Biden to AIPAC: Obama is Not Bluffing

Daniel Ensign — March 4, 2013 – 3:56 pm | Barack Obama | Iran | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

Vice President Joe Biden addressed the AIPAC Policy Conference today, laying out the Administration’s unbreakable commitment to a safe and secure Israel. Addressing more than 12,000 pro-Israel advocates, Vice President Biden previewed President Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to Israel and reiterated the White House’s commitment to preventing a nuclear Iran.

The full text can be found here. Some of the notable highlights are below.

On President Obama’s continuing commitment to Israel:

All these pressures are similar but different, and they put enormous pressure on the State of Israel.  We understand that.  And we especially understand that if we make a mistake, it’s not a threat to our existence.  But if Israel makes a mistake, it could be a threat to its very existence.

And that’s why, from the moment the President took office, he has acted swiftly and decisively to make clear to the whole world and to Israel that even as circumstances have changed, one thing has not:  our deep commitment to the security of the state of Israel.  That has not changed.  That will not change as long as I and he are President and Vice President of the United States. It’s in our naked self-interest, beyond the moral imperative. 

On the President’s unprecedented foreign aid to Israel:

I’ve served with eight Presidents of the United States of America, and I can assure you, unequivocally, no President has done as much to physically secure the State of Israel as President Barack Obama.

President Obama last year requested $3.1 billion in military assistance for Israel—the most in history.  He has directed close coordination, strategically and operationally, between our government and our Israeli partners, including our political, military and intelligence leadership.

Under this administration, we’ve held the most regular and largest-ever joint military exercises.  We’ve invested $275 million in Iron Dome, including $70 million that the President directed to be spent last year on an urgent basis—to increase the production of Iron Dome batteries and interceptors.

Preventing a nuclear Iran:

Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon not only would present an existential threat to Israel, it would present a threat to our allies and our partners—and to the United States.  .... So we have a shared strategic commitment.  Let me make clear what that commitment is:  It is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.  Period. End of discussion.  Prevent—not contain—prevent. 

The President has flatly stated that… We’ll be in the security room…. he’ll turn to other people and say ... big nations can’t bluff.  Well, big nations can’t bluff.  And Presidents of the United States cannot and do not bluff.  And President Barack Obama is not bluffing.  He is not bluffing.

On the President’s support of a two-state solution:

Ladies and gentlemen, Israel’s own leaders currently understand the imperative of peace.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Barak, President Peres—they’ve all called for a two-state solution and an absolute secure, democratic and Jewish State of Israel; to live side by side with an independent Palestinian state.  But it takes two to tango, and the rest of the Arab world has to get in the game.

The President’s upcoming trip to Israel:

I expect President Obama to cover each of these issues in much greater detail.  I’ve learned one thing, as I was telling the President, I learned it’s never a good idea, Ehud, to steal the President’s thunder.  It’s never a good idea to say what he’s going to say the next day.  So I’m not going to go into any further detail on this.  But in much greater detail he will discuss this when he goes to Israel later this month, just before Passover begins.

I have to admit I’m a little jealous that he gets to be the one to say “this year in Jerusalem,” but I’m the Vice President. I’m not the President. So I—when I told him that, I’m not sure he thought I was serious or not.  But anyway.

Declaring Hezbollah a terrorist organization:

And we—and me—we are urging every nation in the world that we deal with—and we deal with them all—to start treating Hezbollah as such, and naming them as a terrorist organization.

On outgoing Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak:

I’m particularly delighted to be with an old friend—and he is an old friend; we use that phrase lightly in Washington, but it’s real, and I think he’d even tell you—Ehud Barak, it’s great to be with you, Mr. Minister. Great to be with you.

There is a standup guy. There is a standup guy. Standing up for his country, putting his life on the line for his country, and continuing to defend the values that we all share. I’m a fan of the man. Thanks for being here, Ehud. It’s good to be with you again.

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