Helen!!....... She knows Israeli has nukes and wants Obama

[Ichingcarpenter]

to know the hypocrisy.

[BeachBaby]

1. "So-called terrorists"

:rofl:

Rock on, Helen.

[choie]

2. God Bless Helen Thomas

The problem is, Obama knows damn well Israel has nukes, but he won't admit it.

[malaise]

3. Helen's the best journalist in the room n/t

[dflprincess]

17. Odds are she's the only journalist in the room (eom)

[theHandpuppet]

40. Bingo!!!!

:headbang:

[JuniperLea]

4. Helen rocks!

That's what I thought too. Good for her! And her "so-called terrorist" line, complete with eye-roll was priceless!

I love Helen!

:loveya:

[bushmeister0]

5. He's one hell of a dancer.

Tapped right over Israel all the way to Moscow.

[unc70]

11. Several long examples of dancing around

Making great moves but avoiding contact with the question itself

[aquart]

12. Did you think he wouldn't?

Good luck making that man say something he doesn't want or intend to.

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. I'm glad DU caught the nuance of Helen's question

It was much deeper than it seemed.

[aquart]

9. Oh, I got it. So did he. Did very well with it.

[ProgressIn2008]

7. LOL, Helen's pretty much the only honest person in the room. Most balls, too! nt

[AlCzervik]

8. Fuckin A! Helen is thee best.

[pleah]

10. I wish he had called on her first.

Love Helen!

[DCKit]

14. He needed to warm up first. She's older and far more experienced in these things.

We caught her inference immediately, though I expect most people don't consider Israel *in* the M.E., thanks to our fabulous edumacashunal sistum.

[pleah]

18. Got it.;)

:)

[Cha]

35. Since he called on her when he did..

she was remembered more..it was perfect timing.

[Individualist]

13. She's objective, and that's what I admire most about her.

She asks the tough questions whether the President is a Democrat or republican.

[GoesTo11]

15. Obama is not going to speculate

Very prudent of him.

[Nictuku]

16. Helen!

[kimmerspixelated]

32. She recovered from an illness, right?

I love her, too!

[leveymg]

19. "Strategy of ambiguity (aka, policy of opacity)" goes back to '67. Way to avoid the NPT

which was being negotiated at the same time Israel was screwing together its first deliverable warhead. First bomb was completed just before Israel launched its preemptive first-strike against Egypt and Syria. Ace up its sleave.

And, Israel raises hell because its neighbors have also taken steps to acquire nuclear weapons.

[AngryOldDem]

20. So that was why he did a "moving right along" feint

And I was hoping that she would be restored to her rightful place as the first journalist to ask a question.

[Duer 157099]

21. I'm confused. I thought everyone knows Israel has nukes?

My first impression when I heard her question was: "What?? Nobody told Helen??"

And then to hear Obama answer without mentioning Israel?

That was just weird, to me.

:shrug:

[alsame]

23. I think everyone knows, but it's not ever admitted publicly. I seem

to recall that Jimmy Carter caused a stir a while ago when he said that Israel has nukes.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

24. Of course everyone "knows" Israel has nukes...

but it isn't "official". No one admits it, certainly not our politicians. And Israel has never admitted it.

She was trying to flush Obama out -- see how direct and honest he was really going to be -- see if he had the nerve to say what eveyrone "knows".

Instead, he danced. :(

[ThomWV]

26. Where did they come from? I ask because Israel doesn't have the capability to make them

Israel does not have the facilities, nor enough room in the entire country to house the facilities necessary to produce the materials needed to make a nuclear weapon and barley enough to maintain an arsenal of them.

[wuvuj]

28. I wonder who?

Who wrote the book of love....

[Tesha]

29. You haven't been paying attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negev_Nuclear_Research_Center at Dimona.

Take a look with Google Earth; you can't miss it!

Tesha

[deaniac21]

39. No kidding...but she did stay awake for the whole press conference!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

22. I thought that was brilliant of Helen!

It was also a very interesting way to find out exactly how straightforward he really is going to be.

[ThomWV]

25. I turned to my wife and said "He will never answer that question" and he never did.

[Renew Deal]

27. The worst part of that question is that she knew in advance that Obama wouldn't answer it.

She should have asked something more relevant.

[Tesha]

30. What she asked was *HIGHLY* relevant. It's at the heart of our bizarre M.E. policy. (NT)

[Ezlivin]

31. Most Americans are ignorant of Israel's nuclear weapons

I think that most Americans have no idea that Israel has nuclear weapons.

If it became public knowledge that they do, then the public stance toward our relations in the Middle East could change radically. People could understand the motivation of surrounding nations to acquire nuclear weapons.

[Bolo Boffin]

33. That's what she wanted to point out - that Obama wouldn't answer the question.

The answer was good for not answering, but I'm surprised that he didn't correct her on "so-called terrorists". I wonder why he didn't go there.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

34. It was completely relevent to show us....

how honest Obama is going to be with us. :) Clearly, honest on Israel? Not so much.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

36. His lack of an answer made it relevant.

[Radical Activist]

37. It's a new President

so it's worth asking. It's a serious issue. I thought it was one of the best questions of the night.

[scarletwoman]

38. I loved it! I look forward to many more piercing questions from Helen. Go, Helen!!!!

She pulled off a great reveal of Obama. I hope he ponders it.

sw