Jimmy Carter: Israel 'Has 150 Nuclear Weapons'

BBC:

Ex-US President Jimmy Carter has said Israel has at least 150 atomic weapons in its arsenal.

The Israelis have never confirmed they have nuclear weapons, but this has been widely assumed since a scientist leaked details in the 1980s. Mr Carter made his comments on Israel's weapons at a press conference at the annual literary Hay Festival in Wales.

Read the whole story: BBC

Comments

[booksnmore4you]

"Uncle Sam Speaks on U.S.-Foreign Policy"
http://stephenewen.org/articles/Uncle_Sam_Speaks_on_U.S.-Foreign_Policy.html

Read it an weep.

[DWX]

Huffington Post,

Why has been any comments on this topic being posted since 11:59 a.m. and yet you still continue to accept new comments? Is Huffington Post being intimidated ?

[DWX]

I have always wondered why the Israelis as so bullish against her neighbors and now I know. The Iranians are very nervous of Israelis having a huge stock pile of nuclear arsenal which is giving incentive for Iranian to pursue their own. The Bush/Cheney fear of Iranian possessing WMD is also the fear that Israel might be crazy enough to use WMD in a confrontation with Iran, thus the beginning of WW3. The reason for the Iraq war is oil, but it is also based on the possibility that Iraq may acquire WMD which could lead to nuclear confrontation with Israel. The only way to achieve peace in the Middle East is to remove nuclear arsenals from Israel; therefore there won’t be any reason for the Iranian to have theirs, which is called the Détente. Otherwise, the Iranian will continue to pursue for their own national security.

[MrT3]

I'm glad someone was honest about the fact that Israel can TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES!!!!....we don't have to obliterate anybody but these stupid politicians that get on TV fanning the flames about a war that would be impossible for Iran to win....sheezus....Israel spies on us and steals our secrets...lol..is that a real friend?? Et tu Brute???

[PKSSK]

I find it surprsing that this article is viewed as news or that Carter has released some great secret, which I find insulting to the intelligience of the American people??? The media and governement may be living a bubble, but most American's are elightened about what is going on in our nation and the world. We, the people, know that nucleaur weapons have and continue to be on the rise everywhere and that we, the US, play a major role in supplying others, allies and enemies, with their resources. This article supports why this election is important and why the US is in desperate need of a President who represents CHANGE and DIPLOMACY!!!!

Obama/Sebeilus 08!!!!

[olephart]

"Ex-US President Jimmy Carter has said Israel has at least 150 atomic weapons in its arsenal."

In other breaking news, the Titanic is feared to be lost. No transmissions have been received since the liner struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912.

[Garytown]

What do you my he slipped...as if it is some dark secret that should be kept quiet that Israel has nukes...how about getting some inspections over there? oh yeah, israel is not allowed to be scrutinized...how anti semitic of me!

[LeoMarvin]

Not anti-Semitic. Just ignorant.

1. Disclosing classified information, however publicly known it may be, violates his security clearance and undermines the flow of classified data between friendly countries.

2. Israel is not a signatory to the NNPT, so it has no duty to allow such inspections.

[ornovscot]

Former President Carter's words were not only appropriate. They were quite pertinent, precisely because Israel is not a signatory to the NNPT.

He merely asserted what is well known and that which needs to be communicated.

I am sorry, however, he is anything but ignorant. I think of him as a courageous and decent person.

[Pema]

Part 2 :
If I were President, I would have a complete power down of Israeli nuclear forces
Same for all involved parties, a return of the Golan Heights to Syria, a pledge thru the Arab league to renounce violence as part of a negotiated settlement to allow a single state with full rights to all. With UN Peacekeepers which are owed to this conflict as Israel was created by the UN, with a 20 year commitment of these peacekeeping forces, why 20 years? It is a generational change, and this would likely after some time create an atmosphere were Jew and Palestine alike would fight for “their” state. I have watched this situation closely for over 40 years, as an American of Syrian and Anglo decent, I can see both sides, and conclude a two state solution would just continually divide, incursions of borders and constant strife as Israel blockades basic needs, and the Pals shooting rockets into Israel. This UN Peace Keeping Force is OWED to the situation as the UN created Israel (under what some still consider a breech of UN laws and protocols and therefore does not legitimize the State of Israel) Peace cannot be achieved by all parties involved giving up something to gain something else.
Just my observations and thoughts.

[Pema]

Part 1:
Carter slipped the worst kept secret on Israel, the second worst kept secret is Israel spies on the US, this is why I can't understand why we call them an "ally". I mean frankly, I am not a fan of Israels policies, however, I think the US and the west use them as a buffer, and if I were israel, I would be pissed, we forgive their treatment of the Pals and other Arab states because they are the buffer, they will get attacked first, and then we can come in and bomb whomever transgressed. Face it, our attitude to both Israel and the surrounding Arab countries stinks. Both sides are victims of the US and each other.
(please look for part 2, my orignial post went over the amount of space permitted).

[AdamWykle]

Actually Carter was being modest, that number is not correct, Israel has much more.

For an immature and violent psycopathic bully like Israel who militarily occupies another entity, drops indiscrimminate bombs on civilian populations, crushes Palestinian infrastructure and devastates their economy, controls their land, water and airspace, and subjects an entire population to daily humiliation and degradation to be the only nuclear country in that region and not reveal their stash and sign the NPT like the international community has is NOT RIGHT.

And why are we going after Iran when they don't even come close to what Israel is? In fact, Iran hasn't attacked a country since the seventeenth century and they dont occupy anyone like us and Israel.

[Ramirez]

Israeli nukes pose no danger to the region or the world.

[shrinkrap]

The reason we know Isreal has nuclear weapons is because my country gave them the bombs as part of foreign aid packages as far back as 1951. The U.S. thought that they had an ally in the middle east that could supply intelligence about that volatile area. What started out as a mutual need soon deteriorated as Isreal started making demands on the nation that continues to supply billions in foreign aid anually. The intelligence gathering the U.S. depended on Isreal for has never lived up to its expectations. Now, Isreali spys are found in my country trying to send back technology to their country.
We don't need Isreal as much as they need us, so why is it that we continue to supply foreign aid? I don't have the answer to that one.
Jimmy Carter was simply speaking the truth, why should Isreal get a double standard?

[Chavez08]

It's too bad that Carter was the only president in the last 40 years who is not a traitor to his country.

If Americans shed their cowardice and MSM brainwash and accepted the truth about the treason committed by big-business and Reagan's keepers and the convenient timing of the Iranian hostage releases, we wouldn't be fighting this hard against Corporate Communism.

[crimson]

Wouldn't Israel now be in violation of the various non-proliferation laws of the US (Solarz Amendment, Glen Amendment etc etc)? Israel would probably not be eligible for the 3B+ handout it gets from the American taxpayers...

[CranialRectalLoopback]

Since when is revealing what is widely understood, as well as THE TRUTH, called a slip? Jimmy Carter, the only TRUE CHRISTIAN to ever be President. He's also the only President to ever negotiate a REAL AND LASTING PEACE for Israel and one of its enemies.

[bracken]

From Free Republic:

"Estimates of 150 or 200 and higher for the Israeli nuclear arsenal are found open-source from a wide variety of analysts and sources and have been for years.

This is a non-story, and I have as much contempt for Carter as the next guy, but there’s nothing to get remotely offended about here."

This is the storyline that will be echoed from right wing to right wing, thence to more mainstream media, until the story is kicked out the back door.