"It Was About Israel All Along" by Bob Finch
Jews in Palestine stirring up War
Shaul Mofaz, Israeli Minister of Defense:
"On the same US trip, Mr. Mofaz told a pro-Israeli lobby group that a nuclear Iran was "intolerable." "The implicit message of his statements was that if the Iranian nuclear program is not stopped in the next number of months, Israel will have to take action of its own - perhaps even to attack - to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into Iranian hands," analyst Amir Rappaport wrote in the Ma'ariv newspaper." (Nicole Gaouette ‘Israel: Iran is now danger No. 1’); "In November, Israeli media reported that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, on a trip to Washington, told US officials that "under no circumstances would Israel be able to abide by nuclear weapons in Iranian possession."
" Israeli Minister of Defense, Shaul Mofaz, affirmed that in view of Teheran's nuclear plans, Tel Aviv should "not count on diplomatic negotiations but prepare other solutions"." (James Petras ‘Israel's War Deadline: Iran in the Crosshairs’). A month later, "Israel's defense minister hinted Saturday that the Jewish state is preparing for military action to stop Iran's nuclear program, but said international diplomacy must be the first course of action. "Israel will not be able to accept an Iranian nuclear capability and it must have the capability to defend itself, with all that that implies, and this we are preparing," Shaul Mofaz said." (Talk of military action in Iran standoff’); "And Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz went further, speaking directly to Iran's president: "I address you as someone who leads his country with an ideology of hate, terror, and anti-Semitism. I suggest you look at history and see what happened to others who tried to wipe out the Jewish people. … Israel is not prepared to accept the nuclear arming of Iran, and it must prepare to defend itself, with all that implies." " (Quoted in Patrick J Buchanan ‘Bush's Dilemma: Iran vs. Israel’); "Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was asked whether Israel was ready to use military action if the Security Council proved unable to act against what Israel and the West believe is a covert Iranian nuclear weapons program. "My answer to this question is that the state of Israel has the right give all the security that is needed to the people in Israel. We have to defend ourselves," Mofaz told Reuters after a meeting with his German counterpart Franz Josef Jung." (Louis Charbonneau ‘Israel will have to Act on Iran if UN Can’t’).
Uzi Arad, director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy:
"Iran has a clandestine nuclear program that is very ambitious," says Uzi Arad, director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy in Herzilya. "That country thinks big and fast and ... poses a threat that is very real. Should it acquire nuclear weapons or even come close, it would completely alter the Middle East. It's a very ominous threat." (Nicole Gaouette ‘Israel: Iran is now danger No. 1’)
Meir Dagan, director of Mossad:
"Meir Dagan, director of Israel's external intelligence agency, the Mossad, told a parliamentary committee this month that Iran posed an "existential threat" to Israel, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. He reportedly assured committee members that Israel could deal with this threat." (Nicole Gaouette ‘Israel: Iran is now danger No. 1’)
Martin Van-Creveld:
"The remarks - reminiscent of the vitriolic propaganda campaign against Iraq prior to the Anglo-American invasion of the Arab country last year - coincided with the publication of an article by a leading Israeli military historian Martin Van-Creveld, suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon might very well order an attack on Iranian nuclear plants. Writing in the Paris-based International Herald Tribune on 21 August, Creveld opined an Israeli or American (or a joint Israeli-American) attack on Iranian nuclear plants might be carried out before the US November elections. "It all depends on Ariel Sharon - an old war-horse who back in 1982 led Israel into a disastrous invasion of Lebanon. One can only hope that this time he will think twice," the military historian said." (Khalid Amayreh ‘Israel to US: Now for Iran’)
Ira Sharkansky:
"In that light, Israel's most workable approach would be to leave it to the Americans, according to Ira Sharkansky, Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "I think the safest thing for Israel is to let the Americans do it," he told Aljazeera.net. And Israel, directly and through its powerful lobby in Washington, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has been making strenuous efforts to get Washington to "do something" about Iran." (Khalid Amayreh ‘Israel to US: Now for Iran’)
Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee:
"This is not an Israeli problem. This time it is a world problem," said Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee. "Iran is seeking to become a world power." (‘Israel can't go it alone against Iran: politicians, analysts’)
Arieh Eldad and Yoseph Lapid:
"Last week three members of the Israeli Knesset issued a terse warning that an attack on Iran may be imminent. Arieh Eldad, a member of the right-wing National Union Party said ominously, "Iran will not be deterred by anything but force." Yoseph Lapid, head of the Shinui Party echoed Eldad's sentiments saying, "We feel we are obliged to warn our friends that Israel should not be pushed into a situation where we see no other solution but to act unilaterally." The appearance of three Israeli politicians dispatched to Washington to reiterate the same message can only mean trouble." (Mike Whitney ‘Edging Towards Disaster with Iran’).
Silvan Shalom, the Foreign Minister:
"Iran may be only six months away from acquiring the capability to produce nuclear weapons, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom has claimed. The assessment, which he said was based on Israeli intelligence, differs from US intelligence assessments that Iran could not begin producing nuclear weapons for another decade. "Our experts say they are very close to this (production) stage," Mr Shalom said. "They may need only another six months." (Abraham Rabinovich ‘Tehran six months off nuclear arms ability: Israel’)
Ahron Zoevi Farkash, Israeli Military Intelligence Chief:
" Ahron Zoevi Farkash, the Israeli military intelligence chief told the Israeli parliament (Knesset) that "if by the end of March, the international community is unable to refer the Iranian issue to the United Nations Security Council, then we can say that the international effort has run its course." (James Petras ‘Israel's War Deadline: Iran in the Crosshairs’).
Daniel Halutz, Israeli Military Chief of Staff:
" Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, told foreign journalists in Tel Aviv that he believed diplomacy had reached a dead end. "The fact that the Iranians are successful time after time in getting away from international pressure ... encourages them to continue their nuclear project," Gen. Halutz said. "I believe that the political means that are used by the Europeans and the U.S. to convince the Iranians to stop the project will not succeed." When asked by one reporter how far Israel was ready to go to stop Iran's nuclear projects, Halutz quipped, "2000 kilometers." That's the equivalent of 1,250 miles, the distance by air between Israel and Iran's main nuclear and missile sites." (Kenneth R. Timmerman ‘Within Range’). See also, "When the Israeli Military Chief of Staff, Daniel Halutz, was asked how far Israel was ready to go to stop Iran's nuclear energy program, he said "Two thousand kilometers" - the distance of an air assault." (James Petras ‘Israel's War Deadline: Iran in the Crosshairs’).
Israeli Military Intelligence Chief, Aharon Zeevi Farkash:
"Aharon Zeevi Farkash, the Israeli military intelligence chief, stepped up the pressure on Iran this month when he warned Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, that "if by the end of March the international community is unable to refer the Iranian issue to the United Nations security council, then we can say the international effort has run its course." (Uzi Mahnaimi and Sarah Baxter ‘Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran’).
Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud Party:
.. "the most militaristic of Israel's major politicians - Benjamin Netanyahu - who demanded that Prime Minster Sharon take forceful action against Iran. Otherwise, Netanyahu said in December, "when I form the new Israeli government, we'll do what we did in the past against Saddam's reactor, which gave us 20 years of tranquillity." Netanyahu has repeatedly emphasized that he wants to launch a military strike on Iran. "This is the Israeli government's primary obligation," he said. "If it is not done by the current government, I plan to lead the next government to stop the Iranians."" (Norman Solomon ‘Israel’s Future Leader?’).
It is worth pointing out that it has been stated about netanyahu, "U.S. intelligence sources report that the one Israeli who is considered an extreme threat to U.S. national security is former Prime Minister and current Prime Minister hopeful Binyamin Netanyahu. Not only has Netanyahu visited convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard in his North Carolina prison cell and advocated strenuously for his release but he was once overheard by an ex-CIA agent as saying to a group of his supporters, "Once we squeeze all we can out of the United States, it can dry up and blow away." Considering the damage the neo-cons and their Israeli facilitators are causing for U.S. national security, Netanyahu may soon have his wish." (Wayne Madsen ‘The Neo-Cons’ Unfettered Access to America’s Secrets’).
Ariel Sharon, former Leader of the Jews-only State in Palestine:
"Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that Iran, Libya and Syria should be stripped of weapons of mass destruction after Iraq. "These are irresponsible states, which must be disarmed of weapons mass destruction, and a successful American move in Iraq as a model will make that easier to achieve," Sharon said to a visiting delegation of American congressmen." (Aluf Benn ‘Sharon says U.S. should also disarm Iran, Libya and Syria’)
In the run up to an election on march 28th 2006, sharon was forced to respond to netanyahu’s populist calls for an attack on iran, "This all pushed Sharon to rally the country, and stave off this lunge from the right, with a strike against Tehran. "Israel - and not only Israel - cannot accept a nuclear Iran," the Israeli Prime Minister said recently. "We have the ability to deal with this and we're making all the necessary preparations to be ready for such a situation." (‘Israel ready to strike Iran’) An Israeli nuclear attack on Iran would have been Sharon's great swan song – his legacy after a lifetime of killing and murdering, and slaughtering.
Ehud Olmert:
"Meanwhile, Israel also vowed not to let the Iranians develop nuclear weapons. Israeli Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday that the Jewish state could not reconcile itself to the threat of a nuclear Iran. "Under no circumstances, and at no point, can Israel allow anyone with these kinds of malicious designs against us, to have control of weapons of destruction that can threaten our existence," Olmert told a joint news conference with Israeli President Moshe Katsav. "The state of Israel cannot reconcile itself to a situation in which there is a threat against us, just as, in my view, the nations of Europe and the United States cannot reconcile themselves," he said." (World divided over referring Iran to UNSC’)
