US trying to restrain Israel on Iran
Israel Radio reported this morning that the reason why the gaffemeister is coming here in March is to retract the green light he seemingly gave us in July to go after Iran. In fact, the analyst claimed that this is why it is specifically Joe Biden that is coming here and not the Obumbler himself.While I have little doubt that the reason Biden is coming is to seek to stop us from attacking Iran, my guess is that Obama is not coming because his presence here now would provoke massive demonstrations in the streets against him, and he's not willing to have his image further tarnished.
And that's why Admiral Michael Mullen - who is also known to be at least somewhat sympathetic to Israel's concerns about Iran - was sent here to wave a red flag at the Netanyahu government. Will it stop the IDF from attacking Iran? Fortunately, it probably won't stop anything if our government decides that we are in immediate danger and there is no other choice.
The thinking within the Israeli military community is that when the chips are down, at the precise moment when Israel believes it has no choice but to attack Iran and no better operational window within which to do it, the US cannot stand in Israel’s way, cannot give Jerusalem a red light.I think that's right. I also think that it's highly unlikely that the US would shoot down Israeli planes headed to Iran via Iraq as Obama foreign policy adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski has suggested. Obama realizes that he would turn himself into a lame duck President the minute that happened.
As so many observers of Israeli drivers’ traffic habits can attest to, a red light does not always mean you can’t drive through it. There are terrible risks involved, there may be collisions, pileups and casualties, but if you need to get to the other side, then nobody is going to stop you. In some parts of the world, you can even turn at red lights if there is no oncoming traffic.
There are some lines allies don’t cross with each other, and there are others that simply need to be crossed, with all the genuine sadness and acceptance of consequences that comes with crossing them. America won’t want Israel to fly through its red light all the way to Natanz, Isfahan and other such sites, placing its troops in the region in danger of Iranian retaliation, and scuttling President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world.
Some say that even if America gave Israel an explicit red light against attacking Iran, and Israel drove through it, nobody would believe that the US hadn’t given Jerusalem a green light, or even a yellow light.
Russia won’t want Israel to fly through its red light to Bushehr, which it is currently building at an enormous profit. Israel won’t want Russia to cross a red light and deliver the fearsome S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to the Iranians. But if the Russians feel that they simply must cross that red light (the Iranians have already paid for the system, at enormous profit to Moscow) then they’ll cross it, and Israel will have to find a way around the S-300, which will be, at the end of the day, just another technical puzzle to solve, like so many others.
But what would happen to US-Israel ties if Israel flew through a US red light to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities? Not much, according to one school of thought. While officials in the US administration would cry foul and may even impose some penalties, some experts argue that popular American opinion would be understanding of Israel, even sympathetic.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:52 PM
7 Comments:
When Brzezinski the Antisemite made that comment there was no fallout but hey, there never is.
As Jews we need to look at the potential to hit Iran hard by any allies as almost zero because of what history has shown us.
Did the allies hit the rail lines to Auschwitz? Do any of the numerous reasons why they choose to not bomb hold even the slightest drop of honesty or reality?
Did the US and allies get into the war to save Jews they knew long before the first extermination, they were going to be exterminated?
Having said that, right at the very end the troops marched into the camps and "liberated" the few remaining Jews and all was forgotten and forgiven.
The US and allies, might hit Iran after Iran wipes Israel off the map. But they will do nothing before knowing full well the potential Iran has. In the end, the potential Iran has to destroy Israel is nothing compared to the fallout if they or Israel strike Iran first.
Jewish blood has always come cheap. Period.
When push comes to shove through time in memorial no one saved Jews but used and abused us as something quite replaceable. (statement not to diminish non-Jews who aided Jews)
Not one Jew alive today has not suffered the indisputable loss of my above comment.
Israel, as an independent and sovereign nation, must do whatever is necessary to protect itself (read: "protect its people"). That is the first and most important duty of ANY government, on ANY level, ANYwhere in the world. Protection against outsiders is the very reason for giving up some of one's rights to a government - it is the most basic part of the social contract between government and the governed.
Israel should do whatever it damned well pleases. Any protest by the American government will simply result in more people here having contempt for "the One" than already do.
Bibi: Obama is a naive child in the body of a man. He has no clue about world affairs, and also has an inherent bias against Israel and Jews. I implore you to IGNORE Biden and Obama, and anyone else in the current US government who urges restraint - your nation has already restrained itself from righteous actions on literally hundreds of occasions at US or Western insistance, and all it has given Israel is more dead, more permanently disfigured and more wounded. Do what you know is correct, do what your heart and your gut tells you that you must. Strike Iran before that mortal enemy acquires the means to incinerate 6 million more Jews. It is your duty, both as Prime Minister and morally as a Jew and a human being.
Bingo, nomatter.
Israel also faced embargoes from allies, including the US, in times of war with the genocidal Arabs, which could have easily turned into Holocaust Redux.
Israel has to do what it has to do. I sure hope that Netanyahu understands that.
If the US wants to restrain Israel, it needs to take the lead in imposing sanctions with teeth on Iran. "Engagement" will no longer cut it. At the end of the day, Israel is going to do what it must to survive, regardless of whether or not the Obama Administration approves.
Hi Carl.
I do believe that Israel and any nation for that matter has the right to self determine its future and if that future is in danger then no one can give them a red light to stop them of doing what's needed.
In the US history, presidents come and go the state remains,so is it the same for the state&country of Israel.
Will.
IMO, this U.S. administration knows perfectly well that Israel will eventually have to act, and that is what they are counting on. For most nations, Israel's continued existence is simply a non issue. This administration wants the U.S. to join the club - those ambivalent toward Israel. If Israel attacks Iran, Israel herself will be damaged, by Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and possibly others. The U.S. will be able to say that they tried to restrain Israel and will drop support. Without the U.S. in her camp, Israel's challenges will be multiplied. This administration will be able to climb in bed with all of the Muslim nations because she slapped down Israel while she will still benefitted from the fact that Iran was attacked.
Good post, but does Israel even have the capacity for such a complicated offensive strike (at least solo).
I'd appreciate your thoughts:
http://zeit-not.blogspot.com/2010/02/iranian-nuclear-program-does-israel.html
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