Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Israel’s top general: Obama took care of most severe threat facing us, Iran’s nukes

A very interesting article summarizes thusly a speech given the other day by the IDF’s chief of staff.

Screen Shot 2016-01-27 at 10.19.21 AM
Screen Shot 2016-01-27 at 10.19.21 AM

 

 

A very interesting article summarizes thusly a speech given the other day by the IDF’s chief of staff:

‘First, he said Israel faces no existential threats right now, because Obama’s Iran nuclear deal has removed the greatest threat to Israel’s existence; the Obama-Putin deal on Syrian chemical weapons removed the second; and the collapse of the Syrian state and its military removed the third. Second, the job of the IDF is to preserve the space that makes Israeli democracy possible and to guarantee a normal life to Israeli and Palestinian civilians. Third, in a little-noticed jab, he said that a worldview that always assumes ‘the worst-case scenario’ is ‘no less dangerous than’ excess optimism.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

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

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