Prime minister Netanyahu's over-the-top call for Iran to be "stopped" like Gadhafi's regime in Libya reflects either his venality in promulgating a doomsday scenario, his active desire to utterly mislead the public through the false equation of the Gadhafi regime with the Iranian government, or his naivete in terms of strategy. Any of my freshman students knows that the two governments are utterly different in their history, their composition and their philosophy. What does the Prime Minister think that this rather ridiculous call to action is going to accomplish? It certainly is not going to persuade the Russians! And every military leader knows that a preemptive attack on Iran invites utter disaster for the region and the world. Additionally, unless one accepts the false assertion that Hamas and Hezbollah operate under the direct orders of Tehran, Iran hasn't actively threatened anyone. Nor is there any indication whatever that Iran "dreams of world supremacy" as Netanyahu asserts. This is just another foolish attempt to ratchet Iran up to the status of über-Bogeyman. Isn't it reasonable to expect that world leaders not indulge themselves in this kind of childish, irresponsible rhetoric?
Bill Beeman
University of Minnesota
usatoday.com
Israeli PM: Iran should be 'stopped' like Gadhafi
MARCH 24, 2011
MOSCOW (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran's government should be "stopped" like Gadhafi's regime in Libya.
Netanyahu said that Iran's nuclear and other ambitions pose an immediate threat to global security.
"This is a very belligerent Islamist regime that dreams of world supremacy, and it has to be stopped," he told the Vesti television channel. "If we have to tame Gadhafi, we have to stop the Tehran's regime in the same way."
Netanyahu arrived in Moscow Thursday, a day after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas. Observers believe their visits are aimed at overcoming the obstacles in the Palestinian-Israeli talks.
Russia is part of the so-called Quartet of Mideast peace brokers that also includes the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. The Quartet's principles include recognition of Israel, a renunciation of violence, and adherence to previous Palestinian agreements.
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