Monday, December 11, 2006
World's Worst Kept Secret?
The New York Times is reporting that "Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, appeared to acknowledge inadvertently during a TV interview shown Monday that Israel has nuclear weapons ...".
There is a rationale for Israel's long-standing coyness:
While Israel prefers not to discuss the nuclear issue at all, the policy of intentional ambiguity is seen as a way of creating a deterrent, without making it explicit, a position that could invite sanctions or encourage an arms race in the Middle East.
But it really seems to be the triumph of form over substance now. Even the new U.S. Secretary of Defense admitted what everyone already knows:
Last week, Robert M. Gates also seemed to acknowledge an Israeli nuclear arsenal, at his Senate confirmation hearing to become secretary of defense. Of Iran, he said, “They are surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons: Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west and us in the Persian Gulf.”Hey, here's an idea ... let's try basing international diplomacy on reality, rather than on illusion, face-saving and mating displays that put bower birds to shame.
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... Nawww!
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What was I thinking?
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