Explosive Allegations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

[Scurrilous]

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert alleges his successor Benjamin Netanyahu spent billions preparing for a phony war.

<snip>

"Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the government of Benjamin Netanyahu spent almost $3 billion in the past two years preparing for a war against Iran's nuclear program that it probably never intended to wage.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Olmert said the sum was above and beyond the billions allocated to the defense budget and helped raise Israel’s fiscal deficit to heights it hadn’t reached in years. As a result, he said, Netanyahu would be forced to make broad spending cuts, if reelected next week, upsetting potential coalition partners that are accustomed to having their sectarian causes generously financed.

“The security establishment…on the instructions of the government spent an additional 11 billion shekels ($2.95 billion) beyond the regular budget of the Defense department to make preparations regarding a possible Israeli operation against Iran,” said Olmert, who is Netanyahu’s political rival.

He said the extra spending was designed to make the United States believe that Israel genuinely intended to attack Iran’s nuclear program. Netanyahu hoped the perception would prod President Obama, who opposes an Israeli strike, to organize tighter sanctions against Iran and take action of his own to prevent it from crossing the nuclear threshold.

“The general opinion of those that were involved (in the preparations) was that this was much more about rhetoric and less about a real determination to activate it,” Olmert told The Daily Beast."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/16/explosive-allegations-against-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu.html

[azurnoir]

1. wow thanks all that too 'fool' America?

I;ve read that our $3 billion a year finances 25% of Israels security budget, guess he took advantage of that

[whathehell]

2. Wasn't he found with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar once before?.....n/t

[Scurrilous]

3. I think that was Olmert...

...or maybe Ehud Barak. Or possibly Sharon.

Oh, wait...

[zellie]

4. Don't know if its true or not.

But he's got a long way to go to match the grand master himself.

3 billion and counting

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,995651,00.html

[whathehell]

8. Maybe..

Your link doesn't work, though.

[Scurrilous]

9. The link died and I can't get it to work again.

Freakin' haaretz paywall.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

5. A right winger racking up on deficit spending...especially on the military??!!

Color me shocked.

[RobertEarl]

6. Where did the money go? DC Lobbying?

News formation specialists? How much to Murdoch and Faux snooze?

There needs to be an accounting. If we are going to ditch Israel for doing all these bad things, we should be told why and who took the (our) money.

[Jefferson23]

7. Olmert: Israeli government rejecting peace

Former PM blasts Netanyahu administration for causing rift with US president, senselessly spending on defense and refusing to negotiate with moderate Palestinians

With only five days left before the national elections, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that incumbent leader Benjamin Netanyahu could cause an irreparable rift between Israel and its closest ally.

The criticism came on the backdrop of reports citing US President Barack Obama acerbically criticizing Netanyahu for announcing plans to build thousands of new homes in the disputed E1 area of the West Bank in November.

Obama said in closed-door briefings that "Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are" and asserted that Netanyahu's policies are leading the Jewish state down a path of near-total isolation within the international community.


Olmert blasted Netanyahu for getting into "a blunt confrontation with the most powerful man in the world," suggesting that Israel isn't in a position to show contempt for the US, which provides the Jewish state with billions in military aid each year.


Olmert made the remarks during a conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday.

"While the American defense budget is facing cuts, (Obama) supports the Iron Dome," Olmert said, referring to the president's move to release funds for Israel's aerial defense system. "This is a president who says in the middle of a conflict that he won't let Israel lose its advantage. But the Israeli government doesn't think so."


The Israeli government, Olmert continued, "rejects peace. It rejects the process and refuses to talk to the moderates on the Palestinian side. It doesn't want an agreement. There's no other way to say it."


'Deficit monstrous'

The former prime minister also ventured to criticize the current government's financial policies, stating that defense expenditures under Netanyahu have exceeded the approved budget by 20%.


remainder:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4333812,00.html

[oberliner]

10. Explosive?

Interesting word choice. Kind of disturbed.