Posted on 06/16/2009 6:27:24 PM PDT by rdl6989
Mossad chief Meir Dagan on Tuesday told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the riots in Iran over the election results will die out in a few days rather than escalate into a revolution. "The reality in Iran is not going to change because of the elections. The world and we already know [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad. If the reformist candidate [Mir Hossein] Mousavi had won, Israel would have had a more serious problem because it would need to explain to the world the danger of the Iranian threat, since Mousavi is perceived internationally arena as a moderate element...It is important to remember that he is the one who began Iran's nuclear program when he was prime minister."
According to Dagan, "Election fraud in Iran is no different than what happens in liberal states during elections. The struggle over the election results in Iran is internal and is unconnected to its strategic aspirations, including its nuclear program."
Dagan also told the committee the Mossad believed that Iran would have its first nuclear bomb ready for action in 2014, "If the project continues at the present rate and is not interrupted."
The Mossad chief said that Western sanctions affect Iran but do not stop its nuclear aspirations, and that the Iranians were trying to evade these sanctions. "The international community must enforce the sanctions and continue this policy." Dagan said that if the sanctions were sufficiently harsh they could stop Iran's nuclear program.
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
Literally
Bump.
2014? I thought it was to be this year?
The NYT is publishing Iranian Twitter names (which puts them at risk)
http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23NYTfail
It will not die down if we pump money into this pro-Western movement that is beginning in Iran
Doesn’t surprise me one bit.
RIMTB, I don’t understand how publishing their Twitter screen names puts them at risk since their posts are already on the internet for all to see.
(I have been reading them with great interest since Sunday when I heard about it on FR)
The Israelis would be weasels if they support Ahmadinejad in this power-struggle. They are blind if they think that this is all about Musavi. Instead of rooting for a dying down of the riots, they should look into ways of escalating the divisions there.
Frankly, if the Iranians perceive Israel and the West as supportive of Ahmadinejad, why should there be a reason left not to hate us? I don’t care if this sounds like a lib.
Some have their panties in a twist, rejecting the notion that we should interfer there against nutjob, because meddling would paint the opposition as our puppets.
Even worse would it be for us if Iranians perceive nutjob and the regime thugs as our puppets.
But I tell you one thing: Doing this would confirm widespread Iranian conceptions that it was the British and US (Carter), which has a lot of truth to it, helped Khomeini come to power.
Israel needs to look out for it’s security, but after years of rightly painting Ahmadinutjob as the devil, they would lose a whole lot of credibility if they root for him.
The Mossad might rather contemplate how to steer the events in Iran into a better direction.
Israel had since years the chance to take out the nuclear facilities. They could have done it when nutjob was solidly in power. But they delay and delay until it’s 5 ‘til 12.
If Ahmadinejad stays in power and starts nuclear war (God forbid) will Israel blame itself for not using the opportunity to dump him?
Israel has to defend it’s security, but rooting for their own enemy for a tactical gain is insanely cynical and could fire back big time.
I think when the Jewish state endorses one muslim over the other they know in a muslim country that it actually works against that candidate. It is pretty simple really. We call it reverse psychology. Israel endorsing the status quo in Iran could actually promote revolution in the minds of young Persian Jew hating muslims.
Israel is running risk of "owning" Ahmadinejad.
They and the US should unequivocally state that they side with the people (not Musavi) and support them in overthrowing the entire regime. Mike Pence and John McCain have it right on this.
Tell them that once the regime is overthrown that Israel and the US would support Iran in becoming a regional power, assist them in massive economic development and assist them also in civil nuclear energy strictly safeguarded.
Israel may take out now those facilities necessairy for nuclear arms.
Promise Iranians that overthrowing the entire regime would make them stronger and more powerful than it is now with the regime.
If Israel would do this, they would own the high ground. If the Iranians react negatively to these overtures, then Israel stands blameless.
Every time I read someone say something highly astute and intelligent that the US "should" do to to further the cause of liberty and act against tyrants, I think, "Yeah, but we're living under the OBAMA Administration, so much for that idea."
I know and I don’t hold any hopes for Obama doing anything meaningful for either Iran or more importantly the US.
Just for the Iran issue alone I wish we had McCain right now, whatever his deficits.
The Moussad chief is correct and you are wrong. This is not pro western and the only thing that makes him a “moderate” is that he doesn’t make all his views known regularly in speeches. The threat is that people assume that this means all is well now (if mousavi wins)
Just e-mailed that to a liberal neighbor. :)
If they replace one Islamist ruler with another, it's not a big change. There will still be a religious requirement to engage in jihad against the infidels.
The only thing that would truly change Iran would be overthrowing Islam itself, and I don't see that happening this week.
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