File 027099

Images

Text

From: Jeffrey Epstein [jeeyacation@gmail.com]
Sent: 8/27/2012 11:05:23 AM
To: Sultan Bin Sulayerr
Subject: Re: How to Repair the Widening American-Israeli Rift
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j00NtuA2fbH1hED38qZkrNKc6VJw?docId=CNG.15
8e059567cc64e99373df644f3134b3.01
On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 6:22 AM, Sultan Bin Sulayem ,I1=1> wrote:
Begin forwarded message:
From: Esneh <
Date: August 27, 2012 9:23:47 AM GMT+01:00
To: 'Esneh'
Subject: How to Repair the Widening American-Israeli Rift
Israel Policy Forum
On Iran: How to Repair the Widening American-Israeli Rift
Ephraim Sneh
The Islamist takeover in the Middle East and North Africa has created perilous strategic
turbulence in the region. Consequently, it is now critically important that the United States and
its few allies cooperate closely. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in recent weeks for US-
Israel relations regarding Iran's nuclear program. The disagreement about attacking Iran's
nuclear facilities has turned into ugly bickering, much of it disguised. This is harmful for both
Israel and the United States.
To heal this rift — which is necessary to effectively address the Iranian threat — we must
understand the following basic facts:
1. The Israeli fear of a nuclear Iran is genuine. It is not a political trick of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu or Defense Minister Ehud Barak. A nuclear Iran would bolster and
encourage extremist militant forces across the region. The moderates would be discouraged,
intimidated and invariably weakened to the point where they would be unable to negotiate with
Israel. In just a few years, Israel will be surrounded by three Pakistan-like' countries: Saudi
Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. All three would possess nuclear weapons and be dominated
politically by Islamists. In such a scenario, Israel would lose its strategic advantage in the region.
It would lose its lead as a country of entrepreneurship and excellence, as foreign investment
would decline and talented young Israelis would build their future abroad. No responsible Israeli
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 027099
leader will allow such a nightmare to become a reality. The hateful declarations of Iran's leaders,
committed to wiping the Jewish state off the map, do not assuage Israelis' fears.
2. Economic sanctions cannot convince the regime in Teheran to abandon its nuclear project.
However, sanctions can bring about the collapse of the regime if they are vigorously
implemented and enforced.
3. An American military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities would be more effective
than an Israeli one. But disparaging Israel's capabilities and its military ingenuity, undermining
its deterrence effect, is a grave mistake.
4. Israel's operational window is closing. If Israel has to cope alone with the Iranian threat, its
window of operational opportunity is narrower than the American one. It has to act sooner.
5. An Israeli military strike in the next two months, contravening repeated demands by the
U.S. President to postpone it, would be counterproductive. The damage of defying the
President would be greater than the damage sustained by allowing the Iranian regime an
additional few months of advancing toward acquiring the bomb. Such a strike may broaden the
gap between the U.S. and Israel and weaken the alliance, which all previous Israeli Prime-
Ministers have safeguarded as a strategic asset of Israel.
6. The United States has failed to prevent countries like Pakistan or North Korea from
obtaining nuclear weapons. This record feeds Israeli skepticism about a U.S. success in the
case of Iran. This skepticism prevails despite the clear rhetoric and unquestionable commitments
of the President and the Secretaries of State and Defense to prevent a nuclear Iran.
7. The fact that the Israeli Prime Minister and the Republican presidential candidate share
the same political benefactor feeds suspicions in the Obama administration about Netanyahu's
motives for attacking Iran a few weeks before the U.S. presidential elections.
8. The regional perspective cannot continue ignoring the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. This issue can no longer be swept under the rug. Maintaining the status quo is politically
comfortable in the short-run, but it will be combustible and devastating in the long run.
Achieving the two-state solution will preserve Israel as a Jewish, democratic state. It will end
Israel's regional isolation. It will rebuild America's standing and influence in the Arab and
Muslim world. Furthermore, these last two outcomes will strengthen America's and Israel's
hands in thwarting Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions.
These eight basic facts combine to produce a complex reality. When fully understood, they can
pave the way to restoring U.S.-Israeli harmony. There is no symmetry between the United States,
the super-power, and its tiny ally, Israel. But the "package" required from each side in order to
mend fences has to include the following mutual commitments:
1. Israel will not attack Iran in 2012.
2. The United States will hold a joint intelligence estimate session with Israel in the early spring
of 2013. If the conclusion of this joint estimate is that there is no substantial slow-down of the
Iranian nuclear project, the U.S. will take military action to destroy this project.
3. The United States will oppose any attempt to intervene in Israel's strategic capacities and will
prevent any monitoring of Israel's own strategic installations. At the same time, the United States
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 027100
will uncompromisingly support Israel's right to preserve and develop its indigenous military
capacities.
4. Israel will accept an American invitation to attend a peace conference that will be convened
in the U.S. no later than mid-2013. This gathering will address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
aiming to resolve it once and for all with an agreed-upon timetable for implementation.
These four commitments would serve the interests of both the United States and Israel. They
would enable the U.S. to resume its leadership role of peacemaking in the Middle East. And they
would provide a basis for binding the U.S. and Israel together as they face these challenging
times.
Ephraim Sneh, a retired IDF General, served as Israel's deputy minister of defense. He is
currently and Israel Policy Forum contributing fellow and chairman of S. Daniel Abraham
Center for Strategic Dialogue at the Netanya Academic College.
NOTE: This e-mail message is subject to the Dubai World Group disclaimer see http://www.dubaiworld.ae/email disclaimer
***********************************************************
The information contained in this communication is
confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, may
constitute inside information, and is intended only for
the use of the addressee. It is the property of
Jeffrey Epstein
Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this
communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited
and may be unlawful. If you have received this
communication in error, please notify us immediately by
return e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com, and
destroy this communication and all copies thereof,
including all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 027101