Israel Matzav

'International community may not be able to stop Iran'

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer expressed concern on Monday that the 'international community' may not be able to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

"I am not positive about the world being able to stop Iran from fulfilling its ambitions," he said during a conference in France which was quoted by Reuters.

"It is a major challenge to prevent Iran from continuing to strive to get the bomb," Scheffer said, adding that his concern was "that the Security Council, as we speak, is rather incapable of coming to further conclusions on further sanctions."

Scheffer said that while Iranian nuclear capabilities would be dangerous, he was not opposed to a nuclear Israel.

"As we all know, Israel never admits to what it has, but I do not see very many arguments for the Jewish state to abandon its potential," he said. "What is as dangerous (as the nuclear program) is the missile technology which (Iran) is also developing at a fast pace."

Given that Israel apparently has had whatever it has for about 45 years now and has never used it (even in the dire moments of the first days of the Yom Kippur war, whose anniversary on the Gregorian calendar falls today), I don't think we need to worry about Israel - which unlike Iran is a democracy - suddenly deciding to start wiping out its neighbors.

With Iran, on the other hand, there is plenty of concern that it will first attempt to wipe out Israel and then attempt to attack the US or Europe or to subjugate the Persian Gulf states.

I hope no one expects Israel to sit idly and let this happen.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:30 PM