Biden appealed Israel to stop striking Iran, Israel’s response: Priceless

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1. ADAM-

   The risk to Israel would be exponentially greaterSthan the risk to the US.

   One Iranian bomb will wipe out most of Israel, which will have very limited resources left to try to ameliorate population and infrastructure damage. A handful of ballistic missiles would have the same effect..

   Being only a tiny country Israel has no depth. And a few atomic bombs on Iran may damage or destroy their nuclear capabilities, but their goals will have been achieved. .

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2. About three months ago, several experts on Iran’s nuclear program that it would have nuclear weapons within three months. Now that the three months have past since these predictions were made, we should assume that Iran does indeed possess nuclear weapons. This is the worst-case scenario; but it is always wisest for planners to base their action plans on the worst-case scenario rather than the best-case scenario.

   If Israel does strike Iran, the risks will be enormous. The cost in lives and international support will be enormous But the risks to Israel of doing nothing will be even greater.

   I am reminded of John F. Kennedy’s speech to the nation in 1962 at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. I watched the speech ontelevision with my parents and was scared out of my wits. But what Kennedy told the American people is relevant to Israel’s situation now. He said there was a serious danger that a nuclear war would break out in the next few days, that 20-30 million Americans would likely be killed in such a war, (nuclear experts interviewed on TV News predicted that the death toll would be even higher), and that he thought it likely that he, his wife and children would be among the casualties. He admitted to being scared. He never smiled throught his address, and concluded it by asking the American people to pray for “your country, for yourselves, and for me.”

   However, he justified his decision to impose a b lockade on Russia even though it was “an act of war,” because for every day that he delayd in acting to force the Russians to withdraw their missiles, the danger of a nuclear war would grow. If Russia was allowed to “case harden” the missiles so that they could not be destroyed by air, an eventual nuclear war would become nearly inevitable. Hence it was best to take an enormous risk now rather than wait to act when it may be too late.

   Bennett, Gantz and others in the Israeli government should watch JFK’s speech on a video recording and pay close attention to what Kennedy said. Then they should order the strike on Iran, even though the risk to Israel would be as great as the risk the U.S. took in 1962.

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3. With Iran barely months away from “breakout,” PM Naftali Bennett stated on Monday, Nov. 22, that “Israel won’t be bound” by any revival of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.… and will maintain its freedom of action.” He also pointed to the widening dispute with the Biden administration on Iran, saying, “It is possible that there will be disputes with the best of our friends.”

   Opposition lawmaker Tzahi Hanegbi has estimated that Israel has no more than 3-5 months to stop Iran reaching a nuclear threshold. As a former confidante of ex-PM Binyamin Netanyahu and former chairman of a key parliamentary committee, Hanegbi spoke from knowledge. Other mavens are more pessimistic. According to The New York Times estimate on Nov. 21, Iran is “somewhere between three weeks and a few months” from breakout – i.e., having enough material for a bomb – “which would change the geopolitical calculation throughout the Middle East.”

   Another knowledgeable opinion came from recently retired Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who directed a string of alleged sabotage strikes earlier this year for disrupting Iran’s progress towards a nuke. In a speech on Sunday, he said: “I think Israel must have the capability to fight [Iran’s nuclear program] alone, like we did twice in the past in Iraq and Syria.” In his view, Iran’s 60pc enrichment of uranium, a short step from weapons grade, could be halted by bombing its underground enrichment plants in Fordow and Natanz.

   The NYT stepped in once again on Monday, quoting Israeli officials this time as revealing a bunker=busting capability that “would obviate the need for the kind of help they sought from the bush administration 13 years ago.”.

   Accentuating the Biden administration’s disapproval of lone Israeli action, the NYT again quoted US officials as warning that “repeated Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities (a reference to the sabotage strikes) would be “counterproductive and might be encouraging Tehran to speed up and improve its nuclear program.”

   Tehran was finally persuaded to return to the table in Vienna on Nov. 29. However, President Joe Biden’s initial vision of achieving by diplomacy an improved version of the 2015 deal has gone by the board. In any case, only five of the original signatories – Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany – will face Iran; the US will be present in a separate room.

   In a last effort to salvage the last remnant of the original 2015 nuclear deal, comprehensive inspection, Rafael M. Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrived in Tehran on Monday. He warned that the watchdog was “going blind” due to the disabling of cameras and sensors at Iran’s key nuclear sites due either to willful sabotage or disrepair.

   As to a diplomatic breakthrough, Iranian officials have made it clear that “negotiations” for Tehran is another word for sanctions relief. Tehran will insist on casting off the crippling sanctions while keeping its program running unhindered towards the goal of a threshold capacity. That goal may be just weeks away. Therefore, all those solemn declarations that Iran will not be allowed to attain a nuclear bomb and President Biden’s assurance that if diplomacy fails, “there are other options,” will soon face their ultimate test. They will melt away like hollow bombast unless Israel gets it together in time and acts – either alone, or in alignment with its “best friend,”

   https://www.debka.com/bennett-israel-not-bound-by-any-new-nuclear-deal-with-iran/

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4. Bennett has said Israel will maintain freedom of action against Iran, in-spite appeals by Biden to stop.

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