Israel's National Security Follies

it's important, no matter how difficult it may seem at times, to try and laugh when reading the news taking place here in Israel. It is all too easy, once when forgets how to laugh, to get so down-in-the-dumps from following the news that he won't want to get out of bed in the morning.

In that spirit, below are two examples of how absurd Israel's security situation has become, thanks to our esteemed leaders (Don't forget to laugh):

1) It turns out that the ultra-Left Peace Plan proposed by Meretz party-boss Yossi Beilin, known as the Geneva Initiative (which was widely criticized for endangering the State of Israel, even by those on the political Left) took the security of the State of Israel more seriously than Ariel Sharon and Shaul Mofaz - supposed right-wingers (Courtesy of IMRA):

A comparison of the security arrangements under the "Geneva Accord" - a model agreement proposed by a group headed by Yossi Beilin to the security arrangements negotiated by VPM Shimon Peres and accepted by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for Rafah finds that Beilin proposed a considerably stricter arrangement.

#1 Who inspects?

Under the terms proposed by the Geneva Accord, a multinational force takes an active role in inspections.

Under the agreement accepted by Israel for Rafah, the multinational force can only observe the inspections carried out by Palestinians.

#2 Who has the authority to block weapons?

Under the terms proposed by the Geneva Accord, a multinational force has the right to block the entry of weapons.

Under the agreement accepted by Israel for Rafah, the multinational force can only suggest weapons be stopped - only the Palestinians have the right to actually stop weapons.

#3 Who has the final say in the case of a dispute?

Under the terms proposed by the Geneva Accord, an international group has final say in disputes.

Under the agreement accepted by Israel for Rafah, the Palestinians have final say in disputes.

2) Mofaz denies plans for Iran strike (Jerusalem Post):

A day after Military Intelligence Chief Aharon Zeevi Farkash said that after March Israel must be prepared to use means other than diplomacy to halt Iran's nuclear weapons program, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Thursday that the international community should use diplomacy to block Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Mofaz denied that Israel, which bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor more than two decades ago, was considering attacking Iran.

Israel will make every effort to get the UN Security Council to pass resolutions to bring sanctions against Iran to pressure it to abandon the nuclear program, Mofaz said.

Now, I am willing to give Mofaz the benefit of the doubt. I have full confidence that Israel already has a military strike drawn up - probably has had it drawn up for years, and has likely recently undergone some updating - and Mofaz is simply playing the political game.

Yet, a part of me wouldn't be too surprised to find out that Mofaz (and the Government of Israel) really believes that diplomacy is the answer, and that Israel doesn't yet have a viable plan to deal with the threat of an almost nuclear Iran - especially in light of example #1.

Hey, if we can't laugh at ourselves...

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