Richard Silverstein Israeli Media 30-Year ‘Reign of Error’ Predicting Iranian Nuke articolo del 2013
Israeli Media 30-Year ‘Reign of Error’ Predicting Iranian Nuke
Maariv March 1984 headline predicts “Khomeini’s atomic bomb in final stage of production”
What’s most unfortunate about all this is that a blast from the past is not past, but present. The delusions which Israel’s media and leaders harbored in 1984 are the same they harbor today. No lessons learned.
It reminds me of Orwell’s Ministry Truth from 1984. Every time Big Brother made a prediction that turned out false, the ministry’s job was to go back and rewrite history, falsifying the original prediction to conform with reality. That’s why this blog exists–not to allow the Israeli equivalent.
To those who decry the Geneva nuclear agreement, claiming it at most delays Iran’s nuclear threshold by a month or two, remember this illustrious history of miserable failed predictions.
“Projections: Iran can achieve nuclear capability within 36 days.” Maariv–November 27 2013
“We all know, comrades, that the horizon constantly recedes as we approach it.”So here is the honor roll of Israeli media delusion concerning an Iranian bomb (featured in accompanying image):
Khomeini’s atomic bomb enters final stages of production with German assistance.It should be noted that the Jane’s Defense Weekly report on which this story is based actually said an Iranian bomb was “two years” away. It also quoted sources in the U.S. and elsewhere who denied the prediction. Here is Micha Zenko’s report on that interesting historical footnote in the annals of nuclear prediction. That didn’t stop Maariv from throwing the fear of Khomeini into Israelis.
–Maariv, April 25 1984
Also note on Maariv’s front page, the historic oddity of then-Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, an Ashkenazi immigrant from Poland, dancing at the Moroccan Mizrahi festival, Maimouna.
To confirm that Israel has learned no lessons about Iran’s nuclear program in the past thirty years, today’s Maariv brings things full circle from 1984 to 2013. Its latest headline:
Projections: Iran Can Reach Nuclear Capacity Within 36 DaysThis would appear to be a complete distortion of the actual Obama administration claim that the six month agreement will delay Iran crossing the nuclear threshold overall by a month or possibly more.
This archive of old headlines reads like a reign of error (all are from Yediot Achronot):
Iran will be capable of producing a nuclear weapon in another seven years.
–June 26 1984
Nuclear Expert: Iran will have a nuclear weapon by the end of the decade or in seven to eight years if China, Pakistan and Argentina continue aiding it.
–November 15 1991
Within 10 years Syria will have a nuclear weapon.
June 15 1992
Iran will have an operational nuclear weapon in the next five to eight years
September 20, 1992
Iran will have a nuclear weapon by 2000
December 1 1992
Rabin: Iran has the manpower and will to get a nuclear weapon within ten years.
January 21 1993
Iran has in its possession a nuclear weapon ready for immediate deployment
January 24, 1993
By year’s end Iran will be a nuclear threat against Israel
April 9 1993
Iran may achieve nuclear capability at any moment
January 9 1995
Iran wants a nuclear weapon by 2001.
December 27 1995
U.S.: Iran will have a nuclear weapon around 2000.
June 27 1997
Iran will threaten Israel with a nuclear weapon within four years.
July 10 2001
Nuclear weapon for Iran in 2005.
August 5 2003
IDF: Preparing for an Iranian atomic bomb in 2005
August 8 2003
Iran announces: we will achieve a nuclear weapon within four years
August 20 2004
Israeli intelligence sources: within two years they will have a bomb on the shelf
July 8 2005
Entire Middle East will arm itself with nukes.
December 2005
Iranian atomic bomb in three years.
March 26 2006
Olmert: Within months Iran will be able to assemble a nuclear bomb
June 22 2006
U.S.: Iran will have a nuclear weapon in a year or two.
June 22 2011
I published a piece on the subject in which I listed most of the “dire” predictions since 1984, as well as before the Iranian Revolution of 1979:
link to original.antiwar.com
Unless they are in fact madmen, I suppose something that might be true. this assertion is missing the point.
These scares are aimed at unifying the Israeli-Jewish people in fear and determination to fight to the last drop of non-Jewish blood. And they have worked, as far as I can see. I don’t see the Israeli-Jewish people hooting N’yahu off the stage of history — I see them re-electing him.
The BIG LIE works. Give it credit. It is not a mistake, not foolishness, but deliberate big-lying.
MY REPLY: I find Ira Chernus’ take* on this to make a great deal of sense. He is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder and blogs at MythicAmerica.
* SEE: “Israel’s Defense Chief OK’s Hundreds of Israeli Deaths”, By Ira Chernus, CommonDreams.org, 11/11/11
ENTIRE COMMENTARY – link to commondreams.org
Can you imagine? A newspaper that sensationalizes!
German companies did in fact help Iran. They acquired centrifuges from the same company Israel did, Urenco.in fact Israel had the same centrifuges so they knew the virus would damage the centrifuges. And we would have never ave known except for Obama haveing the information intentionaly leaked.
Yesterday the Iranian government announced that the information concerning this agreement as presented on the White House website is incorrect. And the Iranians have a different understanding than the White House as to the substance of the agreement.
Today a Iranian general publicaly announced that Iran has developed indeginus inter continental ballistic missile that is able to deliver a nuclear weapons payload. What a waste to develop such a weapon when the Iranians have publicaly stated that they are not even contemplating the production of a nuclear weapon.
As I understand the facts, France supplied the nuclear know-how for the Dimona plant and uranium enrichment facilities. The Urenco consortium delivers enriched uranium through gas centrifuges. The secrets were stolen by A. G. Khan in the early 1970’s, supported by the CIA (to thwart Soviet support for a nuclear India), and later proliferated to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
The Israel nuclear bomb was based on secrets stolen from the US and UK. Israel worked together with South Africa under the apartheid regime to develop and test both nuclear devices and CBW weapons.
Germany delivers the Dolphin class submarines to Israel which can deliver nuclear warheads by cruise missiles.
Only Richard can publish unsubstantiated rumors, like the rumors he gets from his ‘source’.
As for Animal Farm, you and your ilk appear increasingly like big, fat Napoleon the Pig with each passing day.
On 14 Jun 80 an Egyptian nuclear scientist, Yahia el Meshad (Yehia al-Meshad, Yahya el- Meshad, Yahya al-Meshad), employed by the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission, was found murdered in his Paris, France hotel room at the Meridien Hotel. The only known claimed witness to the crime, Marie Claude Magal (Magalle), whom was said to occupy a room next to Meshad’s, was killed in a hit and run “accident” on 12 Jul 80, either shortly before police sought to question her, or shortly after she had given a statement or statements to the police, depending on source.
Ref: Science, 29 Aug 80; Rand WD-809-SL, Nov 80 & WD-1508-SL, Jun 82; Weissman, Steve, Herbert Krosney. The Islamic Bomb, Times Books, NY, 81; Raviv, Dan, Yossi Melman. Every Spy a Prince, Houghton Miflin, Boston, 1990; Thomas, Gordon. Gideon’s Spies, St. Martin’s Press, 1999; Hamza, Khidir. Sadam’s Bombmaker, Scribner, NY, 2000.