hot off the press, the new gilad

[mary <humdrum2 at libero.it>]

http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/07/15/detente-or-hidden-agendas-a-sign-of-the-times-by-gilad-atzmon/
the homepage uses a different picture btw

Détente or Hidden Agendas? A sign of “The Times” by Gilad Atzmon

By
Gilad
Atzmon • Jul 15th, 2008 at 11:36 • Category:
Analysis,

Gilad Atzmon,
Gilad's
Choice,
Israel,
Newswire,

Opinions and Letters,
Our
Authors,
War,
Zionism

Back in 2003 I
wrote, “If ‘world peace’ is our main concern, we must achieve a
balance of power, we must let the oppressed people of this world have
access to the most advanced weaponry…. Balance of power is the only key
to peace.” Nowadays, when Israel and its supportive lobbies are doing
everything within their powers to drag us all into a third world war, I
find it necessary to say it again. The only way to spare the Middle East
and the entire world from another devastating cycle of bloodshed is to
let the Iranians have their nuclear toy. But it goes even further,
seemingly, the only way to save the Jewish state from its merciless
parade of belligerent omnipotence is to let Iran join the nuclear club
ASAP. The only thing that may cool down the Zionist militant genocidal
enthusiasm is an overwhelming Iranian might of deterrence. 

But it isn’t only Iran. The only possible way to bring peace to the
region is to equip Syria, the Hezbollah and the Hamas with the exact
weaponry that would help make the Israelis think twice. As much as the
Israelis love to punish their enemies they really hate to pay the
ultimate price. Once the Israelis become aware of the clear possibility
of their own destruction, they may rapidly develop some real inclination
towards peace and reconciliation.

Yet, we have to remember that Israel is not alone in this lethal game.
According to the

Sunday Times, “President George W Bush has told the Israeli
government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on
an Iranian nuclear plant…Despite the opposition of his own generals and
widespread skepticism that America is ready to risk the military,
political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the
president has given an ‘amber light’ to an Israeli plan to attack Iran’s
main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties”.

Seemingly, we are not in any shortage of lunatics. For more than a while,
we are fully aware that the road from Jerusalem to Washington is a
soaking red route. However, there is something rather faulty or even
amusing in the western argument for a war. According to our western
analysts, President Ahmadinejad is really unpopular amongst his people
and he is on his way out. The Sunday Times’

editorial informed us yesterday that: “Last year a Tehran website
poll of 20,000 people found that 62.5% of those who voted for him
(Ahmadinejad) in 2005 would not do so in next year’s presidential
election.” I am slightly puzzled. If this is indeed the case, if the
Iranian president is politically ruined, why are we so keen to initiate
another world war? Wouldn’t it be better to wait for a few months and let
this Ahmadinejad be ousted by his own people? Apparently, The Sunday
Times and our very many Neocons do not believe their own lies.

In its editorial The Sunday Times tries to give the impression that
Ahmadinejad is taking his people into war just to divert the attention
from his policy that is failing at home. “With inflation running at an
estimated 14% and one-third of the population unemployed, Ahmadinejad’s
goal of ‘putting the petroleum income on people’s tables’ is as distant
as ever.“

I would be rather suspicious about the Sunday Times’ reading of Iranian
current internal affairs as much as I was suspicious of the paper’s
reading of Iraqi WMD situation. However, I better admit it, I do not live
in Iran. In fact, I live in the West, in London if to be specific. And it
is actually in London where I see a growing dismay having to do with very
cloudy financial predictions. It is in London where I read about the
collapse of major western financial institutions. It is in London where I
detect a growing recession and a threat of financial depression.

I ask myself whether The Times’ faulty reading of Ahmadinejad is nothing
but a banal projection? I assume that this is indeed the case. In fact it
is the other way around. It is our western leaders who are failing to
provide for their constituencies and citizens. It is our Western leaders
who are taking us to wars just to cover their disastrous malfunctioning.
It is our western leaders who are about to initiate a world war just to
whitewash the collapse of the western capitalistic dream.

One has to be blind not to see it all.