Ex-Israeli spy chief: Bombing Iran a stupid idea

(CBS News) One man know more about Iran's nuclear program than just about anyone, because it was his job to stop it as the former head of Israel's spy agency, Mossad.

In an upcoming segment for "60 Minutes", Lesley Stahl interviews Meir Dagan, confronting him for saying that bombing Iran now is "the stupidest idea" he'd ever heard.

Dagan: An attack on Iran before you are exploring all other approaches is not the right way how to do it.

Stahl: The dispute seems to come down, though, to whether you are at the end of everything that you can try, or whether you have a lot of time left to try other things, which seems to be your position.

Dagan: I never said it's a lot of time.

Stahl: Well, more time.

Dagan: More time.

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For nearly a decade, buying more time was his job. The Iranians say Dagan dispatched assassins, faulty equipment and computer viruses to sabotage the nuclear program. All the while, he was pouring over the most secret dossiers about the Iranian regime, gaining insights and a surprising appreciation.

Dagan: The regime in Iran is a very rational regime.

Stahl: Do you think Ahmadinejad is rational?

Dagan: The answer is yes. Not exactly our rational, but I think that he is rational.

Stahl: Do you think they're rational enough that they are capable of backing down from this?

Dagan: No doubt that the Iranian regime is maybe not exactly rational based on what I call Western thinking, but no doubt they are considering all the implications of their actions.

Dagan also told Stahl he thinks it's a mistake generally to make this situation an Israeli-Iranian issue. It should be an international issue. Somehow the Saudis should be encouraged to speak up and pressure the United States. And what he would really like to happen is that Israel sits back, and the Americans do it for the Israelis. It would then be internationalized. He knows that Israel will be attacked whoever does it, but they'll be attacked less and what he's most worried about is the retaliation.

The rest of Lesley Stahl's interview with Meir Dagan will air on "60 Minutes," this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT, and 6 p.m. Central.

[FREEVANUNU]

Just days before the London Sunday Times published a front page story with some of Mordechai Vanunu's photos shot inside of Israel's Dimona Facility he spent three days with Nuclear Physicist, Frank Barnaby, who had been employed by the Times.

Barnaby concluded that Israel had manufactured upwards of 200 nuclear warheads and testified at Vanunu's closed-door trial, "I very vigorously cross-examined Vanunu, relentlessly asking the same questions in a number of different ways and at different times. I found Vanunu very straightforward about his motives for violating Israel's secrecy laws he explained to me that he believed that both the Israeli and the world public had the right to know about the information he passed on. He seemed to me to be acting ideologically. Israel's political leaders have, he said, consistently lied about Israel's nuclear-weapons programme and he found this unacceptable in a democracy. The knowledge that Vanunu had about Israel's nuclear weapons, about the operations at Dimona, and about security at Dimona could not be of any use to anyone today. He left Dimona in October 1985 and the design of today's Israeli nuclear weapons will have been considerably changed since then. Modern nuclear weapons bear little relationship to those of the mid-1980."
http://www.causes.com/causes/523841-free-mordechai-vanunu

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

Israel claims it needs to attack Iran to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions in order to protect itself from Iran.

Well, the argument is patently false from the git-go as Israel has neither the ordinance nor the srategic capability for the sustained campaign that would be required to stop Iran's nuclear program.

So what is this really about then?

This is about Israel attempting to bring about regime change in America as far as I can tell.

Israel wants a repub in the White House as repubs give Israel carte blanche.

An attack on Iran, while hardly making a dent in Iran's nuclear program, would result in skyrocketing fuel prices and economic chaos here in the US, bettering the chances of Obama being replaced.

[Mladen_Andrijasevic]

It is interesting to note that Meir Dagan's opinion on Iranian mullahs' and Ahmadinejad's rationality runs counter the opinion of leading scholars of Islam like Bernard Lewis and Raphael Israeli and former CIA spy Reza Kahlili who spent 10 years among the Revolutionary Guards. Since all four have authority whose opinion should not be taken lightly, what is one to do? Well, take the worst case scenario.Since the stakes are so high (destroying 2/3 of humankind in order to bring about the return of the Mahdi) even a 5 percent probability that they are irrational is unacceptable. Google MAD is Dead

[robert1129]

Dagan also told Stahl he thinks it's a mistake generally to make this situation an Israeli-Iranian issue. It should be an international issue. Somehow the Saudis should be encouraged to speak up and pressure the United States. And what he would really like to happen is that Israel sits back, and the Americans do it for the Israelis. It would then be internationalized. He knows that Israel will be attacked whoever does it, but they'll be attacked less and what he's most worried about is the retaliation--------------------------------------------

This is exactly what Obama is trying to avoid - Israel's conviction that we will defend them when Israel is perfectly capable of defending itself and winning. Other countries have had the same thinking for decades and that has to change. The GOP candidates cannot understand what Obama is trying to do. Or, worse yet they do understand and are lying about what Obama is trying to do.

[BWB2020]

@EvaSmagacz

"...I am sure US Congressmen and Congresswomen will oblige. After all, they are beholden to Israel Lobby and show more fealty to Netanyahoo than to Obama."

Not to mention the war profiteers who are salivating at yet another chance to rape the US Treasury, the baggers who all get that "certain feeling" anticipating genocide in their name, and the fake neocons who want that only the poor pay for it.

[BWB2020]

@EvaSmagacz

"...I am sure US Congressmen and Congresswomen will oblige. After all, they are beholden to Israel Lobby and show more fealty to Netanyahoo than to Obama."

Not to mention the war profiteers who are salivating at yet another chance to rape the US Treasury, the baggers who all get that "certain feeling" anticipating genocide in their name, and the fake neocons who want that only the poor pay for it.

[EvaSmagacz]

"And what he (Dagan) would really like to happen is that Israel sits back, and the Americans do it for the Israelis.

Yep, American arms, American money and American blood, while Israel sits back.

I am sure US Congressmen and Congresswomen will oblige. After all, they are beholden to Israel Lobby and show more fealty to Netanyahoo than to Obama.