Israel Stands Ready to Attack Iran’s Nuclear Sites
The Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government.
Among the steps taken to ready Israeli forces for what would be a risky raid requiring pinpoint aerial strikes are the acquisition of three Airborne Warning and Control (AWAC) aircraft and regional missions to simulate the attack.
Two nationwide civil defence drills will help to prepare the public for the retaliation that Israel could face.
“Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even hours. They are making preparations on every level for this eventuality. The message to Iran is that the threat is not just words,” one senior defence official told The Times.
You have to wonder whether Israel is just upping the ante, in order to pressure the United States into acting. An Israeli attacks is truly a worst case scenario. Everybody, including Tel Aviv and Washington, agrees on that.
On the other hand, Netanyahu et al. are certainly worried about Iran’s nuclear program. Where the Obama administration is reportedly contemplating a world in which Tehran has weapons of mass destruction, Netanyahu’s right-wing government believes everything should be done to prevent this nightmare from becoming reality.
Obama is unwilling to act against Iran. H has not taken any steps to put more pressure on the extremist rulers of the country by diplomatic means. Israel is worried, and rightly so, for Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is on record saying he wants to “wipe Israel off the map.” No country in its right mind would ignore such a threat.
Still, a worst case scenario it is. If Israel attacks, the entire Middle East could turn against it. I would not rule out that even Ankara, Turkey, would side with Tehran. Erdogan would not order his country’s military to carry out strikes against Israel, but he could very well declare a war of words. And let’s not even mention Arab peoples. Most Arab rulers have no sympathy for Iran. They’ll quietly thank God Israel destroyed the country’s nuclear facilities. Publicly, however, they will have to rail against the Jewish nation-state, calling it anti-Muslim, and dictatorial. If they do not, their people will turn against them.
In short: we should all hope that the United States stops Iran. For if it does not, Israel will act, with could cause a major regional conflict.
“You have to wonder whether Israel is just upping the ante, in order to pressure the United States into acting.”
That’s no way to manipulate a steadfast ally, is it? Naturally Iran has to blame itself – while free speech isn’t guaranteed and Iran has a history of being mistreated and destabilized by the US and the UK, you can’t expect Israel to be all chilly after all the careless rhetoric by Iranian leaders and even some public entities. In many ways the less nationalistic and perspetive-retaining people in both nations are being set aside by their politicians and religious leaders.
“Israel is worried, and rightly so, for Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is on record saying he wants to “wipe Israel off the map.””
I’m still not entirely convinced that this stands true with all context applied – wasn’t there some specification on Ahmadinejad’s part where he let on he was actually referring to the current type of Israeli statehood that is in control of the region, and that it should be ended in the same sense that Russia was relieved of the commie apparatus? Maybe? I’m not ready to stand with any interpretation, nor am I trying to downplay a real threat against Israelis if that is the case.
The current Israeli government is not one of reason. It is now firmly under the thrall of rightwing neocon nutjobs.
The current Israeli government is pursuing a path of military craziness in the hopes of drawing the US into its own war.
As demonstrated by the debacles in both Lebanon and Gaza strip, the current Israeli government is no longer a shining example of freedom and justice. Israel has become just another corrupt, military player seeking to improve its status at the expense of its neighbors.
It is now time for the US government to stop aiding this corrupt, war criminal regime of the current Israel government.
“It is now firmly under the thrall of rightwing neocon nutjobs.”
Nah, they just gauged the world around them differently. They didn’t win with a big majority, and the current governnment isn’t having an easy time of it either from what I can gather.
But they are tending slightly towards waht could be called abuse of an alliance. Tending – they’re not there yet. It’s kinda like how the tea parties can no longer be discussed sensibly but has become a one-colored chip in some political card game – the stakes are so high that people on both side don’t have a natural way of communicating. Constant escalation is probably a sure way to failure. But no one is given any real reason to offer even a sliver of a fingernail.