Post date: Apr 28, 2012 2:22:13 PM
Yuval Diskin was referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak's threats to launch a pre-emptive war on Iran because of its nuclear programme.
Other security veterans have come out against Netanyahu and Barak, but Diskin's criticism was especially strong.
A former chief of the Israeli domestic intelligence unit Shin Bet says he has no faith in the prime minister when it comes to decisions over Iran.
KFAR SABA, ISRAEL (APRIL 27, 2012) (MAJDI FORUM) - A former Israeli spymaster denounced the country's leaders on Friday (April 27) for forming policies on Iran on the basis of what he described as "messianic feelings".
"I will tell you things that will be, perhaps, harsh. I have no faith in the prime minister, nor in the defence minister," Diskin, who stepped down as Shin Bet domestic intelligence chief a year ago, said in a speech partly aired by Israel Radio on Saturday (April 28).
"I really don't have faith in a leadership that makes decisions out of messianic feelings."
Diskin, who spoke on Friday night (April 27), said he was not necessarily opposed to Israel attacking Iran's nuclear sites pre-emptively. But he said Netanyahu was not up to the task of going to war as a second-term premier, nor Barak, the country's most decorated soldier.
"I have seen them up close," he said. "They are not messiahs, both of them. They are not people who I personally, at least, trust to be able to lead Israel into an event on such a scale, and to extricate it. I'm not saying, by the way, that it's an illegitimate decision. I'm just really afraid that these are not the people whom I'd like to see at the wheel during an operation like that," he added.
The catastrophic terms with which Netanyahu and Barak describe the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran have stirred concern in Israel and abroad of a possible strike against Iran because of a uranium enrichment programme Iraq says has peaceful ends.
Although Israel has threatened a pre-emptive strike if diplomacy fails, some experts believe that could be a bluff to keep up pressure on Iran, making it harder to interpret the swirl of comments from the security establishment.
Diskin's remarks came days after Israel's military chief, Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, said Iran was "very rational" and unlikely to build a bomb in the face of world opposition, apparently undermining the case for a strike.
By using the language of religious fervour that Israelis usually associate with Islamist foes, Diskin appeared even more damning of Netanyahu and Barak, who have often crafted strategy alone and whose relationship dates back to service in an elite commando unit four decades ago.