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Posted on 02/17/2005 9:59:20 AM PST by IAF ThunderPilot
President George W. Bush on Thursday addressed the issue of Iran's possible nuclear armament, declining to offer his full endorsement of Europe's negotiations to get Iran to halt its suspected nuclear weapons program.
He said the United States and Europe share the goal that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon. Still, he left it up in the air whether he fully supports Europe's approach.
"I look forward to ... discussing strategies, ways forward with the Europeans to make sure we continue to speak with one voice, and that is Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and how to work together to make sure they don't," Bush said.
Asked if was concerned that Israel might attack Iran to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Bush said Israel is concerned about Iran's intentions.
"But clearly, if I was the leader of Israel and I'd listened to some of the statements by the Iranian ayatollahs that regarded the security of my country, I'd be concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon as well," Bush said.
He said Israel "is our ally and in that we've made a very strong commitment to support Israel, we will support Israel if her security is threatened."
Bush spoke at a news conference where he announced that John Negroponte, the US ambassador to Iraq, would be the first US director of national intelligence, the powerful overseer of all 15 intelligence agencies.
In addition, Bush said Syria was "out of step" with other nations in the Middle East and said the United States would work with other countries to pressure Damascus to remove its troops from Lebanon.
Bush said he did not know if Syria was involved in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
"I can't tell you yet," Bush said. "I don't know that. I'm going to withhold judgment until we know what the facts are."
Bush said he would consult with allies about Syria when he visits Europe next week, and said the United States supports an international investigation of Hariri's assassination.
The United States has withdrawn its ambassador to Syria, Margaret Scobey, and that "indicates that the relationship is not moving forward," the president said. He said Syria was "out of step with the progress being made in the greater Middle East."
The United States expected Syria to find and turn over former supporters of Saddam Hussein's regime and send them back to Iraq and stop supporting terrorism, Bush said. He said Syria also must comply with UN resolutions calling for it to withdraw from Lebanon. Syria has 15,000 troops in Lebanon.
Looking ahead to his European trip, Bush said he knows that some allies think that his only concern is national security, and he said that national security is at the top of his agenda.
Yet, he said, "We also care about hunger and disease. We care about the climate."
Many allies are upset with the United States for refusing to approve the Kyoto climate treaty.
"They thought the treaty made sense," Bush said. "I didn't." He noted that the Senate had voted 95-0 against the treaty. Yet, Bush said there were other ways to deal with the problem of global warming and that he would talk with allies about new technologies to deal with the issue.
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How will we defend against Iran unilaterally dropping a nuke on Israel?
""But clearly, if I was the leader of Israel and I'd listened to some of the statements by the Iranian ayatollahs that regarded the security of my country, I'd be concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon as well," Bush said.
He said Israel "is our ally and in that we've made a very strong commitment to support Israel, we will support Israel if her security is threatened.""Thank YOU!!!
The gist of GWB's statement should be read as "America doesn't mind Israel taking out Iran's N-installations should she feel at risk".
The point is to stop Iran before "dropping a bomb", because if Iran drops a bomb, there will be no need for US military aid-
The middle east will be wiped out by the Israeli response.
"How will we defend against Iran unilaterally dropping a nuke on Israel?"
Shortly after Israel is nuked we nuke Iran. We will be defended against Iran doing it to us- sorry Israel.
Zalts em in der oygen, zol en krenken. That's what I say to Iran.
Crystal Clear
And I hope one of those nukes is aimed at Mecca. Then, "TROP" would have no holy place due to their "peace"
Maybe that's his between-the-lines message. However, I wonder how Israel feels about having to be the one to stand up to this threat...alone....again.
What are we going to do, wait until Iran drops the big one? 24 hours of selective targeting should just about take care of these arrogant idiots. Give the go-ahead to Israel to take out their nuke facilities before they deliver a payload.
Well, we were alone in 1967 (Six Day War), we were isolated in the international arena and threatened by the combined forces of 8 Arab countries which declared their goal as the destruction of Israel.
Yet, we all know what happened in June, 1967 within 6 days...
So, there is nothing new under the sun.
I have a picture on my PC at home of an Israeli F-15I breaking-off from a USAF KC-10 refueling boom. I saw the pic on an Air Force website, and at the time thought, "Hmmm...Why would the Israeli Air Force need to have the ability to refuel mid-air? Long range mission training, perhaps?" (I suspect regular airborne patrolling may require mid-air refueling...I don't know.) At any rate, I kept the picture as a reminder and symbol of Israeli resolve to do whatever is necessary to defend Israel BEFORE an aggressor strikes.
We tell Tehran in advance that every major city in their country has already been mapped and targeted. If they attack Israel, Iran will be turned into a roiling mass of molten glass. Afterward, we give the remains to Haliburton.
Hope Isreal leads another midnight attack on Iran's nuke building plants.
That would be great.
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