An attack on Iran by Netanyahu's government would up the game, so to speak, by shifting global attention from Palestine's diplomatic victory at the UN to a new world war in which Israel's very existence could come into jeopardy.
Netanyahu is confronted by two realities: Face political humiliation and diplomatic defeat at the UN, or take your country to war and pray to God America backs you up.
Silverstein quoted a veteran journalist with connections to high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials as saying, "Some U.S. intelligence officials think that such a surprise [attack] on Iran could possibly take place in…September when [Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman] McMullen retires. It would [be] political war with its object to divert attention from Palestine," and that, "senior members of the US intelligence are resisting such notions with all the force that they can."
In 'September Surprise: Israel Attack on Iran?' Silverstein said that Dagan would not be speaking in public against an attack on Iran if he wasn't certain that Netanyahu's government was seriously considering the option. Silverstein:
Silverstein quoted a veteran journalist with connections to high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials as saying, "Some U.S. intelligence officials think that such a surprise [attack] on Iran could possibly take place in…September when [Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman] McMullen retires. It would [be] political war with its object to divert attention from Palestine," and that, "senior members of the US intelligence are resisting such notions with all the force that they can."
The timing of Israel's frame-up of Hezbollah for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri makes more sense when it is juxtaposed with an an attack on Iran in the coming months. The short-term Israeli plan is to sow chaos in Lebanon, bring down Syria, and weaken Iran strategically as much as possible before it is finally struck. The ultimate aim for the region is too ridiculous and crazy to even think about. No sane person doubts that an Israeli war with Iran will eventually lead to a nuclear showdown between the two nations. Neither country will ever admit defeat because they both place pride above reason.
Silverstein has written a lot of important articles on the resistance to an attack on Iran by top U.S. and Israeli government officials, including former Mossad chief Meir Dagan. Read them all:
June 10, 2011: 'An Attack on Iran Will End Israel As We Know It'
June 18, 2011: Robert Gates, America's Dagan, Prevented U.S. Attack on Iran
Silverstein says that Dagan is not the only voice in Israel who thinks an attack on Iran would be a bad and tragic mistake for Israel. "Among the others who agree with him," says Silverstein, "are former chief of IDF intelligence Shlomo Gazit, former defense minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer, and former Mossad director Ephraim HaLevy, and many others."
In 'September Surprise: Israel Attack on Iran?' Silverstein said that Dagan would not be speaking in public against an attack on Iran if he wasn't certain that Netanyahu's government was seriously considering the option. Silverstein:
The reason Dagan uncharacterisitcally went public is that he stated that all of the senior military and intelligence figures (himself, Yuval Diskin of Shabak, Gabi Ashkenazi of IDF, and Amos Yadlin of Aman [military intelligence]) who universally opposed war against Iran, are all now gone. There is a new cast of characters running each of these agencies, each of whom will be outdoing himself to ingratiate his way into the hearts of Barak and Netanyahu. Which would make it much more likely they would support such an attack.Netanyahu is not just bad for Israel, he is bad for the whole human race. Read Steve Lendman's article "Netanyahu's Government: Israel's Worst Ever," to get some idea about Netanyahu's dangerous, insane, and criminal policies.
Believe me, someone like Meir Dagan, a man famous for his silences and hatred of public attention and media interviews, does not open his mouth unless it is important. Very important. For this reason alone, I’d say that such an attack is not only possible, but likely.
Silverstein says there is no one around the White House who would be willing to challenge Netanyahu if he decides to attack Iran. Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are both being replaced by General Martin Dempsey, and former CIA director Leon Panetta. "One would presume that these newcomers," writes Silverstein, "would be much less willing to go out on a limb and be iconoclasts than their predecessors, and more likely to support an Iran attack if the president did. It’s almost a mirror image of the situation in Israel. And grounds for fear of what may lie ahead come September."
If ever America needed to be a bully on the world stage, it is now - with Israel. Only America can reign in the mad dog. Not China, or Russia, or the United Nations. Only America. Saddam and the Taliban were told to go to hell, so why not Netanyahu and Barak? Did Saddam ever attack America on international waters? No. Has the Taliban? No. How about Gaddafi? No. Iran? No.
No country but Israel has attacked American military officers without any provocation (USS Liberty). Israel can tell the world's superpower to go fuck itself and get away with it because to oppose Israel in any way would be "anti-Semitic." What bullshit. An act of war should be treated like an act of war. It is that simple. America needs to stop being the woman in its special relationship with Israel and teach Netanyahu some manners.
There needs to be a John Wayne-type figure in the White House to tell Israel that it will abide by international law and respect the rights of Palestinians or else it will lose America's military, financial, and diplomatic support. Right now, America has a President in the White House and some 300 bozos in Congress who put Israel's interests over the security of Americans.
Dave Lindorff said in his article, 'Our Incredible Shrinking Constitution,' that the humanitarian U.S. boat was thwarted from delivering goods to Gaza not just by Israel, but also by the Obama administration, writing, "the Obama administration has publicly invited the Israeli military to use violence against the American ship!" Lindorff added:
How pathetic and grotesque that today, Israel, which already, last spring, attacked an unarmed Turkish- flagged vessel bound for Gaza, killing nine people including a 19-year-old American youth who was executed while he lay wounded on the deck by several shots to the head fired by Israeli Defense Force troops, is not only being told it can attack a whole shipload of peaceful and unarmed American protesters (carrying only a cargo of letters expressing a desire for the peaceful liberation of Gaza). It is literally being invited to do so, by an American president and his Secretary of State.This recent act of betrayal by Obama and Clinton is just one of many. Treason is their M.O. They don't serve the American people, but their own selfish interests and the private agendas of the ruling elite. America and the free world can't count on the traitors in the White House to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran and save the world from a catastrophic global war.
