To the Editor:
How ironic that last week’s front page article entitled, ‘The Iran Deal: On the Record and Analysis’ begins with a quote by the late British PM Winston Churchill endorsing the notion of negotiations with adversaries in which he stated, “To Jaw- Jaw is always better than to War-War.” Following his declared rejection of the 1938 Munich pact forged by then British PM Neville Chamberlain with Adolf Hitler, Churchill was reviled by politicians and much of the press in Great Britain as a war monger. He might have believed in talking, but certainly not in forging deals that are very dangerous.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s stated objections were not, to quote a Reuter’s News citation from the story, a “pulpit sermon.” The conference at Geneva has ended and the centrifuges still churn and the enrichment of uranium still continues. Iran’s nuclear program is still intact. The Iranians remain on the brink of critical breakout capacity. After years of crippling sanctions, the Iranians came back again to the table and they walked away with what they wanted: diminishing sanctions and the continuity of their nuclear program. Western leaders led by President Obama have shown a lack of purpose and fortitude.
The conclusion of the article cites the recent rise of the Israeli stock market following the agreement as an indicator of Israeli public support for the Geneva interim deal. However, investor sentiment and public opinion are far different. Netanyahu’s popularity has actually surged following his stand against the agreement. Certainly, the people of Israel would not want to face a massive barrage of missiles by Iranian backed Hezbollah in Lebanon as a result of preemptive military action, but the Israeli people are taking into account the consequences of a nuclear armed Iran.
The ideologically driven Iranian leaders issue existential threats against other nations, persecute the innocent within their own borders, support other murderous dictatorships and supply jihadists like Hezbollah and Hamas. As long as they are permitted to keep their long sought after nuclear program they are a threat to global stability.
At this crucial juncture, let us not delude ourselves.
Larry Domnitch
Bergenfield, NJ
