ex-IDF chief: Israel can handle Iranian strike

 

 

Speaking in New York, former IDF chief Ashkenazi says Israel worked ‘long & hard’ to prepare for consequences of military operation in Iran.

ex-Intel chief Yadlin: Israel doesn’t need US for strike

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

WASHINGTON – Former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Sunday that Israel can handle the outcomes of a military strike on Iran. “We’ve worked long and hard to prepare ourselves,” he said at a Jerusalem Post conference in New York.

Gabi Ashkenazi speaks in new York - Photo Yaron Brener

Gabi Ashkenazi speaks in New York – Photo: Yaron Brener

Former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin, who also spoke at the conference, echoed Ashkenazi’s statements saying that Israel can mount an attack on its own, without US assistance and can handle the consequences.

If all other options fail, Israel will have to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, Yadlin said. Once a top Air Force commander Yadlin explained that an attack on Iran is preferable to an Iranian nuclear weapon.

Earlier on Sunday, Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressed the conference saying that Iran has yet to cross the “red line” as defined by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when speaking in front of the UN.

According to Olmert, the Iranian nuclear program has not been making progress in years, and the extent of the threat has been exaggerated.

Olmert further predicted that Syrian President Bashar Assad might suffer a fall, saying it was a matter of time before he would be toppled.

אולמרט. "ישראל צריכה לעבוד בשקט" (צילום: מרק ישראל סלם / ג'רוזלם פוסט)

Olmert at New York conference – Photo: Mark Israel Salem

The conference also hosted former Mossad chief Meir Dagan who claimed that Assad was not the one who ordered the use of chemical weapons. He added that Russia will continue to support the Syrian regime as it holds a crucial naval base in Syria.

Dagan backed Olmert’s statements saying he had not changed his mind about an Israeli strike on Iran.

 

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4373532,00.html