Israeli PM Clashed With Military Over Iran Attack
By RFE RL
(RFE/RL) — An Israeli television documentary says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were rebuffed by the military when they ordered it in 2010 to prepare for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Excerpts released on November 5 from the report say the army’s chief at the time, Gabi Ashkenazi, and Mossad intelligence agency head Meir Dagan both questioned the order.
It would have raised the military’s alert status to a level where it must be ready to take action.
The report said Ashkenazi cautioned that just giving the order to raise the alert status could cause events to spiral out of control.
It says the now-retired Dagan accused Netanyahu and Barak in 2010 of trying to launch a war illegally without cabinet approval.
Barak and Netanyahu recently signaled that an attack on Iran is not imminent.
