Israel should forget about bombing Iran (Gideon Levy)

[Scurrilous]

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"The Prime Minister's Bureau will probably soon be occupied by a politician whose career has been partially based on Iran scare tactics. Benjamin Netanyahu, formerly "Mr. Terror," is now "Mr. Iran," and has declared that "Iran will have no nuclear arms."

Notwithstanding the boisterous nature of the declaration, this will hopefully be the case, but if what Netanyahu means is that Israel, under his leadership, may become embroiled in an attack on Iran, then there is room for grave concern. Now is the time to tell Netanyahu: "No bombing." Netanyahu (and some among us) should drop any thoughts about a military option.

Israelis have learned to judge Iran according to the threats of its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Even if their impression is partially correct, it still constitutes demonization. Just like Israel is not all Avigdor Liebermans, a pyromaniac in his own right, Iran is not all Ahmadinejads, although he is in power. One should read the work of New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, who is visiting Iran, to learn precisely what is going on there. He concluded his February 11 column with the following words: "America, think again about Iran."

In a radio interview in the United States, in which we both participated, Cohen tried to explain that the leadership in Tehran is not mad. Extreme, perhaps, but not mad. Cohen, who is not suspected of being anti-Israel, discovered in Iran a more complex, multifaceted society than is commonly thought in the U.S. or Israel. He also believes that the thought of attacking Iran is foolish."

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Iran nuclear arms bid unclear: US intel chief

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"US intelligence does not know whether Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons, but at a minimum Tehran is keeping that option open, the new US intelligence director said.

Retired admiral Dennis Blair said US intelligence assesses that Iran has not restarted nuclear weapons design and weaponization work that it halted in late 2003.

"Although we do not know whether Iran currently intends to develop nuclear weapons, we assess Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop them," he said in an annual threat assessment to Congress.

The assessment essentially reaffirmed a 2007 intelligence report that at the time was widely seen as a setback to international efforts to put pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

Blair's predecessor, retired admiral Mike McConnell, later said it had been a mistake to make public the key judgements of the intelligence assessment because it suggested Iran was no longer pursuing nuclear weapons.

Asked about it at a Senate hearing, Blair acknowledged it was a difficult question to deal with in a public setting.

"I can say at this point that Iran is clearly developing all the components of a deliverable nuclear weapons program -- fissionable material, nuclear weaponizing capability and the means to deliver it," he said.

"Whether they take it all the way to nuclear weapons and become a nuclear power will depend a great deal on their own internal decisions," he said."

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