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“the Iranian leadership is composed of very rational people.”-Israel's military chief

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/israeli-military-chief-says-iran-sanctions-will-deter-bomb-but-pm-is-pessimistic/article2413539/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=World&utm_content=2413539

Israel's military chief said in an interview published Wednesday that Iran will ultimately decide against building a nuclear weapon — putting him at odds with Israel's more pessimistic prime minister.

Maj.-Gen. Benny Gantz told the Haaretz daily that he believes that diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions, along with Israel's determination to strike if necessary, will deter Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons.

“I don't think (Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei) will want to go the extra mile,” he said. “I think the Iranian leadership is composed of very rational people.”

At the same time, he warned that Israel is moving forward with its preparations to take military action if necessary. “We are preparing for it in a credible manner. That's my job, as a military man,” he said.

He said this year would be critical in determining whether Iran decides to take the final steps needed for a weapon.

“We're in a period when something must happen: Either Iran takes its nuclear weapon to a civilian footing only or the world, perhaps we too, will have to do something. We're closer to the end of the discussions than the middle,” he said.

This isnt really news to anyone that's read Haaretz the last few years. High ranking Israelis have been saying this for years, it's just that the timing of this statement reflects a blatant effort to undercut Netanyahu and the far right's insane ranting about Iran on the brink of perpetrating a new Auschwitz, a second Holocaust.
 
High ranking military officials say "they are not going to do it. They are cool."

High Ranking politicians hear "Let's bomb the shit out them"
 
Didn't Iran's religious head or whatever recently come out and say possessing nuclear weapons is a sin against allah or something to that effect? Yeah, US propaganda at its finest ladies & gents.
 
Hopefully more rational people will continue speaking rationally like this. In the public sphere. Helps hold elected leaders accountable and pressures them to not do irrational things.
 
Didn't Iran's religious head or whatever recently come out and say possessing nuclear weapons is a sin against allah or something to that effect? Yeah, US propaganda at its finest ladies & gents.

Didn't our generals say they don't believe Iran is building anything but nuke power plants?
 
So are they cool with them having Nuke power for civilian use right?

Netanyahu isnt. Ehud Barak is open to enrichment up to 3.5%.
Mind you, the idea that a non-NPT member with nuclear weapons should have a say in Iran even enriching uranium should be offensive to any right thinking person.
 
Kinda reminds me of talking about these kinds of decisions within the confines of the Rational Actor Theory in my world politics class, that is, states make decisions based on weighing risks and rewards.
 
Didn't Iran's religious head or whatever recently come out and say possessing nuclear weapons is a sin against allah or something to that effect? Yeah, US propaganda at its finest ladies & gents.

I believe it was a fatwa, no less.
 
Didn't our generals say they don't believe Iran is building anything but nuke power plants?
Yup, and yet 65% of Americans believe that Iran currently posses a nuclear bomb, and even more think that they are a direct threat to the USA. That's the fucking media for you.
 
It's not the military that's the problem. It's the politicians that are in charge of the military.

For a good example of this...look at our politicians and the way the Republicans want to use the military these days (and during the last 10 years)
 
One of the things that most people tend to forget about the actual military leadership of most countries is that usually they are pretty damned reluctant to ACTUALLY go to war.
 
Wah buh I thought Iran was the devil. As an aside I love Haaretz, even if the comments make me sad sometimes.


One of the things that most people tend to forget about the actual military leadership of most countries is that usually they are pretty damned reluctant to ACTUALLY go to war.

Yeah, why would people who actually have to go and fight, who have gone and fought, not want to just go and fight and kill and die for any little thing?
 
This is something any rational human being should assume. Those in power have a vested interest in staying in power. Kicking off a nuclear war is not how one sows the seeds of stability. But some people only hear what they want to hear.
 
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