Israel wants to direct U.S. foreign policy toward Iran

March 3, 8:09 PMProgressive Politics ExaminerJay McDonough

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Progressive Politics Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Funny that this Haaretz story would show up a couple hours after a post asserting the U.S. ought to be a bit more adament about our own foreign policy objectives when it comes to Israel.

According to Haaretz, Israel plans to present Secretary of State,Hillary Clinton a list of "red line" conditions the U.S. must adhere to in its dealings with Iran. 

The red lines were jointly formulated by the Foreign Ministry and the defense establishment, and Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has been briefed on them. The document recommends that Israel adopt a positive attitude toward the planned U.S.-Iranian dialogue, but proposes ways of minimizing what Israeli officials see as the risks inherent in such talks. Its main points are as follows:
 
1. Any dialogue must be both preceded by and accompanied by harsher sanctions against Iran, both within the framework of the UN Security Council and outside it. Otherwise, the talks are liable to be perceived by both Iran and the international community as acceptance of Iran's nuclear program.

2. Before the dialogue begins, the U.S. should formulate an action plan with Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain regarding what to do if the talks fail. Specifically, there must be an agreement that the talks' failure will prompt extremely harsh international sanctions on Iran.

3. A time limit must be set for the talks, to prevent Iran from merely buying time to complete its nuclear development. The talks should also be defined as a "one-time opportunity" for Tehran.

4. Timing is critical, and the U.S. should consider whether it makes sense to begin the talks before Iran's presidential election in June.

This is, of course, outrageous.  Perhaps this kind of nonsense was allowed during the Bush Administration, but Israel has no place directing U.S. foreign policy and drawing "red lines" for the United States to stay within.