Israel cannot abandon military option on Iran

OK, Roo, human nature is corrupt! It does what is bad rather than what is good. This applies to the US government as it does to the Japanese government of the last war and before, and to all human governance now, including Islamic. You may be right in all you say but, whether you are or not, arguing for a greater "righteousness" of one side over another, which we have both been doing, has nowhere to go and is, in the end, pointless. Because all human nature is bad, dangerous and cruel, then Ghandi was extraordinarily naive. The bloodthirstiness in human nature covered him in his own blood in the end. Similarly, it is foolish to trust Islam more than Christianity. Since Islam has strong tendencies to want to dominate the world for Allah, then we should all be very afraid because of the idiocy of being human.

Not simply "all the US`s past conduct ", but its conduct right up to the war[ and of course ever since]. I have not tried to paint the Japanese as anything other than what they were but you are insistent about this evil lesser evil distraction. Since when was life so simple, except when it suits ones prejudices? Pearl Harbour was an act of aggression, but on the scale of atrocities, attacking the military base on the colony is not the highest rank. The big Japanese atrocities in fact had already taken place. There were plenty more to come, but the major ones, the invasion of China, the rape of Nanking, the atrocities in Manchuria, and so on, had passed. Throughout that whole period the U.S. wasn't supportive, but it didn't oppose them very much. The big issue for the United States was: will they let us in on the exploitation of China or will they do it by themselves? Will they close it off? Will they create a closed co-prosperity sphere or an open region in which we will have free access? If the latter, the United States was not going to oppose the Japanese conquest. The Japanese with some justification felt that they've[Dutch,UK,US] already conquered what they wanted, and now when we're trying to get into the act as latecomers[China]they're closing off their imperial systems so we can't compete with them freely. That being the case, we'll go to war. At the end there were negotiations between the United States and Japan with Cordell Hull, [who was the U.S.] Secretary of State, and Admiral Nomura. They went on until very shortly before Pearl Harbor, and the issue was always basically the same, will Japan open up its imperial system to U.S. penetration? At the very end they actually made some kind of an offer to do that, but they insisted on a quid pro quo, namely, that the United States reciprocate. That led to a very sharp response from the Americans. They're not going to be told anything by these little yellow bastards, is what it came to. Shortly after came Pearl Harbor. The Americans knew to expect some kind of military attack too. So your own insistence on a black and white or good guys evil guys is simply not justified.

Not simply "all the US`s past conduct ", but its conduct right up to the war[ and of course ever since]. I have not tried to paint the Japanese as anything other than what they were but you are insistent about this evil lesser evil distraction. Since when was life so simple, except when it suits ones prejudices? Pearl Harbour was an act of aggression, but on the scale of atrocities, attacking the military base on the colony is not the highest rank. The big Japanese atrocities in fact had already taken place. There were plenty more to come, but the major ones, the invasion of China, the rape of Nanking, the atrocities in Manchuria, and so on, had passed. Throughout that whole period the U.S. wasn't supportive, but it didn't oppose them very much. The big issue for the United States was: will they let us in on the exploitation of China or will they do it by themselves? Will they close it off? Will they create a closed co-prosperity sphere or an open region in which we will have free access? If the latter, the United States was not going to oppose the Japanese conquest. The Japanese with some justification felt that they've[Dutch,UK,US] already conquered what they wanted, and now when we're trying to get into the act as latecomers[China]they're closing off their imperial systems so we can't compete with them freely. That being the case, we'll go to war. At the end there were negotiations between the United States and Japan with Cordell Hull, [who was the U.S.] Secretary of State, and Admiral Nomura. They went on until very shortly before Pearl Harbor, and the issue was always basically the same, will Japan open up its imperial system to U.S. penetration? At the very end they actually made some kind of an offer to do that, but they insisted on a quid pro quo, namely, that the United States reciprocate. That led to a very sharp response from the Americans. They're not going to be told anything by these little yellow bastards, is what it came to. Shortly after came Pearl Harbor. The Americans knew to expect some kind of military attack too. So your own insistence on a black and white or good guys evil guys is simply not justified.

Roo, you should have told me what you meant by "the lesser of two evils"! As it was unexpanded, it related in my mind solely to the response of the US to Japan's unprovoked and bloodthirsty attack on the naval personnel at Pearl Harbour. It did not enter my mind that you were bringing in all the US's past conduct into the phrase of being "less evil". I agree that distinguishing the people of a State from the State itself is important and good. However, we were talking about war, when the State of the people is underthreat, perhaps, even existentially. Then, even in the liberal democracies, the individual must lose out to the survival of the State. The two atomic bombs dropped on Japan occurred during a time of war, which had been started against the US by Japan. Since it was war, the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were part of the State of Japanese people killing Americans by suicide bombing etc. Japan was punished, indeed, by a nuclear whirlwind which included children.

Totalitarian States have tended to dramatically reduce the individuals claim to expressions of dissent. Hence my preference not to muddy the State with the individual. Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem is a particularly good exposition of this. This distinction between individuals and the State is less pronounced in so called liberal democracies. I would go on to argue that Iran is less a totalitarian state than Japan was, but would never presume that the Iranian people are in the same boat as Ahmadinejad or the more fanatical Mullahs. As for unprovoked attacks. My friend, the US has a rather long history of launching such attacks, hence my remark 'lesser of two evils'.

Roo, the Amalek principle, if it's anything, is about the God of Israel punishing the people for hating him by attacking the people of Israel, whilst they were horrendously vulnerable during their long journey to the promised land. You have taken the God of Israel out of Amalek and, therefore, whatever principle you think it contains is an erroneous deduction, in my opinion. Since the State needs the people to fight its wars of aggression, and since the people of imperial Japan and nazi Germany were willing fighters for their State, it seems to me to be foolish to make a distinction between the people of the State and the State of the people. Since the people of the State of Japan launched an unprovoked and murdering attack on the people of the State of America, it seems to me that the US was NOT evil, let alone less evil, in responding. Punishment, for what the State of Japan had done with the enthusiastic deeds of the people of the State of the Japan, was just.

I agree in part with what you say, 'reaping the whirlwind'. Japan launched the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Americans were the lesser evil, however one needn't adopt the amalek principle. Equating the people with the State.Trust you to come up with Bomber Harris! As for Islam attacking the world, that seems a bit surreal with the US fighting three wars in Iraq Pakistan and Afghanistan whilst there hasn't been a single attack of any scale on the West for several years. With many contemplating a fourth war now with Iran I am reminded of what Mahatma Gandhi once said: "an eye for an eye and we're all blind." Cheers.

Roo, bless you! You've gone to an enormous amount of effort to educate me, and you have succeeded! I now have to deal with the emotional consequence in me of all the new information you've given me. Wow! So, the US dropped two atomic bombs to see how they worked, to justify the cost of the Manhattan Project, and to wreak revenge on a people, who treated Allied soldiers very cruelly. I'm thinking as I write, and am reminded of what Air Chief Marshal Harris said to his subordinates about Nazi Germany: "They have sown the wind! They will reap the whirlwind!" And they did! From the air! After Pearl Harbour when the innocent were attacked, and after the despicable treatment of US and other soldiers during WW2, I still think that Japan got what it deserved from the two atomic bombs. If Islam attacks Israel and the world, it will receive back far, far more than it ever gave out! It's called revenge on the criminal! But, Roo, thanks and I admire your scholarship!

Sometimes you get out of a picture what you want to read into it. In the aftermath of the war the explanation you give was rote. However it soon became evident that it was not the case. Apart from the testimony of Eisenhower, General MacArthur,The Japanese Army Ministry there are huge numbers of other direct participants who testify that you are indeed wrong, albeit in the company of a good number of other folks who don't so much study history as try to intuit it according to their gut. I can answer your questions, however you haven't even attempted to deal with some obvious flies in your own ointment. "The US had to choose to continue the war as they were closing in on the Japanese mainland or to terminate it suddenly in order to save US lives". 1. Wrong. As General MacArthur said [#88] : "The war might have ended weeks earlier, he said, if the United States had agreed, as it later did anyway, to the retention of the institution of the emperor." Well? Why refuse to allow the emperor to remain thus ensuring Japanese non compliance and then almost immediately reversing that decision after the surrender? In other words there need not have been any mass land invasion. The 'United States Strategic Bombing Survey', based on postwar interviews with hundreds of Japanese military and civilian leaders, concluded that Japan would have surrendered before November 1 [the date set for the U.S. invasion of Japan] without the atomic bombs and without Soviet entry into the war. Que Joseph? 2. "If the Soviets were so important in stopping the war, why didn`t the Japanese government surrender after the first atom bomb exploded?" Hasegawa, professor of history at the University of California and uniquely in this area proficient in both Japanese and Russian [Racing the Enemy see #88] notes, that telegrams between Foreign Minister Togo and the Japanese ambassador Sato in the Soviet Union show that Japan was clinging to the hope that the termination of the war was possible and desirable through Moscow's mediation. The Soviet Union and Japan had signed a Neutrality Pact in 1941 which Japan hoped to utilise to bring about favourable terms to end the war. This was the position that Togo had adhered to since the Allies had issued the Potsdam Proclamation on July 26, 1945. The Hiroshima bomb on August 6 did not change this policy, (((as is clear from Japanese archival documents))). Indeed, from these primary sources, Hasegawa has shown that the Japanese ruling elite pinned their hopes even more desperately on Moscow's mediation after the Hiroshima bomb. Hasegawa has studied closely the original language testimony of Japan's military leaders, in particular, and presented numerous examples which reinforce the view that their shock at Soviet entry into the Pacific War was significantly more than when the atomic bombs were dropped. As the Japanese Army Ministry stated categorically shortly after the war: See #88 The Japanese Army Ministry statement to the above effect. Its really just the gut[Americans could not be that barbaric] versus massive factual evidence to the counter, much of it from American military sources of the highest order.

Roo, I simply don't accept your explanation! The US had to choose to continue the war as they were closing in on the Japanese mainland or to terminate it suddenly in order to save US lives. If the Soviets were so important in stopping the war, why didn't the Japanese government surrender after the first atom bomb exploded? Indeed, if the Soviets were so important in being the cause of the end of the war in the Far East, why didn't the war continue AFTER the second atomic bomb in order to be brought to an end by Soviet politics? Nah, the US was fed up with losing soldiers against Japan, and it had developed the atomic bomb. Put the two together and it means the sudden surrender of Japan to the US.

"They are not idiotic since they brought the war with Japan to a speedy end" Whether a bomb can even be idiotic, I'm rather doubtful. What is idiotic is claiming what you claim despite all the contrary evidence now available. The specter of Soviet entry into the Japan war was what both encouraged the dropping of the bombs on Japan and the it was the same prospect of Soviet entry that effectively shortened the war. "The Japanese Army Ministry stated categorically shortly after the war: "The Soviet participation in the war had the most direct impact on Japan`s decision to surrender." Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, `The End of the Pacific War: Reappraisals`, Stanford University Press, 2007, p. 129." See #88

Im sorry..But YOU are all Wrong: Israel Has NO Nuclear Weapons...At ALL: PERIOD: Israel belives THEY are The People of The Gods. A God? - Prove it! (and dont do the FANTASY SCAM...that there is one...You can end it all by PROVING there is a GOD!)( oh...did you have problem finding evidence...hm :) Israel(U.S.A.) Belives THEY can do whatever they want...in a country they dont even have...according to "LAW" Do you really belive Israel: Who NEVER KILL ANYBODY...EVER: will tell the world about their Nukes? And Let inspectors from the World INSPECT their "Intentions"...ISRAEL: YOU are a Shame...and YOU know it! *Robert Johnson

CJ, the disadvantage of the sun is that it would kill every person and living creature. The advantage of an explosion based on the strong, nuclear force in each atom is, as I explained, to show those, who survive, the incredible power of the God of Israel. Nuclear weapons are not idiotic in the sense that brilliant minds got together to develop them. They are not the products of idiots. They are not idiotic precisely because they are man-made by some extremely intelligent men, who understood particle physics, as much as this can be understood. They are not idiotic since they brought the war with Japan to a speedy end, and they might bring Islamic terror and hegemony to an end too. That wouldn't be foolish, would it!

This is a joke. What about our crazy right-wing Kahana extremists sitting in government. We also have the capability, and we also, have a bunch of insane extremists running the show... WE are the ones who are a danger to the world and to ourselves.

OHHHHHHHH '....Of course it isn`t. Japan and Germany were illegally taking other folk`s territories by war. Really CJ???? Great Britain have never taken anything from anybody did it? United States either. New Mexico California, sounds to you? Ohhh well, I assume that for CJ that was pre history. Wasn't it? And it was legal at that time, obviously. Germany should been attacked before it started to take "others" folks lands. That is the point. Iran portrays Hitler Germany in present times, It is threatening America's and European interests in the Golf. Israel represents Chcoslovaquia of the inter war period. Chcoslovaquia at that time should have triggered the war against Hitler and missed the oportunity. Israel today should not miss the opportunity. The western world will have to no option but joining. Have no other chance. Iran is not Germany. It is a an easier piece.

military options against iran are not easy to carry out . iran is huge country and nukes locations are scattered in not less than 400 sites most are underground and well protected . iran is not like iraq , iranians learned the lessons and endured 8 years war with iraq . israel would make lethal mistake by attacking iran and killing iranians and destroying facilities . iranians will retaliate with major blows to israeli industrial and economic zones . both countries will suffer greatly , the enemity will stay for long periods of time .

and I have a exhaustive video library of his every meeting and move... what happened wise guy, you were not born in time stop those stupid? Just imaging, this guy talks... and everyone understands that war was ... un - nesessary.

The Japanese government had attempted to send unconditional surrender to American forces by the time then president Truman had decided to authorize the bombings. The ignorance of the consequences of using the bomb to begin with was the collective sin we now bear for having unleashed this upon the world. That notwithstanding, there is no feasible conventional military response to the Iranian issue at the moment. The only models for comparison are Pakistan, North Korea and India who all ended up manufacturing the bomb, proving that diplomacy fails to contain the problem. Hence the only answer is to keep more bombs than anyone else until everyone is sick of playing this bloody game.

instead of idiotic and destructive MAN MADE instruments of war.

It is safer, cheaper, and doesn't put Israelis in harm's way by Iran, Hezballah, PIJ, Syria or Hamas.

If Israel launches a preemptive strike against Iran they'll have to kill a lot more people (in order to prevail) then they did in 1967. The Arabs are fed up with Israeli greed when it comes to the handling of land and the Palestinians. They will retaliate en mass. Their governments couldn't hold them back even if they wanted to. And they may find that their ally in the U.S. isn't as solid as they supposed in spite of their powerful lobbies and fundamentalist Christian coalition. Many people in the U.S. are waking up to the greed and double standards of most Israeli governments. Why risk it all on the fairly slim chance that Iran is intent to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons?

a lot of confusion on this board. Israel won't strike Iran, Israel will strike Iran, Iran will attack when they get nukes, Iran won't attack etc.. I think what is safe to say is that a nuclear Iran would be a huge destalizer in a area of the world already highly unstable and volatile. Therefore, this should be stopped at all costs. Never again, right Israel?

jeff "Hezbollah realizes that if they start trouble again they will pay the price like last time." there smarter than you think jeff, they have achieved all of their goals, make israel think twice, re-arm (50,000+ rockets, atm's, aam's), retrieved all the soldiers held by israel, entered parliment and the most important, they have united lebanon with the exception of your phalangist murderers who want them dis-armed, say bye bye jeff.

After teh 2006 War Nasrallah apoligies to the Lebanese people and said if he knew what Israel's response would be he wouldn't have started the war. If you don't consider this effective deterrence, then you are not paying attention. Also it would have been interesting to see what would have been the results of a Lebanese "Winograd" commission. How many people would have been reprimanded, how many would have had to resign because of the destruction wrought on Lebanon. Sadly Lebanon is a bannana republic and the notion that a Lebanese equivalent of Winograd could exist is laughable.

this article is hysterical, just attack iran already yourselves, only cowards don't want to die and make others (america, britain and even australia) soldiers die for them, your so damned tough israel, your so higly intellectual you do it, remember the invincible iaf/idf?.

Debunked that 9/11 happened.Just like his DENYING THE "HOLOCAUST " HAPPENED. Therefore let him rant and rave. The saying:Sticks and stones will break my BONES BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME. The "me" part refers not only to Israel,but to the whole world at large.

Do you consider yourself less of a nut-job than the religious fanatics that run Iran or just the Jewish version of them? The "god" of the world has repeatedly proved himself an impotent force, possibly because he is but a figment of your imagination.

Here are just a few examples. I'll forgive you for insinuating that I was lying... http://www.sixdaywar.org/content/threats.asp http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/terrorist_threats_gaza_israel.htm http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2009/01/hamas-threatens-to-target-israeli-and.html Do a search for many other examples.

Israel's existence proves Bible right while showing quran to be false. 1948, 1967, etc..., wars still cannot uproot Israel. YHVH protects Israel and keeps His promises. BTW-YHVH promises that the jews will not be uprooted anymore. Peace out.

as wonderboy said, some wars are moral & some wars need to be preventatively fought to preserve peace. to all those who think iran should have nukes, ok. We know what you are... to all those who think iran does no harm in the world, ok, we know what you are. Israel is not rushing anywhere to use military force...this is an ongoing situation for years...if anything, israel has shown extreme patience. I would however remind the anti semitic crowd here how the palestinians and much of the arab world celebrated 9/11. people have have selective and short memories. but hey, that's what you do when you know you are lying and you know you hate jews...so go for it, in the meantime, israel should not wait for the piss poor containment theory.this is NOT the cold war... by the way, does anyone know that moussavi, the "moderate" is one of the founders of the iranian nuclear program? does anyone know what rafsanjani said publicly near a decade ago about the nuclear bomb and israel?

It sure must be hurting as you think up the funnies. So now you saying Hezbollah have nuclear WMD? Since when did Hezbollah gain control Dimona? BTW Peter, beautiful rain in Victoria, and here in NSW. Cheers.

Perhaps Iranian agents stole all the Israeli duel citizenship IDs. How would they do that, saul? Iranian secret agents in Israel? If Israel and America stopped playing games ('we don't talk to the enemy') simply to gain control over the opponents land and natural resources, Iran could be doing business with Western states. With so much huffing and puffing from Israel, and past experience of occupation by Anglo/American trouble making oil thieves, Iran's first priority is obviously defense. Who could blame them? I don't! Check your shoes before putting them on, saul. There might be an Iranian agent hiding in one. Cheers.

"I'm Natalie Durson" "I'm Natalie Durson" "I'm Natalie Durson" "I'm Palestinian" " No,I'm not" "I'm Natalie Durson" Morandi, the famous Artist used a limited Palette to great effect, understated magic. Natalie, you repeat the same words over and over to no effect. But of course you won't read this, so no harm done. BTW This is not me.

...Islamic Jihad, Hezbullah, et al that call for the death of Israelis. Where the heck have you been?

I was alive during the six day war and the yom kippur war and during the years leading up to those events. I was alive when Arafat reigned prior to Oslo. I heard the threats myself. I would suggest you go back and look at some of the speaches by Arab leaders in those not-so-distant days past before saying that I am "losing my credibility." Again, personal insults will get you nowhere.

If you were the God of Israel, would you not want to demonstrate to mankind the enormous power that keeps the protons of the nucleus together in the atom? If you were the God of Israel, and you felt ignored by the vast majority of mankind, would you not consider demonstrating the enormous power in this nuclear "strong force"? If you were the God of Israel, and you wanted to show human beings the enormity of your power, would you not allow a nuclear fission event to take place publicly? How would you do this? The only way for your nuclear strong force to be experienced by human beings is through an explosion, such that the nuclear energy of this strong force is released from millions of atomic nuclei. If you were the God of Israel, you would choose Uranium 235, one kilogram of which unstable element would release 20,000 MEGAwatt-hours of energy explosively. This is the energy of a 20 megawatt power station running for 1,000 years. You're not the God of Israel, but he is!

in turning the abnormal into the norm, as in,"although gays being gunned down in Israel is not unheard of" This response is not even worthy of an ameba. "What Ahmedinijad has said is that Why should the Palestinians suffer because of the guilt of Europeans over the holocaust, hardly a denial" Which is why Iran held a Worldwide Holocaust Cartoon Competion. I find this offensive. Imagine, if you will a Worldwide Cartoon Competition for the best Cartoon depicting Mohammed? Let's read your response. Finally and best of all, "the idea of executing drug smugglers, murderers and child killers actually appeals". And the Poppies keeps rolling in from Afghanistan.Kill them all I hear you bleep. Still, an interesting response from a die hard born again Christian. Very Christ like Chris.

History repeats itself year after year, decades after decades and for centuries. Israel was blamed by international community to destroy nuclear sites in Iraq and Siria in the past but was supported by the same countries. This is an option for a country at permanent war, this is self determination. The military option is a preventive war against evil, using the american argument.

Well decent people, those that know and are honest about history know that even the first was unnecessary.

main thing is, women can choose which bus to take. and in israel they can. but in sharia-countries they cannot.

The history of Judaism since 70CE has been characterised by existential threats by various groups of non-Jews. True, not all the threats have been genocidally existential, but, nevertheless, existential enough for whatever Jewish community has been attacked and killed in the past. Because the killing of Jews has been a central part of the longest hatred, then it is good governance on the part of the Israeli government to prepare for more killing within the continuing longest hatred. Now, however, the existence of super-charged nuclear weapons converts the killing of communities into the possibility of the genocide of a whole nation. It is right, therefore, for Israel to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The negative comments here, about Israel's self-defence against nuclear annihilation, are silly, because no sensible government could possibly entertain such gambling opinions with the lives of its citizens being the risk.

Women only swimming pools self defence classes etc. Is not the same as women only transport, where people do their everyday business, fully clothed. Is it?

I think it's refreshing that a citizen of a country is able to think for itself about the Holocaust without being threatened with imprisonment. What Ahmedinijad has said is that Why should the Palestinians suffer because of the guilt of Europeans over the holocaust, hardly a denial. Although I think that hanging Gays is wrong, although gays being gunned down in Israel is not unheard of, the idea of executing drug smugglers, murderers and child killers actually appeals. Perhaps we wouldn't be reading what we are in the newspapers. However I see that Israel isn't refusing the aid (more than Haiti incidentally) it receives every year from the United states which also executes it's criminals, allbeit by lethal Injection. Which I believe is becoming the most popular way of killing their criminals in China to. But that will be different right?

I perceive my Muslim neighbor down the street to be an existential threat to my freedom. Should consider a pre-emptive violent strike against him?

Iran has never attacked any countries?????? What a lunatic person you are!!! More than 10 years of war with Iraq.... And attacking its own population.... What can you expect from Iran? Why you live in California and not return to your roots? It is better under the standards of US and not to be a pariah in your own country, because your own despotic rulers and your despotic religion.

This article is terrifying, full of misguided and false information. Any strike by Israel would be illegal, as the UN will never allow such an attack, as Iran has NOT threatened Israel. As tomH said in item 10 Will the canards about Iran "wanting to destroy Israel" never cease. Ahmadinejad never said that he wanted to "wipe Israel off the map." What he said was, as translated by Arash Nourazi, was "The imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] said that the regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time." Iran does not have the bomb and has had UN inspectors confirm that. Israel's nuclear facilities should be inspected. It is Israel that is the most dangerous threat with an extreme right government. Lieberman has said Gaza should be nuked. He is insane. Any bombing of Iran will lead to a conflagration in the Middle East. Israel should join the Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty, and release Vanunu!

I am not Palestinian. I am fifth generation American of European decent. You may have seen a "fake" post claiming otherwise, but this is not the case. I don't make personal attacks or call names. If you think that "boo hoo" is a personal attack upon somebody, then so be it. You imply that Israeli children are forced to listen to "rants" by Arab leaders? Somehow, I doubt the truth of this and the claim only undermines your overall credibility.

I agree with your predictions. In the Iran-Iraqi war in the eighties, Iran proved that it could absorb the first military blows and later to start its' military initiatives. The Pentagon and Israeli militaries know that, but still, arroganz is the name of the game. Iran has huge military, human and economical resources that makes it a play player in any confrontation that may be forced on them by either Israel or the USA, or both together! What wonders me, is that the writer of this article, Yoel Marcus, still believes Israel could do the job as it were a picnic across the border!!

Would the Russians and Chinese have developped nuclear weapons had the US negociated a nuclear free world when it had the possibility to do from a position of strenght? For an unclear reason, Dimona isn't mentionned in the arguments of this article. Would Israeli's feel threatened or safe when Egypt and Jordan would have 'their' Dimona's? Honestly, why is it so difficult to to acknowledge that the every day present "Dimona" swords in the air are perceived as an existential threat to the people(s) of the Middle East? Would the psycological burden of a nuclear 'existential threat" not be fairly shared by all the fine people in the Middle East when more Dimona's would be operational? Isn't our history not the sum total of our actions - and reactions?

About President Obama. He is the last hope for all! Finally someone, who uses his brain unlike recent US-Presidents! He said it and he meant it: YES, WE CAN!!!!

Israeli officials stated a number of specific objectives for Israel during the course of the 2006 war. Among these were (1) returning the captured IDF men, (2) stopping the Hizbollah rockets, (3) disarming Hizbollah, (4) "decapitating Hizbollah", moving Hizbollah away from the border. None of these things was accomplished. An unintended result of that war gave Hizbollah significantly more political power and international credibility. This is what led to the "quiet" on the northern border. The main struggle for Israel will be with Iran. because of this, it is in Hizbollahs interest and Irans interest, that the northern border remains quiet until a larger war breaks out. This is a time that Hizbollah, Syria, and Hamas want to remain inactive and wait for the main event. If Israel wants to think that is because they have "deterred" them, who cares?

Just as it was the threat of attack that kept the Soviet Union under wraps. Incidentally, why is it necessary to try and humiliate Israels every day? ("Boo Hoo"?) As you yourself said in an above post, such personal attacks are childish. Just to set the record straight, Israel fought many defensive wars that America never had to. And American children didn't have to listen to daily rants by Arab leaders that they would be killed. Boo Hoo, right? Why can't those Israeli children just suck it up, right?

Yoel Marcus' Execellent article. But in 1973; The Yom Kippur War, a N.blow was very feasible till a certain date. Later the fear was diffused.

Be proud of that

Israeli military strategists can claim whatever they want. The fact is they can't even consider the military option for real. 2006 proved Israel that its mighty "Tsahal" cannot beat a strongly organized Resistance movement. That movement, Hezbollah, was obviously created by Iranian agents in 1982. If Israel has all the problems in the world to take out Katiusha rockets launching pads, I wonder how the hell it can imagine that a vast operation sending the Airforce over Jordan, Iraq and Iran's aerial defense capabilites would be successful. This is only rhetoric, as Israel knows it does not have the stomach, nor the strength, to lead its armies into such a catastrophic scenario...

No more no less than that, everyone with half of brain knows that, when the time cames, Lebanon and Syria will enter in battle too, losting their countries to make Israel even bigger as was in the past.

in germany we have sports courses only for women, and cooking courses only for men, and self-defense courses only for women, and regulars' tables only for men etc. etc. and actually i'm sure that in your country there are also things "for women only" or "for men only" (at least the toilets!). do you consider this also as not enlightened?... anyway, main thing is that women (and men) can choose. in israel they can take the "women only"-bus or they can take the mixed bus. in sharia-countries they cannot choose...

"Learn some history mate". What you call history is feel good bs fed to Americans after the war to justify mass murder. Swallowed whole by imbeciles. "my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary...a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face'." Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate For Change, p. 380 "Norman Cousins was a consultant to General MacArthur during the American occupation of Japan. Cousins writes of his conversations with MacArthur" "When I asked General MacArthur about the decision to drop the bomb, I was surprised to learn he had not even been consulted. What, I asked, would his advice have been? He replied that he saw no military justification for the dropping of the bomb. The war might have ended weeks earlier, he said, if the United States had agreed, as it later did anyway, to the retention of the institution of the emperor." Norman Cousins, The Pathology of Power, p. 65, 70-71. "Prof. Albert Einstein... said that he was sure that President Roosevelt would have forbidden the atomic bombing of Hiroshima had he been alive and that it was probably carried out to end the Pacific war before Russia could participate." Einstein Deplores Use of Atom Bomb, New York Times, 8/19/46. Brigadier General Carter Clarke. (The military intelligence officer in charge of preparing intercepted Japanese cables, the MAGIC summaries, for Truman and his advisors)stated "...when we didn't need to do it, and we knew we didn't need to do it, and they knew that we knew we didn't need to do it, we used them as an experiment for two atomic bombs." Quoted in Gar Alperovitz, The Decision To Use the Atomic Bomb, p. 359. The Japanese Army Ministry stated categorically shortly after the war: "The Soviet participation in the war had the most direct impact on Japan's decision to surrender." Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, 'The End of the Pacific War: Reappraisals', Stanford University Press, 2007, p. 129. Learn some history mate.

"And there is talk of men only footpaths." Wow!" Is that it? That's your argument in defense of a country that hangs more people than any in the World bar China, who hangs its children from cranes, who murders its opposition, who represses Women (don't Israeli Women drive?) who holds Holocaust Cartoon Competitions and denies the reality of the Genocide and who stated only a couple of weeks ago that, "Whoever controls the Middle East Rules the World". Think again. Of course, as part of your little Network you may well be Natalie Durson, in which case..my humble apologies.

the country that has a war a week is calling the country that hasn't attacked anybody for 200 years the madman.sheesh!

You are quite mistaken Natalie. Actually their main objective, of quiet on the northern border was achieved. The border to Lebanon has been very peaceful for the most part other than a splinter group shooting a rocket or two. Hezbollah realizes that if they start trouble again they will pay the price like last time.

...will lead the many into war. Due to his refusal to learn from history, he only repeats it. he listens to evil rather than good. Even those who respond, respond in kind to the evil that besets their hearts. The surrounding nations of Israel cannot help themselves. They are victims of their own evil intent, and they will pay the price once again when they try to destroy the children of Israel. Please listen to me, stop the insanity before it is too late. Live in peace with your neighbors. Stop the threats against Israel and those who disagree with your warmongering. For your childrens sake, think before you attack Israel and America and any nation that does not agree with your policies. Seek peace and you will be rewarded. Seek war and death is your reward.

Frankly, there is no way to stop one. Because maniacs are driven by their obsession. Whether Israel will have to militarily stop Iran, is a painful thought. Such a military action will most certainly lead to a hell breaking loose everywhere, especially bc now it is too late already. What will the U.S. do, if The Bomb is dropped over Israel or Europe? Shit in her pants and retire into Monroeism. Why? Because she won*t risk the eventuality to have The Bomb dropped over the U.S. as well. Therefore I think we should not put all our hopes in "one card", which is expecting the U.S. to get involved, but instead act farsightedly and get ready to help ourselves, fortifying our defences; that is: get ready to be attacked by the most devastating weapons of human history. For the time being Peres*s call for global sanctions on Iran is the best alternative there is. It should be taken in earnest.

An attack would lead to a war of attrition, for which Iran is the world's most experienced master. Month after agonizing month, Israelis will have to endure the terror of knowing that THEIR nuclear facilities are being repeatedly attacked with ballistic missles. Israel cant fight such a protracted war, and the world won't give a damn, as it initiated the conflict. So the economy will begin to wither; Ben-Gurion will close; domestic turmoil will increase; tourism will die; money, investments and the well-heeled will all flee; leaving only martial law ... and whether the struggle should (and can) be ended with Nukes.

Israel is starting to run women only buses, an Israeli women was beaten up by religious nutjobs for dressing immodestly. And there ais talk of men only footpaths. Israel isn't exactly wnlightened when it comes to Israeli women. many of whom are forced to travel to the UK to undergo abortions as they do not even have control of their own bodies in Israel.

if it turned out that iran would win indeed, i feel already sorry for you since as a neighbour of iran secular turkey would be one of the first states turning into sharia extremism. look forward to it and enjoy your present possibility of uttering your opinion openly, because soon it could be over with that...

what about the iranian intelligence in dubai? as it's known, dubai is iran's back door for doing business with western states. as it's known, too, iran and hamas are working together. al mabhouh was known as some kind of "liaison officer". however, who knows, perhaps he wanted to leave the game, perhaps his demands had become too extensive, perhaps he became dangerous due to his knowledge, perhaps, perhaps - perhaps iranian intelligence murdered him. that's also a possibility, one among many. it's not always the mossad just because you want to be it the mossad.

Well Chris, someone has them and my bet is Iran. I think they are being truthful when they say their enrichment is for peaceful purposes. If they have a few nukes they don't have to make them. I don't think they'll use them unless nuked by Israel. They have enough conventional missles to devastate Israel.

If you don't like my posts, then don't read them. This method works very well for me. Personal attacks and obsessions with the character and personalities of posters on an anonymous talkback is really a futile and silly thing. Anybody can use my name, making fake posts, and this is done quite a lot. It is best to stick to the issues at hand if you are able to do this. If not, then posts such as yours simply show that you have nothing worthwhile to say.

PROLONGING the war until the bomb was ready. Truman even delayed the Russian entry into the war in order that the bomb be ready BEFORE the Russians entered the war. Truman told Stalin after the German defeat, that the US was no longer willing to forgo hard won assets. Had the USSR entered the war, the US would have been obliged to a division, as in Germany. "Truman wanted to terminate the war quickly" Conditional surrender would have done that weeks earlier. And in the end the Japanese Emperor was left in place, making a farce of the hold out for un-conditional surrender. The US wanted a foot print on that side of the Pacific, it had from the late 1800's when it threatened Japan.

Hezballah,Iran's Shiite mercenaries committed to Israels destruction. Iran should either abide by the NPT including full and open inspections or renounce it. Time for the neighbours to get rid of their WMD's and their spinmeisters to stop their double standards don't you think?

"Japan had been seeking ways to end the war via diplomatic contacts with the Russians for many weeks..." Uh gee, Roo I guess that counts as an unconditional surrender by your rules? BTW It took weeks just to transmit a message to the Kremlin, let alone get one back. This is pure disinformation on your part. The second bomb was dropped because Japan still didn't agree to unconditional surrender after Hiroshima. That's all. And the first was dropped because of Okinawa (and predecessors) were nightmares. Due to the intense Jap resistance, Truman wanted to terminate the war quickly and save the lives (on both sides) by not invading. Keeping the Russkies away was a side issue. Learn some history, mate.

Why do Yoel Marcus and all the other super-warriors think that war with Iran will be such a neat thing with no harm to Israel? Do they really think Iran won't strike backs with everything they have? Do they think that Israel's anti missile systems will function 100%? Do they think China is just going to calmly sit there after they lose over 10% of their energy resources? Do they think China won't wipe out Israel is they get mad enough? Remember China can easily defeat the US when it comes to WW3. The bottom line is, Israel will suffer vast and deadly devastation and in the end will be much, much worse off than if they just shut up about Iran and reach a fair agreement with the Arabs. Israel can **NOT** win this fight and is stupid to even think about even starting a fight.

"..according to your philosophy the US is a terror state because it fought back against Japan and Germany" Of course it isn't. Japan and Germany were illegally taking other folk's territories by war. Israel has illegally taken other folk's territories by war. By YOUR philosophy, the US SHOULD be assisting the Palestinians. Good on yer....

Saudi Arabia doesn't control the price of oil. It is mainly the oil traders who, anticipating a potential shortfall in their future supplies that will raise the price of oil. This can happen even if there is only a rumor of an attack. Additionally, the pipeline you mention is a very fragile thing and is very likely to be a casualty of any war which Israel might start.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union it was found that 150 suitcase size nuclear devices were missing. It was decided they weren't missing and that it was an accounting error hpowever, not one if these nuclear devices has turned up.

The real threat to the civilized world comes from Turkey. Most of Iran's population are secular with an unfortunate ruling class of Jihadists. Turkey has a secular veneer with a population of fanatical Muslims. They have spent the majority of their history waging war on Christians - either that or all the history departments in Europe are all wrong. And before Turks start to criticize Israel about the occupation, perhaps they would care to remind the rest of us about their continued occupation of Cyprus, that not even a single Muslim country recognizes, never mind the rest of the world.

The real threat to the civilized world comes from Turkey. Most of Iran's population are secular with an unfortunate ruling class of Jihadists. Turkey has a secular veneer with a population of fanatical Muslims. They have spent the majority of their history waging war on Christians - either that or all the history departments in Europe are all wrong. And before Turks start to criticize Israel about the occupation, perhaps they would care to remind the rest of us about their continued occupation of Cyprus, that not even a single Muslim country recognizes, never mind the rest of the world.

the lesson of Hiroshima was opposite to the one your folks are teaching about who sends bigger gold stone into whose window wins... And just so that you remember, the question of answering questions raised by force against Israel is not so much in will or might... it is in our collective deference to the gentle hearts of our mothers.

America has killed more civilians in Iraq than palestinians killed by Israel in the last 20 years But Blair is acknowledging that concerns about Israel were part of the equation, and that the Israeli government was being actively consulted in the planning for the war."

2000 years ago Israel didn't have an army... As they say, live with wolves sing like wolves.

I will not analyze mental state of Iranian regime, but suffice it to say they have never launched war of agression on any country in the region. That fact is quiet telling. On the other hand Israel has done so on numerous occasions, and launching any kind of raid or declaring war on Iran is utter foolishness, bordering on suicide tendency. This is not Sadam's Iraq we are talking about, or backward Syria. Unlike those, Iran has the weapons, the leadership willing to do what they deem necessary to protect their country, and they are not dependant on U.S. or anyone else. Provoking a war with them is not like Iraq and Afghanistan. It could spark the very cataclysm Israel is screaming about. U.S. is in no condition for another front, not the one Iran presents. So, stop warmongering already. There are other nations besides Israel on this planet, and they are not eager for a conflagration that could devour us all. Iran will not attack Israel, it is just a rhetoric for domestic consumption

And if A-jad had said that the "regime occupying Washington DC must vanish from the page of time" - how would you interpret that? First, the US military and govt have long decided not to let Iran gets nukes and rule the ME roost (and jeopardize the oil supply), irrespective of Israel. Second, to call Israel a terrorist threat shows how deluded you are - according to your philosophy the US is a terror state because it fought back against Japan and Germany. Third, stick to the fishing, Bellingham people obviously know little about world politics...

possible. The surprising part is we are less decisive when it comes to Gaza. It's not the size of the bomb that matters, it's the direction of the swing of the stick adorned with a nail.

Both the US and Britain have lost 3 nuclear warheads each. The former Soviet Union countries cannot account for 7. Perhaps there is a chance Iran already has purchased a couple on the black market. Something to think about.

You forgot Uganda

All plans were based on the premis that Iran would allow Israel to attack it militarily without mounting any form of response. Which is precisely why Israel has never attacked Iran, and why Israel has been whinging about the arming of Syria and Lebanon with modern sophisticated weapons. The begging Russia not to supply the S-300 is a rouse to make sure that the Iranians think Israel may attack. But unless Israel goes nuclear, which is not an option for a sane rational government Israel does not have the capability to do anything about Iran gaining parity other than to fund AIPAC to persuade the United States and persuading former Mossad agent Sarkozy the French President to do it on their behalf That in reality is the only viable military option Israel has.

As was the first. Only the 'unconditional' nature of of Japan's surrender was preventing surrender before the 'first' bomb. Japan had been seeking ways to end the war via diplomatic contacts with the Russians for many weeks, knowing the war was completely lost, which the US knew all about. They specifically wanted to retain their Emperor in some capacity after the war, the US refused this. After the nuclear holocaust they allowed the Emperor to remain in any case, as it was clearly in everyone's interests he did so. Truman used the bombs to keep Russia out of Japan. They were only days from entering the fray and it was that fear,more than anything that led Japan to surrender. It has and should go down as one of the world's greatest acts of savage barbarity.

i seriously doubt that durson cares about the u.s.

than palestinians killed by Israel in the last 20 years. And the worst is yet to come, just wait and see.

Absolutely spot on, tom h. Unfortunately, the pro Israel crowd is totally into the media hysteria, telling each other day after day, how they are under threat. All that`s threatened is their oppressor`s philosophy, in which ideas of religeous fanatism, racial supremacy and personal greed come together.

Even if Israel (with US assistance) does attack and cause LIMITED damage, and once everything cools down, its going to push Iran do focus on building a strong aerial defense system and there will be no reason for Russia to not deliver the s-300's. Together with this they will continue on their path of nuclear developemnt since they have pretty much mastered the technology. Their missile program will continue aswell as their satellite launches. So in the long run Israel has a lot of things to worry about, thats if the short run doesnt favor Iran.For some reason Israelis cant think for their childrens future.

All your legal persiflage means absolutely nothing to countries (like Iran) who are threatened by Israeli nuclear strikes if Israel decides it feels like it. If I were in their place, I would be much more comfortable with my own bomb so we had MAD. By the way, since you are so interested in legality, do you support the Israeli occupation and increasing encroachment on the West Bank?

There is another shortcut to safety: Complete peace agreement with all countries in the region and then try to find a resoltuion with Iran.

It says that the next bozo who is the figurehead of Iran shouldn't continuously threaten to wipe out a U.N. founded nation. Israel could wipe Iran out within a few hours....don't mess with the Israelis or you will regret it. The Russians can't be trusted and what nation on the planet would let its survival hinge on the Russians giving their words when it is obvious that Russia has no moral compass whatsoever. It is driven by a quest for money. Meanwhile, their society is rotting from within. No wonder they are a nation of alcoholics.

Under a 1995 Advisory Opinion the ICJ has said that possession by a State of nuclear weapons is not a violation of customary int law. But it IS a violation of treaty law if the State is a non nuclear weapons State party to the NPT eg Iran. By ratifying the NPT and Safeguards Agreement, Iran has received all kinds of nuclear materials, technology and other benefits from the IAEA in return for its express agreement not to use these for military purposes, and to submit to a stringent inspections regime. Israel is under no such legal constraint. It is not a party to the NPT and has received no benefits from the IAEA. Nor is there any legal obligation on Israel to join the NPT or indeed on any State to become a party to any treaty. Iran, on the other hand, has acted illegally since at least 2006 by violating its treaty obligations regarding inspections and verification under its 1974 NPT Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA (IAEA Board of Governors Res. GOV/2006/14 (4 Feb. 2006)).

I don't believe for one second that you express the views of the WOMAN you claim to be, but it's a free World, at least where you and I live, so aligning yourself to a rampant Antisemitic Fundamentalist with a view to ruling the MIddle EAST and therefore, as he himself admits, "THE WORLD". then so be it. However, it's repugnent to even see your name on this forum day after day, hour, after hour speaking the same garbage, as if the Iranian Regime had something to offer it's people. and of course it's Women. Shame on you Natalie.

every day that is passing will make it more difficult to annihilate iran's nuclear facilities which are obviously designed for war.

Israel can not win a war against Iran without US help. Even then Iran will devastate Israel with missles. Isreal cannot win against a country with a real army and Iran has a real army. Israel could bomb Iran for a month and not destro it. Iran can destroy Israel in one day by sending 50000 missles.

will never attack Israel, because the response is well known, Jerusalem is holly to moslems,jews and christians and they don't want to endanger theier own allies: the Pals,the Libs and the Syrians. Better a fair regioal peace deal that profits the whole world.PEACE to all.

to attack Iran. Do you think Iraq will grant it? See SOFA //Iraqi airspace control and monitoring will be transferred to the Iraqi authorities immediately as this agreement becomes valid.// Any other country Israel whose airspace they'll need to reach Iran's facilities AND return?

"(The very fact that the regime is more interested in going nuclear than building rafineries shows that its true intention has nothing to do with energy independence)" A) explain B) http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/Iran/Full.html //according to FACTS Global Energy, government targets for domestic gasoline refinery projects combined with the elimination of gasoline subsidies could make Iran a gasoline exporter by 2013. //

Why Israel doesn't ? because it fears Iran, otherway it would act like it did for Syrian Irakian nuclear reactor. Without waiting any green light from Washingtonn. Wow Ahmadmi rocks, love this guy. Cudos

LOL, dear Yoel Marcus, such a statement coming from an Israeli citizen, whose governement(s) have acted more than occasionaly in a very cunning way over the past year(s), shows quite a bit of Chuzpah indeed on your part, don't you think so...??? Only my Swiss courtesy is keeping me from making further comments on that issue for now...:)

Exactly right.

You should check your sources of (dis)information with respect to Israeli pilots and oil. Pilots aside: Iran only ranks #5 in exports (after Norway and the UAE) acounting for only 10% of exports of the first five countries on the list. Moreover, Iran will be hurt most by a war since it won't be able to sell its crude oil but lacks oil refineries and is completely dependent on reimporting refined oil. (The very fact that the regime is more interested in going nuclear than building rafineries shows that its true intention has nothing to do with energy independence). Saudi Arabia and the UAE with more than 4 times the oil resources of Iran will gladly jump in to control oil prices (any increase will only be temporary, in 2008 the West has already lived with 140$ per barrel, more than 7 times the 1998 price). Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz is an empty one. Even if temporarily closed, the newly buildt Saudi East-West petroline adds only 5 shipping days to Asia.

Iran has now begun enriching its uranium stockpile to 20%. This produces a stock of uranium that is so small in volume that it can be hidden anywhere and further enriched to bomb grade with no one able to stop it. Any sane Israeli leader would be bombing Iran back to the stone age right now. But Bibi is too busy trying to please the US, Momma Obama, and Obama's court Jew-lover Biden. Amazing, there might actually be one or two pro-Israel officials in Hussein Obama's administration. They are now being trotted out to tell Israel to "back off." Iran will have the bomb soon. But Bibi does nothing because he is too much of a wimp and a coward to act without American approval. If Bibi really wants to love America, why doesn't he move to America and watch MTV? That'll really stop Iran. Yep.

Reputable analysts? You mean the Iranian national television? You must mean reputable in the field of making nuclear weapons. The other countries are not dictatorships led by insane dictators. You argument is irrelevant. And yes, we fear losing statu-quo. While we can puhs away Islamism for now somehow, this won't last much longer without the statu quo. And at least we don't randomly kill people, so talk for yourself Mr Meshaal.

Just recently Russia said,and always has, that the Busher nuclear power plant is purely peaceful and that it is not possible for Iran to make nuclear weapons there because under the agreement they are obliged to return the fuel rods to Russia, under Russian inspection by Russian engineers working there.It is being built by Russia and they know exactly what is happening there. But still Israel plans to include that in one of its targets in the event of an attack. So despite Russian gurantees that its purely civilian, Israel still intends on bombing it, causing environmental damage and harm to thousands of civilians in the area. What does this say about Israel and its "defense" forces and most "moral" army in the world?

What? American? Then what are you talking about? An Iraqian soldier named Israel that passed the Iranian frontier as he's another brainless American? And that also implies that you're not a military strategist. You know what that means? That's it's none of your concern. The world islamization would become a lot more imminent with these guys possessing nukes and Khomeini has proven several times how insane he is. If you want to deal with insane people, be my guest, but don't tell us what we can't do. We're not the US's international puppet anymore.

like refugee at 04:34 you are wrong, too. of course iran has initiated wars, e. g. by its proxy hezbollah. by the way: your attempt to belittle mr. ahmadinejad's violent verbal attacks on israel by saying that one quote was translated wrong, doesn't help much in view of all the other threats mr. ahmadinejad has uttered.

prior to execution ? Is it against their religion to send children running over landmines? Is it against their religion to have the Basij murder unarmed demonstrators? Is it against their religion to kill countless numbers of Kurds? B'hais etc?,Occupy Kurdistan? "Its against their religion" sure!

well said tom.

It's quite easy to predict that the Iranians would counter what I am about to say with the lines that haven't clearly been drawn yet between Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and or Gaza, and Israel. But the fact remains that there is an ongoing dispute between Iran and the Arabs over bodies of water and possibly some oil fields as well. So the Arabs even with Israel out of the picture have a fight brewing between them and the Iranians. Yes; the lines between Arabia and Iran have yet to be drawn. So you see Iran building itself up into a major military super power at the present. And one sees there are some bad people over there in charge of Iran, that may or may not represent the Iranian People.

I am amazed that you actually believe that Obama and his handlers have any intention of confronting Iran. In point of fact, he more or less decided to allow Iran to proceed to develop a nuclear arsenal some time ago. Here is the truth--Obama has been mouthing warnings to Iran since he took office and each time his "deadlines" were reset. What this FOOL has done is to posture himself with muttering "sanctions" to APPEAR to be dealing with Iran, but he is TOTALLY incapable of any kind of confrontation. And ONLY confrontation will have any chance of being effect. He hammered the hell out of Israel and cozied up to Ahmadinejad, typical Obama. Is he an Islamist sympathizer in disguise? I am starting to think so. Only 6% of Israelis now have any trust of him. Which is a sign that the Israeli public is pretty damned intelligent. He IS an ideologue and will try to impose an agenda on Israel because most everything he has so far touched has been a failure. He would DESTROY ISRAEL--Resist Him.

US your alleged country. They have also attacked Britain and Australia on the high seas. They have been murdering and occupying Kurds for centuries. Your knowledge of who attacked whom in the Arab Israel conflict is as impressive as your knowledge of Iran. Who is more dangerous? Your brothers have killed millions of each other in the last 60 years,Israel is just a minor sideshow compared to Arab/Moslem on Arab/Moslem butchery. When Arabs want peace with Israel they get it as did Jordan and Egypt. When Mullah ruled Iran decided to confront Israel they got what they wanted and when Lebanon chose to allow itself to become a confrontation state after decades of defacto peace they got confrontation

of course iran has attacked, e. g. by its proxy hezbollah who has attacked israel again and again.

as yoel marcus rightly points out, it is the combination of totalitarian religious fanaticism and nuclear weapons that makes iran the most dangerous state in our times. iran's ability to advance its "diplomacy" has thus far trumped the appeasing policies of the obama administration. iran has been recognised as a very serious threat to regional stability by all sunni states. to israel, a nuclear iran would be an existential threat. marxist supporters of ahamdinejad deny his threat to destroy israel just as marxists denied stalin's crimes, even after those crimes were known worldwide. marxists are inspired by their hatred of the u.s. and all capitalist states. in their zeal, they easily make faustian pacts. iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.

BBC News 8 March 2010 "Israel 'to unveil plans to build nuclear power plant'" Israel is expected to unveil plans this week to build a nuclear power plant, reports say. Israel has two nuclear reactors, including the Dimona facility which is said to have produced nuclear weapons. Israel is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which is designed to curb the spread of nuclear technologies with bomb-making potential. (Read the full article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8556266.stm) Time for Israel to sign the NPT, and quit the double standards. Don't you agree Mr Marcus?

Could it be Mossad dressed as international travelers carrying stolen ID/passports?

"Everything you said can easily be supported by video of Achmadinjad making those very same claims." It can... SHOW US....thx "Iran should NOT be allowed to possess nuclear weapons, Especially in light of Achmadinejad`s fanatic desire to usher in the apocalypse and his so-called Mahdi." Ah yes, justice, well being, peace, respect and dignity, so apocalyptic. http://wp.me/pDB7k-nO#Mahdi

Someone told you that they were playing Pink over the speakers at Ski slopes? I'm sure Mahmood told them to do so. Rich people in Iran (the ones who Ski) would defy the rulers and they would do this occasionaly but they would also pay a price for it each time. The rich and reformers are a small minority. I know these because I speak Farsi and I lived in Iran and I do not need to listen to others misinformation like you do. Yes, the regime preaches the destruction of Israel by all means every single day for the past 30 years and they help Hamas and others to achieve it with weapons and all means. Only a fool would believe that they have peaceful intentions. This hole nuclear thing is just another way for the regime to steal more cash from Iranians. They will get nukes as long as Russia is in charge and they will make the country poorer because of i. Unfortunately Israel can't stop it and should keep her guards up.

"We will bury you", Khrushchev of Russia announced to Americans. This seemed a very direct threat, and Russia certainly seemed to have the means to carry out that threat. Nonetheless, the Americans did not press the panic button as Yoel Marcus has done, and the world is a better place today than it would have been otherwise. Israeli leaders have made plenty of deadly threats. Israel has killed over 2000 civilians combined in the 2006 was and the Gaza op. No other nation on earth has killed so many civilians during that time frame. Not America and certainly not Iran. Perhaps Israelis find it intolerable to live under a threat. Boo hoo! America did it for a generation.

"While Iran saber rattles about nukes.." Uh huh...Sabre rattling like..'We are not developing Nuclear weapons.' 'It is against our religion to have nuclear weapons.' "..their minions are rushing in on the Iraq elections" The West rushed in on ALL of Iraq....Iran is a neighbour, there's bound to be a few folk willing to cross the border in order to help those they see as fellows. "The Arab world better stop looking at Israel with hate filled eyes and start looking east" Uh huh. Who 'East' has illegally acquired territory under the stewardship of the Arab States by war? "Iran has more enemies to hurl nukes at much closer to home" What nukes? "Turkey had better wake up, it was stupid for them to balk at the Iraq war at the 11th hour." Turkey is a Sovereign State it can do whatever it likes. Why buy into a war based on false premises?

Most reputable analyst do not believe Iran intends to use nuclear weapons, no more so than Pakistan, India, China or North Korea, but it is striving for nuclear parity, and this is what Israel really fears. It fears losing nuclear superiority in the Middle-East, it fears being constrained in their aggressive conduct toward their neighbors.

It is almost as if Iran is baiting Israel to attack. Such an attack would give Iran lots of options and would change them from a potential "menace" into another victim of Israeli aggression. Of course, nobody in Israel is stupid enough to actually order that such a reckless low percentage attack be executed. Fortunately, Yoel Marcus is merely a cheerleader for the right and not a decision maker.

again to justify killing more people the jewish writer is completly over exagerating the threat.iran knowws damn well that the us will destroy them then.

Israel has had a sad tendency to overestimate their military capabilities while, at the same time, underestimating their enemy. This gave us the memorable outcome of the 2006 war, in which Israel achieved no military objectives but killed lots of civilians. In the aftermath, seven IDF generals were forced out, as well as the defense minister and the Winograd Committee was formed to asses additional blame. This was nothing compared to the likely outcome of an Israeli attack upon Iran. There is not a single pilot in the IAF who has faced anti-aircraft fire or who has flown such a long and difficult mission. Even when the mission fails it will result in the overnight tripling of oil prices. This is the factor which will finally bring Israel to the attention of rank and file Americans. Israels actions and policies are what makes enemies for Israel. It is impossible to continue like this and bomb every enemy that emerges. Even America will not support this.

israel is on the leash...they won't do nothing...the jews better get used to a nuclear Iran...we need some balance in the middle east...so that way israelis will think twice before bombing other countries. And the World is not worry about Iran my man so stop this bull talk.

Yoel, You are 100% correct and your article was eloquently spoken. Everything you said can easily be supported by video of Achmadinjad making those very same claims. Iran should NOT be allowed to possess nuclear weapons, Especially in light of Achmadinejad's fanatic desire to usher in the apocalypse and his so-called Mahdi. If Iram gets nuclear weapons, no one in the middle east will ever feel safe again.

The war bewteen Iran and Iraq in the 1980s cost the lives of more than a million people. If you really want to understand the Middle East, don't look at Israel. Look athe the arab countries and how they treat each other. The endless intra-arab slaughter claims hundreds of lives daily in the Middle East. There is a free-for-all in Mosque bombings and lack of respect for the lives of their own people. Each month, more arabs and muslims are killed by their own, than all the wars bewteen Israel and its neighbors in the last 20 years.

Do us a favour and dont write with your personal hatred and bias opinions and write what is fact so you dont follow in the footsteps like a puppet of Netanyahu and implement the fear factor! Ahmedinacad is not Hitler and has not threatened violent destruction of Israel, not once!!! Only if theyre attacked by Israel. His words have been taken out of context and you know that. Iran is surrounded by US forces and is only trying to survive. It has the worlds most important thing...Oil. So it knows what kind of games are being played.If wanting to dominate the ME is a bad thing, then tell that to the US, Russians and every other power including the Angelic Israeli nation. If it gets the bomb, then that is a good thing. It will deter its enemies from trying to mess with the country.And stop fooling the world, it cannot use this weapon on Israel or any other nation, it will wipe out palestinians aswell as themselves.

This writing is factually wrong on so many counts, from Ahmadinejad comments to "destroy Israel", to denying the Holocaust, I can't even begin to correct it. My nephew said that recently on the ski slopes outside Tehran they were playing Pink on the loud speaker. Is this a country that want to spread Sharia law?

Will the canards about Iran "wanting to destroy Israel" never cease. Ahmadinejad never said that he wanted to "wipe Israel off the map." What he said was, as translated by Arash Nourazi, was "The imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] said that the regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time." Ahmadinejad was quoting Khomeini and there was not an active verb in the quote. The terrorist threat to the ME comes from Israel, not Iran. Iran has not initiated a war since 1826, a record Israel would do well to emulate. Iran with nuclear weapons would be no more a threat to world peace than any nation possessing them, and certainly not as great a threat as Israel. So please stop trying to foment a war between the U.S. and Iran that would leave Israel ruling over the ruins.

The Iranians predicted the Zionist regime's demise in Jerusalem In Israel, does the weather girl threaten the weather?

He and Liz Cheney would make nice girlfriends.

While Iran saber rattles about nukes, their minions are rushing in on the Iraq elections. The Arab world better stop looking at Israel with hate filled eyes and start looking east. Iran has more enemies to hurl nukes at much closer to home. Turkey had better wake up, it was stupid for them to balk at the Iraq war at the 11th hour.

Woww and yet Iran has never attacked any countries. Israel attacked, Syria, Egypt, Palestine,Lebanon (more than few times), Iraq,and Sudan. Violated Air spaces of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Jordon and Iraq. Now figure that out who is more dangerous

But, please, you first. Don't expect that we *have* to follow you into the breach because, so sorry, we don't. But, please, if you are so keen to rush in on a forlorn hope, well, rush away, sunshine...

Marcus, in his hysterical screed, says there is "an existential threat." Could you guys make your cotton picking minds and settled the issue once and for all.

Only a fool would have any confidence in Biden and Obama. By the time these two fools wake up and realize that they have been fooled by Iran, a nuclear armed Iran will have been a fait accompli. Israel must act on its own because no other country has the integrity or courage to confront Iran.

Could it be that at least part of the problem with Iran having nuclear capability is that Israel will no longer use its bombs as blackmail? MAD would force Israel to give up its threats of armageddon if we decide we are pushed too far.