In his UN speech yesterday, President Obama tried to minimize the Iranian threat while promoting his own hopes for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. But his work was undone a few hours later by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Obama devoted just two paragraphs to Iran, which "cannot demonstrate the peaceful intentions of its nuclear program." The Iranian "actions have consequences," he added. But he followed that way-too-veiled threat by noting, for the thousandth time, that "the door remains open to diplomacy should Iran choose to walk through it."
By contrast, he spent 10 long paragraphs praising the virtues of future Israeli-Arab peace, concluding: "When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations -- an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel."
In fact, it's an open question whether the talks will last through this weekend:
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatens to walk out by Sunday if Israel doesn't extend its 10-month moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements. Jerusalem vows to end the moratorium, and a formula to bridge the gap was still elusive as Obama entered the UN hall yesterday morning. Unable to announce a solution, he used his speech to plead with both sides.
But Obama was no match for the ever innovative Ahmadinejed. You can't take the "mad" out of the Iranian's name, and his speech showed that a madman with a nuclear bomb is much more threatening to world peace than the long and deadly, but manageable, Palestinian-Israeli dispute.
Where Obama had briefly commemorated the 9/11 attacks, Ahmadinejad all but declared himself a 9/11 "truther" -- announcing his plan to uncover the "truth" behind 9/11.
As US and other diplomats walked out on him, the Iranian dismissed the al-Qaeda-did-it version as merely a "viewpoint advocated by American statesmen" and offered other explanations.
In one, "some segments within the US government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East in order also to save the Zionist regime."
Ahmadinejad called for the UN to investigate all his 9/11 theories, announcing a conference in Tehran next year to study the issue. (This will follow the "scientific" gathering of Holocaust deniers he hosted several years ago.)
The Iranian also quietly threatened to derail any Israeli-Palestinian deal, denouncing 60 years of Zionist "occupation" of Palestine -- dating back to Israel's creation.
Sadly, his version is all too popular in the region. Even Arabs who have made peace with Israel don't yet accept it as a Jewish state (It is: Israel's UN seat was empty yesterday because of the Succoth holiday.)
In his speech, Obama dismissed the "cynics" who oppose peace -- but Iran will attempt to fight his peacemaking, and may very well succeed.
It might not even have to use its allies -- Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah -- on Israel's borders. Iran is still making strides toward nuclear capabilities, and in a region that respects power over much else, its success will give it plenty of clout.
Indeed, Ahmadinejad accused us of proliferating atomic weapons, even as we deny him and other countries the right for peaceful nuclear-based energy.
Regrettably, he can't be wished away. Strange as his loony tunes sound to us, he has his ear close to the region's ground. His speech may not please Arab leaders, but conspiracy-prone, al-Jazeera-watching crowds will cheer.
Walking out on a UN speech while offering an olive branch isn't an adequate American response. Obama needs to identify the real regional flash point (hint: it's not Israel-Palestine), and then tackle it head-on.
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