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The world's nudnik
By Haaretz Editorial
Tags: American intelligence 

While Iran continues threatening to annihilate Israel, what American intelligence thinks about Iran's nuclear capability is irrelevant. It is not fantasy or paranoia when we hear regular, concrete threats from Tehran. The threats may be just a familiar background hum in the world's ears, but it is Israel's duty to persuade the world to listen.

Iran's president never said he would accept the Zionist state if it signs a peace agreement with the Palestinians, so there is no need to seek a link between the occupation and the threat to annihilate Israel. It is possible to treat Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's invectives as no more than demagoguery, but it would be too dangerous to underestimate his declared intention.

Therefore the question of whether Iran obtains a nuclear capability to destroy Israel in two years or seven years is not important.
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Israel may now seem like the world's nudnik, now that American intelligence has sounded the all clear. But Israel is the only country that cannot let its guard down. While other nations can amuse themselves by mulling their economic interests with Iran, wondering whether sanctions serve their agenda, Israel cannot enjoy such considerations as long as the current Iranian regime is in power.

The American intelligence report has changed nothing fundamental - except that Israel's strategic importance has decreased regarding the Iranian threat. The report does not discuss any change on the ground based on new facts, it just adopts vaguer wording and more flexible evaluations. This makes it difficult to grasp whether the threat has become smaller, or merely postponed, and whether any of this requires a policy change.

The report explicitly states, as the previous one did, that by autumn 2003 Iran was developing nuclear weapons. After that the picture becomes vague. There are differences between one intelligence department and another about the assumption that Iran's development of nuclear weapons has been halted. The report states that there is no knowing whether Iran plans to resume developing nuclear arms. The report's writers do not rule out the possibility that Iran has acquired, or will acquire, nuclear arms from an outside source.

There is no information allowing us to judge Iran's intentions, but there is cumulative information that Iran has been enriching uranium to make nuclear weapons at various secret sites and has both the manufacturing capability and scientific expertise to produce nuclear arms at any time.

The American intelligence report neither increases nor reduces the fear. It cannot justify a policy change or a calming down. The report establishes that if Iran wants to produce a bomb it can do so, and if it doesn't want to, it won't. This evaluation may have a restraining effect in internal American politics. But in Israeli politics it should cause the opposite reaction because any weakness in the American approach, which is bound to affect Europe, endangers Israel.
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  1.   Sadly yes,this is the truth 09:48  |  Hastaroth 06/12/07
  2.   A complete, outrageous Zionist lie from Haaretz Editorial 10:01  |  Clickfool 06/12/07
  3.   Understandable (Israeli) position 10:19  |  Swiss (Dino) 06/12/07
  4.   not the only one 10:28  |  yusufele 06/12/07
  5.   BECAUSE OCCUPATION FEELS SO GOOD 10:30  |  indrajaya 06/12/07
  6.   Who has it right? 11:20  |  Sherlock Holmes 06/12/07
  7.   If only we bloggers had rights 11:28  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/12/07
  8.   CORRECT HAARETZ EDITORIAL 11:37  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 06/12/07
  9.   indrajaya 11:42  |  scallywag 06/12/07
  10.   #2 Clickfool 11:42  |  Sarah 06/12/07
  11.   clickfool believes... 11:43  |  scallywag 06/12/07
  12.   yusufele 11:45  |  scallywag 06/12/07
  13.   #7 Rowan Barking 12:00  |  Sarah 06/12/07
  14.   # 9, SCALLYWAG 12:02  |  indrajaya 06/12/07
  15.   The world`s nudnik 12:10  |  sallah eddine 06/12/07
  16.   #13 sarah 12:30  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/12/07
  17.   3 1 Hastarot,You wonder how if ..Same as on Holocaust 12:33  |  Max Zinger,P.Chimist 06/12/07
  18.   lie of israel 12:41  |  donnie 06/12/07
  19.   Rowan Berkeley 12:44  |  Sarah 06/12/07
  20.   Sallah Eddine 13:02  |  Jerusalemite 06/12/07
  21.   Sarah 13:05  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/12/07
  22.   Rowan Berkeley 13:13  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 06/12/07
  23.   But the lie is exposed 13:19  |  Frank Miller 06/12/07
  24.   Yes, Of Course Israel Must Stay On Guard 13:29  |  Jane 06/12/07
  25.   indrajaya, clickfool, Swiss (Dino), Rowan B = Israel-hating scum 13:29  |  Steve Randolph 06/12/07
  26.   Rowan Berkeley 13:32  |  Judah N. Wenkel 06/12/07
  27.   Bravo to Those Who Suspended Berkeley`s Blog 13:34  |  Jane 06/12/07
  28.   Hey sallah eddine: 80 percent of Palestine became JORDAN 13:37  |  Steve Randolph 06/12/07
  29.   Get off the Satan`s donkey Sarah 13:37  |  Raad 06/12/07
  30.   The original "smoking laptop" story 13:37  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/12/07
  31.   This is no beautiful world, but..... 13:39  |  Judah N. Wenkel 06/12/07
  32.   TO NO 20 13:41  |  DANNY. 06/12/07
  33.   Just give it up, will ya`... 14:01  |  Johnboy 06/12/07
  34.   " MISSION ACCOMPLISHED 2" 14:05  |  Stephen, 06/12/07
  35.   # 25 Steve Randolph 14:14  |  Swiss (Dino) 06/12/07
  36.   Iran`s nucleur plans 14:27  |  Hilda 06/12/07
  37.   My guess as to what really happened 14:28  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/12/07
  38.   So Iran gets the bomb? 14:34  |  Chris Linthwaite 06/12/07
  39.   Iranian nuclear umbrella will protect Europe 14:44  |  Raed Kami 06/12/07
  40.   suspend Rowan Berkeleys talkback priveleges to haaretz 14:47  |  Herbert Kaine 06/12/07
  41.   israel is the only country that jumps at shadows because it is 14:52  |  lakshmi 06/12/07
  42.   Cipora- Perceptions ( from yesterday) 14:53  |  Dorothy 06/12/07
  43.   Good news, Raed Kami # 39 14:55  |  Clickfool 06/12/07
  44.   SINCE the Mullah dictatorship started,Iran has chosen to confront 15:15  |  PETER SM 06/12/07
  45.   #25 Steve Randolph 15:15  |  Roman 06/12/07
  46.   Israel gave all at Annapolis. Iran will soon occupy Israel! 15:18  |  Nannette 06/12/07
  47.   #40 herbert 15:19  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/12/07
  48.   # 39, RAED KAMI 15:27  |  indrajaya 06/12/07
  49.   #17 Max Zinger 15:40  |  Dav 06/12/07
  50.   Right on target 15:55  |  Brod 06/12/07
  51.   Crush Zionism 15:56  |  OPP 06/12/07
  52.   there is something very dodgy about all this 15:59  |  mehmet 06/12/07
  53.   Americans are afraid of Iran attack aftershocks 16:02  |  mehmet 06/12/07
  54.   Propaganda and reality 16:08  |  Bob 06/12/07
  55.   Propaganda and reality II 16:09  |  Bob 06/12/07
  56.   Israel, the stupid nudnik 16:36  |  Tosefta 06/12/07
  57.   Israel cannot let it`s guard down for anybody 16:47  |  Walter 06/12/07
  58.   Wakeup Israel, the world changed a lot 17:02  |  Rafi 06/12/07
  59.   Fools and Extremists Harm Palestinians Most 17:05  |  deak of deak 06/12/07
  60.   Rowan Berkeley 17:20  |  Sarah 06/12/07
  61.   #29 Raad 17:30  |  Sarah 06/12/07
  62.   #43 Clickfool 17:37  |  Sarah 06/12/07
  63.   Bob in Munich 17:40  |  JES 06/12/07
  64.   Contervailing Indicators 17:42  |  The Northern Wind 06/12/07
  65.   #2 - Again, Clickfool 17:46  |  JES 06/12/07
  66.   Haaretz helped create this problem 17:55  |  Bill 06/12/07
  67.   Sarah(10) our Clickfool mixing past with presence.. 18:01  |  Karl 06/12/07
  68.   It`s Going to be a Bright, Sun-Shiny Day! 18:16  |  David Samson 06/12/07
  69.   #57 Sarah 18:36  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/12/07
  70.   No need to be paranoid 18:36  |  Tosefta 06/12/07
  71.   So Bob (51+52), what about Iran´s proxies 18:38  |  Karl 06/12/07
  72.   israel vs. Iran 18:40  |  Fares 06/12/07
  73.   Nudnikit, I suppose 18:43  |  Elinor from Iran 06/12/07
  74.   Cipora -More on that/Ozirak (2nd try) 18:57  |  Dorothy 06/12/07
  75.   Now is the time to work on change........ 18:58  |  Iranian-American 06/12/07
  76.   Hey indrajaya: occupation can end when neighbors are SANE 19:10  |  Steve Randolph 06/12/07
  77.   Tosefta #53- your two good good points 19:15  |  Dorothy 06/12/07
  78.   # 59 JES 19:15  |  Bob 06/12/07
  79.   Mehmet - you seem like you are contradicting yourself 19:29  |  David Israel 06/12/07
  80.   Israel choosing to be the nudnik. 19:33  |  Pablo B 06/12/07
  81.   Swiss Dino #3 19:34  |  David Israel 06/12/07
  82.   #53 -Arabist apologist nudnik 19:41  |  peter 06/12/07
  83.   # 66 Karl 1