On September 30, 1980 a pair of Iranian fighters attacked a French-built nuclear research reactor in Iraq, near Baghdad, at the urging of Israel's Chief of Army Intelligence. The bombing damaged the reactor some, but not enough to delay it's use. Israel determined that the still-functional reactor would be instrumental in Iraq's attempts at developing a nuclear arsenal and on June 7, 1981 the Israeli Air Force destroyed the reactor before it ever was made operational.
Iran and Israel have a less cordial relationship today. Back in April, The Times reported that Israel is prepared to strike at Iranian sites in a move similar to the aforementioned Osirak incident. The three month old report was made more relevant over the weekend by Vice President Biden muddying the waters by opening his mouth. As reported by the AP: "Vice President Joe Biden signaled that the Obama administration would not stand in the way if Israel chose to attack Iran's nuclear facilities." I say he muddied the waters because a few days later, the Jerusalem Post reported Obama has felt the need to clarify the position of his administration. Obama reiterated that Biden had only been referring to the fact that one state cannot dictate to another what the state's national interests are. However, also according the The Times, Saudi Arabia has given tacit approval of any possible Israeli plans to bomb Iranian military sites.
This web of who approves of whose actions is enough to make my head hurt, so I will end with my main amusement over Obama's clarification of Biden's remarks: the administration seems to have had no problem dictating to Israel what it's national interests "should be" in the not-so-distant past.
"This web of who approves of whose actions is enough to make my head hurt..." Got to love Middle Eastern politics. It's like watching a half dozen thieves try to knife each other in the back at once.
ReplyDeleteOh, but that would be far too simple. All they have to do is stand in a circle...
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