government not to rush into unilateral military action against Irans suspectednuclear weaponsprogram.But Mr. Olmert went much further. Drawing boos from a largely American audience in New York, he fired off a wide-ranging broadside against Mr. Netanyahus foreign policy, saying that the prime minister was unprepared to offer meaningful compromise toPalestinians, disrespectful to the United States and dismissive of the international community at a time when Israel particularly needs foreign support to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Also, JTA quoted Olmert as saying, there is enough time to try different avenues of pressure to change the balance of power with Iran without the need for a direct military confrontation with Iran.
Ashkenazi said that Israeli forces still have time before needing to launch an attack, the Post reported. He added that it is better to persuade ourfriendsin the world and the region that [Iran] is a global threat.
"We need crippling sanctions and much more severe sanctions, he said. It might now be too late ... It needs to be supported by a credible military threat on the table."
Meanwhile, Haaretz reported speaking at a conference sponsored by the Jerusalem Post in New York, Dagan described President Ahmadinejad's regime as "smart" and "a master of diplomacy that heads forward consistently to achieve its nuclear objectives."
It is wrong to describe the issue as a "quarrel between Israel and Iran," Dagan asserted, adding that the Iranian problem "must be solved by the international community."
The former Mossad chief said that he agrees with Prime Minister Netanyahu's government that the Iran threat is a real problem, but disagrees with their policy on solving it. If the problem will not be resolved, Dagan added, a nuclear arms race will begin "all over the world, and not just in the Middle East."
Furthermore, RT stated that top Israeli government ministers are misleading the public about the consequences of preemptive military action against Iran, former Israeli security chief Yuval Diskin has warned.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were among those caught in a shower of criticism from Diskin during a public meeting on Friday.
They tell the public that if Israel acts, Iran won't have a nuclear bomb,he explained.This is misleading. Actually, many experts say that an Israeli attack would accelerate the Iranian nuclear race."
And besides criticism based on his military background, Diskin expressed some personal disagreement with the leaderships policies.
I don't have faith in the current leadership of Israel to lead us to an event of this magnitude, of war with Iran,Diskin explained.I do not believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on Messianic feelings.
