"You asked for articles from 2002-2003 showing that the government lobbied for Iran to be the main concern instead of Iraq. I showed you them. Now of course you'll move the goal posts or ignore the evidence, as is typical of you."
A handful of quotes saying (generally) that Israel viewed some countries that weren't Iraq as threats doth not an anti-war lobbying effort make. Not a single one of your quotes say anything about an Israeli official publicly condemning the drive to war, or anything close to it. Your claim that Israel was clearly and visibly opposed to the Iraq War from the beginning is simply bizarre. Here's Mearsheimer & Walt (who devote an entire chapter to the subject), page 237:
"...The Jerusalem Post was especially hawkish, frequently running editorials and op-eds favoring the war and rarely running pieces arguing against it.39 Indeed, it went so far as to editorialize that "ousting Saddam is the linchpin of the war on terrorism, without which it is impossible to begin in earnest, let alone win."40
Other Israeli public figures echoed Peres and Sharon's advocacy for war instead of diplomatic wrangling. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak wrote a New York Times op-ed in early September 2002 claiming that "Saddam Hussein's nuclear-weapons program provides the urgent need for his removal." He went on to warn that "the greatest risk now lies in inaction."41 His predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, published a similar piece a few weeks later in the Wall Street Journal titled "The Case for Toppling Saddam." Netanyahu declared, "Today nothing less than dismantling his regime will do," adding that "I believe I speak for the overwhelming majority of Israelis in supporting a pre-emptive strike against Saddam's regime," which he claimed was "feverishly trying to acquire nuclear weapons."42
Netanyahu's influence, of course, extended well beyond writing op-eds and appearing on television. Having gone to high school, college, and graduate school in the United States, he speaks fluent English and is not only familiar with how the American political system works but operates skillfully in it. He has close ties with neoconservatives inside and outside of the Bush administration, and he has extensive contacts on Capitol Hill, where he has either spoken or testified on numerous occasions.43 Barak is also well connected with American policy makers, politicians, security experts, and pundits.
The Israeli government's war fervor did not diminish in the months before the fighting started. Ha'aretz, for example, ran a story on February 17, 2003, titled "Enthusiastic IDF Awaits War in Iraq," which said that Israel's "military and political leadership yearns for war in Iraq." Ten days later James Bennet wrote a story in the New York Times with the headline "Israel Says War on Iraq Would Benefit the Region." The Forward published a piece on March 7, 2003, titled "Jerusalem Frets as U.S. Battles Iraq War Delays," which made it clear that Israel's leaders were hoping for war sooner rather than later.44"
Page 238: "He [Gideon Levy of Ha'aretz] went on to say, 'Israel is the only country in the West whose leaders support the war unreservedly and where no alternative opinion is voiced.'"
There's plenty more. If anyone is interested, you can read it for yourself: http://mearsheimer-walt-the-israel-lobby.blogspot.com/2008/06/mearsheimer-walt-israel-lobby-and-us_9162.html
12-hour high stakes WTA gunboat?
. Shoot me a PM if you want in. If you meet my moderately rigorous requirements (you've got some skill and don't make a habit of resigning games) I will send you the password. Thanks.
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