Why Israel shrugs at retaliation after attack on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Avi Nave, Daniel Nisman - (Opinion) August 17, 2012 - 12:00am

Last week Iran sent a high-level envoy, Saeed Jalili, on a particularly controversial public-relations tour to Lebanon and Syria, the most explosive corner of the region. After ruffling feathers during a Beirut stopover, Mr.

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Obama's Last Chance Before Israel Bombs Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Benny Morris - (Opinion) August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

There is only one thing that can prevent an Israeli assault on Iran’s nuclear installations before the US presidential elections—and that, short of an attack by America itself, which is seen as extremely unlikely, is an iron-clad guarantee by President Obama that he will destroy the Iranian installations soon after his prospective re-election if the Iranian do not desist under the impact of the ongoing economic sanctions

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In Israel, debate rages over Netanyahu's threats to attack Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Whether serious or a bluff, Israel'spublic threats to attackIran'snuclear development program are widely credited for bringing U.S. pressure and international sanctions against Tehran this year.

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My Story As a Pacifist in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Jonathan Ben-Artzi - (Opinion) August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Exactly ten years ago I was imprisoned for my refusal to enlist in the Israeli military. This marked the end of a three-year losing legal battle in Israeli court to have conscientious objection recognized as an option for military service.  It was the beginning of an ongoing struggle to save my country from its inevitable demise. Like a drug-addict, Israel needs an intervention.  It is addicted to the military; blind support does it no good.

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Gentlemen, America is telling you 'no'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Eitan Haber - (Opinion) August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Many years ago, the US ambassador to Israel requested an urgent meeting with the defense minister. The ambassador (I'm fairly certain it was Thomas Pickering) sat opposite Yitzhak Rabin, took out a piece of paper from his pocket and read from it.

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Israel's hawks push a war for personal gain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Bluster on Iran is not just dangerous, it is also deceptive. There is growing evidence that a military strike would fail to achieve its strategic goals. That, however, has done little to deter Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak from their campaign of threats. For these two men, it seems, a regional war is an acceptable risk to promote their own political careers.

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Israel’s President Criticizes Talk of Unilateral Strike on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Shimon Peres, Israel’s president and elder statesman, spoke out Thursday against the prospect of a lone Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a message that contradicts the hawkish, go-it-alone line emanating from the offices of Israel’s prime minister and defense minister.

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Israeli defense minister: Only government to decide Iranian issue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 16, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak lashed out at his critics on Thursday, saying that the decision on how to counter the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran lies within the exclusive domain of the government. "The prime minister, defense minister and foreign minister hold responsibility. A decision (to attack Iran), once one is needed, will be made by the government of Israel, not by groups of citizens or editorials," Barak said at a Knesset (parliament) session to swear-in a new home front defense minister.

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The Israeli film that refuses to portray IDF soldiers as monsters or heroes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Film Review) August 15, 2012 - 12:00am

David Grossman, in the introduction to his collection of non-fiction essays Death as a Way of Life, writes that beyond the sound, the fury and the grand political rhetoric, there is a silent place buried inside the soul of every Israeli and every Palestinian, where each one knows that this terrible conflict, in the end, is futile. Politicians are required to give the impression that they know where they are taking the country. Political commentators are supposed to make sense of events, and potentially suggest ways of action.

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Israel sees monthlong war after Iran strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - August 15, 2012 - 12:00am

An Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear program could trigger a bloody monthlong war on multiple fronts, killing hundreds of Israelis or more, the Israeli Cabinet's civil defense chief warned in an interview published Wednesday. It was the most explicit assessment yet of how the government sees events unfolding in the aftermath of an Israeli attack.

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