Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered the armed forces to be ready by the end of March for strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities:
The order came after Israeli intelligence warned the government that Iran was operating enrichment facilities, believed to be small and concealed in civilian locations.
Iran’s stand-off with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over nuclear inspections and aggressive rhetoric from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, who said last week that Israel should be moved to Europe, are causing mounting concern.
The crisis is set to come to a head in early March, when Mohamed El-Baradei, the head of the IAEA, will present his next report on Iran. El-Baradei, who received the Nobel peace prize yesterday, warned that the world was “losing patience” with Iran.
A senior White House source said the threat of a nuclear Iran was moving to the top of the international agenda and the issue now was: “What next?” That question would have to be answered in the next few months, he said.
Sources are saying that March is the point of no return, and Israel can attack earlier, before nuclear apologist and embarrassment El-Baradei gets another opportunity to wring his hands in mock concern.
If Israel does take out Iran's nuke capabilities, there will be the standard Voices Raised In Protest and Calls For Condemnation of Israel, but most governments outside of the usual suspects will quietly be grateful that once again, Israel took the world's heat and put out the fire.
It's such a tendency for us to search for solutions based on surface appearances. The Holy Spirit on The Christian Prophet blog advocates a more spiritual solution.
Posted by: A Christian Prophet | December 12, 2005 at 08:29 PM