Saber Rattling
So Benny Morris, erstwhile revisionist historian of Israel has published an Op Ed in the NY Times which purports to be a rational discussion of policy towards Iran. Here is a sample:
Israel will almost surely attack Iran’s nuclear sites in the next four to seven months — and the leaders in Washington and even Tehran should hope that the attack will be successful enough to cause at least a significant delay in the Iranian production schedule, if not complete destruction, of that country’s nuclear program. Because if the attack fails, the Middle East will almost certainly face a nuclear war — either through a subsequent pre-emptive Israeli nuclear strike or a nuclear exchange shortly after Iran gets the bomb.
This is just the beginning. Morris goes on to assure us that the Iranians are quite insane, mad enough to make an unprovoked nuclear assault on a neighbor. It therefore makes perfect sense for civilized nations like the US and Israel to launch an unprovoked conventional assault on Iran. Then we had all better pray that the Iranians are cowed into abandoning their ambitions because if they are not we will need to make a second, nuclear attack.
Now if something like this had appeared in a major Iranian newspaper Wonks Anonymous wonders what the coverage would have been like. But I guess that whatever we said would be a rational response because we are sane, whereas they are obviously crazy.
The only question Wonks Anonymous has is this: Will we make to January 2009 in one piece?
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