September 10, 2012
Israel, not its enemies, would initiate war this year, ex-military intel chief Yadlin says
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Amos Yadlin. Photo by R. D. Ward.
If Israel goes to war this year it will be initiated by Israel and not one of its enemies, the country's former head of military intelligence told a counterterrorism conference.
Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin also said Monday at the 12th annual Counter-Terrorism Conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya that Israel will "need the United States and the world" for political, economic and military support in the months and years after a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"If we get to the junction where we have to choose between a bomb and bombing, I am of the opinion that bombing is less of a strategic threat," Yadlin said, according to The Jerusalem Post. "But the question is, have we reached that junction or is there a third, less dangerous path?"
He added that even if Iran has all of the material needed to make a nuclear bomb, it will still take at least a year for scientists to put it together and that it would not be launched at Israel, Ynet reported.
Yadlin acknowledged that the international community "failed to stop Iran over the past decade."
He said "The State of Israel is a very strong country both militarily and economically, and it can face any challenge."
