On August 30th, I posted a blog indicating that Iran’s appointment of a wanted and suspected terrorist to be its Defense Minister heightened the chances of an Israeli attack against Iran. A reader, who chooses to remain anonymous, sent me the link below from the LA Times website. It is an opinion piece entitled “Israel has Iran in its sights,” and it is authored by Micah Zenko, a fellow in the Center for Preventive Action at the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR). You can be sure Mr. Zenko would not have released this piece unless the CFR had approved its release.
Mr. Zenko’s piece offers persuasive arguments that an Israeli attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities will take place soon unless Iran backs down from its nuclear weapons program by the end of this month. He also offers historic evidence that when the Israelis need to take military action to defend themselves, they will do so without the approval of the USA. Indeed, he argues that if the Iranians do not back down by the end of September, “we can expect an Israeli attack that does not require U.S. permission, or even a warning.” If his projected timetable proves accurate, an Israeli attack against Iran can be expected as soon as October or not long afterwards.
As I noted in my August 30th blog, the Israelis (and the world) are fast running out of time to stop a nuclear war from erupting if Iran strikes first with its new nuclear weapons. Given the very high stakes, an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities would seem to be the least dangerous option available if Iran does not back down. Even if the Israelis strike Iran, the ensuing combat will be with conventional weaponry if the Israelis are successful in knocking out Iran’s Russian-provided nuclear facilities. Zechariah 12:1-7 prophesies that God will defend Jerusalem and Judah (the modern Israelis/Jews) in the latter days even if “all the people of the earth be gathered against it.” If the Israelis have to give the green light to its military forces to attack, maybe God’s angels will be escorts for the Israeli forces.
If the Israelis hit Iran, there could be a wider conventional war. It is possible that Iran will unleash Hezbollah to fire thousands of missiles from Lebanon into Israeli territory, attack western oil shipping and US naval ships in the Persian Gulf and activate terrorist cells around the world. On the other hand, the best outcome would be the collapse of the current Iranian government. I do not claim to know how this will end, but even the influential CFR now is on record that an Israeli attack could be imminent. Maybe the CFR opinion piece indirectly gave the Israelis the “green light” they wanted from the international community.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-zenko30-2009aug30,0,4989051,print.story
