Nice going, Joe!
Vice President Joe Biden seemed to give Israel a green light for military action to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat, saying the U.S. ''cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do.''
Ha'aretz goes into further detail:
Stephanaopoulos posed the question three times, and each time Biden repeated that Israel was free to choose its actions.
"If the Netanyahu government decides to take a course of action different than the one being pursued now, that is their sovereign right to do that. That is not our choice."
During the interview, Biden hinted that President Barack Obama was looking to take a harder line toward Iran over the latter's contentious nuclear program.
This is very troubling. If it is merely another example of Biden's tendency to say things without thinking or considering the consequences, it has reached a new level of foolishness. If, on the other hand, this is Biden being used to deliver a message on the behalf of the administration, it is also troubling.
President Obama has taken an admirable stand on the unrest in Iran following the election. Despite this, he has been under a great deal of political pressure to take a harder line. In addition, Obama has been involved in difficult negotiations with the Netanyahu government in Israel to force a cessation of settlement expansion in the West Bank. Delivering this concession to the Israeli government, even if it is the intent of the Obama administration to do so eventually, robs the US of a valuable issue which they can use in negotiations.
Ultimately, an Israeli attack on Iran is an unwise policy. As reports continue to surface that the Saudi government has given Israel permission to use its airspace in order to launch an attack on Iran, we must all be vigilant, and active, in ensuring that our government, whether by accidental speech by Biden or intentional, secret policy, does not encourage this without regard to both American interests and the interests of the human beings whose actions we have all been so praiseworthy of in Iran.