Netanyahu Prepared To Go It Alone On Iran

[American Patriot]

Either way this goes boys and girls, I suspect we're looking at some serious world problems.

If there IS an attack on Iran by the US and/or Israel then definitely expect some of the things in the above post to happen. Economic crash, high oil/gas, etc.

If we or Israel does NOT then Iran gets the bomb... and by default Al Qaeda and Taliban gets the bomb, and there will be a new, bigger nuclear arms race that will make the 1960s look like a kiddie sandbox.

Mark my words... the world is going to shit quickly and efficiently under Obama.

[American Patriot]

It matters NOT which terrorist group they give them to in the first place, the others will GET them in the second place and it doesn't matter a BIT who is who or who fought with whom.

Remember; Me and my brother against my cousin; me, my brother, and my cousin against the other. This is an old Muslim saying and Muslims live by this motto.

So it dont fucking matter who they are, if Iran gets the bomb, they all get it.

I don't understand why you continually say it isn't important to US National Security...

[American Patriot]

Warm reception seen for Israeli leader in Congress


By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press – 55 minutes ago


WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel's prime minister didn't close ranks with President Barack Obama on how to deal with Iran's suspect nuclear program, but he can expect a warm reception to his tough talk when he visits Capitol Hill on Tuesday.


Benjamin Netanyahu got a preview of what to expect when Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told the pro-Israel lobby on Monday that the U.S. should use overwhelming military force against Iran if it learns Tehran has decided to build a nuclear bomb or has started to enrich uranium to weapons-grade level.


"In the weeks and months ahead, Israel and the United States face a day of reckoning," the Kentucky Republican told the America Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. "We either do what it takes to preserve the balance of power within the broader Middle East or risk a nuclear arms race across the region that's almost certain to upend it."
On Tuesday, three Republican presidential candidates will address the AIPAC gathering, trying to establish their own pro-Israel credibility on the same day 10 states hold primary voting contests. All have said Obama has mishandled Iran.
At the start of their White House meeting Monday morning, Obama and Netanyahu tried to present a united front on the nuclear threat emanating from Iran. The U.S. leader reaffirmed that he would resort to military force, if necessary, to keep Iran from getting a bomb and said the U.S. "always has Israel's back where Israel's security is concerned."
But the two men were unable to plaster over differences on how urgently military force might be needed.
For the second time in two days, Netanyahu ignored Obama's appeal to give diplomacy and sanctions time to percolate, emphasizing Israel's right to defend itself militarily and suggesting he would not be swayed from going it alone if he thought Israel had to move faster to protect itself.
The very purpose of the Jewish state, he told Obama in a mildly lecturing tone, is "to restore to the Jewish people control over our destiny," he said.
Later in the day, before a record turnout of the pro-Israel lobby, he reasserted Israel's right to defend itself and said his country had "patiently waited" for diplomacy and sanctions to work.
"None of us can afford to wait much longer," he told AIPAC. "As prime minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation," he said to a roaring standing ovation.
Tehran claims its nuclear program is designed chiefly to generate electricity and does not have a military component, but neither the U.S. nor Israel believes that. The head of the U.N. nuclear agency fed concerns further Monday by saying his organization has "serious concerns" that Iran may be hiding secret atomic weapons work.
On Tuesday, a semi-official Iranian news agency reported that the country will grant U.N. inspectors access to a military complex where the nuclear agency suspects secret atomic work has been carried out.
Iran had previously banned U.N. inspectors from visiting the Parchin installation, southeast of Tehran, but a statement by Iran's permanent envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency said the visit will now be allowed in a gesture of good will.
Israel feels especially vulnerable to the Iranian nuclear threat because of Tehran's repeated references to the Jewish state's destruction and its arsenal of ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the Jewish state. And it's much more openly skeptical than the U.S. about stopping Iran through sanctions and diplomacy because years of talks and penalties have so far failed.
"They're looking at it through a very different prism than we are," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday.
"So therefore, they have a lower red line than we do," Rogers said in an interview on CBS's "This Morning."
Disagreements between the two allies also run deep over when a strike might be appropriate and how effective a unilateral Israeli attack might be against scattered and heavily fortified Iranian nuclear facilities.
Israel says it has not made a decision on whether to launch an attack. But some Israeli officials say the time to strike is growing short, and say Israel must act by summer if it is to act at all.
The Obama administration sees this course as dangerously premature, arguing that Tehran has not yet decided whether to actually produce atomic weapons and might still respond to non-military pressure. Because of its superior firepower, the U.S. reasons it would be able to act many months after Israel could.
Political considerations have also come into play. A unilateral Israeli strike in the coming months would threaten to ignite the Mideast, drag the U.S. into another conflict and drive up global oil prices just before U.S. presidential elections in November.
Despite the history of tension between them, Obama and Netanyahu tried to downplay their differences Monday.
Obama has little appetite for taking on Israel in an election year. And Netanyahu would have little to gain from sparring with a president whose support might be crucial if Israel decides to act alone against Iran.
But if Netanyahu has not publicly played up differences with the Obama administration over Iran, then Republican supporters in Congress have done that job for him.
Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum will be addressing AIPAC by video in between campaign stops Tuesday. They have all tried to paint Obama as an undependable partner for Israel, and as weak on Iran.
In an opinion piece published in Tuesday's editions of The Washington Post, Romney said that if he were president, he would combine diplomacy with "a military option" to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He said he would increase military assistance to Israel.
Obama noted the campaign-season rhetoric in his own address to AIPAC on Sunday, and assured conference participants that he was solidly committed to guaranteeing Israel's security.
In his remarks prepared for the AIPAC speech, released Tuesday by Romney's campaign, the former Massachusetts governor criticized the administration's policy, saying "hope is not a foreign policy. The only thing respected by thugs and tyrants is our resolve, backed by our power and readiness to use it."
"Of course, the administration's naïve outreach to Iran gave the ayatollahs exactly what they wanted most. It gave them time," he said. "Whatever sanctions they may now belatedly impose, Iran has already gained three invaluable years."

[American Patriot]

U.S. & others offer Iran nuclear negotiations

From Antonia Mortensen, CNN
updated 8:39 AM EST, Tue March 6, 2012




Iran military site focus of IAEA concern



STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: The U.S. and its allies offer to resume negotiations over Iran's nuclear program
• NEW: EU foreign policy chief makes offer on behalf of the U.S. and several other countries
• IAEA inspectors want to see Parchin military base about potential nuclear-related testing
• Israel and the United States vow not to let Iran get a nuclear weapon

Vienna, Austria (CNN) -- The United States and other countries offered to resume negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program on Tuesday as Iran signaled a willingness to let international inspectors visit a key military base.
The United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany offered to resume stalled talks in a letter from European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. She was responding to an overture that Iran made last month.
The prospect of negotiations comes amid rising concern that Israel may attack Iran to disrupt its nuclear program.
Israel and the United States suspect Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. International inspectors also have voiced concern, but Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
Meanwhile, Iran offered Tuesday to let international nuclear inspectors into one of its military bases, but only after significant details are worked out, its team at the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
The head of the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, said Monday inspectors wanted to get into the Parchin base as soon as possible because of evidence of ongoing activities at the base, which is suspected of being involved in testing related to nuclear weapons.
Also on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will remain "the master of its fate" in ensuring that Iran not obtain a nuclear weapon.
"Israel must reserve the right to defend itself, and after all, that's the very purpose of the Jewish state: to restore to the Jewish people control over our destiny," Netanyahu said in Washington.
He said time for diplomacy was running out.
"We've waited for sanctions to work," he said. "None of us can afford to wait much longer. As prime minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation."
On Sunday, President Barack Obama warned that "all elements of American power" remain an option to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He also emphasized that he prefers a diplomatic solution.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano declined Monday to provide details on whether the activities at the Parchin military base involve ongoing testing or efforts to remove evidence.
"But I can tell you that we are aware that there are some activities at Parchin and it makes us believe that going there sooner is better than later," Amano said.
IAEA inspectors had asked to visit the facility during a February trip to Iran but were rebuffed, the agency and Iran have both said.
Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations agency said Tuesday the IAEA had been out of line to request access to Parchin, but that once the agency formulated an appropriate request, Iran would let inspectors in.
Iran said Tuesday that the request came "in spite of" an agreement between Iran and the IAEA.
"Considering the fact that it is a military site, granting access is a time consuming process and cannot be permitted repeatedly," Iran said.
Nevertheless, it said it would allow access after the IAEA submits paperwork about "all related issues."
Inspectors believe Iran may have used Parchin to test high explosives that could be used to detonate a nuclear weapon.
IAEA inspectors visited Parchin twice in 2005, but inspectors did not go into the building that housed the test chamber then, according to the IAEA.
Iran offered access to another site late in the February visit, Amano said. But the inspection team in Iran was not outfitted to examine Marivan, a site the IAEA believes may have been used to test elements of a nuclear weapon in 2003.
The Iran threat: Fact or fiction?
McCain: Obama needs 'red lines' for Iran
Iranian Jews in Israel discuss tensions
Rep. Cantor on preventing a nuclear Iran
Iran has said its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but Amano said Iran's failure to cooperate with international inspectors makes it impossible to be sure.
In fact, the agency "continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program, Amano said.
Because Iran is not following an agreement to provide expanded information and broader access to international inspectors, the agency is "unable to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities," he said in a statement preceding his news conference.
He added that the concern stems from "overall credible information that indicates that Iran engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear explosive devices."
IAEA inspectors traveled to Iran in January and again in February to discuss the issue, but failed to reach an agreement, Amano said.
Monday's statement by Amano is not the first time the agency has questioned the purposes behind Iran's nuclear program.
Most recently, after the February visit by inspectors, the agency issued a report announcing that Iran had stepped up its efforts to produce enriched uranium in violation of international resolutions calling on it to stop. The agency expressed "serious concerns" about potential military uses by Iran in that report.
Among other things, Iran has tripled its monthly production of uranium enriched to contain a 20% concentration of radioactive material and taken other steps to ramp up its nuclear program, Amano said Monday.
While Iran has said the higher-level enrichment is meant to produce therapies for cancer patients and other peaceful purposes, international critics have called the efforts a troubling step toward possible militarization of nuclear technology.
Nuclear weapons require concentrations of about 90%.
Amano said the agency would continue discussions with Iran and urged the country to abide by IAEA and U.N. resolutions on its nuclear program.
Iran is under increasing international pressure regarding its nuclear program.
The United Nations, the United States, the European Union and other countries have imposed sanctions related to Iran's nuclear research, and speculation regarding a possible military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities has been rampant in recent months.

[American Patriot]

Israeli Officials Voice Skepticism of Iran’s Nuclear Intentions

By By ISABEL KERSHNER

Published: March 7, 2012






JERUSALEM — A day after global powers said they would resume nuclear talks with Iran, Israeli officials remained skeptical Wednesday of Tehran’s intentions and said that it was necessary to maintain a credible military option if the talks were to have any chance of success.





“There is no doubt that Iran is agreeing to talks because it is feeling squeezed by the sanctions and because it understands that there is more than one alternative on the table,” Yaakov Amidror, Israel’s national security adviser, told Army Radio. He also cautioned against allowing Iran to use the talks as “an umbrella under which it continues to develop its military capability.”
But he said that nobody would be happier than the Israelis if the Iranians agreed to give up their nuclear aspirations.
The skepticism was mirrored in Tehran, where the Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said negotiations conducted under Western pressure would not bear results.
“If they want to continue the same path of pressure, intimidation, and threat it will have no achievements for them because one cannot get concessions from Iran through threats,” Mr. Larijani said, according to the Mehr news agency.
Western powers “know that Iran is not after nuclear weapons but their intention of creating such a commotion is to stonewall Iran’s progress and damage Iran’s reputation among Muslim countries,” Mr. Larijani, a former chief nuclear negotiator, was quoted as saying.
Many Western powers say they believe Iranian scientists are seeking the capability to produce nuclear weapons but Tehran says it uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes such as electricity generation. American intelligence officials say they believe Iran has not made a final decision on whether to build a bomb.
On Tuesday, the powers that deal with the Iranian nuclear dispute said they had accepted an Iranian offer to restart negotiations that collapsed more than a year ago.
“I have offered to resume talks with Iran on the nuclear issue,” said Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, who represents the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany in dealings with Iran. “We hope that Iran will now enter into a sustained process of constructive dialogue which will deliver real progress.”
Those hopes, however, were tempered by assessments that previous rounds of discussions have not slowed Iran’s enrichment program.
Shabtai Shavit, a former director of the Mossad intelligence agency, noted that “in the past, every time the Iranians agreed to talk, the reason for their agreeing was in order to buy time in order to advance the development of their nuclear program.”
“They didn’t invent this ruse, they learned it from the North Koreans,” he told Israel Radio.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized Israel’s strength and ability to defend itself as he returned to Israel after a visit to Canada and the United States, during which he held talks with President Obama at the White House.
In the United States, Mr. Netanyahu expressed impatience with the Western and United Nations effort to use economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure as the principle tools to force Iran to freeze its nuclear enrichment program.
“We have a mighty country and a strong army,” Mr. Netanyahu said after he returned on Wednesday. “We have many friends who stand by our side and who will stand by our side at all times.”
Some Western analysts said the resumption of negotiations could relieve rising pressure from Israel to use military force against Iran but the failure of the talks could offer a rationale for military strikes.
Liran Dan, the head of the prime minister’s National Information Directorate, told Army Radio that although there was no American approval for an Israeli military strike against Iran, “there wasn’t an unequivocal prohibition either.”
He added that people talk a lot about the consequences of attacking, “but Obama and Netanyahu discussed the consequences of not attacking. The prime minister has managed to convince the world that Iran is a threat. These are Netanyahu’s accomplishments,” Mr. Dan said.

Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London and Artin Afkhami from Boston.

[American Patriot]

Nuclear Powers Prepare Demands for Iran as Diplomatic Solution Is Sought


By Jonathan Tirone - Mar 7, 2012 6:28 AM MT


Nuclear powers will present Iran with demands as early as tomorrow that, if fulfilled, may damp an international stand-off over the Persian Gulf nation’s atomic work.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board called off a scheduled meeting today in Vienna to give nations time to prepare the demands. Chinese, French, German, Russian, U.K. and U.S. diplomats are expected to issue a statement tomorrow, after it has been cleared by leaders in their capitals, three officials told Bloomberg News on condition of anonymity because the information isn’t public.
“We have put forward an international framework that is applying unprecedented pressure,” President Barack Obama said yesterday at a press conference in Washington. “The Iranians just stated that they are willing to return to the negotiating table, and we’ve got the opportunity, even as we maintain that pressure, to see how it plays out.”
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano appealed for guidance on Feb. 5 after two rounds of talks between the agency’s inspectors with Iranian officials in Tehran failed to produce any result. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said yesterday that world powers are ready to resume talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear work.
In addition to criticizing Iran’s failure to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions ordering the country to suspend uranium enrichment and allow wider access to nuclear inspectors, diplomats are seeking agreement on how to support the IAEA’s oversight, the officials said.
Intensified Talks

The IAEA has intensified its talks with Iran since November and is seeking advice from its board on how to continue, Amano said on March 5 in Vienna.
While IAEA inspectors and Iran agreed to begin clearing up nuclear-weapons allegations by June, they remained divided over how to reach the goal, according to five-page document circulated this week in the Austrian capital. The document shows points of contention between Iran and the agency.
The U.S. and the EU have ratcheted up economic sanctions against Iran over concerns that the government in Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
EU foreign ministers agreed to ban Iranian oil imports from July and freeze the country’s central bank assets.
The IAEA will resume its quarterly meeting at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow in the Austrian capital with statements about Iran expected to begin in the afternoon, according to the agenda.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Tirone in Vienna at jtirone@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net

[American Patriot]

Hamas Says It Would Stay Out of Any Iran-Israel War




A Wall Street Journal Roundup

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—A spokesman for Gaza's Hamas rulers said Wednesday that the militant group wouldn't strike Israel if there were a war between Iran and the Jewish state.
In a further sign of the weaking of Iran's regional influence, Fawzi Barhoum said in an interview with the Associated Press that Hamas's weapons are "humble" and meant for defending Palestinians. Hamas doesn't have the ability to be "part of any regional war," he said.
Mr. Barhoum's comments might lessen Israeli concerns that if war erupted, the Iran-allied Hamas would fire rockets at Israel. Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the years.
While Hamas's remaining silent wouldn't remove the missile threat on Israeli targets from Iran, it would free up Israel's military from having to fight on a southern front.
For years, Israel has counted Hamas as an Iranian proxy. Since taking control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, the organization has received military and financial assistance from Tehran.
However, the recent turmoil in Syria opened up a rift: Tehran has been backing President Bashar al-Assad, but Hamas has expressed solidarity with demonstrators and relocated its Damascus headquarters to capitals of Western-allied Arab states.
But even if Hamas stayed out of the fighting, the more powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon could attack Israel alongside Iran.

[vector7]

Obama Promises Bunker Busters To Israel If Netanyahu Delays Iran Invasion Until After US Elections

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/08/2012 10:15 -0500



Two days ago Obama held a press conference in which he openly prevaricated and disinformed the world about the true nature of his meeting with Israel PM Netanyahu.

Today we find what was truly discussed, courtesy of Israel's Maariv newspaper, Spiegel and Reuters, which all tell us that it was a simple case of quid pro quo, namely that Barack Obama would supply Israel with bunker-busters and refueling planes if Bibi promised to delay an Iran attack until after the presidential election.

The implication is simple - avoid an oil price shock this summer and delay it until next winter when Obama will be safely in his throne for another 4 years, at which point US citizens can fuel their cars with combustible urine following nights of binging on Everclear in hopes of ending their sorrows with alcohol poisoning, or better yet, all be in possession of the heavily subsidized flaming half ton block of metal known as the Obama Pinto, er, Volt.

Some more details on the latest horse trade from Israel Insider:

The US will supply Israel with bunker-busting bombs and refueling planes in return for delaying a strike against Iran until at least the end of the year, Maariv reported on Thursday.

During their meeting earlier this week in Washington, Barack Obama promised Benjamin Netanyahu the latest deep-penetration arms from the US arsenal as well as airborne tankers to refuel strike jets necessary for an Israeli attack on Iran. In return, Israel will agree to not take any action until after the upcoming US presidential elections in November 2012.

Although rumors of the possible supply of new bombs and planes began even while Netanyahu was still in the US, Maariv’s claim, based on Western sources, is that supply of the equipment is conditional on postponing an attack. Obama gave Israel neither a green light for an attack, nor a red light, but rather a “bright yellow light,” sources told Maariv, adding that the yellow light is nearly red. Obama told Netanyahu that an Israeli attack, uncoordinated with the US, will have the most serious implications on regional stability and relations between the two countries. Maariv said that sources close to the recent meetings in Washington reported that it will be “difficult, if not impossible” for Israel to ignore Obama’s warnings.

Central to the difference of opinions is at what stage of the uranium enrichment process it will become necessary to use military force. According to intelligence reports, Iran has succeeded in enriching 120 kilogram (265 lbs.) of uranium to 20 percent purity. To make a bomb the Iranians require 250 kg (550 lbs) of 90% pure uranium. However, enriching from 20% to 90% is a relatively fast process, meaning Israel may see its window for action closing. According to Maariv, the US is prepared to wait until Iran has 250 kg of 20% rich uranium, but Israel considers the current developments beyond its own red line for action.

Perhaps it is time to make the presidential brent contango hump just a little bigger?

[American Patriot]

You are too quick today Vector. Thanks for all you do!

[American Patriot]

IAEA: Iran may be hiding atomic weapons work

March 5, 2012 - 17:31 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The head of the UN nuclear agency on Monday, March 5 said his organization has "serious concerns" that Iran may be hiding secret atomic weapons work, as he acknowledged failure in his latest attempt to probe such suspicions and listed recent atomic advances by Iran, AP reported.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano spoke to the 35-nation IAEA board amid backdoor diplomatic maneuvering aimed at coming up with substantial joint pressure on Iran to end its nuclear defiance and address global concerns about its nuclear activities.
The conference opened as fears grow that Israel may soon strike Iran in an attempt to destroy its nuclear facilities. President Obama is expected to ask Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for restraint when they meet in Washington later in the day.
Amano summarized the most pressing worries - Tehran's rebuff of two recent attempts to probe the weapons program suspicions and a sharp, recent increase in uranium enrichment, which Iran says it needs for nuclear energy, but which can also produce fissile weapons material.
A senior diplomat from an IAEA member nation said shortly after Amano's opening comments that the United States and its western allies continued to lobby Russia and China to back a resolution critical of Iran's refusal to heed IAEA and UN Security Council demands that it banish such concerns by opting for full nuclear transparency.
The IAEA meeting comes less than two weeks after IAEA experts returned from Tehran from their second failed attempt within a month to persuade Iran to end nearly four years of stonewalling on what the agency says is growing intelligence-based information that Iran has worked - and may still be working - on components of a nuclear weapons program.
Iran dismisses the suspicions as based on fabricated information provided by the United States and Israel.

[American Patriot]

Diplomats: Iran Rushing to Hide Nuclear Work



Wednesday, 07 Mar 2012 04:44 PM


Satellite images of an Iranian military facility show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at the site, indicating that crews were trying to clean it of radioactive traces possibly left by tests of a nuclear-weapon trigger, diplomats told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Two of the diplomats said the crews may be trying to erase evidence of tests of a small neutron device used to set off a nuclear explosion. A third diplomat could not confirm that but said any attempt to trigger a so-called neutron initiator at the Parchin site could only be in the context of trying to develop nuclear arms.

The images, provided to the IAEA by member countries, are recent and constantly updated, said one of the diplomats.

The diplomats are nuclear experts accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and all asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

Iran is under growing international pressure over its nuclear program, which it insists is peaceful. Israel has warned that it may resort to a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent Tehran from obtaining atomic weapons.

The IAEA has already identified the Parchin military site as the location of suspected nuclear weapons-related testing. In a November report, it said it appeared to be the site of experiments with conventional high explosives meant to initiate a nuclear chain reaction.

It did not mention a neutron initiator as part of those tests but in a separate section cited an unnamed member nation as saying Iran may have experimented with a neutron initiator, without going into detail or naming a location for such work.

In contrast, the intelligence information shared with the AP by the two diplomats linked the high-explosives work directly to setting off a neutron initiator at Parchin.


Read more on Newsmax.com: Diplomats: Iran Rushing to Hide Nuclear Work
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

[vector7]

Netanyahu: Attack on Iran not immediately in offing

By HERB KEINON
03/08/2012 22:14

PM acknowledges US, Israel have different clock on Iran; says acting against DC’s wishes will not rupture ties.



By Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post An Israeli attack on Iran to halt its nuclear program is not in the immediate offing, but will also not – if necessary – be pushed off for years, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intimated in interviews he gave on Thursday to the country’s three television networks.

“I don’t have a stop watch in hand,” Netanyahu said in a segment of the interview to Channel 2 aired on Thursday evening. “This is not a matter of days or weeks. It is also not a matter of years. The result has to be that the threat of a nuclear weapon in Iran’s hands is removed.”
Related:

• World powers to Iran: Open military site for IAEA
• PM returns from DC: Israel has right to defend itself

The full interviews will be aired Saturday night.

The prime minister reiterated what he said on a number of occasions during his recent trip to Washington, that he hopes the pressure on Iran will succeed and that Iran would “decide peacefully to dismantle its nuclear program, to stop it.”

Starting in Ottawa last week, and continuing with the television interviews, Netanyahu defined stopping the program as halting the enrichment of uranium in Iran, removing all uranium in the country enriched beyond 3.5 percent, and dismantling the nuclear facility at Qom.

But if Iran does not voluntarily and peacefully decide to halt its program, “we cannot allow the nuclearization of Iran,” he said.

In an interview with Channel 1, Netanyahu made clear that Israel and the

“The US is big and distant, Israel is smaller and closer to Iran, and – of course – we have different capabilities,” he said. “So the American clock regarding preventing nuclearization of Iran is not the Israeli one. The Israeli clock works, obviously, according to a different schedule.”

Netanyahu also said that if Israel acted in opposition to US desires on Iran it would not lead to an irreparable rupture, just as there was no rupture in ties with Washington in May 1948 when David Ben-Gurion declared statehood in opposition to American wishes; in June 1967 when Levi Eshkol acted against US advice and launched a preemptive attack against Egypt; and in June 1981 when Menacham Begin decided to destroy the Iraqi nuclear reactor despite US opposition.

Asked by Channel 2 whether, considering what critics say is his inability to be decisive, Netanyahu could envision himself giving the attack order to the IDF, he said the problem was not making a decision, but rather making the right decision.


“And the responsibility for that is on the person at the top – everyone else can look up and say it is his responsibility.

If you don’t make the decision, and you don’t succeed in preventing it, who will you explain that too? To historians? To the generations that were here before us? To the generations that won’t come after us? It is forbidden to let the Iranians get nuclear arms. And I intend not to allow that to happen,” he said.

Netanyahu gave the same message to an American television audience on Tuesday night, telling Fox News’ On the Record with Greta Van Susteren that he didn’t necessarily think war with Iran was inevitable. The prime minister said that in 2003 – after the US invaded Iraq – Iran showed that it would halt its nuclear program if it felt that there was a serious military threat against it. “The paradox is that if they actually believe that they’re going to face the military option, you probably won’t need the military option,” he said.

The prime minister also said that US President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s comments this week specifically saying that military operations were on the table were important. He also praised Obama for saying containment of a nuclear Iran was not an option.

Netanyahu characterized Iran’s acquiring nuclear arms as a “hinge” moment of history. “These are things that could change the world,” he said. “We could live in another time.”

During the interview with the Israeli television networks, Netanyahu addressed the forced resignation of his former chief of staff Natan Eshel for unbecoming behavior toward a female subordinate.

“The accusations against him are grave, and those are things that should be condemned,” Netanyahu said of charges that Eshel looked into the woman’s email account and circulated photographs of her. “On the other hand, it hurts me,” he said of his longtime adviser.

Asked by Channel 10 why he praised Eshel when he left, but did not support the three top advisers in his office who lodged complaints against Eshel to the a t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l , Netanyahu said he parted from Eshel in a very humane manner. He said that his three advisers acted properly in taking the matter to the attorney-general, but they should have informed him first.

In a related diplomatic development, Netanyahu phoned newly elected Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and congratulated him on his victory. The men each invited the other for a visit.

[Ryan Ruck]

Here's an article on Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared in the Israeli National Newspaper 'Haaretz' a while back on Netanyahu and his schemes. Are we in America going to be less critical of this Nutball Politician than the Israelis themselves?;

michael,
That's an oversimplification.

Just like here Israel has a right and left. A quick search will show that this Sefi Rachlovsky is regarded as quite the leftist and Haaretz is likewise regarded as a leftist newspaper. Not the most unbiased source to be getting information from.

In full disclosure, I have posted articles from Harretz when they are useful, just as I've posted articles from the NYT as well.

[Ryan Ruck]

That's fine and all but based on my reading about the guy and the content of other things he's written, I also consider him a leftist by any standard.

[vector7]

Netanyahu says Israel won’t need U.S. OK to hit Iran

Thursday, March 15, 2012



JERUSALEM — Israeli aircraft and Gaza rocket squads traded strikes across the border on Thursday as the Israeli prime minister blamed Iran for the violence from the Palestinian territory.Benjamin Netanyahu, going a step further in his warnings to Iran, hinted that Israel didn't need Washington's blessing to go ahead and attack Iran's suspect nuclear program.

Thursday's cross-border violence tested a shaky truce Israel and Gaza militants reached this week to halt a four-day flare-up in fighting. Since then, sporadic rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes have persisted.

Israeli aircraft struck two militant sites in Gaza before dawn Thursday in response to rocket fire a day earlier. Gaza gunmen retaliated by launching two rockets at Israel by midday, police said.

No injuries were reported on either side.

In a speech to parliament on Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu accused Iran of arming, financing and training Gaza militants, and giving them their marching orders. "Gaza is Iran," he declared.

Israel considers Iran to be its most fearsome enemy, in large part because it is convinced Tehran is developing atomic weapons technology, despite its claims its nuclear program is peaceful.

In the U.S. last week, where he met with President Obama, Mr. Netanyahu was markedly more vocal about Israel's willingness to attack Iran's program, alone if necessary, though he said no decision had been made on whether to strike.

On Wednesday, he ratcheted up the tough talk, suggesting Israel would be ready to attack Iran's nuclear facilities even if the U.S. objected.

"Israel has never left its fate to others, not even the best of its friends," he said, citing Israel's 1981 attack on an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor, which at the time was condemned by the U.S.

Also Thursday, rights activists said the health of a Palestinian detainee who has been on a hunger strike for a month is deteriorating.

Hana Shalabi, 30, has refused food since her arrest by Israel on Feb. 16.

She is being held without formal charges in so-called administrative detention and is demanding to be released immediately.

A doctor from Israel's branch of Physicians for Human Rights examined her this week and reported advanced muscle atrophy and wasting, along with severe dizziness and muscle pain, especially in her chest and back.

Israel Prisons Authority spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said Ms. Shalabi's condition is "relatively OK."

An independent ethics committee discussed her case this week and decided against force-feeding her, Ms. Weizman said, adding that Ms. Shalabi remains in her cell.

Palestinian officials said four other administrative detainees have begun hunger strikes since the beginning of March.

[vector7]

Is Israel Preparing an October Surprise?

By Jeffrey Goldberg

May 7 2012, 8:47 AM ET1

The prominent Israeli commentator Amnon Abramovich argues that Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to go for early elections -- now scheduled for September 4 -- means that Netanyahu (and his defense minister, Ehud Barak), will still have plenty of time to launch a preemptive strike against before the American presidential election in early November:

After the September elections, which all polls show Netanyahu winning easily, he will head a transition government for several weeks while a new coalition is formed. During that period, Netanyahu "will not be beholden to the voters," and will be free to take decisions on Iran that many Israelis might not support, Abramovich said....

And finally, said Abramovich, the September-October period would see Obama, who has publicly urged more patience in allowing diplomacy and sanctions to have their impact on Iran, in the final stages of the presidential election campaign, with a consequent reduced capacity to try to pressure Israel into holding off military intervention.

Obama, "on the eve of elections, won't dare criticize Israel," said Abramovich. From Netanyahu's point of view, "the conditions would be fantastic."

Seems doubtful to me, for what it's worth. Too many moving parts, too many risks involved -- Netanyahu doesn't like risk (especially when compared to his militarily adventurous predecessors) and the timeline is very short. It's hard to believe he would order a (cataclysmic, IMO) strike on Iran while trying to build a governing coalition for his next term.

I also tend to think he would not order a strike during Obama's second term, should Obama win reelection. Abramovich is right that Obama would have a hard time being critical of Israel before the upcoming American election. But he would be freer to punish Israel after. What I wouldn't rule out is a Netanyahu-ordered strike before he goes to elections.

Not immediately -- he needs to see what America can accomplish in the upcoming negotiations with Iran (my prediction: nothing much), but sometime after that, especially if intelligence suggests that Iran is moving centrifuges into the hardened facility at Fordow at a more rapid clip. But an October surprise? Not probable.

[American Patriot]

What if all the US build up is to STOP Israel instead of assist them?

[AGEUSAF]

What if all the US build up is to STOP Israel instead of assist them?

Interesting thought, one that never actually crossed my mind. That would be surreal to say the least.

[American Patriot]

It occurred to me yesterday with all the anti-Israel BS coming out of the Administration. Yet we're putting lots of troops, ships and planes in place to do SOMETHING.....

[vector7]

Germany Discovers Israel is Deploying Nuclear Missiles on the Dolphin Class Subs


by John Galt
June 3, 2012 10:15 ET

The German newspaper Der Spiegel finally reports what most of us figured out years ago:

Israel Deploys Nuclear Weapons on German-Built Submarines


(Click on the title above to read the article in full)

While there are some that might be aghast at the idea of Israel deploying such weapons to defend itself from radical states like Iran and Syria, the reality is that this gives them a retaliatory strike capacity against those nations that have supplied and armed the enemies of the tiny nation should the Samson Option be enacted. The article acts as if the media has been wearing blinders for the last two decades with some of the revelations:

Germany is helping Israel to develop its military nuclear capabilities, SPIEGEL has learned. According to extensive research carried out by the magazine, Israel is equipping submarines that were built in the northern German city of Kiel and largely paid for by the German government with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. The missiles can be launched using a previously secret hydraulic ejection system. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told SPIEGEL that Germans should be “proud” that they have secured the existence of the state of Israel “for many years.”

In the past, the German government has always stuck to the position that it is unaware of nuclear weapons being deployed on the vessels. Now, however, former high-ranking officials from the German Defense Ministry, including former State Secretary Lothar Rühl and former chief of the planning staff Hans Rühle, have told SPIEGEL that they had always assumed that Israel would deploy nuclear weapons on the submarines. Rühl had even discussed the issue with the military in Tel Aviv.

This article serves a dual purpose during the negotiations with Iran and the P5+1 nations:

1. It provides a guarantee that Iran faces total eradication from the Earth as a viable entity should they refuse to negotiate in good faith and continue with their weapons program.

2. An excuse for the world powers so they can proclaim “they did their best” in an attempt to prevent the outbreak of a major regional war which will create an economic disaster for the Western powers and cast the world into darkness for many years to come.

The United States obviously has an interest in maintaining peace in the region but with Syria drawing attention away from the activities of the terrorist regime in Tehran, time will run out on these pathetic efforts and indeed, these submarines armed with nuclear tipped cruise missiles might well see action before this year is out.