Israeli-Palestinian talks are good, but Tehran's nuclear drive continues.
(MA senator Scott Brown (R) - WSJ).Those of us who hope for peace in the Middle East applaud the meeting of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The fact that Palestinians finally agreed to direct negotiations, without preconditions, is a positive step. But let's not delude ourselves: There can never be peace in the Middle East with a nuclear-armed Iran.
I don't pretend to have all the answers on how to end the conflict between Arabs and Israelis, but I do know that it is doomed so long as Iran remains a menacing actor on the world stage. Now is the time to ratchet up the pressure, to further isolate Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and to impose even more punishing sanctions on the Iranian economy. For this effort to succeed, we must enlist the full support of neighboring Arab states.
I took my first trip to the region last month. I went primarily to listen and learn. I met with both Mr. Netanyahu and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
Upon my return, all the talk of diplomacy was put into grim perspective when Ahmadinejad posed in front of cameras with his country's first unmanned long-range bomber. He wasn't very subtle about the purpose, calling it an "ambassador of death" to Iran's enemies.
That is why, in all my meetings in Israel and Jordan, what weighed most on the minds of security officials and political leaders was the prospect of a nuclear Iran. It is not hard to imagine the terror that would be unleashed if Hezbollah and Hamas—emboldened by the protective watch of their benefactor—stepped up their campaign of hate against Israel. This would, in turn, embolden extremists around the globe.
Iran's actions threaten not only Israel and its immediate neighbors, but ultimately the world. They send a signal to other rogue nations with nuclear ambitions to continue their reckless pursuits. Possible proliferation of nuclear weapons to terrorist groups affiliated with Iran—and the almost guaranteed nuclear arms race that would break out among Iran's Arab neighbors—would embody our greatest fears and present the gravest national security threat to American security.
While I was in the region, I traveled to Sderot, a small Israeli town near the Gaza Strip that has been a favorite target of Hamas rocket attacks since before Israel's unilateral withdrawal of all settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005. Part of my tour included an impromptu viewing of what is best described as a bunker-playground. There, throngs of children of all ages were playing games, swinging and practicing their jump-shot. Like everything in Israel, the scene felt very normal and familiar—that is, until I was reminded that the playground was ensconced in reinforced steel and equipped with a half dozen shelters and a broadcast system that allowed kids a 15-second warning for incoming rockets.
Sderot is the same site where then-presidential candidate Barack Obama visited and proclaimed that the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. (He also said: "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.")
I couldn't agree more. A nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable. And now, two years since Mr. Obama's comments, most experts believe Iran is dangerously close to crossing the nuclear threshold.
While we should encourage the Israelis and Palestinians as they return to the negotiating table, let's not lose sight of the real threat to peace in the Middle East: Iran, the leading state sponsor of terror in the world, armed with a nuclear weapon.
I don't pretend to have all the answers on how to end the conflict between Arabs and Israelis, but I do know that it is doomed so long as Iran remains a menacing actor on the world stage. Now is the time to ratchet up the pressure, to further isolate Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and to impose even more punishing sanctions on the Iranian economy. For this effort to succeed, we must enlist the full support of neighboring Arab states.
I took my first trip to the region last month. I went primarily to listen and learn. I met with both Mr. Netanyahu and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
Upon my return, all the talk of diplomacy was put into grim perspective when Ahmadinejad posed in front of cameras with his country's first unmanned long-range bomber. He wasn't very subtle about the purpose, calling it an "ambassador of death" to Iran's enemies.
That is why, in all my meetings in Israel and Jordan, what weighed most on the minds of security officials and political leaders was the prospect of a nuclear Iran. It is not hard to imagine the terror that would be unleashed if Hezbollah and Hamas—emboldened by the protective watch of their benefactor—stepped up their campaign of hate against Israel. This would, in turn, embolden extremists around the globe.
Iran's actions threaten not only Israel and its immediate neighbors, but ultimately the world. They send a signal to other rogue nations with nuclear ambitions to continue their reckless pursuits. Possible proliferation of nuclear weapons to terrorist groups affiliated with Iran—and the almost guaranteed nuclear arms race that would break out among Iran's Arab neighbors—would embody our greatest fears and present the gravest national security threat to American security.
While I was in the region, I traveled to Sderot, a small Israeli town near the Gaza Strip that has been a favorite target of Hamas rocket attacks since before Israel's unilateral withdrawal of all settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005. Part of my tour included an impromptu viewing of what is best described as a bunker-playground. There, throngs of children of all ages were playing games, swinging and practicing their jump-shot. Like everything in Israel, the scene felt very normal and familiar—that is, until I was reminded that the playground was ensconced in reinforced steel and equipped with a half dozen shelters and a broadcast system that allowed kids a 15-second warning for incoming rockets.
Sderot is the same site where then-presidential candidate Barack Obama visited and proclaimed that the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. (He also said: "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.")
I couldn't agree more. A nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable. And now, two years since Mr. Obama's comments, most experts believe Iran is dangerously close to crossing the nuclear threshold.
While we should encourage the Israelis and Palestinians as they return to the negotiating table, let's not lose sight of the real threat to peace in the Middle East: Iran, the leading state sponsor of terror in the world, armed with a nuclear weapon.
