Israel Should Drop Iranian Regime Change and Strive for the Real Achievable Goals – Haaretz
“The Trump administration, for its part, has emboldened Israel in its war in Gaza and threatened military strikes of its own against Iran in the lead-up to nuclear negotiations, which now seem to be entirely off the table. More than 20 years after launching its own preemptive war in Iraq, the United States may yet join Israel’s in Iran.
“But U.S. intervention is not inevitable. If Iran acts with restraint, Trump may be persuaded not to join what could become another forever war. It took the 9/11 attacks to motivate Washington to wage a preventive war against Iraq. In the absence of a major provocation, few U.S. leaders, especially one as image conscious as Trump, would relish another such misadventure. In that case, Israel would remain on its own to face the possibility of Iranian covert nuclear acquisition (emphasis added). Ultimately, there may be no way for Israel to escape its smart-bomb delusion—or another quagmire in the Middle East.”
Comment:
Regardless of whether the US helps Israel destroy Iran’s capacity to build nuclear weapons, the fact that many counter-attacking Iranian ballistic missiles have penetrated Israel’s air defense systems and inflicted damage may be one of the most important consequences of the war. Realization that Israel’s air defense systems can be penetrated could alter strategic calculus in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
Note that the Foreign Affairs article warns of the likelihood of “covert nuclear acquisition” (emphasis added) rather than “development.” That choice of terms may reflect the possibility that another country could sell or give Iran nuclear weapons or that nuclear warheads could be purchased on the black market.
Heightened Israeli vulnerability raises several questions. Will Israel and other countries with overwhelming military superiority now have to “think twice” concerning their level of aggression? In the long run, will it become more difficult for Israel to carry on and justify ethnic cleansing campaigns in Gaza and the West Bank? It is ironic that Israeli political leaders now accuse Iran of a “war crime” after Iranian missiles hit one hospital. Their accusations come after Israel has destroyed most of Gaza’s health facilities, decimated its civilian population, and leveled 90 percent of the enclave’s buildings.
