It's Saturday Email Time

It's Saturday -- time for our weekly report on your emails. This week, the key topic continues to be Iran, with the Saudi-led operation in Yemen at the top of your list, followed by your questions about the Obama logic driving the Iran nuclear deal, and how the White House animosity toward Benjamin Netanyahu fits into the Obama-Iran deal. So, let's tackle your comments and questions. ~~~~~ You wondered how I could possibly be right in saying that the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen would protect Israel. For me, the rapprochement between Israel and the sunni Arab world is one of those unspoken seminal alliances that may never be made public but that will fundamentally change the balance of power in the Middle East. In Charm el-Cheikh today, Yemen President Hadi called the shiite Houthi rebels who are leading a civil war in Yemen, and have temporarily forced him to flee the country, "stooges of Iran." Hadi openly blamed Iran for the chaos in Yemen and demanded that his Arab neighbors continue their airstrikes against rebel positions until the Houthis surrender. Unnamed diplomats at the meeting say the Saudi-led and Egypt-backed Arab military airstrikes in Yemen could go on for months -- until stability is restored, according to Saudi sources who say that this is Saudi King Salman's goal. One diplomat says : "Ultimately the whole idea is to achieve the political objective, which is the return of legitimacy of Yemen and a return to the political process." Another diplomat says there are 5,000 Iranian trainers and group leaders with the Houthis. Imagery from Yemen has shown the repositioning of Scud missiles to aim them toward Saudi Arabia, whose airstrikes have so far destroyed 21 of them. Surprisingly, some Iran supporters have begun to step away from endorsing its actions in Yemen. Today, the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, issued a statement that offers support for Hadi, as opposed to the Iran-backed rebels. What does this have to do with the Arab-Israel relationship. A lot. First, Israel is protected simply by the sunni Arabs turning their significant military attention to Iran's aggression in Yemen. Second, it would be counter-productive to defeat and drive Iran out of the southern Arabian Peninsula only to have them pop up aggressively in or near the Saudi and Egyptian borders -- which are also Israel's Sinai or Palestinian / Syrian borders. So, the stronger the sunni Arab coalition becomes and the more aggessively it pursues Iranian territorial expansionist moves in other areas touching Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their sunni allies, the safer Israel will be. An unspoken protective alliance. ~~~~~ Turning to your questions about the blog on Obama's grudge against Netanyahu -- you wondered how the very public battle between Obama and the Israeli prime minister could influence Obama's position vis-à-vis Iran. The logic is this : Obama was hoping that America's devotion to Israel and the Jewish people would focus them so intently on that aspect of Obama's faulty foreign policy that he could slip an Iran deal in unnoticed. It didn't happen. America and its Congress are perfectly capable of watching two problems at the same time. And America has help. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters today that the talks have been "long and difficult. We've advanced on certain issues, not yet enough on others." Fabius hopes a “robust” nuclear agreement can be made with Iran but that any deal must include "real transparency on Iran’s future nuclear activities" and a "control mechanism" to ensure Teheran honors its promises. Fabius and German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier joined the nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland this morning, as this round of negotiations fast approaches its March 31 deadline to tie down a political understanding for a nuclear deal. This would allow the P5+1 and Iran to continue working toward a June 30 deadline for a final, detailed accord. The foreign ministers of Russia, China and Britaini will also arrive in Lausanne this weekend, but diplomats at the talks say their presence does not necessarily mean a deal is almost done. Steinmeier says, "The endgame has begun." Fabius says that France is not yet satisfied on all technical points. One thing is clear. France can delay this round's finish, but it is unlikely to torpedo it completely. Nevertheless, France's at-the-negotiating-table hesitation will add weight to Israeli, Saudi and world concerns that Obama is marching toward a bad deal that will inevitably permit Iran to have a nuclear bomb. So, as with most Obama foreign initiatives, his attack on Benjamin Netanyahu has backfired. Instead of sidetracking everyone's attention, Obama's attack on Israel and Netanyzhu has in reality focused everybody even more intensely on his dangerous dealings with Iran. ~~~~~ Well, dear readers, that's our email bag for this week. If you haven't yet joined our conversation, please do. Just rmail your comments and questions to casey.popshots@yahoo.com. Looking forward to hearing from you before next Saturday.