By Josh Basson, , Seattle
Ron Kampeas’s insightful front page column was quite informative (“Iran policy reveals split between U.S. Jewish and Israeli left,” Sept. 11).
It is not surprising that there is this split. U.S. Jews do not live in Israel and have not been the target of violent Hamas terror rocket attacks. Yossi Alpher rightly points out that “Iran doesn’t deploy proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah against the U.S. on its borders.” Obama has said he is determined to contain Iran whether or not Israel plays ball on the Palestinian issue. Obama’s approach of sanctions and negotiation with Iran is not going to make Iran abandon its goal to manufacture nuclear weapons. Iran has now entered into agreements with Venezuela for supplies of gasoline to thwart any additional sanctions that may be imposed by Western governments.
Since Israel has been threatened by Iran “to be wiped off the map,” it may be forced to unilaterally take military action against their nuclear sites. The U.S. should support this action, as Israel’s survival depends on such action.
The U.S. public needs to be aware of Iran’s growing presence in Latin America, especially in Venezuela and Ecuador. This poses a future threat to the U.S. if Iran acquires nuclear weapons she can provide to terrorists as well as anti-American leaders like Chavez of Venezuela. It is in America’s national interest to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power.