972Mag devotes itself to reporting and commentary on Israel and the Palestinian territories. On Friday, October 28, one of its columnists, Larry Derfner, posted about the explosive op-ed that Israeli Nahum Barnea, who he calls “the best-connected, most influential journalist in Israel” recently wrote.
He’s calling out Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak for cooking up an attack [on Iran], maybe before this winter, maybe afterward, even though the security establishment, foreign governments and relatively level-headed members of this government are completely against it.
Then, on Wednesday, October 2, Derfner wrote:
They’re freaking out in Jerusalem over the shitstorm that Barnea’s “Atomic pressure” column started. “All sorts of systems and people have gone mad. This has no logical explanation or precedent,” [Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor] Lieberman told IDF Radio. Dan Meridor, the proper, level-headed minister of intelligence and atomic energy, made Ma’ariv’s top story today by saying, “Anat Kamm (just imprisoned for 4-1/2 years for leaking classified IDF documents to a journalist) is nothing compared to what’s happening here. This is really crazy. I don’t think there’s ever been a public discussion like this.”
Consequently, yesterday, October 3, Haaretz reported:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Shin Bet [Israel’s internal security service] chief Yoram Cohen to begin investigating the information recently leaked to the media regarding Israel’s preparations for a military offensive against Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Kuwaiti al-Jarida newspaper reported Thursday.
According to the report, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan and former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin are those responsible for leaking information to the media regarding an attack on Iran.
“The two recruited prominent journalists in Israel and disclosed false information in order to politically harm Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak,” the newspaper quoted an Israeli source.
According to the source, Diskin wanted revenge for not receiving the post of Mossad chief and Dagan was disgruntled since his term as Mossad chief was not extended. [Emphasis added.]
Dagan and Diskin couldn’t have had any other reason — such as keeping Iranian missiles from raining down on Israel with no guarantee that Israel’s could knock out Iran’s program — could they? Never mind the security of the Israeli people, along with self-aggrandizement (acting “Churchillian,” in the words of his supporters), revenge and disgruntlement may be among the only motives which Netanyahu can understand.