[WrigleyMike]

CIA veteran: Israel to attack Iran in fall - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

A longtime CIA officer who spent 21 years in the Middle East is predicting that Israel will bomb Iran in the fall, dragging the United States into another major war and endangering US military and civilian personnel (and other interests) throughout the Middle East and beyond.

He obviously won't name many of his sources in Israel, the United States, and elsewhere, but the few he has named are all Israeli security figures who have publically warned that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are hell-bent on war.

[lierro]

I had a social studies teacher back in high school who thought the best thing for the mid east would be to bomb the whole place to oblivion and build a resort on it before the news crews showed up.

He gave no timetable on this plan though.

[ptmQqoxw]

Just in time for the rapture part deux!

[Nubtoubrem]

I'm just having a hard time around here today distinguishing between the idiots and the trolls. Must be the heat. Not that it couldn't be true, just Al Jazeera? Really? You might as well rely on Fox News for your info.

[WrigleyMike]

No need to be nasty, Al jazeera always gives me pretty solid infos I have to say...Yeah I know the heat gets to everybody..

[Elissetecausa]

They do. But they also publish all kinds of Opinion pieces--like this one.

No need to be nasty, Al jazeera always gives me pretty solid infos I have to say...Yeah I know the heat gets to everybody..

[22CreessGah]

CIA veteran: Israel to attack Iran in fall - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

A longtime CIA officer who spent 21 years in the Middle East is predicting that Israel will bomb Iran in the fall, dragging the United States into another major war and endangering US military and civilian personnel (and other interests) throughout the Middle East and beyond.

He obviously won't name many of his sources in Israel, the United States, and elsewhere, but the few he has named are all Israeli security figures who have publically warned that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are hell-bent on war.

Actually, Al Jazeera English runs a pretty tight journalistic ship, so what they say carries some weight with me. And yet, people have been predicting this for years with absolute certainty and it never happens. So I am not placing my bets on an Iran-Israel War anytime soon.

[byncnombmub]

Actually, Al Jazeera English runs a pretty tight journalistic ship, so what they say carries some weight with me. And yet, people have been predicting this for years with absolute certainty and it never happens. So I am not placing my bets on an Iran-Israel War anytime soon.

Maybe they do, but the piece in question is from the Opinion section. Certainly language like "dragging the United States into another major war and endangering US military and civilian personnel" isn't even remotely objective.

[22CreessGah]

Maybe they do, but the piece in question is from the Opinion section. Certainly language like "dragging the United States into another major war and endangering US military and civilian personnel" isn't even remotely objective.

Ah, I didn't twig to the fact that it is an opinion piece. That means I am even less inclined to stock up in anticipation of the next Great War.

But that having been said, opinion pieces don't need to be balanced or dispassionate - that's the whole point of opinion pieces. I don't faulty Al Jazzera for running it any more than I fault the New York Times for running David Brooks and Paul Krugman.

Interestingly, however, that phrase you quote is technically "objective," or at least nearly so, in the sense that it is objectively true that if Israel and Iran did suddenly find themselves at war and the U.S. got involved, both our military and civilian populations would be at risk.

[maonnjtip]

Sean, I have to concur (and you KNOW that it does not make me smile to do so) that Al Jazeera is a good source of real news in the region, and yes, their opinion pieces are Islamocentric, sometimes plain Islamis, but no kidding. Robert Baer is an intersting character, and not usually this far out. He wrote a book about our relationship with Iran, in which he lays out some rather wild ideas about how to control Teheran. My fave was that the US should just, one day, get out of Iraq. His analysis is that Iran would be left with such a steming pile of strife next door to it, that it would confound Teheran and force the Revolutionary Guards to overtly get involved, something that Iran has hated doing since the shahs (Shahs? Shah's?).
So the wild prediction is not terribly surprising BUT I also do not see Israel sharing war plans with anybody at any level. Hell, they allegedly attacked a US ship (USS Liberty) when they thought that it was getting intelligence on their movements during the 1967 War, and my very limited experience with the IDF has shown them to be a VERY colse hold military culture. Bottom line, Mr Baer likely has a new book in the owrks, and needs to get his name out there again.

[Hetgvwic]

Just chiming in with my support for the News side of Al Jazeera. Channel 35 carries their English-language news show and it's one of the best news programs out there.

[Mynameishappy]

I have also been predicting that Israel will attack Iran in the fall. I also predict the French president will resign after the elections, and Singapore will join China...

[CoenceLomneedtrue]

I had a social studies teacher back in high school who thought the best thing for the mid east would be to bomb the whole place to oblivion and build a resort on it before the news crews showed up.

He gave no timetable on this plan though.

Wow... What a terrible waste of a job your teacher was doing.

[Elissetecausa]

Wow... What a terrible waste of a job your teacher was doing.

It's not genocide if you build a resort.

[WrigleyMike]

Iran accuses US, Israel of killing scientist

TEHERAN — Iran on Sunday accused arch-foes the United States and Israel of masterminding the assassination of a scientist in Teheran, Dariush Rezaei-Nejad, who was reportedly associated with the defence ministry.

‘The American-Zionist terrorist act yesterday against one of the country’s scientists is yet another sign of the Americans’ degree of animosity,’ speaker Ali Larijani told parliament on Sunday.

‘America must think carefully about the consequences of such actions,’ he said, urging Iran’s security forces to give a ‘stronger response to such evil moves.’