Dealing with Ahmadinejad is no simple matter. To western minds, he seems completely irrational. Why does he insist that there was no Holocaust? Why does Iran need a nuclear weapon? Is it worth arousing the hostility of much of the world in order to achieve this capability? And if he has already embarked on this course, why threaten Israel daily and make it easier for both the UN to order sanctions to be imposed on Iran and for the U.S. and its allies to begin thinking of last-recourse measures to forestall this development?
...But when a rational player confronts an irrational one, the irrational player has a decided advantage. While he is counting on the rational response of his opponents to his moves, they don't know what to expect of him. Maybe their best bet is just to let him have what he wants, rather than risking his irrational response to their move. Given the reticence of the U.S. and European nations in facing up to the bellicose, adventurous leaders of Iran and North Korea pursuing their nuclear ambitions, one begins to wonder whether they have not decided to revert to such a strategy. Maybe it is better to be at least temporarily safe than sorry.
But what if the irrational player is confronted by an irrational opponent? Now here is a brain-buster. And maybe this is what Olmert had in mind. Let Lieberman act the role of the irrational player, and now let's see what Ahmadinejad will do. Maybe this is the way to outwit the madman in Teheran. Lieberman's past statements about bombing Teheran, destroying the Aswan dam, laying waste to Gaza, and stripping Israel's Arab citizens of their citizenship might very well make Ahmedinejad believe that now he is up against an entirely different type of opponent.
Mr. Arens' suggestion is only an exercise in rhetoric anyway, since Lieberman is not in a position of authority equal to Ahmadinejad, and is muzzled by the 'sane' Mr. Olmert.
But that is just the problem.
Arens uses the word crazy, meaning insane. But crazy also refers to someone possessed by enthusiasm or excitement; intensely involved or preoccupied about something.
Lieberman is possessed by and intensely preoccupied with the idea of the survival of Israel. And he shows it.
The same cannot be said for Olmert.
That is Israel's real disadvantage
Technorati Tag: Israel and Olmert and Lieberman and Ahmadinejad.
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