Ma’ariv-NRG (online service) by Amir Buhbut

Translation from the Hebrew media

Thursday, November 01, 2007

ISRAEL NEWS TODAY DAILY SUMMARY OF THE HEBREW MEDIA

TALKING TO THE PRESS

— Israel is capable of dealing the Iranian nuclear program a crushing blow, either destroying it or significantly damaging the reactors-a high-ranking IDF officer told foreign journalists in a meeting in Toronto, Canada. The statements of the officer, who met with leaders of the Jewish community, were published on the Canadian-Jewish news agency site. Top IDF figures said they were astounded that the officer related to such sensitive issues. The officer claimed: “I was promised that I could approve the material before it was published.”

This is an officer of the rank of brigadier general, who recently completed a senior assignment and went on a trip to Canada. While holding a round of meetings with leaders of the Jewish community in Toronto, the officer met with representatives of a number of local newspapers and talked to them, in the presence of an Israeli diplomat, about the threats facing the State of Israel.

The officer talked about a number of issues: transferring territories and the importance of the Jordan Valley as a strategic asset. He also related to the Iranian issue and to the threat facing the State of Israel if Iran has a nuclear bomb.

We have to be prepared for any possibility, said the officer, who noted that the UN sanctions have some positive effects, but still do not prevent Iran from continuing to develop its nuclear program.

We don’t see anyone trying to stop Iran, the officer explained, saying that even the means for a diplomatic solution to the dispute are not effective. And then there is the second option, he said, alluding to the military option.

He said that attacking Iran would be different from the attack on the Iraqi reactor, because of the different structure of the Iranian reactor, which is deep underground. However, the officer stressed that Israel would be able to overcome this by attacking Iran’s weak spots. He said that Israel is capable of dealing the Iranian nuclear program a crushing blow, causing it to be destroyed or significantly damaging the reactors.

However, he stressed that Israel prefers to play a secondary role. He said that it would be enough for Israel if Iran’s nuclear installations were damaged enough to delay the nuclear program. A delay would also help, he said.

The officer also related to the situation in the Palestinian Authority and said he doubted that Abu Mazen had the strength to reach a peace agreement with Israel. He said that Hamas already controls the Gaza Strip and is expected to also wrest control of the West Bank away from the PA chairman.

He also reviewed Hizbullah’s strengthening since the last war in Lebanon but refused to comment on the attack in Syria. It’s no easy thing to keep a secret in Israel, he said, and I’m not about to ruin this now. High-ranking IDF sources said they were astounded that the officer talked about such sensitive topics. They said, “the officer claims that some of the statements attributed to him were not said by him at all, and he stressed that he had an agreement with the local journalists that he was to be interviewed as a ‘high-ranking IDF officer,’ and that his name and last position not be stated. It was agreed that the material would be given to him to approve before publication, but the journalists did not do this.”

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office commented, “the officer alluded to in the article has completed his assignment and no longer holds an official position, and therefore what he said should not be construed as the IDF stance. The IDF position on security issues is discussed in the relevant forums.”