Ted Wynne
Over the past month, different branches of the Israeli government have taken widely diverse positions on Iran, its leadership and the state of its threat to Israel. Differences between senior political and military officials—present and past—are particularly striking. The following are recent quotes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, April 19 speech
“Today, the regime in Iran openly calls and determinedly works for our destruction. And it is feverishly working to develop atomic weapons to achieve that goal…Those who dismiss Iran’s threats as exaggerated or as mere idle posturing have learned nothing from the Holocaust.”
Former Mossad intelligence chief Meir Dagan, March 11 on CBS 60 Minutes
“The regime in Iran is a very rational regime… No doubt that the Iranian regime is maybe not exactly rational based on what I call Western thinking, but no doubt they are considering all the implications of their actions.”
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, April 27 speech
"The truth must be told. The chance that, at this level of pressure, Iran will meet the international demand to stop the program irrevocably - that chance appears to be low."
Military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, April 25 to Haaretz
“The program is too vulnerable, in Iran's view. If the supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wants, he will advance it to the acquisition of a nuclear bomb, but the decision must first be taken. It will happen if Khamenei judges that he is invulnerable to a response. I believe he would be making an enormous mistake, and I don't think he will want to go the extra mile. I think the Iranian leadership is composed of very rational people. But I agree that such a capability, in the hands of Islamic fundamentalists who at particular moments could make different calculations, is dangerous."
Former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin, April 27 speech
The Israeli leadership "presents a false view to the public on the Iranian bomb, as though acting against Iran would prevent a nuclear bomb. But attacking Iran will encourage them to develop a bomb all the faster."
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, March 18 to Yedioth Ahronoth
“If, God forbid, a war with Iran breaks out, it will be a nightmare. And we will all be in it, including the Persian Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia. No one will remain unscathed. We have to do everything we can to urge the international community to assume responsibility and take action to stop the Iranians.”
Ted Wynne works for the Center for Conflict Management at the U. S. Institute of Peace.