"Horrendous Zionist Clan"

 While U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Penatta, touring Israel's U.S.-funded missile-defence system, assured Prime Minister  Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehuk Barak that the United States stands firmly behind Israel's interests which are in fact mirror-images of America's own with respect to a nuclear-armed Iran, Israel's Prime Minister expressed some doubts with respect to the Obama administration's commitment.

Effectively underlining American concerns attempting to convince the government of Israel to delay if not entirely surrender any plans to militarily attack the Islamic Republic of Iran.  "We will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, period.  We will exert all options in the effort to ensure that does not happen", Mr. Panetta claimed on behalf of his administration.

When asked by Israeli media whether he was prepared to share details of a potential U.S. strike initiative that might pre-empt the need for Israel to act unilaterally, he demurred.  "It's the wrong characterization to say that we're going to be discussing potential attack plans.  What we are discussing are various contingencies and how we would respond.  We don't talk about specific military plans", he insisted, from his Cairo stopover.

For his part Prime Minister Netanyahu has suspended trust: "Israel cannot count on anyone else."  Up to now sanctions, as far as he could determine, have made not one "iota" of difference with respect to Iran's nuclear program.  Nor does he believe that the international community is committed to anything beyond the threats of sanctions that in and of themselves have not bitten deeply enough to influence Iranian decision-making.

As for the regime in question, according to its official state-operated Islamic Republic News Agency, President Ahmadinejad, speaking before a meeting attended by ambassadors and embassy personnel of Islamic nations located in Tehran: "It has now been some 400 years that a horrendous Zionist clan has been ruling the major world affairs, and behind the scenes of the major power circles, in political, media, monetary and banking organizations in the world, they have been the decision makers..."

"The Zionist regime is both the symbol of the hegemony of the Zionism over the world and the means in the hand of the oppressor powers for expansion of their hegemony in the region and in the world.  The Quods Day is not merely a strategic solution for the Palestinian problem, as it is to be viewed as a key for solving the world problems; any freedom lover and justice seeker in the world must do its best for the annihilation of the Zionist regime in order to pave the path for the establishment of justice and freedom in the world."

If criminal regimes like that of Iran have learned anything to perfection it is to portray themselves in the nomenclature robes of noble intentions so beloved of Western liberal democracies for whom the words "freedom", "justice", "liberty", and "fairness" express their aspirational and fine judgement calls.  Those words, used as a template for honourable declarations proving intent, and disproving the reality of vicious human-rights-abusing states like Iran paint them in glowing colours of faith and trust.


Matched with the declarations of loathing of Zionism as exemplifying all the human-rights-defying characteristics of closed states like Iran impervious to charges of oppression, exploitation, state-sanctioned injustices, executions, tortures and rape of minors, dissenters, women held to be Islamically impure and religious minorities, sound reasonable to those inclined to accept the isolation and eventual destruction of a perceived religious/ethnic interloper in "Islamic" territory.


The two-way loathing between Iran and Israel, the threat to existence each represents to the other illustrates a dysfunction typical of the Middle East, and most particularly of the suspicious, hate-filled tendencies of tribal mentalities, viewing those who are different than they through history, heritage, clan-affiliation and religious sectarianism to be fodder for mass murder.


If there were no State of Israel in the Middle East the various Muslim states would simply return to their usual level of antipathy expressed toward one another.  Jealous of their territories, possessive of their resources, threatening those of others, and above all, loathing the traditional and cultural anomalies that exist within Islam, separating the foundational beliefs of the major streams of Islam, each citing the other for insults to Allah.


And for those crimes against Islam, death is the solution to restore honour and pride.  Currently, the presence of the State of Israel, irrespective of its historical and heritage right of residence, represents an assault on Islamic sensibilities.  One seeking a remedy.  And that remedy has been demonstrated in the past by combined military attacks against Israel, and is demonstrated at present by ongoing bellicosity, exemplified by Iran's threats of annihilation.