Gen. Dempsey puts Israel in its place: you attack Iran, you make things harder on all of us. Sec. Panetta and Lt. Gen. Clapper tell Israel the stakes: you attack Iran, you’ll at best buy two nuclear-free years. Meanwhile, Iran is sending signals that it’s willing to re-negotiate its nuclear program while still sounding bellicose noises about preempting an attack. The obvious conclusion is that Iran is rattled from economic sanctions and is trying to figure out how to respond. This isn’t exactly success — that would be a de-nuclearized Iran; or failing that, a contained Iran — but the indicators are all positive. When Dennis Ross says so, you can probably believe.
So what how do Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak respond?
Israel has protested to the United States over recent comments by senior American officials critical of any Israeli attack on Iran, saying this criticism “served Iran’s interests.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and other senior officials made their displeasure known to Tom Donilon, U.S. national security adviser who has been in Israel this week.
It’s like they don’t accept any threshold for success short of smoking craters on Iranian soil. And they need American help to make those craters happen. It’s no wonder a man like Dempsey, who served several command tours in the Middle East, is willing to talk like a grown-up to Israel. Someone has to be the adult here.
2012.02.21
So, has Obama got Dempsey’s back?
Is he (or Biden, or at least Panetta) going to demand an apology?
2012.02.21
My own radar is telling me the flap is totally for the confusion of the Iranians. Both threaten them and confuse them at the same time. The vision of a rogue Israel is to frighten them, the vision of a moderate US is to confuse them. But then, I’m an optimist.
By the way, I predict that Obama will do the deed in September or October: The Republicans won’t be able to say a thing, and any blowback won’t hit until after the election.
It would not be very “adult” to let Iran get nuclear warheads along with the ballistic missiles to carry them.
The Arab oil states are up in arms, as well. And they understand the Middle East better than we do.
2012.04.14
Ron no problem I’ve been to Israel on many ocacsions myself. I have always been impressed with Netanyahu (though not always a supporter of Likud).Steven You touch a great point on the relationship between the American experiment and the Jewish experience. It’s truly amazing to reflect on how much of the American Revolution is owed financially and perhaps morally to those Jewish-Americans who financiered the cause. A list of Jefferson’s creditors who never had the heart to call in the loans. Insofar as Israel is concerned, a list of who started it is instructive:1947 was a war of annihilation,1956 was self-defense,1967 was both pre-emptive and just against a three-pronged attack by neighboring states,1973 was self-defense (in the extreme),1981 against Iraq was self-defense1982 did more for Southern Lebanon than one could imagine,1991 the Israelis patiently absorbed Scud attacks during the Gulf War,2001 the second infatada was the result of a ’99 de-escalation (lesson learned, eh?)2006 was self-defense as Northern Israel continued to be shelled2008 was self-defense as Sderot and other cities were continuously shelled even after the Israelis dismantled settlements,If it was any other nation, Israel would be entirely justified in the use of force. No other nation in the world is pledged to extinction by so many others, and yet Israel is the aggressor when she defends her homes, her citizens, and roots out the terrorists who use Palestinians as human shields?I will grant a good number of things Palestinians by and large want to work with Israel, the Israelis can be heavy handed at times, Hamas and Fatah often confuse their goals, the right to return vs. the right to exist there is nothing clean about the process. But if you do any serious research about the Middle East, there are a few black and whites amidst the greys: (1) the British Mandate really messed things up, (2) the Israelis have the right to exist and this is what happens when you lose wars fellas the settlements have the right to go up, and (3) there are indeed people committed to the obliteration of the Jewish people in Israel and beyond. Until there is a measure of security and peace, Israel will always be on a war footing and Palestinians will continue to lose their lives, property, and freedoms as a function of violence and time.