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Gingrich: ‘No evidence’ Obama will stop Iran’s nuclear program
Republican Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich questioned on Sunday whether President Obama is prepared to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
On CNN's "State of the Union" Gingrich said there is "no evidence" the White House is committed to stopping Iran and that "any [Israeli] prime minister faced with the threat of nuclear arms in Iran” would preemptively strike.
The former House speaker said the Obama administration was being "played for fools" by Iran and that the president was "desperately trying to get Israel not to preempt."
Obama will address the American Israel Public Affairs Conference on Sunday morning and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.
Middle East experts say that Obama will make clear in his speech that he will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons while reassuring Israelis that the U.S. will consider all options to stop Iran.
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"What I've emphasized is that preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon isn't just in the interest of Israel, it is profoundly in the security interests of the United States, and that when I say we're not taking any option off the table, we mean it," Obama told The Atlantic in an interview this week.
"We are going to continue to apply pressure until Iran takes a different course," he said.
The president has said he won't bluff or advertise the administration's intentions. The White House is pushing sanctions that some experts say would cripple Iran's economy although there is still concern that Iran will march forward with its nuclear weapons agenda, regardless.
Experts noted that Obama has taken containment off the table, a noted shift in U.S. policy, saying the world can't afford to contain Iran and that it could trigger an arms race in the Middle East
"You're talking about the most volatile region in the world," Obama said in the Atlantic interview.
"The dangers of an Iran getting nuclear weapons that then leads to a free-for-all in the Middle East is something that I think would be very dangerous for the world."
Gingrich also had harsh words for the president over his apology for U.S. troops burning Korans.
Gingrich said he doesn't believe that the president saved lives with an apology and that he "set a terrible precedent" as a commander in chief for not standing up for American troops.
"This excuse of his is bologna," he said.
"He has apologized so many times around so many countries, it is frankly embarrassing to have a president who thinks apologizing for the United States is a good policy," he said.
"The idea that we're apologizing while religious fanatics kill Americans, I think is reprehensible and I think the average American thinks it's profoundly wrong." he added.
With Super Tuesday approaching, the four candidates are after 419 delegates in 10 states, with 76 in Gingrich's home state of Georgia.
Still, a win for Gingrich there doesn't mean he will get the full slate of delegates in his home state, meaning a win in Georgia probably won't give his campaign much of a boost.
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But Gingrich said he would stay in the presidential race, especially considering the swings between candidates in the past couple of months.
He is convinced Republicans can pick up seats in the House, take over the Senate and win the White House.
The former speaker also hit the president over rising gas prices, saying increased pump prices would "crater" the economy by August, leaving consumers without any discretionary funds.
Republicans have hammered Obama over rising gas costs and called for increased domestic production and for the administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project.
The White House though has said there are no quick fixes to rising costs and that the president has done all he can to reduce reliance on foreign oil by expanding domestic production and investing in renewable energy sources.
"President Obama goes into the fall with a weakening economy, very expensive gasoline, disastrously bad policy in the Middle East and a trillion dollar deficit," he said.
"That's a pretty big burden while he's waging war on the Catholic Church and apologizing to Islamic extremists and a pretty heavy burden for President of the United States to carry for reelection."
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