Clinton's "Obliteration" Remark is Genocidal, Requires Apology

[Hope And Change]

Omid Memarian


Clinton's "Obliteration" Remark is Genocidal, Requires Apology


Posted May 1, 2008 | 10:16 PM (EST)

Senator Clinton should apologize for using a genocidal term during her campaign. Her recent remark-- stating that if Iranians were to launch a nuclear attack against Israel, the United States would be able to obliterate Iran -- is out of the line, politically inappropriate, and reflects a hawkish approach toward foreign policy.

Even neoconservative warmongers who have been saber rattling with Iran over the past 8 years have never used such a term. If the media were not distracted by Rev. Wright's controversial remarks, this comment would cause a huge backlash against Clinton.

This calls into question Clinton's ability to pick up the red phone at 3 a.m. and make a tough decision on a crucial foreign policy issue. Also, before taking that 3 a.m. call, Clinton should read the National Intelligence Estimates during the daytime. She did not read them a single time for Iraq in 2002 and consequently voted for the Iraq war.

Once again, it seems that she did not read the latest NIE on Iran's nuclear program (PDF), which is a collection of reports conducted by dozens of intelligence agencies. The report released last December emphasizes that Iranians stopped their efforts to make a nuclear bomb in 2003. This means Iran has no bomb to attack Israel with, and consequently there is no need to "obliterate" a country with 70 million people, three times larger that Iraq in size and population.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omid-memarian/clintons-obliteration-rem_b_99754.html

[Ashy Larry]

1. It would be big news

if anybody took her seriously. Do we really need another president with zero credibility?

[nichomachus]

2. The goal of any military operation

should be to neutralize the enemy's CCC -- command, control, and communication. This is considered disruptive enough to win. Anything beyond that cannot be justified under any "just war" theory.

Also, there's no provision for our entering a fight where one of the parties is capable of defensing itself. Israel has nukes and can certainly launch its own response. Our getting into the fight is hard to justify.

And, the threat of "obliteration" takes Hillary past the despicable place Bush has occupied due to his "shock and awe."

[Muttocracy]

4. historically, doesn't decimating a population come back to haunt the decimator?

and encourage the rise of dangerous dictators?

Though I guess if we decimate them, there won't be anyone left. No problem with a huge vacuum between Iraq and Afghanistan either? Oh wait, it would all be radioactive. How efficient.

[nichomachus]

6. If we decimate them, there will be 90 percent left

Decimate means to kill every tenth person. She said obliterate.

If we were to obliterate them -- hardly likely -- or anything close to it, Iran would be the least of our problems. There would be something on the order of 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, most of whom would be willing to seek revenge.

First, we wouldn't do it -- so it was just stupid, reckless "look how big my balls are" talk on her part.

[Muttocracy]

7. yes, distracted typos on my part. nt

[Texas Hill Country]

3. GENOCIDE!?!?!?! We have gotten super dumb now. OMG

this is THE dumbest claim i have heard yet this season... and that is a big accomplishment

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. It isn't genocide if we do it. It's collateral damage.

It's only genocide if others kill millions of people.

[JanErikFl]

8. Leftists BullShit. Remember the Nuclear Umbrella that was instrumental in saving the world from WW3

During the Cold War, we(US) were successful in preventing an attack not only on the United States but also on America's allies. We did it by extending the American nuclear umbrella -- i.e., declaring that any attack on our allies would be considered an attack on the United States.

Such a threat is never 100 percent credible. But it was credible enough. It made the Soviets think twice about attacking our European allies. It kept the peace.

And here is what HRC said:

In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them, she said.

That's a terrible thing to say but those people who run Iran need to understand that because that perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish and tragic, Clinton said.

With other words, she wants to expand the uclear umbrella to a hollocost unbrella, as Charles Krauthammer has advocated in an washington post op ed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/10/AR2008041003271.html

And while Hillary is on point with Iran, Obama wants to talk , and looks the other way when Iran kills US soldiers in Iran.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

9. Thanks for sharing, Mr. Hannity. nt

[shraby]

10. You've just earned an ignore.

[BeyondGeography]

11. Kicking for "leaders" who should know how not to offend the world

[quantass]

12. .

[KittyWampus]

13. how is this not getting more play?

[JanErikFl]

14. The Op Ed: Omid Memarian, is an Iranian journalist and blogger

http://omidmemarian.blogspot.com/
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/10/26/iran11923.htm

Omid Memarian embodies the new breed of human rights defenders who are pushing the boundaries of freedom of expression in Iran by working on the Internet. Mr. Memarian worked as a journalist for reformist newspapers until the Iranian government cracked down on the press and shuttered most of the independent papers. Refusing to admit defeat, Mr. Memarian shifted to the Internet, pioneering a new medium of human rights reporting. His web-log is dedicated to social, cultural and civil society issues in Iran.

Omid Memarian represents the generation of human rights defenders in Iran who came of age during the last decade of promised reforms, said Hadi Ghaemi, Iran researcher with Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division. As an insightful and popular commentator, he represents a threat to the current hardliners who are rolling back basic human rights in Iran.

[Hope And Change]

15. Kick!