Posted on 12/21/2007 11:32:01 AM PST by mojito
I came back from a trip to Israel in November convinced that Israel would attack Iran," Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and senior adviser to three US presidents, George W. Bush among them, told the American Newsweek magazine in an article published Friday.
Citing conversations he had in Israel with officials in Mossad and the Israeli defense establishment, Riedel concluded that "Israel is not going to allow its nuclear monopoly to be threatened."
While some US experts doubt Israel's ability to tackle Iran alone, David Albright, of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, was quoted by Newsweek as saying that although information on the exact location of Iran's nuclear facility is incomplete, Israel's air strike on an alleged Syrian nuclear facility on September 6, widely discussed in foreign media outlets, could be seen as a test run for any future strike on Iran's facilities, as well as a direct warning to Teheran.
Riedel told the magazine his impression that Israel would venture a strike on Iran on its own was formed before the publication of the joint US intelligence agencies' report, the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). "This [the NIE] makes it [a strike on Iran] even more likely," he said.
Since the publication of the NIE, which reversed a previous American assessment by concluding that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, leaders worldwide have been adjusting their publicly stated positions on the Iranian nuclear issue.
Even inside the US, President Bush attempted some damage control by stating a day after the report's publication that "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous."
In Israel, responses to the report ranged from subtle criticism of the report's conclusions to outright slamming of the US intelligence community's capabilities, so much so that on last Sunday's cabinet meeting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert instructed his ministers to refrain from commenting any further on the report.
In the international scene, Russia's decision to renew fuel shipments to Iran main nuclear facility at Bushehr was interpreted by many anlysts as stemming directly from the NIE's publication; another development possibly stemming from the report is Russia and China's hardened position on further sanctions against Teheran.
In Teheran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quick to capitalize on the NIE, calling it an "Iranian victory" and demanding that the United States publicly apologize for its previous bellicose stance.
Uzi Arad, a former Mossad official and adviser to opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu, told Newsweek that on a recent trip to Moscow, a Russian general poked fun at the naiveté of the NIE, commenting that if the Iranians had halted weapons development in 2003 it was partly because they were satisfied with progress there and wanted to devote investment to harder parts of the nuclear equation, like enrichment.
"The irony is that the effect of this report may be self-negating - by itself it will accelerate Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons," Arad told the magazine.
I agree with you, but remeber there are many trolls on the site these days.
Israel will not let Iran reach full nuclear war power, and niether will the United States.
Russia is being viewed by this transaction, and the view is focusing in on Putin, his agenda and his private cash box.
The truth will be revealed, and the Bible is full of the truth.
CROW on Judegement day is my prediction.
I suppose cynics could do the same with the Constitution.
The key word there is 'necessary' isn't it? It is a tragic thing that war is ever necessary but in this world it often is. I don't know about 'cool' but it is not tragic when someone has the will and the heart to do what is necessary to eliminate or at least diminish the threats that cause war in the first place.
God speed, Israel.
It’ll be a lot more difficult than destroying Saddam single reactor at Osirak in ‘81, but it can be done. Israel takes care of business when she needs to.
Yes, I figured that, but wanted to make a point that we will help ‘em.
FIFY...
What about us OLD men?
Israel may go nuke on several of the Iranian sites and shut down all the air force and navy!
Self-defense n 1: the use of force to defend oneself 2: an affirmative defense alleging that the defendant used force necessarily to protect himself or herself because of a reasonable belief that the other party intended to inflict great bodily harm or death-see also JUSTIFICATION 2.
justification 2: something that justifies;specif: a legally sufficient reason or cause (as self-defense) for an act that would otherwise be criminal or tortious.
- Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, Copyright 1996.
Good books to read are Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation. Also, Matthew chapter 24.
The Bush Administration does all they can do to protect Israels enemies isn't that interesting. If Condi gets wind of any military actions by Israel she'll be on her broom and in the M.E. faster than you can say Mad Maddie the second. One POTUS in the past 26 years was wise enough to leave Israel be and act in her own behalf. Sad to say the ones who followed after him have not.
That is much harder than it sounds. Students who have simply held demonstrations have been beaten, thrown out of dorm windows, and arrested and thrown in jail. This is not America, you can’t just get rid of your politicians. You could hang from a noose if you go to far.
If anyone wants to volunteer to go to Iran and help the dissidents successfully overthrown Ahmadinejad and Khamnei, let me know how that goes...if you’re still alive.
In other words, you think we should just wait them out to see what happens then?
I’m sure there are plenty of Czechs and Poles who might take issue with that policy of ‘wait and see’, you know what I’m saying here?
When would you think military action is required against Iran?
Say, after a mushroom cloud is seen over what was once known as Tel Aviv?
Nowhere did I say we should just wait it out. All I said was that it’s near-impossible for the Iranians to simply throw off the regime by themselves.
These are different issues we’re talking about here....I’m all for dropping a bomb on Tehran to halt their nuke program. That’s different from talking about the nature of the Iranian people. The “little snakes grow up to be big snakes” is all I was commenting on....I wasn’t making a case for not bombing Iran.
We're even more expendable, having already reproduced and mostly not needed for the next generation. Grandpas just don't get the respect Grandma's do. :) I know mine didn't, although my girls paternal grandpa seemed to. The jury is still out on me, my granddaughters are 2 1/2 yrs and 6 1/2 weeks. But I'll tell you this much. I'd gladly be "expended" rather have any of them be forced to wear a Burka or Hijib, or even worse, be beaten with a "rule of thumb" stick.
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