RSS Feeds

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Commentary Home page  back Print  Send To friend Defending Geneva Reuven Kaminer December 2, 2013 The Geneva agreement – and one might hope that there will be more agreements in the same spirit – was a major breakthrough. Its content is clear and simple: the US has admitted to the world that there are relative and absolute limitations to its power on the international stage. And one should not take this lightly. This change will be in the center of international developments in the near future. Because of this, it is necessary to understand that if one thing is certain, it is the approaching counteroffensive by anti-Geneva forces. These forces are determined that the Geneva agreement will not go unchallenged. We shall concern ourselves here with this issue because Israel and its leadership are at the head of the forces getting organized for a counteroffensive. You may have asked yourself why Netanyahu refuses to accept the international consensus and continues to attack it on a daily basis. The answer is that Israel must maintain a high level of tension in order to prevent the disintegration of the anti-Geneva camp. For example, the American congress appears to be composed of a majority that wants to block the agreement with Iran, to continue tension and even to expand it. Democrats in Obama`s party have joined with openly reactionary and conservative forces to create a majority for reversing Geneva, i.e., for a clear policy of war and conflict. In the center of this grouping we have the US senators who are relying on Israeli encouragement and information to fight Obama`s pro Geneva turn. It`s a horror play. After a lengthy, difficult, successful campaign to turn the wheel of international diplomacy around, the senators attack Obama in his own home, in order to emphasize that the Geneva turn is not sure and stable. Reaction has concentrated its forces in the United States congress under the pro-Israeli flag, in order to continue the war against Iran, in order to prove that the `bad deal` is not a done deal. The flag of renewed aggression flies over the pro-Israeli forces in the US political scene. This must be rather difficult for many honest and sincere friends of Israel who could not dream of ending up as Netanyahu`s foot soldiers, who find it hard to believe that they are called up to sacrifice even life and liberty in order to allow the settler right and its fanatic vanguard to dominate Israel and to eliminate any chance for peace and moderation in the region. Not a day goes by without Netanyahu issuing thinly veiled threats to attack Iran even if Israel has to act alone. The hope is that new tensions and old enmities will flare up once more. The threat of war is the best way to keep the war coalition on its toes. Meanwhile, another important argument against Netanyahu`s policies has surfaced on the home front. It appears that many of Netanyahu`s main advisers in the vital area of military intelligence never bought Netanyahu`s version of the present crisis with Iran and its military resolution. A star-studded galaxy of Israeli intelligence and security chiefs are being quoted in reliable sources to the effect that they never backed Netanyahu`s Iranian adventure. We are talking about names like Meir Dagan, Amos Yadlin, Uri Sagi, and Yuval Diskin, who must have cringed every time Netanyahu suggested that an attack on Iran is in the offing. One of the reasons, and a major one at that, for Netanyahu`s idée fix is to prevent the secret from getting out – Netanyahu`s lack of support from the military intelligence community. The noise that you hear coming out of Israel is the screeching of our hawks in a desperate effort to prevent peace from breaking out. bz Links to the latest articles in this section Is there still a chance to break the cycle of revenge and bloodshed? Israelis Against Apartheid Statement Following ICJ Hearing Three weeks into the Gaza War - a somber and sober assessment, with some historical perspectives