Barak on Iran: We Must Keep Finger On Trigger,4-8 Weeks Left For Diplomacy
March 10, 2010 by politicaltheatrics
Filed under Western Imperialism
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak addressed the Iranian nuclear threat and said, “The State of Israel is the strongest country in the region. However, we must recognize opportunities and not be confused by challenges.”
“We must trust ourselves first and foremost – with our feet on the ground and our eyes to the sky. One hand looks to make peace deals and the other hand with a finger close to the trigger, prepared to defend,” Barak said Tuesday during a visit to the Kaduri Agricultural High School in the lower Galilee.
Turning his attention to American Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the region, Barak said, “This is a mission of good will. The US is working diligently to strengthen Israel’s (military) superiority in the face of the Iranian threat and other challenges in the region. The visit is important, and it comes at a crucial time, but is our ultimate responsibility to keep Israel strong while continuing to try and achieve peace with our neighbors.”
The Israeli defense minister said he hopes the indirect talks with the Palestinians, announced by US Mideast envoy George Mitchell on Monday, will lead to direct negotiations.
“4-8 WEEKS LEFT FOR DIPLOMACY ON IRAN”
Meanwhile, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told an audience of foreign military officers and government officials in Herzliya on Monday that four to eight weeks remain to test the option of diplomatic engagement as means of stopping Iran’s nuclear program before sanctions will likely be imposed.
Ayalon said the “time is not yet lost” to stem Iran’s nuclear program, but added that “it is of the essence.”
Ayalon warned that Iran could try to sabotage sanctions by inflating international oil prices and raising energy costs for China, which is dependent on Iranian crude oil, and which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. At the same time, he added, alternative energy providers to China, like Saudi Arabia, were available.
“The only way to stop Iran is through a unified diplomatic position,” Ayalon said. “Iran is a big and vulnerable country, that will use psychological warfare and [the tactic of] divide and conquer. Calling their bluff is the only way,” he added.
Ayalon claimed that Iran “is the source of instability in the Middle East. For Iran, the nuclear program is not a means but an end.”
Notes/Sources:
The above article was written by Al Manar Staff;entitled: “Barak on Iran: We Must Keep Finger On Trigger”. The original article can be found on Al Manar.
Only 4-8 weeks left for Israel to exist! Yay!
What country is the greatest threat to middle east security? Here is a clue: your strongest alliance is with a nation though bankrupt, is deemed a super power with seemingly endless military resource at your disposal save for some minor obedience to a process however shallow and purposeless, of diplomacy. Oh and with the unofficial but widely known fact that it harbors the largest nuclear arsenal in the region that it would employ with impunity, with the least amount of provocation. And lastly but not to be too blunt, hold the world hostage to their demands.