Are Israelis gearing up to bomb Iran?

[Buttercup McToots]

Are Israelis gearing up to bomb Iran?



The appointment of Israel’s new deputy PM raises fears of a new catastrophe, says robert fox.

The Middle East is abuzz with ugly rumours. One of them is so dire - and comes from sources in so many capital cities - that it has to be taken seriously.

The suggestion is that the Israeli government has served notice on the White House that it must take pre-emptive action against Iran's sites of nuclear weapons development - or Israel will go it alone and do the job itself. Israel has apparently given Bush a deadline of six months.

The pressure on the Americans - if it is true - comes with the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman, one of the hardest of all hard-liners, as Israel's new Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Affairs, under the new coalition with his party, Yisrael Beytenu.

One reason why the rumour is being taken seriously is that it coincides with another strong rumour - that the Iranian regime of Avigdor Lieberman: one of the hardest of all hard-liners.

Mahmud Ahmadinejad has ordered Iran's nuclear programme to be accelerated. According to sources, the enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade material is galloping ahead, and Iran could have its own deployable nuclear warheads within four years.

Given Ahmadinejad's wild rhetoric about wiping Israel off the map (though the translation of these remarks is now acknowledged to be somewhat fuzzy), Israel's hawks argue there is no time to lose. Former Prime Minister, and Likud leader, Binyamin Netanyahu, for whom Lieberman once worked as chief of staff, has argued strenuously for a pre-emptive strike on Iran.

link below:


http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=1061

[whistle]

1. That would be a suicide move for Israel

[Phx_Dem]

6. How so? nt

[NNN0LHI]

2. They couldn't beat a thousand members of Hezbollah

And the USA who Israel depends on to back them up in a pinch appears unable to beat a few Iraqi dead-enders.

No, I don't think they will be attacking anyone soon.

Don

[sendero]

3. Israel..

... can do what it wants and suffer the consequences. Just leave us out of it thank you very much.

[Blackhatjack]

4. This scenario is by far the most likely and most dangerous....

... you have to consider the mindset of Israelis and their history to properly gauge the range of options they consider possible. They are really worried about having to deal with a nuclear Iran, and do not believe that anything they do will substantially increase the increase the risk they believe they already face. The risk/reward analysis to their way of thinking is heavily weighted in favor of reward if they take this action.

I go back to their independent bombing of the nuclear plant in Iraq, which was universally condemned in public --but privately condoned by the US and other allies.

I have heard Netanyahu several times express a firm belief that a pre-emptive strike on Iran is the only real option for Israel.

The NeoCons in the US are firmly supportive of Israel, and I have no doubt they have been helping Israel plan such an attack and will position the US to support such an attack. The NeoCons belief in world conquest and empire blinds them to the possible repercussions that would flow from such an attack. You will recall NeoCon spokesmen stated Iraq would be easy, it would pay for itself, and the people would welcome us with flowers in the street. I am sure they have a similar read on an attack on Iran.

Hope I am wrong, but I fear this scenario is unfolding right before us.

[Buttercup McToots]

5. BlackHatJack

I do so like your style...
and I too, would not be surprized by this...