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http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/israel_us_iran/2007/12/15/57276.html
Israel: U.S. Report on Iran May Spark War
Saturday, December 15, 2007
JERUSALEM -- Israel's public security minister warned Saturday that a U.S.
intelligence report that said Iran is no longer developing nuclear arms
could lead to a regional war that would threaten the Jewish state.
In his remarks -- Israel's harshest criticism yet of the U.S. report -- Avi
Dichter said the assessment also cast doubt on American intelligence in
general, including information about Palestinian security forces' crackdown
on militant groups. The Palestinian action is required as part of a
U.S.-backed renewal of peace talks with Israel this month.
Dichter cautioned that a refusal to recognize Iran's intentions to build
weapons of mass destruction could lead to armed conflict in the Middle East.
He compared the possibility of such fighting to a surprise attack on Israel
in 1973 by its Arab neighbors, which came to be known in Israel for the Yom
Kippur Jewish holy day on which it began.
"The American misconception concerning Iran's nuclear weapons is liable to
lead to a regional Yom Kippur where Israel will be among the countries that
are threatened," Dichter said in a speech in a suburb south of Tel Aviv,
according to his spokesman, Mati Gil. "Something went wrong in the American
blueprint for analyzing the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat."
Dichter didn't elaborate on the potential scenario but seemed to imply that
a world that let its guard down regarding Iran would be more vulnerable to
attack by the Islamic regime.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had disputed the U.S. intelligence
assessment this month, saying that Iran continues its efforts to obtain
components necessary to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran still poses a major
threat to the West and the world must stop it, Olmert said.
Israel has for years been warning that Iran is working on nuclear weapons
and backed the United States in its international efforts to exert pressure
on Iran to stop the program. Israel considers Iran a significant threat
because of its nuclear ambitions, its long-range missile program and
repeated calls by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for the disappearance
of Israel.
Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.
Israel will work to change the American intelligence agencies' view of Iran,
said Dichter, a former chief of Israel's Shin Bet secret service agency.
"A misconception by the world's leading superpower is not just an internal
American occurrence," Dichter said.
Any future faulty U.S. intelligence on the actions of Palestinian security
forces could damage peace efforts, Dichter said.
"Those same (intelligence) arms in the U.S. are apt to make a mistake and
declare that the Palestinians have fulfilled their commitments, which would
carry with it very serious consequences from Israel's vantage point,"
Dichter said.
Israel: U.S. Report on Iran May Spark War
Saturday, December 15, 2007
JERUSALEM -- Israel's public security minister warned Saturday that a U.S.
intelligence report that said Iran is no longer developing nuclear arms
could lead to a regional war that would threaten the Jewish state.
In his remarks -- Israel's harshest criticism yet of the U.S. report -- Avi
Dichter said the assessment also cast doubt on American intelligence in
general, including information about Palestinian security forces' crackdown
on militant groups. The Palestinian action is required as part of a
U.S.-backed renewal of peace talks with Israel this month.
Dichter cautioned that a refusal to recognize Iran's intentions to build
weapons of mass destruction could lead to armed conflict in the Middle East.
He compared the possibility of such fighting to a surprise attack on Israel
in 1973 by its Arab neighbors, which came to be known in Israel for the Yom
Kippur Jewish holy day on which it began.
"The American misconception concerning Iran's nuclear weapons is liable to
lead to a regional Yom Kippur where Israel will be among the countries that
are threatened," Dichter said in a speech in a suburb south of Tel Aviv,
according to his spokesman, Mati Gil. "Something went wrong in the American
blueprint for analyzing the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat."
Dichter didn't elaborate on the potential scenario but seemed to imply that
a world that let its guard down regarding Iran would be more vulnerable to
attack by the Islamic regime.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had disputed the U.S. intelligence
assessment this month, saying that Iran continues its efforts to obtain
components necessary to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran still poses a major
threat to the West and the world must stop it, Olmert said.
Israel has for years been warning that Iran is working on nuclear weapons
and backed the United States in its international efforts to exert pressure
on Iran to stop the program. Israel considers Iran a significant threat
because of its nuclear ambitions, its long-range missile program and
repeated calls by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for the disappearance
of Israel.
Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.
Israel will work to change the American intelligence agencies' view of Iran,
said Dichter, a former chief of Israel's Shin Bet secret service agency.
"A misconception by the world's leading superpower is not just an internal
American occurrence," Dichter said.
Any future faulty U.S. intelligence on the actions of Palestinian security
forces could damage peace efforts, Dichter said.
"Those same (intelligence) arms in the U.S. are apt to make a mistake and
declare that the Palestinians have fulfilled their commitments, which would
carry with it very serious consequences from Israel's vantage point,"
Dichter said.
