By Terri Rupar March 3 at 12:01 PM ?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/03/full-text-netanyahus-address-to-congress/

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is addressing a joint meeting of
Congress; here is a complete transcript of his remarks.

NETANYAHU: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you…

(APPLAUSE)

… Speaker of the House John Boehner, President Pro Tem Senator Orrin
Hatch, Senator Minority — Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

I also want to acknowledge Senator, Democratic Leader Harry Reid. Harry,
it’s good to see you back on your feet.

(APPLAUSE)

I guess it’s true what they say, you can’t keep a good man down.

(LAUGHTER)

My friends, I’m deeply humbled by the opportunity to speak for a third time
before the most important legislative body in the world, the U.S. Congress.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank you all for being here today. I know that my speech has been
the subject of much controversy. I deeply regret that some perceive my being
here as political. That was never my intention.

I want to thank you, Democrats and Republicans, for your common support for
Israel, year after year, decade after decade.

(APPLAUSE)

I know that no matter on which side of the aisle you sit, you stand with
Israel.

(APPLAUSE)

The remarkable alliance between Israel and the United States has always been
above politics. It must always remain above politics.

(APPLAUSE)

Because America and Israel, we share a common destiny, the destiny of
promised lands that cherish freedom and offer hope. Israel is grateful for
the support of American — of America’s people and of America’s presidents,
from Harry Truman to Barack Obama.

(APPLAUSE)

We appreciate all that President Obama has done for Israel.

Now, some of that is widely known.

(APPLAUSE)

Some of that is widely known, like strengthening security cooperation and
intelligence sharing, opposing anti-Israel resolutions at the U.N.

Some of what the president has done for Israel is less well- known.

I called him in 2010 when we had the Carmel forest fire, and he immediately
agreed to respond to my request for urgent aid.

In 2011, we had our embassy in Cairo under siege, and again, he provided
vital assistance at the crucial moment.

Or his support for more missile interceptors during our operation last
summer when we took on Hamas terrorists.

(APPLAUSE)

In each of those moments, I called the president, and he was there.

And some of what the president has done for Israel might never be known,
because it touches on some of the most sensitive and strategic issues that
arise between an American president and an Israeli prime minister.

But I know it, and I will always be grateful to President Obama for that
support.

(APPLAUSE)

And Israel is grateful to you, the American Congress, for your support, for
supporting us in so many ways, especially in generous military assistance
and missile defense, including Iron Dome.

(APPLAUSE)

Last summer, millions of Israelis were protected from thousands of Hamas
rockets because this capital dome helped build our Iron Dome.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, America. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Israel.

My friends, I’ve come here today because, as prime minister of Israel, I
feel a profound obligation to speak to you about an issue that could well
threaten the survival of my country and the future of my people: Iran’s
quest for nuclear weapons.

We’re an ancient people. In our nearly 4,000 years of history, many have
tried repeatedly to destroy the Jewish people. Tomorrow night, on the Jewish
holiday of Purim, we’ll read the Book of Esther. We’ll read of a powerful
Persian viceroy named Haman, who plotted to destroy the Jewish people some
2,500 years ago. But a courageous Jewish woman, Queen Esther, exposed the
plot and gave for the Jewish people the right to defend themselves against
their enemies.

The plot was foiled. Our people were saved.

(APPLAUSE)

Today the Jewish people face another attempt by yet another Persian
potentate to destroy us. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei spews the
oldest hatred, the oldest hatred of anti-Semitism with the newest
technology. He tweets that Israel must be annihilated — he tweets. You
know, in Iran, there isn’t exactly free Internet. But he tweets in English
that Israel must be destroyed.

For those who believe that Iran threatens the Jewish state, but not the
Jewish people, listen to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, Iran’s
chief terrorist proxy. He said: If all the Jews gather in Israel, it will
save us the trouble of chasing them down around the world.

But Iran’s regime is not merely a Jewish problem, any more than the Nazi
regime was merely a Jewish problem. The 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis
were but a fraction of the 60 million people killed in World War II. So,
too, Iran’s regime poses a grave threat, not only to Israel, but also the
peace of the entire world. To understand just how dangerous Iran would be
with nuclear weapons, we must fully understand the nature of the regime.

The people of Iran are very talented people. They’re heirs to one of the
world’s great civilizations. But in 1979, they were hijacked by religious
zealots — religious zealots who imposed on them immediately a dark and
brutal dictatorship.

That year, the zealots drafted a constitution, a new one for Iran. It
directed the revolutionary guards not only to protect Iran’s borders, but
also to fulfill the ideological mission of jihad. The regime’s founder,
Ayatollah Khomeini, exhorted his followers to “export the revolution
throughout the world.”

I’m standing here in Washington, D.C. and the difference is so stark.
America’s founding document promises life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. Iran’s founding document pledges death, tyranny, and the pursuit
of jihad. And as states are collapsing across the Middle East, Iran is
charging into the void to do just that.

Iran’s goons in Gaza, its lackeys in Lebanon, its revolutionary guards on
the Golan Heights are clutching Israel with three tentacles of terror.
Backed by Iran, Assad is slaughtering Syrians. Back by Iran, Shiite militias
are rampaging through Iraq. Back by Iran, Houthis are seizing control of
Yemen, threatening the strategic straits at the mouth of the Red Sea. Along
with the Straits of Hormuz, that would give Iran a second choke-point on the
world’s oil supply.

Just last week, near Hormuz, Iran carried out a military exercise blowing up
a mock U.S. aircraft carrier. That’s just last week, while they’re having
nuclear talks with the United States. But unfortunately, for the last 36
years, Iran’s attacks against the United States have been anything but mock.
And the targets have been all too real.

Iran took dozens of Americans hostage in Tehran, murdered hundreds of
American soldiers, Marines, in Beirut, and was responsible for killing and
maiming thousands of American service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Beyond the Middle East, Iran attacks America and its allies through its
global terror network. It blew up the Jewish community center and the
Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. It helped Al Qaida bomb U.S. embassies in
Africa. It even attempted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, right here in
Washington, D.C.

In the Middle East, Iran now dominates four Arab capitals, Baghdad,
Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa. And if Iran’s aggression is left unchecked, more
will surely follow.

So, at a time when many hope that Iran will join the community of nations,
Iran is busy gobbling up the nations.

(APPLAUSE)

We must all stand together to stop Iran’s march of conquest, subjugation and
terror.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, two years ago, we were told to give President Rouhani and Foreign
Minister Zarif a chance to bring change and moderation to Iran. Some change!
Some moderation!

Rouhani’s government hangs gays, persecutes Christians, jails journalists
and executes even more prisoners than before.

Last year, the same Zarif who charms Western diplomats laid a wreath at the
grave of Imad Mughniyeh. Imad Mughniyeh is the terrorist mastermind who
spilled more American blood than any other terrorist besides Osama bin
Laden. I’d like to see someone ask him a question about that.

Iran’s regime is as radical as ever, its cries of “Death to America,” that
same America that it calls the “Great Satan,” as loud as ever.

Now, this shouldn’t be surprising, because the ideology of Iran’s
revolutionary regime is deeply rooted in militant Islam, and that’s why this
regime will always be an enemy of America.

Don’t be fooled. The battle between Iran and ISIS doesn’t turn Iran into a
friend of America.

Iran and ISIS are competing for the crown of militant Islam. One calls
itself the Islamic Republic. The other calls itself the Islamic State. Both
want to impose a militant Islamic empire first on the region and then on the
entire world. They just disagree among themselves who will be the ruler of
that empire.

In this deadly game of thrones, there’s no place for America or for Israel,
no peace for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don’t share the Islamist
medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone.

So when it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy.

(APPLAUSE)

The difference is that ISIS is armed with butcher knives, captured weapons
and YouTube, whereas Iran could soon be armed with intercontinental
ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs. We must always remember — I’ll say it
one more time — the greatest dangers facing our world is the marriage of
militant Islam with nuclear weapons. To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear
weapons would be to win the battle, but lose the war. We can’t let that
happen.

(APPLAUSE)

But that, my friends, is exactly what could happen, if the deal now being
negotiated is accepted by Iran. That deal will not prevent Iran from
developing nuclear weapons. It would all but guarantee that Iran gets those
weapons, lots of them.

Let me explain why. While the final deal has not yet been signed, certain
elements of any potential deal are now a matter of public record. You don’t
need intelligence agencies and secret information to know this. You can
Google it.

Absent a dramatic change, we know for sure that any deal with Iran will
include two major concessions to Iran.

The first major concession would leave Iran with a vast nuclear
infrastructure, providing it with a short break-out time to the bomb.
Break-out time is the time it takes to amass enough weapons-grade uranium or
plutonium for a nuclear bomb.

According to the deal, not a single nuclear facility would be demolished.
Thousands of centrifuges used to enrich uranium would be left spinning.
Thousands more would be temporarily disconnected, but not destroyed.

Because Iran’s nuclear program would be left largely intact, Iran’s
break-out time would be very short — about a year by U.S. assessment, even
shorter by Israel’s.

And if — if Iran’s work on advanced centrifuges, faster and faster
centrifuges, is not stopped, that break-out time could still be shorter, a
lot shorter.

True, certain restrictions would be imposed on Iran’s nuclear program and
Iran’s adherence to those restrictions would be supervised by international
inspectors. But here’s the problem. You see, inspectors document violations;
they don’t stop them.

Inspectors knew when North Korea broke to the bomb, but that didn’t stop
anything. North Korea turned off the cameras, kicked out the inspectors.
Within a few years, it got the bomb.

Now, we’re warned that within five years North Korea could have an arsenal
of 100 nuclear bombs.

Like North Korea, Iran, too, has defied international inspectors. It’s done
that on at least three separate occasions — 2005, 2006, 2010. Like North
Korea, Iran broke the locks, shut off the cameras.

Now, I know this is not gonna come a shock — as a shock to any of you, but
Iran not only defies inspectors, it also plays a pretty good game of
hide-and-cheat with them.

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, said again yesterday that Iran
still refuses to come clean about its military nuclear program. Iran was
also caught — caught twice, not once, twice — operating secret nuclear
facilities in Natanz and Qom, facilities that inspectors didn’t even know
existed.

Right now, Iran could be hiding nuclear facilities that we don’t know about,
the U.S. and Israel. As the former head of inspections for the IAEA said in
2013, he said, “If there’s no undeclared installation today in Iran, it will
be the first time in 20 years that it doesn’t have one.” Iran has proven
time and again that it cannot be trusted. And that’s why the first major
concession is a source of great concern. It leaves Iran with a vast nuclear
infrastructure and relies on inspectors to prevent a breakout. That
concession creates a real danger that Iran could get to the bomb by
violating the deal.

But the second major concession creates an even greater danger that Iran
could get to the bomb by keeping the deal. Because virtually all the
restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program will automatically expire in about a
decade.

Now, a decade may seem like a long time in political life, but it’s the
blink of an eye in the life of a nation. It’s a blink of an eye in the life
of our children. We all have a responsibility to consider what will happen
when Iran’s nuclear capabilities are virtually unrestricted and all the
sanctions will have been lifted. Iran would then be free to build a huge
nuclear capacity that could product many, many nuclear bombs.

Iran’s Supreme Leader says that openly. He says, Iran plans to have 190,000
centrifuges, not 6,000 or even the 19,000 that Iran has today, but 10 times
that amount — 190,000 centrifuges enriching uranium. With this massive
capacity, Iran could make the fuel for an entire nuclear arsenal and this in
a matter of weeks, once it makes that decision.

My long-time friend, John Kerry, Secretary of State, confirmed last week
that Iran could legitimately possess that massive centrifuge capacity when
the deal expires.

Now I want you to think about that. The foremost sponsor of global terrorism
could be weeks away from having enough enriched uranium for an entire
arsenal of nuclear weapons and this with full international legitimacy.

And by the way, if Iran’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program is not
part of the deal, and so far, Iran refuses to even put it on the negotiating
table. Well, Iran could have the means to deliver that nuclear arsenal to
the far-reach corners of the earth, including to every part of the United
States.

So you see, my friends, this deal has two major concessions: one, leaving
Iran with a vast nuclear program and two, lifting the restrictions on that
program in about a decade. That’s why this deal is so bad. It doesn’t block
Iran’s path to the bomb; it paves Iran’s path to the bomb.

So why would anyone make this deal? Because they hope that Iran will change
for the better in the coming years, or they believe that the alternative to
this deal is worse?

Well, I disagree. I don’t believe that Iran’s radical regime will change for
the better after this deal. This regime has been in power for 36 years, and
its voracious appetite for aggression grows with each passing year. This
deal would wet appetite — would only wet Iran’s appetite for more.

Would Iran be less aggressive when sanctions are removed and its economy is
stronger? If Iran is gobbling up four countries right now while it’s under
sanctions, how many more countries will Iran devour when sanctions are
lifted? Would Iran fund less terrorism when it has mountains of cash with
which to fund more terrorism?

Why should Iran’s radical regime change for the better when it can enjoy the
best of both world’s: aggression abroad, prosperity at home?

This is a question that everyone asks in our region. Israel’s neighbors —
Iran’s neighbors know that Iran will become even more aggressive and sponsor
even more terrorism when its economy is unshackled and it’s been given a
clear path to the bomb.

And many of these neighbors say they’ll respond by racing to get nuclear
weapons of their own. So this deal won’t change Iran for the better; it will
only change the Middle East for the worse. A deal that’s supposed to prevent
nuclear proliferation would instead spark a nuclear arms race in the most
dangerous part of the planet.

This deal won’t be a farewell to arms. It would be a farewell to arms
control. And the Middle East would soon be crisscrossed by nuclear
tripwires. A region where small skirmishes can trigger big wars would turn
into a nuclear tinderbox.

If anyone thinks — if anyone thinks this deal kicks the can down the road,
think again. When we get down that road, we’ll face a much more dangerous
Iran, a Middle East littered with nuclear bombs and a countdown to a
potential nuclear nightmare.

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.

(APPLAUSE)

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…

(APPLAUSE)

Second, stop supporting terrorism around the world.

(APPLAUSE)

And third, stop threatening to annihilate my country, Israel, the one and
only Jewish state.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

If the world powers are not prepared to insist that Iran change its behavior
before a deal is signed, at the very least they should insist that Iran
change its behavior before a deal expires.

(APPLAUSE)

If Iran changes its behavior, the restrictions would be lifted. If Iran
doesn’t change its behavior, the restrictions should not be lifted.

(APPLAUSE)

If Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, let it act like a normal
country.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, what about the argument that there’s no alternative to this
deal, that Iran’s nuclear know-how cannot be erased, that its nuclear
program is so advanced that the best we can do is delay the inevitable,
which is essentially what the proposed deal seeks to do?

Well, nuclear know-how without nuclear infrastructure doesn’t get you very
much. A racecar driver without a car can’t drive. A pilot without a plan
can’t fly. Without thousands of centrifuges, tons of enriched uranium or
heavy water facilities, Iran can’t make nuclear weapons.

(APPLAUSE)

Iran’s nuclear program can be rolled back well-beyond the current proposal
by insisting on a better deal and keeping up the pressure on a very
vulnerable regime, especially given the recent collapse in the price of oil.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, if Iran threatens to walk away from the table — and this often happens
in a Persian bazaar — call their bluff. They’ll be back, because they need
the deal a lot more than you do.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

A better deal that doesn’t leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure and
such a short break-out time. A better deal that keeps the restrictions on
Iran’s nuclear program in place until Iran’s aggression ends.

(APPLAUSE)

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…

(APPLAUSE)

… no country has a greater stake — no country has a greater stake than
Israel in a good deal that peacefully removes this threat.

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.

You don’t have to read Robert Frost to know. You have to live life to know
that the difficult path is usually the one less traveled, but it will make
all the difference for the future of my country, the security of the Middle
East and the peace of the world, the peace, we all desire.

(APPLAUSE)

My friend, 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.

(APPLAUSE)

Elie, your life and work inspires to give meaning to the words, “never
again.”

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

Not to sacrifice the future for the present; not to ignore aggression in the
hopes of gaining an illusory peace.

But I can guarantee you this, the days when the Jewish people remained
passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

This is why — this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you
one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand.

(APPLAUSE)

But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with
Israel.

(APPLAUSE)

I know that you stand with Israel.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

Facing me right up there in the gallery, overlooking all of us in this
(inaudible) chamber is the image of Moses. Moses led our people from slavery
to the gates of the Promised Land.

And before the people of Israel entered the land of Israel, Moses gave us a
message that has steeled our resolve for thousands of years. I leave you
with his message today, (SPEAKING IN HEBREW), “Be strong and resolute,
neither fear nor dread them.”

My friends, may Israel and America always stand together, strong and
resolute. May we neither fear nor dread the challenges ahead. May we face
the future with confidence, strength and hope.

May God bless the state of Israel and may God bless the United States of
America.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you all.

You’re wonderful.

Thank you, America. Thank you.

Thank you.

 

 

http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=66628

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