Go Ahead, Make …
A round-up of opinions from yesterday where We The People witnessed Netanyahu at his Churchillian best…
Silvio Canto, Jr. in American Thinker…
It was a remarkable speech. PM Netanyahu spoke clearly, forcefully, and eloquently about the nuclear deal. This is one of those “must-watch speeches” that comes along once a generation.
It reminded us of another statesman who came to the U.S. many years ago. It was on March 5, 1946 that the then former PM Winston Churchill of the UK spoke to the American people about the Soviet threat. Mr. Churchill did not speak to a joint session but the impact was awesome:
“Churchill, who had been defeated for re-election as prime minister in 1945, was invited to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri where he gave this speech.
President Harry S. Truman joined Churchill on the platform and listened intently to his speech.
Churchill began by praising the United States, which he declared stood “at the pinnacle of world power.”
It soon became clear that a primary purpose of his talk was to argue for an even closer “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain — the great powers of the “English-speaking world” — in organizing and policing the postwar world. In particular, he warned against the expansionistic policies of the Soviet Union.
In addition to the “iron curtain” that had descended across Eastern Europe, Churchill spoke of “communist fifth columns” that were operating throughout western and southern Europe.
Drawing parallels with the disastrous appeasement of Hitler prior to World War II, Churchill advised that in dealing with the Soviets there was “nothing which they admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for military weakness.”
Like Mr. Churchill, the prime minister of Israel praised the alliance between the two countries, thanked the U.S. for its sacrifices in World War II, and explained the threat in exquisite detail.
Of course, President Obama was not there and VP Biden was down in Uruguay at a presidential inauguration. There were several Democrats missing, a rather silly display of political pique.
It once again makes you wonder about President Obama’s instincts or the people that he listens to.
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Alexander Grass, also from American Thinker…
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walked into the House of Representatives the applause was deafening. Watching the broadcast on C-SPAN, one could hear the audio feed constantly clipping in and out because the microphones were overloaded. The decibel level was bursting from an enthusiastic Congress cheering a man who had come to speak for the West, to speak for democracy, and to speak against the terrorism and barbarity of Iran.
Some members of Congress weren’t as embracing of Netanyahu’s speech as most — Nancy Pelosi in particular exhibited a sort of physical discomfort and immediately bolted for the exit after the speech. Even though Mrs. Pelosi said after Netanyahu’s oration that she “was near tears throughout the prime minister’s speech — saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States”, any impartial observer could see that the speech given on March 3rd in the House of Representatives will echo through history as an important moment in the defense of democratic nations, as a declaration against genocidal mania, and as a principled defense of societies birthed by the values of the enlightenment.
There are several important things that the prime minister said that needed to be heard. Several precisely worded, focused passages made quite clear to the American Congress as well as to the American people why Iran achieving the status of a nuclear state is unacceptable. Prime Minister Netanyahu hit on the very important point of the nature of Iran’s regime, how it has been an unapologetic sponsor of state terror, and its past misdeeds that have set it squarely against not only Israel, but also against the United States and Western society.
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Lloyd Marcus…
Lloyd Marcus…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress was amazing. Inside, I was cheering, “Benny! Benny! Benny!” Talk about strong leadership – Netanyahu displayed it in spades. This man is totally committed to protecting his people.
Iran has boldly stated that its goal is to wipe Israel off the map – dead and gone. A nuclear bomb will greatly aid Iran in achieving its goal. Obama’s and Secretary of State John Kerry’s deal includes allowing Iran to produce a nuclear bomb in 10 years. Netanyahu said 10 years is the blink of an eye in terms of history. Netanyahu asked that the U.S. not make such a crazy deal.
And what is Obama’s and the Democrats’ response to Netanyahu’s passionate plea? They ran to microphones to trash him.
Folks, this may sound a bit strong, but these people (Obama and company) are evil incarnate. There is something spiritually wrong with an administration that consistently picks the wrong side.
Something that Obama and his minions do over and over again is tell us we are not seeing what we are seeing. For example: U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power regarding Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb said, “We will not let it happen.”
Meanwhile, Obama’s and Kerry’s deal clearly includes allowing Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb. Do these Obama people think we are idiots? Obviously, the administration is confident that it can tell us lies without push-back from its supportive MSM.
The icing on the cake for me in Netanyahu’s powerful speech was when he proclaimed that if Israel has to go it alone, it will. Israel can and will defend itself. This is leadership, folks. Manly and strong. I love it.
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Daniel Greenfield….
Daniel Greenfield…
In 1967, Benjamin Netanyahu skipped his high school graduation in Pennsylvania to head off to Israel to help in the Six Day War. That same year Obama moved with his mother to Indonesia.
When Obama suggested that Israel return to the pre-1967 borders, described by Ambassador Eban, no right-winger, as “Auschwitz borders,” it was personal for Netanyahu. Like many Israeli teens, he had put his life on hold and risked it protecting those borders.
In the seventies, Obama was part of the Choom Gang and Netanyahu was sneaking up on Sabena Flight 571 dressed as an airline technician. Inside were four terrorists who had already separated Jewish passengers and taken them hostage. Two hijackers were killed. Netanyahu took a bullet in the arm.
The Prime Minister of Israel defended the operation in plain language. “When blackmail like this succeeds, it only leads to more blackmail,” she said.
Netanyahu’s speech in Congress was part of that same clash of worldviews. His high school teacher remembered him saying that his fellow students were living superficially and that there was “more to life than adolescent issues.” He came to Congress to cut through the issues of an administration that has never learned to get beyond its adolescence.
Obama’s people had taunted him with by calling him “chickens__t.” They had encouraged a boycott of his speech and accused him of insulting Obama. They had thrown out every possible distraction to the argument he came to make. Unable to argue with his facts, they played Mean Girls politics instead.
Benjamin Netanyahu had left high school behind to go to war. Now he was up against overgrown boys and girls who had never grown beyond high school. But even back then he had been, as a fellow student had described him, “The lone voice in the wilderness in support of the conservative line.”
“We were all against the war in Vietnam because we were kids,” she said. The kids are still against the war. Against all the wars; unless it’s their own wars. Netanyahu grew up fast. They never did.
Netanyahu could have played their game, but instead he began by thanking Obama. His message was not about personal attacks, but about the real threat that Iran poses to his country, to the region and to the world. He made that case decisively and effectively as few other leaders could.
He did it using plain language and obvious facts.
Netanyahu reminded Congress that the attempt to stop North Korea from going nuclear using inspectors failed. The deal would not mean a denuclearized Iran. “Not a single nuclear facility would be demolished,” he warned. And secret facilities would continue working outside the inspections regime.
He quoted the former head of IAEA’s inspections as saying, “If there’s no undeclared installation today in Iran, it will be the first time in 20 years that it doesn’t have one.”
And Netanyahu reminded everyone that Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear program would be backed by ongoing development of its intercontinental ballistic missile program that would not be touched under the deal.
He warned that the deal would leave Iran with a clear path to a nuclear endgame that would allow it to “make the fuel for an entire nuclear arsenal” in “a matter of weeks”.
Iran’s mission is to export Jihad around the world, he cautioned. It’s a terrorist state that has murdered Americans. While Obama claims to have Iran under control, it has seized control of an American ally in Yemen and is expanding its influence from Iraq to Syria.
Netanyahu at his Churchillian best...
