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n oIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made history yesterday (March 03, 2015). Not only was he the second world stage leader to address Congress three times—Winston Churchill was the first; good company—his speech was a speech for the ages. Such speeches aren’t always recognized as historic at the time. Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, which is very brief, was initially thought an inconsequential failure. It is now recognized as one of the greatest speeches ever made. The confluence of elements–the right man, the right words and the right time–will likewise secure Netanyahu’s speech in history.

For the moment, President Obama and others desperate to defend his badly tarnished messianic reputation, are complaining that Mr. Netanyahu did not offer an alternative to the horrendously bad deal Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama are so foolishly negotiating. They could not be more wrong or short sighted.

Keep in mind that for the progressive, the mere act of speaking with a deadly enemy is considered a great and worthy accomplishment in and of itself. Reaching a verifiable, rational agreement beneficial to the United States is a distant second. Thus do we see leftists seemingly comfortable with mere talk and with any deal.

What, if we are to secure some semblance of peace in the Middle East and the world, must any “deal” with Iran achieve?

(1) Iran must renounce terrorism, with all that implies.

(2) Iran must give up all nuclear ambitions, with all that implies.

(3) Iran must renounce its desire to destroy Israel and commit genocide against the Jews.

(4) Iran must renounce all of its plans for regional and world domination and all that implies.

To do less, to accept less in any deal, legitimizes Iran’s desire to commit genocide, conquer the world, and cause hundreds of millions of deaths. How can any rational man, any rational nation, allow this? War is horrible, but medieval barbarians with nuclear weapons trying to destroy the world is the alternative.

Ultimately, the biggest problem the world has is that Mr. Obama almost certainly wants a deal—any deal, no matter how terrible—to forestall military action, to give him a plausible excuse to do nothing.

What, then, did Mr. Netanyahu provide as an alternative? 

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve come here today to tell you we don’t have to bet the security of the world on the hope that Iran will change for the better. We don’t have to gamble with our future and with our children’s future.

We can insist that restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program not be lifted for as long as Iran continues its aggression in the region and in the world. Before lifting those restrictions, the world should demand that Iran do three things. First, stop its aggression against its neighbors in the Middle East. Second, stop supporting terrorism around the world. And third, stop threatening to annihilate my country, Israel, the one and only Jewish state.

Notice that Mr. Netanyahu calls for nearly all of the points I’ve raised, leaving out only renunciation of world domination. Considering the topic and focus of his speech, this is understandable. Surely, if asked, he would agree with this condition as well.

And by maintaining the pressure on Iran and on those who do business with Iran, you have the power to make them need it even more. My friends, for over a year, we’ve been told that no deal is better than a bad deal. Well, this is a bad deal. It’s a very bad deal. We’re better off without it.

Accepting a bad deal merely for the sake of being able to say “we have a deal,” is the height of dangerous stupidity, particularly when dealing with a national like Iran. Mr. Netanyahu is suggesting precisely the opposite, which is the very definition of an alternative to Mr. Obama’s intentions, and the only responsible, rational response.

Now we’re being told that the only alternative to this bad deal is war. That’s just not true. The alternative to this bad deal is a much better deal: a better deal that doesn’t leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure and such a short breakout time; a better deal that keeps the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in place until Iran’s aggression ends; a better deal that won’t give Iran an easy path to the bomb; a better deal that Israel and its neighbors may not like, but with which we could live, literally. And no country has a greater stake – no country has a greater stake than Israel in a good deal that peacefully removes this threat.

Here Mr. Netanyahu outlines, specifically, another alternative, an alternative short of immediately forcing Iran to behave as a responsible, non-aggressor nation. Does Barack Obama really want a deal that leaves Iran capable of producing nuclear weapons in short order? Does he want a deal that will not only enable Iran to murder millions, but will encourage it? What is the statesmanlike, responsible argument against Mr. Netanyahu’s suggestions that will, in any way, affirm and preserve western civilization and peace?

Ladies and gentlemen, History has placed us at a fateful crossroads. We must now choose between two paths. One path leads to a bad deal that will at best curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions for a while, but it will inexorably lead to a nuclear-armed Iran whose unbridled aggression will inevitably lead to war. The second path, however difficult, could lead to a much better deal, that would prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, a nuclearized Middle East and the horrific consequences of both to all of humanity.

Here Mr. Netanyahu invokes the ultimate alternative to what Mr. Obama is apparently trying to achieve: a Middle East that does not threaten the existence of western civilization and the tolerance, individual sovereignty, liberty and progress that characterizes it. The choice could not be clearer: bring Iran to heel, force the mad mullahs to behave in a civilized way, or try to live in the kind of world they would build through destruction.

My friends, standing up to Iran is not easy. Standing up to dark and murderous regimes never is. With us today is Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel. Elie, your life and work inspires to give meaning to the words, ‘Never Again.’ And I wish I could promise you, Elie, that the lessons of history have been learned. I can only urge the leaders of the world not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Not to sacrifice the future for the present; not to ignore aggression in the hopes of gaining an illusory peace.

Here too is another alternative, an alternative America must always embrace, as President Kennedy said in his first inaugural address: 

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

In a very real sense, this is why Barack Obama and his sycophants so desperately hate Mr. Netanyahu and Israel and are so desperate to discredit them: Mr. Netanyahu is the leader of the free world, and Israel embodies the promise of JFK. Mr. Obama is the antithesis of that promise, the promise and hope of freedom in the world.

But I can guarantee you this, the days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over. We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves.

Here is another part of the alternative: Israeli military action. If Israel attacks Iran–if America does not stand strong and uphold the promise and obligations of liberty, Israel will have to act—Mr. Obama will be exposed to the world as what he is: a fool and a narcissist, an empty suit propped erect by teleprompter screens. Mr. Netanyahu assures us that unlike Mr. Obama’s promises, all of which have an expiration date, “never again” means precisely that.

This is why as Prime Minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel. I know that you stand with Israel. You stand with Israel because you know that the story of Israel is not only the story of the Jewish people but of the human spirit that refuses again and again to succumb to history’s horrors.

Mr. Netanyahu surely knows that he is speaking only to the American people and not to Barack Obama. Under him, Israel does stand alone; in Israel’s darkest hour, Barack Obama will not be there. I’m sure Mr. Netanyahu hopes that the Congress and the American people would not allow Barack Obama, or any President, to stand idly by and witness the destruction of Israel, but he also knows, should Iran obtain nuclear weapons, hesitation of only an hour or a day to come to Israel’s aid or to launch a preemptive military strike could make possible the deaths of millions.

Clearly, Benjamin Netanyahu provided a morally and practically clear alternative, a path to peace and safety, not only for the Middle East, but for the world. The battles being fought in the Middle East today are rapidly spreading, and will be fought on our shores one day, one day soon. Barack Obama would do nothing to prevent that horrific future, but would do what he has always done, present blatant lies as the truth, erect and attack straw men, pose false choices, and blame others for his lack of vision and ability.

Benjamin Netanyahu, in his person, embodies the alternatives demanded by liberty and security, alternatives Barack Obama flees like a vampire from sunlight.