The crazy idea to attack Tehran

Israel knows well that bombing Iran would start a very dangerous regional conflict. Even so, Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers, lately, act in an illogic way.

If Iran would dare to put in act a nuclear attack on Israel it would commit mass suicide. The Jewish state would react and the world, for sure, would not sit back and watch. The Israelis know it, and most importantly, also Tehran knows it. Still we are told day after day that the Iranian leaders are “crazy” and totally unpredictable.

Israel threatens to bomb Tehran before it is too late, and many Israelis are in favor of an attack. But this terribly serious debate on the eventuality of bombing Iran makes one suspect that it is the Israelis to be crazy. While the insanity of the Iranians is still to be proven the one of the Israelis is already evident.

Israel does not have a national leadership. The majority of its decisions do not have a logic explanation: like the construction of new accommodations for the settlers 

of the occupied territories, like the decisions that have strengthened Hamas, like the endless siege of Gaza, like the liberation of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for prisoners belonging only to the Islamic organization.

There is no logic in keeping in jail a Palestinian leader like Marwan Barghouti that could help in creating a dialogue, or in undermining the relationships with Turkey. There has been no logic in the Operation Cast Lead, which has brought to Israel more damages than benefits. Naturally there is also no logic in continuing the occupation of the Palestinian territories, which damages Israel more than anything else.

Not even the Israeli public opinion behaves in a logic way. The majority of the citizens knows very well that bombing Iran would set off a dangerous regional war, but still the ones in favor of such action are more than the ones against it. The risks deriving from an attack are obvious and so serious that they make any sane person shudder. The threat of Iran really using a nuclear weapon is non-existent but Israel continues to play with fire. Israelis say that they would rather have thousands of missiles today than the imaginary risk of “crazy” Iran using the suicide weapon in the future. In short: they prefer folly raised to system, with threats and explicit preparations for what is a potentially suicide mission for Israel.

Even if all these declarations and maneuvers only want to be a threat, they would still be sign of little wisdom. A threatened Iran is also a dangerous Iran: led by desperation they could also decide to launch a preventive attack against the Jewish state.

Atomic Powers

Tehran needs atomic weapons to defend its regime. Having seen the ex Iraqi and Libyan leaders, Saddam Hussein and Gheddafi, getting bombed it understood that if it would possess the atomic weapon the world would not dare to touch it, as it does not dare to touch North Korea or Pakistan. Furthermore Iran wants to become a regional power in the Middle East. Naturally it would be better if it would not achieve this and if the rest of the world would be able to make pressure to prevent it from arming itself with atomic: but it is clear to everyone one that no bombing can keep Tehran from becoming an atomic power.

The only conclusion that one can make from all this is that in the Middle East there is an illogic government, but that it is not necessarily in Tehran. Fear – in part unjustified - reigns in Israel and this is the result of always demonizing everything, from the swine flu to the Iranian nuclear program. In addition to these fears there is the megalomaniac idea that Israel can do everything it wants in this region. The alleged “real men” are the ones that, pretending to be brave are in reality the vile ones. The real brave ones are the ones that try to stem the folly, like Meir Dagan, the ex chief of the secret services and the Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai.