Israel Under Siege as Nuke Talks Open
Israel Under Siege as Nuke Talks Open, Front Page Magazine, P. David Hornik, March 20, 2014
(Lt. General Chesty Puller is thought to have said, while commanding U.S. Marines during the November, 1950 Chosin River campaign after the June, 25 1950 North Korean invasion of South Korea, “We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them.” Unlike too many, he did not have the luxury of relishing a world of fantasy. Neither does Israel now.– DM)
Unlike the Western diplomats launching yet another round of talks in Vienna this week with a brutal regime, Israel does not have the luxury of living in a fantasy world. Jerusalem is well aware that Iran is capable of accurately taking the measure of a weak, bumbling U.S. president and his allies and feels emboldened.
On Tuesday an explosive device that was planted along the Israeli-Syrian border wounded four Israeli soldiers, one of them seriously. Early Wednesday morning Israeli planes struck back—notably, not against Hizballah but against Syrian military targets, killing one Syrian soldier and wounding seven.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the Syrian targets that were hit “not only enabled the attack on our troops, they cooperated with it. Our policy is very clear—we strike at those who strike at us.”
A former chief of military intelligence said:
The execution of [Tuesday’s] attack was professional. There is no doubt that the Syrians knew about it—they may even have carried it out for Hizballah. Something like this, if it proves true, is a game changer….
It’s a game changer because, while there has been a string of attacks along the Syrian and Lebanese borders involving Hizballah and global-jihad elements, and while Syria has long been part of the Iran-Syria-Hizballah axis, Israel’s operative assumption has been that Syria’s Assad regime has its hands full with the country’s civil war and no desire to open another front with Israel.
Although Tuesday’s attack was probably carried out on the ground by Hizballah operatives, direct Syrian facilitation appears to be a new development and part of a threatening trend.
The incident comes—ironically—against the backdrop of the opening of yet another round of nuclear talks with Iran.
That Israel takes a dim view of the talks was made explicit this week by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who said that “the U.S. at a certain stage began negotiating with them, and unfortunately in the Persian bazaar the Iranians were better. [Therefore] we [Israelis] have to look out for ourselves.”
White House officials reportedly reacted with shock and outrage. Yaalon had already taken an enfant terrible posture by dismissing the U.S.-orchestrated Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as pointless and even calling Secretary of State John Kerry’s role in them “messianic” and “obsessive,” a choice of words for which Yaalon later apologized.
But if Washington was upset by Yaalon’s latest words on Iran, it could hardly take comfort from a report in Haaretz on Wednesday that Netanyahu and Yaalon had ordered the Israeli army to prepare for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2014.
Given that Yaalon, as strategic affairs minister in Netanyahu’s previous government, opposed a strike on Iran but now publicly acknowledges that he has changed his mind, and that the third member of Israel’s top political-security echelon, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, is a known Iran hawk, the report carries plausibility.
It also carries plausibility because of a recent, marked escalation against Israel by Iran’s proxies. On March 5, the Israeli navy intercepted an Iranian arms ship carrying Syrian-manufactured rockets to the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad terror group in Gaza. On March 12 Islamic Jihad fired dozens of rockets at Israel from Gaza. And incidents along the northern border reached a new peak on Tuesday with apparent direct Syrian involvement.
Unlike the Western diplomats launching yet another round of talks in Vienna this week with a brutal regime, Israel does not have the luxury of living in a fantasy world. Jerusalem is well aware that Iran is capable of accurately taking the measure of a weak, bumbling U.S. president and his allies and feels emboldened.
Jerusalem is also well aware that if Iran had the bomb, the current difficult situation of attacks by Iran’s proxies and allies would turn into a nightmare. Yaalon’s words may be grating, but Israelis are getting subjected to even less pleasant sounds.
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WarSclerotic 
March 21, 2014 at 2:57 PM
Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
March 22, 2014 at 3:04 AM
Kicking the can down the road Israeli style:
Israel will attack Iran before Christmas 2011. Before the US elections. Within one year. Israeli attack expected soon. In January. [an Israeli attack] could come in the near future. Attack within 6 months. Attack expected between Christmas and New Year. During the summer. Israel reserves the right to attack Iran. Very soon. After the US elections. This time we mean it. In May. Israel will attack Iran before it is too late. Latest in September 2012. Very, very soon. Before the window of opportunity for an attack will close. All the options are on the table. If I was an Iranian, I would be very fearful of the next 12 weeks. Israel should attack Iran alone if necessary. In 2013. In February. Attack after New Year. Israel will intervene militarily, during the fall. Israel feels like it cannot afford to wait. A timetable of weeks, rather than months. The attack will come in the middle of the night. Netanyahu and Barak want to attack in the coming weeks. Israel has to attack before the zone of immunity. We’ll strike in 2012. Israel has the right to defend itself. Now we are very serious. The Israeli clock on military action on Iran’s nuclear program “is ticking faster”. Attack is imminent. In March. Preparations are underway. Within 3 months. Israel is on high alert! Decision by Netanyahu and Barak to strike Iran is almost final. The deadline is December 2012. Before November. Netanyahu “is determined to attack Iran before the US elections. “from the prime minister’s point of view, the time for action is getting ever closer”. A military option that is realistic and credible. the Israeli military threat is not an empty one. The threat of an Israeli attack is real. Meridor replied “If I was Khamenei I would be worried after a declaration like that”. Netanyahu said, “Time has run out” for diplomacy. Shortly before the U.S. elections, and most likely in October, Israel will launch air strikes on Iran. As frightening as it sounds, Israel has no choice but to act. We need to bomb Iran before it is too late. Is Netanyahu planning an October surprise? Tzachi Hanegbi hints at timetable for Iran attack: “We now stand, in my opinion, before the 50 most fateful days in Israel’s history”. If Israel feels its back is against the wall, it will take action. defense minister suggests Israel must strike before it’s too late. Obama set to assure Israel that, if all else fails, US will attack Iran by June 2013. US will strike in 4-5 months if they don’t bear fruit.Netanyahu, using diagram and red marker, explains why Tehran needs to be stopped by the spring or summer. Netanyahu and Yaalon had ordered the Israeli army to prepare for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2014.
March 22, 2014 at 4:56 AM
Kicking themselves down the road Iranian style:
1. “Israel’s leaders sometimes threaten Iran, but they know that if they do a damn thing, the Islamic Republic will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
2. “The Imam [Khomeini] set long-term goals for the day the occupying Zionist regime is no longer in the region. The formula for this move must be discussed in the government.”
Hasan Rouhani, President of Iran.
3. “The Army of Iran can by itself destroy Israel.”
Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi, Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army
4. “According to the Supreme Leader’s statement marking Nowruz, if Israel acts foolishly, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be annihilated….The armed forces are prepared with all their power to execute the orders of the Supreme Leader in minimum time.”
Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, Deputy Chief of Staff
5. “Our battalions are named Imam Ali, Imam Hussein and Bayt al-Maqdis [Jerusalem] to clarify our final destination to the Basiji. We will not abandon our [armed] struggle until the annihilation of Israel and until we will be able to pray in al-Aqsa mosque.”
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, Commander of the Basij militia
6. “The enemies are talking about the options [they have] on the table. They should know that the first option on our table is the annihilation of Israel.”
Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani, Lecturer at religious seminary in Qom
7. “We must spare no effort in liberating holy Jerusalem and cutting off the hands of the infidels from this holy site.”
Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, Assembly of Experts Chairman
8. “The Zionist regime will soon be destroyed, and this generation will be witness to its destruction.”
Hojatoleslam Ali Shirazi, Supreme Leader’s representative in the Revolutionary Guards
9. “The issue of Palestine is an Islamic issue. The Islamic world must come together to destroy the false Israeli regime….If this happens, nothing will be left of Israel.”
Ayatollah Mohammed Ali Movahedi-Kermani, Tehran’s interim Friday Imam
10. “As the Supreme Leader has stated, if the Zionists cause any problems for Iran, Haifa and Tel Aviv will be annihilated.”
Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, Senior Military Adviser to the Supreme Leader
11. “Iran has long-range missiles that can reach 1,500 kilometers….The Supreme Leader maintained that ‘every combatant Palestinian group that fights the Zionist regime will receive the support of the Iranian regime.’”
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, Member of the Presidium of the Assembly of Experts
12. “The only way to subdue the enemies is by refusing to compromise on the goals of the resistance and to remain strong; the future of criminal nations such as the Zionists will be erased from the history books.”
Hojatoleslam Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, Hizbullah Operations Liaison, Former Ambassador to Syria
13. “If once the destruction and demise of occupying Israel was an impossible and unattainable dream, today thanks to the historic and intelligent actions of Imam Khomeini, it has become possible and is actually in the process of occurring.”
Iranian Ministry of Defense statement
14. “The day will come when the Islamic people in the region will destroy Israel and save the world from this Zionist base.”
Hojateleslam Alireza Panahian, Advisor to Office of the Supreme Leader in Universities
15. “The day is near in which the sword of resistance and Islamic Awakening will cut off the blood supply of the occupiers of the holy land of Palestine.”
Revolutionary Guards statement
16. “Every Muslim who does not want to fight Israel is violating religious law and essentially forgetting Israel’s crimes over the past 60 years on Islamic soil.”
Mohammad Dehghan, Member of the Majlis Executive Committee
17. “The only solution to the Palestine problem is the destruction of the Zionist regime….We view the wondrous resistance as the only way towards a victorious and inspiring battle against the false, illegitimate Zionist regime.”
Basij organization media outlet, Fars Province
18. “[The United States and Israel] should not make a mistake, because if they make even the smallest mistake, we will not remain silent and will annihilate Haifa and Tel Aviv.”
Esmail Kowsari, Deputy Chairman of the Majlis Foreign Policy Commission
19. “The destruction of Israel is the idea of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and is one of the pillars of the Iranian Islamic regime. We cannot claim that we have no intention of going to war with Israel!”
Ahmad Alamolhoda, Member of the Assembly of Experts
20. Iranian State Television Airs Animated Strike on Israel
An imagined Iranian missile strike on Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Dimona, malls, and IDF bases.
….and this was only in 2013.