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| Israeli fighter jet IDF-Reuters |
It’s the wingnut philosophy on nuclear proliferation. It’s why we have a modern
arms race right now.
That’s also why the US had better start harking back to the Bush Doctrine
on terror-supporting states. Israel has the right idea, and if we don’t stop
nuclear arms from getting to terrorists, it won’t just be Tel Aviv that goes
up in a mushroom cloud.
But sometimes even wingnuts say something ironic even if they don’t realize what they’ve said.
As everyone else is saying; assuming this is true, it’s pretty damned amazing. The thing that gets me is Israel’s seeming ability to shut down the Syrian air defenses.
Foreshadowing of where this is all heading is revealed in this beauty: The other thing that gets me is that even Ehud Olmert gets it. Chinless ophthalmologists and short, apocalyptic Islamist religious fanatics should not be allowed to play with nukes. Again, assuming this is true, it’s real nice to see that Israel still has the biggest balls on the block.
Ah yes, the cajones quotient. It’s been such a reliable predictor of successful national security hasn’t it?
Let’s not play name the nuke countries, shall we? Everyone knows Israel has
nukes. Pakistan has them. India has them. We have them, including newer, smaller, better version, so they tell us. So with the neocons reminding everyone that preemptive war is the official foreign
policy of the Administration, wingnutters flog the “mushroom cloud”
theory of national security hoping to create the same kind of furor that foreshadowed
the disaster in Mesopotamia, all this leading into another presidential election. Hear the footsteps.
Engage your suspension of disbelief now. Murdoch minions weigh in:
Once the mission was under way, Israel imposed draconian military censorship
and no news of the operation emerged until Syria complained that Israeli aircraft
had violated its airspace. Syria claimed its air defences had engaged the
planes, forcing them to drop fuel tanks to lighten their loads as they fled.But intelligence sources suggested it was a highly successful Israeli raid
on nuclear material supplied by North Korea.Washington was rife with speculation last week about the precise nature of
the operation. One source said the air strikes were a diversion for a daring
Israeli commando raid, in which nuclear materials were intercepted en route
to Iran and hauled to Israel. Others claimed they were destroyed in the attack.
… ..
Claims of North Korea’s involvement have been unsubstantiated and not even
Bolton ever said there was any evidence supporting this fantastical claim. But
it’s an axis of evil through line to connect the Bush dots in support of friends. So if you want to honestly confront our policies towards Iran you must be willing to take on the Bush administration’s one-sided and clearly biased viewpoint of our Middle Eastern challenges.
For Israel, the possibility of a nuclear-armed adversary might have been
enough to warrant the operation. Officially in a state of war with Syria—and
Iran—Israel has vowed to let neither country obtain nukes (though Israel
itself is believed to have built at least 200 nuclear bombs in its secret
Dimona plant). Earlier this year, according to a well-placed Israeli
source, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked President Bush for assurances that
if economic and political sanctions failed to get Iran to shut down its nuclear
facilities, Bush would order the U.S. military to destroy them before he leaves
office. Bush has yet to provide the assurances, according to the
source, who refused to be quoted because he is not authorized to speak for
the government. The source says the Israeli government believes the Iranians
will reach the point of no return in their nuclear-enrichment program sometime
next year.U.S. intelligence agencies, by contrast, believe Iran is still two to eight
years away from mastering the technology to build a bomb. Some officials warn
that attacking Iran would mire U.S. forces in another messy war and might
prove ineffective, since the Iranian facilities are believed to be scattered
across the country and buried deep underground. Still, from Israel’s perspective,
there might never be a more supportive White House. “It makes sense that
if Israel has to do it alone, it would want to do it on Bush’s watch and not
wait to see what the political attitude of the next administration will be,”
says Alpher. That Arab states, and the world, will look away next time might
be too much to assume.A Mission of
Mystery
Israel sends Iran a signal with a stealth raid into Syria.
The highlighted portion above is the rub. Olmert should have been thrown out
of the Oval Office. We are an ally of Israel and clearly have a special relationship to that country, but Iran isn’t a clear and present
danger to our country, which is an important distinction that’s not being considered or represented in Bush’s policies. Of course actions inside Iraq by Iran against U.S. forces, when
proven conclusively, must be addressed, no doubt. But someone needs
to remind Bush of the job of the president. Keep this country safe.
Hitting Iran does just the opposite, no matter what some neocon nut job may
think (however incorrectly) it will do for Israel.
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