The claims that Israel's security situation vis-à-vis Iran is the result of the failings of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governments is shocking. If anyone is responsible for the failings that led to the current Iranian threat it is the "concerned citizens" who just yesterday opposed a military strike and embraced the Iran nuclear deal.
Failure No. 1: The torpedoing of initiatives to strike Iran on no less than three occasions. In 2010, senior defense officials Meir Dagan and Gabi Ashkenazi opposed an initiative to attack proposed by Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak. One year later, then-IDF Chief of Staff and current Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz opposed a similar move that had the support of Netanyahu, Barak, and then-Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. In 2012, a dispute emerged between Netanyahu and Barak over the timing of such an attack, which as a result was once again not carried out.
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Ever since, countless "senior defense officials" have bragged of saving us from a military strike on Iran.
Failure No. 2: The Iran nuclear deal, which was aimed at postponing, not preventing Iran's nuclearization: The best-case scenario would see Tehran just one year away from acquiring a nuclear bomb. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 went so far as to grant Iran nuclear power status, authorizing the Shiite regime's enrichment of uranium, including the detonation of a nuclear device, for research purposes, of course.
This was accompanied by a "side deal" that regulated the favorable economic conditions Iran received following the removal of sanctions, including the immediate release of $100 billion to the Iranian economy and a plethora of investments. Iran was not required to cease its terrorist activity or interference in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, or Syria in return for receiving these funds. In fact, Tehran actually received international funding to continue these efforts. Former US President Barack Obama and the Europeans authorized Iran's development of long-range missiles able to reach Israel, but not Europe.
These "defensive" missiles are now in Iraq and aimed directly at us.
Failure No. 3: The response to the nuclear agreement in Israel: Netanyahu's opposition to the 2015 deal was depicted as a personal obsession by people like then-Labor party leader Isaac Herzog, who accused the prime minister of "panicking." Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert voiced similar criticism, while Yesh Atid party chief Yair Lapid added that Netanyahu was "destroying ties with the US over a speech" [to the US Congress]." And diplomatic and security commentators praised the accord, harming the broad national consensus on the dangers presented by Iran.
Failure No. 4: Iran's violation of the agreement. In many ways, Iran never implemented its part of the deal. For example, 8.5 tons of enriched uranium were supposed to depart Iran with the signing of the agreement; there is no record of this actually having been carried out.
And now that Iran has announced that within two weeks, it will restart activity at the Arak heavy-water nuclear reactor, it is clear that, had it destroyed the site, as it committed to doing as part of the agreement, it would not have been able to rehabilitate it so quickly. And above all else, the agreement was never authorized by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The fatwah we were promised has yet to be issued, and in its place, we have heard only speeches condemning the deal.
Failure No. 5: Even after Israel exposed Iran's nuclear weapons program, and the US withdrew from the deal, reimposing sanctions on the ayatollah regime, journalists and lawmakers on the Left continue to blame the Israeli government for the current state of affairs. This political war they continue to wage is the mother of all failures: a lack of any sense of statesmanship.
