The Iranian Connection

The Iranian Connection

October 5, 2004

Shalom.

We have all been asking ourselves the same question, over and over again. Why? What happened to Ariel Sharon? Why is he insisting that Israel abandon Gush Katif and evict people from their homes?

The difficulty is compounded following the tragic events at the end of last week: Kasam missiles hitting Sderot, killing two babies, aged two and four. And this on the heels of the terror mortars and missiles in Neve Dekalim, which left a young woman dead, soldiers killed, and a mother of two shot to death by terrorists.

For the past couple of days Israeli troops have, much to the chagrin of the Europeans, moved en masse into several key strategic points in Gaza, including the infamous Jabalia refugee camp. Dozens of terrorists have been wiped out, including major producers of Kassam missiles, and those who operate them. This, in order to prevent further attacks on Sderot.

In a radio interview late Saturday night, Sharon emphasized that all rocket attacks on Sderot and ‘other Israeli communities must be stopped completely, ‘allowing the eviction to take place quietly,’ i.e., not under fire. Of course, it must be asked why Sharon didn’t take major offensive action many months ago, thereby preventing literally thousands of daily attacks on Gush Katif communities. It is quite clear that the State of Israel, according Sharon, is divided into different types of people: there are those who live in cities like Sderot, who have real red blood, and then there are others, like those living in Netzarim, Kfar Darom and Neve Dekelim, whose blood isn’t quite so red. Jewish sacrifices in Sderot are unacceptable; Jewish blood spilled in Gush Katif is another story.

What is imponderable is what exactly Sharon expects will occur following (G-d forbid), the retreat from Gaza. Israeli forces will totally pull out, leaving the entire southern border open to attack. Hamas has promised, time after time, to hit Ashkelon. Does Sharon believe that Hamas terrorists are liars? Hamas doesn’t lie – it tells the truth. They believe in the destruction of the State of Israel and they say it. They promise to kill Jews, and unfortunately, they do it. They guarantee that they will bomb Ashkelon, and I have not doubts that they will do their best to fulfill their pledge. And they have no plans to stop there.

So what does Sharon think – that fleeing from Gaza will solve all our problems, that Hamas will turn into our best friends? Far from it. When you run away from terror, the terror just follows you, like a tail. You cannot escape it or avoid it. The only way to deal with terror is head on – to destroy it. Ariel Sharon is accomplishing exactly the opposite. And it is hard to believe that he doesn’t know it. So, what’s up?

The following thesis is conjecture only. I have no proof of what I am about to say. I don’t have ‘connections’ with ‘higher-ups’ who have ‘leaked’ information to me. Truthfully, it is very difficult, if not down right impossible to accurately analyze the current situation because there is too much that is unknown. You can only analyze a situation based on the data available. When critical data is unavailable, the analysis can only be defined as unreliable.

That having been said, I would like to offer a possible explanation of Ariel Sharon’s escapades. The key is Iran and the magic word is nuclear weapons.

Only a few days ago Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi said, "Nobody has the right to deny Iran its right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.” Last week, Iran defied the International Atomic Energy Agency by saying it was resuming the enrichment of uranium. Iranian Vice President Reza Aghazadeh said the country had started converting raw uranium into the gas needed for enrichment, an important step in making a nuclear bomb.

According to the internationally acclaimed security publication Janes, the Iranian reactor is an authentic nuclear threat: “A heavy water reactor is among the most dangerous in existence from a proliferation perspective…According to David Albright, Director of the Institute for Science and International Security, the IR-40 will be able to produce 8-10kg of plutonium per year - approximately one to two bombs' worth of nuclear material. The IAEA holds that 8kg of plutonium constitutes a "significant quantity" - enough to build a nuclear weapon. [http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jir/jir031114_1_n.shtml]

How is Israel reacting to the Iranian threat? Last week Defense Minister Shaul Mufaz stated that Israel has to be prepared to deal with what he called the Iranian “threat”.

“All options have to be taken into account to prevent it,” he was quoted as saying.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel is “taking measures to defend itself.”

What’s the connection between this and Gush Katif? My guess is this:

Ariel Sharon knows that Israel will have to strike first against the Iranian nuclear reactor, regarding this presently as the gravest strategic threat to Israel’s existence. He also knows that the mission may include preemptive strikes against Hizballah, stationed in Lebanon, and possibly also against Syria. He also knows that the entire world will condemn these actions.

In order to lessen the ‘damage’ as he sees it, before hitting Iran, he pulls Israel out of Gaza, in essence, saying to the world, ‘look, you see, I really want peace. I did what no other Israeli prime minister could do – now leave me alone and let me protect my country.’ Then Israeli warplanes bomb the Iranian reactor. In other words, in Sharon’s eyes, Gush Katif, and four Shomron communities are a necessary sacrifice in order to remove Iran from the nuclear club. He expects that the rest of the world will leave him alone after pulling Israeli families out of the homes.

He couldn’t be more wrong.

1. Israel doesn’t need any excuses to destroy the Iranian threat. An Iranian nuclear bomb threatens not only Israel, but all of world peace. Where would we all be today if Israel hadn’t destroyed the Iraqi nuclear plant in 1981? Iranian Islamic fundamentalist leadership would have no qualms using the ‘bomb’ against Israel, nor would they hesitate to use it against any western nation, all of whom they view as ‘infidels.’
2. Sharon’s fleeing from Gaza in order to placate world opinion creates, in itself, an existential threat to our state. True, if your leg is infected and must be amputated to save your life, then there is no choice. But in this case, the infection is left festering and the healthy limb is to be removed.
3. This also establishes a very dangerous precedent for the future. Israel will be told, in no uncertain terms, ‘if you want to continue to protect yourself from outside threats, without international intervention, chop off another part of your body.'
4. And perhaps most important, the world will never let us be. They assisted Hitler, actively or passively, sixty years ago. And they haven’t changed.

In other words, we must do whatever is necessary for self-preservation. And we must not play into the hands of our enemies, attempting to cosmetically ‘look good,’ in their eyes.

We must unconditionally guarantee destruction of the Iranian threat, we must stay put in all our land, and we must not allow the Iranian connection to disassemble our state.

With blessings from Hebron.