Arkady
President
Israel has stepped up its saber-rattling campaign against Iran, and has been leaking supposed plans to start a war with Iran before the US presidential election (presumably with the idea that Obama would be afraid to object with the election looming). Stop and picture the shoe being on the other foot, for a minute. Picture if some foreign country were demanding that we, the United States, give up all nuclear power generation, or suffer a massive, unprovoked attack on our homeland. Picture if that planned attack would be aimed not just at military targets, but at civilian infrastructure. Picture if it would effectively act as a series of dirty-bomb attacks, in that it would leave many target sites contaminated by high-level nuclear materials, while exposing countless American civilians to radiation poisoning, cancers, and sometimes death. What would your reaction be? Would you pressure our government to abandon nuclear power? Or would you align behind our government, in defiance against that foreign threat?
Well, I can't speak for you, but I'd be one of the defiant ones. So, I'd imagine that will be a typical reaction among Iranians -- that this Israeli terrorism will convince even many dissident and discontented Iranians to put their objections to the hard-line Iranian regime on the back-burner, and focus their anger abroad. I'd imagine that it will therefore strengthen the worst elements of Iranian leadership, and lead the country ever further down the wrong path. And I'd imagine this won't just hurt the Iranians, it will hurt global security, by encouraging Iran to retaliate against Israeli terrorism with whatever terrorism they can manage.
I realize this what I'm about to propose is entirely unrealistic, politically, but if Israel were to attack Iran without some sort of violent provocation, the proper move for the US would be to withdraw funding and weapons sales from Israel, and to refuse to use our veto to block any international sanctions against Israel. If they're going to act like a rogue nation, they should be treated as such. They should face the anger of their region and the world without the US having their backs or paying their bills. Divorcing ourselves from such behavior would save the American taxpayer money, it would avoid wasting precious political capital that can be used on more important international priorities, and it would make us less of a target for terrorists who are reacting against Israeli misconduct. It would also, I think, be in the long-term best interest of Israel.
That last point probably isn't immediately obvious, but you can think of it in simple terms. When you're blind-drunk, which is your better friend: the drinking buddy who keeps buying you drinks and then helps you find the keys to your car, or the annoyingly responsible guy who cuts you off and then hides your keys until you sober up?
Well, I can't speak for you, but I'd be one of the defiant ones. So, I'd imagine that will be a typical reaction among Iranians -- that this Israeli terrorism will convince even many dissident and discontented Iranians to put their objections to the hard-line Iranian regime on the back-burner, and focus their anger abroad. I'd imagine that it will therefore strengthen the worst elements of Iranian leadership, and lead the country ever further down the wrong path. And I'd imagine this won't just hurt the Iranians, it will hurt global security, by encouraging Iran to retaliate against Israeli terrorism with whatever terrorism they can manage.
I realize this what I'm about to propose is entirely unrealistic, politically, but if Israel were to attack Iran without some sort of violent provocation, the proper move for the US would be to withdraw funding and weapons sales from Israel, and to refuse to use our veto to block any international sanctions against Israel. If they're going to act like a rogue nation, they should be treated as such. They should face the anger of their region and the world without the US having their backs or paying their bills. Divorcing ourselves from such behavior would save the American taxpayer money, it would avoid wasting precious political capital that can be used on more important international priorities, and it would make us less of a target for terrorists who are reacting against Israeli misconduct. It would also, I think, be in the long-term best interest of Israel.
That last point probably isn't immediately obvious, but you can think of it in simple terms. When you're blind-drunk, which is your better friend: the drinking buddy who keeps buying you drinks and then helps you find the keys to your car, or the annoyingly responsible guy who cuts you off and then hides your keys until you sober up?
