Under questioning during his senate confirmation hearing, America's new defense secretary, Robert Gates, mentioned that Israel had nuclear weapons. This has to be the worst-kept secret in the Middle East.
His slip, however, is still causing waves in Israel where, according to Haaretz, some people are demanding answers:
"Israeli officials were shocked by Robert Gates' statement to Congress that Israel has nuclear weapons, and they are worrying over why the U.S. secretary of defense-designate made this statement.
"In particular, they want to know two things: First, whether this statement was a private initiative by Gates, or whether he coordinated it with the top levels of the American administration. And second, whether he was implying that since Israel has nuclear weapons, it can deal with any nuclear threat from Iran on its own.
"If this was his intention, it would contradict what Prime Minister Ehud Olmert heard from U.S. President George W. Bush at their recent meeting. But Gates has had extensive experience in intelligence and diplomacy, and he does not have a reputation for slips of the tongue on sensitive issues. And while he is not one of Israel's fans, he is also not anti-Israel, and in the past, he has been understanding of Israel's security problems.
"Israeli officials were also shocked by Gates' expression of understanding for Iran's desire to obtain nuclear weapons: He listed all the states near Iran that do have nuclear weapons - Pakistan, India and Israel - and noted that not long ago, Saddam Hussein's Iraq also attempted to acquire the bomb. Furthermore, he said, the United States is a nuclear power, and its forces are deployed in Iran's vicinity throughout the Middle East, and Russia, another nuclear power, is also nearby.
"It could be that Gates, a former head of the Central Intelligence Agency, was simply analyzing the situation like an intelligence officer. However, he was not testifying to Congress as an intelligence officer, but rather as a candidate for defense secretary - in which capacity he is supposed to adopt policy positions."
1 comment:
The consequence of "the" statement lay in the fact that an ignorant American public is now no longer ignorant of "the" fact and suspicion is the ignorant won't like being woken up to "facts" hithertoforth, denied them.
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