While Hillary Clinton's AIPAC talk made the news, other politicians keynoted or attended the meeting. Senators Joe Lieberman and Carl Levin made WaPo's AIPAC picture gallery. Speakers included Senators Evan Bayh, Chuck Schumer, and Lindsey Graham. Here are a few of their quotes:
"We have to contemplate the final option, the use of force to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon," Bayh said.
“We need to go forward with aggressive sanctions that are likely to hurt the regime ... but that’s unlikely to work,” Bayh said. “In the long run, you have to do what you have to do.”
"It is better to go to war than to allow the Holocaust to happen a second time," said Lindsey Graham. "Is this the last AIPAC meeting before Iran has a nuclear weapon?"
Chuck Schumer conceded that when it comes to Iran, “Diplomacy has failed.” "Iran is on the verge of becoming nuclear and we cannot and must not afford that."
They sync with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's comments:
Netanyahu called on the world “to act swiftly and decisively” to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions.The media mostly ignored this theme, focusing on the "split" between Israel and the U.S. over settlements. The conflict is front stage acting for public consumption. Behind the scenes both parties move toward war. Israel will likely be the instigator, with Uncle Sam riding in to contain the blowback.
“The greatest threat to any living organism or nation is not to recognize danger in time,” the prime minister said in his speech’s most sobering moment. “Seventy-five years ago, many leaders around the world put their heads in the sand. Untold millions died in the war that followed. Ultimately, two of history’s greatest leaders helped turn the tide. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill helped save the world. But they were too late to save six million of my own people. The future of the Jewish state can never depend on the goodwill of even the greatest of men. Israel must always reserve the right to defend itself.”
Last night, there were 130 evangelical leaders present to show unconditional love and unwavering support to the Jewish people and the state of Israel.
Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war...
Update: The White House's David Axelrod said the world has united against Iran.
