Former Mossad Chief: "Attack on Iran Would Mean Regional War"

June 3, 2011

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Today's top nuclear policy stories, with excerpts in bullet form.

Stories we're following today: Friday, June 3, 2011.

Former Israeli Intelligence Chief to Netanyahu: Don't Attack Iran - By Kevin Flower in CNN [link]

Israel's former top intelligence official says the country does not have the ability to stop Iran's nuclear program and that a pre-emptive attack against the Islamic Republic would result in a regional war that would pose Israel with an "impossible" challenge.
"We do not have the ability to stop Iran's nuclear program. In the best case scenario we can push it off a bit," said former Mossad chief Meir Dagan in widely reported remarks to a Tel Aviv leadership conference Wednesday.
"It is important to consider all options and not to run straight for the war option. At the moment no decision has been made to attack Iran, and I am not familiar with any decision to attack in 2011 or 2012," Dagan told the audience.

Iran Sanctions: Preferable to War but No Silver Bullet - By Barbara Slavin for the Atlantic Council's Iran Task Force [PDF link]

Slavin outlines the penalties imposed on Iran as a result of its nuclear program; its support for organizations the U.S. government has designated as terrorist; and its human rights abuses. It also discusses the impact of these penalties on Iran’s nuclear advancement, and the consequences for the overall Iranian economy.
Bottom line: "The Obama administration has made remarkable progress in unifying the international community behind tough sanctions on Iran, but it has not achieved its goal of persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program. Like a frog in a pot of water that is gradually getting hotter, Iran has adjusted to sanctions and even benefited by lifting consumer subsidies that distorted its economy. It is unlikely that the water will reach its boiling point so long as China maintains close economic ties with Iran and the price of oil remains stubbornly high."
Listen to the report launch here.

Appointments, Appointments - By Laura Rozen in The Envoy [link]

Joel Rubin, the deputy director and chief operating officer of the progressive National Security Network, is moving to the Ploughshares Fund to become its director of policy and government relations.
A former State Department Egypt desk officer, congressional staffer and Peace Corps volunteer, Rubin will spearhead government relations for the global security group. His focus will be on the nuclear weapons budget, U.S.-Russian nuclear arms reductions, and promoting a diplomatic resolution of Iran's nuclear program.
MJ note: Welcome aboard, Joel!

The Military Option for Countering Iran's Nuclear Program [link]

The Lighter Side: Your Weekend Box Office

X-Men: First Class Hits Theaters Friday - Fiction Meets Realism - entertainment.gather.com [link]

The conflicted political and historical issues of the Cold War are the setting for X-Men: First Class, the film shows the attack between the heroes and villains of the X-Men Universe using nuclear weapon.