Page 3 - Michael Sing News Today

Students, people on the street that they were, in his opinion, very proamerican. it brought the question about how much light there is between the regime and the people that are inside the country. of course we have to consider all factors when we consider our policy, michael. what do you think about that? is the regime very much the minority in the country? >> i think this is incredibly important, jenna, and i think yes is the answer. that we and the iranian people have essentially the same pro...

Actual construction of an atomic bomb. does that mean that an israeli military strike on irans nuclear facilities would be postponed? michael sing is the former senior director of middle eastern affairs at the national security council. michael, what is the specific meaning of this conclusion that the iranians on the u.s. have come to about iran and its nuclear ambitions? >> well, jon for a longtime now the u.s. conclusion has been that we dont have sufficient evidence to say definitively that i...

Already theres too much lose talk of war. >> michael sing is managing director of the washington institute and a former senior director at the national security council. always good to see you. the presidents speech was a tight rope. he needed to demonstrate his commitment to israel, but not signal american support for a preemptive strike on iran. how do you think he did? >> chris, clearly he was trying to convey a tougher position than in the past. in part, the real question will be do they tru...

Underneath the surface theyre trying to protect their nuclear program from attack and put it beyond the reach of israel or the united states by burying it under rock and thats what israel is most concerned about. theyre less concerned about the bluster than they are about what is happening behind the bluster. >> mikeat sing, good to talk to you. hopefully this is bluster. michael, talk to you soon. lets turn to the economy. a look at the dow today was quite something. now were about even on the ...

The rara. whats the story? >> theres a bizarre development. pentagon officials say those warships, those two iranian destroyers, never docked in syria. there had been reported in recent days that the iranian destroyerers had gone as far as the syrian port. there will reports from iranian officials as well as syrian activists, saying they saul the -- saul -- saw the ships there. now usual officials say the ships waited in the mediterranean and then turned back. now were told the destroyers passed...

Secretary of state hillary clinton is in afghanistan making a surprise visit to the afghan capital of kabul. this is after she made stops in oman and libya where she promised aid to the transitional government. >> we will be here as your partner. we will continue to emphasize the importance of the rule of law, respect for human rights, trade and investment, and the importance of civil society, academic institutions and learning. >> michael sing is managing director for the washington ins institu...

Allegations, things like the bad personal relations between president karzai and the united states dont give anyone any confidence in whatever those objectives might be. and the other piece thats coming from the campaign and also from capitol hill, especially, if the super committee doesnt do its work and they pass november 23rd and there are automatic cuts, is foreign aid. and also the state departments budget is just being slashed. the debate last night, what the candidate had to say about c...

Regimes they have shown in the past, as has been evidenced by actions by president obama when it came to egypt, for instance. but at the same time, youre not going to see the united states get way out in front on this, which, to michaels point, is going to disappoint the -- many people in the arab world. >> it seems to me that there is a disconnect between people wanting the president and the white house wanting the president to convey some overarching vision while saying that these are individu...

Israel see its as in its interests to do it right now or not. >> stay with us, richard engle and chuck todd. im bringing in michael sing, the managing director of the washington institute for middle east policy and former senior director for the national security council. youve been through this in the previous administration. at this stage, is this the right time for the united states to be giving this speech? have we raised expectations -- has the white house raised expectations too high for w...

Party, even radical ones, a voice, other people say you have unleashed something that has the potential to do great harm. >> well, michael, to that point. can the united states really influence these events, or has -- what has now unfolded across the region really have a life and momentum of its own? >> reporter: in a positive way. i think some of the things president obama is going to announce, the economic assistance, should have a positive influence. i do think, though, that president obama h...