Exaggerations and assumptions by Netanyahu
Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to rethink his current strategy of dramatization, accusations and allegations in order to keep his country safe from a nuclear strike from Iran.
In a controversial political move, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivered a speech on the U.S. House floor criticizing the Nuclear Agreement that US and Iranian officials are working to create. With many outlandish assumptions, comparisons and accusations, the Prime Minister only angered some politicians more.
Netanyahu, who is seeking re-election next week, has framed his campaign around the imminent nuclear threat of Israel’s neighbor, Iran. However, in spite of his bump in polls, according to the news source Foreign Policy, Israelis consistently rank the economy as the most important issue in this election.
Netanyahu has put his political career ahead of the safety of his constituents. In his speech, Netanyahu claims Iran has consistently defied United Nation inspectors by secretly constructing nuclear weapons.
A recent article by Factcheck.org has shown that for the past year and a half since the temporary nuclear agreement, Iran has not defied any UN inspectors, and has even halted its program, “probably the first year and a half in which Iran has not advanced its nuclear program in the last decade,” said President Obama in the article.
Netanyahu also highly exaggerated the power and actions of the regime in Iran, comparing their power to ISIS and the Third Reich, and claiming it “dominates four Arab capitals, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa. And if Iran’s aggression is left unchecked, more will surely follow.”
This Cold War-esque thinking is simply not the case as it is today. According to the Guardian, “Iran inflates its gains for external propaganda as well as domestic consumption.”
The prime minister also criticized the deal itself, claiming that the “bad deal will at best curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions for a while, but it will inexorably lead to a nuclear-armed Iran whose unbridled aggression will inevitably lead to war.”
Warning that Iran will abuse its nuclear power, Netanyahu instead aims for a “better deal that keeps the restrictions of Iran’s nuclear program in place until Iran’s aggression ends.”
Even though the details of the agreement have not been set, according to the Guardian, any deal will most likely include a monitoring program, “making it harder to cheat. Even after the expiry of the deal’s lifetime, strict monitoring would remain in place.”
Needless to say, many politicians in Washington were not enthused. House Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was “near tears throughout the Prime Minister’s speech — saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States as part of the P5+1 nations, and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation”.
If Netanyahu wants to protect his country, last week’s speech was not the way to go. By attempting to push back the negotiations for the Nuclear Agreement, Israel is at risk for increased tensions between nations. Other countries can certainly attempt to stop Iran from abusing its nuclear power, but at least with a treaty, Iran will hopefully recognize and abide to the sanctions.
The sanctions that have been in place for years now have certainly hurt Iran, but it was only when the US and its allies approached Iran to negotiate did the Iranian government actually halt its nuclear program. With an agreement in place, Iran will certainly be vigorously watched and held to its standards.
