Simulating an Iranian attack on Israel – Why?
According to reports in Israeli newspapers, the U.S. and Israel are going to hold their largest ever joint military exercise in October, shortly before American voters decide whether to give Obama a second term in the White House or replace him with Mitt Romney. The exercise, involving thousands of soldiers and the most advanced anti-missile defense systems, will simulate simultaneous attacks from Iran and Syria.
Given that there is no prospect of Iran initiating missile strikes or other military action against Israel – I mean that it will only fire in response to an Israeli or an American-and-Israeli attack – what is the real purpose of the forthcoming exercise?
My speculation is that President Obama may have approved it for a self-serving reason of (American) domestic politics. Romney’s Republican Party is painting Obama as a president who is putting Israel at risk by being soft on Iran – by not doing enough to prevent it acquiring nuclear weapons and by restraining Israel from attacking Iran. In a very tight or close race for the White House, and fully exploited by the Zionist lobby and its evangelical Christian allies, the Republican assertion that Obama is a threat to Israel just could tip the balance in Romney’s favour.
With that possibility in his mind, Obama might well have approved the exercise to simulate Iranian and Syrian missile attacks on Israel in order to have, when the exercise is underway, a headline-grabbing way of exposing the Republican charge against him for the partisan propaganda nonsense it is. With television footage of the exercise in the background behind him, I can almost hear Obama saying something like, “No American president, Democrat or Republican, has done more than me to best protect and guarantee Israel’s security.”
It could also be that Obama has calculated that such a demonstration of his support for Israel’s security at the end of his first term will give him enough credibility in the bank of American Jewish opinion to allow him to continue to prevail on Israel not to attack Iran in his second term.
But there is another possibility. It could be that Obama fears that in the event of failure to resolve the nuclear crisis by diplomacy, stopping Israel from attacking Iran at some point will be a mission impossible whoever is on watch in the White House.
An Israeli attack on Iran could set the region on fire and leave the U.S. with no choice but to become fully engaged militarily. With that possible scenario in his mind, Obama may have concluded that the forthcoming exercise with Israel will assist U.S. forces to be best prepared for a doomsday situation in the Middle East and possibly far beyond.
We shall see.
David King:
June 27th, 2012 at 11:10 am
I agree that the war games are for political purposes.
A couple of other points.
If the US and Ersatz israel initiate an attack on Iran we will be looking at MAD. Hezbollah has 70 000 short and medium distance rockets that are capable of striking every square inch of israel. It simple won’t be habitable and the israeli population will leave en-masse. Those that stay will be out numbered and charged with crimes against the Palestinian people.
The Iron Dome has proven itself to be incapable of performing the role it was designed for. Equally so the Magic Wand system.
Both China and Russia have stated that an attack on Iran would be considered as an attack on their own soil.
Rehmat:
June 28th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
Another piece of ‘game of nerves’ by USrael. What in fact is stopping Obama to jump into another military adventure in Muslim East is that after losing Iraq to Iran, it cannot afford to see ‘Israel wipe off the map’.
Russian President Putin warned both Netanyahu and Peres last week during his visit to Israel: “Israel will regret attacking Iran”.
http://rehmat1.com/2012/06/28/putin-israel-will-regret-attacking-iran/
brenda barnard:
June 28th, 2012 at 6:44 pm
Are the american and Israeli governments that stupid? If they dare to attack Iran, Hamas and Hezbullah will surely retaliate, most likely bringing in Russia and China, quite rightly. No I cannot believe Obama is stupid
Tom Mysiewicz:
June 28th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Apocalyptic crazies are formulating these policies–just as they did in 68 AD/ACE. Flavius Josephus captured the suicidal insanity of the Zealots and other hard liners of that day. When the end was near for Jerusalem and the Tabernacle flew open they said “God is coming out to fight for us.” When, in reality, he was leaving. Will there be a “Persian spring” to magically save the day?
Rehmat:
June 29th, 2012 at 1:50 am
Tom Mysiewicz – FYI, “Persian Spring” did happen in 1979 – which has transformed Iran from a US-Israel poodle to the greatest regional power.
“Iran, which was ready to sue for peace negotiations with America over nuclear weapons in May 2003, when they thought the invasion would be successful, has gained massively from the insurgency inside Iraq and is left as the most powerful country in the region,” Lord David Owen, former British foreign secretary.
http://rehmat1.com/2011/12/17/lord-owen-iran-is-the-most-powerful-country-in-the-region/
Tom Mysiewicz:
June 29th, 2012 at 4:07 am
Rehmat–The Iranian Revolution was genuine (though supported by the French for their own geostrategic reasons at the time). I was speaking more along the lines of a Libyan “revolution” or a Syrian “revolution”–much as the color revolutions around Russia. I suppose I could have called it a “sponsored counterrevolution” that Isra-NATO would be hoping to precipitate.
Vera Gottlieb:
June 29th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Or could it be that – mistakes do happen! – Iran is attacked on account of a missile that went ‘out of control’??? Lately, our ‘leaders’ are nothing but a bunch of idiots.
Brad Brzezinski:
July 6th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
I’d be interested in Mr. Hart’s opinion about the joint Russian, Chinese, Syrian and Iranian military exercise to be conducted in Syria this month. Involving 90,000 troops its reported as the largest ever in the Middle East. One Iranian report called it a World War III rehearsal.
What would be behind such an undertaking?
David King:
July 15th, 2012 at 6:48 am
I was speaking to an Iranian man today. He told me that the relationship between the US and Iran is much closer than that between Russia and Iran. He also tells me that Iran bought a nuclear bomb during the breakup of the Soviet Federation. He added that both the US and ersatz israel know (of course) that they have this weapon.
This just underlines to me, that what we are told, is simply what the government wants us to believe. We must learn to read not just between the lines but broaden our understanding on a particular point be including more diverse information.
Will the US attack Iran for ersatz israel? No. Not a chance.
Niels:
August 13th, 2012 at 5:16 am
Recent spin promoted by Israeli media is now stating that a new american National Intelligence Estimate (NIE)shows that an Iranian nuclear bomb program is underway and that Israel is preparing for a strike. The news agencies Reuter, AFP etc have brought this piece of news without checking the facts. Here is a reference that shows who was behind the false claim that a new NIE was available. Also, the media have not promoted the American denials that such a NIE exists. See this link: http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/08/10/voices_prophesying_war