The US will not stand in Israel’s way if Israel believes military action is needed to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat, Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday, during an interview with ABC’s ‘This Week.’
Speaking to interviewer George Stephanopolous during a three-day visit to Iraq, the US vice president said that Israel can determine for itself “what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else.”
When questioned if Israel could make that decision “whether [the US] agrees or not,” Biden answered in the affirmative, noting, “Any sovereign nation is entitled to do that.”
“If the Netanyahu government decides to take a course of action different than the one being pursued now, that is their sovereign right to do that. That is not our choice,” he added.
This is the opposite of Biden’s remarks less than 3 months ago:
Vice President Joe Biden issued a high-level admonishment to Israel’s new government Tuesday that it would be “ill advised” to launch a military strike against Iran.
Biden said in a CNN interview that he does not believe newly installed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would take such a step. Even so, his comment underscored a gap between the conservative new Israeli government and the Obama White House on a series of questions, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Iran.
With his brief comment Tuesday, Biden became the highest-ranking administration official to caution the Jewish state against a military strike. In the interview, Biden was asked whether he was concerned that Netanyahu might strike Iranian nuclear facilities.
“I don’t believe Prime Minister Netanyahu would do that. I think he would be ill advised to do that,” Biden said.
I’m never sure how much to read into diplomatic statements. So much of diplomacy, like all things political, is merely posturing for the purpose of manipulating the target audience. It’s the deeds that count, rather than the words. So Biden’s comments may mean anything or nothing. But it’s noteworthy that the words of the American Vice President have changed.
I think me just need to send good ole joe over there to talk to them, that would FIX_IT. LOL They would blow themselves up.
Great post! Indeed, deeds are all that will count. I think we already see where this is going, just like we see where our country is going with respect to the other major issues, when we stop second-guessing our better judgment and refrain from indulging in Stockholm’s Syndrome with our politicians. See Carolyn Glick’s May 8, 2009 piece, “Obama’s Green Light to Attack Iran”:
“By blaming Israel for the absence of peace in the Middle East while ignoring the Palestinians’ refusal to accept Israel’s right to exist; by seeking to build an international coalition with Europe and the Arabs against Israel while glossing over the fact that at least the Arabs share Israel’s concerns about Iran; by exposing Israel’s nuclear arsenal and pressuring Israel to disarm while in the meantime courting the ayatollahs like an overeager bridegroom, the Obama administration is telling Israel that regardless of what it does, and what objective reality is, as far as the White House is concerned, Israel is to blame.” (http://www.carolineglick.com/e/2009/05/)
Hence, Biden has moved along this “agenda” with smoke and mirrors from admonishment to a totally disingenuinuous “recognition of sovereignty” and, in the end, when no one but Israel (and her newfound allies) seek to end the madness that Obama is enabling, Israel will be blamed for its actions. How convenient. Shame on US and the rest of the world that has sold itself out to Islamofascism and the additional ideological “fascisms” that are erupting around the globe, including right here in our blessed country. Recall, during the campaign, Joe said “No one is a better friend to Israel than Joe Biden”. Well, with friends like that…
Urkel has figured out how to vote present. How presidential.
I think this may have been precipitated by the Saudis saying they would “turn a blind eye” if Israel needed to use their air space on their way to Iran. How would Obambi look if it appeared that the Arabs were more friendly to Israel than America is.
What remains absolutely stunning to me is how many Jewish Americans voted for Obama. That’s not likely to happen again when they consider all he has done (and not done) to promote Islam countries and (support Israel). I hope you get my meaning. He does not stand up for our strongest allies. Instead he kisses the ring of the King and even bows to him. He gave his first presidential address to Al-Arayiaba (sp?) TV for crying out loud. Where was his outrage as people were being murdered in the streets of Teheran? Did you watch his press conference or photo opp with Netanyahu? He didn’t even acknowledge the man’s presence! I need to send him a free coupon for one Anal-Cranial crowbar. He has a serious need to pull his head out. I watched the Independence Day get-together, and he was explaining to his daughter about the significance of the songs they were playing. Why does he have to tell his 11 year old daughter the significance of songs that we all grew up learning? I mean, she’s old enough and smart enough to have watched at least 4 Independence Day celebrations. Is this something they are just now teaching her?? Sorry I’m rambling; I just think that he is unAmerican. He should be overflowing with the joy and appreciation of a free country and what it means. If he has to work at it, that means he doesn’t get it and he never will.
I am one of the 22% of Jews who DID NOT vote for Obama and pleaded with every Jew I know not to vote for him either. But they did, and now I no longer speak to them. Actually they no longer speak to me because I exposed Obama mercilessly for his terrorist connections on my website for months prior to the election. The problem is, liberal Jews are not really Jews at all because they worship at the altar of liberalism.
These are the same kind of Jews who thought they were Germans before they were Jews, and never believed Hitler would do what he did, right up until they were marched into the gas chambers. These are the Jews that oppose Israel right now too, and they will be the first ones Obama puts into the camps here too, if and when he can.
Hey lawmom90,
You make some very interesting points. First of all, if Obama thinks he can count on the “Jewish vote” next time around, lots o’ luck, Urkel. There are major grumblings all over the country. His speech in Cairo was stunning in its stomach-churning moral equivalences (e.g., ‘on the one hand, there’s the Holocaust. but on the other hand, 60 years of Palestinian “humiliation.” ‘) Israelis were generally shocked and frightened that he suddenly seemed to turn against them, although after his passive, Hello-Kitty-like lack of response to events in Iran, the Israeli press has now concluded that he is basically a weak guy who will never back up his words with any action. As far as Netanyahu is concerned, I had to laugh when I saw them sit together. Man vs. boy. Netanyahu has a fierce love for his country, and obama has a fierce love of……himself! Anyway, in the spirit of Urkel, I would like to offer my own moral equivalence: on the one hand, Netanyahu’s brother, Jonathan, a beloved paratrooper/poet/scholar, was killed in 1976 during the raid in Entebbe, Uganda, which saved the lives of the passengers of the hijacked place, and, on the other hand, we have Urkel’s half-brother, who lives in a hut in Africa, on $20 a year…. ‘I’m just sayin’
Shifra, I think BiBi’s speech was brilliant in that he made ISLAMObama think he was in favor of a 2-state solution but put up the only two conditions, “recognizing Israel as a JEWISH STATE and demilitarizing the Palestinian state”, which he knew would never be accepted by the Arabs. Of course, ISLAMObama chose only to hear the part about the 2-state solution.
barenakedislam,
Absolutely! btw, just checked out your site for first time. I’m sending the link to everyone I know. You really “tell it like it is.”
as rev. wright would say, ” the chickens have come home to roost”….. and even the love sick with obama media is cracking trying to shoo them away from his majesty.
that disgraceful, lie filled islam concession speech- how you naively thought it would save you from radical islam. so arrogant in thinking it could. maybe that was never his intention anyway. israel, women, nonmuslims, homosexuals were all thrown under the bus of liberal vanity and hippie delusion and whatever deep hatred of america and democracy creeps around in obama’s own skull. his already disastrous and amateur hour administration just may be given it’s ultimate death blow from outside america- he has mishandled , dropped and fallen back to the previous administration’s policies every single time. his outright hostility toward democracies( israel is the only true one in the middle east) and those seeking a real democracy in the world is telling but like his outright hatred of Israel was apparent before he was elected.
israel will do what it will to preserve and protect it’s citizens- which in a democracy really is the only role of government, particularly a president. in the face of fascist colonizing islam, our president will do no such thing for us. it’s grounds for impeachment. g-d bless israel. goddamn the present american administration.