Fickle Jonathan Tobin on Israel Attacking Iran on Its Own

by | Oct 24, 2013

Jonathan Tobin goes back and forth on whether Israel should attack Iran on its own. You see, neocons get very anxious when diplomacy is at hand. Diplomacy can end up with a peaceful resolution, and that’s like handing a neocon a piece of kryptonite.

So, instead of writing commentaries on the prospect of peace, neocons occupy themselves by pontificating about war.

Watch Jonathan Tobin waffle back and forth: On Oct. 1, 2013, he wrote:

Last week’s decision by President Obama to reach out to Rouhani and to initiate yet another diplomatic process virtually ensures that Iran can laugh at Netanyahu’s vow to act alone if necessary […]

But even if Israel was capable of eliminating the Iranian threat on its own, doing so while the United States is engaged in negotiations with Tehran simply isn’t going to happen.

Now let’s fast forward a couple of weeks.

Tobin writes on Oct. 22, 2013:

To those who claim that Israel can’t or won’t defy the United States, the Council of Foreign Relations’ Uri Sadot answers, think again.

Stop the tape!

Tobin claimed that Israel would not attack on its own!

In an article published today in Foreign Policy provocatively titled “Rogue State,” Sadot argues that not only is such an outcome thinkable, the precedents already exist for an Israeli decision to fly solo in the face of not only international consensus but American desires.

Given the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been rattling his rhetorical sabers in the direction of Iran for years, it’s hard to argue with Sadot’s conclusion.

Stop the tape again!

Tobin said on Oct. 1, that “Iran can laugh at Netanyahu’s vow to act alone if necessary.” Now it’s “hard to argue with Sadot’s conclusion” to the contrary because “Netanyahu has been rattling his rhetorical sabers”?

Which is it?

So far we’ve gone from “No” to “Yes”.

But wait! Tobin is about to go back to “No”:

If Israel ever did attack Iran, it could only happen after the U.S. broke off negotiations with Iran or after Israel could allege that the Islamist regime had violated an agreement it had signed with the West.

And then Tobin finishes with a “Yes” (again):

But there’s little doubt that Israel would act to protect itself even if that required it to act alone.

This is neoconservatism folks.

A U.S. President has spoken with an Iranian President for the first time in 30 years. Peace negotiations are underway, and neocons are sitting around playing “She loves me, She loves me not” while picking the petals off of a flower.

Shamefully their twisted game involves the destruction of innocent lives “Will Israel bomb…or will it bomb not.”

Sad.

Author