Over the past many months, a number of retired high-ranking Israeli security officials have been cited as supporters of the nuclear deal with Iran. The problem, writes Emily Landau, is that their words are often taken out of context and, what’s more, some of them may not be great authorities on the subject:
There are Iran experts, nuclear experts, and Iran nuclear experts who have been following every detail [related to the Iranian nuclear program] for years [and] have vastly more relevant credentials to discuss the ins and outs and implications of the Iran deal than the ex-head of the Shin Bet. . . . Expertise on this topic does not automatically come with high-ranking military service. . . .
But that’s not all that is wrong with the recent attempt to recruit these so-called dissenting Israeli voices for political purposes in the United States. Some of the figures—those that are [most] authoritative—have been quoted as opposing the government’s position on the deal when they are actually trying to convey a more nuanced message than the one being framed by the media. Their message seems tailored primarily for internal consumption. [They are effectively telling] the Israeli public: yes, this deal is bad, but it is not a disaster. We are strong and will be able to deal with the adverse implications.
Moreover, they say, Israel’s strategic ties with the U.S. are of paramount importance and cannot be jeopardized by trying to influence an internal American debate. These . . . are not arguments in favor of the deal. They are arguments saying that we in Israel have no choice but to try to make the best of a bad situation over which we have no direct control. . . .
The recent attempt to say to Americans that they should listen to one set of Israelis rather than another is one more attempt to divert attention from what should be the only focus of attention in the current debate over the nuclear deal: its serious flaws, which will legitimize Iran’s dangerous nuclear-threshold status and could ultimately pave the way to Iran becoming a nuclear state.
Read more on Times of Israel: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/roll-out-the-ex-security-chiefs/