Israel prepares to swallow the bitter Iran pill

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Iran has taken in its stride the meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Heads of Delegations of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries at Camp David on Thursday. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was plainly dismissive in his remark yesterday in Tehran.

What matters for Tehran is that Obama has silenced the Gulf Arab states and extracted their “support” for the imminent Iran nuclear deal. A noisy crowd in Iran’s neighborhood, which was threatening to turn riotous, has been dispersed. It is really something brilliant and totally expected that the Gulf monarchs would one day nod their hand and mumble that an Iran deal serves their “security interests”.

The Gulf monarchs understood that the Iran deal matters critically for the U.S. and the choice was between drifting part from the U.S. and switching to a mode of strategic defiance or seeing the writing on the wall and coming to terms with it with some grace. (See my blog Obama extracts GCC support for Iran deal.) Actually, for these authoritarian rulers for whom U.S. support is tantamount to a vital lifeline, there wasn’t really any choice in the matter.

Can the same thing be said for Israel? Unlike the archaic Arab oligarchies, Israel is a throbbing modern democracy; it has a government that is ultimately accountable to the nation and no one else; and, while it may be a recipient of substantial U.S. help it also possesses a vibrant economy and is a wealthy country by world standards. In principle, Israel is well-placed to go the John Wayne way.

http://atimes.com/2015/05/israel-prepares-to-swallow-the-bitter-iran-pill/

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1. Obama extracts GCC support for Iran deal

The summing up of the meeting at Camp David on Thursday between President Barack Obama and “Heads of Delegations” of the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] member states couldn’t have been an easy job. To begin with, the planned summit didn’t quite happen in the absence of several key leaders from the GCC side. Except for the leaders of Kuwait and Qatar, the other 4 declined the US invitation. Funnily, the king of Bahrain, an important regional ally that houses the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, preferred to instead visit a horse show in Britain.

Washington lumped the joint Saudi-Bahrain royal snub, but then, it is no secret that the Obama administration and the Gulf countries have been far apart on the issue of the US-Iranian engagement. The Gulf countries, worried over Iran’s growing regional influence, have been seeking “iron-clad” security guarantee from the US as also new weapons deals. Differences also exist on the approach to regional conflicts – Syria, in particular.

The underlying worry of the Gulf oligarchies is that the US-Iranian engagement might blossom into a full-fledged détente that could in turn eclipse their traditional role as Washington’s key allies in the region.

http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2015/05/15/obama-extracts-gcc-support-for-iran-deal/

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2. Israeli sources: Israel willing to accept Iran deal for US compensation

As deal between US and Iran seems more likely, some Israeli sources say it might be time to shift gears and trade silence for compensation.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4657389,00.html

[Fred Sanders]

3. Brilliantly played by Obama again, without credit given or expected. Which is why he indeed does

have my blind trust, I must confess at last.

In troubled times like these, with a media part of the problem and not the solution, it is good to have an anchor.

Anyone paying attention can not help but take respectful due notice of how Obama has changed the narrative on the Iran nuclear development deal and turned the great American media gabfest from one of war and gloom and doom to one of resignation to world co-operation and peace, leaving the War Hawks flapping their clipped wings on the floor of a sound stage at Fox.

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4. You don't really want any credit in these things.

Last edited Sat May 16, 2015, 03:33 PM - Edit history (1)

No point in wising up the chumps, they will just get in the way if you do. Better they think they are winning as long as possible and the result had nothing to do with you.

[Mosby]

5. if the israelis don't like the agreement

Especially after the Iranian restatement of the agreement which is bound to happen and the "victory" speeches and parades, Bibi is going to deal with their nuclear program. Bet on it.

[geek tragedy]

6. Your hero Bibi won't do shit. He's a punk-ass coward whose

notion of toughness is killing babies in Gaza and giving big speeches before adoring sycophants in Washington.

"Deal with their nuclear program." Tough talk from the WAR WAR WAR crowd.

If a few missile strikes could take out their nuclear program Israel would have done it by now.

The Israelis need to check their oversized egos and realize they do not always get their way.

[Sobax]

7. If Bibi was going to do something, he'd already have done it by now

His hands are tied, and he knows it. He's been yelping about the "Iranian threat" for at least 20 years now.