No ‘Red Line’ for Israel

By Gilad Atzmon

Israeli news outlets reported today that President Obama rejected an appeal by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to set a specific “red line” to stop any further Iranian uranium enrichment.

According to reports, in an hour-long conversation on Tuesday, Obama deflected Netanyahu’s proposal to make the size of Iran’s stockpile of close-to-bomb-grade uranium the threshold, the crossing of which would trigger a US military strike on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.

But it seems that, this time at least, President Obama has decided against launching a world war on behalf of the Jewish State and its powerful lobby.

“We need some ability for the President to have decision-making room,” said an American official. “We have a red line, which is a nuclear weapon. We’re committed to that red line.” The meaning of this is simple: America just doesn’t buy the Israeli intelligence reports regarding Iranian intentions.

Israel is not happy. Apparently, the Israelis want to see Iran wiped out – and soon and its officials have already confirmed that such an American guarantee falls far short of the Jewish state’s security needs.

Ynet  reported today that prime minister Netanyahu told reporters this week that “the Obama administration had no ‘moral right’ to restrain Israel from taking military action on its own if it refused to put limits on Iran.” Ynet adds that “the remarks were followed by reports claiming that Obama snubbed Netanyahu’s request to meet during the United Nations General Assembly session in New York this month.”

So it seems that for now, the Obama administration has come to its senses – it has said NO to Jewish pressure.

Of course, this decision is far more likely to be political than ethically or morally driven. Amid the presidential election, Obama has been quick to perceive a window of opportunity that may prove to be a game winner. Obama lets the Republican party and their presidential candidate Mitt Romney operate as Netanyahu’s Sabbath Goyim.  Obama clears the stage to Romney who foolishly and voluntarily pushes for another Israeli war, he lets Romney be a Zionist mouthpiece, the one who scarifies America and American soldiers for Israel.  Consequently, Obama presents himself as a reasonable, sensible and responsible leader– all in all, a ‘real American patriot’.

But, by now, one thing should be clear. Israel, as we now have long known, lacks the military capacity to destroy Iran’s nuclear project and needs America to take care of it. Netanyahu and the Jewish Lobby were convinced they could, ahead of the election, pressure Obama into such a suicidal mission. They were wrong.

We’ve long known that the arrival of Obama did not bring peace. Like those before him, he has surrounded himself with rabid Zionist warmongers. But we can only hope that the penny has now dropped – even if we also know that the penny isn’t worth all that much anymore.

Gilad Atzmon

Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli-born British jazz saxophonist, novelist, political activist and writer.

Atzmon’s album Exile was BBC jazz album of the year in 2003. Playing over 100 dates a year,[4] he has been called “surely the hardest-gigging man in British jazz.” His albums, of which he has recorded nine to date, often explore the music of the Middle East and political themes. He has described himself as a “devoted political artist.” He supports the Palestinian right of return and the one-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

His criticisms of Zionism, Jewish identity, and Judaism, as well as his controversial views on The Holocaust and Jewish history have led to allegations of antisemitism from both Zionists and anti-Zionists. A profile in The Guardian in 2009 which described Atzmon as “one of London’s finest saxophonists” stated: “It is Atzmon’s blunt anti-Zionism rather than his music that has given him an international profile, particularly in the Arab world, where his essays are widely read.”

His new book The Wandering Who? is now availble at Amazon.com