USA/Israel: Never-ending imperialism
We have had it hammered into us often enough that Obama has set a new course in the Middle East and will, if necessary, force Israel’s rulers to accept peace; and it is true that, unlike Bush, the new US leader is clever enough to want to mollify the Muslim world, with some help from conservative Arab rulers in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere. But, media clamour notwithstanding, Israel is still a colonial country and the major military power in the region – thanks purely to economic, financial and nuclear support from the USA – and there is the ever-present danger that Tel Aviv might launch a war, as a senior Israeli defence official told The Times on 18 April 2009. His words show that we must remain vigilant:
Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even hours. They are making preparations on every level for this eventuality. The message to Iran is that the threat is not just words.
Among its preparations, Israel is to acquire three Airborne Warning and Control (AWAC) aircraft and is planning nationwide drills to prepare the public for possible retaliation. Israeli officials believe that their country could be required to hit more than a dozen targets in Iran, including moving convoys. Targeted sites include: Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges produce enriched uranium; Esfahan, where 250 tonnes of gas is stored in tunnels, and Arak, where Iran is building a heavy water reactor. ‘We would not make the threat [against Iran] without the force to back it,’ said another official from Israel’s intelligence community.
F. Arzalier.