(The Times-UK) Amos Yadlin - A deal between Iran and the West, Russia and China on its nuclear program is due to be unveiled, without real assurances that Iran's program is properly defanged. There are three likely scenarios for where the world goes from here: 1.Iran somehow transforms itself into a less malign state and constructively engages with the family of nations. Unfortunately, this is highly unlikely. 2.Iran decides in a few years to renege on its commitments, as North Korea did in 2003. If Tehran calculates that the gains of this approach outweigh the retaliation it would provoke by the West, there is no doubt they will go for the bomb. Israel and the international community must maintain a credible military option at all times to stop Iran producing a nuclear weapon. 3. Iran plays it safe, keeping to the letter if not the spirit of the agreement, while waiting for any restrictions on it to expire in a decade. While doing this, Iran improves its technological know-how, continues to sponsor terrorism, and calls for the destruction of Israel. The deal and the lifting of sanctions on Tehran will pour more than $100 billion into Iran. Even a fraction of that sum will triple the budgets of terrorists such as Assad, Hizbullah and Hamas. Israel learned long ago that taking out a nuclear program doesn't equate to war. The U.S. and NATO possess the capacity to strike Iran's nuclear infrastructure with devastating power, while simultaneously deterring Iran's leadership from escalating further. Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin, chief of Israeli military intelligence from 2006 to 2010, is director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.
2015-07-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive