Obama: 'Misjudgment' To Make Iran Deal Contingent On Recognizing Israel

[alp227]

Source: NPR

President Obama says it would be a "fundamental misjudgment" to condition a nuclear deal with Iran on the country's recognition of Israel.

Obama made the comments Monday during an interview with Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep.

Steve spoke at length with Obama about a framework deal struck by Iran and world powers that would curb parts of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the loosening of some international sanctions.

Israel has vehemently opposed such a deal and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been publicly critical of the parameters set by the agreement, saying they would "threaten the survival of Israel."

Read more: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/04/06/397892256/obama-conditioning-iran-nuclear-deal-on-recognition-of-israel-is-misjudgment

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

1. If peace breaks out, it cripples the power of a puke like BIBI..he thrives on hate

and the appearance that he is about to go to war at any moment.

The Israeli people, out of fear, elect him to protect them, when in fact his goal has little to do with protecting them.

If Bibi really cared ONLY about peace, he would love this deal like EVERYBODY else who isnt a moron.

[cstanleytech]

2. If Israel wants to be recognized by Iran they need to pull their heads out of their butts

and stop being douchebags first and then negotiate with Iran directly.

[former9thward]

4. Leader after leader has sworn the complete destruction of Israel.

Kinda hard to negotiate with someone who says they are going to kill you.

[cstanleytech]

7. No one said it would be easy but its even harder when you deliberately do things that

you know will provoke someone.

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. "We will bury you," said Khruschev. We negotiated with the Soviets.

[former9thward]

14. Actually he didn't, at least not in that context.

And he was not addressing the U.S. specifically, he was addressing all the Western ambassadors at a reception in Moscow. The U.S. MIC turned his speech into war fears as they always do.

The actual verbal context was: "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in" ("Нравится вам или нет, но история на нашей стороне. Мы вас закопаем&quot . In his subsequent public speech Khrushchev declared: "[...] We must take a shovel and dig a deep grave, and bury colonialism as deep as we can". Later, on August 24, 1963, Khrushchev remarked in his speech in Yugoslavia, "I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you,"a reference to the Marxist saying, "The proletariat is the undertaker of capitalism", based on the concluding statement in Chapter 1 of the Communist Manifesto: "What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable." Khrushchev repeated this Marxist thesis at a meeting with journalists in the US in September 1959. Many Americans interpreted the quote as a nuclear threat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_will_bury_you

That said, the U.S. and the Soviet Union recognized each other. Iran does not recognize Israel.

[Johnyawl]

12. Israel is not in negotiations with Iran...

...they have nothing to offer Iran, they are not part of the crippling sanctions that have driven Iran to the negotiating table.

[Xithras]

16. The leaders of Iran have already sworn off military action against Israel.

“The Islamic Republic’s proposal to help resolve the Palestinian issue and heal this old wound is a clear and logical initiative based on political concepts accepted by world public opinion, which has already been presented in detail. We do not suggest launching a classic war by the armies of Muslim countries, or throwing immigrant Jews into the sea, or mediation by the UN and other international organizations. We propose holding a referendum with [the participation of] the Palestinian nation. The Palestinian nation, like any other nation, has the right to determine their own destiny and elect the governing system of the country.”
— Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, October 2, 2011

The MSM in the U.S. doesn't like to talk about it, but the Iranian government, with only a few exceptions like the now removed ImaNuttyJiad, has clearly defined what they mean by "wipe Israel off the map", and their top leaders have all said that they aren't advocating war. Iran believes that the Israeli government isn't legitimate because it wasn't created by the original and natural population of the region. They believe that it is an imposed government created by American and European colonists. They want that government abolished, and want the descendants of the original population in Israel, including the Palestinians, the Christians, and the non-colonist descendants of the original Jewish population of the region (around half of the Jewish population of Israel, and maybe more than 60% depending on who is included) to determine TOGETHER what kind of government they should have. Whatever they come up with will NOT be Israel, but will be something "else". The imposed nation if "Israel" would be wiped from the maps, replaced with something entirely new.

While there are blowhards on both sides of the issue who like to spout bullshit on a regular basis, Khamenei is the real power in Iran. Khameni has been consistent about his belief that the region needs a democratic solution to the "Israel problem" since 1989.

The media has long perpetuated this idea that Iran wants an all-out war with Israel, but if you look at the actual statements and explanations given by Iran's leaders, instead of simply relying on the dog whistle excerpts and sound bites parroted by the American and Israeli press, you'll see that their actual position is quite a bit more complicated.

Iran has sworn the destruction of the Israeli government. Not the extermination of its residents.

[Deny and Shred]

3. If recognition is now supposed to be a condition

in foreign relations, perhaps US aid to Israel should be contingent on Israel recognizing Palestine.

[Mosby]

5. Obama is saying that the Iranians are ideologically incapable of accepting Israel in the ME

and he's right.

Hell they won't even call the country Israel, just the Zionist regime.

[Adrahil]

20. That may be true, right now....

But it is a fundamentally different issue than dealing with their nuclear program.

[Cali_Democrat]

6. Then Iran should insist that Israel recognize Palestine

and get the hell out of the West Bank and Gaza.

[former9thward]

15. They are not in Gaza.

[DLnyc]

8. If by "Israel" we mean Bibi Netanyahu and the right-wing gang that currently rules Israel,

then maybe some context is important here: Mr. Netanyahu was similarly an over-the-top advocate for attacking Iraq in 2003. He was dead wrong then and things didn't work out so well, for Israel or for anyone else (excepting arms merchants and other groups that thrive on hatred and trauma).

How can any serious news source repeat his ravings today, when he was so profoundly, and cynically, wrong last time?

http://www.alternet.org/world/benjamin-netanyahu-has-been-lying-americans-20-years

. . . Here's a snippet from his testimony at that time:

There’s no question that ((Saddam)) has not given upon on his nuclear program, not ((sic)) whatsoever. There is also no question that he was not satisfied with the arsenal of chemical and biological weapons that he had and was trying to perfect them constantly…So I think, frankly, it is not serious to assume that this man, who 20 years ago was very close to producing an atomic bomb, spent the last 20 years sitting on his hands. He has not. And every indication we have is that he is pursuing, pursuing with abandon, pursuing with every ounce of effort, the establishment of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. If anyone makes an opposite assumption or cannot draw the lines connecting the dots, that is simply not an objective assessment of what has happened. Saddam is hell-bent on achieving atomic bombs, atomic capabilities, as soon as he can

. . .

[doxyluv13]

10. The recent election drove home the point...

The recent election drove home the point the right-wing gang that currently rules Israel is also know as: The Current Israeli Electorate. Hard to see, with many liberal Israelis trying to get out and with mostly very religious Jews making Aliyah how that improves.

[DLnyc]

17. Looks like the right has prevailed, but I would not call it a decisive election.

Good article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_legislative_election,_2015

The incumbent Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud, declared victory in the election with Likud picking up the highest number of votes. Initially, exit polls reported a virtual tie between the Likud and the Zionist Union, a coalition headed by Leader of the Opposition Isaac Herzog and former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. Both Netanyahu and Herzog began attempts to build a coalition in preparation for a possible government, with Herzog calling Netanyahu's statement "premature".[3] However, when the counting of the votes on 18 March 2015 revealed a significant lead for the Likud, Herzog acknowledged that "the only realistic option" was to remain in the opposition.[4] He stated in a 19 March 2015 post-election interview that he still hopes to be the prime minister.[5]

Bibi's party, Likud, got 23.4% of the vote. Certainly, it is not unanimous.

[Lollypat70]

9. Iran should set it's own policies regarding Israel

Iran is an sovereignty...we neither rule it or assist them in deciding their internal policies. In asking Iran to recognize Israel we are interfering with their right to govern as they see fit. It's enough that diplomacy has won out for Republicans' desire for another war.

[Johnyawl]

13. There are 28 Islamic countries that that DO NOT recognize Israel.

What business do we have of making that a pre-condition for any agreement with Iran? This is not a real issue, Bibi and his devotees in the republican party are only pressing this issue to kill the talks.

[alp227]

19. Including Saudi Arabia, who the government has no real problems with.

After all..

[Cha]

18. K&R

[Orsino]

21. Poison pill.

A foolish one, if the goal really were the recognition of Irael.