Israel may have taken a step back from bombing Iran – but for how long?
source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/19/israel-iran-war-us
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- maasanova
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Notice the headline: Israel plans to attack Iran with bombs, not Iran plans to attack Israel with the one nuke that they don't even have.
Some key points to remember whenever you read somewhere that someone needs to "stop Iran:"
Iran is allowed to posses nuclear technology based on internationally agreed upon treaties
Dozens of intelligence agencies concluded in 2007 that there was no evidence that Iran had an active nuclear weapons program
Under the The Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the US and other nations who have signed on to the treaty are under obligation to assist other nations who are also part of the international treaty, including Iran, with developing their nuclear program
Israel has chosen not to participate in the The Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
Israel has an unofficially declared nuclear, chemical and biological weapons stockpile
Israel wants to bomb Iran, or have the US do it for them
Powerful interests are already invested in a war with Iran and they just need the right excuse to sell it to the public
There have been numerous unsuccessful plots over the years to stage fake terror events or provacatuer Iran into attacking US or British war ships
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When Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, said this week that his country was "very far off" from taking a decision about whether to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, may have allowed himself a moment of relief before boarding his flight to Tel Aviv on Thursday.
Iran's claim on 8 January that it planned to start nuclear enrichment at its underground Fordow plant, near Qom, "in the near future" was seen as coming perilously close to one of Israel's "red lines". It was followed a few days later by the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist, an operation widely attributed to the Mossad, Israel's fabled intelligence agency. Israel has maintained its usual omertà on the hit, with only Peres saying that "to the best of my knowledge" the country was not involved. Meanwhile, Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz has exacerbated tensions.
This latest round of escalation comes only two months after intense speculation that Israel was gearing up for an imminent strike, with reports that Netanyahu was striving to persuade his divided cabinet to back such action. Some suggested that public sabre rattling was an attempt to persuade the international community to impose stiffer sanctions on Iran.
And, indeed, Netanyahu gave an interview last weekend in which he suggested sanctions were working. "For the first time, I see Iran wobble," he told the Australian. Three days later, he said the opposite: sanctions were ineffective, he told an Israeli parliamentary committee. US officials are uncertain how to read Israel's intentions given such contradictory statements.
But there does appear to be a real debate within Israel's political and defence establishment over the merits of military action, and one that does not necessarily run along left-right, dove-hawk lines.
Some key points to remember whenever you read somewhere that someone needs to "stop Iran:"
Iran is allowed to posses nuclear technology based on internationally agreed upon treaties
Dozens of intelligence agencies concluded in 2007 that there was no evidence that Iran had an active nuclear weapons program
Under the The Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the US and other nations who have signed on to the treaty are under obligation to assist other nations who are also part of the international treaty, including Iran, with developing their nuclear program
Israel has chosen not to participate in the The Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
Israel has an unofficially declared nuclear, chemical and biological weapons stockpile
Israel wants to bomb Iran, or have the US do it for them
Powerful interests are already invested in a war with Iran and they just need the right excuse to sell it to the public
There have been numerous unsuccessful plots over the years to stage fake terror events or provacatuer Iran into attacking US or British war ships
***
When Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, said this week that his country was "very far off" from taking a decision about whether to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, may have allowed himself a moment of relief before boarding his flight to Tel Aviv on Thursday.
Iran's claim on 8 January that it planned to start nuclear enrichment at its underground Fordow plant, near Qom, "in the near future" was seen as coming perilously close to one of Israel's "red lines". It was followed a few days later by the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist, an operation widely attributed to the Mossad, Israel's fabled intelligence agency. Israel has maintained its usual omertà on the hit, with only Peres saying that "to the best of my knowledge" the country was not involved. Meanwhile, Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz has exacerbated tensions.
This latest round of escalation comes only two months after intense speculation that Israel was gearing up for an imminent strike, with reports that Netanyahu was striving to persuade his divided cabinet to back such action. Some suggested that public sabre rattling was an attempt to persuade the international community to impose stiffer sanctions on Iran.
And, indeed, Netanyahu gave an interview last weekend in which he suggested sanctions were working. "For the first time, I see Iran wobble," he told the Australian. Three days later, he said the opposite: sanctions were ineffective, he told an Israeli parliamentary committee. US officials are uncertain how to read Israel's intentions given such contradictory statements.
But there does appear to be a real debate within Israel's political and defence establishment over the merits of military action, and one that does not necessarily run along left-right, dove-hawk lines.
