tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post6463478576438970973..comments2023-09-30T08:07:26.165-04:00Comments on Mystical Politics: What to think about the Gaza flotilla disaster?Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-50112571331063150842010-06-23T17:22:35.657-04:002010-06-23T17:22:35.657-04:00Belatedly: I find British unsourced news reports, ...Belatedly: I find British unsourced news reports, as a rule, unconvincing until support for their claims show up elsewhere. British newspaper practice allows for all sorts of claims to be printed with nothing but anonymous sourcing, and they usually turn out to be true. <br /><br />Of course, sometimes they have scoops. <br /><br />In this case, the claim is plausible, but since it's unverifiable until it's verified, I don't make anything of it.<br /><br />I do note that today's flurry of stories about an attack coming from Israel planes landing at, and launching from, the Saudi air base at Tabuk, made me laugh. (A look at a map should explain why.)Gary Farberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02883503507068654673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-74868759674417858882010-06-12T21:37:19.921-04:002010-06-12T21:37:19.921-04:00Very true. Thus I don't see Israel joining the...Very true. Thus I don't see Israel joining the NPT any time soon.<br /><br />What do you think of the latest Times of London supposed report on the Saudis giving Israel permission to overfly if they decide to bomb Iran?Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-39585686130782826682010-06-08T00:09:41.171-04:002010-06-08T00:09:41.171-04:00To be sure, I don't expect any Israeli governm...To be sure, I don't expect any Israeli government any time in the immediately foreseeable future deciding to give up Israel's nuclear weapons.Gary Farberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02883503507068654673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-53246186840053975262010-06-07T18:00:17.661-04:002010-06-07T18:00:17.661-04:00I could list the advantages, such as they are, but...I could list the advantages, such as they are, but I think you probably mean the comparative advantage, and that's certainly subject to debate. <br /><br />The answer to your second question is pretty much "yes." <br /><br />And, of course, then no one could accuse Israel of not adhering to the NPT, of being somehow granted an unwritten exception, the U.S. could no longer be accuse of making Israel an unwritten exception in policy with no possible <i>de jure</i> explanation, and Israel wouldn't be in company with North Korea as a nuclear outlaw, and unlike Iran, which at least has signed the NPT and adhered to it <i>most</i> of the time. <br /><br />Would the trade-off be worth it? As I said, quite debatable. <br /><br />But it certainly would prevent Israel from being criticized from not signing the NPT. Which is where we started.Gary Farberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02883503507068654673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-43328706448768148972010-06-05T11:32:23.386-04:002010-06-05T11:32:23.386-04:00Gary, what would be the advantage to Israel in joi...Gary, what would be the advantage to Israel in joining the NPT? Wouldn't they have to give up their nuclear weapons in that case?Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-11965773184476463332010-06-05T10:43:29.609-04:002010-06-05T10:43:29.609-04:00Rebecca,
I agree with some of what you write here...Rebecca,<br /><br />I agree with some of what you write here.<br /><br />My biggest disagreement is that you conflate policy with the competent carrying out of that policy. We do not, at this point, know where problems exist - only that people unfortunately were killed and Israel has, as a result, been tarred by its enemies and friends. Discovering the reason for why Israel acted as she did would require more information than is likely to leak out any time soon. Perhaps there were failures in information gathering, as some have speculated. Perhaps, the error was merely at the operational level, as others have speculated - in this case, anti-Israel people who say that the Israeli military scared those onboard into making a stand against the landing of Israelis on the boat. <br /><br />I think that what you have written about Turkey is simply contrary to fact. Turkey changed stripes some time back - note its emotional embrace of Sudan's eliminationist leadership/government and Iran leader and government - and such has been widely reported. <br /><br />Lastly, it is not all that clear that, apart from the US, that Israel has any friends. Certainly, any country that says Israel should merely life the blockade is no friend of Israel since the obvious result of such action would be rockets being fired into Israel. So, that leaves out most European countries. And, in the US, it is far from clear that the main player in the Obama administration - i.e. Obama - has any remote warmth for Israel. <br /><br />Much more important than this incident is Obama's policy - i.e. embracing countries that oppose US allies - has led the world to believe the US is in retreat. And that is causing events to spiral out of control all over the world and, quite likely, we are heading towards a terrible war.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-70195890021032435682010-06-05T05:14:53.180-04:002010-06-05T05:14:53.180-04:00The reason Iran went unmentioned is that the final...The reason Iran went unmentioned is that the final documents have to be approved by consensus by all signatories to the NPT. Iran is a signatory. <br /><br />Israel, of course, isn't. If Israel were a member, setting aside that it couldn't be criticized for not signing the NPT, it could also veto any criticism of itself. <br /><br />If it chose.Gary Farberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02883503507068654673noreply@blogger.com