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A post by Maynard

The Jerusalem Post is reporting:

Security officials expressed concern Monday over statements reportedly made by US Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

Army Radio reported that the Delaware senator was heard saying in closed conversations with Jerusalem officials three years ago that he was firmly opposed to an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, reportedly claimed that Israel would likely have to come to terms with a nuclear Iran. He reportedly expressed doubt over the effectiveness of economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic and said he was against the opening of an additional military and diplomatic front, saying that the US had more pressing problems, such as North Korea and Iraq.

Note that this report has not been confirmed, and Biden is not on the record as saying Iran can’t be stopped. However, he has been outspoken in his opposition to the use of force. Remember that Biden was presumably brought onto the ticket because of his foreign policy credentials, so his opinions carry weight.

Lately Obama has urged the world to use soft power to block Iran’s nuclear ambitions. However during the primaries, he chided Hillary when she said Iran would face “annihilation” if it launched a nuclear attack. He said, “Iran, Cuba, Venezuela? These countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don’t pose any serious threat to us.” He was criticized for this naïve comment, and subsequently seemed to regard the danger as real, conceding that a nuclear Iran would be a “grave threat” and not ruling out a military solution.

This is typical political ambiguity. Pacifist appeasers will feel Obama and Biden are in their camp, but the people concerned that Iran must be stopped even at the cost of military action are (slightly) reassured that Obama will “do something” if the soft campaigns continue to fail. But I don’t see any basis to assume he’ll do anything effective.

Update by Pat Ess:

There was something nagging at the back of my head when I read this post about Biden reportedly saying we have to get used to a nuclear Iran (he is denying he said it). In June, I came across this entry in Amitai Etzioni’s blog.

On Deterring Iran, Jun 02, 2008

“We just have to get used to a nuclear Iran.” Because of Chatham House rules, I am not allowed to inform you who said that. The rules permit quoting what has been said at a meeting, but forbid indicating by whom or naming the group that hosted the event. The Council on Foreign Relations, the Nixon Center and quite a few other groups in Washington conduct their meetings in accordance with these rules, named after the highly respected London think-tank credited with first introducing this form of deliberation. Trust me, the person who made this statement was a high ranking adviser to one of the leading presidential candidates—someone likely to make it into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Etzioni was a senior adviser in the Carter White House.