Barack Obama addressed the AIPAC conference on Sunday as a friend. Lets not forget: He is, after all, the president of the United States. At the AIPAC conference, during an election year, Obama could not afford to give a different speech. Even the big gesture a presidential medal of freedom to be awarded to President Shimon Peres was almost a natural exchange between two Nobel Peace Prize laureates. Israel, as expected, passed its driving theory test. The actual road test will only take place when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama meet. The problem with Obamas friendly speech was that it failed to make it clear to Tehran where the U.S.s red line is drawn meaning from where Irans nuclear program would be in danger of annihilation. Obama didnt surprise anyone in his AIPAC speech: His tone toward Iran was stern. The military option, he explained, exists, but until Iran actually develops a bomb, its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have time to repent. Obama does not want a nuclear Iran, but he also does not want war. Thats not new. In his fantasy, Obama sees Tehran abandoning its nuclear ambitions in the wake of diplomatic pressure and stiffer sanctions. He really believes this will work, despite the nuclear North Korea precedent. Netanyahu is less optimistic. This is where the difference in their attitudes stems from. Obama keeps talking about a military strike as a last resort. Jerusalem wants Washington to put the military option in the headlines. The U.S. president indirectly revealed what he really thinks about recent Israeli public discourse on the topic of attacking Iran: Already, there is too much loose talk of war, he said. He is right. But according to many American media outlets, U.S. government officials are contributing no less than Israelis to this loose talk. Obama, as mentioned, gave a friendly speech, but it was also a campaign speech. It was heard not only by pro-Israeli Jews. Obama knows that the majority of Americans support Israel, but today, especially after the 2008 financial crisis, they are more concerned with their own economy. Obama referred to the threats against Iran as a factor that is driving up oil prices in other words, Iran may want to destroy the world, but Israel, no less importantly, is responsible for the increase in gasoline prices. Addressing a room full of Jews, Obama didnt forget to mention the Talmud. He even mentioned one of the fundamental Jewish principles: tikkun olam (repairing the world). Tikkun Olam can be achieved by eradicating the forces of evil, with the forces of good emerging victorious. Obamas speech left little doubt as to the identities of the forces of good and evil in this story. No surprises there. But Obamas speech failed to explain how he was going to stop the Iranian nuclear program. He didnt detail the sanctions his administration is considering, nor did he draw a clear red line. It is still unclear, in Jerusalem as well as in Tehran. There is no doubt, however, that Obama wanted to communicate one very clear message: U.S. Jews, vote for me!
