US Must Stop Mixed Signals on Iran

By Roane Carey

April 13, 2009

Israel has been steadily ratcheting up pressure on the United States concerning the grave threat allegedly posed by Iran, which seems poised to master the nuclear fuel cycle, and thus the capacity to produce nuclear weapons. The new Israeli prime minister, Likud Party hawk Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned President Barack Obama that if Washington does not quickly find a way to shut down Iran's nuclear program, Israel will.

Some analysts argue that this is manufactured hysteria, not so much a reflection of genuine Israeli fears as a purposeful diversion from other looming difficulties. The Netanyahu government is filled with hardliners adamantly opposed to withdrawal from, or even a temporary freeze on, settlements in the occupied territories, not to mention to any acceptance of Palestinian statehood. On his first day as foreign minister, extremist demagogue Avigdor Lieberman, with characteristic bluster, announced that Israel was no longer bound by the 2007 Annapolis agreements brokered by Washington, which called for accelerated negotiations toward a two-state settlement.

Read on...

Peacenik has to confess that alarmist stories about the impending Israeli attack on Iran are failing to alarm Peacenik. Peacenik believed all the Seymour Hersch fueled alarming stories. Peacenik went to the supermarket on the basis of some of the alarming stories. Peacenik is concerned about the constant threats from Israel. But ultimately Peacenik thinks most world actors are rational. Peacenik thinks any attack on Iran would lead to Armageddon. So Peacenik discounts the threats. Is Peacenik naive? Is Netanyahu insane? Maybe.

Report: Israel ‘Seriously Considering’ Attacking Iran

www.antiwar.com

Timeframe for Potential Attack Growing Shorter

A report issued today by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) warned that the Israeli government believes that it still retains the ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear program with a unilateral attack, and as the international community’s diplomatic path remains unsuccessful in stopping a weapons program or indeed proving that one exists, Israel is “seriously considering” attacking Iran.

The prospect of an attack is primarily in the near term, because the attack on Iran’s illusory secret nuclear weapons program would be seriously complicated by the prospect of the Iranian government acquiring an S-300 air defense system from Russia. Russia has repeatedly insisted that it doesn’t intend to give Iran the system, but the IAEA insists Iran doesn’t have the ability to make nuclear weapons either. The Israeli government is less interested in the reality of the situation than with what has been repeated over and over domestically: that Iran is an “existential” threat to Israel and has to be stopped with military force.

But the WINEP report points out that Israel isn’t the only one that stands to lose from such an attack: the US would pay an enormous penalty internationally because whether it is the case or not they will be perceived as having given Israel a green light for the attack.

punditman says...

Just when you thought the economy was the main problem in the world and were about to jump out of your basement apartment window as a result of all of Peacenik's doom mongering, Punditman urges you to pause and think. Consider that if you think we have problems now, imagine what an Israeli/Iran showdown would do to our current political and economic reality. In doing so, you will realize that these are indeed the good old days by comparison. In fact, Punditman always tries to look on the bright side of life, so he offers you the following link here and another here, as a means to act in the face of this potential global conflagration.

(Note: If you still decide to jump out of your basement apartment window, Punditman recommends you wear a ballistic vest so you don't scratch your torso as you take that quantum leap upwards).