I had the extraordinary opportunity to talk with Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon. Thanks yet again, to Alan over at One Jerusalem.org.
He spoke immediately of Iran's race to nuclear weapons race.
Netanyahu: "Iran could be the first non-deterable nuclear power. Fueled and motivated by a hate filled ideology, a satanic apocalyptic cult that is willing to sacrifice millions of its own people for the bad, twisted vision of a reconstituted Islamic empire under Iranian rule."
For this purpose they want to get nuclear weapons that will help them complete what they are already doing which is seeking to topple Lebanon and turn it into a shite republic. They've already taken control of the Palestinian regime with their Hamas proxies. They are seeking to throw out the United States out of Iraq and make it part of the Shite crescent.
But if they get nuclear weapons they would get control of the oil supplies and the Arabian Peninsula and topple many other regimes and then be armed in such a way that they could foster terror on an unimaginable scale.
But equally what they seek to do as they openly say is to destroy my country while denying one holocaust as they are preparing another....If they start with Israel they'll only start with Israel. Because Just like the [unintelligible] apocalyptic creed, it's starts with Jew hatred then it spreads like wildfire to the rest of humanity. Stopping Iran is in the interest of civilization.
UN has passed mild sanctions - not sharp enough. Those that say we shouldn't go to a military option. Fine. Then let's do something. He believes Iran and Ahmadinjad are vulnerable. Ahmadinejad lost this last election.Netanyahi proposes put greater pressure is put on Iran. Large financial
insitututions must divest from Iran He spoke to Schwartzneggar about moving the state pension funds out of Iranian holdings just to get the ball rolling.
On the Q&A Gary over at Regime Change Iran asked the Prime Minister what he thought of regime change in Iran and what the blogosphere could do to help. He believe regime change would be the best case. In a conversation Netanyahu had with Bernard Lewis earlier today Lewis said we ought to be talking directly to the Iranian people. They must know there is an alternative to what they are living. The weapon of truth is the best, the only weapon against lie.
Barak over at the IRIS blog cut right to the matter of Netanyahu's abandonment of the policies outlined in his bookwhen gave land away. Brak laced into him, how could he go against his every principle? Netanyahu said he never abandoned his policy in the land for peace deal. When he was negotiating with the Palestinians and the White House, he wrote a point by point list of conditions the Palestinians had to meet. Some of which was met. When these conditions were not met -- Netanyahu stopped the bloodletting while trying to make the best of a bad agreement that he inherited. He stopped the runaway process of Oslo.
Rickman of Jewish Current Issues asked about the upcoming talks. Netanyahu said as long as Hamas is in charge, and they are - you can not make a deal -- the only thing you are doing is making concessions to Iran's proxy. All you would be doing is moving the missile launchers closer to the people of Israel. He said we must bring down the Hamas government - remove the head of the octopus. When you bring down Hamas you will see if you really have a partner.
Wow, he's still talking "partner."
UPDATE: Rick Richman over at Jewish Current Issues has a comprehensive post on today's call while tying together our previous previous blogger calls with Netanyahu here;
Obviously if we could get the ball rolling to get all these state pension funds to divest from
Iraq -- this in addition to what the U.S. Treasury is doing in curtailing banking activity with Iran -- it puts formidable pressure on the regime. And one of two things will happen -- either it will work and obviate the need for stiffer action, or it will pave the way for stiffer action. It has to come under the rubric of divesting from genocide. And I know such resolutions have been fielded in the case of Darfur against the
Sudan. I suggest a coalition of liberals and conservatives across the political band in the United States, divesting against genocide -- that is, the one that is being perpetrated, the one that is being denied, and the one that is being planned. I can think of no better purpose, no better moral purpose, no better purpose period. This is what can differentiate our period from the 1930s, by actually doing something. So let’s do it.
We’ve been warned now, twice, and given a road map to peace -- a way possibly to avoid the Hobson’s choice of a pre-emptive strike against
Iran or an eventual nuclear war that would start with Israel but not stop there. We need to do it before time runs out. Richard Baehr asked Netanyahu to predict Iran’s response, assuming non-military options failed and some military response becomes required, and Netanyahu answered as follows:
"I can posit many, many responses -- those that are mentioned and some that are not, on the part of Iran. But none of them involve the risk, none of them begin to measure up to the horrible -- not risk, horrible certainty -- certain horrors I should say -- that await if Iran gets nuclear weapons. So at the end of the day, we have to prevent them from getting those weapons. Period."
Essential reports on the Netanyahu call include those by Atlas Shrugs (who also summarizes the Q&As following Netanyahu’s remarks), Gateway Pundit (an “incredible talk . . . an exceptional call”), Mere Rhetoric (with Omri’s usual stellar analysis) and The Hedgehog Blog (with an insightful comment on divestment). Other bloggers whose reports will undoubtedly follow include Boker tov, Boulder! and American Thinker. The extended list of bloggers on the call is here, where you should listen to the entire 25-minute call.
