Maj. Gen. Yochanan Locker, Bibi's hand-picked pro-war IDF air force commander candidate (Gali Tibbon/Getty)Yediot Achronot front page headline: 'Air War'
Yediot Achronot front page headline: 'Air War'
During the Great Depression, FDR reacted to the Republican-dominated Supreme Court’s stymieing of his New Deal proposals by packing the Court with his own hand-picked supporters. It didn’t work out for him as he was forced to roll back the initiative as a violation of constitutional precedent. Bibi Netanyahu, Tehran-bound in his own F-16 if he has half a chance, has an opportunity to appoint his own hand-picked candidate, Yochanan Locker, as incoming air force commander. Locker is known to support an IDF attack on Iran. He is also known to be favored by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, another advocate of war.
Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, known to oppose an attack, neither wants to be dictated to by the prime minister, nor saddled with a key subordinate who will subvert his own command by advocating war with Iran. While it is common for chiefs of staff to coordinate appointments with prime ministers, it’s rare for the political echelon to cram a candidate for such a position down the throat of the supreme military commander. Gantz rightly is gagging on this morsel being shoved down his throat. His preferred candidate is Amir Eshel, a known opponent of an Iran strike.
There you have it. On the cusp of war, Israel’s political and military echelon are divided, even dysfunctional about the way to go. Even an appointment like air force commander could tip the balance in favor of war.
If Bibi Netanyahu wants, I will clear his damn VISA for his fully loaded, stocked and locked, F-16 to roll into Iran. I hope Israel’s true government buries this guy at sea to respect Muslim customs and creates peace for all.
This guy is a megalomaniac with a messiah complex and he has 400 nuclear weapons. AND, here’s the crazy part: he has more momentum than anyone should since Hitler.
I think that the pathetic attempt you make in comparing BB to Hitler, shouldn’t be allowed on this website.
It’s twice as pathetic coming from a Persian who’s president is a world know Holocaust denier.
And made many statements – considered moderate on this website – about the existence of the state of Israel.
Wrong word, should be…Considered Border Line on this website
It is a lie to claim that I view Ahmadinejad’s statements “moderate.” I consider them rabid & intemperate and about as much so as similar comments by Bibi Netanyahu.
I met Benny Gantz once when I had a job in Washington, DC parking cars. He was a kind, charismatic man who had a sad expression on his face as if he was tired of war. He gave me a tape of Israeli folk songs to play on his radio as I made my way down to the garage which were hauntingly beautiful, I remember that music to this day. I hope people like Benny Gantz call the shots, war is not the answer, and anyone that thinks bombing Iran, maybe spreading radiation from reactors, watching the Fifth Fleet get sunk and seeing many innocents die would be good for Israel does not really have Israel’s best interests in mind and needs to go on permanent holiday in the Bellevue.
I see no win for Israel here, morally a war on Iran is wrong for many reasons. on a military ground air strikes will not yield the desired effects assuming the targets are the nuclear sites that are potential bomb making facilities….
In my view Israel may have a far more successful covert war and the psychological advantage compared to Iran, if they need to secure their existence that is the path they should continue…
Just FYI
the translation of קרב אוויר is actually dog fight and not air war.
Strangely today’s Bibiton (Israel today) favors Gans’s candidate Eshel and says that Barak will confirm soon.
Could it be that Bibi has lost control of his paper?