Benny Gantz says that Israel may do Iran alone.

"Gantz addressed a laundry list of regional security issues, including Iran, Gazan rockets, Hezbollah, Syria, Sinai and developments in the West Bank. He also apologized over the recent flag controversy at a ceremony ahead of Remembrance Day, and blasted proposed budget cuts to the Defense Ministry. Gantz told Israel Radio that Israel had the capabilities to strike Iranian nuclear targets on its own if no country came to its aid, and that intense, thorough discussions between the military and political leadership on the matter were ongoing. "  Times of Israel

----------------------------------

Benny Gantz has had an interesting career.  He has had a variety of Ground and Air force assignments but seems to be basically a highly educated "grunt."  That's good.  He was the Israeli Defence Attache in Washington.  In that job he would have had a great deal of association with US military and political people.  I see that we gave him the Legion of Merit when he left, so he wasn't a lot of trouble while he was here.  Gantz doesn't appear to be a pilot and is therefore probably immune from the Douhet Syndrome.

A knowledgeable Israeli told me recently that the IDF knows very well that it lacks the strength to make a thorough job of a set of destructive attacks on Iran's nuclear program.  US reluctance to participate in such an effort is a big planning problem for them.

The difficulty for the Israelis lies in the judgment by US intelligence that there is no Iranian weapons program at present.  This judgment has been clearly expressed by the DNI, James Clapper at public hearings.  He probably does not like making such statements since they expose him to the kind of hostility that will undoubtedly be expressed here, but the collective judgment of the analysts cannot be ignored unless we want to re-impose Cheney's Rules.

Something to remember is that Israel's knowledge of such matters is largely based on what the US tells and shows them.  They obviously draw different conclusions from the material.  pl 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-can-strike-iran-nuclear-targets-alone-idf-head-says/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Gantz

 

 

Comments

[Abu Sinan]

It seems the Senate has passed a resolution that would REQUIRE the US to assist Israel in any attack on Iran.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/167205

[turcopolier]

Abu Sinan

I doubt if the senate has the power to do that. pl

[William R. Cumming]

Unless signed into law even joint resolutions are just hortatory.Even when law often unfunded.

The Israeli problem is not just the US but the fact that German companies have been helping Iran bury key wartime facilities including nuclear facilities since 1979!

[Matthew]

Col: Gantz's comments are misleading. Israel may plan on starting an attack on Iran alone, but they are depending on the US to back them up.

[harry]

"Something to remember is that israel's knowledge of such matters is largely based on what the US tells and shows them. They obviously draw different conclusions from the material. "

Im sure its partly about standard of proof. Israel may not accept a 10% chance that the US is wrong. Also thresholds. If the Iranians can develop the capacity to make them quickly, this would be enough to neuter Israeli's military advantage, even if the Iranians did not make the final step. And also economic power. A successful civilian nuclear power industry in Iran would improve the longevity of the current regime.

The Israelis will always want the US to bomb its enemies. Why be surprised.

[turcopolier]

harry

I'm not. I'm just eliciting responses. pl

[JohnH]

Years ago, the Senate also passed a law requiring that the DOD pass an audit. Never happened.

[Eliot]

"A knowledgeable Israeli told me recently that the IDF knows very well that it lacks the strength to make a thorough job of a set of destructive attacks on Iran's nuclear program."

I suppose their publicity campaign makes more sense in that context. The Israelis rely on secrecy as a force multiplier and they never announce military actions ahead of time. If anything, their threats seemed to be aimed at Washington. They were trying to draw us into their war.

[D]

US to deploy HQ elements of 1st armored in Jordan:
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/17/world/us-jordan-troops-order/index.html

[William R. Cumming]

Some MSM hinting Israel would like bomber capability to used to load 30,000 lb deep penetrator bombs.

[Thomas]

Well today's news narrative is that Syria crossed the red line in using chemical weapons according to their intelligence service.

And if you have to take out Syria, well you better get their hideous helping hand, Iran.