There’s no word in the Western press, but Aljazeera reports
that the US and Israel are conducting tests of the high altitude missile
defense system that the US has provided to Israel.
The anti-missile system is useless against the short-range
rockets of Hamas and Hezbollah. Its purpose is to protect Israel from longer-range
Iranian missiles.
Everyone understands that Iran would not attack Israel
except in retaliation. It is logical to conclude that the missile defense system
signals an upcoming Israeli attack on Iran.
If the US were opposed to an Israeli attack on Iran, the US
would not provide Israel with protection against retaliation and would not
engage in war games with Israel to test the system. The best way to prevent an
Israeli attack on Iran is to leave Israel open to retaliation.
This decision by the United States government is
irresponsible in the extreme. It enables Israel to spread aggression in the
Middle East. By signaling an attack, it would encourage a less cautious country
than Iran to strike first before the Israeli missile defense system is
operative.
The joint US-Israeli war games involving 2,000 troops from
the US European Command, the Israeli Army, and 17 US Navy ships is further
indication to the world that no matter what crimes the Israelis commit, the US
will protect Israel from being held accountable.
In the world today, the US and Israel are the two threats to
peace.
Paul
Craig Roberts [email
him] was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President
Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has
held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair,
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University,
and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He was
awarded the Legion of Honor by French President Francois Mitterrand. He is the
author of Supply-Side
Revolution : An Insider’s Account of Policymaking in Washington; Alienation
and the Soviet Economy and Meltdown:
Inside the Soviet Economy, and is the co-author with Lawrence M.
Stratton of The
Tyranny of Good Intentions : How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the
Constitution in the Name of Justice. Click here for
Peter Brimelow’s Forbes Magazine interview with Roberts about the recent
epidemic of prosecutorial misconduct.
