A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

by: Mike Evans

Was it happenstance or design that placed President Barack Obama in a press conference, and at the forefront of media attention as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday? Timing, like location, is everything—and the US media is much more interested in the US government shutdown than it is in the security of America’s most staunch ally in the Middle East.

In his speech, Mr. Netanyahu called former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a “wolf in wolf’s clothing”, and made it clear that newly-elected Hassan Rouhani is unlike his predecessor. Instead, he is the more conventional wolf in sheep’s clothing who thinks he can hoodwink the world at large. Said the prime minister, “I wish we could believe Rouhani’s words, but we must focus on Iran’s actions. And it’s the brazen contrast, this extraordinary contradiction, between Rouhani’s words and Iran’s actions that is so startling. Rouhani stood at this very podium last week and praised Iranian democracy…But the regime that he represents executes political dissidents by the hundreds and jails them by the thousands.”

The prime minister went on to state what so many seem to overlook, and that’s Iran’s participation in the Syrian civil war during which so many innocent civilians have died. That in the past 36 months terrorist attacks have been launched by Iranian leaders 25 cities on five continents, and that Iran is actively backing its proxies that are intent on destabilizing Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Gaza and other Middle Eastern countries.

Mr. Netanyahu then enumerated all the reasons why Iran and its controlling clerics should not be believed: One, all Iranian nuclear facilities are hidden deep underground to forestall attacks; two, facilities for uranium enrichment have been cloaked in secrecy; three, intercontinental ballistic missiles have been developed with the specific purpose of delivering nuclear warheads  that would most certainly reach Israel, and could within years reach cities on the eastern seaboard of the United States; and four, Iran’s leaders are prepared to subject its populace to crippling economic sanctions in order to keep International Atomic Energy Agency officials from scrutinizing the country’s atomic operations. The prime minister had one answer: Iran’s facilities are not for peaceful nuclear pursuits.

Rouhani apparently believes the trite, but effective, the hale-fellow-well-met strategy. The success of his falsely friendly approach was touted in his 2011 book when he wrote: “While we [the Iranians] were talking to the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in Isfahan.” Mr. Netanyahu summed up that theory quite succinctly with “Rouhani thinks he can have his yellowcake and eat it too.”

Sadly, it just might work: Barack Obama is a lame duck president desperate and perhaps willing to do anything to create a legacy for which he will be long remembered. Israel, on the other hand, needs no reminder of what can happen when past lessons are buried under a barrage of bluster. Its people know the price that will be extracted if the fanatical regime in Tehran is allowed to arm itself with atomic weapons. Netanyahu reminded us, “We in Israel, we know all too well the cost of war. But history has taught us that to prevent war tomorrow, we must be firm today.”

The prime minister called on Iran to do four things to prove its sincerity before sanctions are revoked: Halt uranium enrichment; eliminate stores of enriched uranium; disassemble the infrastructure for nuclear potential; and cease all efforts to produce plutonium. These moves, he said, would be solid proof that the actions of the leaders in Iran were “transparent, meaningful, and verifiable.”

Barring lack of compliance, the prime minister reiterated Israel’s stance on the subject: “Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly promises to wipe us off the map. Against such a threat, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself. I want there to be no confusion on this point. Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”

Mr. Netanyahu reaffirmed to the listeners in the hall that Israel is not and has no desire to be an enemy to its neighbors in the Middle East. Should Iran gain nuclear superiority, Israel will take on the role of protector of those who now wish only its destruction. He appropriately ended his speech with the promise, “The people of Israel have come home never to be uprooted again.”

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Dr. Michael Evans is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. His latest novel, The Locket, based on the pursuit, arrest, trial and execution of Adolf Eichmann debuted at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in June. His latest non-fiction book, Persia: The Final Jihad is available at www.TimeWorthyBooks.com.