Dear Obama: Oppose Iran and We'll Love You

For a while, inaction may be the best course

(NEWSER) - From Iran to Venezuela, President-elect Obama's best foreign policy option is to lie low for now, John Barry writes in Newsweek. Sudden forays into tricky hotspots—think Bay of Pigs, or President Bush's North Korea missteps—can prove costly, and most of the world's problems need a breather anyway. In Iraq and Israel, for example, no headway can be expected until next year's elections. More»

It may anger neocons, but he should keep his hands clean: Stephens

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama and his team clearly want to support the Iranian opposition, writes Philip Stephens, and Republicans such as John McCain have hammered the president for not condemning an election viewed as a sham. But for the Financial Times columnist, Obama is striking a shrewd balance between idealism and real-world politics. Obama knows, he writes, that "overt US backing for Mousavi would hand a weapon to Ahmadinejad." More»

(NEWSER) - Publicly there will be few fireworks when Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu meet today. But here are the issues the vastly different leaders will wrestle with behind closed doors:

• The Two-State Solution: It’s the overwhelming international consensus, but Netanyahu insists it would compromise Israel’s security.
• Iran’s Clock: Obama wants a longer timetable for diplomacy with Iran; Israel wants quick action.
• Gaza: Obama wants the blockade lifted so aid can get in; Netanyahu wants to choke Hamas.

Iran responds with threat; Tel Aviv worries about US backing

(NEWSER) - Israel has 12 months to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons or risk Tehran’s wrath, a former Israeli defense official said. “The time that is left to be ready is getting shorter all the time,” Shabtai Shavit told the Telegraph. “We should do whatever (is) necessary in case sanctions don’t work. What’s left is military action.” More»

New administration will need to fix problems Bush has not addressed

(NEWSER) - Taking the attitude that "since we were now all-powerful, allies were no longer necessary," President Bush damaged the US' image and diminished its power, Fred Kaplan writes in Slate. How can the next president heal our diplomatic woes?

1. Visit all Middle East countries; leave a full-time envoy: "It is appalling that President Bush made his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories in his final year."