Israel striking Iran on its own to cripple the Iranian’s nuclear-weapons program “would be a disaster – and everyone knows that,” prominent Middle East expert Dr. James Zogby tells Newsmax TV.
“The issue here is that Iran was emboldened by the defeat of Iraq, its nemesis to the north and the west,” Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute, tells Newsmax in an exclusive interview.
“At the same time, it has been flexing its muscles in the Gulf region. Iran’s favorable ratings have dropped to very low levels, lower than the United States. That’s bad in the Middle East.
“And people are afraid of Iran, afraid of Iran’s ambitions to export their revolution, and afraid of the sectarian movement that is dividing Arab countries and dividing the region,” Zogby adds.
“The worst thing that could happen right now is for Israel to get in the middle of all of that and bomb, which would only turn opinion against Israel and the United States and would give Iran exactly what it wants. It wants to be the victim of the West.
“Let it be judged by its own behavior. Don’t let it be judged as the victim of the West. The administration’s engagement policy is the right policy – and Israel ought not to be pushing too hard because they’re making the situation worse.”
In his joint news conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday with President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel had a right to act independently to defend itself against any threat, “including the Iranian threat.”
For his part, Obama expressed a strong commitment to Israel’s security. “America’s commitment to the security of the state of Israel is a solemn obligation,” he said.
Iran dominated most of the discussion at the news conference, which came on the first day of Obama’s first visit to Israel as president.
On Thursday, Obama travels briefly to the occupied West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before heading to Jordan on Friday to meet with King Abdullah II.
In his Newsmax interview, Zogby says that disappointment is high among Muslims in the Arab world regarding Obama’s visit. He is the author of “Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us, and Why it Matters.”
“The situation in the region right now is a very difficult one – and it’s not just the issues of Syria and the issues of Iran and the issues of Egypt, which is now going sour, that he’ll have to deal with, but the disappointment of Palestinians and of many Arabs that that issue is just not going to get the attention it deserves,” Zogby says.
“They understand, as the president does, is that the issue is just not solvable at this point, but when you do the kinds of things he’s going to be compelled to do these next couple of days in Israel, it says to the Palestinians that maybe he’s just not caring about us anymore.
“The president has not only to win the confidence of the Israeli people but must do it in a way that doesn’t cost anymore in terms of the confidence of the Palestinian people – and that’s going to be a tough road to hoe,” Zogby says.
Read more at NEWSMAX.
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
Zogby is a Muslem who is a rabid Antisemite! Why even quote him?
Someone want to explain why I was so stupid to read this article?
I’m sorry Dr. Zogby; but with all due respect, you lose a great deal of credibility when you make a a sixth grade mistake in print. The expression is “tough row to hoe,” not “tough road to hoe.” People don’t hoe roads.
I don’t mean to be a wise-man, but it always seems that your “review and analysis” of any situation in the Middle East is designed to manipulate and shape people’s opinions. Why not stick to numbers? You seem to be darn good in that area.
What do you expect an Arab to say.