Did anyone notice Mossad's new outlook on an Iran bomb? - The Daily Star

Mossad chief Meir Dagan just contradicted Israel's intelligence community by claiming that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon in hand until 2014. Israelis have been extending this mystical date since the late 1990s, with the most recent scenario of Iran's readiness to launch a warhead being...2009/10. We are all either idiots who will readily believe whatever drivel Israel throws our way - or their intelligence is fundamentally and consistently flawed. Either way, we should no longer be inclined to pay any attention to Israel's beating of war drums over Iran's nuclear program. Hell, I could probably take an educated guess about the Islamic Republic's nuclear agenda and beat the Israeli intelligence community by a mile.

Dagan's announcement has placed Israeli PM Benjamin Netahyahu in a bind, however. The peace-averse Israeli leader was counting on the Iran nuclear threat to divert attention from any real progress toward a two-state solution and his continued support of illegal settlement activity in occupied Palestinian lands. Now that the head of Mossad has thrown a spanner in the works, what will Netanhayu's next step be? There is clearly no impending threat from an Islamic Republic that not only has no nukes in hand, but is also mired in post-election unrest that will necessitate a heavy domestic focus for the forseeable future. Netanyahu is as cunning as they come, and his next manufactured distraction will undoubtedly be as entertaining as it is false.

Want to Stop Israeli Settlements? Follow the Dollars - Washington Post

Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory have long been considered illegal by the international community. US President Obama's recent demands that Israel cease all settlement activity reflect diverging interests amongst the two allies. After all, peace plans will go nowhere until Israel shows serious intent, and the settlement issue has emerged as the first major test of wills.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is playing games to see what he can get away with, and it's time to do a "James Baker" on this slick dick. An old 1979 State Department legal ruling determined that Israeli settlement-building in occupied Palestinian territory "is inconsistent with international law." Like the Bush-style offensive of clamping down on US-Muslim groups that send funds to supposedly dodgy end-users in the Mideast, the Obama administration can invoke the 1979 ruling as gospel, and chase down any and all US groups that send funds to aid Israel's settlements.

Hey - if we are serious about pushing through an Israel-Palestine peace deal with a final settlement, we have to wean Israel off decades of mollycoddling so that they sit up straight and understand we mean business. Make it illegal to aid West Bank and Jerusalem settlement activities, and watch things grind to a halt. It doesn't even have to be too confrontational - get the UN Security Council to do it...and this time sit on our veto.