13-03-23 Tel Aviv – the human shield in a US-Israeli anti-Iran gamble, and Israel - the next Iraq, of self-will?

With Israeli military command centered in Tel Aviv and following routine statements by Iran of its intent to level Tel Aviv if attacked, it is only reasonable to consider the people of Tel Aviv the human shield in a brewing US-Israeli anti-Iran gamble. The Iron Dome anti-ballistic missile system is touted as a main defense under such situation. Reasonable doubts regarding its performance are ignored by most mainstream media, and instilling the Israeli public's confidence in the system's performance was integral to Obama's recent visit to Israel.  Let's hope that the Israeli public is not the subject of a repeat of Collin Powell's deception on the way to war in Iraq. The outcome of all out war with Iran may be devastating to Israel, as it has been to Iraq, and it may also lead to long term US occupation of Israel.

  

Israel's central command (HaKiryah) is located in the midst of the residential area of Tel Aviv, Obama's recent photo opportunity on the backdrop of an Iron Dome battery placed for the occasion at the Tel Aviv airport.

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Tel Aviv, March 22 – one of Obama's first photo opportunities in his recent visit to Israel was with Israeli civil and military leadership in front of an Iron Dome anti- ballistic missile battery, placed for the occasion at the Tel Aviv airport.  This expensive system is the product of a US-supported Israeli development, is only partially deployed, and is touted as central defense for the Israeli civilian population in case of an all out war with Iran. None of the anti-missile systems were ever tested in real battle under the projected scenarios.

War with Iran is already under way, with preceding acts largely contained to elimination of key Iranian personnel, cyberspace, and drone warfare.  While the US-Israeli alliance gained substantial success in eliminating individuals and in employing the Stuxnet computer worm, the capture of US drones (key element in US operations today) by Iran left the balance unclear.

With growing preparations for an all out war with Iran, with Israeli military command (HaKiryah) centered in Tel Aviv, and following routine statements by Iran of its intent to level Tel Aviv if attacked, it is only reasonable to consider the people of Tel Aviv the human shield in the brewing US-Israeli anti-Iran gamble. With it, most mainstream Israeli media ignored the disagreement regarding the Iron Dome's performance.  Both sides in the debate, IDF and MIT's Prof Postol and colleagues, have considerable reputation in the field, and both are considered biased by some or many.  The difference in their stated figures for the Iron Dome's performance ("84 percent" vs "as low as 5 percent") should be worrisome.  One cannot escape the comparison to statements pertaining to the Patriot anti-ballistic missile system.  While President Bush initially stated its performance at 97 percent, the US military later claimed that its performance in Israel in the 1991 Gulf War was 40 percent, while Postol testified before the US Congress an estimate of 10 percent.

Would the people of Israeli as willingly go to war with Iran, if they believed the Iron Dome's performance was below 50 percent?

And would Obama's visit to Israel and his photo opportunity with the Iron Dome be considered the equivalent of Collin Powell's infamous UN speech on WMD in Iraq?

The similarities between all out war with Iran and the war in Iraq may not end with large-scale deception to lead the public into war.  The outcome of an all out war with Iran may be devastating to Israel, as it has been for Iraq, and it may also lead to long-term occupation of Israel by the United States.  The preparations for that are already under way, with military cooperation between US and Israel at all times high, and the US military building in a rush job a 5 story underground command and control center in Tel Aviv.  

Writing from Tel Aviv, a block away from HaKiryah, one must wonder: Will Israel be the new Iraq, of self-will?

LINKS:

[1] How many rockets has Iron Dome really intercepted?

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/how-many-rockets-has-iron-dome-really-intercepted.premium-1.508277

[2] Where have all the Gaza rockets gone?

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/where-have-all-the-gaza-rockets-gone.premium-1.510341
[3] Why Is The US Spending Hundreds Of Millions On These Secret Israeli Bunkers?
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-site-y-911-phase-ii-tel-aviv-israel-2013-3#ixzz2ONjZ4k5j

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Joseph Zernik, PhD

<123456xyz@gmail.com>

< josephzernik@humanrightsalertngo.org>

Sent from "1984", Iceland-based Internet Service Provider

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Human Rights Alert (NGO)   
* United States - the 2010 submission of Human Rights Alert to the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations was reviewed and incorporated in the official HRC Professional Staff Report with a note referring to “corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California.”  

[1] 10-10-01 United Nations Human Rights Council Records for 2010 Review (UPR) of Human Rights in the United States, where Human Rights Alert (NGO) submission was incorporated with a note referring to "corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California."

http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/

* State of Israel  - the 2013 submission of Human Rights Alert to the HRC, was incorporated into the HRC Staff Report with a note, referring to "the lack of integrity of the electronic record systems of the Supreme Court, District Court and Detainees Courts in Israel."

[1] 12-05-10 Appendix I to Human Right Alert's Submission; 15th UPR - State of Israel: "Integrity, or lack thereof, of the electronic record systems of the courts of the State of Israel"

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8Aa2xQGbmk5cjNxd2szX05oMkU

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Occupy! 
11-12-10 Where should Occupy go next? Civil Disobedience in the footsteps of Thoreau and Gandhi!
http :// www.scribd.com/doc/75348301/