WINEP ‘Outs’ Shin Bet Deputy Director « Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place

WINEP ‘Outs’ Shin Bet Deputy Director

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Tags: aipac, israeli censorship, shin-bet

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9 Responses to “WINEP ‘Outs’ Shin Bet Deputy Director”

gene schulman says:

November 16, 2008 at 10:38 PM

Thanks for putting the blame where it belongs, Richard. Just makes one wonder when the other shoe is going to drop – Iran! Dennis Ross and AIPAC are just waiting for the opportunity. When everybody’s attention is elsewhere -inauguration day in the U.S.?

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Alex Stein says:

November 17, 2008 at 1:01 AM

Gene – I’m not sure there’s any evidence to prove that the IDF deliberately carried out this attack because it was US election day.

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Richard Silverstein says:

November 17, 2008 at 1:34 AM

@Alex Stein: “Evidence?” You want a phone transcript or e mail fr. the chief of staff? Puh-leeze. That’s not the way it works. Read Zvi Barel’s piece in Haaretz which lays out all the reasons the IDF deliberately provoked the breakdown in the ceasefire. Clearly, doing so on Election Day meant the attention of the world was focussed elsewhere & therefore wouldn’t lay blame as vociferously at Israel’s doorstep as otherwise might happen.

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Alex Stein says:

November 17, 2008 at 1:37 AM

Please post the link to the Barel piece.

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Art Lieber says:

November 17, 2008 at 4:12 AM

Gene – you wrongly predicted U.S. elections wouldn’t be held. Now you’re predicting an Israeli strike on Iran on 20 Jan. C’mon, buy a pair of rose colored glasses to help you see the world in a better light…

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Richard Silverstein says:

November 17, 2008 at 3:24 PM

@Alex Stein: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1037571.html

And here is Sol Salbe’s (of the Australian Jewish Democratic Society) very wise analysis:

The timing of Israel’s raid on Gaza, which set force the chain reaction leading to the likely unravelling of the tahadiyeh was sufficient to raise the eyebrows. Launching a raid four hours before the US Networks began their main coverage of the presidential election certainly appeared designed to avoid the media’s glare.

It is not as if the case for acting there and then was tight. Veteran Israeli journalist Menachem Ben, not exactly one of the usual suspects wrote in the right-wing Ma’ariv : “Somebody at the top of our defence establishment, certainly the Chief of Staff and Defence Minister, made a particularly bad error when they decided to attack that not-so-obvious tunnel in Gaza and kill six Palestinians in the process. That broke the blessed ceasefire. It broke it on the back of the residents of Sderot and Ashkelon and the whole Gaza-enveloping region.

“And what for? In order to destroy a tunnel that even the IDEF spokespeople contend that it was ‘apparently’ designed to kidnap an IDF soldier. Let’s assume that it was indeed the case. Was there no other way to deal with the estimated danger? Couldn’t for example have warned the Egyptian that the intention of the tunnel diggers are clear and if Hamas were not to take any action against, Israel would? Did you have to attack immediately? Kill immediately?”

Ben wasn’t the only Israeli to lament the “utter stupidity” of the move. Others were also horrified at the end of the ceasefire that has given both Israelis and Palestinians in the region, peace and quiet. But there was method to the madness and none explained it as clearly as Zvi Bar’el below. Israel did not want the ceasefire extended to the West Bank and it certainly did not want to see its ally, Palestinian President Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) politically undermined. No article is ever a must read, but this one comes close to essential reading to anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of the situation – Sol Salbe.]

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John Dickerson says:

November 17, 2008 at 5:45 PM

Mr. Yoram Cohen (like Dick Cheney) had better be very careful about visiting foreign countries. I hear that Denmark is a beautiful country; well worthy of a several week tour!

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Alex Stein says:

November 17, 2008 at 9:56 PM

The Barel piece is excellent.

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Richard Silverstein says:

November 17, 2008 at 11:48 PM

@Alex Stein: Glad you liked it.

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