Hersh Article in the New Yorker

[jdobbin]

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060821fa_fact

Interesting article.

[Shady]

I saw him tonight on Hardball. He's an interesting guy. I'm not sure if I believe all his claims, but you gotta figure he's right about some stuff.

[jdobbin]

I saw him tonight on Hardball. He's an interesting guy. I'm not sure if I believe all his claims, but you gotta figure he's right about some stuff.

There has been a lot of anger over Hersh over the years but his sources have been impeccable.

[Leafless]

I saw him tonight on Hardball. He's an interesting guy. I'm not sure if I believe all his claims, but you gotta figure he's right about some stuff.

There has been a lot of anger over Hersh over the years but his sources have been impeccable.

Properly described as Hersh being a quintessential muckraker!

[Black Dog]

Properly described as Hersh being a quintessential muckraker!

Nothing wrong with that.

[jdobbin]

Properly described as Hersh being a quintessential muckraker!

But are his facts incorrect?

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear Leafless,

Properly described as Hersh being a quintessential muckraker!

I don't know about 'muckraker', but he was the one to break the story of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. I have a book from Hersch called 'The Samson Option', about Israel's development of nuclear weapons. If Hersch lacked credibility, he would have been denounced as a crackpot long ago.

Is Iran a potential target?...Yes.

from...

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/iran.htm

On 08 September 2004 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the international community has not done enough to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and warns that Israel will take its own measures to defend itself. He also said Iranian officials have made it clear they seek the destruction of the Jewish state. Israeli Air Force pilots have been practicing attacks on a scale model of the Bushehr reactor in the Negev Desert.

It would be difficult for Israel to strike at Iran without American knowledge, since the mission would have to be flown through American [formerly Iraqi] air space. Even if the United States did not actively participate with operations inside Iranian air space, the US would be a passive participant by virtue of allowing Israeli aircraft unhindered passage. In the eyes of the world, it would generally appear to be a joint US-Israeli enterprise, any denials notwithstanding. Indeed, it is quite probable that Iran would not be able to readily determine the ultimate origins of the strike, given Iran's relatively modest air defense capabilities. Thus, even if the strike were entirely of American origin, Israel would be implicated. When asked in August 2004 about Israeli threats to attack Iran, Bush's national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, declined to say whether the United States would support such action by Israel.

from...

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops...trikes-2006.htm

On 22 January 2006 Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz hinted that Israel is preparing for military action against Iran's nuclear facilities. "Israel cannot accept an Iranian nuclear capability and it must defend itself, with all that that implies," Mofaz said. "We are preparing," he added.

Israel marches to it's own drum, and generally has disdain for the USA (and operates spies there) even as it takes huge amounts of money and arms from them. Though the US may want to see the strikes happen, they will probably end up playing the role of political (and military) damage control.