News
Obama: The US will not rule out force against Iran
And in his greatest detail to date, Obama spelled out the consequences of a military campaign against Iran.
“I would ask that we all remember the weightiness of these issues,” Obama said. “Already, there is too much loose talk of war.”
The economic implications were on Obama’s mind, too, as gas prices soar to the forefront of American concern ahead of the election.
In Israel, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said American pressure would not affect Israeli thinking on how to cope with the threat.
“We are an independent sovereign state, and at the end of the day, the state of Israel will make the most correct decisions as we understand them.”
Many analysts believe an Israeli attack would result in a region-wide conflict, including Iranian attacks on American troops in the Persian Gulf, and could damage the world economy by causing oil prices to skyrocket. It also remains unclear how much damage a military strike would do to Iran’s nuclear program. Many of the country’s nuclear facilities are buried deep underground.
The Republican presidential candidates have accused Obama of failing to slow down Iran’s nuclear pursuit. But Obama says world is more united than ever against Iran, and he blames Republicans for trying to drive a wedge between him and Jewish voters.
“You’ve had no evidence that the president is prepared to take steps to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. They talk and the Iranians build. They talk and the Iranians build,” said GOP candidate Newt Gingrich said before Obama’s speech. “We’re being played for fools.”
The Iranian threat all but shoved aside the quest for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the dominant theme of Obama’s speech to AIPAC last year, and the thrust of his Israeli policy focus to date. Peace talks between the two sides have stalled. On Sunday, Obama offered no new path, calling for the two sides to work toward separate states in peace.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
