How can diplomacy be effective?
Israel has proven itself time and again to be an effective negotiator, an effective user of diplomacy.
They (Israel) may soon accomplish behind the scenes what most other major powers have failed to do. Simply stated they are working through diplomatic channels behind the scenes to put a leash on Iran’s nuclear threat.
Israel has used the nuclear threat as leverage to put Iran on another leash as far as their stated public desire to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.
Throughout their short history Israel has had to use force or the threat of its use to protect itself. Israel was founded in an area surrounded by countries that would rather have Israel not exist. Tiny Israel has from the start accepted the concept that they needed to be in a state of constant readiness for war. Their citizenry (men and women) are in the military and are armed.
The double edged sword of the threat of violence on one hand keeps Israel doing all it can to prevent confrontation. The other side of the sword is that for the threat of force to keep the enemy at bay, it must be a potent force that Israel is willing to use if facing an imminent attack as well as an actual one.
To survive Israel has been forced to use their perceived weakness (their smallness) as a strength. Due to their geographic and numerical “smallness” their lines of communication with its militia are short and efficient as the last Israeli/Arab war has shown. Their ability to adapt quickly is legendary. Israel has also used its underdog (David and Goliath) status to unify its people quickly in time of crisis.
The recent forced boarding of an Iranian sent ship to Gaza was a test of the Israeli resolve to determine their own destiny. In the face of worldwide condemnation they did what they thought best for their own defense and as the article below states; the end result was to stave off future attempts.
Below is a list of some sources, scroll down to see the chronology of how the Iranians threat to send another “Aid Ship” played out and was thwarted.
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2541341/posts
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The World and particularly the US has been trying through diplomacy for quite awhile now to get Iran to quit and dismantle their nuclear weapon capabilities. The Arab states around Iran have been as always (Remember the Iran Iraq war) cautious of Iran and their threatened hegemony over the region.
Our President who campaigned upon his ability to sit down and talk turkey with the Iranians has failed to make any headway and is increasingly being seen as not only ineffective in his efforts but amateurish on the world stage.
Yet while so much bungling has been going on, Israel the small focused and beleaguered country has seemingly been making some pretty large behind the scenes inroads.
As the link below attests, Saudi Arabia is building on Saudi soil a military base for the Israelis for no other logical reason than to give Israel an easier platform to attack Iran.
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http://www.conservativeoutpost.com/israel_brink_reported_secret_base_near_tabuk_saudi_arabia?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ConservativeOutpost+%28Conservative+Outpost%29
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Below is a map of Saudi-Arabia and if you look up in the upper left corner of Saudi you’ll see Tabuk which is where the base is being built. While it is not on the Iran/Saudi border, as the article says it puts Israeli helicopters within easier reach of Iran.
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http://www.maplandia.com/saudi-arabia/
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In the defense of the US we have recently beefed up our presence in the Persian Gulf. As to what role the threat of an Israeli attack played in that decision I’ll leave to the reader. It seems clear to me that without Israel and their threatening posture regarding their defense, the US would not have had the ability to get into this position to protect our interests in the region. If our President claims diplomatic success; I’ll leave the reader free again to decides who get the credit. I’ll tell you Israel could care less, they are doing what they need to do to survive not reading poll numbers.
In the video below, once you get past the Iranian talking points; you will notice near the end of the interview that the speaker is seemingly unaware that Saudi-Arabia is helping Israel build a military base. It would seem that not only are Israel and the US the only would be the aggressors but other Middle East states may help or at least not get in the way of a pre-emptive attack on Iran.
While I care how America is viewed in the world. The two really important things that matter are these.
1. Israel has the right to protect itself
2. Iran’s nuclear threat needs to be contained
For all the blustering this administration has done about diplomacy, it is small outnumbered Israel that has forced the issue through what Reagan said during the Goldwater run about “peace through strength”. President Reagan took that philosophy and with that idea broke the USSR winning the cold war.
-----Reagan-----
http://www.entertonement.com/clips/htlyncqdcn--Peace-through-strengthRonald-Reagan-A-Time-for-Choosing-The-Speech-
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The USSR had thousands of nuclear missiles aimed, fueled and targeted at us just a button push away.
Perhaps we need to remember how that felt and what we did about it before we disparage small Israel further.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
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