Olmert Acknowledges Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal
Full Text;
In an unprecedented move on Monday, PM Ehud Olmert admitted that Israel possesses nuclear weapons.
In an interview with the German TV network SAT 1, Olmert was asked about the statement by US defense minister Robert Gates regarding Israel’s nuclear ability. The prime minister became enraged when he was asked if the fact that Israel possessed nuclear power weakened the West’s position against Iran.
“Israel is a democracy and does not threaten anyone,” he exclaimed. “The only thing we have tried to do is to live without (threats of) terror, but we have never threatened to destroy another nation. Iran explicitly, openly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map.”
Olmert then went on to admit Israel’s nuclear capability. “You can say that it is the same level as America, France, Israel and Russia,” he said, adding that those countries had nuclear weapons but did not threaten any one with them.
Israel has constrained itself for decades by insisting on a policy of “amimut”, nuclear ambiguity or opacity, never admitting to our real capabilities, necessitating local journalists to add the line “according to foreign sources” every time they report on Israel’s alleged nuclear stockpile.
For more background, click below;
Olmert Criticized For Nuclear Statement
Steinitz, Beilin: Olmert Unfit for Premiership
Olmert: Iran Wants Nuclear Weapons Like Israel
PM Aides: No Violation of ‘Nuclear Ambiguity’ Policy
Commentary;
“Olmert, who began an official visit to Germany Monday, told the German television news channel N24 in an interview that “we have never threatened any nation with annihilation. Iran, openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?”
Okay, Ehud, explain the quote! Were you meaning to say “… Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as [are] America, France, Israel, Russia?” If so, you are 61 years behind history and you must have been asleep during the “Cold War.”
Ehud, there was no “misunderstanding”, you said those precise words, you went on to admit nuclear capability in so many words and you can’t spin it otherwise! Ehud, face it, Gates’ statement was all wet until now. And since Your G’d sits in Washington DC, not in Shemayim, it is your comments, and nothing else which have “weakened the West’s position against Iran.” MB