In an address to the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did what he had to do for his nation’s survival: Draw a clear, red line.

He did it to show when Iran’s progress toward nuclear energy would be unacceptable.

The United States should back it up. More importantly, Iran should respect it — and back off.

Iran has been working to enrich uranium. Nearly everyone in the civilized world believes that the enriched uranium will be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons to be used on Israel, as opposed to providing electricity to the Iranian people.

Netanyahu’s red line, which he literally drew on a picture of a bomb in front of the U.N., sits at 90 percent completion necessary for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. He hopes that a clear line will work to discourage Iran from continuing their nuclear program, and has said that the red line’s goal is to prevent war, not encourage it.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel’s “Zionist regime” and has denied the occurrence of the Holocaust, which ultimately led to the creation of the Israeli state. There’s ample evidence, given Iran’s support of terrorist organizations, that nukes could end up in the hands of people who crash airliners into tall buildings.

President Barack Obama has wagged his finger at Iran, saying its leaders would be in deep, deep trouble if it went too far. Not surprisingly, the leader of the free world has been largely ignored.

A nuclear Iran poses a clear threat to Israel. Because of the potential for arming terrorists, it threatens the rest of the world as well. Netanyahu’s red line should be backed by the red, white and blue.

— Savannah Morning News, Georgia, Oct. 1

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