At its 2013 conference in Washington DC the American Israel Public Affairs Committee renewed calls for the United States to stand with it against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s burgeoning nuclear energy capabilities. In addition to calling for “accelerated” and “crippling” economic sanctions against Iran, speakers asserted that the United States should do whatever it takes to subdue Iran’s regional influence. The conference’s message emphasized that “Contain(ing) a nuclear Iran” is unsatisfactory. US policy should embrace the possibility of all options, including “military action.”
Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren similarly declared that “diplomacy hasn’t worked and sanctions haven’t stopped the Iranian nuclear program.” In a keynote speech departing Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called for Washington to establish a “regional security framework,” further arguing that sanctions have failed and won’t produce “a moment of truth in which the ayatollahs will give up their nuclear program.”
Barak also suggested that the US join Israel in its hard line against Iran. “(A)nd we expect all who say it to mean it,” he emphasized. We in Israel, he added, “mean it. Let me repeat – we mean it.” At a panel discussion Deputy National Security Advisor under George W. Bush and Iran-Contra convict Elliot Abrams accused Iran of building its nuclear weapons program, although there is no evidence to suggest this. In addition, Abrams noted that Tehran supports the Assad government in Syria while overlooking US-backed anti-government terrorists operating illegally within the country.
Source: Stephen Lendman, “Israel Lobby is Actively Promoting War on Iran,” Global Research, March 5, 2013. http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-lobby-is-actively-promoting-war-on-iran/5325263
Student Researcher: DJ Siddiqi (Florida Atlantic University)
Faculty Evaluator: James F. Tracy (Florida Atlantic University)