Ernie Slump disagrees with Alex Atamanenko’s appraisal that after the Nov. 6 U.S. election, the world became a much safer place. I’m sorry, but I’m unable to follow the author’s contorted and contradictory pretzel logic.
“Of all President Barack Obama’s mistakes, his worst during his first term was to throw Israel under the bus.”
How is saving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from launching a criminal (possibly nuclear) war of aggression against the people of Iran “throwing Israel under the bus”?
“Obama made very clear how much he disrespects Israel...”
Actually, it was current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey who showed ‘disrespect’ first by saying no to Israel over U.S. participation in an attack on Iran. This was back on Aug. 30, 2012.
“Had Obama maintained the historically strong U.S.-Israeli alliance, meaning the Americans would support Israel in an air strike against Iran, nuclear weapons would not necessarily be used.”
There is absolutely no guarantee of this. Consensus among credible military and intelligence analysts is that Israel will certainly not be able to destroy all of Iran’s nuclear facilities. Even with U.S. assistance, all of Iran’s facilities will still not be destroyed. Nuclear weapons are WMDs as they cannot be contained to the battlefield. If nuclear weapons are used, innocent unarmed Iranian civilians will die. Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the U.S. has worn the moral responsibility for using nuclear weapons on civilians. Does Israel want to join the club?
“Israeli people have said since the end of the Second World War there will never be another holocaust.”
Definition of the word “holocaust”: “n. complete or total destruction by, or as by, fire.” There were a number of holocausts committed in the Second World War. Two of them (among others) were the nuclear holocausts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Would the Jewish community of Israel, who are the survivors — and descendants of survivors — of the Holocaust (or Shoah) of the Second World War, want their government to commit another (nuclear) holocaust against fellow Jews — the famous ancient Persian Jewish community of Iran — along with Iranian civilians? Those Christians who know their Bible should be familiar with the Persian Jews from the Book of Esther: The Persian Jewish community goes back to Cyrus the Great — over 500 years before the birth of Christ.
“If Syria attacks Israel on the Golan Heights, Iran, being an ally, will support Syria... If Syria uses chemical weapons or the Iranians use nuclear weapons...”
Let’s get some facts straight: Fact #1: The Israeli government wants war with Iran. Fact #2: Syria is an ally of Iran. Fact #3: If Israel goes to war with Iran, Israel would have to contend with Iran’s sole ally, Syria.
How could Israel effectively neutralize Syria? Have the Mossad (along with the Pentagon-CIA and other intelligence agencies) create instability through illegal regime change (like they did in Libya) and civil war.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has his hands too full right now just trying to stay alive and in power to even think about offering assistance should Israel attack Iran, much less contemplate an invasion of Israel.
With all of Israel’s threats to Iran, would Iran launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike? Iran does not have nuclear weapons. Even if it did, a pre-emptive strike would not eliminate Israel’s ability to respond. Israel has nuclear armed submarines from which they could launch counterstrikes.
Although Iraq and Iran are signatories to the 1925 Geneva Protocol on chemical and bacteriological warfare, Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88.) Iran did not respond in kind. Iran did not use chemical or biological weapons even though they had them. Would Iran use such weapons against Israel? If history is anything to go by, not likely.
Paul Demetrick
Penticton