Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

[touchring]

Do we have a checkmate situation now?

Who should we save? Avoid WWIII, save 7 trillion people but sacrifice 7 million people in Israel? Or do we save the 7 million and plunge the world into chaos. The choice is clear.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...83bf_blog.html

An interview with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
By David Ignatius

Ignatius: I want to ask as my first question the one every citizen of the world would like to ask today: What is the chance of a war in Iran that would result from an Israeli attack on your nuclear facilities?

Ahmadinejad: “I have spoken about this topic at length, previously. We generally speaking do not take very seriously the issue of the Zionists and the possible dangers emanating from them. Of course they would love to find a way for their own salvation by making a lot of noise and to raise stakes in order to save themselves. But I do not believe they will succeed. Iran is also a very well recognized country and her defensive powers are very clear.

“What I do wish to address is this atmosphere and opportunities…to be made ready for their use and disposal. Why should the world rest upon foundations on which some are given the opportunity to continuously threaten others? And, most importantly, more than their willingness to threaten is the management that is governing the world today. Why should the world have such management…in which some are continuously given the opportunity to continuously threaten others?

“We do believe there needs to be serious reform there. Let’s assume that three to four months from now we all reach the conclusion these threats were privy of any value. If such opportunities are given, entities like them will always have opportunities to threaten the well-being and safety of others. They are seeking opportunities for their own salvation and to safeguard their own interests. That is why they are raising the stakes and making so much noise.”

Ignatius: In American poker we have a saying that a player who says he’s going all the way may be bluffing. So I have to ask you, do you think Prime Minister Netanyahu is bluffing?

Ahmadinejad: “I do believe that there is common consensus here, that they are [word unclear: cumulatively?] going this game. So I do agree with you in that point.”

[Slimprofits]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...ary-guard.html

The Obama administration will report today that Iran’s state-owned oil company is linked to a military unit sanctioned for weapons proliferation, terrorism and human-rights abuses, according to a U.S. official involved in the finding.

In a classified report to Congress, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner will present evidence that the National Iranian Oil Co., known as NIOC, is “an agent or affiliate” of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the official said on condition of anonymity because the finding isn’t yet public.

Even with the finding of the oil company’s links to the Revolutionary Guard, the law allows for continued purchases of Iranian crude by nations granted exemptions for making “significant” reductions in such imports. U.S. companies and individuals are already barred from almost any business with Iran.

Under a law signed Aug. 10, Congress gave the Obama administration until today to determine whether the oil and tanker companies were controlled by the elite unit. Lawmakers are seeking to deny funding to the Guard, as part of an array of sanctions intended to pressure Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to halt his country’s suspected pursuit of nuclear- weapons capability.

Mark Dubowitz, a sanctions advocate who prepared reports for Congress and the administration on Revolutionary Guard links to the oil sector, said the ties taint Iran’s crude by association with the Revolutionary Guard and should encourage law-abiding refiners to seek other suppliers.

“This determination matters for all those foreign companies that continue dealing with NIOC and its dozens of subsidiaries,” Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in an interview today. He called it a strong signal against “buying, financing, insuring or otherwise dealing in Iranian oil” now that U.S. law is establishing a link to what he called “the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization and proliferator.”

[Slimprofits]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...an-strike.html

Ten days ago, a high-level group of national-security experts offered some answers to the questions about cost and consequences that the candidates are avoiding. Called the Iran Project, the report was signed by more than 30 experts, including prominent Republicans such as former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and ex-Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel. Also included were leading Democrats such as former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and former House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Lee Hamilton, as well as respected diplomats such as Frank Wisner and Thomas Pickering who served under Republican and Democratic administrations. The signatories also include retired military leaders, General Anthony Zinni and Admiral William Fallon, both former chiefs of the U.S. Central Command, which covers the Middle East. Zinni also was Bush’s envoy to the region.

The Iran Project authors say flatly that “extended military strikes by the U.S. alone or in concert with Israel could destroy or severely damage the six most important nuclear facilities in Iran.” An Israeli attack, they add, would delay the operation by two years, while more sophisticated U.S. capabilities would take it out for up to four years.

Whatever course is chosen, the experts conclude that an attack on Iran would ensure retaliation. They anticipate efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz for days or weeks, with global economic implications, and asymmetrical attacks using surrogates such as Hezbollah on U.S. facilities in the region and beyond. Conceivably, it could set off a regional war.

The reaction on the Arab street, they suggest, would be very negative for U.S. interests, and for countries in the region such as Egypt. Moreover, they worry that a strike would strengthen, not weaken, the Iranian leaders’ somewhat tenuous hold on their country.
Unlike in the U.S., there’s a very open debate about all this in Israel, where a number of intelligence and military officials have publicly opposed Netanyahu’s eagerness to strike. The most compelling opponent is Meir Dagan, who was the head of intelligence and special operations for Mossad for more than eight years.

In long interviews with the CBS television program “60 Minutes” and the New Yorker magazine, he enumerated the perils of Netanyahu’s course. He says an Israeli strike would bolster the Iranian regime, which he argues is failing in its push to lead the Muslim world. In the interview with the New Yorker, he said that while Iran resumed its nuclear project about seven years ago, “the economic and diplomatic and covert pressure, led by America, obviates the need for any attacks now.”

Still, the Iran Project authors acknowledge that for the U.S. there are risks to any course of action. “The failure to attack and the decision to attack both could have some negative reputational consequences. The challenge then would be to determine which of those consequences are most probable, important and lasting.”

To prevent the Iranians from restarting, the report states the U.S. would need to conduct a “significantly expanded air and sea war over a prolonged period of time, likely several years.”

If the goal is regime change that would probably require the use of ground forces to occupy Iran. That would mean a commitment of resources and personnel “greater than what the U.S. has expended over the last 10 years in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined.”

[vt]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

Would stopping Hitler to save 6 million Jews have saved the 60 million who did die?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

[touchring]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

Would stopping Hitler to save 6 million Jews have saved the 60 million who did die?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

Luckily Hilter didn't have nukes, otherwise god bless the Jews and also Europe.

[don]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi

NEW YORK - He may be scorned and vilified constantly in the US media, but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his latest trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly opted for a less combative and more conciliatory approach than in past US trips.

On Monday, at a private meeting with some US media heavies as well as members of US think tanks, Ahmadinejad addressed a broad range of issues, including the future of US-Iran relations, Syria, Afghanistan, the nuclear issue and, of course, Israel's threat of military action against Iran.

While dismissing Israel's threat as "not serious," Ahmadinejad nonetheless accused Tel Aviv of seeking "adventures" in order to
exit the "dead end it finds itself today". He lashed out at "a few Zionists" who blackmail the US leaders, wondering aloud how could this came about and how long before the American people spoke out against such intrusions in their domestic affairs.

His comment came in response to a reporter's question that noted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's image was being shown in political advertisements promoting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the state of Florida. When pressed to express his preference for the upcoming US presidential elections, Ahmadinejad responded that he would not make any comment that would in the least be considered as interfering in US elections.

Although some of what he told his audience has been heard before, Ahmadinejad impressed them by expressing his desire to cooperate with US on Afghanistan "in many ways" since there were "common interests that outweighed the differences". He recalled that after 9/11, the US responded to Iran's cooperation on Afghanistan by placing it in the "axis of evil". He said Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan were increasingly cooperating on Kabul's issues and "more countries can join as long as long they are interested in peace and security".

On the nuclear issue, Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and under inspection by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), adding that Iran's offer to ship out a bulk of its 20% enriched uranium was still on the table. This may be welcome news to the Europeans in particular, who are keen on continuing the multilateral nuclear talks with Iran partly to avoid the unwanted headache of an Iran-Israel war. An Iran military commander recently said such a conflict has the potential to drag other nations in and become a "World War 3".

As for the US's decision last week to de-list the Iranian dissident group Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) from its terror list, Ahmadinejad insisted that this was a wrong move that showed double standards on terrorism. "This group is responsible for the murder of a popular president and a prime minister and thousands of innocent people." He said that by proving that the US was complicity with a terrorist group, Washington had given Iran a major public relations boost.

Regarding the conflict in Syria, Ahmadinejad stated that at the recent Non-Aligned Movement conference in Tehran, the issue of Iran forming a "contact group" was raised, which Iran is now pursuing with Egypt, Turkey, and (to a lesser extent) Saudi Arabia. "We are for free elections and national dialogue in Syria," Ahmadinejad said, denying reports that an Iranian military commander has admitted that Iran is training pro-Bashar al-Assad militias.

"That report has been officially denied," he insisted. With respect to the "Middle East Quartet," there were plans for meetings on the sideline of UN gathering, in light of Egyptian President Morsi's attendance and his stated desire to push this initiative forward in his New York visit.

But perhaps the most important aspect of his communications with the US audience was his desire to explore the possibilities for a "new approach" in US-Iran relations, one that could draw on lessons of the past.

"We must first understand how we got here," he said, recalling that the US fully backed the pre-revolutionary monarchy yet "never acknowledged the popular system that replaced it". Citing the US's support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war as yet another major error on the US's part, Ahmadinejad called on US to formally apologize for the 1987 downing of an Iranian passenger airline killing more than 200 passengers. He touched on the tensions in Persian Gulf and welcomed guardedly the idea of "an agreement in sea" aimed at avoiding accidental clash - although he said the best option was for all foreign forces to depart from the region.

In response to a question that cited the issue of anti-Islam films or caricatures as expressions of "freedom of speech", Ahmadinejad found it ironic that some Western governments that champion the cause of free speech have quashed it over the "right to do historical research", a veiled reference to European laws banning open discussions of the Holocaust.

"We need to have a uniform set of laws, one standard that would be long-lasting ... Freedom of speech is not a license to attack other religions and their prophets." For sure, in his coming Wednesday speech at the UN, Ahmadinejad will raise this issue again, thus preserving his image as a Muslim leader.

Finally, Ahmadinejad repeatedly raised human concerns such as poverty and need for peace and ending conflicts, in light of his new role as the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, which represents some 120 nations. Wearing two hats at the UN, ie, Iran's and the NAM's, simply means that Ahmadinejad is inclined more than ever before to sound like a humanist and genuine globalist leader keen on dialogue among cultures and not an apostle of "clashing civilizations" - that robe is more befitting those who nowadays incite religious feelings throughout the Muslim world through vile images of the Prophet.

US President Barack Obama's Tuesday speech at the UN has been predicted to contain "sharp words" on Iran, hardly surprising in light of the US elections that have raised Iran into a key foreign policy issue. But the big question is whether or not Obama is actually willing to set a new benchmark on Iran that would be difficult to ignore if he is re-elected. While this remained to be seen, one thing was for sure: no one expects Obama to reciprocate Ahmadinejad's conciliatory gestures.

Kaveh L Afrasiabi, PhD, is the author of After Khomeini: New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy (Westview Press). For his Wikipedia entry, click here. He is author of Reading In Iran Foreign Policy After September 11 (BookSurge Publishing , October 23, 2008) andLooking for rights at Harvard. His latest book is UN Management Reform: Selected Articles and Interviews on United Nations, CreateSpace (November 12, 2011).

[touchring]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

NEW YORK - He may be scorned and vilified constantly in the US media, but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his latest trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly opted for a less combative and more conciliatory approach than in past US trips.

On Monday, at a private meeting with some US media heavies as well as members of US think tanks, Ahmadinejad addressed a broad range of issues, including the future of US-Iran relations, Syria, Afghanistan, the nuclear issue and, of course, Israel's threat of military action against Iran.

While dismissing Israel's threat as "not serious," Ahmadinejad nonetheless accused Tel Aviv of seeking "adventures" in order to
exit the "dead end it finds itself today". He lashed out at "a few Zionists" who blackmail the US leaders, wondering aloud how could this came about and how long before the American people spoke out against such intrusions in their domestic affairs.

It makes sense not to rock the boat at this crucial juncture to let an ally win the election.

[BadJuju]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2...ound-to-Listen

That is a clear message that Israel is on its own.

[Slimprofits]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

Love the comments on Breitbart's forum - anything less than preemptively nuking the entirety of Iran is unacceptable to the knuckle dragging, barely-can-tie-my-own-shoelace, mouth breathers of the USA.

[BadJuju]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

Love the comments on Breitbart's forum - anything less than preemptively nuking the entirety of Iran is unacceptable to the knuckle dragging, barely-can-tie-my-own-shoelace, mouth breathers of the USA.

I think they represent a minority, at least I hope they do. I am fully against any attack on Iran even if they did acquire nuclear weapons.

[gwynedd1]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

We... overthrew their democratically elected government; we subverted their political process to prop up a dictator who would export their oil wealth; the regime tortured and killed people who didn't like it; they discovered this and sacked our embassy while we pretended not to know why; we funded and supported their enemy Iraq;

So my question is why are they so anti-American when we clearly had them on our minds?

[touchring]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

I think they represent a minority, at least I hope they do. I am fully against any attack on Iran even if they did acquire nuclear weapons.

If Obama had been firmer, Iran would have stopped their nuclear program. The irony is that Iran nukes would not be used on Israel, surely they don't want to destroy Palestine or Jerusalem.

[BadJuju]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

If Obama had been firmer, Iran would have stopped their nuclear program. The irony is that Iran nukes would not be used on Israel, surely they don't want to destroy Palestine or Jerusalem.

Why would Iran stop their nuclear program? It only serves to empower them. Like others have suggested here, would the two Gulf Wars have occurred had Iraq owned nuclear weapons? Iran would be protecting its own interests by having them.

[touchring]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

Why would Iran stop their nuclear program? It only serves to empower them. Like others have suggested here, would the two Gulf Wars have occurred had Iraq owned nuclear weapons? Iran would be protecting its own interests by having them.

Of course, we can say that for Syria and Libya as well.

Eventually, the real loser won't be Israel - just read the news to know who is the enemy.

So if I were Netanyahu, I would embrace Iranian nuclear program, focus on internal/border security and ignore what happens outside the border.

[don]

Re: Ahmadinejad: Netanyahu is bluffing and will fail to save Israel

So if I were Netanyahu, I would embrace Iranian nuclear program, focus on internal/border security and ignore what happens outside the border.

Israel's internal problems are much more complex than its foreign policy issues. An economy that struggles to maintain a level of wealth, opportunity and benefits that can keep its young professionals from emigrating, a large internal Arab population with limited citizenship, the bantustans of Gaza and the West Bank, all masked by its leaders version of Manifest Destiny. Israel, like Iran and Iraq before the US invasion, desire to be regional players in the Gulf. Israel's coincides with US global ambitions- currently acting as America's cat's-paw, the latest in a series that have played that role since WW2. The question for Israel is fortunately not survival - any people without sovereignty are subject to both scapegoating and political horsetrading (think Kurds) - but rather what kind of country Israel can afford to be.