by William Bigelow 31 Aug 2012 post a comment
John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, the most honest and clearheaded person in foreign policy, is saying that Israel should not wait to attack Iran because Barack Obama will never come to Israel’s aid. In an interview published in Maariv, Bolton stated:
There is no way at this stage to prevent Iran from going nuclear without use of force. It is very unfortunate in my opinion, but I see no possibility that Obama will use military force, and therefore it falls upon Israel. I think that even though the Administration says that containment is not its policy, it will become its policy the day after Iran possesses nuclear weapons.
They won't like it, but they do believe that a nuclear Iran can be contained, just as we contained the nuclear Soviet Union during the Cold War. Iran is not in a race for building one or two bombs. I think they believe that time is on their side and they will continue with what seems like a well thought-out plan, mostly because they believe that the United States under Obama's leadership will do nothing. And of course, they are afraid of Israel, but I think they trust Obama to pressure Israel not to do anything, and until now this has proved right.
I think Israel, like any other country, has a legitimate right to self defense. Israel has twice attacked enemies that were developing nuclear weapons, and it has the right to do so in this case as well.
Interviewed by the Intermountain Jewish News, Bolton said that Israel attacking Iran is not the best option: he would rather see the U.S. attack Iran:
The US has much greater [military] capabilities [than Israel]. That’s why Israel wants the US to do it. I believe the US should do it because we’ll get blamed anyway. Therefore, we might as well make sure it gets done right.
Bolton was unsparing in his criticism of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama:
I blame not only Obama, but the Bush administration. Sanctions are only good if they are comprehensive, swiftly applied and rigorously enforced. Obama has met none of those conditions.
And Bibi Netanyahu just warned U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro that time is running out. Meanwhile, Barack Obama warmly welcomes the fundamentalist Arab Spring.
Bolton is undoubtedly correct; shamefully for the United States, Israel will have to go it alone. But after all, the U.S. President is the same man who has disparaged the Old and New Testaments while calling the Muslim call to prayer “one of the prettiest sounds on earth.”