Obama Should Get Tough with Iran: McCain

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."

Iran tensions dominate talks

(NEWSER) - President Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu tried to project an image of unity today as the president welcomed his Israeli counterpart to the Oval Office. Speaking to reporters before their closed-door meeting, Obama said, "The United States will always have Israel's back," echoing his AIPAC speech. Netanyahu, meanwhile, thanked the president for recognizing that "Israel has the sovereign right to make its own decisions." According to the New York Times , Israeli officials interpreted Obama's remarks to mean that the US won't block an Israeli preemptive strike . More»

With Iran, GOP pressuring, Obama needs to shore up Israel position

(NEWSER) - With Republicans hammering President Obama on Israel, his shaky relationship with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the looming threat of Iran's nuclear program, Obama's AIPAC speech this morning could be a "a pivotal moment" for keeping the Jewish vote heading into this fall's election, says the Hill . “The feeling is that there’s just no empathy there,” says a former adviser to presidents Reagan and George W. Bush. “And he hasn’t done anything to really change that." More»

US officials trying hard to convince them not to strike

(NEWSER) - Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak have been quietly telling every American official who visits Israel the same thing: When Israel strikes Iran, it won't warn the US first, a US intelligence official tells the AP . In part, that's a courtesy; Israel believes keeping the US in the dark will minimize the blame the US takes for not stopping the attack. But it's also a rebuke, because Israel has become convinced the US won't strike Iran, and won't back Israel up if it does. More»

And it may soon help protesters in Bahrain, Yemen

(NEWSER) - Iran has a hand in the revolutions currently sweeping the rest of the Arab world. In Syria, Iran is secretly assisting President Bashar al-Assad to quell the pro-democracy demonstrations, US officials say. But in Bahrain and Yemen, Iran is looking to aid Shiite protesters, thus destabilizing the countries—both US allies. US officials appear to be releasing the information, gathered by spy agencies, in a bid to show Iran that it is being watched, the Wall Street Journal reports. "We're keeping an eye on these activities," a White House official tells the paper. More»