Bang The Drum Slowly

The ongoing saga of the efforts of Iran to become a nuclear power and Israel's insistence that they not be allowed to do so has created quite a tiff among various interest groups. Of course, Iran claims they have no desire to possess nuclear weapons but only desire to master nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Most people justifiably think that Iran is fibbing but no one really knows. Their religious leaders have been quite vocal in their insistence that the possession of such weapons is sinful and beyond the propriety of the Islamic state. On the other hand Israel has possessed nuclear weapons for a long time. They assiduously deny it but everyone seems to know that are blowing smoke. It is also common knowledge that they gained that ability through espionage on the nation who is their biggest supporter, the United States of America. To me it is unseemly that a nation that owes its very existence to support from the United States should act in such a covert manner and that it should use a little more discretion when dabbling in areas that concern our national security.

However, the United States maintains that the security of the Israeli nation is a matter for which there can be no doubt of our commitment. We have pledged to protect Israel from all enemies no matter what. President John Adams who was our second President and ambassador to France and Great Britain made the stunning judgment that nations do not act according to doctrine or belief but simply in their own best interests. While nations may seem to act on principle when the chips are down they will act according to selfish interests. And, in all likelihood, that is the way it should be. In light of that assumption we must accept that Israel is acting in its own best interests with the security of the United States a distant second on the list. You can rest assured that the United States will do the same thing and that is as it should be.

The Jewish nation enjoys a unique place in our international relations largely due to the large numbers of citizens of that heritage. The relationship of Americans to the Jewish people has not always been so amiable. In the not so distant past the predominantly Christian population of the United States held that the Jews were to be just as despised as the African-Americans and it was through that shared sense of persecution that the Jewish people were among the first to demand an end to the persecution of the African-Americans. It seems a bit strange now that the Christians in the Bible Belt are now the biggest supporters of the Jewish nation although the feelings about the African-Americans have not evolved quite as much. But it is the Evangelical Christians who are so supportive of Israel largely due to the admonition of the Bible in the book of The Revelation to not take sides against Israel under threat of dire retribution. That sub-set of Christianity is also notably supportive of right wing political causes and social issues.

Consequently, the President and other leaders are under enormous pressure to unequivocally support the demands of Israel and allay its fears concerning its neighbors. There are those who are beating the drums of war to eliminate the threat of Iran achieving nuclear status and thereby achieving the wherewithal to destroy Israel. In the Arab world there are many who see this as hypocritical of the United States since we do nothing about Israel's nuclear capability which is a hard argument to refute. Now, even as sanctions are crippling Iran's economy the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is asserting that we must hold Iran to deadlines for ceasing its nuclear ambition or he fears the option to act will pass.

That may well happen but exactly what has the United States to fear from such developments? Certainly the Iranians do not possess the ability to deliver nuclear weapons to the United States in an attack but the fear is that Iran will allow such weapons to fall into the hands of terrorist entities who will attempt to do so. Again, that may be but we can take a lesson from the examples of North Korea and Pakistan who both possess nuclear weapons with Pakistan being the worst nuclear proliferator in the world. Also, the United States and the Soviet Union faced off against one another for almost fifty years in a nuclear standoff each one being assured that their own nation would surely suffer such a devastating retaliation so as to make a first strike unacceptable. Probably this is what would happen between the Israelis and the Iranians but there is always the chance of a wild card. That is just the nature of the world we live in today. It would be nice if the world would forgo nuclear weapons entirely but that is not likely to happen. So, we have to ask ourselves whether or not we want to risk plunging the Middle East and possibly the entire world into another shooting war over this threat to an ally or do we want to just try to get along on an even footing?

There are plenty of good reasons to claim Israel as an ally. Reasons that support our own national security issues but we should ask ourselves whether or not we want any other country dictating our foreign policy. The fact of the matter is that if this were France, Great Britain or Japan we would have told them to reign it in. Of course, we must understand that there are some in Israel who view this as an existential problem but there are many who do not and who want their country to pursue a foreign policy based on cooperation rather than confrontation. A wise choice for our country also.

My take is that the United States does not need to become involved in another shooting war in the Middle East. Talking is better than killing.