Back in 2013 it was Syria where the world was gearing for imminent military action after a relentless series of false flag provocations by the United States (intent on securing a Qatar gas pipeline to Europe) which in the last minute was deftly diffused by Vladimir Putin. In 2014, it was the Ukraine’s turn, and after a prolonged campaign orchestrated by Victoria Nuland<\/a> and the US State Department (again) which succeeded in the now traditional violent coup (see Egypt and Libya), once again saw Putin victorious, after yesterday’s annexation of the all important Crimean peninsula, achieved without the firing of one shot. So now that Putin has succeeded in trouncing the US twice in a row, it is time to poke some old, well-known geopolitical wounds, such as Iran. And who better to do it than Israel, where as Haaretz reports,<\/a> “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya\u2019alon have ordered the army to continue preparing for a possible military strike on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities at a cost of at least 10 billion shekels ($2.89 billion) this year,<\/strong> despite the talks between Iran and the West, according to recent statements by senior military officers.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To be sure there is a tangible benefit for all those involved: moar war means more military spending means more “broken windows” means more “GDP.”<\/em><\/p>\n Three Knesset members who were present at Knesset joint committee hearings on Israel Defense Forces plans that were held in January and February say they learned during the hearings that 10 billion shekels to 12 billion shekels of the defense budget would be allocated this year for preparations for a strike on Iran, approximately the same amount that was allocated in 2013.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Yet unlike the US where warmongering has become an art, if not a science, in Israel these things are taken far more seriously:<\/p>\n The IDF representatives said the army had received a clear directive from government officials from the political echelon \u2013 meaning Netanyahu and Ya\u2019alon \u2013 to continue readying for a possible independent strike by Israel on the Iranian nuclear sites, regardless of the talks now happening between Iran and the West, the three MKs said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As for the diplomatic cover for a potential attack, it is well-known, and the same one used for the past 3 years – attack Iran before it can nuke Israel and obliterate it from the face of the earth.<\/p>\n Ever since the interim accord between Iran and the six powers was reached, Netanyahu has stressed that Israel will not consider itself bound by it. In the last few weeks, as talks on a permanent accord have resumed, Netanyahu has upped his rhetoric on the Iranian issue, and is again making implied threats about a possible unilateral Israeli strike on the Iranian nuclear sites.<\/p>\n \u201cMy friends, I believe that letting Iran enrich uranium would open up the floodgates,\u201d Netanyahu said at the AIPAC conference earlier this month. \u201cThat must not happen. And we will make sure it does not happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ironically, this time Israel may see pushback from none other than the US itself, which mysteriously over the past 6 months has transformed itself from Iran’s most hated enemy to a willing partner who sees Iran as nothing short of a frontier market (not to mention source of natural resources).<\/p>\n However, the US too realizes that it needs “military outs” with Ukraine seemingly diffused for the time being. Which is why yesterday, a few hours after Russia peacefully annexed Crimea, the US made its feeble response known, when it suspended operations of the Syrian Embassy in Washington and its consulates and told diplomats and staff who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents to leave the country. The justification of this oddly timed move came from the U.S. special envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein who said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had refused to step down and was responsible for atrocities against Syrians.<\/p>\n\n
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