Peter Symonds

Dolphin class submarine, made in Germany. The
first two were donated by Germany, the third was
[allegedly] purchased by the warmongering Zionist
entity. Thus Germany now indirectly contributes to
starting a third world war, having directly started
the first two ones. - Some record!

If Israel does attack Iran, it will not simply be “a surgical strike” that destroys Iran’s key nuclear facilities. Any Iranian retaliation will be used by the US as a pretext for a massive air war aimed at destroying the country’s military and infrastructure.

Even as the US and its European allies intensify punitive economic sanctions against Iran, there are growing signs that Israel is threatening military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in the coming months. While the Obama administration has cautioned Israel against military action at this stage, there is no indication that Washington has vetoed such an attack.

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported [on Thursday] that US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta “believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May, or June—before Iran enters what Israelis described as a ‘zone of immunity’ to commence building a nuclear bomb.”

Panetta, who had no doubt briefed Ignatius directly or indirectly, refused to comment on the column. But he did not deny the substance of the report. Questioned further, Panetta confirmed: “Israel indicated they’re considering this [a strike], we’ve indicated our concerns.”

Any differences between the US and Israel are purely tactical. While, publicly at least, the US is appealing for more time for sanctions to bite, Israel is pressing for immediate action, on the pretext that Iran’s Fordo uranium enrichment plant is nearing completion and could be “immune” from attack. Both countries have repeatedly declared that “all options are on the table”—that is, including all-out war—unless the Iranian regime bows to their demands.

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William Blum

The Lord High Almighty Pooh-Bah of threats. The Grand Ayatollah of nuclear menace.

As we all know only too well, the United States and Israel would hate to see Iran possessing nuclear weapons. Being "the only nuclear power in the Middle East" is a great card for Israel to have in its hand. But — in the real, non-propaganda world — is USrael actually fearful of an attack from a nuclear-armed Iran? In case you've forgotten ...

In 2007, in a closed discussion, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that in her opinion "Iranian nuclear weapons do not pose an existential threat to Israel." She "also criticized the exaggerated use that [Israeli] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is making of the issue of the Iranian bomb, claiming that he is attempting to rally the public around him by playing on its most basic fears." [1]

2009: "A senior Israeli official in Washington" asserted that "Iran would be unlikely to use its missiles in an attack [against Israel] because of the certainty of retaliation." [2]

In 2010 the Sunday Times of London (January 10) reported that Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam, war hero, pillar of the Israeli defense establishment, and former director-general of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission, "believes it will probably take Iran seven years to make nuclear weapons."

Early last month, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told a television audience: "Are they [Iran] trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No, but we know that they're trying to develop a nuclear capability." [3]

A week later we could read in the New York Times (January 15) that "three leading Israeli security experts — the Mossad chief, Tamir Pardo, a former Mossad chief, Efraim Halevy, and a former military chief of staff, Dan Halutz — all recently declared that a nuclear Iran would not pose an existential threat to Israel."

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Stephen Lendman

US and Israeli agendas need enemies. Both pursue rogue state policies. They defy international laws and conventions, applying rule of law standards to others, not themselves. Their interests alone matter, no matter the toll on others. When enemies don't exist, they're invented. Fear stirs public angst. Major media scoundrels spread it. Propaganda substitutes for truth and full disclosure.

America's had no enemies since WW II. Israel's had none since the 1973 Yom Kippur war. However, you'd never know it from regular spurious claims. Haaretz writer Amos Harel reported the latest in his February 2 article titled, "Some 200,000 missiles aimed consistently at Israel, top IDF officer says," saying:

Military Intelligence chief General Aviv Kochavi alleged "a more hostile, more Islamic, more sensitive Middle East, one more attune to public sentiment, less controlled by the regimes, and less susceptible to international influence," despite no evidence whatever proving it.

In fact, clear evidence suggests the opposite. Since regional uprisings began a year ago, some names and faces changed, nothing else. Policies remain the same. Regime abuses and indifference to public need continue in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, and elsewhere, despite public anger and calls for change.

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