Obama poised to accept nuclear armed Iran?

President Obama may be more concerned about the safety of Iran than the safety of Israel. Or at least that's the perception of some who believe Obama may be willing to tolerate a nuclear armed Iran to the point he will not support an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

LOS ANGELES, CA  (Catholic Online) - Despite Iran's bellicose rhetoric and suspect involvement in recent terror attacks, some analysts are suggesting that President Obama may be entirely unwilling to challenge Iran on the issue of nuclear weapons should the situation come to a decision point. 

Danielle Pletka, vice president of foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute said, "Many in Congress suspect correctly that Barack Obama has every intention of tolerating Iran with a nuclear weapon despite his protestations to the contrary. The administration seems more concerned about an Israeli strike on Iran than Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon." 

The media, as well as congressional representatives, have begun pressing Obama to clarify his intentions towards Iran. This has become particularly urgent as it is believed the Islamic state will shortly cross a point-of-no-return, after which research and preparations will have allowed the state to inevitably achieve nuclear capability. These various points are referred to as "red lines" and both the US and Israel have stated they are milestones that Iran must not be permitted to cross.

Iran is reportedly only a matter of months away from moving its nuclear research program into deep, specially built bomb-proof bunkers that Iran claims are impregnable to US and Israeli bombs. According to previous comments, this would be one such red line.

On Wednesday, the Washington Post called upon Obama to explain what the administration's red lines were and to tell what the retributions would be if Iran violated any of them. Additionally, congressional pressure is building as US Senators Lindsey Graham (R) and Joe Lieberman (I) are advocating a resolution asking Congress to block any foreign policy that would accept a nuclear Iran.

The measure is said to have broad support, although a number of senators have stated they would not interfere with Obama's position on this issue during an election year. There is concern among many senators that a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities would be unpopular with voters. 

Dennis Ross, wrote in an op-ed in Tuesday's New York Times that in spite of Tehran's public posture, the regime is suffering from crippling sanctions and may be looking for an escape. With Iran isolated, Ross said, "The Obama administration has now created a situation in which diplomacy has a chance to succeed." 

However, with consensus building that time is running out, Israel may not wait for them to have full effect, or for US support before staging a unilateral strike on Iran's facilities. If that happens, it will force the administration's hand, and the world will see how serious Obama is about preventing the rise of a terrorist-networked, nuclear-armed Islamic Republic. 

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