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Israel's longstanding Iranian hostility is palpable. At issue is regional rivalry. Israel wants unchallenged Middle East dominance.
On October 31, Haaretz headlined, "Netanyahu: a nuclear Iran poses a serious, direct threat to Israel," saying:
Netanyahu racketed up tensions with bogus claims about Iranian plans to develop nuclear weapons. Never mentioned is Israel's longstanding preemptive policy to use nuclear weapons if threatened. It's well known that it's nuclear armed and dangerous.
At the same time, cooler heads argue against attacking Iran. Perhaps Defense Minister Ehud Barak is one. He recently told Israeli Radio that diplomatic pressure and sanctions are top options, adding that Israelis shouldn't be concerned about an Iranian threat. Other Israelis agree.
Why does Washington beat up on Iran? Perhaps it's to divert attention from OWS protests and America's mainstream Depression. Electoral politics always matter. Cold War tactics dictated not looking soft on communism.
War on terror rhetoric today is key. Iran's falsely called a regional menace to incite fear, gain votes, and prevent opposition candidates from making "too soft" accusations.
Nonetheless, will Obama pursue confrontation with Iran to look tough? Voters want current wars ended. Will starting another assuage them? Perhaps, some believe, if fear's effectively generated. Voters are notoriously gullible and mindless about earlier deceptions.
Repeat big lies often enough and most people believe them. At the same time, burgeoning deficits constrain spending even though defense budgets rise annually.
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