Posted on 02/01/2006 10:45:07 AM PST by GeneD
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - President George W. Bush vowed on Wednesday the United States will rise to Israel's defense if needed against Iran and denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for "menacing talk" against Israel.
In a Reuters interview aboard Air Force One en route to Nashville, Bush also said he saw a "very good chance" that the governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency will refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.
"I am concerned about a person that, one, tries to rewrite the history of the Holocaust, and two, has made it clear that his intentions are to destroy Israel," Bush said.
"Israel is a solid ally of the United States, we will rise to Israel's defense if need be. So this kind of menacing talk is disturbing. It's not only disturbing to the United States, it's disturbing for other countries in the world as well," he added.
Asked if he meant the United States would rise to Israel's defense militarily, Bush said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel."
Ahmadinejad has prompted international condemnation for anti-Israel rhetoric in recent weeks, including saying it should be wiped off the map, and also calling into question the Holocaust.
Iran is engaged in a stand-off over its nuclear program. Tehran insists its program is aimed at developing nuclear power and the United States and other international powers charge it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Asked if he thought the IAEA will refer Iran to the Security Council, Bush said: "The IAEA must take a look at the facts, and listen carefully to the arguments, and there's a very good chance it will."
The council's five permanent members, including a reluctant Russia and China, this week agreed to ask the U.N. nuclear watchdog to report Iran to New York immediately.
Bush also said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Iran and would not say how Putin feels about a Security Council referral. "He understands the threat, and we share the same goal," he said.
The IAEA's governing board will decide at an emergency meeting in Vienna on Thursday whether to report Iran to the Security Council.
You bet your bippy pard.
I grew up in the cold war. Mutual Assured Destruction was the order of the day. We thought of nukes, but there was an undertone. Russia for all her faults was led by rational people. And we had no desire to let the nuke genie back out of the bottle.
Iran and muslims are different. They are stone age animals who would take extreme pleasure in the carnage created by a nuclear explosion. muslims are raised different, they think differently, and have different sensibilities. The radical part of islam is as evil as evil can be. I regret to say I firmly believe that in our lifetime, we will see these animals succeed in detonating a nuclear device somewhere in the civilized world.
I hope our leaders know this, and plan accordingly. The more I see of the muslims, the more I'm beginning to believe that it will eventually come to an all out war.
And a little birdie told me that the Kitty Hawk may be on her way.
Ping!
ping
"If only he'd make a similar statement about Taiwan..."
Have you been watching that closely? The US has backed away from Taiwan like they were radioactive.
Can't upset business with China, don't you know?
How about a line of Missiles pointed directly at Tehran?
Agreed. It's inevitable. I just get the feeling that a nuke will go off within the next few years. No real inside info, just a feeling. Hope I am wrong.
I hope the aych-ee-double-toothpicks there alreay are. If not, someone needs to get on the ball.
It's hard to defend a country that has been wiped off the map in a nuke strike.
I know. And it ticks me off. It's hard to talk about democracy when you won't stand up for one facing off against the last large Communist nation on Earth.
I did EXACTLY the same thing. GW's dad did the same thing with Iraq after Gulf War I, but we didn't have assets in place to provide backup for the freedom-fighters (mostly Kurds). Guess what...we do NOW!
I think it would be more fun to watch Israel whack their nuclear sites with nuclear weapons.
Let me be a warning to the rest of the Islamic world.
"It's hard to talk about democracy when you won't stand up for one facing off against the last large Communist nation on Earth."
Just because we're the best nation on Earth, doesn't mean we are flawless. Far from it. And that is one of our flaws that really gets to me too. It's just plain hypocracy. We attack Iraq and Afghanistan, but we give Saudi Arabia a pass. It seems to me, if you want to trace the roots of terror, wahabism and Saudi Arabia would be right there.
Taiwan has been a US ally. I visited Taipei when in the USN. (Interestingly, we refuelled in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and they wouldn't even let us off the ship onto the pier. Seems they didn't want infidels fouling their land). But, we've transferred our manufacturing to China. We LOVE China. If we have to sacrifice Taiwan to the Chinese, well, what are you going to do? We have to keep the flow of goods to our country coming! But China is communist?! Shhhhhhh. Don't tell. Grrrrrrrr.
We compromise ourselves militarily, and morally, but the free traders will tell you it's good for us.
Maybe they could accidently drop one on Syria on the way...
I think he also mentioned Syria and North Korea but he spoke directly to Iran.
Yep...all the Loserdopians'll start screaming about the USS Liberty etc, etc.
Blah, blah, blah...
excellent observation
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