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Israel Has No Margin for Error When It Comes to Iran

(National Post-Canada) Hirsh Goodman - Iran is maniacally dedicated to Israel's destruction, and says so on every occasion, in every language, and at every opportunity. No other country is existentially threatened by Iran, in a position to suffer irreparable damage if attacked with nuclear weapons. Those imposing sanctions and locked in diplomacy to try to resolve the problem are involved in global power play, not a life-and-death situation. For Israel, there is no margin for error. Over 70% of Israel's population, one-third of all the Jews in the world, and its ports, airports, refining capacities and industry are located along the coastal plain, about the size of an average game park in Africa. Imagine the devastation of a nuclear bomb in an area as dense as this one. The Iranians know this; hence the temptation, the dream, that it could be done, even knowing that Iran would suffer terribly as a result. But with a population 10 times that of Israel and a country 75 times as large, Iran reckons that no matter how harsh the punishment meted out in return for attacking Israel, it would be mauled, not killed. In this context, none of the symmetry and deterrence that kept the Cold War cold applies. From Israel's point of view, the Iranians must be taken at their word. To do otherwise would be to invite catastrophe.
2011-09-06 00:00:00
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