Thursday, January 10, 2008

Iran is a threat to Israel?

Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni wrote an Op-Ed in Haretz a while ago saying "Iran's nuclear arms do not pose an existential threat to Israel". So what supports the judgment of those who think so?

To give some context to who Tzipi Livni is: from a Jan 22, 2006 Wa-Po interview

Tzipi Livni, is a rising star in Israel's centrist Kadima party. Although she grew up in a right-wing Likud family, Livni, 47, strongly supported Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to withdraw Israeli troops and settlements from the Gaza Strip as well as his formation of a new party -- which is favored to win the most votes in elections set for March.

Kadima Party did win in March 2006 ushering Kadima Party led by Ehud Olmert into Power.

Back to the Iranian threat. The chronology of the collective efforts of a few from the U.S administration to the domestically raise the threat of Iran provides the context for the latest reports from Pentagon of Iranian ships threatening U.S ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

from April of 2006, Seymour Hersh reported in his rather long New-Yorker piece "Iran Plans":

The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack.

The war plans, the article states, included the use of tactical nuclear weapons and that some senior officers and officials were considering resigning over the such a use of nuclear weapons.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/11/27/061127fa_fact?printable=true