Morning Joe: Conservative Attacks on Obama Nuclear Policy

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Views from the Dark Side

It’s Crunch Time for Israel on Iran - John Bolton in the Wall Street Journal [link]

• Iran’s progress with nuclear weapons and air defenses means Israel’s military option is declining over time. It will have to make a decision soon, and it will be no surprise if Israel strikes by year’s end. Israel’s choice could determine whether Iran obtains nuclear weapons in the foreseeable future.
• Striking Iran’s nuclear program will not be precipitous or poorly thought out. Israel’s attack, if it happens, will have followed enormously difficult deliberation over terrible imponderables, and years of patiently waiting on innumerable failed diplomatic efforts. Absent Israeli action, prepare for a nuclear Iran.

Death of a Doctrine - Michael Gerson of the Washington Post [link]

• The defining principle of President Obama's foreign policy is engagement with America's adversaries... Six months on, how fares the Obama doctrine? Concerning North Korea and Iran, the doctrine is on its deathbed.
• This is the paradox of the Obama doctrine. By attempting to engage North Korea and Iran so visibly, Obama is dramatically exposing the limits of engagement -- and building the case for confrontation.

Back to the News

Pro-Nuclear Pundits Debunked - Frida Berrigan in Huffington Post [link]

• [President Obama's nuclear policy initiatives] have also drawn harsh criticism -- misleading at best and outright deceptive at worst -- from a chorus of unreconstructed neo-conservatives and nuclear war theorists who are intent on scaring the public into opposing the president's disarmament agenda. The leaders of this informal network include John Bolton, Richard Perle, Frank Gaffney, and Keith Payne.
• The media should not be treating them as learned experts with contributions to make to the discourse on U.S. national security. They have been wrong repeatedly and flagrantly: wrong on the war on terror, wrong on the war in Iraq, and wrong on arms control.
• These four men are far outside of the growing consensus on the need for decisive action to curb nuclear proliferation, and they have been on the wrong side of history for too long. They should not be considered legitimate nuclear experts and they should not be given free rein over our op-ed pages.

In Obama's Middle East Push, a Message to Tehran - TIME [link]

• Each [of the many recent trips by administration officials to the Middle East] is significant in its own right, but together they combine to support a larger U.S. interest. Against the background of a stubborn stalemate over Iran's nuclear program, the moves raise the pressure on Iran to come to the table for talks.
• Until now, Iran has shown little appetite to negotiate over its nuclear program, and the continuing post-election turmoil inside the regime further bedevils prospects for talks. But the Administration is hoping to focus minds in Tehran on finding a diplomatic solution through a flurry of activity designed to make clear the consequences of Iran's refusal to negotiate over its nuclear program.

U.S. Opens Way to Ease Sanctions Against Syria - New York Times [link]

• The Obama administration said Tuesday that it would take new steps to ease American sanctions against Syria on a case-by-case basis, the latest sign of a diplomatic thaw.

Blast From the Past

Bolton Steps Down - The Onion (Dec. 6, 2006) [link]

• John Bolton, the American delegate to the UN, will step down when the current term runs out. What do you think?
• Tammy Watson, Systems Analyst: "It's a shame. He had so many bridges yet to burn."