Joe Biden, The Expert On Iran?

Joe Biden, the Expert on Iran?
By: J. D. Longstreet
**************************

We are coming to understand why the Iranians would be more than pleased with Joe Biden as the Vice President of the United States.

Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School, has written an article titled: "Biden's Blink on Iran" which was published by the Washington Post. In the article Rubin says: "As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden is well versed in policy debates and carefully choreographed trips. But his record on the Islamic Republic of Iran -- perhaps the chief national security threat facing the next president -- suggests a persistent and dangerous judgment deficit".
Oh, my! This sounds serious! I assure you... it is. You must read Rubin's article. You'll find it here:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/25/AR2008082502337_pf.html


Obama signals that he believes Foreign Affairs is extremely important in his run for the Oval office. Then he makes the mistake of choosing Biden as his running mate.


We mentioned Iran... didn't we? Well, on Iran... Biden wants to talk... and talk... and talk... a la Jimmy Carter. Remember him? (I try very hard not to!) Biden seems to be saying that the "nuclearization" of Iran is unacceptable, and yet when "going to war" is mentioned as a possibility, to thwart the Iranian's obvious drive for "The Bomb", he immediately cries foul (or, "time out") and calls for sanctions. But... what if sanctions fail? Then what does he do? He seems ready to accept that which he has already referred to as... unacceptable! See, this is what the elite democrats refer to as "nuance". We have another word(s) for it down South! Bovine Scatology!


The good Senator, from Delaware, is about as inconsistent as they come. Israel is already upset with him because they see him as unpredictable. I must tell you... I think Israel has it about right!


In a piece titled: "What Would Biden's Middle East Policy Look Like?" over at "Slate", author Shmuel Rosner, apparently thinks Joe Biden is an erratic pragmatist. You will find his commentary here:


http://www.slate.com/id/2198517/


So, why did we choose Biden's views on foreign policy as it relates to Iran? It’s simple, really. No matter who the next President is, Iran is a menace LOOMING HUGE on the horizon. The US is going to have to deal with Iran, at some point, in the very near future. It matters greatly (and even now, I am understating the danger) who the American voters place in the position to decide how the US will act, or react, toward Iran.


And there are people concerned about Biden's ability to make the right decisions about Iran, and especially Iran's intentions toward Israel. The Executive Director of the Republican Jewish Coalition (The RJC), Matt Brooks, released the following statement a few days ago:


“With the selection of Senator Joe Biden as Senator Obama’s vice president, the Democrat’s ticket has now become an even greater gamble for the Jewish community. Throughout his career, Senator Biden has consistently been wrong on Iran and his voting record on Israel has been inconsistent. Like Obama, Biden fundamentally misunderstands the threat posed by an Iran determined to obtain nuclear weapons. Biden has continuously demonstrated poor judgment on Iran. He has voted against significant legislation that would pressure Iran to stop pursuing nuclear weapons. Biden has failed to recognize the serious threat that Iran poses to Israel and the US and its allies in the Middle East,” said RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks.


Mr. Brooks continues: "In 1998, Sen. Biden was one of only four senators to vote against the Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act, a bill that punished foreign companies or other entities that sent Iran sensitive missile technology or expertise. Biden was one of the few senators to oppose the bipartisan 2007 Kyl-Lieberman Amendment labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. In a December 2007 debate, Biden said “Iran is not a nuclear threat to the United States of America.” On MSNBC’s “Hardball,” Biden said he “never believed” Iran had a weapon system under production."


Mr. Brooks went on to say: “The Jewish community was already gravely concerned with Senator Obama’s naive understanding of the Iranian threat. An Obama-Biden ticket has proven that it is ill-equipped to deal with this threat. By selecting Senator Biden to join his ticket, voting for Senator Obama has now become an even greater risk.” You'll find the entire article here:



http://blogs.jta.org/politics/2008/08/23/782/jewish-republicans-bidens-soft-on-iran/


Mr. Biden, it would seem, is going to have some difficulty convincing voters of his expertise in Middle Eastern affairs and is certainly leaving open, for questioning, whether he has the qualifications to service as the Vice President of the US, an office that holds a tremendous amount of "sway" over the Foreign Policy of the US.


Mr. Biden has served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for over twenty-five years, including during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. He has been either the ranking member, or the chairman of the committee, for over a decade, now. Could it be that he has been using his position to gain even higher office? I mean, career politicians do it all the time. Certainly, if that were true, it still would not disqualify him for consideration as Vice President of the US, now would it? Of course not! But, having said that, we hasten to add that claiming some sort of expert status on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, especially in the Middle East, is a difficult thing, indeed, these days, given the state of, shall we say... "flux"... in which that region finds itself practically every hour. Mr. Biden would do well to carefully measure his words and his "pronouncements" (even more so) now that he is being considered, by the American people, for a "government position” that he absolutely must convince us he is prepared for.

J. D. Longstreet

Filed under:

conservative+Biden+Iran+War+Policy