 |
 |
 |
|
|
Former Chief of the Mossad Efraim Halevy
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
05/10
Haaretz Service |
|
|
| By israelinsider staff and partners May 10, 2005 |
|
| |
U.S. military forces may remain in Iraq for much longer than Americans commonly believe, and those forces may yet uncover weapons of mass destruction, former chief of the Mossad espionage agency Efraim Halevy has said.
In a question and answer session with Haaretz.com readers, ex-Mossad director Efraim Halevy also said he believed that "ultimately Iran will not remain a theocratic state run by extreme religious leaders," and that the Palestinians could fashion a truly democratic state.
According to Halevy, "for the U.S. to be able to reap the benefits of its very bold policies in the Middle East, it will be necessary for successive presidents to maintain a formidable military presence in the region for quite some time to come."
The U.S. has set in motion a "wave of change in the entire region," and that change is only in the preliminary stages, said Halevy, who also served as director of the National Security Council.
For democratic forces to succeed "it will be vital for the U.S. to make it clear to everybody that American forces will not leave before the mission has been accomplished. I am not sure that this realization has gained ground either in the U.S. or in the region; rather, I believe, there is still a false hope that within a relatively short time 'the boys can come home' and peace and prosperity would be enjoyed forever after in the Middle East."
Asked if poor intelligence had prompted mistaken assessments of Saddam Hussein's suspected arsenal of non-conventional weaponry, Halevy replied that "notwithstanding the fact that weapons of mass destruction have not yet been found in Iraq, I would not rule out the possibility that they might be found in the future. Iraq is a vast country, and only several months ago, a full squadron of aircraft was discovered buried in the sand.
"I do not believe that Saddam Hussein risked the fall of his regime and his own capture just out of false pride," Halevy continued. "He doggedly and continuously refused to cooperate with the United Nations missions which tried time and time again to set up a credible monitoring system in Iraq after 1998."
Turning to the Palestinian Authority, Halevy said he believed "the Palestinians have a chance of fashioning a truly democractic state and it is only they who can determine whether this will happen or not."
"The Palestinian Authority has shown a measure of endurance, which is quite exceptional. It has held democratic elections, and the results have been quite impressive as compared to some of the longer-standing Arab states in the region."
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
