Liar?
An 'Israeli official' told the Jerusalem Post on Saturday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was lying when he claimed on Saturday that Iran has 6000 centrifuges for enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. "Our assessment, based on the latest available information and recent reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency, is that the figure of 6,000 centrifuges is unlikely," the official said. "We believe a figure of between 3,400 and 3,500 is more accurate."The 'official' goes on to explain why Ahmadinejad would want to lie.
The Israeli official explained that by exaggerating the numbers, the Iranian president hopes to achieve two goals.Whether it was true or it was a lie, a White House spokesman was not happy with Ahmadinejad's announcement.
First, he exerts pressure on his own nuclear technicians to step up the pace of their work aimed at producing enough fissile material to make a bomb.
Second, Ahmadinejad seeks conflict with the West so he can portray himself as the defender of Iranian national interests in the run-up to next year's presidential elections.
Ahmadinejad has failed to deliver on promises of improving the economy and creating jobs, and the nuclear issue remains his only hope of drumming up much needed domestic political support.
"Ultimately it is not president Ahmadinejad who decides Iran's nuclear policy but the country's spiritual leader Ali Khamenei," the Israeli official explained. "Ahmadinejad will not compromise because he seeks confrontation, but Khamenei or another presidential candidate may be tempted to accept a compromise package drawn up by the West in return for halting uranium enrichment."
"Announcements like this, whatever the true number is, are not productive and will only serve to further isolate Iran from the international community," said White House spokesman Carlton Carroll.I cannot help but wonder whether there is an 'Israeli official' who is trying to discourage his own country from taking action who might be leaking disinformation. Recall that Ahmadinejad claimed to have 3000 functioning centrifuges a few months ago, and at the time everyone thought his goal of attaining 6000 in three months was plausible.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:39 AM
3 Comments:
Given the mindset of Israel's leaders, I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to manufacture an excuse not to defend the country. The danger from Iran is not going to disappear simply because Ehud Olmert and company put their heads in the sand.
2 possible sources for this stupidity:
Ex-Mossad wanker, Ephraim Halevy, has been shooting his mouth off quite a bit lately. He may be an ex-official, but his pathetic, harmful (to Israel) opinions carry a lot of weight with our clueless, left-wing government and supportive media.
The other dingbat who has been bloviating a lot lately is Matan Vilnai, he of the misspoke "holocaust" that drove the Palithugs into a tizzy.
Ashan,
I thought of mentioning Halevy as well - particularly the Time Magazine interview last week.
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