I shall never forget an interview with Bibi Netanyahu back during one of the Bush administrations. When asked about Iran's nuclear ambitions, his response was cryptic and chilling. Paraphrasing: We know that the United States is politically limited in its response to an Iranian nuclear weapon.
I shall never forget an interview with Bibi Netanyahu back during one of the Bush administrations. When asked about Iran's nuclear ambitions, his response was cryptic and chilling. Paraphrasing: We know that the United States is politically limited in its response to an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Translated: We understand that America is an unreliable ally; we further understand that an Iranian nuclear weapon means the immediate destruction of Israel, and our response will not be limited by any such silliness as politics.
Anyone who thinks the Jews are unaware of their historical place as underdogs and global whipping-boys, unaware of the pogroms and genocides directed entirely at them - and further, that they are ever going to allow themselves to be gathered together in railcars or driven into the sea are fools. Will they respond to an Iranian nuclear weapon? Yes. Will it be overwhelming and decisive, and will it involve the use of their own nuclear device, which we know they have? Yes and yes.
When asked how the Jews defeated an overwhelming army of Arabs in seven days, Golda Meir replied, "We have a secret weapon." Asked to elaborate, she said, "We have nowhere else to go."
If the Iranians have any doubts what will be the wages of developing a nuclear device, I would suggest a little history lesson; a good place to begin would be the story of Masada.
Bibi wants to stay out of jail just as Trump does. Can’t blame them for that, but never believe a single word they say. Except that on Iran, Bibi’s right. This whole Iranian nuclear clusterf-k is weird: lots of oil; could have a civil nuclear program as, say, Korea, Taiwan and the UAE do (& submit to IAEA inspections), and seek a rapprochement with the US and re-join the family of nations - and stop vilifying Israel. Instead, Iran is a pariah, its people are being immiserated, its poor and sinking. Weird! No wonder the regime’s “best buddies” are those other paragons: Putin; Xi; Assad and Hizbollah.
Israel already has nuclear weapons, so they don't have anything to worry about when it comes to Iran. Obviously they'd prefer if things don't come to that point, but if they do, they are prepared.
They don't have anything to worry about? You do realize (or maybe you don't) that the fanatics who control Iran's government are not deterred in the slightest by the possibility that Israel will shoot nukes back. They don't care how many Iranian citizens die as a result, as long as Israel is destroyed.
I don't think you understand how nuclear deterrence works. Iran will not have enough nuclear weapons to constitute a second-strike capability if they do end up procuring them, and Israel does decide to go nuclear. Israel will undoubtedly strike first in the event of hostilities because 1), they have incredibly detailed intelligence on Iran's defense capabilities and nuclear programs (which is how they were able to assassinate so many of their physicists), so they will know if Iran is close to procuring weapons and if they do, and 2), Israel is only about the size of Connecticut, so a single detonation would be enough to effectively destroy the country's ability to function. Naturally they would not let Iran get the first shot off because they would know when Iran would be able to do so, and they have very strong reasons to not allow them to. Israel would strike first and destroy Iran's nukes with nukes of their own. This concept is why the Soviet Union and The United States built so many weapons in the Cold War, because they were trying to have enough to have a second strike capability.
Israel won't be "shooting back"; they will be shooting first, and they will destroy Iran's capacity to respond in doing so.
At this year’s UN General Assembly meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu conveyed a fairly clear threat to Iran when he went off script. What he was supposed to say was that Iran needed to face a “credible military threat” to force it to end its program. What he actually said was a “credible nuclear threat.”
Empowering an aggressive and destabilizing Iran is far from the West’s first foreign policy own goal. It might prove the most costly.
I shall never forget an interview with Bibi Netanyahu back during one of the Bush administrations. When asked about Iran's nuclear ambitions, his response was cryptic and chilling. Paraphrasing: We know that the United States is politically limited in its response to an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Translated: We understand that America is an unreliable ally; we further understand that an Iranian nuclear weapon means the immediate destruction of Israel, and our response will not be limited by any such silliness as politics.
Anyone who thinks the Jews are unaware of their historical place as underdogs and global whipping-boys, unaware of the pogroms and genocides directed entirely at them - and further, that they are ever going to allow themselves to be gathered together in railcars or driven into the sea are fools. Will they respond to an Iranian nuclear weapon? Yes. Will it be overwhelming and decisive, and will it involve the use of their own nuclear device, which we know they have? Yes and yes.
When asked how the Jews defeated an overwhelming army of Arabs in seven days, Golda Meir replied, "We have a secret weapon." Asked to elaborate, she said, "We have nowhere else to go."
If the Iranians have any doubts what will be the wages of developing a nuclear device, I would suggest a little history lesson; a good place to begin would be the story of Masada.
Bibi wants to stay out of jail just as Trump does. Can’t blame them for that, but never believe a single word they say. Except that on Iran, Bibi’s right. This whole Iranian nuclear clusterf-k is weird: lots of oil; could have a civil nuclear program as, say, Korea, Taiwan and the UAE do (& submit to IAEA inspections), and seek a rapprochement with the US and re-join the family of nations - and stop vilifying Israel. Instead, Iran is a pariah, its people are being immiserated, its poor and sinking. Weird! No wonder the regime’s “best buddies” are those other paragons: Putin; Xi; Assad and Hizbollah.
Again I quote Golda Meir: "There will never be peace until the Arabs love their children more than they hate us."
Israel already has nuclear weapons, so they don't have anything to worry about when it comes to Iran. Obviously they'd prefer if things don't come to that point, but if they do, they are prepared.
They don't have anything to worry about? You do realize (or maybe you don't) that the fanatics who control Iran's government are not deterred in the slightest by the possibility that Israel will shoot nukes back. They don't care how many Iranian citizens die as a result, as long as Israel is destroyed.
And your proof of this is what?
I don't think you understand how nuclear deterrence works. Iran will not have enough nuclear weapons to constitute a second-strike capability if they do end up procuring them, and Israel does decide to go nuclear. Israel will undoubtedly strike first in the event of hostilities because 1), they have incredibly detailed intelligence on Iran's defense capabilities and nuclear programs (which is how they were able to assassinate so many of their physicists), so they will know if Iran is close to procuring weapons and if they do, and 2), Israel is only about the size of Connecticut, so a single detonation would be enough to effectively destroy the country's ability to function. Naturally they would not let Iran get the first shot off because they would know when Iran would be able to do so, and they have very strong reasons to not allow them to. Israel would strike first and destroy Iran's nukes with nukes of their own. This concept is why the Soviet Union and The United States built so many weapons in the Cold War, because they were trying to have enough to have a second strike capability.
Israel won't be "shooting back"; they will be shooting first, and they will destroy Iran's capacity to respond in doing so.
At this year’s UN General Assembly meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu conveyed a fairly clear threat to Iran when he went off script. What he was supposed to say was that Iran needed to face a “credible military threat” to force it to end its program. What he actually said was a “credible nuclear threat.”
Empowering an aggressive and destabilizing Iran is far from the West’s first foreign policy own goal. It might prove the most costly.