With friends like these

Ruthie Blum

Addressing the annual AIPAC conference in Washington on Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama made it clear which side of the Israeli-Jewish divide he was on – that of Israeli President Shimon Peres. Peres, who immediately preceded Obama on the podium, was given a glowing greeting by his partner in preferring diplomacy to all else, no matter what the circumstances.

“Shimon once described the story of the Jewish people by saying it proved that ‘slings, arrows and gas chambers can annihilate man, but cannot destroy human values, dignity, and freedom,’” Obama said. “And he has lived those values. He has taught us to ask more of ourselves and to empathize more with our fellow human beings.” To reward Israel’s chief figurehead for never keeping his mouth shut, even when what he says runs counter to the position of his own government, Obama announced that he was going to reward Peres with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

This was the American commander-in-chief’s way of leading into his assertion that Israel has never had a better friend in the White House. It was also his prologue to broaching the delicate subject of Iran’s nuclear program and ambitions.

“There should not be a shred of doubt by now -- when the chips are down, I have Israel’s back,” Obama assured the mostly Jewish audience, whose support he is purported to be losing somewhat, precisely due to his tough treatment of the Netanyahu government and his reticent stance on the regime in Tehran.

“A nuclear-armed Iran is completely counter to Israel’s security interests,” he acknowledged. “But it is also counter to the national security interests of the United States.”

So far so good.

“A nuclear-armed Iran would thoroughly undermine the nonproliferation regime that we’ve done so much to build,” he continued. (Here he conveniently omitted the fact that it was he who abandoned the Iranian people in 2009, when they took to the streets to protest the election that had been stolen by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his mullahs – you know, the gang of Islamist thugs whose fingers are on the button of the soon-to-be nuclear weapons aimed at Israel.)

Nor is it clear which “nonproliferation regime” he was referring to, since the one headed by Ahmadinejad and Khamenai has no intention of stopping its pernicious program aimed at obtaining regional, and eventually global, hegemony.

“There are risks that an Iranian nuclear weapon could fall into the hands of a terrorist organization,” Obama went on. “It is almost certain that others in the region would feel compelled to get their own nuclear weapon, triggering an arms race in one of the world’s most volatile regions. It would embolden a regime that has brutalized its own people, and it would embolden Iran’s proxies, who have carried out terrorist attacks from the Levant to southwest Asia.”

Indeed.

But then he added insult to injury by pretending that his policies had been successful. “I made a commitment to the American people … [to] use all elements of American power to pressure Iran and prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon. And that is what we have done … That is where we are today, because of our work. Iran is isolated, its leadership divided and under pressure. And by the way, the Arab Spring has only increased these trends, as the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime is exposed, and its ally, the Assad regime, is crumbling.” (Here he forgot to mention the fact that it is he who has allowed Assad to remain in power and massacre his people with impunity since the Arab Spring erupted.)

And then came the clincher. “Of course, so long as Iran fails to meet its obligations, this problem remains unresolved. The effective implementation of our policy is not enough -- we must accomplish our objective. And in that effort, I firmly believe that an opportunity still remains for diplomacy -- backed by pressure -- to succeed.”

Where the ostensible leader of the Free World gets the idea that there is still room for diplomacy with a bloodthirsty regime that makes no bones about its aspirations is not apparent. Nor did he attempt to make it so. Instead, he claimed that “we all prefer to resolve this issue diplomatically.”

We do? And who’s “we” – Peres? The Democratic Party? The AIPAC delegates?

He did not specify. Rather, he put up his limp dukes. “Iran’s leaders should have no doubt about the resolve of the United States,” he said. And he wasn’t even trying to be funny. “Just as they should not doubt Israel’s sovereign right to make its own decisions about what is required to meet its security needs.”

It is this last sentence that aroused hope among Jews concerned about Obama’s commitment to Israel’s existence, let alone security. But the hope was short-lived.

“Already, there is too much loose talk of war,” he bemoaned. “Now is not the time for bluster. Now is the time to let our increased pressure sink in and to sustain the broad international coalition we have built. Now is the time to heed the timeless advice from Teddy Roosevelt: Speak softly; carry a big stick. And as we do, rest assured that the Iranian government will know our resolve and that our coordination with Israel will continue.”

While Peres beamed with joy, equal elation could be sensed emanating from the presidential palace in the Iranian capital. One could almost hear Ahmadinejad and his henchmen singing “Business as Usual” in Farsi. If anyone knows that Obama’s posturing is more like a cooked carrot than a stick, it’s the guys he helped stay put to pursue their goals.

Ruthie Blum is a former senior editor and columnist at The Jerusalem Post. She is currently writing a book about the radicalization of the Middle East, to be published by RVP Press in the spring.