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It goes without saying that an Iranian nuclear strike against Israel would prompt a major international crisis, however, as Luca Menato, the reader from England, writes: Yet that such a chilling question should be posed so regularly and considered so unremarkable by political commentators in the United States is very unsettling indeed. It would suggest that the American public would more readily entertain even more war over their cereals in the morning–even nuclear war–than witness any significant threat to the security of this very particular Middle Eastern nation… Finally, can you imagine any nation in the world where such a question would be considered reasonable and appropriate during an election debate? Can you imagine the reaction in the West if candidates in Russia, China, India, Japan or Germany responded with this kind of martial rhetoric to media questions over breakfast? " http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/hbc-90002864British minister says Clinton's 'obliterate' Iran tone imprudent 20 hours ago LONDON (AFP) — A British foreign minister said Wednesday that US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's threat to "totally obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel with nuclear weapons was imprudent. Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, a former United Nations deputy secretary-general and the foreign office minister responsible for Asia, questioned the comments by the New York senator, made in an interview broadcast Tuesday. "While it is reasonable to warn Iran of the consequence of it continuing to develop nuclear weapons and what those real consequences bring to its security, it is not probably prudent... in today's world to threaten to obliterate any other country and in many cases civilians resident in such a country," he said. The British government wanted a Middle East -- including Israel -- free of nuclear weapons, he said, responding to a question in the House of Lords, Britain's unelected upper chamber of parliament. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jEp2ukq1nzsx5QXn7Khdn7AqDPmgTough-talking Clinton vows to 'obliterate' Iran if it ever dares to attack US ally Israel By Leonard Doyle in Philadelphia Wednesday, 23 April 2008 As Pennsylvania went to the polls yesterday, Hillary Clinton sought to burnish her reputation as a hawk by warning Iran that as president she was prepared to "obliterate" the country, should it launch a nuclear attack against Israel. "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran ," Mrs Clinton said in an interview with the ABC network. She has been trying to sow doubts about the ability of her opponent, Barack Obama, a first-time Illinois senator, to lead the US in time of international tension while stressing her ability to handle "the toughest job in the world".
Her television ad featuring Osama bin Laden questions her opponent's ability to serve as commander-in-chief. "Harry Truman said it best: 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen'. Who do you think has what it takes?" the voiceover says.
Yesterday's tough rhetoric on Iran is seen as part of that strategy, but Mr Obama rejected her remarks as sabre-rattling. "One of the things that we've seen over the past several years is a bunch of talk using words like 'obliterate'," the Illinois senator said. "It doesn't actually produce good results."
Mrs Clinton's remarks were an escalation of an earlier statement that she would offer a nuclear shield to Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and Israel to protect them from Iran.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/toughtalking-clinton-vows-to-obliterate-iran-if-it-ever-dares-to-attack-us-ally-israel-814090.html
CIDES protests Hillary`s anti-Iran statement
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Center for Information and Development Studies' (CIDES) Director, Syahganda Nainggolan, strongly protested the statement of American President hopeful Hillary Clinton saying she would attack Iran if elected US president.
The statement, carried by BBC Radio on Wednesday, was seen by Syahganda as uneducative in a democratic life, especially that it was directed to Iran as a sovereign country.
"Hillary`s statement is too childish and should not be followed by anybody, as it will disrupt democratic agenda in the international world," he said, adding that the prospective president of Democratic Party was not a good example for democratic struggle.
According to him, Hillary`s attitude of wishing to attack Iran reflected her "panic" in facing her prospective rival, Barrack Obama.
"If Hillary wishes for more support, she could raise issues like international human rights, for instance. It is not necessary to show her ambition as it may even destroy the existing international human rights system," he said.
Hillary`s statement on attacking Iran would trigger international outcry especially from moslem countries.
Syahganda further said that moslem countries pinned their hope on a US president from democratic party upholding peace and democracy in the world.
"Hillary needs to learn a lesson from the blundar made by President George W Bush. Because of his brutality in crushing Iraq, it also has caused such total uselessness at the expense of democracy and humanity," he said.
He said Iran which has a technological knowhow on nuclear energy, never threatened the interest of other countries, and used its nuclear capacity for science and technology.
Syahganda also called on Moslem countries not to keep quiet regarding Hillary`s anti democratic statement. (*)
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/4/23/cides-protests-hillarys-anti-iran-statement/
Editorial: Clinton’s Threat to Iran
24 April 2008
If there were any doubt that if she made it to the Oval Office, Hillary Clinton’s term would be George Bush Mark III, the lady made it plain on the eve of Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary.
Her campaign had already run TV advertisements featuring pictures of Osama Bin Laden and asking voters who they would really trust as their commander-in-chief, Clinton or Obama. Then Monday night, Clinton drove home her “toughness” by threatening to “obliterate” Iran if it launched an attack on Israel. Given the kind of foreign policy advisers she has (the same as those who paved the way for Iraq war), she may not wait for Iran to “attack” Israel. It can be a pre-emptive “obliteration.”
This is the foreign politics of the madhouse. It demonstrates the same doltish ignorance that has distinguished Bush’s foreign relations. It offers only violence where there should be negotiations and war where there could be peace. At a stroke, Clinton demonstrated to everyone in this region that if she were the next occupant of the White House, Iraq-like death and destruction would be the order of the day.
Even the Republican candidate, John McCain, has not been so war-like in his views of Iran. This experienced politician has at least had the good sense to leave open as many options as possible. And there is now a strong sense that if he were president, Barack Obama’s inclination would be to try to pick up some of the many opportunities for negotiation and peace-making that have been discarded by the belligerent Bush administration.
The pity of it is that Hillary Clinton’s last-minute fighting talk may have chimed in with the views of Pennsylvania’s voters. Her expected narrow victory has turned into a ten-point triumph over Obama. This said, when the two Democrat contestants began these hustings, Clinton was thought to hold a 20-point lead. Did she rescue her campaign with her rash talk or did she convince many potential supporters that she was not to be trusted with the direction of American foreign policy?
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=109267&d=24&m=4&y=2008
Clinton threat to 'obliterate' Iran
From correspondents in Washington
April 22, 2008 06:51pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse
* Iran 'obliterated' if nuclear attacks Israel
* Tough talk comes just prior to Pennsylvania primary
* US presidential election: Follow it with us
DEMOCRATIC presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton threatened to "obliterate" Iran if it launches a nuclear attack on Israel, in an interview broadcast today.
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran," Senator Clinton told ABC News, asked what she would do as president were Iran to launch a nuclear attack on Israel.
"In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23582312-38198,00.html
'Clinton's Iran remarks imprudent'
Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:28:16
Lord Mark Malloch-Brown
British foreign office minister responsible for Asia slams New York Senator Hillary Clinton for threatening to 'obliterate' Iran.
"While it is reasonable to warn Iran of the consequence of its nuclear program and what those real consequences bring to its security, it is not probably prudent... in today's world to threaten to obliterate any other country and in many cases civilians resident in such a country," said Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, who is also a former United Nations deputy secretary-general.
Clinton in an interview with the ABC News on Tuesday threatened to “totally obliterate Iran” if it attacks Israel.
Malloch-Brown claimed that the British government wants a nuclear weapons free Middle East and it also seeks the dismantling of Israeli nuclear arsenals.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=52884§ionid=351020101
Clinton Threatens to Obliterate Iran if It Attacks Israel
23 April 2008, Wednesday
Click to enlarge the photo
Hillary Clinton threatened to "obliterate" Iran if Israel is attacked with nuclear weapons. Photo by javno.com
Ahead of a crucial primary in Pennsylvania, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said if she were president and Israel was attacked by Iran with nuclear weapons, the US would "totally obliterate" Iran.
"In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them," Clinton said in an interview for ABC's Good Morning America.
Clinton's opponent Barack Obama accused her of sabre-rattling, saying this was the kind of language that had been used by the Bush administration over the last years.
Iran does not have nuclear weapons and insists that its uranium enrichment programme, which sparks Israel's fierce protests, is purely for civilian purposes.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=92509
Hillary would be willing to `obliterate' Iran
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
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US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton threatened to destroy Iran if it launches a nuclear attack on Israel.
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president we will attack Iran," Clinton said when asked how she would respond to a nuclear attack on Israel. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider ... an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=17&art_id=64888&sid=18610102&con_type=1
Hillary Clinton ready to eliminate Iran, if she takes office
Front page / World / Americas
22.04.2008 Source: Pravda.Ru
If Iran attacks Israel with the use of nuclear weapons, the United States will destroy Iran completely, presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton stated in her recent interview with ABC channel.
Hillary Clinton ready to eliminate Iran, if she takes office
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran," Clinton said. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them, " she said.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/22-04-2008/104973-hillary_clinton-0
Hillary Clinton threatens Iran
“If Iran attacks Israel, US will “obliterate” Iran”
“If Iran attacks Israel by using nuclear weapon, US will completely “obliterate” Iran” told Hillary Clinton, senator-democrat and US presidential candidate. “I want the Iranians know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran. In the next ten years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them”.
She made this threatening statement in response to journalist’s question as to her plans if Iran attacks Israel.
http://www.ans.az/nid69772.html
Clinton: I will "obliterate" Iran
Hillary Clinton's threat to "obliterate" Iran, in an ABC interview broadcast just as the voters of Pennsylvania prepared to head to the polls this morning, doesn't appear to have been particularly well received by anyone other than the hard right, which is somewhat telling as to where the former first lady is pitching her policies - or at least campaign pledges - these days. While one assumes that her campaign must have known what she was planning, it too seemed a little taken aback at just how belligerent and absolute her language was: it spent a large part of last night and this morning frantically backpeddling away from her apparent commitment to nuke a large swathe of the Middle East.
...what kind of aggression against Israel does she think would justify an obliteration of entire country and its 71 million innocent citizens? Not to mention the deadly nuclear fallout across much of the Middle East and quite possibly Europe? Given that the US intelligence community doesn't believe that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, perhaps employing genocidal phraseology of the kind that usually gets President Ahmadinejad referred to the United Nations might not be the best way to defuse Mid East tensions?
http://timesonline.typepad.com/uselections/2008/04/hillary-clinton.html
Clinton says US could ‘totally obliterate’ Iran
US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton addresses her supporters.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned Tehran on Tuesday that if she were president, the United States could “totally obliterate” Iran in retaliation for a nuclear strike against Israel.
On the day of a crucial vote in her nomination battle against fellow Democrat Barack Obama, the New York senator said she wanted to make clear to Tehran what she was prepared to do as president in hopes that this warning would deter any Iranian nuclear attack against the Jewish state.
“I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran (if it attacks Israel),” Clinton said in an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America. “In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them,” she said. “That’s a terrible thing to say but those people who run Iran need to understand that because that perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish and tragic,” Clinton said. Her comments appeared harder than a week ago, when during a presidential debate she promised “massive retaliation” against any Iranian attack on Israel. Obama, who on Tuesday faced Clinton in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary, rejected her rhetoric as saber-rattling.
“One of the things that we’ve seen over the last several years is a bunch of talk using words like ‘obliterate,’” Obama, an Illinois senator, said in a separate ABC interview. “It doesn’t actually produce good results. And so I’m not interested in saber-rattling.”
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=139820
Clinton Threatens to 'Obliterate' Iran If Israel Attacked
23/04/2008 07:52:00 AM GMT
WASHINGTON, 23 April 2008 — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned Tehran yesterday that if she were president, the United States c (more)
WASHINGTON, 23 April 2008 — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned Tehran yesterday that if she were president, the United States could “totally obliterate” Iran in retaliation for a nuclear strike against Israel.
On the day of a crucial vote in her nomination battle against fellow Democrat Barack Obama, the New York senator said she wanted to make clear to Tehran what she was prepared to do as president in hopes that this warning would deter any Iranian nuclear attack against the Jewish state.
“I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran (if it attacks Israel),” Clinton said in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them,” she said.
http://www.islamonline.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=110901
Clinton makes threat against Iran as voters go to polls
* Ewen MacAskill and Daniel Nasaw in Washington
Suzanne Goldenberg in Philadelphia
* guardian.co.uk,
* Tuesday April 22 2008
This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Tuesday April 22 2008. It was last updated at 19:59 on April 22 2008.
Hillary Clinton, in her most bellicose comments since the presidential race began, today threatened to obliterate Iran if it launched a nuclear strike against Israel.
Speaking as voters went to the polls in the potentially crucial Pennsylvania primary, the New York senator said: "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran (if it attacks Israel)."
Barack Obama immediately accused her of "sabre-rattling", saying this was the kind of language that had been used by the Bush administration over the last few years and was not helpful.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/22/hillaryclinton.barackobama3?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
U.S. presidential hopeful threatens to totally obliterate Iran
22.04.2008 13:18 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail In Russian In Armenian
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton displayed tough talk in an interview airing on ABC News "Good Morning America" Tuesday.
Asked what she would do if Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons, Clinton said, "I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran," Clinton said. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."
Iran and Israel last exchanged threats in early April.
On April 7, Israeli Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer threatened Iran that in case of attack “Israel’s reaction will be severe.” Coming with a response on April 15, Iranian deputy commander of the regular armed forces, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said that Iran will raze Israel to the ground if the latter dares to attack the Islamic Republic.
http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=25823
HILLARY CLINTON: WE'LL WIPE OUT IRAN IF IT ATTACKS ISRAEL
(AGI) - Washington, 22nd April - "We'll wipe out Iran"; this is not Republican candidate John McCain speaking, but Hillary Clinton. She will carry out her promise if elected President and if Teheran unleashes a nuclear attack on Israel.
In a crescendo of rhetorical tension on the eve of the Pennsylvania primaries, the former first lady allowed herself to make an half declaration of war on the Islamic Republic: "I would like the Iranians to know", she said during an interview for ABC, "that if I am President, we would attack Iran. "In the coming decade, whoever stupidly contemplates attacking Israel, we could wipe them out completely".
This was a much more aggressive statement than the one made by Ms Clinton a week ago, when the Democrat candidate limited herself to promising a "strong reaction" to any offensive on the part of Teheran against Israel.
For his part, Barack Obama has veered away from using Clinton-style or Republican rhetoric. Indeed, in another interview on ABC he dissociated himself: "One thing we have often seen in recent years has been a heap of declarations containing the words 'wipe out'. We have not had good outcomes.
I am not interested in these on-going threats of war", the Illinois senator said, adding that the Iranian threat should be met "rapidly and in a firm manner".
http://www.agi.it/world/news/200804221945-pol-ren0108-art.html |
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