FEATURED JOBS
Comments (0)North Korea and Iran are the countries posing the gravest threats to U.S. interests, Hillary Rodham Clinton said.
The U.S. secretary of state was asked by CNN on Sunday which countries she thought posed the greatest threats to the United States.
“In terms of a country, obviously, a nuclear-armed country like North Korea or Iran pose both a real or a potential threat,” she said, immediately clarifying that she did not believe Iran—unlike North Korean—was nuclear armed, but was close to it. She also qualified her response, saying that non-state terrorist networks pose a greater threat than countries.
Clinton referred to the recent revelation of a second uranium enrichment plant at Qom and Iran’s rejection of a compromise enrichment offer brokered through the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“We believe that their behavior certainly is evidence of their intentions,” she said. “And how close they are may be the subject of some debate, but the failure to disclose the facility at Qom, the failure to accept what was a very reasonable offer by Russia, France and the U.S. through the IAEA to take their uranium, their low-enriched uranium and return it for their research reactor. I mean, there’s just—it’s like an old saying that if you see a turtle on a fencepost in the middle of the woods, he didn’t get there by accident, right? Somebody put him there. And so you draw conclusions from what you see Iran doing.”
Clinton said President Obama’s policy of outreach to Iran and other nations succeeded in galvanizing international support for Iran’s isolation.
“Engagement was the first stage,” she said. “We had to change the mind-set of not just leaders but of their populations. We are moving toward a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, something that has been a high priority with us. We have reset our relationship. The Russians have been very positive in discussions about sanctions on Iran and on many other important matters. I’m not sure that would have been predicted a year ago.”
Rabbis Call for Rubashkin’s Release
A coalition of rabbis called for the pre-sentencing release of a convicted kosher meat executive.
The coalition of seven Orthodox rabbis, including representatives of the National Council of Young Israel and Agudath Israel of America, issued the call Tuesday in Washington on behalf of Sholom Rubashkin, the former manager of the Agriprocessors kosher meat plant in Postville, Iowa. The rabbis also delivered a signed letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder seeking reconsideration of the case.
Rubashkin was convicted in November on 86 counts of financial fraud and is being held in detention in Iowa pending sentencing. His bail request was denied.
Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudah’s executive vice president, said prosecutors had been “extraordinarily inflexible and harsh” in their treatment of Rubashkin, saying the calls for his release on bail are a “humanitarian issue.”
Absent from the coalition was the Orthodox Union, the umbrella group whose kosher supervisory arm certified Agriprocessors. OU officials told JTA that they were asked to participate but, while they support the effort, have decided to pursue the matter quietly.
“In our situation, we felt that we wanted to respond in a different fashion, but that doesn’t mean we don’t support the cause of having Sholom Rubashkin out of prison during the appeals process,” OU President Stephen Savitsky said in a statement. “He has the same right to be free as anyone else does in this situation.”
Huckabee Calls U.S. Pressure on Israel ‘Disturbing’
Mike Huckabee said Washington’s policy of pressuring Israel but not the Palestinians to return to peace negotiations is “one-sided.”
The former U.S. presidential candidate and current FOX News host called the policy of pressuring Israel “disturbing” in an interview with The Jerusalem Post published Wednesday.
“What possible incentive do the Palestinians have to come to the table and make concessions, because the only direct policy from the administration has been to order Israel to freeze not some but all the settlements?” Huckabee told The Jerusalem Post. “That seems a little one sided.”
Huckabee, the ex-governor of Arkansas, arrived Sunday in Israel to lead a seven-day Christian tour along with entertainer and Israel supporter Pat Boone.
He was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon during his visit. Huckabee has not said if he will seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.