Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




NUKEWARS
Pentagon chief tries to calm Mideast jitters over Iran deal
By Laurent Barthelemy
Amman (AFP) July 21, 2015


Obama calls on veterans to back Iran deal
Pittsburgh (AFP) July 21, 2015 - US President Barack Obama told a gathering of military veterans Tuesday that hardheaded diplomacy with Iran could avoid the kind of "unnecessary wars" for which they paid the price.

Obama travelled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in steely mood, and urged the 1.9-million-member group Veterans of Foreign Wars to give the nuclear deal with Tehran a chance.

He denounced those "chest beating" against the deal and said some of those opposed to it were the same ones who said the Iraq war would take only months.

"We know the consequences of that choice," he said. "And what it cost us in blood and treasure. There is a smarter more responsible way to protect our national security."

Insisting he was no peacenik afraid to deploy the military, Obama boasted about a string of military operations that took high-ranking Al-Qaeda officials such as Osama bin Laden off the battlefield.

"If you target Americans you will have no safe haven," he said.

But, he added, "real leadership" means not being afraid to negotiate.

Obama has framed the recent nuclear deal as a choice between diplomacy and war.

While campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Obama told a battle-weary nation he would end the long and bloody conflict in Iraq as president made winding down the wars there and Afghanistan a priority.

The Iran deal is seen as a cornerstone of Obama's foreign policy legacy, and the White House has been selling it at home since the historic agreement was reached last week in Vienna between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

On Tuesday, the Obama administration rolled out a Twitter feed and website that White House spokesman Josh Earnest said will be used to "distribute facts, engage online audiences and be used as a forum by those involved in negotiating the agreement."

- Veterans in crisis -

Obama also paid tribute to five US troops "senselessly" killed in Chattanooga, Tennessee after an attack Thursday on two military centers by a 24-year-old gunman, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez.

"We don't yet know all of the details behind the attack," Obama said, "but we do know that Al-Qaeda and ISIL (the Islamic State group) have encouraged attacks on American soil, including against our service members."

"And this threat of lone wolves and small cells is hard to detect and prevent," he warned.

The president also tackled a multi-year crisis in the Department of Veterans Affairs, which runs a network of hospitals for veterans.

An inspector general report a year ago found "systemic" problems in health care for former combatants, with up to 40 veterans dying while waiting for treatment in Phoenix alone.

On the back of exposes about overcrowding and poor standards in military hospitals, the scandal cost Obama's fellow Hawaiian and former army chief of staff Eric Shinseki his job as secretary of the agency.

Former army officer and Procter & Gamble chief executive Robert McDonald replaced Shinseki after receiving unanimous approval from the Senate.

But the VA was recently rocked again with news that it faces a massive budget shortfall.

"We've got to acknowledge our work is not done. We still have a big challenge," Obama said.

"I'm still not satisfied."

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter sought to reassure anxious Middle East allies Tuesday over the Iran nuclear deal during a regional tour that includes stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Carter met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fierce critic of the landmark Iran accord, before flying on to Jordan, a key partner in the US-led war on the Islamic State (IS) group.

Addressing military personnel from six nations in the anti-jihadist coalition at a Jordanian airbase, he said the United States and Israel had a "common commitment to countering Iranian malign influence in the region".

Netanyahu "made it quite clear that he disagreed with us with respect to the nuclear deal and Iran. But friends can disagree," Carter said.

"We will continue to work with Israel and other partners in this region to counter the danger from Iran, even as we do the same with respect to ISIL," he said, using another acronym for IS.

Meeting Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Jerusalem Tuesday, Netanyahu underlined Israeli opposition to the Iran deal.

"It will put Iran at the threshold of an entire nuclear arsenal within a decade," he said.

Carter met American forces stationed in Jordan, which shares borders with both Syria and Iraq, and colleagues of Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was captured by IS after his plane crashed in Syria and later burned alive by the group in a gruesome video.

His murder caused global revulsion and vows of international efforts to combat the Sunni extremist group.

- 'Barbarians are always defeated' -

"The enemy has to be defeated," Carter told US mechanics beside an American F-16 at the base.

"It will be, because the barbarians are always defeated by civilisation, a few by the many."

He later had a private meeting with pilots taking part in anti-IS coalition sorties.

Carter is due in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for a visit expected to be dominated by concerns about the Iran nuclear deal.

Sunni-ruled Gulf states are wary of the US overtures to arch-foe Iran, believing the deal will only embolden Tehran's Shiite leaders.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television in an interview broadcast Tuesday he would tell Gulf foreign ministers in Qatar next month "all of the ways in which this agreement, in fact, makes the Gulf states and the region safer".

Israel also fears the agreement is not enough to keep the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weapons that could be used against it.

Netanyahu has said military force remains on the table to block Iran's path to a nuclear weapon, although experts say unilateral strikes by Israel appear highly unlikely for now.

Iran is accused of supporting militants in the region, including Israeli enemies Hezbollah and Hamas, and Israel argues that the expected lifting of sanctions under the nuclear accord will allow it to boost help for such groups.

Carter sought Monday to address Israeli worries that Washington was shifting its focus in the region, saying Israel remained "the bedrock of American strategy in the Middle East".

- 'Give and take' -

Under the July 14 agreement, Iran agreed to dismantle or mothball much of its nuclear industry in return for an easing and eventual lifting of sanctions.

Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful.

World powers called it an historic opportunity to set relations with Iran on a new path, but the deal has faced opposition from hardliners both in Tehran and Washington.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif defended the agreement in a speech to parliament in Tehran, saying "we should not forget that any deal is a give and take".

"Each side gives up part of its demands to realise the more important part until what has been given and received is balanced," he said.

There have been fears by some that such moves could contribute to a new conventional arms race in the already volatile Middle East.

"That has not happened here for at least two decades," said Eytan Gilboa, a political science professor at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu has urged US lawmakers to reject the deal. He angered President Barack Obama by appearing before Congress in March to denounce the emerging accord.

Gilboa said Israel is likely to hold off on discussions of "compensation" in the form of increased military aid until later to avoid signalling to Congress that it accepts the agreement.

"Israel wants to show that it is naive to assume that with this agreement you can change the government of Iran," he said.

burs/srm/


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





NUKEWARS
US lawmakers sent Iran deal, triggering 60-day review
Washington (AFP) July 19, 2015
The US State Department on Sunday officially transferred to American lawmakers the complex text of an Iran nuclear deal, firing the starting gun on what is set to be a bitter Congress battle. Top US administration officials are girding for a huge fight with the Republican-controled Congress, which, while it cannot modify the terms of the historic deal, can vote to approve or disapprove the a ... read more


NUKEWARS
Russia to Land Space Vessel on Moon's Polar Region in 2019

Moon engulfed in permanent, lopsided dust cloud

Crashing comets may explain mysterious lunar swirls

Google Lunar X-Prize meets Yoda

NUKEWARS
Curiosity rover finds evidence of Mars' primitive continental crust

Never Get Lost on Mars Again With NASA's New Red Planet Map

Opportunity Rover's 7th Mars Winter to Include New Study Area

Opportunity Gets Back to Work

NUKEWARS
NASA selects leading-edge concepts for continued study

US selects four astronauts for commercial flight

Docking Adapter Sets Stage for Commercial Crew Crew

Targeted LEDs could provide efficient lighting for plants grown in space

NUKEWARS
Chinese earth station is for exclusively scientific and civilian purposes

Cooperation in satellite technology put Belgium, China to forefront

China set to bolster space, polar security

China's super "eye" to speed up space rendezvous

NUKEWARS
Student satellite wins green light for Station deployment

'Jedi' astronauts say 'no fear' as they gear for ISS trip

Relief as Russian cargo ship docks at space station

Loss of SpaceX Cargo Resupply Mission No Threat to ISS Crew Security

NUKEWARS
30 launches planned in next three fiscals: ISRO chief

Baikonur Cosmodrome to Be Equipped With Viewing Platforms

India to launch its heaviest commercial mission to date

Final payload integration begins for next Ariane 5 launch

NUKEWARS
Bricks to build an Earth found in every planetary system

Observing the birth of a planet

Precise ages of largest number of stars hosting planets ever measured

Can Planets Be Rejuvenated Around Dead Stars?

NUKEWARS
First realization of invisible absorbers and sensors

'White graphene' structures can take the heat

Bringing back the magic in metamaterials

NATO orders deployable 3D air defense radars




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.