The Jerusalem Post reports that three Iranian operatives, possibly from Hezbollah, have been arrested in Singapore while plotting to kill Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister. Singapore’s authorities evidently acted to thwart the plot, in conjunction with the Mossad. Details here.
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Correct link above
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse@JRapp: No, the link is correct in the post. your link leads a story about another inquiry not involving Barak.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHas any other service confirmed this report?
If true, then adds to a mounting pile of evidence that Israel will not be able to coexist with a nuclear Iran.
Netanyahu's upcoming visit will be Obama's the last opportunity to head off an Israeli strike. If he cannot provide clear triggers for U.S. military action then it will only be a matter a time before the IAF takes to the air.
The Mossad no doubt has a comprehensive leadership profile on U.S. president. Netanyahu is well aware that Obama's promises and assurances are empty and it would be negligent to put the survival Israel in the hands of someone who may be ambivilent at best to its existance.
The effort by the administration to put doubt in the minds of the Israelis as to their ability to carry out such is strike is amateurish at best. It probably will have more impact on the Iranians and might convince them that they are invulnerable to attack. The Israelis are big boys. They know how to pull off a difficult mission. Long before the U.S. took down Saddam's Hussein's integrated air defenses the Israelis took down a Syria's in 1982, displaying a level of planning and sophistication which would provide a template for the U.S. Air Force almost ten years later.
Chaos in Syria clears the way for the northern route for the strike package. But don't discount Jordanian or Saudi permission to use their airspace as they will need safe transit for a number of unarmed air refuelers. They probably have come to the same conclusion as the Israelis. They cannot count on the U.S. for their security and must embark in a pact with the devil.
Could Netanyahu be bluffing due to a bad hand? It would be hard to believe that the Israeli do not have the capability to at least set back the Iranian program beyond a potential second Obama administration. It also would be difficult to believe that Netanyahu is not a "rational" actor, believing that military strikes would be less destabilizing than a nuclear Iran. It is obvious that there are more benefits to an Israeli strike than negatives. Iranian retaliation will be limited as anything that is more robust will invite U.S. involvement or a rain of Jericho missiles falling on Iran.
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