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August 20, 2012
Another Dempsey Pearl
"Israel sees the Iranian threat more seriously than the US sees it, because a nuclear Iran poses a threat to Israel's very existence," said Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, on Sunday. “You can take two countries, give them the same intelligence and reach two different conclusions. I think that's what’s happening here," he added.
HUH? Israel cannot afford to gamble with its survival, but the U.S. can (i.e., gamble with Israel’s survival)?
Gen. Dempsey's words reflect a very myopic view of the world. Similar to the one America held throughout the 1990s, when al Qaeda was busy preparing its coming-out party and engaging in practice runs far away from us. Not our business, right? The same applies to all those al Qaeda offshoots and other Islamic terrorist groups popping up today throughout the Arabian Peninsula, Africa, Iraq, the Gaza Strip, etc. Again, not our business, right?
In an opinion piece published in Saturday's Washington Post ("5 steps Obama can take to avert a strike on Iran"), former chief of Israeli military intelligence Amos Yadlin wote:
"Israel cannot afford to outsource its security to another country. But if the United States wants Israel to give sanctions and diplomacy more time, Israelis must know that they will not be left high and dry if these options fail. Ironically, the best assurance the U.S. president can give Israel is a commitment to, if all else fails, resort to military action to protect critical U.S interests. But time is running out to make this commitment credible to the people of the United States, Israel and Iran. As the adage goes, if you want peace, prepare (credibly) for war."
Unfortunately, the Obama administration long ago squandered opportunities to lend any kind of credibility to its threats. Iran doesn't believe them, Israel shouldn't believe them and here in the US, only the willfully-blind or uninformed could possibly believe them. If there were any doubts before Sunday, today there are none.
The Jerusalem Post | August 20, 2012
Dempsey: Israel, US Differ On Seriousness Of Iran
Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff US, Israel "clocks ticking at different paces" on Iran's nuclear threat.
By JPost.com Staff
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. Photo: Reuters
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, said on Sunday that Israel and the United States view the Iranian nuclear threat differently.
Speaking to reporters on his arrival to Afghanistan, Dempsey said that the US and Israel have a different interpretation of the same intelligence reports in regards to Iran's nuclear program.
"Israel sees the Iranian threat more seriously than the US sees it, because a nuclear Iran poses a threat to Israel's very existence," Dempsey said.
"You can take two countries, give them the same intelligence and reach two different conclusions. I think that's what's happening here."
He also acknowledged that he and his Israeli counterpart, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, regularly confer on Iran. "We speak at least once every two weeks, we compare intelligence reports, we discuss the security implications of the events in the region."
Dempsey added: "At the same time, we admit that our clocks ticking at different paces. We have to understand the Israelis; they live with a constant suspicion with which we do not have to deal."
Dempsey last visited Israel in January, where he met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Gantz and President Shimon Peres. During his visit he stressed the "mutual commitment" between Israel and the US.
However, he has previously warned that any Israeli strike would not destroy Iran's nuclear program, only delay its work.
"I may not know about all of their capabilities but I think that it's a fair characterization to say that they could delay but not destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities," he said.
Meanwhile, former Military Intelligence head Amos Yadlin on Saturday urged US President Barack Obama to visit Israel to allay fears that Washington is not fully committed to stopping the Iranian nuclear program.
"The US president should visit Israel and tell its leadership – and, more important, its people – that preventing a nuclear Iran is a US interest, and if we have to resort to military action, we will," Yadlin said in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post.
Washington has repeatedly stated in recent weeks that diplomatic efforts and sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons have not run their course.
Original article here.
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Notable Quotables
"Mr. Netanyahu is one of the most media-savvy politicians on the planet. On Friday he appeared live via video link on 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' taking the host’s alternately sardonic and serious line of questioning with gazelle-like alacrity."
~ Anthony Grant, jourrnalist who has written for many major newspapers and worked in television at Paris and Tel Aviv, interviewing former PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, at the outset of Mr. Netanyahu's new book (more here).
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