Freedom Rider:
Obama Obliterates Iran
by BAR editor
and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
"I will always keep the threat of military action on the
table to defend our security and our ally Israel." - Barack
Obama
How fortunate for Senator Barack Obama that the AIPAC convention took
place immediately after he clenched the Democratic nomination for president. It
was a great opportunity for the victor to show his true colors to an extremely
powerful Democratic constituency, the pro-Israel lobby.
Obama didn't disappoint his audience, many of whom had
feigned concerns about his candidacy. Phony hand wringing about emails claiming
that Obama is a Muslim extremist was nothing but a ploy to insure that the
Israeli government would get whatever it wanted in an Obama administration.
The Israelis should be rejoicing about the prospect of an
Obama victory. Not only did the Senator repeat the litany of trite pro-Israeli
phrases "only democracy in the Middle East," "special friendship" and so on,
but he promised extra cash to Israel's already bulging United States bank
account. "As president I will implement a Memorandum of Understanding
that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade -
investments to Israel's security that will not be tied to any other nation."
Not that there was ever a reason to worry. AIPAC always
makes sure that Israel gets what it wants from American presidential
administrations. Obama's victory shows that he knows the rules of the game
backwards and forwards. By the time he finished his address at the AIPAC
convention, he had been interrupted by sustained applause
thirteen times and walked away holding the audience in the palm of his
hand.
"AIPAC always makes sure that Israel gets what it wants
from American presidential administrations."
Part of keeping Israel and its American lobbying force happy
is to repeat what they want to hear, whether true or false. Dire warnings about
a nuclear Iran attacking Israel are lies. Only Israeli government officials
speak openly of attacking Iran and only Israel has nuclear weapons. Iran has
never threatened Israel in any way, but that unimpeachable and inconvenient
fact is not allowed on the American political campaign trail, and certainly not
at an AIPAC convention.
So lying is the order of the day, and the Senator did not
disappoint. "It (Iran) pursues a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous
arms race, and raise the prospect of a transfer of nuclear know-how to
terrorists. Its President denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel off
the map."
Iranian president Ahmedinajad never said anything about
wiping Israel off the map and doesn't say that the Jewish holocaust never took
place. These lies have been repeated so often and are so useful in justifying
the threat of military action that neither Obama nor anyone else who repeat
them are ever called bold faced liars. The prospect of Iran giving hypothetical
nukes to terrorists makes no sense whatever. If Iran does pursue a nuclear
capability, it will be no different than American allies Pakistan and India,
whose acquisition of nukes has already created an arms race of its own.
"Dire warnings about a nuclear Iran attacking Israel are
lies."
Obama's speech not only proved that AIPAC is powerful, but
it proved that he and his recently defeated opponent are as alike as Tweedle
Dum and Tweedle Dee. Hillary Clinton was pilloried for saying that "we would
obliterate" a nuclear Iran. As always, Obama was less clumsy and ham fisted,
but said the same thing. "I will do
everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," is a
lot smoother than talk of obliteration but says exactly the same thing. Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama are indeed political twins.
Just a few days after Obama pledged to give Israel carte
blanche, one of its cabinet ministers, Shaul Mofaz, felt emboldened to say that
an Israeli attack on Iran was "unavoidable." Bush has been itching to attack
Iran and now both major party presidential nominees are on record as saying
that killing is fine with them. The only difference between the two is that
Obama didn't join John McCain in singing
songs about killing human beings. When it comes to foreign policy and
Israel, Obama and McCain are also political twins.
"Iran has never
threatened Israel in any way."
It was left to the government of Iran to succinctly sum up
the problems that the United States and Israel create for the rest of the
world. In a
letter to the United Nations Secretary General, Iran's representative had
this to say.
"Such a dangerous threat against a sovereign State and a
member of the United Nations constitutes a manifest violation of international
law and contravenes the most fundamental principles of the Charter of the
United Nations, and, thus, requires a resolute and clear response on the part
of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council."
Lots of luck Iran. Even if the Security Council takes action
the United States will use its veto power to silence the world body. That is
what happens in the Bush administration and that is what will happen in January
2009, whether the next president is named Obama or McCain. Evil twins still
call the shots in American politics.
Margaret Kimberley's
Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York
City, and can be reached via e-Mail at
Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley maintains an
edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com.
More of her work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive
page.
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