The Spymaster: Meir Dagan on Iran's threat

Dagan: We are going to ignite, at least from my point of view, a regional war. And wars, you know how they start. You never know how you are ending it.

We went outside and looked out from his balcony at the bright lights of the very prosperous, modern city of Tel Aviv.

Stahl: If Israel does strike Iran, the retaliation would probably take place right here. Hezbollah could come from the north; Hamas could fire from the south.

Dagan: It will be a devastating impact on our ability to continue with our daily life. I think that Israel will be in a very serious situation for quite a time.

Dagan's other concern is that a bombing attack would not be effective. It's been widely reported that there are four main, heavily fortified, nuclear facilities dispersed across Iran. He says it's more complicated than that.

Dagan: There are dozens of sites.

Stahl: Dozens?

Dagan: Dozens.

Stahl: Not four?

Dagan: Not four.

Stahl: So if Israel were to go and have their strike, they'd have to have a dozen hits?

Dagan: You'll have to deal with a large number of targets.

Stahl: Here's something that I saw that you said. You said, "There's no military attack that can halt the Iranian nuclear project. It could only delay it."

Dagan: Yes, I agree.

It's ironic that the man arguing that Israel show restraint, built his reputation on brute force. Dagan is legendary in Israel with a 44-year resume as an effective killing machine. Before Mossad, he ran undercover hit squads, executing PLO operatives in Gaza, then Shiite militias in southern Lebanon. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon used to say Dagan's expertise was, quote, "separating an Arab from his head."

Dagan: I never ever killed nobody or we were engaged in killing somebody who was unarmed.

Stahl: Here are some of the things that have been said and written about you. "Hard charging." "Stop at nothing." Somebody who, quote, "eats Arabs for breakfast."

Dagan: I am not responsible for what you are describing.

Stahl: But have you killed a lot of people?

Dagan: Unfortunately, I was involved in some engagement that people were killed.

Stahl: Any with your bare hands?

Dagan: Never. I know the stories. It's simply not true. Look, there is no pleasure in killing. There's no joy in killing people.

Sitting in his apartment, we were surprised that the walls were covered with pictures that he himself had painted.

Stahl: I see a lot of humanity in your paintings and I see paintings of Arabs.

Dagan: I know it would sound anti-Semitic if I said some of my best friends are Arabs, but I truly, really admire some of the qualities of Arabs.

His portrait is complex: he led a life of violence, but is a vegetarian. And in the background lies a haunting memory. This is a photograph of his grandfather moments before he was executed by the Nazis. Dagan would show it to his Mossad operatives before sending them off on missions.

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[chagrined1]

A clip was shown of Nazis killing Dagan's father, thus, his obsession with Iran not acquiring the bomb. Iran didn't kill his father. Dagan wants to kill Iranians because Hitler killed his father?

Europeans killed Jews and were responsible for the Holocaust, not the Palestinians, not Arabs, and not the Persians European Jewish refugees went to Palestine, took homes and land that belong to the Palestinians making the Palestinians refugees. So Jews are to the Palestinians what Hitler was to them? Are Jews any less evil? Jews owned 7% of Palestine at this time. The oppressed are now the oppressors!

The notion that America is supposed to attack Iran to stop the Persians from acquiring nuclear weapons capability is absurd since we could not stop Israel from developing the bomb despite giving Israel inducements to stop their endeavor which they pocketed and continued developing nuclear weapons capability. The notion that Israel can have the bomb and Iran can't is also absurd. Of curse Israel is a theater of the absurd! The Persians have a rich ancient proud culture. Israel was born out of a culture of terrorism! How much more must the American people suffer for Israel's transgressions?

[the1968]

Go Israel !

[WantingPeace]

I had expected more from 60 Minutes and Leslie Stahl, although from neither Shachar Bar-On nor CBS, than the incomplete content of your interview with Meir Dagan on March 11. While I applaud that Mr. Dagan rejects the idea that Israel should bomb Iran to cease Iran's developing nuclear bomb capability, I find you totally remiss in characterizing him as a hero. The fact is that Meir Dagan was an assassin and coordinated assassinations.

You showed a photo of Mr. Dagan's grandfather shortly before the Nazis murdered him. The Nazis' conduct was despicable and unforgivable. I can only imagine Mr. Dagan's grief and anger. That said, as despicable and unforgivable as the Nazis were, their conduct gives no license for Israel to commit its current horrors on the Palestinian people. Israel lost the moral ground at Deir Yassin and with the conduct of Irgun, Haganah and The Stern Gang. Although, of course, that is but a partial list and the onset of Israeli transgressions.

Ms. Stahl, you referred to Ariel Sharon lauding Mr. Dagan for "beheading" Arabs - a comment which was both inappropriate and outrageous. May I remind you that it was Ariel Sharon who fomented the massacres in the Sabra and Shatila Refugee Camps, and lead the invasion into defenseless Jenin. Great source, Ms. Stahl. You and 60 Minutes should be ashamed of presenting your one-sided story.

[PissedOFFjew]

Islamic people are pissed off at Israel because israelis VIOLENTLY took land that DOES NOT belong to them. They did that using terrorist tactics. Israel murders children every day and uses cluster bombs in densely populated areas (which is a crime of war), with no accountability. Every day Jewish settlers kill and destroy the way of life of innocent Palestinian civilians, with not a single shred of justice being served onto them. Then they have the audacity to call arabs terrorists, and warmongers. Shame on israel for the racist policies their government follows. They will be remembered in the history books as the NAZIS of the middle east

[urdrwho]

I wonder when the media is going to start giving the truth of the Israel problem? Did anyone ever think it was going to work out well to allow Israel to take land by force? I'm not judging the merit of or against it but American Indians fought for years against the people taking their land. Imagine if 200 years ago they all had weapons like we do today and there would have been blood running like rivers. Sun Tzu wrote about war is based on deception and we are seeing that deception today. The deception is that everything done by Israel is good and right. It is deception to not show that on a daily basis Israel is taking the house, the land owned by another to make it their own. We go to war to stop invaders and I can't believe that we are still backing the idea that it is just and proper to take legally owned land from another. The legal idea of property rights of a Palestinian is a ghost document. From a military defense the war will not end. Even if they take all the land, it would take 100 years for neighboring Arab countries to get past this thing. Maybe they would never get past it. The hate of Arabs against Israel will be engrained in future generations.

Before 1948 in Palestine you had people of different faiths living together without much if any animosity toward each other.

But the deception has been going on for a long time dating back to 1917. Leopold Amery not only wrote the 1917 Balfour Declaration,which laid the groundwork for the state of Israel. He hid his Jewish family from the public. There are many conspiracy novels out there but one thing for sure is that the current path is not sustainable. Some day, at some time, someone is going to hit the button that will start WWIII.

[PissedOFFjew]

love how Israel calls Iran a rogue state, when they are the ones committing every day crimes against humanity in the west bank and Gaza. They complain about how the world hates Jews, and how Jews are oppressed, while at the same time running an apartheid state.On top of that they have the audacity to be the loudest voice in support of military action against Iran, because they think Iran may or may not get a nuclear weapon in the FUTURE, while they (Israel) have the LARGEST NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARSENAL IN THE REGION.

[syslmod]

The man is the messiah!

[syslmod]

Very proud of mr. Dagan.

[Heroic-Mossad-Men]

Pride:

There is too much gloating, especially when one can use the channel without anyone to counter your point of view on air.
Teseby Ashkolov can speak - or not any more - volumes of the professionalism that Dagan spoke off. I am sure the killing three faculty members of physics department of an Iranian university is much more daring than having the organizer of the opponent's assassination team trip on his own magnetic bomb "by accident", as it happened to the Mossad's deputy.
http://www.asian-defence.net/2012/02/car-explosion-kills-israels-mossad.html
My sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and his colleagues.

[mrsenka]

This guy is just playing "good cop / bad cop". it's time the US stopped supporting the zionissts.
Many israelies don't even like their facist, violent approach to solving problems (which they created to start with)

[mrsenka]

This guy is just playing "good cop / bad cop". it's time the US stopped supporting the zionissts.
Many israelies don't even like their facist, violent approach to solving problems (which they created to start with)