Obama discredits Iran 'green light'- Asia Times

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

Perhaps a lip zipper, capable of being locked, is a necessary procedure when allowing Biden to give interviews.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KG09Ak01.html

Seeking to end speculation about whether his administration had eased its opposition to an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday insisted that Washington's position remained unchanged.

When asked in an interview from Moscow, where he has been meeting with top Russian leaders, Obama strongly denied that his administration had given a "green light" to Israel to carry out such an attack. "Absolutely not," Obama replied. "And I think it's very important that I'm as clear as I can be, and our administration is as consistent as we can be on this issue."

Asked whether he approved of Netanyahu's "tak matters into his own hands", Biden seemed to suggest that the US would not attempt to dissuade Israel from taking unilateral action.

While some analysts insisted that Biden's statements did not constitute a change in policy, others insisted that his failure to state explicitly that Washington would oppose an attack, as the vice president had done last April, suggested neutrality at best.

"Dangling the threat of Israeli military action over Iran is more likely to trigger nasty unintended consequences than to help stabilize the Middle East. And when it comes to the question of an Israeli air strike, Obama can profess neither neutrality nor powerlessness," wrote Time.com senior editor Tony Karon on his personal blog, calling for Obama to say "loudly and clearly not only that it opposes any attack on Iran by Israel, but also that it will do whatever is in its power to prevent such an attack".