Israel Matzav

'Palestinian Authority' and Egypt refused to take over Gaza after Operation Cast Lead

On May 25, 2009, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told two Congressional delegations, one from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee led by Senator Casey, the other from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs led by Congressman Ackerman, that before it went to war in Gaza, Israel asked the 'Palestinian Authority' and Egypt to assume control of Gaza after Operation Cast Lead. Both of them refused.

Barak made clear in these meetings that he feels the Palestinian Authority is weak and lacks self-confidence, and that Gen. Dayton's training helps bolster confidence. He explained that the GOI had consulted with Egypt and Fatah prior to Operation Cast Lead, asking if they were willing to assume control of Gaza once Israel defeated Hamas. Not surprisingly, Barak said, the GOI received negative answers from both. He stressed the importance of continued consultations with both Egypt and Fatah -- as well as the NGO community -- regarding Gaza reconstruction, and to avoid publicly linking any resolution in Gaza to the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

And then there's this prophetic statement from Barak's meeting with the Senate delegation.

Barak asked rhetorically how a lack of firm response to North Korea would be interpreted by Iran's leadership, speculating the USG would be viewed as a "paper tiger."

That's a fair assessment now, isn't it? And then there's this:

Barak estimated a window between 6 and 18 months from now in which stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons might still be viable. After that, he said, any military solution would result in unacceptable collateral damage. He also expressed concern that should Iran develop nuclear capabilities, other rogue states and/or terrorist groups would not be far behind.

We are almost exactly 18 months to the day from that statement. And Barak is right about collateral damage because the Bushehr plant is supposedly ready to go on line. But Barak left the Stuxnet worm out of the equation. Stuxnet has probably bought us at least another year, and with a bit of luck it will take us to the end of Obama's term, and hopefully to regime change in Washington.

Labels: Ehud Barak, Gary Ackerman, Robert Casey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:31 PM