>SNIP (Between the lines)
>>But Israel is particularly sensitive about the idea of genocide.
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>>Israel takes national security very seriously.
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>>They are very serious about Iran not getting a nuclear weapon.
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>This is year 2007.
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>Genocide happened over 60 years ago, and was done by completely different animal and in completely different world, time and mindframe all together.
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>In all his crazyness, Hitler believed that it was ok to attack 'inferior races', bomb their countries, jail/extinct people in gettoes/camps and all that. Hitler also bombed Belgrade in (his mind) 'Preemptive strike' back in 1941, so how / under what excuse this can be ok today ?
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>Does today's Iran ressembles Nazy Germany of 1937 to you in any way ?

No, but the noises coming out of Iran today are the same ones coming out of Egypt in 1967 when Nassar was getting everyone on board to push the Jews into the sea. The agenda was explicitly kill them all. King Faisel was clear on that as well and the entire Arab world thought that was a great idea.

The Holocaust was over 60 years ago. Masada was almost 2000 years ago. But every Israeli soldier is taken to Masada to be sworn in. History has a way of living a long time. I was in Jerusalem shortly after the 67 war. A senior IDF officer who had been in the Warsaw Ghetto as a teenager had been in the wave that was the first to break through to The Wall. He showed me the number tattooed on his arm. He told me "The next time they come looking for us, they know where to find us." I've known a lot of hard men. I had never met anyone who impressed me more as being completely serious.

Yes, they take this very seriously. As I said, remember Osirak.

This is simply the reality of the Middle East. The Yom Kippur war was very traumatic in 73. In a nuclear world leaving yourself vulnerable to surprise attacks cannot be an option. You are talking about "Is there an excuse ..." etc. I'm just saying people look at the world according to their own national/tribal experience.

Golda Meier said "Israel will not commit suicide so that the world will think well of her"

The problem with the Arab and Persion culture which you correctly identified as being fond of bragging and talking trash is that you may find someone takes you seriously. Saddam was moving in that direction. Ahmadinejad is definitely pushing it.

I don't think it will come to that but I think efforts to get Iran to see things differently are very much influenced by the US and many European countries as seeing Israel's position as I have described.