RUTHFULLY YOURS

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave an interview to Bloomberg Radio, in which she reiterated Washington’s position on how to best prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Negotiations, she said, are “by far the best approach.”

This should not have come as a surprise to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is used to being snubbed by the administration of President Barack Obama. Nor did anyone else – least of all the regime in Tehran – fail to note that Clinton’s dismissal of “deadlines” and “red lines” was aimed directly at Israel.

When asked about this – and about Netanyahu’s assertion that the time for military action is drawing closer by the minute – Clinton responded: “[The Israelis are] more anxious about a quick response because they feel that they’re right in the bull’s eye, so to speak. But we’re convinced that we have more time to focus on these sanctions, to do everything we can to bring Iran to a good-faith negotiation.”

Right there is reason enough for President Mahmoud Ahmadinehad and his mullahs to pray to Allah for an Obama victory on Nov. 6. It is precisely why Americans must not let that happen.

But don’t take my word for it. Just listen to what Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei – who is a far more reliable source – has articulated on the matter.

In February this year, a few days before the 33rd anniversary of the fall of the shah in favor of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Khamenei delivered a televised speech at Tehran University, along the lines of a “state of the union” address.

During this two-hour rant-and-chant, Khamenei, who has the final say in Iranian policy and action, was unequivocal in his anti-Western stance, with an emphasis on Israel and America.

“The Zionist regime is really the cancerous tumor in this region and it needs to be removed and it will be removed,” he said. “From now on, if any nation or group confronts the Zionist regime, we will endorse and we will help.” He then officially confirmed that Iran was behind Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

About the U.S., he had this to say: “When it comes to the battle of thoughts and wisdom, they [Americans] cannot conquer … which means that America has no logic but force [and] bloodshed, that’s the only way they find to push their agenda … They should know … we have our own threats, and when the time comes, we will make those threats … We should not fall for the smile on the face of the enemy. We have had our experience the last 30 years … We should not be cheated by their false promises and words, they break their promises very easily … they feel no shame … they simply utter lies.”

A few days prior to this speech – the second half of which Khamenei delivered in Arabic, so that he could heap praise on the “Islamic revolutions” referred to in the West as the Arab Spring – one of the Supreme Leader’s chief strategists published an article entitled “Jurisprudential Reasons for Israel’s Destruction.”

In this piece, first published on the Iranian web site Alef and subsequently picked up by the Fars News Agency, the author stated that it was a religious imperative for Muslims to engage in “defensive jihad” when Islam is under attack. The time for such jihad is now, he said, because “in order to attack Iran, Israel needs the approval and assistance of America, and under the current passive climate in the United States, the opportunity must not be lost to wipe out Israel before it attacks Iran.”

He then spelled out which targets in Israeli cities would best get the job done, specifying missiles in Iran’s arsenal that have the capability to eliminate the Jewish state in under nine minutes. He concluded by asserting that Khamenei believes America, too, must be defeated and then annihilated.

During that same week in February, when Khamenei made his speech and his strategist wrote the article, Obama gave a pre-Super Bowl interview to NBC. “We are going to make sure we work in lock step and work to resolve this diplomatically.”

Seven months have passed since then. Iran has been enriching uranium, perfecting centrifuges, building more underground bunkers, testing missiles, and continuing its threats to wipe Israel off the map.

Meanwhile, on the 11th anniversary of the World Trade Center bombings, Hillary Clinton remains steadfast in her administration’s efforts “to do everything we can to bring Iran to a good-faith negotiation,” and in its attempts to prevent Israel from taking Tehran’s words and deeds seriously.

With such useful idiots in its corner, Iran can laugh its way straight to the bomb. Let us hope that American voters, particularly Jews, do not serve the same purpose for Obama.

Ruthie Blum is the author of To Hell in a Handbasket: Carter, Obama, and the ‘Arab Spring,’ now available on Amazon and in bookstores in Europe and North America.