My Way News - Obama, Netanyahu talk unity, underline differences
My Way News reports: "Taking sharply different stands, President Barack Obama on Monday urged pressure and diplomacy to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized his nation's right to a pre-emptive attack. Even in proclaiming unity, neither leader gave ground on how to resolve the crisis [...] Israel has not yet decided whether to launch a unilateral strike on Iran, a point underscored in the White House meetings."

Comment: I'm a skeptic about the potential for sanctions and diplomacy to deter Iran from building a nuclear bomb. There have been sanctions on Iran in some form or another for many years now, years in which the nuclear program has accelerated. And as for diplomacy, what diplomacy? I've not seen any substantive diplomatic initiatives to engage Iran either from the U.S. or Israel. The only real effort was a scientific and technical plan to provide an internationally approved source of uranium sufficient for the peaceful purposes that Iran claims to be seeking. Iran rejected the deal. In other words, it's off the table. Since then there have been no diplomatic initiatives at the senior (non- technical) level that would suggest a credible plan is in place to "use diplomacy" to diffuse the crisis. In other words, there are no plans to send Hillary Clinton to Tehran to try a diplomatic track.

Our political leaders seem to underestimate the popular support within Iran for their nuclear program. According to informed observers, it's considered a point of national pride and enjoys a great deal of support from all sectors of the Iranian public. It's not a pet project of the president or the ayatollahs that they can quickly and quietly reverse in the face of scary sanctions.

I'm not sure if unilateral action by Israel is wise at this point. It's a question of timing as well as real doubts about how effective a military strike would be in stopping the Iranian program. What I am sure of, is that sanctions and diplomacy will not stop the Iranian nuclear program. It remains to be seen if the U.S. and Israel can work together to stop what both consider to be a significant threat.