is the product of Islamist ideology. It is definitely not, he argued, “because of historic injustices and recent wars, or because of poverty and hardship. This argument, what I call the grievance justification, must be challenged. … others might say: it’s because terrorists are driven to their actions by poverty. But that ignores the fact that many of these terrorists have had the full advantages of prosperous families or a Western university education.”

“Extreme doctrine” is to blame — a doctrine that is “hostile to basic liberal values … Ideas which actively promote discrimination, sectarianism and segregation. … which privilege one identity to the detriment of the rights and freedoms of others.” This is a doctrine “based on conspiracy: that Jews exercise malevolent power; or that Western powers, in concert with Israel, are deliberately humiliating Muslims, because they aim to destroy Islam.”

People are drawn to such extremist ideas, Cameron argued, because:

“[Y]ou don’t have to believe in barbaric violence to be drawn to the ideology. No-one becomes a terrorist from a standing start. It starts with a process of radicalisation. When you look in detail at the backgrounds of those convicted of terrorist offences, it is clear that many of them were first influenced by what some would call non-violent extremists.

“It may begin with hearing about the so-called Jewish conspiracy and then develop into hostility to the West and fundamental liberal values, before finally becoming a cultish attachment to death. Put another way, the extremist world view is the gateway, and violence is the ultimate destination.”

To counteract the extremist threat, Cameron concludes, the government will “tackle both parts of the creed — the non-violent and violent. This means confronting groups and organisations that may not advocate violence — but which do promote other parts of the extremist narrative.”

Further, no longer will extremist groups be able to burnish their moderate credentials by pointing to ISIS as the Islamic bogeyman:

“We’ve got to show that if you say ‘yes I condemn terror — but the Kuffar are inferior’, or ‘violence in London isn’t justified, but suicide bombs in Israel are a different matter’ – then you too are part of the problem. Unwittingly or not, and in a lot of cases it’s not unwittingly, you are providing succour to those who want to commit, or get others to commit to, violence.

For example, I find it remarkable that some groups say ‘We don’t support ISIL’ as if that alone proves their anti-extremist credentials. And let’s be clear Al-Qaeda don’t support ISIL. So we can’t let the bar sink to that level. Condemning a mass-murdering, child-raping organisation cannot be enough to prove you’re challenging the extremists.”

Rather radically for a Western leader, Cameron also asserted that, “simply denying any connection between the religion of Islam and the extremists doesn’t work… it is an exercise in futility to deny that. And more than that, it can be dangerous. To deny it has anything to do with Islam means you disempower the critical reforming voices; the voices that are challenging the fusing of religion and politics…”

Cameron’s speech was groundbreaking. No previous Prime Minister in past decades would have dared to make such statements. This is not to say, however, that it is without fault.

Cameron is not just talk. An “Extremism Analysis Unit” has been set up within the Home Office, which will serve to tackle Islamist extremism, including “non-violent” groups. According to the journalist John Ware, the new body is currently preparing lists of extremist preachers and groups.

More importantly, a variety of new legislation is being brought before Parliament. However, some of the proposed laws, critics argue, are draconian. “Banning Orders” will outlaw designated “extremist groups.” “Extremism Disruption Orders,” meanwhile, will restrict designated “extremists” from appearing on television, or publishing without the authorities’ approval. And “Closure Orders” will allow the government to close any institution deemed guilty of promoting extremism.

Cameron has correctly and radically diagnosed the problem of Islamic extremism. His solutions, however, do not appear promising.

A more useful next step would be for the government to tackle its own relationships with extremist groups. Britain’s registered charities offer a particularly vivid example of Islamist extremism going unchallenged.

In 2014, I wrote about the Islamic Network, a group that describes itself as “a da’wah[proselytizing] organisation which aims to promote awareness and understanding of the religion of Islam.”

In a series of religious rulings published on its website, the Islamic Network charity advocated themurder of apostates; encouraged Muslims to hate non-Muslims; stated that when non-Muslims die, “the whole of humanity are relieved;” and described Western civilisation as “evil.” Further, the Islamic Network directed a great deal of hatred towards the Jews. Its website claimed: “The Jews strive their utmost to corrupt the beliefs, morals and manners of the Muslims. The Jews scheme and crave after possessing the Muslim lands, as well as the lands of others.”

In spite of these views, the Islamic Network is a registered charity, which means it is entitled to subsidy from the taxpayer.

As a result of revealing the material published on the Islamic Network’s website, as well as several complaints submitted to the Charity Commission, the government opened an inquiry into the charity. After a year of deliberation, the Charity Commission published its report, which concluded that the Islamic Network had indeed published extremist material.

The Charity Commission’s solution, however, was to give the charity’s trustees booklets titled, “How to manage risks in your charity,” and warn them not to do it again.

Britain may finally have a government that understands the problem of Islamist extremism, but if government bodies fail to challenge extremist charities such as the Islamic Network, then what use is this enlightenment?

The Islamic Network is but one of many dozens of examples. Why is the British organizationInterpal, for example, still allowed to be a registered charity? Interpal is a designated terrorist organization under United States law. Its trustees regularly meet with senior leaders of the terror group Hamas. In 2013, for instance, Interpal trustee Essam Yusuf took part in a ceremony with the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at which they expressed praise for Hamas’ military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, and glorified “martyrdom.”

Or what of Islamic Relief, one of Britain’s largest charities? Established by the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Relief’s directors have included Ahmed Al-Rawi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who, in 2004, supported jihad against British and American troops in Iraq; and Essam El-Haddad, who is accused by an Egyptian court of divulging Egyptian state secrets to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, and using Islamic Relief to finance global terrorism.

Despite Islamic Relief’s links to Islamist extremism, the charity continues to receive millions of pounds from the British government.

David Cameron’s speech on July 20 should be applauded. If another political party had won the recent general election, no such speech would have been made. But before the Prime Minister turns his hand to censorship, perhaps the government should address extremist groups closer to home.

Categories: Antisemitism, Culture, David Cameron, England, Hamas, Human rights, Iranian proxies, Islam's war on Jews, Islamic jihad, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Islamic supremacy, Islamic terrorism, Islamic war on Christians, Islamism, Islamophobia, Israel, Khamenei, Moral equivalence, Multiculturalism, Palestinians, UK
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Ayatollah Calls for Global Expulsion of Jews

August 10, 2015

Ayatollah Calls for Global Expulsion of Jews

ByPamela Geller on August 10, 2015

via Ayatollah Calls for Global Expulsion of Jews | Pamela Geller.

ByPamela Geller on August 10, 2015

Iran’s Friday Prayers Leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, an Islamic cleric whose position grants him enormous influence in Tehran and who is appointed directly by Iran’s Supreme Leader, called on Friday for the Muslim nations of the world to “unite and expel the Zionists from this region.”

And the “first Jewish President” says, “give ’em nukes!”

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been making these bloody calls to annihilation almost daily, ever since the nuclear pact with America has been announced. There is no pretense, no charade. America is under the boot and Iran means to go for the kill. If not now, when? When a Cruz is a President? They wouldn’t dare. The day Reagan took office they released our hostages after 444 days.

Obama is a slob for these savages and they know it.

 

“Iranian Ayatollah Calls for Muslim World to Unite and ‘Expel’ Jews from the Region,” by Jordan Schachtel, Aug 8, 2015:

Ayatollah-Kashani-Atta-Kenare-AFP-Getty-Images-640x480

Iran’s Friday Prayers Leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, a radical Shiite cleric whose position grants him enormous influence in Tehran and who is appointed directly by Iran’s Supreme Leader, called on Friday for the Muslim nations of the world to “unite and expel the Zionists from this region.”

The prayer leader, who often leads chants of ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel,’ took the time to thank Iran’s negotiators for reaching an agreement he believed was favorable to the regime in Tehran, Iran’s state-run IRIB news service reported.

Kashani told worshippers that Israel will only be satisfied with their position in the world “when all nations have perished and they alone remain in this world.” This is why Israel has “no qualms whatsoever about spilling innocent blood,” the Ayatollah said.

“This regime [Israel] is amongst the vilest, inhuman and bloodthirsty regimes in the world, and Muslim nations must unite and expel the Zionists from this region if they want to live in peace and security,” Kashani added.

By calling for the expulsion of “Zionists,” Kashani specifically singles out the Jews of Israel, and not its Arab population.

The cleric told the crowd that the United States–which is “the biggest supporter of terrorism in the world,” according to Kashani–is in cahoots with not only Saudi Arabia and Israel, but also with the Islamic State terror group. The three supposed allies of the U.S. are responsible for the poor conditions of Palestinians, he alleged.

“The U.S. trains and exports terrorists,” he told the Tehran University audience. “Terrorism is a tool in the hands of global powers. They cultivate and nourish terrorism, and they export terrorism,” he said of the U.S. and world powers.

Like most Ayatollahs who serve in leadership positions in Tehran, Kashani has often used vile language to attack the western world. In 2014, he called for the last Shiite messiah to come to earth and “behead Western leaders.” In 2005, he blamed the United States and Israel for the creation of Al Qaeda.

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Palestinians, Iran to work together for Israel’s nuclear disarmament, official says

August 10, 2015

Palestinians, Iran to work together for Israel’s nuclear disarmament, official says

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH \

08/10/2015 19:57

via Palestinians, Iran to work together for Israel’s nuclear disarmament, official says – Middle East – Jerusalem Post.

The rapprochement between the PA and Iran is also likely to pave the way for the restoration of the Palestinians’ ties with Syria.

The Palestinian Authority and Iran have agreed to work together toward holding an international conference to seek the nuclear disarmament of Israel, a senior PLO official who visited Tehran in the past few days said.

Ahmed Majdalani, member of the PLO Executive Committee, held talks in Tehran with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Zarif. He also delivered a letter from PA President Mahmoud Abbas to Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani.

Majdalani said on Monday that his visit to Iran resulted in agreement on reviving the idea of an international conference to rid the region of Israel’s nuclear arsenal and weapons of mass destruction. Voicing support for the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers, Majdalani said that the accord would create a positive atmosphere for ensuring security and stability in the Middle East.

The PLO official said that his visit to Iran was aimed at refuting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Iran’s nuclear program poses a threat to Israel and peace. He claimed that Netanyahu was using the Iranian issue to avoid fulfilling Israel’s obligations toward the peace process.

The Palestinians are now hoping that the Palestinian issue would return to the center stage as the essence of the Middle East conflict.

Majdalani said his talks in Iran also focused on Israeli “assaults” against Palestinians. He accused the Israeli government of failing to work toward achieving peace with the Palestinians and expressed hope that Tehran would support Palestinian diplomatic moves in the international arena.

The rapprochement between the PA and Iran is also likely to pave the way for the restoration of the Palestinians’ ties with Syria. Relations between Syria and the Palestinians have been tense since the beginning of the civil war there.

Majdalani said that the PA’s position toward the Syrian crisis is based on the need to find a peaceful, rather than military, solution. He said that the Palestinians were very keen to see an end to the crisis because they have paid a heavy price due to the continuation of the civil war. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced since the beginning of the crisis in Syria in 2011.

 

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‘Jewish power’ is an illusion

August 10, 2015

Jewish power’ is an illusion

Op-ed: If opposition to Iran deal continues to grow, it won’t be because of successful campaign launched by Netanyahu or Jewish lobby, but because of Obama’s failed marketing of agreement.

Published: 08.10.15, 18:14

via ‘Jewish power’ is an illusion – Israel Opinion, Ynetnews.

The US Jewry is worried. Someone has crossed the red lines. And no, it’s not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Who should a Jew support? The agreement’s opponents or its supporters? There are many legitimate reasons for and against. The problem is that when a non-Jew expresses a political opinion, it’s a straightforward opinion. But when a Jew expresses an opinion, he has a problem.

If he supports, he may be seen as abandoning Israel. If he opposes, he will immediately be accused of being loyal to Israel. In English it’s called “Israel-firsters” (a derogatory term for Jews who favor the Israeli interest over the American interest). It’s almost like being accused of betrayal.

 

Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama are fighting over the Jewish public opinion and Jewish leadership. The inevitable result is an emphasis of the “Jewish power.” If there will be a majority against the agreement, and especially if there will be a majority that will overcome a presidential veto, the claims against the Jews will escalate.

These claims have already been voiced in the past and may return in full force: Once again the Jews are dragging the United States into unnecessary conflicts with the Muslim world, once again they are serving the interests of a foreign state, once again their powerful capital is influencing the Senate and Congress members.

 

AIPAC conference. There is no 'Jewish power' because the Jews don't have a unified stance (Archive photo: AFP)
AIPAC conference. There is no ‘Jewish power’ because the Jews don’t have a unified stance (Archive photo: AFP)

But the debate about the Jewish stance has already been stepped up. It’s no longer just remote websites, talkbacks and social networks. This time, the problem is not the margins. Jewish magazine Tablet, which practices political diversity and has many editors who support the agreement, published an unprecedented scathing editorial, pointing a finger at the White House which, the magazine argues, is spreading the sickening claims about “dual loyalty” and a lobby of “foreign interests.”

“It’s the kind of dark, nasty stuff we might expect to hear at a white power rally, not from the president of the United States – and it’s gotten so blatant that even many of us who are generally sympathetic to the administration, and even this deal, have been shaken by it,” the article stated.

Many Jews, including the Tablet editors, are furious over the leaks about the rhetoric used by Obama in phone conversations aimed at convincing Congress members.

The truth is that the “Jewish power” is mainly an illusion. It’s not that the Jews are idlers. On the contrary, they are thriving. They hold key positions in two of the most important bodies of knowledge – the media and the academia.

But there is no “Jewish power,” because the Jews don’t have a unified stance. The Jewish establishment, which is usually pro-Israel, is faced by the Jews in the press and the academia whose views range from deep hostility towards Israel to clear lack of support for Israel.

In the anti-Semitic rhetoric, the American press in general and the New York Times in particular are noticeable features of the “Jewish power.” There is one thing that can be said for certain about the New York Times: It is not pro-Israel. It is a power center which is equivalent at least to the Conference of Presidents, and probably much more.

And in general, Israel’s strongest critics are Jewish professors and journalists. The Jews are much more represented than their relative proportion in the population in the BDS campaign. So all the talks about “Jewish power” when it comes to automatic support for Israel are nonsense.

The public opinion in the US has indeed changed. Immediately after the agreement with Iran was signed, there was an absolute majority in favor of it – both in the general public and among the Jews. Now most Americans are against the agreement, and it turns out that most Jews are too. It didn’t happen because of the “Jewish power.” It happened because of Secretary of State John Kerry’s embarrassing testimony to the Senate, and because more and more faults were exposed in the agreement.

If this trend continues, it won’t be thanks to the successful campaign launched by Netanyahu or the Jewish lobby, but because of Obama’s failed marketing. He is the one who crossed red lines, and he may pay the price.

 

 

 

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The profs who love Obama’s Iran deal

August 10, 2015

The profs who love Obama’s Iran deal, Front Page Magazine, Cinnamon Stillwell, August 10, 2015

1.29.13-ayatollah-ali-khamenei

Meet the Mullahs’ academic cheerleaders.

Who supports the Obama administration’s increasingly unpopular Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) aimed ostensibly at curbing Iran’s nuclear program? Many of its strongest proponents come from the field of Middle East studies, which boasts widespread animus towards the U.S. and Israel along with a cadre of apologists for the Iranian regime determined to promote ineffectual diplomacy at all costs.

University of California, Riverside creative writing professor Reza Aslan concedes that his generation of Iranian-Americans “feel[s] far removed from the political and religious turmoil of the Iranian revolution” before falling in line with the Iranian regime’s propaganda: the deal will “empower moderates in Iran, strengthen Iranian civil society and spur economic development,” and create “an Iran that is a responsible actor on the global stage, that respects the rights of its citizens and that has warm relations with the rest of the world.” “Warm relations” are the least likely outcome of the increase in funding for Iran’s terrorist proxies Hamas and Hezbollah that even President Obama admits will follow the easing of sanctions.

Flynt Leverett, an international relations professor at Pennsylvania State University, whitewashes these terrorist groups as “constituencies” and “communities” which the Iranian regime “help[s] organize in various ways to press their grievances more effectively,” effective terrorism being, for Leverett, a laudable goal.  Characterizing the regime as “a rising regional power” and “legitimate political order for most Iranians,” he urges the U.S., through the JCPOA, to “come to terms with this reality.”

Diablo Valley College Middle East studies instructor Amer Araim’s seemingly wishful thinking is equally supportive of Tehran’s line: “it is sincerely hoped that these funds will be used to help the Iranian people develop their economy and to ensure prosperity in that country.” Meanwhile, Hooshang Amirahmadi, an Iranian-American international relations professor at Rutgers University, attempts to legitimize the regime by delegitimizing the sanctions: “The money that will flow to Iran under this deal is not a gift: this is Iran’s money that has been frozen and otherwise blocked.”

Others deny the Iranian regime intends to build a nuclear bomb. University of Michigan history professor Juan Cole has “long argued that [Iran’s leader Ali] Khamenei is sincere about not wanting a nuclear weapon” because of his “oral fatwas or legal rulings” indicating that “using such weapons is contrary to Islamic law.” His unwarranted confidence in the regime leads him to conclude:

[T]hey have developed all the infrastructure and technical knowledge and equipment that would be necessary to make a nuclear weapon, but stop there, much the way Japan has.

Evidently, Cole has no problem with a tyrannical, terrorist-supporting regime that seeks regional hegemony on the threshold of becoming a nuclear power.

Likewise, William Beeman, an anthropology professor at the University of Minnesota, maintains that, “It was . . .  easy for Iran to give up a nuclear weapons program that never existed, and that it never intended to implement.” Like Cole, he uncritically accepts and recites the regime’s disinformation: “Iran’s leaders have regularly denounced nuclear weapons as un-Islamic.”

Beeman—who, in previous negotiations with the Iranian regime, urged the U.S. to be “unfailingly polite and humble” and not to set “pre-conditions” regarding its nuclear program—coldly disregards criticism of the JCPOA for excluding conditions such as the “release of [American] political prisoners” and “recognition of Israel,” calling them “utterly irrelevant.” No doubt the relatives of those prisoners and the Israeli citizens who live in the crosshairs of the regime’s continued threats of annihilation would disagree.

A number of academics have resorted to classic anti-Semitic conspiracy mongering to attack the deal’s Israeli and American opponents, calling them the “Israel Lobby.” Muqtedar Khan, director of the Islamic Studies Program at the University of Delaware, accuses “the Israeli government and all those in the U.S. who are under the influence of its American lobbies” of obstructing the deal, claiming that, “The GOP congress is now being described as the [Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin] Netanyahu congress.”

Hatem Bazian, director of the Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project at the University of California, Berkeley, takes aim at “pro-Israel neo-conservatives,” “neo-conservative warmongers,” “AIPAC,” and (in a mangled version of “Israel-firster”) “Israel’s first D.C. crowd” for “attempting to scuttle the agreement.” Asserting a moral equivalence between the dictatorial Iranian regime and the democratically-elected Israeli government, Bazian demands to know when Israel’s “pile of un-inspected or regulated nuclear weapons stockpile” will be examined before answering, “It is not going to happen anytime soon!” That Israel has never threatened any country with destruction, even after being attacked repeatedly since its rebirth, is a fact ignored by its critics.

The unhinged Facebook posts of Columbia University Iranian studies professor and Iranian native Hamid Dabashi reveal in lurid language his hatred of Israel:

It is now time the exact and identical widely intrusive scrutiny and control compromising the sovereignty of the nation-state of Iran and its nuclear program be applied to the European settler colony of Jewish apartheid state of Israel and its infinitely more dangerous nuclear program! There must be a global uproar against the thuggish vulgarity of Netanyahu and his Zionist gangsters in Israel and the U.S. Congress to force them to dismantle their nuclear program–systematically used to terrorize and murder Palestinian people and steal the rest of Palestine!

Elsewhere, Dabashi attacks adversaries of the JCPOA, including “Israel, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Neocons, and their treacherous expat Iranian stooges masquerading as ‘Opposition,’” calling them a “terrorizing alliance,” a “gang of murderous war criminals,” and “shameless warmongers.”

Willful blindness to Iran’s brutal, terrorist-supporting regime, moral equivocation, and an irrational hatred for Israel and the West characterize the fawning support enjoyed by the mullahs from these and other professors of Middle East studies. In place of objective, rigorously researched plans for countering Iran’s aggression and advancing the safety of America and its allies, they regurgitate the crudest propaganda from Teheran. Until their field of study is thoroughly reformed, their advice—such as it is—should and must be utterly ignored.

Categories: Academia, Antisemitism, Culture, Death to America, Fatwa, Foreign policy, Ideology, Iran scam, Iranian anti-semitism, Iranian missiles, Iranian nukes, Iranian Threats, Islamic supremacy, Islamism, Islamophobia, Israel, Khamenei, Obama, Obama's America, P5+1, Theocracy, U.S. politics
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Cartoons of the day

August 10, 2015

H/t Vermont Loon Watch

 

hollywood
the-flag

H/t Joopklepzeiker

Poliyicus-prostitue

Categories: Foreign policy, Humor, Iran scam, Israel, Kerry, Obama, Obama's America, P5+1
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