Video Infoblog; Lee Kuan Yew's WARNING for Israel (ft. Iran, US & Singapore-Israel Relations).

3 Oct 2024

As tensions escalate once more between Israel and Iran, let’s revisit the predictions & warnings made by the late Lee Kuan Yew and his critique of the US’s foreign policy in the region. In this video, we'll also explore Singapore’s relationship with Israel.

Introduction

0:00

in a conflict between Israelis and Arabs

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and

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Muslims

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rationality dissolves and fear takes

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over yes for the next generation of

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Israelis I have got to find a way to

0:15

peace absolutely because an armed

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otherwise is endless Wars or tensions

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and the danger eventually of a holocaust

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as tensions escalate once more between

0:27

Israel and Iran let's revisit the

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warnings and predictions made by the

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late lewu and his critique of US foreign

0:33

policy in the region but first let's

Singapore's initial relationship with Israel

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explore Singapore's initially secretive

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relationship with Israel the partnership

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between the two began shortly after

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Singapore gained independence from

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Malaysia in 1965 Al learning defenseless

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Lee reached out to leaders in India

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Egypt and Israel seeking assistance in

0:50

building Singapore's Armed Forces

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initially reluctant to accept Israeli

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help fearing it might provoke hostility

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from neighboring Muslim majority

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countries Lee ultimately turned to

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Israel after being rejected by both

1:00

India and Egypt the first contingent of

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Israeli advisors referred to as Mexicans

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to master true identity arrived in

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November 1965 to provide military

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training under their guidance Singapore

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rapidly developed as Armed Forces

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adopting a conscription system modeled

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after the IDF another critical decision

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I made within a year of Independence was

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to build a national service Armed Force

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if we did not have the ability to defend

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ourselves nobody not even our own people

1:30

would have faith in our future so we

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studied the Swiss the swedes and the

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Israelis the Israelis offered help to

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build a system for a totally national

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service Armed

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Force we now have a credible defense

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capability but during this time

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Singapore would face persistent pressure

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from Israel to officially recognize it

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as a sovereign state and to establish an

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embassy in exchange for their military

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assistance however Lee stood firm

1:57

against these demands even if Israel

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threatened withdraw support stating that

2:01

he did not want to alienate the Muslim

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populations in Singapore and Malaysia

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but following Israel's decisive victory

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in the Six Day War in 1967 Lee felt

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reassured that Singapore's military

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could effectively meet any challenges

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this newfound confidence LED Singapore

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to make significant military purchases

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including 72 tanks from Israel in 1968

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and establishing an Israeli Embassy in

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1969 additionally in a struggle to find

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ways to grow Singapore's economy Lee

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will draw inspiration from Israel's

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development strategies and leap Rob the

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region by forging economic ties with the

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industrial countries a UND DP expert

2:35

working in Singapore described to me how

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Israel had leaped frogged its

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neighbors neighbors who boycotted them

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and exported to Europe and America

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fruits flowers many other things I

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thought to myself why not seek links

2:54

with the developed countries get

2:56

industrial investments from Europe Japan

3:00

and America today the two Nations enjoy

Singapore's relationship with Israel today

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a close partnership spanning from

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Healthcare to technology and defense but

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despite the strong Alliance Singapore

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has consistently advocated for a

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two-state solution to resolve the

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Israeli Palestinian conflict we believe

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that the two sides have to live in peace

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there's really no alternative to that

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and to live in peace the only way to get

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there is to have a two-state solution

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Lee himself would maintain a careful

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distance from appearing too close to

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Israel visiting only once after the

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signing of the slow Peace Accords as

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record by former foreign affairs

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minister Geor Gio in this speech I and

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many long-standing Singapore friends of

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Israel are troubled by some of these

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Trends in Israeli

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Society Singapore has always supported a

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two-state solution in the

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UN Liu only agreed to visit Israel in

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1994 after Israel had signed the Oslo

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Accord it was his first and last visit

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to Israel more recently now deleted

4:00

Facebook posts made by the Israeli

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Embassy in Singapore prompted strong

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backlash from various ministers

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reaffirming Singapore's commitment to

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maintain religious Harmony that post on

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the Israeli Embassy social media page is

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completely unacceptable this post is an

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astonishing attempt to rewrite history

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the writer of the post should look at un

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resolutions see if Israel's actions in

4:25

the past few decades have been

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consistent with international law before

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trying to rewrite history and earlier

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this year Singapore voted in favor of a

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UN resolution supporting Palestinian

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membership reaffirming its commitment to

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a two-state solution Singapore has just

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voted in favor of a resolution at the

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United Nations General Assembly that

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expresses support for the admission of

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Palestine as a UN member the two-state

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solution is foundational to resolving

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this longstanding conflict but now let's

Lee's Warnings about the Middle East

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delve into lean U stock warnings about

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the Middle East in his final book

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published in 2013 he characterized the

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Israeli Palestinian conflict as the

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Region's most pressing issue emphasizing

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that its resolution is essential for

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achieving broader peace in the Middle

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East however he cautioned that with each

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passing day the likelihood of a

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permanent solution diminishes he pointed

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to the powerful influence of the

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pro-israel lobby in the US which has

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enabled Highline positions to dominate

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Israeli leadership Lee also emphasized

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that the illegal expansion of Israeli

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settlements viewed by Ultra

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conservatives as a Divine Right further

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undermines any potential peace agreement

Lee on US Foreign Policy in the region

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Lee would also criticize US foreign

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policy asserting that America is the

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only Power that can pressure Israel he

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argued that unless they cut off military

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and financial aid which has amounted to

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over $300 billion since 1949 Israel has

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little incentive to change its course

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they believe that only the United States

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can play the kind of role that will with

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Israel that will bring about a solution

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yes and that the United States has to

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take the lead and exert some real

5:58

leadership m and make sure that there's

6:01

progress towards that and the United

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States finally is not doing it yes this

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ongoing conflict not only undermines

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America's credibility but also fills

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anti-American sentiment worldwide making

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it easier for jihadists to recruit young

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people and to spread terrorism why have

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they done this they say it's because

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Americans have supported the Israelis

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who have been crued and oppressive to

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the Palestinians they say the Russians

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have killed the chants they say the

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killed the Muslims in Bosnia they don't

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consider all these separate incidents to

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be disparate events connected with each

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country is Every Act of Cruelty every

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atrocity every Massacre of any Muslim

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anywhere in the world is a crime to all

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Muslims anywhere in the world so let us

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all join

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together and hit out at those who hit us

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and who is the ring

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leader America Lee would state that if

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the US can adopt a more neutral stance

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and genuinely pursue a two-state

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solution will solve many other problems

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and improve America's standing and

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policies in the region however Lee

LKY on Iran

7:14

expressed concerns about Iran viewing it

7:16

as a significant obstacle to any peace

7:18

deal he believes that Iran Harbors

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Ambitions to dominate the region driven

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by the Sunni Shiite divide that dates

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back Millennia but also a deep-seated

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pride in its Persian Imperial past where

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it once held considerable power and

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influence last night I had the foreign

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minister of Iran here yes for a long

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conversation yeah says that they're

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ready to be engaged about the bomb that

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they don't really want the bomb yeah you

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don't believe that do you it' be

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impolite for me to express my uh

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disbelief but I think anybody who says

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he doesn't want a

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bomb uh if he can get one isn't really

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being honest because because because the

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pakistanis have the

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bomb so why not they the Israelis have a

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bomb why not they no it's a dangerous

Can Israel stop Iran?

8:08

world has that he believes that Israel

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will not be able to prevent Iran from

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developing a nuclear weapon unless the

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Americans decide to launch a grand

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Invasion which Lee beli was close to

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Impossible given how they handled Iraq

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and even if Israel opted for a

8:21

preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear

8:23

facilities Lee argued that Iran would

8:25

likely find ways to continue its

8:27

development deeper underground beyond

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the reach of Israeli strikes this

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scenario will trigger nuclear arms race

8:32

in the Middle East and increase the

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chance of a serious miscalculation that

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could lead to the first use of nuclear

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weapons since World War II what do you

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think the likelihood is that a bomb will

8:41

fall in the wrong hands and it'll be set

8:44

off I once wrote a fantasy piece for the

8:47

economist 50 years from now so I had one

8:51

little paragraph in which I

8:55

said and finally the bomb was used and

8:58

it was in the middle

9:00

East

9:02

because in a conflict between Israelis

9:05

and Arabs and

9:08

Muslims

9:10

rationality dissolves and fear takes

9:13

over

9:15

yes but they didn't publish that they

9:17

they decided it was too provocative they

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cancel it but I still

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believe that's the highest risk

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ultimately Lee believed that resolving

9:28

these critical issues hinged on the

9:30

influence of what he called the 2,000

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Jews in America but in the end he

9:34

concedes that the Israeli Palestinian

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conflict today is an unsolvable problem