Israel, the U.S. and the Arab World

Sen. Scott Brown Calls Iran Greater Threat Than al-Qaeda

By Ben Geman, The Hill
September 12, 2010

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks that Iran is now a greater threat than al-Qaeda, according to a news account.

The Associated Press reports:

“The Republican, who serves on the Senate’s Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, recently returned from a trip to Jordan and Israel with his terrorism adviser and said that as dangerous as [al-Qaeda] is, the world’s greatest threat is now from Iran.”

"There are tentacles everywhere from what I’ve learned and seen and have researched from Iran," Brown said Saturday at the annual meeting of the New England Associated Press News Executives Association, according to AP.

Brown also said he has been briefed on foiled terrorist attacks that have not been made public.

“We face a wide array of issues and enemies who want to hurt us,” he said.

The senator – who was elected in January to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) – also said that terrorists are recruiting in the U.S. and that extremist groups are training at least 20 Americans, according to AP.

Yatom: Only Attack Will Stop Iran

By Yaakov Katz, The Jerusalem Post
September 13, 2010

Former Mossad head calls for Western air forces to strike at Teheran’s nuclear facilities.

Western countries need to form a coalition of air forces now and attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, former Mossad director Danny Yatom said on Sunday.

Only military force can stop Iran, the former Labor MK said, speaking at an International Institute for Counter-Terrorism conference at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.

“Since the sanctions are not enough, I am hopeful that the world will come to its senses and reach the conclusion that to stop the Iranian nuclear arms race, we will have to attack some of their nuclear facilities,” Yatom said, in rare comments by a former top Israeli security official regarding the use of force against the Islamic Republic.

While some of Iran’s nuclear facilities are scattered throughout the country and are in fortified bunkers deep underground, if the world “mobilizes its capabilities” it would be possible to cause enough damage to delay the program.

“If the modern air forces led by the United States mobilize their capabilities it is possible, if not to completely remove the threat, at least to delay it for years to come,” Yatom said.

While refraining from discussing specific Israeli capabilities, he said that if the world failed to meet the challenge, Israel would “retain the right to self-defense.”

“Figure out for yourselves what that means,” he told the audience.

Yatom said that Israel could not live with a nuclear Iran.

“I don’t want to be in a situation that I will be sitting in Israel and my fate will be in the hands of others, especially when we are talking about a lunatic regime,” he said. “I don’t want to be the subject of an Iranian experiment.”