Today, Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert chose not to renounce
                     Mofaz's statement.   Mofaz is a former Israel military chief and defense minister.  
                     Mofaz has been Israel's chief representative in a strategic dialogue on Iran with U.S.
                     officials.   While calling for tighter international sanctions, including boycotting Iranian
                     businessmen and financial transactions and blocking the country's imports of refined
                     petroleum, the Israeli Prime Minister also warned that a more "effective" solution
                     was drawing closer, but would not elaborate. 

                              Ominously, Olmert himself has hinted after meeting with Bush this past week
                     that there is a timetable for a concerted strike against Iran to take outs its nuclear capabilities.
                    Olmert reportedly said:
                                                       "George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat
                                                and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on the matter before the end
                                                of his term in the White House."                                  
                               (Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5geQPSlbLaYgF8CqPnKtBychk-IIQD9164FNO0 )

                               Iran has every right (under the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty) to develop nuclear
                     technology for peaceful purposes.  If Israel and the USA would permit the IAEA
                     to do its job, they could verify its intentions.  U.S. action against Iran is "imminent"
                     said another Israeli source.  

                                                     IS THE US BEING BROUGHT INTO A WAR
                                                 TO SERVE THE POLITICAL INTERESTS OF
                                                 AN UNPOPULAR  RIGHT-WING CROOK?

                              Many judge Olmert's threats toward Iran as a dangerous effort to raise his
                      personal popularity among right-leaning Israelis.  The costly length of the 2006
                      Israeli war on, and occupation of,  Lebanon has caused the other right-wing party,
                      the Likud Party under Benjamin Netanyah, to be ahead in the polls   (On 2 May 2007,
                      the Winograd Commission accused Olmert of failing to properly manage
                      the Second Lebanese War,^[28] which prompted a mass rally of over 100,000 people
                      calling for his resignation. 

                               Olmert is weakened by several investigations connecting him to bribes and
                      influence peddling.  On May 23, Israel's National Fraud Squad investigators
                      interrogated Olmert for an hour in his Jerusalem residence for a second time
                      about corruption allegations. It was the 5th probe since he became prime minister
                      but no charges have been yet filed. On May 27,  Morris Talansky testified in
                      front of court that over the last 15 years he gave Olmert more than $150000 in cash
                      in envelopes.

                              It should be noted that it is not just in the US that progressive leaders are
                     killed by right-wing zealots (John Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy).
                     Labor's Yitzhak Rabinm was assassinated in 1995 because he sought to advance
                     peace talks with Palestinians.  Olmert's Kadima Party has the most members in
                     the current Knesset, with 29.  Labor is second with 19.  The far-right Likud Party
                     and ultra-orthodox Shas Parties each have 12. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knesset )                     

                  

                                                                            PIPES' DREAM

                                                                       AMERICAN EXTREMISTS
                                                        Including Bush and Cheney 
                                                        WANT WAR WITH IRAN
                                   
                                     Two weeks ago, it was reported that Bush is planning an air strike against
                     Iran by August.  "The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant
                     secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously,
                     said last week that that the US plans an air strike against the Iranian Revolutionary
                     Guards Corps (IRGC). The air strike would target the headquarters of the IRGC’s elite
                     Quds force...After receiving secret briefings on the planned air strike, Senator Diane Feinstein,
                     Democrat of California, and Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, said they would
                     write a New York Times op-ed piece “within days”, the source said last week, to express
                     their opposition."  ( http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/27/9220/ )

                                    War is "definite" according to neoconservative,  ex-CIA analyst Daniel Pipes.  
                     He said this in an interview with the very conservative National Review.     Bush will,
                     Pipes predicted, take matters into his own hands and start its this attack in conjunction
                     with Israel,  if Obama is elected President.   (It may well be that the only reason Bush
                     and Cheney have not already launched an attack is that it might doom McCain's candidacy.)   

                                     Of course, the Bush Administration denies it has started a count-down to an
                     attack.   It does admit that it is not taking the possibility off the table.   Israel
                     apparently can do no wrong in the eyes of Bush and Cheney.  They were silent
                     throughout the long and bloody Israeli attack on Lebanon.  Many Israeilis did not
                     support this war on its neighbor. 

                                     Unbelievably, Pipes argues that if there is war,  it will the fault of Russia
                      and China for not getting Iran's "cooperation".  Mr. Pipes has a special way of twisting
                      all evidence to serve his intent, to spark a US war with Iran to serve the interests of
                      right-wing Israeli politicians.    A few months ago, it was revealed that a secret CIA
                      assessment  of Iran's nuclear intentions challenged the White House's assumptions
                      about how close Iran is to building a nuclear bomb.   On hearing this, Pipes claimed
                      that this proved the CIA was asleep and not being diligently watchful.  Pipes argues
                      that the  CIA report "makes war against Iran more likely", because it takes the pressure
                      off of China or Russia to intervene to get Iran to stop its military-nuclear program.
                      (See http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5232 )

                              Neo-Conservative, pro-Vietnam war and pro-Arms-for-Hostages,  Pipes is
                      best known in the academic world for launching "Campus Watch", an organization               
                      whose purpose is to "expose the analytical failures and political bias of the field of Middle
                      Eastern studies (and) singling out ... professors critical of American and Israeli policies."   Of
                      course, he heartily backed the war on Iraq and "claimed that Saddam Hussein posed an
                      "imminent threat" to America."
                       (Source: http://www.monabaker.com/pMachine/more.php?id=A1994_0_1_0_M )

                              Open-minded Israelis, who publish the Israeli Insider, are highly critical of Pipes'
                       collaboration with right wing Israeli pundits and his efforts to silence academics
                       in the US who disagree with his eagerness for war.
                                       ( Source:  http://web.israelinsider.com/Editorials/4982.htm   )

                         
                                  (Source: https://www.moveon.org/images/bigfinalbushrovead.gif )

                                                Will Bush Still Dare?

                               In May, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers threatened impeachment
                        if Bush attacks Iran.   Here is his letter to his colleagues.
                                          "As we mark five years of war in Iraq, I have become increasingly
                                       concerned that the President may possibly take unilateral, preemptive
                                       military action against Iran. During the last seven years, the Bush
                                       Administration has exercised unprecedented assertions of Executive
                                       Branch power and shown an unparalleled aversion to the checks and
                                       balances put in place by the Constitution’s framers. The letter that follows
                                       asks President Bush to seek congressional authorization before
                                       launching any possible military strike against Iran and affirms Senator Biden’s
                                       statement last year that impeachment proceedings should be considered
                                       if the President fails to do so."
                                                      (Source: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33389 )

                                                                     Will The US Generals Carry out
                                        An Illegal Presidential Order To Start A New War?

                                              "SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared
                                        to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according
                                        to highly placed defense and intelligence sources...“There are four or five
                                        generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an
                                        attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is
                                        simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether
                                        such an attack would be effective or even possible....A British defense source
                                        confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike.
                                        “All the generals are perfectly clear that they don’t have the military capacity to take
                                        Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter
                                        of conscience for them. .. A generals’ revolt on such a scale would be unprecedented."
                                        ( http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434540.ece )
                                                 Perhaps,   the recent firings of two Air Force generals really occurred
                                         because they opposed such an attack?
                                       ( Sources: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33952   
                                         http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/108908.html
                                          http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/cat_iran.html   
                                         www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/05/09/war-with-iran-might-be-closer-than-you-think/

                                                         John McCain's Support for War.
                                        http://whitenoiseinsanity.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/john-mccain-talks-to-a-frenzied-crowd-to-start-another-war/  

                                                                     The Role of The US Corporate Media

                                               I waited in vain to hear anything this past weekend about
                                     Bush and Cheney's rush towards a new war.  CNN and CNBC only
                                     continued their tiresome dissection of Hillary's failings and
                                     future.     Walter Cronkite and JR Murrow would be fired or
                                     never hired.  Some say it is the Jewish elite that won't let a discussion
                                     take place of how Israel controls US foreign policy in the Middle
                                     East.   I don't think so.  The US corporate media is controlled by
                                     its right wing executives.  They are McCain Republicans and take
                                     the same positions about war and peace in the Middle East that
                                     right wing parties do in Israel. 

                                    

                                                                  "War is not the answer. "

                                                      It creates more enemies.  "Hezbollah remains firmly
                                     rooted in Lebanon and has successfully rearmed -- the Iranian-backed
                                     Shiite militia now has even more missiles than it had before last summer's
                                     war. To many Israelis, it seems as if that war, and the destruction
                                     it brought, were all for nothing...Several senior officials acknowledged
                                     unequivocally that Israel lost the war against Hezbollah, and confirmed
                                     that this is a widely held view inside the Israeli government -- despite many
                                     public pronouncements to the contrary by Israeli leaders." 

                                                   Rafi Eitan, the head of Israel's Retirement Party, and a Cabinet
                                      minister now is quietly critical of George Bush's policies of confrontation
                                      rather than conversation.  Unless his policies change, Israel will become
                                      more and more at risk. 
     
                                                    A senior Israeli diplomat is quoted as saying: "We lost the war,..
                              We all know that"  The failure to defeat Hezbollah milirarily is the
                              "core reason" for the deepening pessimism inside the government.
                              This sharply contrasts with the official government line. As recently
                              as Feb. 1, speaking to an Israeli commission investigating the war effort,
                              Prime Minister Olmert, insisted once again that "Israel won the war."
                              Blaming Olmert's politics, the diplomat continued, "Do you know
                              why we lost? Because soldiers don't want to die for these leaders.
                                            "We live in a corrupt society, where those with merit don't get
                                                        anywhere," he said.  "It's a very sad time for the Jewish state." 
                                     (See http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/15/israel_despair/ )

                                                                        Progressive Americans
                                     
                                                   Most US progressives and most Americans in the US don't
                                     want a war with Iran.  Democrats who support a right-wing Israeli
                                     attack on Iran are revealed for what they are, closet right-wing
                                     war-mongers, not progressives.

                                                                  The Israeli Lobby in The US

                                             See the discussion of the limits of the role of the Israel
                                     lobby in the making of the Iraq war that appeared in the
                                     Huffington Post.
                                     ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bromwich/iraq-israel-iran_b_62995.html )
                                      At the same time, how can we trust CNN's reporting of Middle East
                                      news since Wolf Blitzer was once an editor for the Israeli lobby (AIPAC)?

                                             I noted with interest a few days ago when a CNN reporter,
                                      Jessica Yellin claimed that MSNBC executives killed stories critical
                                      of the White House and its rush to war with Iraq.   Now MSNBC's
                                      Keith Oberman regularly attacks the White House in prime time.
                                      He calls Bush a "pathological liar" and rails against its war-mongering.
                                      We will see what he says about the Bush-Cheney-Olmert plans for
                                      a war with Iran. 

                                                        Nancy Pelosi and The Israeli Lobby (AIPAC)

                                             Democratic Speaker of the House has long protected Bush
                                      from impeachment.  The reason is that she is very beholden to
                                      the right-wing American-Israeli Lobby.  "The American Israel Public
                              Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, is right up there with the gun lobby
                              in terms of political power. ", says the Chrstian Science Monitor.
                                                "The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, is right up there
                                            with the gun lobby in terms of political power. But while the National Rifle Association
                                            faces tough – if underdog – competitors, AIPAC has long stood as the unchallenged
                                            king of the Hill.   This is not healthy for the political discourse that shapes US policy.
                                            Last fall, two professors from Chicago and Harvard universities helped explain why.
                                            In a controversial book, "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy," John Mearsheimer
                                            and Stephen Walt argued that the US is overly influenced by a loose alignment of groups
                                            that includes neoconservatives, many conservative, evangelical Christians, and AIPAC,
                                            which represents the views of many American Jews largely loyal to Israel's right-wing.
                                               "Washington's near adherence to the lobby's themes – often unconditional support
                                            for Israel, reluctance to push Israel hard on behalf of the Palestinians, and an overly
                                           confrontational stance toward Israel's adversaries – works against US interests, the
                                           authors say. It inspires Islamist terrorism, undermines the US as an honest broker, and
                                           complicates diplomatic relations. One thing that would help, the book suggested, is an
                                           additional lobby, one that can open up the debate. "
                                            ( Source:    http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0612/p08s01-comv.html   )

                                            The Jerusalem Post reported that she said:
                                            "…to stop Iran’s nuclear march, short of a military strike you have
                                      to go all the way. And people have to know you are deadly serious
                                      that if you want to be our friend, if you want the benefit of our friendship,
                                      a central pillar of our foreign policy is to stop the proliferation of weapons
                                      of mass destruction (to Iran).”  She has met with the Ultra-Right
                                      wing, pro-War Likud Party now led by Benjamin Netanyahu who
                                      says he will not be bound by previous agreements with Arabs.
                                      (Source: http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/get-to-know-a-sellout-episode-3/ )
                                          

Ehud Olmert  - Olmert became the interim Israeili Prime Minister on 14 April 2006 but had been exercising the powers of the office as Acting Prime Minister since they were transferred to him on 4 January 2006 after Ariel Sharon suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke For years he was a member of the right-wing Lekud Party.  Olmert opposed withdrawing from land captured in the Six-Day War, and  voted against the Camp David Peace Accords in 1978.  At the time he opposed an Israeli pullout of the Sinai.  When Sharon announced his leaving the Likud and forming a new party, Kadima, Olmert was one of the first to join him. n his first major policy address since becoming Israel's acting prime minister, Olmert said at the Herzliya conference on 24 January that he backed the creation of a Palestinian state, and that Israel would have to relinquish parts of the West Bank to maintain its Jewish majority. At the same time, he said, "We firmly stand by the historic right of the people of Israel to the entire Land of Israel."[16]   As PM, Olmert stated that as Israel is willing to compromise for peace, the Palestinians must be flexible in their positions as well. He stated that if the Palestinians, with Hamas now leading the Palestinian Authority, refuse to recognize the State of Israel, then Israel "will take her own fate in her hands" directly, implying unilateral action.

                                                Violence in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
               
              Abraham's Sacrifice:
           Rembrandt 1637 oil on canvas 66 x 52 cm at Louvre Paris

                       The Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac, aptly raises the question of
                            whether Jews, Christians and Muslims - since they all embrace this story - are justified
                            in taking a life in the name of God.    In the Bible, Abraham obeys God's command to
                            sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah, but at the last moment an angel stops him, saying
                            Abraham has proven his faith.  A ram is killed instead. 

                                                        The Lesson of The Maccabees 

                                     In the 2nd century BC, the Jewish Maccabees revolted against  the Greek heirs
                              to the empire of Alexander the Great. They waged guerrilla warfare with self-sacrificial intensity
                              and won. "This encouraged them to view the Abraham-Isaac story -- in Hebrew, the Aqedah or
                               "binding" -- in new ways. They produced variants of the story that emphasized Abraham's nobility
                               and Isaac's willingness to die. In some, Abraham kills his son, whom God later restores to life."
                               The Maccabees inspired the Jews to commit mass suicide when besieged by the Romans
                               at Masada in AD 73.  Similarly, Jewish victims of medieval pogroms in Europe killed
                               their children before the Christians could.  In a similar vein, an extremist right-wing Jew
                               assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 because Rabin proposed
                               giving back too much land to the Palestinians.

                                                            Christianity and Violence

                                     The early Christian church came to "view Isaac's near-death as an imperfect
                              precursor of that ultimate sacrifice, the Crucifixion."   The early Christians gloried in
                              their own brutal persecution and martyrdom.   With August, the Cross became
                              an emblem of Roman soldiers.  Later it became the standard for the Crusades,
                              the pograms, the subjugation of darker-skinned natives in Far-Away lands
                              and the barbarity of the Inquisition.  And so, too, now Americans go to Iraq and kill
                              local people in the name of civilization and Democracy.
                                                       
                                                               Islam

                                     If you were a believer in more than one God, as far back as the 7th Century,
                                Islam could order your death if you did not accept the one God, Allah.  No Angels
                                appeared to say, "No, a Goat will do."   Martyrdom is now embraced in the Cause
                                and advocated by some Mullah.
                               
                                   I wishto credit the Jewish Theatre for these insights.  See
                                   http://www.jewish-theatre.com/visitor/article_display.aspx?articleID=2768