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Former Top Israeli General Praises Obama's Iran Peace Deal, Blasts "Hysterical" Netanyahu

Former Top Israeli General Praises Obama's Iran Peace Deal, Blasts "Hysterical" Netanyahu

One of the right-wing’s most common complaints about President Obama’s historic nuclear accord with the Islamic Republic of Iran is the concern for Israel’s safety. Playing right into the hands of both the Israeli right-wing’s neocolonial ambitions and the Iranian hardliners who wish to escalate conflicts in the region, Congressional Republicans howled and moaned about the threat posed to the state of Israel by the Iranian nuclear program, without any regard to the actual terms of the deal.

In response to all this fear-mongering, the former Chief of the Staff of the Israeli Defense Force, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, came out in support of President Obama’s deal on Sunday, calling it a success: “I see the achievement of keeping the Iranians, 10-15 years into the future, postponing their having a nuclear capability at the right price.”

He also issued a sharp rebuke of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, criticizing him for the “hysteria” surrounding the deal and the massive exaggeration of the threat posed to Israel, calling divisions within Israel the biggest threat to their own national security, stating that “I am not worried, as far as Israel’s security situation…we know how to take care of ourselves.” He also disparaged Netanyahu’s insulting treatment of the President Obama and his administration, calling America’s commitment to Israel “unheard of, it needs to be appreciated.”

It is very gratifying to hear these remarks from a respected member of the Israeli military establishment. President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran allows them to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes while bringing them back into the fold of the international community, allowing for more opportunities for diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of the region’s intractable conflicts. The neoconservative right-wing’s ridiculous hundred-million dollar lobbying campaign to derail the deal and provoke a war with Iran was a huge threat to our national security; the endorsements for this deal that keep rolling in from influential figures across the world just go to show that President Obama is on the right side of history once again.

Colin Taylor
Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.

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