Mere Rhetoric: Olmert's Disclosure Of Israel's Nuclear Capability: At Wost, Harmless

This is getting kind of absurd:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's apparent inclusion of Israel in the nuclear club and confirmation that the country has nuclear weapons could prove disastrous to Israel's strategic standing, senior defense officials said Tuesday. According to the officials - responsible for planning Israel's long-term defense strategy - Olmert's comment could eventually lead to renewed pressure to open up the country's nuclear installations to international inspections. Egypt has repeatedly called for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of the Dimona nuclear facility as well as Israel's signature on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Here's what we just can't understand: was anybody under the impression that Israel doesn't have nuclear weapons? More specifically, that Israel doesn't have about 150-200 nuclear weapons in silos around the Negev, on airplanes that can be scrambled in minutes, and inside submarines sitting at the bottom of the Persian Gulf? Anybody? Of course not. Even Shimon Peres - who, say what you will, is the guy who actually invented Israel's doctrine of nuclear ambiguity - thinks that it's pretty much done its job.

We also want to point out that the phrase "Egypt has repeatedly called" doesn't go with the phrase "renewed pressure". Israel is already under constant pressure to open up Dimona. Israeli leaders have correctly pointed out that the IAEA has no jurisdiction there because Israel is not an NPT signatory. That hasn't stop people from pointing out that Israel should pretend as if they agreed to be screwed by international law in yet another forum.

You know how we know that? Because the new realist Secretary of Defense laid the groundwork for it three days ago:

Israeli officials want to know why U.S. Secretary of Defense-designate Robert Gates made a statement to Congress that Israel has nuclear weapons. The U.S. media generally reports that Israel has such weapons, but there has been no official confirmation. Haaretz reported that Israeli officials are worried about Gates' statement and want to know if it was a private statement or if Gates conferred with top U.S. officials prior to making the claim. They also want to know whether Gates was implying Israel could handle a nuclear Iran by itself. Although Gates has extensive experience in intelligence and diplomacy, the implication reportedly contradicts what U.S. President George Bush told Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a recent meeting, the newspaper said. Haaretz reported that Israeli officials were also shocked at Gates's statement that he understood why Iran wished to obtain nuclear weapons.

Plus, bracketing everything else - he's just right. It is obviously different for Israel to have nuclear weapons - which reasonable people understand are for deterrence - and for Iran to have nuclear weapons - which even their "moderates" declare will be used to wipe out Israel. Good for him for saying it out loud, and if the deck wasn't already stacked against Israel than that would be the discussion. Let's stop having the discussion about whether Israel has nuclear weapons and start having the discussion about why Israel needs nuclear weapons. And that discussion is so one-sided that anyone who disagrees would have disagreed anyway and is well beyond the horizon of rational dialogue.

We don't understand what's so mysterious about Olmert's actions. One day the ISG gives a stamp of approval to the idea that a Palestinian right of return is within the horizon of what's negotiable. The next day the new SecDef declares that as far as his office and US foreign policy are concerned, Israel has nukes.

There's nothing to be gained by holding on to a doctrine that (a) nobody believes anyway and (b) doesn't stop diplomats from acting as if it's not true. So let Olmert throw Israel's nuclear weight around a little bit. It'll do Iran some good to be reminded that they really are ushering in the end of the world if they try to fulfill their dream of another Holocaust. Which is exactly what Louis Rene Beres has been saying for about half a decade - and he (a) assumes that the Iranians are batshit crazy and (b) has studied about a billion more nuclear war games than the people taking pot shots at Olmert.

Previously: American Library Association Compares Pro-Israel Scholars To KKK, Nuke War Games Prove We Might All Be Screwed, Olmert: Israel May Or May Not Have Nukes