Mitt Romney has finally realised that the American electorate are not in the slightest bit interested in going off to fight another war for Israel. As a result of this belated epiphany Romney has back-pedalled on a strike against Iran saying that ‘military action against Iran may not be necessary’ – though, of course, the ‘military option is still on the table’. The statement clearly is designed to placate those Republican voters that are worried about going to war yet again.
Netanyahu too has also realised that he is going to get nowhere pushing for war this side of the elections and has told Obama that Israel will not be taking any action against Iran before the election. Netanyahu’s rhetoric against Iran has softened very slightly but only inasmuch that he concedes that sanctions against Iran are beginning to bite. However, this concession is offset by his belief that, while sanctions are having an effect on the ordinary folk of Iran, they are not affecting the Iranian leadership who, so Netanyahu believes, are continuing to covertly develop nuclear weapons. Again, Netanyahu’s pronouncements are designed only to take the urgency edge off of the Israeli threat of a so-called ‘unilateral’ strike against Iran before the election.
Both Romney and Obama have had long chats with Netanyahu over the last few days and, clearly, some arrangement has been made between them whereby Netanyahu has been promised that action will be taken after the election by whoever wins it.
For now, though, it is important for both Romney and Obama to put the war-talk on hold while they each concentrate on trying to get an American electorate that has no interest in war to vote for them.
After the election it’ll be back to Iran’s nuclear weapons program and when will the new president, together with Netanyahu, launch an attack.
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