Israel is often said to be a nation with an eye constantly on its next war. But with an invasion of the Gaza Strip apparently already in the offing, the nation seems to have its eyes on more than one future war, with an attack on Iran also being pushed.
Top Israeli officials familiar with the situation say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has redoubled his efforts to convince the rest of his cabinet to back an attack on Iran, and that he has finally won over hawkish Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to his side.
Ministers insisted no decision has been made yet on the attack, but with Defense Minister Ehud Barak already on board, the effort to muster a majority of the cabinet seems to be going quite well. Other ministers also agree on the attack in theory but have expressed a preference that the Israeli government convince the US to attack instead.
The decision might come sooner than we expect too, as Western analysts say that winter cloud cover would make an Israeli attack extremely inconvenient for several months and might convince them to launch in the next few weeks in an effort to beat the weather.
The US is also said to be extremely concerned about a unilateral Israeli attack and is channeling that concern into pressing for more and more sanctions against Iran, with officials believing that new sanctions would convince Israel that the international community is sticking it to Iran sufficiently that a full on military attack can wait a few more months.
While the IAEA says they see no evidence of Iran proceeding to construct a nuclear bomb, how can the rest of the world sit back and allow Israel to engage in such a unilateral attack on Iran? When bombs fall in Tel Aviv, Israel will demand protection from the Western World who will then be dragged into an unwanted conflict. We Americans have blown our savings on doing the bidding of Israel against other nations in the Middle East. I guess our bankruptcy is of no concern.
It would probably end the "special relationship"if Israel were to attack Iran unilaterally -the effects on the already teetering U.S economy would be game-changing most likely. I think it would remove any doubt who America's (and the worlds) real enemies are.
But really – there should be no doubt yesterday – so you never know.
American politicians in effect, work to serve Israel – pump it's economy, fight it's wars and defend it's ugly image in the U.N. The 'special relationship' can never end as long as American politicians are indebted to the zionist lobbies to propel their useless careers. And here, the American man & woman are abandoned in their own devices
Israel is our friend. If they attack Iran then we should help especially if tens of thousands of Israel are injured. There could be thousands of IDF killed if they get into a land war in the area and we as their friends should help provide comfort to the thousands of Israel families as they bury the dead.
They are our friend and we should not get involved if they decided to attack another nation. They are smart people and if they want to attack then they should be allowed to do so. Our role should be only to help with the massive hurt and maybe killed. Israel is a small nation and incase of a war they might find that the jews become a minority in their own nation.
Having an arab majority would probably help solve the problems if the war goes badly. It would help with the arabs living in tents because the homes if a large number of Israelis are killed.
Bibi is insane so maybe they will be smart enough to understand what a long drawn our land war means. The entire world will turn on Israel if they attack with nuclear weapons first.
Because Israel totally wanted Iraq and Afghanistan destroyed so Iran would become a powerhouse. That makes perfect sense. Israel loves chaos, not balance. Yup.
I still dont get what motivation the antisemites see for Israel in having Afghanistan attacked. Iraq I get (it still is stupid), but Afghanistan there is no reason for Israel to want it attacked. That kind of proves Israel didnt do 9/11. They wouldve had it pinned on the Saudis that did it and have the US attack the Saudis who fund the PLO.
It is absolute madness to attack Iran. Iran has no missiles or means to attack the United States. Meanwhile, Americans are sacrificing enough for these wars instigated by and for Israel. This country needs to spend our tax dollars on medical care, social security for the elderly and orphans, free education for all those capable of earning specific grades in college and build the roads, bridges, and transportations systems U.S. citizens desperately need. Stop making enemies with drone attacks. Recognize that at some future date, other countries will have the technology and drones to attack us. It is a sure way to bankrupt this nation by doing Israel's bidding to attack other countries and start wars so that Israel can take more land from the Arabs inhabitating the land.
Hear, Hear, Hear !!!!!!
This country needs to slash government. The easiest places to cut are these wars and the bases overseas. Then we can attack all the waste in the bloated education and other government depts. Ron Paul is the only one with a program to slash both the domestic and military budget while saving Social Secuirty for todays elderly while allowing the young to opt out of this ponzi scheme. We need a return to small efficient goverment that defends this country alone. Let the Rest of the world defend itself. If we attack iran it will lead to WW3 and no one knows how that will end.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block88.html
On the contrary, I think we all KNOW how WW3 will end – especially if China & Russia are involved. I think the outcome would be too horrifying for most to grasp.
What's this Israeli insanity….We are in no mood to go to war for Israel again..those days are over…
What has Iran been doing to Israel anyway?
TATA
by attacking Iran, Israel would begin its own end.
that much is obvious
Let the Zionists make their bed of destruction. Iran is not Lebanon, or Hamas for that matter. They will giver Israel a much deserved lesson indeed. Bring it on, and watch the so-called chosen ones burn…
Well, there's no way to please someone who is hell bent on killing you. And the lunacy of the Americans, clearly in Tel-Avivs back pocket, in saying that further sanctions will mollify the Israeli nut cases, just goes to show you. To say that the State Department "fears" anything that Israel will do is like saying the NKVD feared their next assignment from Beria.
American state will be in danger due to these wars not and america has not enough by killing innocent people around the world.
America is already dead economically as I commented yesterday due to economic desaster minorities will be killed in america and probably Jews as they are dominating and dictating the wars in america.
Ah ha ha! The spoilt brat with "different needs" is gonna burn the house down? Deal with it.
Watch out for some preemptive justification effort RSN. The tall story of the Saudi Ambassador Killing Plot has apparently been accepted as gospel truth by the MSM, so the next hit piece will be "leaks" from the upcoming UN report on Iran's nuclear activities, spiked with inflammatory rhetoric and Hillary doing the dominant harpie impression.
Just wait 'til you see what $400 p/b crude oil does to the US economy.
That will be the real indicator of probable war, not all this constant BS that Israel is about to attack. In early 2008, all the Israeli heavy hitters came to Washington to try to con Bush into assisting in an attack against Iran. The insiders in the commodities markets were alerted and that's why the price per barrel of crude shot to $150 per barrel. The idiot Bush actually called the Saudi king and asked him to pump more oil. The king declined and explained that the speculators were driving up the prices and there was plenty of oil available, but huge amounts had been parked off shore in tankers, waiting for the prices to go even higher. When Bush was forced by the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which stated that Iran was not building nukes,
to turn down the Israelis, the prices tumbled. The voters knew none of the behind the scenes machinations, but rightfully blamed the Republicans. If the price of oil takes a huge jump without any real reason the insiders have been tipped about probable war. All this BS about Bibi trying to talk his cabinet into a war is only grandstanding to get more actions from the US State Department.
Actually the USA gets very little of its oil from the middle east. It is a canard that America is in any way dependent on Arabs or Iranians for oil.
The marginal barrel sets the market price. Take Iran's exports off the market and the price goes thru the roof. Whether the US or Europe imports one drop of Iranian crude is totally irrelavent.
I love Truman's comment on Israel: Jesus Christ could not please those people. What do you except me to do.
We as a friend of Israel should help them in any way possible if they feel that Iran needs to be attacked. Should Israel get involved in a long war with Iran we should help the thousands of wounded IDF soldiers and possible help the families of the many IDF who will get killed. Just because they been a success in the past will not do much in the next war. Like Wall street it is about what you can do for me today and not what you did yesterday.
Israel is an overly armed nation so there is no reason that if Iran needs to be attacked that the soldiers of Israel should not do the fighting. Maybe a one or two hundred thousand wounded and killed would change Israel pushing for war as the first solution.
Iran and Iraq fought for 8 years so we know Iran is capable of handling a long war.
The USA has no reason to attack Iran since they do not represent any threat to the USA.
But Truman was the one who gave us this mess by selling out to the tribe to win the 1948 election.
What is interesting is Truman crossed out the word Jewish when he signed the document which official accepts that israel existed. So the USA has not accepted Israel as a jewish state. A long war with Iran could end up were they kill off the secular jews and only have the orthodox jews left with the arabs being the majority. What a shock that would be to bibi to find he is the leader of an arab nation.
When the Germans behaved this way in the 1930s the whole world stood up in alarm. When Israel does it our politicians and media can only say 'Israel has a right to defend itself'.'
Nope. Iran isnt doing any aggressive posturing at all. Iran isnt planning to nuke Riyadh (probably more likely than Tel Aviv or Jerusalem). Iran doesnt want to take over Iraq. Nope. Its all Israel.
No "Iran isn't planning to 'Nuke Riyadh" you shill (it probably has something to do with the fact that they don't have nukes – of course, readers of antiwar.com know this). As far as Iran taking over Iraq, I think the Americans did that just fine for them. YES, it IS all Israel, and the sooner the Americans cut ties with them, the better off the region will be.
The IDF does not have the stomach to fight a real army. They are used to pushing around rock throwing Arab teenagers and killing lightly armed Palestianian fighters with tanks, drones and Planes. Iran has a strong army and Israel knows that it can get it’s nose bloodied in a hurry. They don’t waste Jewish lives, they never do that, so its going to be American blood and money again.
lulz. the Iranian would be demolished in a week by Israel. Iran is better than Iraq, but armies dont stand for corrupt governments for long.
Troll much?
There's been much commentary over the years that 1. Israel lacks the military capabilities to mount a successful air attack and 2. even if Israel were capable of doing so, such an attack would do little damage to Iran's nuclear industry.
Also, I don't think Iran would respond in the obvious ways. In the short term I think it would sit back and allow Israel to reap the world's economic and political scorn. Also Iran would withdraw from the NP treaty.
Long term, I think Iran would target Israeli targets around the world–targeted assassinations, embassies, trade offices, etc.
Iran would destroy the saudi, kuwait, iraq oil production thus pushing oil to $500,00 a barrel.
That will lead to a depression in the USA and Europe along with total ruin of the Israel economy.
Not a pretty picture and bibi is willing to destroy the USA and europe for his religion. It is hard to understand how a guy who grew up a rich kid in the mainline USA can become such a war monger who acts like he is a victim. He is no victim but a guy who has used his dead brother to play to those who think things like there is a chance of rebuilding an empire that never existed.
What the end result is the return of the Ottoman Empire who ruled the area for 800 years. They could very well allow Israel to exist but totally encircled by the ottomans. The ottoman defeated the french and british in every battle. The only success they had was with lawrence of Arabia who lead the arabs.
We would be insane to participate in this…..Israel needs to fight this alone PERIOD;
They are the occupiers…….they provoke and then expect us to bail them out. Forget it. We should start a TAX REVOLT over this, if we get drawn in.
"…expressed a preference that the Israeli government convince the US to attack instead."
Well, that pretty much says it all. If there was anymore doubt about how Israel believes that the US is there to do Israels bidding I sure don't know what you're smoking. It's time to cut these fools loose and let them fight their own battles. If they want to start a war with a well armed, well staffed neighbor, well, let them fight and pay for their own demise. I imagine it shouldn't take but about a week of retaliation by the Iranians to quickly turn the Israelis people against this idiocy by their "leaders."
And if Obama should fall for this maneuver and actually participate in this criminal act he can pretty much guarantee he'll be a one-termer – even Michelle Bachmann could beat him. As stated above, with oil sky-rocketing to over $400p/b, I wonder how fast the Dems will scramble to find a suitable alternative for the primary season…
They need a new moon so it is dark also. The moon will be new on Nov 25.
There is so much confidence among commentators that I do not share. Exerience shows that US citizens WILL support ANY war. It is only the UNSUCCESSFULL wars people detest. Especially, when combined with any economic discomfort at home. With Libya, I thought for sure there would an an outcry against the wardrums. I was wrong. Most people, those who have never heard of Libya before, absolutely believed on the face value the media drumbeat agains the horrible dictator, and people were absoutely convinced that "something" had to be done. Doing it on the sly, gave Obama the fig leaf, and most people think the action was sucessfull! The carnage of civilians that NATO "action" caused, and the carnage perpetrated by thugs today — of no interest. When Russia and China vetoed Syria, it was like taking candy away. SAME will be with Iran. Media has laid groundwork, and most "reasonable" citizens of this country will be convinced that "something" has to be done. I have NO hope.
Don't forget Bianca, there is no draft anymore.
Typical. They’d rather get the dumb Yankees to do their dirty work again.
And the apec-owned Congress will happily go along with it.
Disgraceful just how owned the USA is.
All the rumors of war from Isreal are co-ordinated with Washington to push for more sanctions. The real attack will come later from Isreal's missile lauching subs in the Gulf, not from planes. That takes care of the problem of cloud cover. After Iran is attacked, it is assumed by isreal that Iran will attack US assets in the gulf and America will then finish the war, picking up the cost of blood and money.
Isreal will then send its planes to southern Lebanon with bunker buster bombs, killing and cleansing it of people so that this time they can occupy and settle it in "peace". Latani River water and off shore gas a bonus.
Leave it to Haaretz and Antiwar to trumpet the bullshit claims of an anonymous official.
For what it's worth, Haaretz has an article citing the Guardian about British naval preparations for war against Iran.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/rep…
The Ayatollahs and Khamenni hate each other and a good chunk of the people hate both. But there is an article in The Guardian I think saying the British military is accelerating preparations for a war against Iran base on what Obama is up to. Mainly sending what's left of their Navy to fire Tomahawks for the Pentagon. Israel must look like its going to act and Obama is thinking election and striking first so Americans die instead of Israelis in the aftermath. Our oil gets cut off. Our economy takes a bullet for Likud and the West Bank settlers.
I wonder how long the Israeli first mentality would last when serious harm strikes the US? Of course it would be the fault of the Iranians for retaliating against our Pearl Harbor attack. Our friends in Tel Aviv would at least be on our side.
We've been taking it in the pocket book for 40 years because of Israel. What makes you think the American people will object now?
Yes, Afghanistan was invaded for the sake of Israel.
Besides its enormous wealth of rare and strategic minerals, Afghanistan is located between the Israeli-owned gas fields of Turkmenistan and the energy-starved markets of India and China. If Afghanistan were brought under U.S. and Israeli control, the planned TAPI gas pipeline through Afghanistan would bring billions of dollars into Israeli every year. This is the real reason why Ehud Barak pushed for the conquest of Afghanistan. That could be a motive for 9/11.
Wake up world! This has all been predicted by the prophet Daniel. The pieces are falling into place perfectly. The ram will do something to so anger the goat that he will come "from the west on the face of the whole earth" without even touching the ground and will smite the ram. It is after that when the great horn on the goat, the one leading the way, will be finally broken.
I think Israeli should attack now. Enough time has already been wasted. Waiting any longer will just make the job harder to accomplish it’s goal as Iran digs in deeper.
I'm wondering how the opium poppy crop is doing in Afghanistan lately. When is the harvest? How many tons wil be reaped. What country will process it into morphine? How will the U.S. benefit from this production. What other agricultural products of value are produced?