Powered by WebAds

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Netanyahu's hasn't got that much hubris

In an article on Walla (original Hebrew here), Dan Raviv and Yossi Mehlman make Prime Minister Netanyahu out to be a man who is willing to gamble the State's very existence for his own greater glory. I find that hard to believe. Here's part of the article in English.
The next eighty days are the window of opportunity in which Israel could attack Iran, until the end of October — and the weather only gets worse in November. After late October, even if Israel’s government wishes it, it would be difficult for the air force to carry out the intended attack. The climate conditions over Iran at the end of autumn and the start of winter are mostly cloudy — and thus they’re not amenable to an air attack.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is more certain than ever that an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be necessary. Some commentators are describing that attitude as “ideology.” They believe that the PM, when it comes to Iran, has a fixed worldview. They believe that he is concerned that if Iran obtains nuclear weapons, it would use them — so he is determined to prevent a second Holocaust.

But Netanyahu has never had a genuine “ideology.” He just wraps his decisions in justifications and explanations that appear ideological. That’s how it is with economic issues, and that’s how it is regarding a possible Palestinian state, and so it is also on Iran.

Yet despite his general image as a man who is cautious and avoids major risks, when it comes to Iran he is ready to gamble. That’s because he believes that an attack would put him into Israel’s national Pantheon, with leaders such as David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin. Begin, of course, ordered the air raid that destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981. …
Sorry guys, but I cannot believe that Netanyahu has that much hubris (Barak might have it, but he wouldn't get the credit anyway). I believe that Israel will attack Iran in October, but not because it will boost Netanyahu's ego.

Labels: , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

Google