Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Will Israel attack Iran?

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says Israel will not attack Iran. “We are not talking about a military attack,” he told an interviewer. “Israel cannot resolve militarily the entire world’s problem.” I think that view is correct. But him saying it gives me pause. I’d thought for a long time that the more Israeli officials ...

586368_090413_planes_b5.jpg
586368_090413_planes_b5.jpg

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says Israel will not attack Iran.

“We are not talking about a military attack,” he told an interviewer. “Israel cannot resolve militarily the entire world’s problem.”

I think that view is correct. But him saying it gives me pause. I’d thought for a long time that the more Israeli officials talked about airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, the less likely they were to happen. So what should I think now that the new government is taking that off the table?

xnir/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.