Iran threat is too much for the Mossad to handle
Israel's intelligence agencies operate brilliantly, but they can't tackle historic challenges single-handedly.
By Ari Shavit Tags: Israel Mossad Hamas Israel newsIn recent years the Israeli media have been in love with a government official by the name of Meir Dagan. Over and over, the press waxed emotional over the clandestine work of the head of the Mossad. Again and again it hinted, starry-eyed, at astounding feats carried out by Dagan's amazing boys (all attributed to foreign media reports, of course). Everything was cloaked in a glorious veil of secrecy. The rumormongers had it that since Dagan took over the espionage agency, it has gone back to being its true self. Now, they say, it is once again the Mossad that eliminates and assassinates, the Mossad that pursues and rescues, the Mossad that will redeem the State of Israel.
But after a single press conference in Dubai, that picture has been turned upside down. If Israel was behind the Dubai assassination of senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, as is being claimed in the foreign media, then all of a sudden, Dagan is no longer the nameless hero, but the national blunderer; no longer the people's darling, but a disgrace to his country. Some people are even demanding to see his head roll. That is unfair. Getting things done entails making mistakes.
If the operation in Dubai was not an Israeli one, Dagan had nothing to do with the subsequent imbroglio. If it was Israeli, it was presumably one of a series of many such operations. People who enthuse about the Mossad's successes (all attributed to foreign media sources, of course), should take into account that there will be failures too. There's nothing more contemptible than sports fans who cheer their team when it's doing well but boos when it starts looking like the losing side.
However, there is a lesson to be learned from the Dubai affair: Even the best of the world's spy organizations aren't perfect. There's a limit to what can be done. When you have an adversary that is determined and sophisticated, expect failures as well as triumphs. The belief that intelligence information can supply the solution to every predicament is dangerous. It can lull countries to sleep at fateful times.
It's convenient for the politicians to leave it up to James Bond to free them of the need to make tough decisions, and it's convenient for the public to believe that James Bond will overcome the enemy without any blood, sweat or tears. But the truth is that James Bond is flesh and blood. He works brilliantly and makes an enormous contribution, but it is not within his power to single-handedly provide the response to historic challenges.
The facts speak for themselves. Two prime ministers have relied on Dagan. They tasked him with thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions. To judge by the results, Israel has not readied itself in time to face the menace of a nuclear Iran or to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. The head of the Mossad does not bear the responsibility for this. The people who entertained impossible expectations of him are responsible.
The conclusion is unequivocal: With all due respect to the Mossad, Iran is too much for it to handle alone. The confrontation with Iran must not be limited to intelligence agencies; it has to include diplomacy and other means as well. In the early 1940s, the leaders of the Zionist movement foresaw the future: When World War II ended, the moment that would decide its fate would be upon them. Thus, for a decade they acted wisely and decisively so they would be ready for the test. The activity took place on many planes: diplomacy, security, settlement, education, intelligence, organization. Thanks to this preparatory activity, it was Zionism that triumphed in 1948. Thanks to the foresight of those leaders, the State of Israel arose and survived.
The Iranian challenge is not the challenge of 1948, but there are some similarities. This time too, the historical significance is far-reaching. This time too, preparations are required not only in the military and intelligence spheres, but also along diplomatic, educational and organizational lines. The nation must be readied and the state must organize itself to face a new situation, one we have never faced before.
If Israel mobilizes its resources and prepares properly, it will pass the test. But in order to do so, it must take its head out of the sand and stop believing that some magic spell invoked by Meir Dagan or Israel Air Force commander Ido Nehoshtan will do the job. Even if there is some magic, it won't be enough. Iran isn't only over there; it's also right here. The Iranian challenge obligates us to reorganize every facet of our lives.
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The killers did not use identities of British Jews immigrants Passports. Wise up
Russia has no British Jewish immigrants on their soil Israel does and their Identities were stollen by .... you know who were the robbers.
Why do you want to place the whole world in trouble just for Israel. We the American taxpayer are not happy what our gornment is doing - paying our money to Israel, a state is made of Mossad, Shinbet and other departments that exercise murder and identity theft.
the world is full of antiIsraelis, how come nobody raised the issue of the killing of Litvinenko in England, what? did they demanded the resignation of Putin?, no way. just,because is Israel. this is the bottom line
Iran is the world's problem and it isn't going to be left up to the mossad or Israel to deal with them. Hopefully the Iranian people get help in this decade. While we are scared about the threat of Iran, they are currently suffering directly under their oppressive regime.
You know bloody well Jews were killed in Medina and are forbidden throughout Saudi A. "Dhimies" was (and is) the status for Jews in "secondary" lands, such as North Africa. Now that we have, thankfully, recovered a portion of our ancestral lands in Israel, we are a much happier lot. Israel, I understand, is the only place where Jewish population is both significant and growing. Those are the bottom line trends, and I hope they will continue.
created by Ian fleming, a high-ranking officer in the British Naval Intelligence, who advised the newly formed OSS in WWII to select agents who fit the bill of the quintessential gentleman spy. The OSS instead hired those who were calculating reckless and trained for aggressive action. If you can find it, read "the Forgotten 500," by Gregory A. Freeman to learn out about the real espionage and counter espionage. It is quite a lesson,
Let us all remember that the reason Europe was not atacked with atomic bombs during the cold war was the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction. It is tried and true and has protected America and its allies. While I am fairly sure the Iranians will not nuke Israel they still could use their atomic power to muscle themselves around and cause a nuclear arms race in the Mideast. This is not good but MAD has worked and it will work if Israel is included under the nuclear umbrella that is allready in place for all NATO members.Hmmm maybe including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt into NATO would be good as a stabilizind deterrent.
No. They left the Arab world voluntarily for Israel in 1948.There are still Jews in Iran, parts of Yemen, & Iraq (that is, before US invaded Iraq, most are gone now due to the instability & destruction of the country) that are probably the oldest Jewish populations in the world today.
Like most Americans I support the state of Israel. The problem is if she is waiting for us to solve the problems with Iran. That will be a big mistake. We have invested so much of our blood and resorces in the Middleeast. That we are growing tired. But if we see young Isralies putting their lives on the line, and the peolpe of Israel making the huge sacrafices necessary to stop the Iranian threat. We will be at your side imediatly. In my opinion that is the only way Iran will be stopped.
To Shoshana re your comment. I presume you are a Western or just pro. If you want to see real "Encroachment" just look at a map of Middle East: most of it is muslim. US has over 750 military bases in the world (and still ongoing, see Colombia &Haiti for latest) with quite a few in the ME surrounding these countries with F16s, navy warship carriers, etc. Yet the US started with a few immigrants from Europe. You either accept our foreign policies, our style of democracy & plunder of your resources or we bomb you. That is true encroachment!
'Jews and others lived in Medina and other places on what is now the Arabian Peninsula. They were either killed or forcibly converted to islam. That is true encroachment.' No, they voluntarily left the Arab world for Israel in 1948.There are still Jews in Iran today and parts of Yemen,as well as in Iraq (before US invaded the country, now they are gone due to the instability & destruction of the country) making them the oldest Jewish populations in the world.
" If you want to see real "Encroachment" just look at a map of Africa: half of it is muslim, same with Asia." Amazing how a religion can spread! A lot of folk in Australia are taking it up. None are being forced... "Yet islam started with a small tribe in Saudi Arabia." And they conquered all these places.. amazing. " My own experience, London is my home city, it has been so TOTALLY encroached by muslims" Actual statistics say otherwise. "Also, well before islam," Ah yes ye olde 'i'slam and 'm'uslim, strange how many folk like yourself have a faulty shift key when it comes to 'i'slam, 'm'uslim, 'p'alestinians, 'a'rabs. "Jews and others lived in Medina and other places on what is now the Arabian Peninsula." How many Jews compared to 'others'? " They were either killed or forcibly converted to islam." If they were killed I guess there was no dhiminitude....
To Laymar re your comment. I presume you are a muslim or just pro. If you want to see real "Encroachment" just look at a map of Africa: half of it is muslim, same with Asia. Yet islam started with a small tribe in Saudi Arabia. My own experience, London is my home city, it has been so TOTALLY encroached by muslims, people are being told they cannot go into certain areas by Bangladeshis and Pakistanis because they are "muslim". Also, well before islam, Jews and others lived in Medina and other places on what is now the Arabian Peninsula. They were either killed or forcibly converted to islam. That is true encroachment.
To Robert 11 of Pardes, I have a feeling you maybe correct: the obvious failure is to take the identities of living people, especially English Jews. Why did this so-called top guy not have any bodyguards? Could it even have been an Iranian ploy to try to discredit Mossad to its own people - Jews and give a dig at UK at same time?
why should the US use an A bomb against anyone in the 21st century ... get real... they won't put their own country at risk at THAT scale no matter what happens between their allies and their enemies
I agree with Robert II: Just take a good look at the CCTV video footage, it's as if they are making a point to perform for the cameras. These cameras are everywhere and in every hotel these days - This entire episode is probably Russian mafia or even an internal Hammas/PLO battle playing itself out.... and at the same time trying to place blame at Israel's door exactly as Iran tried to do last month when an Iranian Professor was "bumped off", probably by the revolutionary guards themselves. This operation was far from being efficient (+11 people) and low key which is how the Mossad has traditionally had its MO. In fact it was more like a drama made for TV .... or should I say made for a gullible and naive audience. But it appears to be working .....so far?
This Dubai undertaking is NOT the MO of Mossad, unless something dramatically has changed, but that is unlikely. This smells and tastes of Russian mafia involved in arms dealing. Don't forget that the biggest Russian figure heads were/are living right here under our noses. With our Min. of Immigration full of Russian immigrants..........identities of new immigrants.........got the connection? Just a Russian mafia arms deal with Hamas gone awry. Angry Russians, angry Iranian Revolutionary Guard.....make it "look like" a Mossad hit, et voila.....the world media is all over us and we are blamed for everything.
1. everyone knows this was a mossad operation. let's be honest. this is exactly how they operate. 2. i'm not sure what mossad thinking is. let's take them at their word, and al-Mabhouh was arranging a weapons deal for hamas. how is killing him doing anything but temporarily delaying hamas? another guy steps into his shoes. hamas will avenge this killing, then israel will avenge that, etc. Doesn't seem anyone is safer. 3. Israel doesn't have to do anything different, I don't think, in order to be assured of American loyalty. But they do know how to piss off their allies...now the UK is annoyed. Not to mention the history of Israeli spying on the US, Pollard and more recent, the USS Liberty, etc. 4. I don't believe "Iranians are very smart and clever. They won't use (a nuclear bomb) if the consequences are (Iran's) destruction" It's not clear what Iran is and is not capable of. Certainly they would throw their weight around more if they could.
So to quote Samuel Jackson, you must be the "tyranny of evil men"...cool... so now it is time for Mr. 9mm...
Simple solution, peace with Palestinians. One state or two state doesn't matter. For as long as cheerful land grab of Palestine goes on there will be no peace upon Israel. This is a fact no matter what.
Sanctions against Iran will not stop it from going nuclear. Since Iran will get eventually atomic weapons, Israels only hope for survival will be this.. Israel must be put under the NATO/American nuclear umbrella meaning that if Iran would ever launch a nuclear strike on Israel the USA would launch nuclear missles at Iran and VAPORIZE the country. Only a policy of ASSURED destruction will hold them back.It worked during the cold war and it will work again. Remember the Iranians are very smart and clever. They wont use it if the consequences are destruction!
Meir Dagan's reputation will be completely vindicated -- soon.
The time of facing inferior rag tag militias are over. Now you get your match after years of oppressing the weak.