Linked is a sober analysis from a Council of Foreign Relations guy, Steven Simon, pointing out that Israel probably has the capacity to effectively strike Iran’s nukes and probably will, unless we try really hard to be nice to Bibi’s government. In short, Israel, flush with American aircraft, ordinance, and weapons systems, has the capacity to do great damage to American interests throughout the Mideast–huge spike in oil prices, we would be blamed, our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan threatened–and the only way we can prevent it so be really really accommodating to Israel, so the Israelis don’t feel isolated. Guess we shouldn’t even think of not vetoing any resolutions about Goldstone in the UN, much less BDS.
How did this happen to my country?
[From Simon:
[send high-profile visitors to Israel on reassurance missions; a presidential visit to express solidarity with Israel…
[Above all, Israel must not be left to feel alone…
[…while Israel may be amenable to American arguments for restraint, those arguments must be backed predominantly by concrete measures to contain the threat and reaffirmations of the special relationship, and only secondarily by warnings of the deterioration of the relationship, to be persuasive.]
