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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel Blames Iran, Syria for Bombings
2006-01-20
My surprise meter jumped a little when I saw this headline. Tangled webs and all that.
Israel's defense minister accused Iran and Syria on Friday of masterminding a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that wounded 20 people and said the militant group believed responsible would be targeted in raids. A Syrian official denied involvement.
"No! No! Certainly not!"
Islamic Jihad, which is backed by Syria and Iran, claimed responsibility for bombing a fast-food restaurant Thursday. The Palestinian attacker, who witnesses said posed as a peddler selling disposable razors, walked into the restaurant and blew himself up even though most customers were sitting outside at sidewalk tables, police said.
I saw a note yesterday that he was in the restroom of the restaurant and suffered premature explodulation.
The explosion wrecked "The Mayor's Shwarma," a restaurant specializing in grilled meat sandwiches. It is located in a rundown area of downtown Tel Aviv that has been hit repeatedly by Palestinian attackers.

After a late-night meeting with security officials, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said early Friday: "We have definitive proof that the financing of the terror attack ... came directly from Iran, while the planning was carried out in Syria." He said the findings would be shared with American and European officials. Faisal Sayegh, the director of Syria's state-run broadcast media, said Syria had "nothing to do with the operation." Israel considers Iran to be its biggest threat — a concern that has grown since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be "wiped off the map."
As I reflect on this article, I find myself wondering if these statements are actually meant to be added to the complaint file when/if Iran is finally hauled in front of the Security Council and Officially Frowned Upon®.
Posted by:Seafarious

#5  Israel is in a similar position to President Bush. It doesn't matter what they say, those who should be reporting won't hear what they don't want to, and will only report half truths and untruths. So with very few exceptions, Israel has given up trying to pursuade.
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-01-20 20:29  

#4  You're absolutely right Moose. Israel has the worst PR in the world. They should have been alerting the world all along to these attacks from Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad as acts of war from Iran and Syria. When the time comes for Israel to act they would be much better positioned. It would show years of restraint on their part. And military action would not look preemptive. It would just look like they were finally pushed to respond.
Posted by: Intrinsicpilot   2006-01-20 13:17  

#3  good line of reason Moose.
Posted by: RD   2006-01-20 11:41  

#2  I won't object.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-01-20 11:39  

#1  Israel has been missing a bet here for years. By allowing the Syrians and Iranians to sponsor a "proxy war" against them, and yet not blaming them for it after each and every incident, the Israelis could have laid much of the groundwork for the future.

In other words, they should have declared these attacks to be an "act of war" by an outside nation, rather than treating them as domestic problems. The words "act of war" carry great meaning, internationally, and would have resulted in much more pressure being applied to Syria and Iran over time.

Declaring an "act of war" against you is just shy of declaring war yourself, and declaring repeatedly that "acts of war" are being committed against you is in effect calling for international intervention to stop the "outrages", or be faced with a declaration of war response.

It also covers your rear end when and if you respond. That is, if the rest of the world just sat idly by then, despite these entreaties, they have forfeited the right to object when you respond in self-defense.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2006-01-20 11:36  

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