How Casual and Matter-of-Fact the Insanity

You really have to read these things out loud sometimes and wonder how any one sleeps without nightmares. There is an analysis in Ha'aretz on line by Aluf Benn, "Budget will decide whether Israel attacks Iran."

Here's the nut graph:

The budget will decide whether Israel will seriously consider a military option against Iran. A decision focusing on defense and deterrance will mean that Israel has given up on attacking Iran. The dilemma becomes more serious in the context of economic recession, which limits the government's ability to expand the defense budget.

You really have to read it to get the dry and serious flavor, like first year business school comes to world holocaust to do a case study. It's a paragraph from a Pinter play. The ultimate bean-counter's insanity. These are the people--the Israelis--with, it is estimated 200 nuclear weapons ready to be dropped on Iran, which is apparently struggling to make its first--or at least suicidally wants to give the impression it is.


And even if they do, does Israel really think that Iran will attack with only one bomb? There, that'll show you, you evil Zionist louts, you are toast! Like, Iran wasn't even capable of calculating that if once they used the one bomb, they would be incinerated completely? Like, you would think that someone there in Tel Aviv is thinking to himself, maybe we should think about this a bit more . . . ? Or maybe, you know, it might be good if we talked this over some more, maybe in a town meeting or in a logic and ethics class . . . ?

It's at moments like this, contemplating the bean counting about nuclear war as if it were a monthly report to the executive committee that I understand that human beings--almost all men and more women than I want to believe--are essentially mad.