Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A war for US public opinion as Israel alleges Iranian terrorism


By Tony Karon
The National

".....Despite the relentless speculation about an imminent Israeli air strike - the one, remember, that's been "imminent" for the past three years - and despite the obvious failure of negotiations with Iran as long as western powers echo Israel's demands on Iranian uranium enrichment, Mr Netanyahu's turn on the US television suggests he's no closer to bombing Iran.

With the world economy poised on the brink of recession, the crisis in Syria potentially rewriting the Middle East geopolitical map, and his own generals repeatedly warning of the limited effect of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities - and of the likelihood that such a strike would more likely prompt Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to opt for a nuclear deterrent - Mr Netanyahu doesn't seem poised to start a war for an operation whose risk may be inversely proportional to its rewards. The reason he headed for American TV studios was obvious: he still hopes to persuade Washington to do the job for him."

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