The Middle East Media Sampler 10/11/2012: More On Romney's Speech

From DG:

1) More on Romney's speech

A New York Times editorial, In search of answers from Mr. Romney starts with:

Mitt Romney mounted a big foreign policy display on a flag-draped stage at the Virginia Military Institute on Monday, serving up a lot of tough-sounding sound bites and hawkish bumper stickers, some of them even bumping up somewhere close to the truth, to give the appearance that he would be stronger and more forceful on international affairs than President Obama.

It isn't a serious look at Romney's speech, Here's part of the rest of the editorial:

Arlene Kushner: Iran's Economic Instability Doesn't Mean Sanctions Working

From Arlene Kushner:
October 9, 2012

Back to Normal

Well, this may be a slight exaggeration, as I'm not really sure what "normal" is here in Israel.  What I mean, of course, is that the last of the haggim (holidays) is over for this season here in Israel -- with the end coming outside of Israel at dark tonight.  And so I'm back to tracking events and writing...

120 Nations Ready To Prove Obama's Iran Sanctions Are A Sham

The effectiveness of the sanctions spearheaded by the Obama administration against Iran are predicated on the idea of isolating Iran and forcing it to end its drive for nuclear capabilities.

David Goldman writes that contrary to protestations to the contrary, Obama's sanctions against Iran are a failure:

The problem is that American foreign policy faces catastrophic failure, or rather a comprehensive set of failures, bearing directly on Israeli security. Not only have sanctions failed to deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapons program, but the Islamic Republic has broken out of diplomatic isolation. Turkey, supposedly America's partner in regional diplomacy, has reached out to Russia and China. And Egypt has reached out to Iran while threatening Israel in the Sinai. China is hosting a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement at which Iran will assume the organization's three-year rotating chairmanship. Egyptian President Morsi will visit Tehran on Aug. 25 on his way back from the summit.

Jonathan Tobin picks up on that theme of the upcoming meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) when he writes Iran Isolated? Tell it to the UN:

Arlene Kushner On "Talks" With Iran and The Case Of The IDF Assault On The ISM Provovateur

From Arlene Kushner:

April 17, 2012

"Absurdity"

It passes for diplomacy these days, but its hallmarks are pretense, illogic, and a self-serving posture.  Not an aberration, it has become something of a widespread norm.

Prime Minister Netanyahu -- whom I am not accusing of being absurd in this context, but quite the contrary -- actually had the temerity to speak the truth with regard to the "negotiations" between the six powers and Iran.  What he said was:

"...my initial impression is that Iran has been given a freebie. It has got five weeks to continue enrichment without any limitation, any inhibition."

~~~~~~~~~~

But Obama wasn't having it.  The US, he declared, "has not given anything away."  While he believed there was still room for diplomacy, he would not allow the talks to become a "stalling process."

Arlene Kushner On The Futility Of Talks And Sanctions With Iran

From Arlene Kushner:

February 22, 2012

"Hear the Experts"

Today the news is that IAEA inspectors have left Iran after two days, having declared their mission a failure.  This was both because the Iranians refused to engage with the inspectors in addressing international nuclear concerns, and because the mission -- in spite of making their request twice -- was denied access to a key military site at Parchin.

"It is disappointing that Iran did not accept our request to visit Parchin. We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said.


But "a constructive spirit" is of no value in dealing with these guys, who are playing hardball.  Did the IAEA mission really  think it would be?