Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Israel should not risk national suicide


Russian Roulette with Iranian Nukes -Michael J. Totten

There's a theory floating around that Iran doesn't want to use nuclear weapons against Israel. Rather, Iran wants nuclear weapons so it can transform itself into a true regional superpower.

President Obama said a nuclear Iran would be a "game changer." He's right.

The worst case scenario - the incineration of Tel Aviv - isn't likely. I don't expect it will ever actually happen. But I don't live in Israel. I'm safe and can afford to be wrong. The Israeli government won't make the same risk calculations I make. If I'm wrong, they're dead, and so is their country.

And let me ask this: How would you feel if your doctor diagnosed you with an illness and said there's a 10% chance it will kill you? Would you sleep peacefully and do nothing and hope for the best? Those odds, for me, are prohibitive.

Those odds are almost as bad as the odds in Russian Roulette, and you couldn't pay me enough to play that game even once.
[MichaelTotten.com]

[Note: Russian Roulette is a 'game' where a six shooter chamber is spun after being loaded with a single bullet and the gun is passed around the room until someone is dead. Probably invented by drunk Russian soldiers.]

[Note: I fundamentally disagree with Mr. Totten's assessment that Iran would not use nukes if they had them. However, his conclusions are compelling.]

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