I covered this MOU four years ago and included the text of the document.
By Ted Belman
Just prior to the inauguration of Barack Obama, he demanded that Israel agree to a ceasefire and end Cast Lead. The ceasefire agreement was negotiated and signed by Condeleeza Rice and PM Livni. The issues then were identical to the issues today. LiveLeak reported:
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Some of the clauses in the memorandum, that would bind the incoming US administration as well, included measures against Iran, Hamas’s main backer as regards funding and armament.
During an interview to Channel 10 shortly after concluding her meeting with Rice, Livni hinted that some US forces, as well as NATO and other regional countries, will work directly with Israel “in land and at sea” to combat weapons smuggling.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s preference was to conclude a ceasefire “over Hamas’s head” regardless of the terror group’s position, working with Egypt and the US, the station reported.
“The MOU that Foreign Minister Livni and I will sign should be thought of as one of the elements of trying to bring into being a durable cease-fire, a cease-fire that can actually hold,” Rice told reporters.
“As you know, there are a number of conditions that need to be obtained if a cease-fire is to be durable. … And among them is to do something about the weapons smuggling and the potential for resupply of Hamas from other places, including from Iran,” she added.
“This we see as part of a broader international effort on the information sharing” on how to deal with weapons shipments,” she said.
[..]
McCormack added: “This is an enabling condition to get to a cease-fire.”
Diplomats said earlier that the text calls for enhanced intelligence cooperation and US technical and logistical support for border monitors.
Livni cautioned that a halt to Israel’s campaign must be based on enforceable guarantees that the situation on the ground must change and “will not come from a simple call for a ceasefire.”
US diplomats said the hope was that the agreement would satisfy Israeli concerns about reopening Gaza border crossings and will be an important piece of an Egyptian cease-fire initiative being negotiated in Cairo to end the fighting…
This is one more example that guarantees no matter how specific cannot be relied upon. Hopefully since the deal was made by Obama, he will honour it.
@ yamit82:
I wish you luck and hope things work out well. I am not confident they will.
@ GoneWithTheWind:
Yes, but again, my question remains, WHOSE “legitimate response scenario”?
@ GoneWithTheWind:
GoneWithTheWind Said:
“A land which the L-rd thy G-d cares for; the eyes of the L-rd are upon it, from the beginning of the year unto the end of the year.”
Dvarim (Deuteronomy) 11:12
If Israel were to come under massive conventional attack by Iran or anyone else we will use whatever strength we possess to deflect and stop the source. Is that clear to you? One of the major reaosns Israel has till now refrained from Attacking Iran is due to the fact that we will necessarily need to use tactical nukes to accomplish our mission. Better America do the job using conventional armaments but at the end of the day…We may be left with no choice and how “THE BRADBURY BUTTERFLY EFFECT” kicks in can be only speculated upon.
If they do and succeed then it would be a strong possibility but if so then you can say bye bye to all of the civilized world and beyond.
Do you realize the effect of hundreds of thousands of radio active oil wells burning radio active soot and sand into the atmosphere most burning for years? It would block the sun creating the predicted nuclear winter destroy all or most of animal and plant life on the planet. If radioactivity does not kill you then starvation, ice age freezing temps and disease will.
Nice theory but no military or practical basis. Iran expended a million Iranians lives in fighting Iraq. No guarantee any opposition group would be any different than the current one, with regards to Nukes and threat to Israel. They have subordinated their whole economy to attaining Nukes and enhancing parts of their military, what ever scenario you envision them expending much or most of their armaments on fails to take in the consideration that the object of theirs will not bite back even harder, so why should they choose a strong opponent?
Israel should destroy all their oil fields rendering them useless to Iran or anyone else. No Income=No Nukes, No Nothing except permanent internal Chaos. I love Chaos among my enemies. Next best thing other than killing them. Once Israel internalizes that It’s them or us everything else falls into place with regards to what we must do in our own selfinterest
“He who is merciful to the cruel will be cruel to the merciful”
America and the West have had their chance to save themselves: So far you have blown it and will have to pay the ultimate price. We know we here in Israel will largely come through such an event intact and mostly unharmed. How do I know? The Bible tells me so!!! 🙂
@ dweller:
Good question. Who indeed. The point I was making was simply Iran has substantial first strike capability but not much military depth. They “could” be tricked into using this fire power against an elusive military target rather then an easy civilian target. Once they do this their military power would be seriously diminished while simultaneously creating the legitimate response scenario that could eliminate what is left of their military and perhaps set up the very real possibility of an uprising within Iran to throw the mullahs out of power.
Iram does not need to use nukes they have enough missiles to decimate Israel. They test Iron Dome by having Hamas fire multiple missiles at the same time to prove that Iron Dome cannot stop them. If Iran were to use a nuke against Israel this would be a disaster of biblical proportions. Israel is quite small and two nukes would effectively destroy them. I don’t agree with your premise that Iran is not much of a theat to Israel or less of a threat then Egypt. Iran has expressed their intent to destroy Israel and at this point they have acquired the ability. It is likely that if Iran attacks that other Arab countries will pile on as well but Iran is still the primary threat. All of this is true and accurate even if it does not fit your belief system.
@ GoneWithTheWind:
GoneWithTheWind Said:
What’s there not to understand? In my own way I said your were blowing smoke. (Full of Shit)
Is that grown up enough for you?
Now if you can factually back up what you say RE: “Iran having sufficient firepower to decimate Israel” then we might discuss those facts like grownups. For Iran to use Nukes against Israel they would have to have and fire simultaneously from 5-10 Nukes just to ensure that one or two successfully reach their targets (Israel). While the ayatollahs may be prepared to die for their Madi, they are not prepared to die for nothing.
If Iran even begins an attack, conventional or otherwise, Israel has several options from EMP attack to totally incinerating Iran.
Israel can survive a Nuke attack in the kiloton range, the devastation and loss of life will depend if it explodes on contact or air burst. A small Nuke will be much less costly to us than a massive earthquake we are due to get as all experts confirm we are long overdue for a big one.
The Biggest problem I believe is that Iran gets and demonstrates she has mastered not only the Nuke cycle and has weaponized them but that she does not use them, Forcing a Nuke arms race in every Sunni Muslim country. I would not feel anymore comfortable having to face Nuke armed Arab regimes ruled by MB than I do with Iran. Egypt unlike Iran has initiated 5 wars against Israel since 1947 Iran so far none.
@ GoneWithTheWind:
So that “the only proper response” by WHOM “would be to destroy Iran’s military”?
— Flesh this out, please.
Pr. O. has been given ONE chance.
The Muslims will blow it.
Obama believes that he can convert crazy people!!!!
While I don’t understand the respone of Yamit82 I will try to respond to what I assume he means. I don’t know where you stand because I don’t know you. Presumably you don’t know me either. However you guessed wrong, not just wrong but 180 degrees wrong. I’m guessing this has been a problem all your life. Grow up. On this Issue I am on Israel’s side but I refuse to simply blind myself to the facts. The world allowed Iran to get to this point and now unless Iran makes a mistake and wastes their arsenal they have sufficient firepower to decimate Israel. Some years back when Saddam was building up Iraqs military and making WMDs he made a mistake and invaded Quwait before he had the ability to either defend himself or destroy the opposing nation. If Iraq’s military had not been destroyed he would have no doubt used WMDs in the region perhaps against Iran or maybe against Israel. But unless we can force Iran into making a similar provocation that will result in an overwhelming response then the fact remains that if tonight Iran decided to launch everything they have against Israel in 24 hours most of the citizens in Israel would be killed and most of the infrastructure would be destroyed. Israel could indeed counterstrike and destroy Iran, nuke it back to the stone age, but that would be of little satisfaction. These are the facts. I fully understand they are not pleasant but they are irrefutable.
To answer S Smyser: Somehow Iran has to be tricked into a “Pearl Harbor” moment so that the only proper response would be to destroy Iran’s military.
@ GoneWithTheWind:
Sounds like wishful thinking to me, or you are on some hallucinate. Extensive physical damage and some loss of life but hardly more than that at worst. Unless our enemies find and use some WMD then Israel would vaporize not only the source but you wouldn’t want to know what else, you might dirty your underwear.
GWTW – So, the point of no return has been reached… It is only a matter of time and circumstance.
Little need for “world opinion” then – next real provocation, do what really needs to be done, the
thing that should have been done many years ago.
I think the problem now is that sometime in the last 4 years or so Iran and it’s surrogates surpassed the firepower necessary to destroy Israel’s cities and kill most of their citizens. I’m not talking about the small rockets Hamas has fired at Israel for years but the greater fire power from Iran or from Russia through Iran. If Israel was to try to destroy Iran’s growing nuclear technology Iran and it’s surrogates will use that firepower mercilesly. Even if Israel could successfully destroy Irans nuclear capability Iran will destroy Israel. This latest confrontation looked to me like either a test or a trap or both. Had Israel choosen to go into Gaze on the ground and in the air then Hamas would have forced Israel to use deadly force against the population and this would have provided sufficient provocation for Iran to enter the war openly. I have no doubt that Israel has sufficient airpower to retalliate and destroy Irans military as well as destroy Hamas and Hezbollah as well but Israel would also be destroyed. The game is up. Now it is just a question of when Iran (or events) create the conditions for the full fledged attack. When that happens nuclear weapons are a foregone conclusion if for no other reason then that Israel won’t accept the devastation rained down on them and leave their most powerful weapons unused.