Israel Tries to Assassinate Top US General, Then Invites Him for Tea – by Kevin Barrett

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Jean

Source: Veterans Today
October 15, 2012

Has a massive, seismic fault line opened up between the US and Israel?

The Israeli government, like its New York special agent Larry Silverstein, has never been criticized for lacking chutzpah.

But Netanyahu and company may be setting a new record for diplomatic chutzpah by inviting America’s top military commander over for tea - two months after they tried to assassinate him!

The Times of Israel, a pro-Netanyahu rag, just published an article practically begging Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chair of the American Joint Chiefs of Staff, to come visit Israel a week before the US presidential elections. I have reprinted the entire article below, interspersed with my translations from the Neocon-ese. The original article is plain text; my translations are bracketed in boldface.
US chief of staff will likely visit Israel this month
Martin Dempsey expected to be on hand for conclusion of joint training exercise ‘Austere Challenge 12′
By Asher Zeiger October 14, 2012, 6:56 pm 1

http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-chief-of-staff-to-likely-visit-israel-this-month/

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey [who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in reprisal for his nixing war with Iran] is expected to visit Israel at the end of the upcoming joint missile defense exercise in late October, Israeli sources revealed on Sunday.
“Austere Challenge 12″ is set to be the largest-ever exercise of its kind, involving some 1,500 soldiers from the Israeli and American armies. The exercise is expected to go on for approximately two weeks, and while Dempsey’s visit has not yet been officially confirmed, Israeli sources were quoted by Maariv as saying that they expected him to be in Israel at the end of the exercise. [Is this wishful thinking, the same way Israel "expected" Obama to meet with Netanyahu, rather than David Letterman, in New York last month? Or will Dempsey really be there - to tell Israel "no October surprises, don't even think about attacking Iran - and by the way, any more assassination attempts, and we might just 'accidentally' turn Tel Aviv into a molten glass parking lot."]

If he does come to Israel, Dempsey will join Adm. James Stavridis, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The visit will take place about one week before the US elections are held on November 6. [Translation: "Perfect timing for a Patrick Clawson-style October Surprise…too bad Dempsey and his friends are hip to us, otherwise we could blow him up and blame Iran."]

Tensions between the US and Israel have been on the rise in recent months over the appropriate course of action to thwart the Iranian nuclear drive. Israel has pushed the US to declare a “red line” for Tehran — a point after which there would be military action rather than sanctions — while the US has reiterated the need to continue pressuring Iran through diplomatic means, reserving a military strike as a last resort. [This is not entirely a "US vs. Israel" issue. It's a "sane people vs. crazy people" issue. It's the lunatics in the US and Israel, including Netanyahu a.k.a. Wile E. Coyote and his dumb friend Mitt, who want red lines and military action; while sane heads in both countries have no interest in war with Iran, period.]

One unnamed Israeli source said Dempsey’s visit would be politically significant in that it would underline the depth of security ties between Israel and the US. [In other words, Netanyahu could say "Gee, Gen. Dempsey, we're really sorry about trying to assassinate you in Afghanistan, please don't hold it against us."] In August, the longstanding relationship between the two allies was called into question when Dempsey called on Israel not to attack Iran, saying that he would not want to be “complicit” in such a strike.[The subsequent assassination attempt on Dempsey "called the relationship into question" even more sharply.]

Tensions between the US and Israel also increased when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly in late September and was unable to arrange a sit-down with President Barack Obama. [Who was too busy yukking it up with a really important person, David Letterman.] US officials attempted to downplay the lack of a meeting, saying that Obama did not arrange individual meetings with any world leaders during the General Assembly. [Except for Letterman, the King of Late-Night Comedy.] Israeli officials, however, interpreted Obama’s refusal to meet as a response to continued Israeli pressure regarding Iran. [They figured if Obama only meets with really funny guys like Letterman, maybe Netanyahu could win back Obama's friendship by doing a truly hilarious Wile E. Coyote imitation at the U.N.]

In late September, Obama reiterated in an interview on “60 Minutes” that his working relationship with the Israeli prime minister was very good. [The actual quote, I believe, was: "Boy, I've been giving it to him good, haven't I? Like when Sarkozy and I left the microphone on - that was really good!"] “I understand and share Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon,” Obama said. ["However," he added, "I do not suffer from his paranoid delusion that Iran actually has a nuclear weapons program."]

http://jhaines6.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/israel-tries-to-assassinate-top-us-general-then-invites-him-for-tea-by-kevin-barrett/