Last month (8/12/12), this story was reported by Connie Hackbarth for the Alternative Information Center (AIC) [not to be confused with the American Iranian Council]:
Netanyahu, Barak winning internal
Israeli war against Iran
A demonstration outside the Tel Aviv
home of Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak is planned for Sunday
night under the slogans “No war with Iran! No to playing roulette
with the lives of at least 300 Israelis! No to a war for the sake of
preserving ministerial positions!” The slogans highlight the
cynicism with which the organisers view the current government and
its justifications for a possible military attack on Iran.
Will Israel attack Iran? Netanyahu
announced last week that he would be the one to decide on any
military action against Iran, not Israel’s military establishment.
[One is reminded of former president George W. Bush -- self-proclaimed "decider-in-chief" - AP] While in some contexts the thought of a civilian politician deciding
about war and not the military apparatus may be comforting, in this
case it is not. The vast majority of Israeli military commanders,
both past and (assumedly) present oppose an attack on Iran, as do
international analysts.
General Israel Ziv (res.) who was the
head of the Operations Department in the Israeli army, said in an
interview with Israeli radio on Sunday that according to every
possible script, an Israeli attack on Iran, even the most successful,
will result in a regional war.
However, Israel is apparently not ready
for such a war. The newspaper Yedioth conducted a survey of Israeli
preparedness for attacks. Netanyahu, when confronted with Yedioth’s
evidence that Israel’s home front is woefully prepared for an
attack, retorted that the “Iranian danger dwarfs all other
threats.” Presumably this includes the threats of faulty bomb
shelters and the severe lack of gas masks for Israeli citizens, as
detailed by Yedioth.
Moreover, analysts fear not only for
the military outcome of a war, but also for its economic impact.
Israeli newspapers of late have been connecting local developments
and possibilities to an attack on Iran. The economic newspaper
Globes, for example, quoted a “senior official” in the Ministry
of Finance who stated that “an Israeli attack on Iran would lead to
a deep recession in Israel.”
Whether the Israeli government is
preparing for more than a war of words with Iran is debatable. But
there is an ongoing media campaign preparing public opinion towards a
military engagement with Iran.
Ziv claims this is a media campaign led
by Netanyahu and Barak, adding that “this is a worrying trend which
broadcasts insecurity of the political leadership.”
However, despite experts' opposition to
this possible military adventure, the Israeli public buy into
the media messages of Barak and Netanyahu. A public opinion poll
released Thursday showed that 40% of Jewish citizens in Israel
believe that only a military attack on Iran, whether by Israel or the
international community, will halt Iran’s nuclear programme.
To overcome this gap between public and
experts’ opinions, Netanyahu demands special powers. In an article
entitled “Before Iran: Netanyahu demands unprecedented
authorities,” Ynet outlined the unprecedented powers that would be
granted to Israel’s prime minister in fields such as dismissing
ministerial objections to decisions, delaying decisions reached by
majority and holding additional hearings until a desired outcome is
achieved.
Israel’s cabinet approved these
changes on Sunday morning, although the Jerusalem Post notes that the
Likud “scoffed” at the idea these changes were linked in any way
to Iran, Ynet title and public opinion notwithstanding.
And preparations for the war go on.
During Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Israel’s home front began a
nation-wide week-long testing of its new SMS warning system, which
can deliver area-specific warnings based on the projection of
incoming trajectory of rockets. The system, assuming this week’s
tests go well, will be functional in one month.
While a “senior Israeli official”
is quoted as saying that Iran has made substantial progress in its
nuclear programme of late, and that this intelligence is also known
to the United States and Europe. The White House denies any new
intelligence in this matter.
Will Netanyahu order a military attack
on Iran? Tonight’s demonstrators in Tel Aviv aren’t taking a
chance.
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