Yesterday on ABC’s “This Week,” Vice President Joe Biden signaled that the Obama administration would not stop an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. But was this statement just another Biden gaffe?
When asked whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right in indicating that Israel would take matters into its own hands if Iran did not show willingness to finally negotiate over its controversial nuclear program by the end of the year, Biden replied, “We cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do when they make a determination, if they make a determination, that they’re existentially threatened.”
On the surface Biden’s remarks suggest a toughening US stance against Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but White House officials denied that, the Los Angeles Times is reporting. According to the Times, White House officials are saying “his televised remarks Sunday simply reflected the US view that Israel had a right to defend itself and make its own decisions on national security.
And in Jerusalem, the Israeli government had no comment on Biden’s remarks.
However, in Tehran, the chatter was not recieved in silence. Al Jazeera reports Alaeddin Broujerdi, the head of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said Tehran was ready to take “real and decisive” action if Israel attacked its nuclear facilities.
With the so-far successful withdrawal of American troops from select Iraqi cities and Vice-President Joe Biden’s trip to Iraq topping the week’s headlines, it may appear that Obama has Iraq under control. But experts are warning Obama that taking his eyes off Iraq could jeopardize American relations with the whole region and earn him an unflattering comparison with George W. Bush.
BBC News reports:
[The Obama] administration has… shifted a considerable amount of its attention further east – many have described the conflict in Afghanistan as “Obama’s war”.
But in light of the recent uptick in violence in Iraq, there were growing concerns that the new president risked making the same mistake as his predecessor, albeit in reverse.
George W Bush was criticised for not paying enough attention to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taleban and while he tried to fix Iraq, al-Qaeda regained strength both in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Barack Obama cannot afford to lose Iraq,” warned Kenneth Pollack recently.
Mr Pollack, a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institution, added that there was a feeling that the administration’s policy on Iraq was adrift.
He said the regional consequences of instability in Iraq would undermine whatever else Washington was trying to achieve in the Middle East, from peace between Israelis and Arabs to dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
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Categories: Iraq, Obama Foreign Policy Tags: Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, American relations, Biden, Bush, Iran, Iraq, nuclear weapons, Obama, Taleban, violence