Credible Military Threat Needed Against Iran: Netanyahu – Bloomberg
Credible Military Threat Needed Against Iran: Netanyahu
By Calev Ben-David – Feb 18, 2013 9:12 AM GMT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a “credible military threat” is needed to stop Iran’s atomic program, the risk it poses to the flow of Middle East oil and what he called a global wave of Iran-led terrorism.
“The sanctions alone won’t stop Iran’s nuclear program,” Netanyahu said at a conference in Jerusalem today. “They have to be coupled with a robust, credible military threat.” Iran will be at the top of President Barack Obama’s agenda next month when he visits Israel and the Palestinian territories, followed by violence in Syria, Netanyahu said.
Iran faces sanctions including a European Union ban on oil purchases and new U.S. measures this month that restrict the Persian Gulf country’s access to cash from oil exports.
Netanyahu has called for “red lines” to be set for military action if Iran continues to enrich uranium for what Israel believes is a nuclear arms program. He said on Feb. 11 that Iran is accelerating efforts to enrich uranium.
The Islamic Republic says the enrichment is for civilian use. U.S. officials have said they prefer to focus on economic sanctions with European partners to pressure Iran.
To contact the reporter on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem at cbendavid@bloomberg.net
via Credible Military Threat Needed Against Iran: Netanyahu – Bloomberg.
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WarSclerotic 
February 18, 2013 at 10:21 PM
”Here we go again”…
February 18, 2013 at 10:55 PM
The time for talking has long passed. Who does Netanyahu want to present a “credible threat to Iran”? Hussein? The UN?
Himself? Oh right – he’s already done that over and over.
Only war will stop Iran – time for Netanyahu to step up to the plate!!!
February 18, 2013 at 10:59 PM
I mean bloody hell – back when George Bush was president even the US had a “credible military threat” against Iran. Many of us thought Bush / Cheney meant business. A lot of good that did us 😦
February 18, 2013 at 11:19 PM
Anyone else remember when Dick Cheney gave 2 different speeches warning Iran from aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf?
If those warnings didn’t work, there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell any future ones will.
February 19, 2013 at 1:54 AM
What are the mullahs’ priorities?
In order of importance they are
1. Survival of their regime
2. Acquisition of nuclear weapons
3. Destruction of Israel
4. Increasing of their regional power
5. Economic prosperity to support aims 1 to 4
It is possible that goal #3 is more important than goal #1 but for the moment they have to survive long enough to get nukes in order to achieve goal #3.
Under no circumstances they will give up their goal to get nukes.
At best they would temporarily halt or slow down their nuclear project.
But they will do it only if they are forced to.
The only thing that could force them is if the survival of their regime is threatened or if something like a ‘mysterious accident’ sets back their program considerably.
At the moment there are 3 factors putting pressure on the regime.
– The increased suffering of the people because of the sanctions
– The civil war in Syria forces the regime to divert resources to keep the Assad regime alive
– The power struggle between Ahmadinemonkey and his boss Khamenei (The monkey wants to put his man in office in the June ‘elections’ when he will be forced to leave the presidential office)
These pressures are not strong enough to bring the regime down and so the worst thing to do is to give this regime a life line in the hope to stop their nuclear ambitions through negotiations.
Instead the pressure has to be encreased drastically by sucking the Iranians into Syria and let them bleed there.
This can be achieved by weakening the Assad regime so much that Assad’s survivals requires a much greater commitment by the Iranians drawing them ever deeper into the mud.
Armed and unarmed opposition to the mullahs has to be supported financially, logistically and militarily (through weapons, intelligence and military trainers).
I am under no illusion that the US will do what is needed but Israel can do many of these things alone.
February 19, 2013 at 5:22 AM
Netanyahu has cried wolf once again, and the Mullahs laugh in his face!