SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Israel’s need to buy time"

Richard Cohen:
"Nations have doctrines. The Soviet Union had the Brezhnev Doctrine and the United States had the Monroe Doctrine, among others. Even little Israel has one. I call it the Maybe the Dog Will Talk Doctrine and it is based on a folk tale of the rabbi who makes a preposterous deal with a tyrant: If the tyrant spares the lives of local Jews, the rabbi will teach the tyrant’s dog to talk. When the rabbi tells his wife what he has done, she calls him a fool. But, he says, “A year is a long time. In a year, the tyrant could die or I could die” — and here he gives her a sly wise rabbi smile — “or maybe the dog will talk.”

All sorts of people — defense intellectuals, military officers and even the president of the United States — either have not heard of the Maybe the Dog Will Talk Doctrine or do not recognize its importance. (It was cited to me by an Israeli official.) Both Barack Obama and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have characterized any Israeli attempt to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program as a short-term affair. An Israeli raid “wouldn’t achieve their long-term objectives,” Dempsey said on CNN — and he is surely right.

But Israel also has a short-term objective — and that is to play for time. Israel notes that its 1981 bombing of a nuclear reactor in Iraq set back Saddam Hussein’s program — and did not result in some sort of massive retaliation. Something similar happened with the 2007 bombing of a Syrian installation. Neither operation was conceived as a long-term solution, but both accomplished short-term goals. In a year or two, much could change in the Middle East. The region’s in turmoil. Dogs are talking all over the place.....

.......Sanctions may cause Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program, if indeed that’s where it is now heading. But critics of Israel’s approach have to understand that Iran’s program looks different from Tel Aviv than it does from Washington. In the long run, an Israeli attack on Iran will accomplish nothing. In the short run, it could accomplish quite a lot...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Right Scoop "Netanyahu: Israel will protect itself even if America objects"

Scoop:
"Sounds like Netanyahu is making the case for military action against Iran and is prepared to give Obama the finger should he object:

JERUSALEM POST – Saying publicly in the Knesset what he only said privately to Congressional leaders in Washington last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday stressed Israel would act to defend itself even if the US objected.

“Israel has never left its fate in the hands of others, not even in the hands of our best friends,” he said in a speech that focused on the Iranian threat and drew a direct line from Tehran to the events earlier this week in Gaza. He also blamed the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip for leading to Iran’s establishment of a “forward” terrorist base there.

Netanyahu cited legendary US Secretary of State George Marshall as telling David Ben-Gurion in 1948 not to declare a state, and reminded the Knesset that US President Lyndon Johnson not only advised Israel against preemptive military action in 1967, but warned that “if you act alone, you will be alone.” Likewise, he said Prime Minister Menachem Begin knew when he decided to attack the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 that he was going against US wishes and would come under sharp international criticism. “But he fulfilled his obligation and acted,” said Netanyahu, possibly preparing the public for the prospect of Israeli military action even over US objections.

Netanyahu said that a nuclear Iran would pose an “existential threat” to Israel, and that while he preferred if Iran would voluntarily abandon its nuclear ambitions, he had an “obligation” to retain Israel’s “independent ability” to defend itself...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Right Scoop "Bibi Netanyahu’s Full Speech at AIPAC"

SandBoxBlogs: Pueblo Chieftain "Analysis: US, Israel agree to disagree on Iran"

One of the best news aggregators in the West is the Pueblo Chieftain.  They round up the very best suited for Coloradans news stories  and are not afraid to post them.

With the  Netanyahu and Obama story, SandBox chose this  article via the Chieftain.

A picture really does say a thousand words, doesn't it?

Does the face of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu look like he really believes a word President Obama is saying?

Click title for article.

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."