Like most congressional Democrats, he bowed before the Israeli war machine and praised the IDF's brazen aggression in Lebanon, going so far as to visit northern Israel during the war in a show of support. He opposed a cease-fire – "I don't fault Israel for wanting to rid their border with Lebanon from those Katyusha missiles that can fire in and harm Israeli citizens, so I think that any cease-fire would have to be premised on the removal of those missiles" – and absurdly averred:
"I don't think there is any nation that would not have reacted the way Israel did after two soldiers had been snatched. I support Israel's response to take some action in protecting themselves."
According to this logic, the U.S. should have invaded Iran when the Iranians took hostages at our embassy – and, come to think of it, he does endorse an attack on Tehran, as reported by the Chicago Tribune:
"U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama suggested Friday that the United States one day might have to launch surgical missile strikes into Iran and Pakistan to keep extremists from getting control of nuclear bombs."
He stresses that military action is a "last resort," and that we ought to squeeze them with sanctions first:
"But if those measures fall short, the United States should not rule out military strikes to destroy nuclear production sites in Iran, Obama said.
"'The big question is going to be, if Iran is resistant to these pressures, including economic sanctions, which I hope will be imposed if they do not cooperate, at what point are we going to, if any, are we going to take military action?' Obama asked.
"Given the continuing war in Iraq, the United States is not in a position to invade Iran, but missile strikes might be a viable option, he said. Obama conceded that such strikes might further strain relations between the U.S. and the Arab world. 'On the other hand, having a radical Muslim theocracy in possession of nuclear weapons is worse. So I guess my instinct would be to err on not having those weapons in the possession of the ruling clerics of Iran. … And I hope it doesn't get to that point. But realistically, as I watch how this thing has evolved, I'd be surprised if Iran blinked at this point.'"
The United States, in Obama's reckoning , is the ultimate arbiter of who shall join the nuclear club and who is barred from that exclusive group: he makes no mention, naturally, of Israel's nukes. There's only the demagogic assertion that anything is better than Muslims with nukes. Are there any Muslims who aren't "radical," in his eyes?
Never mind that Iran is pursuing nuclear power while asserting only its right to nuclear weapons (and, at the same time, disdaining any ambitions to actually acquire them). And it doesn't matter, one assumes, that our own CIA has estimated it will be a good 10 years before the Iranians develop such a capacity. All they have to do, in Obama's view, is maintain their right to do so – and we slap them with sanctions. Which, of course, means war…
The pretty-boy face and the accomplished actor's polished technique aside, Barack Obama is just another shill for the War Party. And the sooner antiwar Democrats realize that, the better.
I agree with Raimondo. Obama is just more of the same. He is a creation of the media and when the media sees that he cannot win, they will destroy him just as quickly as they created him.
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