Answering John Rentoul - on Iran, Israel and the never-ending nuclear debate
Iran Watch, part 6.
By Mehdi Hasan Published 14 March 2012 11:23Iran Watch, part 6.
Ok. This is getting BO-RING. The Sindy's John Rentoul says "the world might have decided it has better things to do" than follow our ongoing blog-and-Twitter row over Iran/Israel/nukes - but, bizarrely, he says this at the end of yet another blogpost - "Calling Mehdi Hasan" - in which he yet again dodges the key issues.
This'll be my last post on Rentoul - I promise! - and I'll try and make it as short as possible because I know he doesn't like having to read long articles. (I can only guess that he prefers to conduct debates on geopolitics via 140-character putdowns on Twitter. Then again, his knowledge of Iran is pretty superficial: he claims, for example, that the Iranian president would be in control of nuclear weapons when of course, if such weapons were to be built by the regime, it would be Ayatullah Khamenei with his finger on the trigger and Ahmadinejad wouldn't be allowed anywhere near them!)
Three quick points:
First, Rentoul wants to misquote people and then pretend he didn't and/or pretend it doesn't matter. It was Rentoul who claimed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had threatened to "wipe Israel off the map", refused to correct himself or the belligerent meaning he ascribed to those comments and who now says that he knew I "would go off into the old debate about the translation of the Iranian president's 2005 words about Israel". This is wonderfully evasive as it leaves the passing reader unaware of the fact that, "old" or not, the debate is over and Rentoul is wrong. Ahmadinejad, for all his flaws, sins and crimes, didn't say that. Rentoul knows he didn't say that. Yet this proud pedant continues to flagrantly misquote the Iranian president in order to beat the drum for war against Iran.
Second, Rentoul again asks "why the warmongering IAEA should allow such a government to develop nuclear weapons". I'm not sure I understand this contorted and rather loaded question - the IAEA isn't a "warmongering" organisation (though its director general does look a little compromised to me) and hasn't said Iran is developing weapons. Has he even bothered to read the IAEA's reports? I'm happy to extend the "Iain Dale challenge" to Rentoul, if he's interested in trying to win the £100 cash prize that's still on offer.
Third, double standards matter. Despite Rentoul's unfortunate smears, my own view is clear and well-documented: I want a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East in accordance with UN resolution 687. I don't want Israel or Iran to have nuclear weapons (and nor does the IAEA!); Rentoul is ok with the former having 'em but not the latter.
That's what this row has been about. The rest is noise.
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683 comments
I am not sure if I support an attack on Iran. I definitely don't support an attack on Iran in the short term. However I must disagree with David Mivasair and other jewish rabbinical leaders in their naive assertions that a reasonable dialog with Iran is possible. Iran is ruled by the religiously repressive Ayatollahs and to believe they can come to the negotiating table with Israel in a resonable and fair manner is folly of the highest degree. People like David Mivasair are anti israel zealots and cannot be taken seriously.
I am not sure if I support an attack on Iran. I definitely don't support an attack on Iran in the short term. However I must disagree with David Mivasair and other jewish rabbinical leaders in their naive assertions that a reasonable dialog with Iran is possible. Iran is ruled by the religiously repressive Ayatollahs and to believe they can come to the negotiating table with Israel in a resonable and fair manner is folly of the highest degree. People like David Mivasair are anti israel zealots and cannot be taken seriously.
I am not sure if I support an attack on Iran. I definitely don't support an attack on Iran in the short term. However I must disagree with David Mivasair and other jewish rabbinical leaders in their naive assertions that a reasonable dialog with Iran is possible. Iran is ruled by the religiously repressive Ayatollahs and to believe they can come to the negotiating table with Israel in a resonable and fair manner is folly of the highest degree. People like David Mivasair are anti israel zealots and cannot be taken seriously.
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MLK had many Jewish supporters in his civil rights movement in 60s.
@ Alexander
'Mariella, the reason that Israelis have dual citizenship is because they find it difficult to live in their own country because of the campaign of terror by your beloved Palestinian terrorists.'
Not really. The real reason is that if stealing Palestinian land doesn't work out, they'd have alternative option to steal.. yes even thieves think of the rainy day too!!
ps, I hope this doesn't challenge your and julia's intelligence too much.
One thing is clear from the exchanges that have taken place between Olijaan/Agoodword on the one hand and Alexanader on the other hand. Alexander is incorrigible. He is trapped in this old, cold war paradigm and has no desire to escape.
Despite the weight of independent opinion, he persists with the false notion that somehow only his version of events warrants merit. Most of the selective rants forward so far place him firmly in the camp which is behind the curve. Correct me if I wrong but to be illogical is to present fallacious statements. Any independent observer can see that is all you have done from the outset. I swear your mindset is still stuck in cold war mode. The world has moved, but you haven't.
Keep digging. You are becoming quite an expert in digging up obscure pieces of information which are valueless.
Keep digging!!!
The State of Israel cannot be destroyed” [...] “An attack on Iran could affect not only Israel, but the entire region for 100 years.” [While Iran should be prevented from becoming a nuclear power, its capabilities are still] “far from posing an existential threat to Israel.”
Ephraim Halevy, Fmr. Mosssad Director
Rothschild and Freshfields founders linked to slavery
http://www.eutimes.net/2009/06/rothschild-and-freshfields-founders-linke...
Iran's terrorist proxies
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/03/14/iran-gaza-missile-palestini...
It is not for you to tell me what my opinions are. Does anybody listen to the bolloxxs that you put out anyway. LOL I am all ears for the next instalment.
“A military attack will give the Iranians the best excuse to pursue the nuclear race. Khamenei will say ‘I was attacked by a country with nuclear capabilities; my nuclear program was peaceful, but I must protect my country.*
Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan referred to the possibility of a future Israeli Air Force attack on Iranian nuclear facilities as ‘the stupidest thing I have ever heard’ during a conference held at Hebrew University in Jerusalem on Friday (May 6th, 2011)*
[Attacking Iran] “would mean regional war, and in that case you would have given Iran the best possible reason to continue the nuclear program … the regional challenge that Israel would face would be impossible.”*
Meir Dagan, Fmr Mossad Director
or rather will they have and what they'll do with them. They don't yet have them of course.
http://www.blacksandjews.com/MarcLeeRaphael.html
Rabbi Marc Lee Raphael on
Jews in the Slave Trade
Shape up,shape up Mr know it all has got something to say. Nobody gives a crap go back to the hole from which you first came. lol
@kr
So, Jews steal everywhere...This really exposes the agenda of the other side. This, of course, is not at all anti-Semitic. Maybe, this is only anti-Zionist. I will not even dignify this with an answer.
Agoodword, I was just trying to make you understand the reductionist nature of your "military garrison" image. As to the military destination of Israel's technology, see the specific excerpt from the link that I adduced separately about Israel's help to developing nations. A great deal of Israel's other scientific achievement also has nothing to do with the military whatsoever. Moreover, if other countries in the region are so afraid of Israel's military might, why don't they also develop science in order to improve their own military prowess?
“I wish to express grave concern from the Prime Minister’s speeches here at the Knesset about a nuclear Iran. His words sound like a calculated preparation for a reckless adventure. I will not get into details, even though the discussion about this issue is out there, but we warn PM Netanyahu and the Minister of Defense Ehud Barak in advance: Watch out. We will not support you in this adventure. And if you feel overconfident and wish to change the face of the Middle East – shift your energy for the diplomatic sphere.”*
Shelly Yachimovich, Leader of Israeli Labor Party
Atzmon's "sweet" Anti-Semitism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/25/gilad-atzmon-antisem...
You are confusing me now. So Iran has no nuclear weapons but Israel does. But Israel still wants to bomb Iran. Surely Iran knows that the US will bomb the hell out of them if they ever acquired them. Doesn't make sense to me
Home»
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Adam Werritty attended Israeli secret service meeting
Adam Werritty was at a meeting between the former defence secretary Dr Liam Fox and the Israeli secret service, Whitehall sources have disclosed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/8835268/Adam-Werri...
Iran's expansihttp://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-official-iranian-military-experts-operating-in-gaza-sinai-1.419428?localLinksEnabled=falseonist interventionism
Thank you, Olijaan. what a beautiful message. I know it is a beautiful holiday and would like to extend my best wishes to those whose celebrate it. Saal-e no mobarak.
You getting some kick from me. You dirty little so and so. QUick i need the sick bucket.Pewk.
JJ is a nasty vindivtive, poisonous half wit, who gives out crap to others, but when it comes knocking on his door cannot take it. Go set up house with him if you are concerned for his moral welfare.
The anti-Semitic hypocrisy of the left.
Creeping prejudiceThose on the left who angrily refuse to be careful about anti-semitism should check their history.
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David Hirsh
guardian.co.uk, Friday 21 April 2006 10.10 EDT Article history From the Euston manifesto:
8) Against racism For liberals and the left, anti-racism is axiomatic. We oppose every form of racist prejudice and behaviour: the anti-immigrant racism of the far right; tribal and inter-ethnic racism; racism against people from Muslim countries and those descended from them, particularly under cover of the war on terror. The recent resurgence of another, very old form of racism, anti-semitism, is not yet properly acknowledged in left and liberal circles. Some exploit the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people under occupation by Israel, and conceal prejudice against the Jewish people behind the formula of "anti-Zionism". We oppose this type of racism too, as should go without saying.
Exactly a year ago my trade union the AUT, voted to exclude Israelis at two universities from the global academic community (the campaigners saw this as a step to excluding everyone connected to an Israeli university). We were not supposed to include research or ideas from these blacklisted academics in our journals. These banned persons were not to be invited to conferences. We were not supposed to visit these universities. These punitive measures were proposed against Israeli academics but not against academics that worked in any other country that had a bad human rights record.
We were to continue dealing as normal with academics from the US, even though their state was responsible for the illegal prison camps at Guantanamo, even though their forces had been involved in the assault on Falluja, even though American soldiers were involved in the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Nobody called for an international boycott of UK universities because of Britain's collaboration with these US projects. Nobody currently wants to boycott British and American academics because their states are turning a blind eye to genocide in Darfur.
Nobody asked us to exclude any other academics from the international community; not scholars from North Korea, Zimbabwe, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Sudan - or any of the many other states with human rights records worse than that of Israel.
A trade union has a responsibility to have a consistent policy. What would be the effect of singling out Israeli academics, uniquely, to be punished for the crimes of their government? The effect, if the rank and file had not immediately overturned this dangerous silliness, would have been that the only academics on the planet to be excluded from the global academic community with the support of parts of the left, would have been Jews.
Aha! I hear you say. There is the slippage. This was not a boycott of Jews but a boycott of Israelis, of Zionists. If we say "Zionist" rather than "Jew" then its not anti-semitic is it?
So the "academic intifada" had the bright idea of setting a political test. Israeli Jews who opposed the "colonialist and racist" policies of their state could be exempt from the blacklist. You see? We love Jews; it's only their "Zionism" that we hate.
In 1968 the "communist" authorities set a similar political test to Jewish academics in order to purge "Zionists" from the intelligentsia. They succeeded in forcing most Jewish academics out of Poland.
The boycott campaign has now withdrawn proposals for a McCarthyite political test and it is again committed to campaign to blacklist all Israelis and nobody else on the planet.
Nobody in the campaign to ban Israeli artists, thinkers, writers, teachers, students and musicians hates Jews. But they nevertheless support a policy that is anti-semitic in effect.
Well, this isn't quite true, is it? Nobody on the left, nobody from an anti-racist tradition, none of these anti-Zionists hate Jews. But, like it or not, these anti-Zionists find themselves in a political campaign alongside a number of other anti-Zionist movements that are much less squeamish about anti-semitism than they are.
The jihadi anti-Zionists do hate Jews. The neo-Nazi anti-Zionists hate Jews. The conservative orientalist anti-Zionists may not appreciate Jews being loud in their golf clubs. Those on the left who are busy trying to forge political coalitions with jihadi movements might find it tempting to pretend that anti-semitism only exists if it comes dressed in a Nazi uniform. The post-Holocaust taboos are still (just about) with us; contemporary anti-semitism is usually careful not to break them.
The truth is that the anti-racist, anti-Zionist movement shares key elements of its rhetoric with, and campaigns alongside, Jew-hating movements. Sue Blackwell, for one, is sick and tired of anti-semitic elements swimming into her political universe and she doesn't have a clue why this should keep happening to her:
... increasingly these days I find myself having acrimonious exchanges, usually by email, with people whose messages start by expressing their support for my stand on Palestine and then continue with "I think you ought to read this ..." "This" often consists of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which for a document over 100 years old has weathered remarkably well. It crops up everywhere on the internet, including the weblogs of people who claim to be campaigners for Palestinian rights. I had a graduate student in my office not long ago, a highly intelligent young man who is a member of a socialist party in the UK. He told me in all seriousness that I really ought to read this incredible exposé of a world Jewish conspiracy, which was apparently new to him.
There is a long history of anti-semitism on the left - and there is an equally long history of left opposition to left anti-semitism. Karl Marx thundered against the ultra-left anti-semite Bruno Bauer, who opposed equal rights for Jews in 19th century Germany. Some on the left thought that a campaign against Jewish capitalism was a smart introduction for "the masses" to a campaign against capitalism in general - "the socialism of fools" August Bebel called it. In Britain in 1905, the TUC backed the anti-semitic campaign for state controls against Jewish immigration. The Stalinists made use of anti-semitic propaganda and later on pioneered the use of the term "Zionist" as an epithet denoting the essence of racist evil. The East German authorities joined the Polish and Russian campaign against "Zionist" Jews in the late 60s, bringing anti-semitism back to Berlin barely two decades after the fall of Hitler. And it was this Stalinist demonisation of "Zionism" that was adopted by some that had been politically raised in left anti-Stalinist politics in the west.
(1) The anti-racist anti-Zionist movement exists alongside and sometimes in alliance with racist anti-Zionist movements.
(2) Anti-semitism on the left goes back a long way and has deep roots.
(3) The European left failed to stop the wholesale killing of Jews in Europe.
One would think, therefore, that the contemporary left, particularly those sections of it that focus their attention on the injustices that result from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would be careful about the issue of anti-semitism.
But many on the left loudly and angrily refuse to be careful.
Often people who even raise the issue of anti-semitism on the left are denounced as liars who are really not concerned with anti-semitism but are really rightwingers (fifth columnists), trying to cover the wrongs committed by Israel in spurious allegations of racism.
Often people on the left refuse to educate themselves, and the people that they draw into the anti-Zionist movement, in the history and the tropes of anti-semitism.
Some people who talk about Jewish cabals and Zionist lobbies that pervert the policy of states and that control the media have no idea of the history of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and how accusations of secret Jewish conspiracy have been a central theme of anti-semitic defamation.
Some people claim that Israel has a policy of murdering Palestinian children but do not even know that anti-semites have routinely accused Jews of murdering children through the ages. Some people on the left do not understand that there is a problem with portraying the prime minister of Israel as a baby-eater.
Some people claim that "Zionism" is the same as "Nazism", a claim that is as false as it is offensive. It is a claim that licenses people to relate to Jews (that is the Jews that do not define themselves as anti-Zionist) as though they were Nazis.
Scroll through the archives of Engage for a hundred examples of people on the left openly refusing to be careful to avoid anti-semitism. Scroll through the comments that will appear after this piece for examples of people on the left angrily refusing to take anti-semitism seriously.
So it is necessary for a new left manifesto in 2006 to be explicit about its opposition to anti-semitism. Not because people on the left hate Jews; they don't. But because some on the left refuse to take the necessary precautions to avoid the coming-into-being of a new anti-semitic movement. Read Steve Cohen's book That's Funny You Don't Look Anti-semitic, republished online here, for more on left anti-semitism.
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Mariella, did you just say anything? NO, I am sorry, you did not really say anything. My apologies.
“Israel cannot by itself stop Iran’s nuclear programme, as was done in Iraq and, according to foreign media, in Syria.” [An air strike] “could even put the Iranian nuclear programme back by five years … Such a strike would give Iran an additional pretext to build a nuclear bomb [as a deterrent against Israel].”*
Haim Ramon, Former MK (Labor, Kadima), Kadima Council Chairman
@Ronaldo: Ah...I seen where you are coming from, what you are REALLY concerned about.
Why don't you take a trip to the US Holocaust Museum (or their website) and see for yourself how they actually do memorialise the Black suffering under slavery and other crimes documented against blacks.
As to who was involved in the slave trade (I knew you were going to have a go at the Jews from your second post), why not read sme history and see how the slaves were traded by Arabs?
Did you know that Israel takes in black refugees from Sudan and from Ethiopia?
But of course you could have known if you had wanted to.
Annex A Israel’s nuclear programme
The following is extract from an article entitled Israel’s Nuclear Development & Strategy: Future Ramifications for the Middle East Regional Balance by Laura Drake, an American academic.
“Material progress toward the achievement of a nuclear option proceeded along two separate but complementary tracks. One track was subterranean, travelled by agents of Israeli foreign intelligence. It involved the systematic location and theft of nuclear materials from advanced nuclear countries, including the United States. On at least four occasions, nuclear materials were stolen and transported to Israel by covert means.
“The most notorious instance, fully uncovered by the American intelligence in 1967, involved the Israeli theft of several hundred pounds of enriched uranium from the U.S. Nuclear Material and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) facility in Apollo, Pennsylvania with the alleged help of its American director, Zalman Shapiro. While the evidence was not sufficient to convict the principal involved, there was a "clear consensus" within the CIA that the nuclear materials in question had been diverted to Israel and used by the Israelis for nuclear weapons manufacture. Indeed, Shapiro was known to have maintained extraordinarily intimate relations with the Israeli government and its nuclear scientific community during his tenure at NUMEC.
“Other known instances of Israeli theft of nuclear materials include hit-and-run tear-gas attacks by the Israelis against uranium-laden trucks belonging to the government of France, their former nuclear benefactor.
“British nuclear cargo was similarly hijacked by individuals suspected of working for Israeli intelligence. A fourth instance involves the temporary seizure of a ship registered to what was then West Germany, from which 200 tons of yellowcake (uranium used as nuclear fuel) subsequently disappeared, an instance the U.S. intelligence has also attributed to Israel.
“The second track to Israeli nuclearisation led through the center of the French Defense Ministry. The initiative of none other than Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, then director-general of the Israeli Defense Ministry, was the critical element responsible for the forging of this connection. Noting the convergence of interests in colonial Algeria and therefore, in frustrating the overall pan-Arab ambitions of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Israel saw in Paris a potentially crucial ally. This was particularly important for Tel Aviv at a time when Washington, under the more balanced Eisenhower Administration, was still keeping a respectable distance from Israel. France and Israel thus began to work together on a massive scale. “
@ Alexander
'This, of course, is not at all anti-Semitic. Maybe, this is only anti-Zionist.'
Class it as you like son, I really couldn't give a F**k!
An Israeli attack on Iran could ignite a regional conflict from Afghanistan to the Gaza strip,” “For the Americans and the Obama administration it will be a disaster … Hezbollah will see an attack on Iran as a threat to their patron and there is a very good chance that they will initiate (another) Lebanon war only this time (with) even more rockets and missiles than in 2006 … We have every reason to believe that the Iranian will see an Israeli attack on their nuclear facilities as a joint American-Israeli attack and they will retaliate not only on Israeli targets but on American targets.”*
“Iran’s capability to retaliate for an Israeli strike against the U.S. is enormous.” … “Meir Dagan has said an Israeli attack would be a ‘stupid idea.’ He is right.”*
Bruce Riedel, Senior Research Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institute
Tim, how can you be so certain that the US will bomb Iran if it acquires nuclear weapons?
Alan Berrison - how do you know that Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon?
http://lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis267.html
ISRAEL SUPPLIES IRAN WITH NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY
Nuclear Pots Call Iranian Kettle Black
by Eric Margolis
to JJ
The only misfits on this comments page is you and your handful of merry men!!
Another possible scenario is that Israel is looking to pursue a Jewish one state solution. Building settlement after settlement in the West Bank could be considered part of this strategy. Under such conditions, the two state solution would be impossible. As pointed out in an earlier post, violence is the only way that Israel could get away with such an audacious plan.
I am not coming from anywhere JJ. I speak from the heart. No need to go overboard my friend. All I said was Jewish people paint the world in terms of them suffering the most.
I knew about the Holocaust Museum which you mentioned. All par for the course that Blacks get a look in. But you have got to admit that most of the holocaust memory is mainly about Jewish Suffering.
About Arabs trading slaves, yes that is true. But you have got to admit that Jews have been just as bad and were heavily involved in the slave trade in the US. That is why we blacks feel uncomfortable about raising it. I just did a search about black refugees in Israel . You are right. But when I was searching I also saw this piece about Israel building the biggest prison for asylum seekers and black migrants. I don't know if this is true or just propaganda. I also asked you about what Israel has got to do with the holocaust when it happened in Germany.
It is a delicate issue this black on Jewish business. I know I speak for many blacks who cannot say openly that blacks have suffered far more persecution than Jews. Give me that at least.
I guarantee if you ask 100 people what is the holocaust, they won't say it is about black and Jewish suffering. Most people think of the Jewish community.
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Ronald_Reagan/Irangate_Israel_TICC.html
Irangate: The Israel Connection
excerpted from the book
The Iran Contra Connection
Secret Teams and Covert Operations in the Reagan Era
by Johnathan Marshall, Peter Dale Scott, and Jane Hunter
South End Press, 1987, paper
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Ronald_Reagan/Irangate_Israel_TICC.html
Ronaldo, I just read that Martin Luther King III and some Jewish leaders were arrested today at a demonstration in Washington outside the Sudanese embassy to protest the violence in Darfur and the refusal of Omar al-Bashir to allow humanitarian aid in.
Hope this helps.
Yesboy, I think your comments speak for themselves.
If we look at the contributions of Alexander there is a mindset pattern which is mirrored in the Israeli/Zionist approach to discussion and debate. Every opportunity it taken to rubbish opponents and claim moral superiority for their arguments. The idea that Israel needs to be protected stretches the boundaries of credulity too far. Israel is one of the top four militarised states and has always had access to, courtesy of the Americans, the most advanced weaponry in the world. Not only does Israel possess an advanced military machine, but it also is in possession of at least 200 nuclear warheads. The idea that Israel needs protection form the neighbouring states is another one of those many myths that the Zionist lobby likes to propogate. Nobody buys or believes this poor me Israel image anymore. What a curious turn of events that during this period of deep recession in the US economy, when 10% of Americans are living below the poverty line, where large numbers of Americans cannot afford healthcare, somehow successive governments have found the gratis money on military expenditure for Israel. Indeed, Israel is due to receive the new bunker busting bombs form the US in order to carry out this unncessary attack on Iran.
Obama is scared sxxt of Israel, and rightly so. That is why the US will have to bomb Iran. Israel is so insistent that Iran must be bombed and so it will be. As I said To Berrison, the whole thing makes no sense to me. You seem to know it all, tell us what is going on.
Israel secretly sells American nuclear weapons to China
http://www.theinsider.org/news/article.asp?id=776