“Israel’s armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed.
“The order came after Israeli intelligence warned the government that Iran was operating enrichment facilities, believed to be small and concealed in civilian locations.”
The US would approve any such behaviour, though Israel’s sabre-rattling is likely to inflame regional tensions, if not cause massive retaliation. If Israel truly believes that bombing Iran would bring peace, its leadership is even more delusional than I thought. Aside from the illegality and immorality of the move, Israel’s strength in the region is only allowed by the US, so any mission against Iran would inevitably leave the Jewish state even more vulnerable than before. The US is so bogged down in Iraq, its regional capabilities are severely limited. Israel’s election is also at the end of March, so this story could simply be little more than scaring voters.
For many Israelis, however, more basic issues are on their minds:
“Some 38 percent of respondents in a Haaretz-Dialogue poll taken on Tuesday night said socio-economic concerns would most influence them if the elections were to take place now.
“Twenty-seven percent cited security-political issues, and 21 percent gave preference to corruption in the public sector.
“Poverty finished ahead of government corruption, the problems of the education system and security in the rankings.”