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Clinton threat to obliterate Iran

Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent
| April 22, 2008

DEMOCRATIC presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton last night threatened to "obliterate" Iran if it launches a nuclear attack on Israel, upping the rhetoric on the eve of the crucial Pennsylvania primary that she must win to keep her presidential hopes alive.


Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea celebrate to the theme from the movie Rocky. Picture: AFP

"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran," Senator Clinton told ABC News when asked what she would do as president were Iran to launch a nuclear attack on Israel. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them," she said.

The tough talk came ahead of the Pennsylvania primary, a key milestone in the marathon Democratic nominations race pitting Senator Clinton against her rival, Barack Obama.

Senator Clinton must win in Pennsylvania and she needs to do more than simply scrape past Senator Obama to rescue her trailing White House bid.

The rhetoric on Iran came after Senator Clinton rolled out some last-minute fear tactics in her election battle with Senator Obama yesterday, invoking the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor and Osama bin Laden.While Senator Obama said his rival would probably win the latest round in the Democratic Party's nominating contest, his campaign is hoping today's vote isclose enough to scupper talk that Senator Clinton is ready for a big comeback.

Senator Clinton spent her last campaign rally on the eve of the vote in Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, unveiling a new television advertisement that flashed historic images of some of the darker moments in US history and asking voters whom they would trust most in the White House during troubled times.

The ad reprised the "red phone" moment she ran on the eve of the Texas primary last month, asking voters who they would trust to answer the phone at 3am in the White House during a foreign policy crisis.

"You need to be ready for anything, especially now, with two wars, oil prices skyrocketing and an economy in crisis," the announcer says. "Harry Truman said it best: 'If you can't stand theheat, get out of the kitchen.' Who do you think has what it takes?" the announcer says at the end, as Senator Clinton appears on screen.

At his last event of the day, in Pittsburgh, Senator Obama brought up Senator Clinton's new ad and mentioned that it showed bin Laden. "That's a legitimate issue," he said. "My job as commander in chief is to keep yousafe. That will be my number-one task."

But he attacked Senator Clinton, asking supporters whom they would rather vote for -- "the person who got Iraq right or the person who got Iraq wrong", a reference to his speech in 2002 warning of the consequences of the Iraq war. Senator Clinton voted in Congress to authorise the Iraq war at the time.

Senator Obama's attacks on Senator Clinton led her to accuse him of playing old-style attack politics, in a series of exchanges that were the most personal of the campaign yet.

It has been six weeks since their last contest, a period that has marked highs and lows for both candidates, including Senator Clinton telling a false story about landing in Bosnia under sniper fire and Senator Obama's controversy involving his former pastor and comments he made about working-class voters. The intensity and tone of the attacks in the final hours of campaigning reflect not only the high stakes in Pennsylvania but also the extent to which the state's long battle has forced Senator Obama to engage in the type of political mud-wrestling he decried as his candidacy and message of renewal took off last year.

While both sides have accused each other of negative tactics, it is clear Senator Obama has upped the attacks on his rival in the past few days, a move that stands in contrast to his message of hope and the promise of a new politics.

But Senator Obama holds a huge financial advantage in the race and has been outspending Senator Clinton by two to one on television and radio ads, smashing primary spending records in Pennsylvania. One ad says Senator Clinton is a Washington insider and in the grip of lobbyists.

A second ad launched by Senator Clinton raised last week's debate between the Democrat rivals, in which the Illinois senator was questioned about the incendiary remarks of his former pastor and his ties to a former violent radical of the 1960s. The ad states: "There are more and more questions about Barack Obama. Instead of attacking, maybe he should answer them."

Whatever today's outcome, Senator Clinton faces an uphill battle to wrench the nomination from his grasp. With 10 contests left, he has an insurmountable lead among elected delegates and leads Senator Clinton among the popular vote.

The length and bitterness of the campaign is alarming many Democratic strategists. The final decision on the Democrat nominee will rest with the so-called super delegates, the nearly 800 party officials and elected representatives who will hold the casting vote to break a deadlock.

While Senator Obama holds the lead in elected delegates who attend the August Democratic Party convention, he will not win enough in the remaining contests to have the majority needed to end the contest in his own right.

That leaves the super delegates with the balance of power in the vote. Senator Clinton is arguing Senator Obama is an untested presidential election risk and that she has far more chance of beating Senator McCain, especially in battleground states such as Pennsylvania.