Patrick Buchanan has been accused of anti-semitism. I'm not sure, of course, but Bob Novak has assured me it is not true. Maybe, only DemLuntz knows for sure.
In yesterday's column Buchanan asserts that Obama is being played by Netanyahu to lure the U.S. into a war with Iran:
http://www.humanevents.com/...
This is not an I/P diary! So you I/P experts, please ignore. This is a U.S./Iran/Israel/U.N. diary. Buchanan's theory is:
- Iran is not really developing a nuclear capability.
- The six-month "warning" issued by Obama will expire unresolved.
- Resulting sanctions will trigger a U.S. involved war with Iran.
Buchannan refers to the 2007 National intelligence estimate and:
According to the Los Angeles Times, the EastWest Institute of Russian and U.S. scientists says Tehran is "at least six years away from building a deliverable nuclear weapon," and a Rand Corp. study says that Iran’s "ability to wreak havoc in the Middle East through surrogates is exaggerated.
"
Unfortunately, we can't rely on the CIA...can we? It's hard to say if and when Iran joins the nuke club.
I don't agree with Buchanan, that the expiration of the six-month deadline will have any effect. I suppose it would involve some U.N. resolution that would either have no effect, or be vetoed. I don't think anybody gamed anybody when Obama and Natanyahu met. As is usually the case, the results were pre-ageed and the meeting was a nicety for the benefit of the pol-parazzi.
I have a sinking feeling that events may well render the recent meeting moot, before the "deadline" runs. Luckily, I'm usually wrong about my predictions.
I hope there is no anti-Buchanan diary rule that I don't know about. (comment on whether there should be!) I just find him to be an interesting phenomenon. Supposedly conservative, yet anti-Bush, anti-Israel and quite populist. He certainly spins an alarming column.