Sunday, August 22, 2010

Doomsday Articles

Doomsday Articles Reflect Edginess on Iran


An article signed by Haggai Amos, a pseudonym, appeared in the News1website, under the headline: “Israel will be Attacked by Lebanon and Syria within the Next Two Weeks.”
Amos is identified as a member of the “Israeli Intelligence Forum,” which includes retired members of the intelligence community and former government officials.
The Russian-Iranian move to open the Bushehr nuclear plant this weekend, Amos opines, was meant to signal to the “declining powers of Europe and the U.S.” that a new front is taking shape: Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, North Korea, Brazil and Venezuela are all lining up against the West.
Iran wants a war to break out between Israel and Lebanon within the next two weeks, the article claims. Lebanon, it warns, will launch missiles against all parts of Israel, especially Tel Aviv. This “first strike” will cause massive casualties and psychological shock in Israel and will be accompanied by missile fire from Hamas in Gaza and by terror attacks in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.
This will be followed by a second strike: a chemical weapons attack by Syria that would cause “hundreds of thousands of dead in Israel.” Israel will retaliate “very severely” but only against Iran's proxies – Syria, Lebanon and Gaza – the article predicts. It does not explain why Syrian President Assad – a secular Alawite Muslim – would be willing to doom his country to annihilation in the service of Iran, a Shi'ite power. It also does not say why Israel would not retaliate against Iran if it knew the attack was initiated by it.
Pridan's article appeared in Haaretz and is titled “Wake Up!". It predicts that Israel will take action against the Iranian nuclear program. “Stricken Iran will respond with its remaining strength” following the Israeli attack, the prominent advertiser warns, firing "missiles that can carry a payload of half a ton of explosives or chemical weapons."
In addition, Hizbullah will fire thousand of rockets. Pridan also believes Tel Aviv will be badly hit, and envisions the IDF Headquarters at HaKiryah, the Akirov Towers where Defense Minister Ehud Barak resides, and the Azrieli Center towers all being reduced to rubble. 
“If there will be thousands of dead, we will lick our wounds. Five thousand would be a national trauma. At 20,000 we will use the doomsday weapon against Iran, and then there will really be a new Middle East,” Pridan writes.
 Paired with this article, I'm not surprised about the grim views expressed here.
(Reuters) - Israel's most populated area, Tel Aviv, will be hit by rockets in any future war, a senior official said on Tuesday in rare remarks reflecting the limitations of U.S.-sponsored defenses.
 So is Israel is just going to stand there and do nothing? I hope not.

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