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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/You-cant-invite-an-arsonist-to-help-put-out-a-fire-381769
Mobilize a Regional Coalition of Moderates to Confront the Radicals
(Jerusalem Post) Avigdor Lieberman - Just ahead of the Nov. 24 deadline for the talks on Tehran's nuclear program, the leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once again called for Israel's elimination, writing that Israel "has no cure but to be annihilated." His statement was issued against a backdrop of open indications that his regime is continuing with the military dimensions of its nuclear program, in defiance of its agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Western powers. The IAEA's latest report underscored that it "remains concerned about the possible existence in Iran of undisclosed nuclear-related activities involving military-related organizations, including activities related to the development of nuclear payload for a missile." The first step to mobilizing moderate forces in the Middle East in an effective coalition against the violent fanaticism of the region's terrorist groups and their state backers is to realize that there is no artificial distinction between "good" radicals and "bad" radicals. Introducing confusion into the ranks of the moderate elements, by relying in any way on the prime instigators of regional instability - Iran and Syria - will weaken the moderate camp and impair its ability to mobilize against the radicals. The right approach is to establish a determined regional coalition of moderates which will confront all the radicals, including Iran, Syria, Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda, Hizbullah, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and their myriad affiliates. In such an anti-radical regional coalition, Israel would definitely be willing to play an active and effective role. If moderate Arab governments consider their true interests, they will discover in Israel a reliable - and indeed indispensable - partner in the struggle to ensure the defeat of those radical forces that seek to set the entire region ablaze. The writer is foreign minister of Israel.