Israel, Obama may be parting ways on the Iranian question

There is chatter coming out of Israel that Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Obama Administration are locking horns on the Iranian question. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is reported to have put the brakes on the common practice of American military leaders from consulting one-on-one with their Israeli counterparts. It is believed that President Obama has used these opportunities to go around the Israeli ministers and convince Israeli military leaders that military action against Iran would be counterproductive. DEBKAFILE reported that Ehud Barak denied Obama's Special Adviser on the Middle East Dennis Ross from setting up separate interviews with the IDF's incoming and outgoing Chiefs-of-Staffs and head of intelligence. During 2009 and early 2010, hardly a week went by without high-ranking US bureaucrats and generals touching down in Israel and going straight into nonstop meetings with IDF officers according to DEBKAFILE.

In March 2010, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised President Barack Obama to withhold public statements on the Iranian nuclear threat for a year, during which he would give President Obama the chance to try his hand at halting Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon according to reports. It is apparent that the Iranians continue to play the West as fools, all the while the Iranians continue down the road to a nuclear bomb. The Israelis have apparently concluded that Obama's overtures to Iran to be ineffective and Israel may be gearing up for a preemptive strike.

While the Stuxnet worm may have set back the Iranian nuclear program by two years, the Israelis cannot sit idly by and allow Persia to continue in their quest to annihilate the Jewish state. Iran continues to arm Hezbollah and Hamas with more sophisticated weaponry to attack Israel, creating a three front war. It is reported that Obama has concluded that Israel has hardened its position on military action against Iran – deciding, in particular, that the accumulation of weapons from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah had gone beyond what Israel found supportable for its security. I would agree the scales are tipping in favor of the Muslim terrorists in the region and no amount of "negotiations" will stem the tide. 2011 should be the year when Neville Chamberlain-style weakness ends and Churchillian gallantry begins.

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Cuban missile crisis in Venezuela

According to the German daily Die Welt(Nov. 25, 2010), the Iranian regime is planning to place medium range ballistic missiles on Venezuelan soil. An agreement between the two countries was signed during the last visit of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Tehran on October 19, 2010. According to Die Welt, Iranian Shahab 3 (range 1,300-1,500 km), Scud-B (285-330 km) and Scud-C (300, 500 and 700 km) missiles will be deployed at a base manned by Iranian missile officers, soldiers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Iran has given permission for the missiles to be used in case of an "emergency."

Why we haven't heard about this situation in the American main-stream media just baffles the mind. The Obama Administration has dithered on our missile defense shield in Europe and continues to dither while the Iranians inch closer to a nuclear bomb. Maybe this news will get the presidents attention, but I'm not holding my breath. Hugo Chavez has always made a lot of noise trying to be relevant on the international stage, but if these reports turn out to be true, it's time we give him our full attention. There are already credible reports of the Iranian proxy terrorist group,Hezbollah, being trained on Venezuelan soil, so this new information comes as no surprise.

Venezuela has become the primary country where the Iranians move restricted materials to avoid international sanctions. The Nu-Soviets have restricted the sale of the S-300 missile defense system to the Iranians, but have announced they will sell the advanced system to Hugo Chavez. You can bet this system will end up in Iran to protect Tehran from an Israeli preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure. According to Reuters, Iran has developed a version of the Russian S-300 missile and will test-fire it soon, as declared by the official news agency IRNA, two months after Moscow cancelled the delivery to comply with United Nations sanctions. The Iranians have become quite good at reverse engineering and will do the same with the S-300.

This situation may end up looking like the Cuban missile crisis, circa 1962, and I can assure you Barack Obama is no John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy had the gravitas to stand up to the Soviets and to impose a blockade on Cuba. Mr. Obama has not shown he has the intestinal fortitude to stand up to despots and these thugs can smell chum in the water. The Iranians are being very smart in their actions regarding the United States and Israel. The Iranians are using Hamas and Hezbollah and their proximity to threaten Israel and now they are using Venezuela and our southern border to threaten our soft underbelly. I wish I had the confidence in this administration to protect our country, but I must admit, I have my doubts.

****UPDATE*****

MAY 16 2011. According to Die Welt, Iran is now funding the construction of missile silos in Venezuela that will house Iranian missiles. The Iranian Shahab 6 is reported to have a range of 3500 miles. Distance between Caracas & Miami=1363miles. Caracas & Houston=2260miles. Caracas & Wash DC=2051miles. Read Jpost story here.

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