By way of deception

The Iranian regime is a sticky, tortuous abscess of fraud and machinations. That conclusion requires no further proof. From the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Report pointing to the military nature of their nuclear program, to this week's attack on the British Embassy in Teheran, this political monster sprawls out like an octopus, conducting its cunning and sophisticated business without red lines and with no limits.

Now the British, Germans, Italians, and of course, the Americans also know who they are facing. Will they act to thwart the nuclear armament of the world’s worst nation-

Something happened. An anonymous party carried out two explosions at key Iranian sites connected with their nuclear endeavor. Let us hope it was not Israel. Thus we would know that another international player - with advanced combat capability - is willing to bear the burdens, and the risks, inherent in comprehending the enormity of the historical responsibility of blocking Iran’s nuclear project.

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Even if Israel were involved in these explosions, its leaders would have moral license to deny involvement. They could say Israel did not have a hand in this act. Not to remain silent. Not to make jokes. Not to rely on a single secret subcommittee. Just to say it out loud that there was no Israeli involvement, without a smug, barely perceptible smile.

The lack of an Israeli response would also make it easier on the Iranians, who would have less incentive to retaliate and deliver blows to Israel, blows similar to the ones perpetrated in the 1990's [bombings of Israeli and Jewish centers in Argentina]. Don’t the Iranians themselves say that there was no explosion [at the nuclear facility in Isfahan]? Fine, there was no explosion. Nothing happened.

I did not like the smile on former Mossad chief Meir Dagan’s face when he confirmed, on Channel 2's prime time investigative journalism show “Fact,” that the explosions in Iran were acts of divinity. Nor did I like defense minister Ehud Barak’s “may they multiply” comment. Let us adhere to the rule: “By way of deception thou shalt make thy war.”

Meir Dagan has broken all the rules of conduct set forth by his predecessors at the helm of the Mossad. He has adopted a new pose, “They won’t silence me.” He will not let “them” shut his mouth. According to Dagan, he has the same rights as any other citizen in the state. That’s democracy, isn’t it-

That claim is “meaningless, like chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 4:4).” No one is shutting his mouth. Every nation and commercial and technological firm has a cooling-off period. Something akin to an obligatory chill. A high-tech employee signs a preliminary agreement to forgo employment in a competing firm for a given period after leaving his current job, because he would bring with him knowledge acquired in his former place of employment. A man like that would not claim that the limit placed upon him by the first firm negates the Law of Freedom of Employment.

That is also true of Dagan. Though he has not divulged military secrets, he is speaking of subjects which he touched upon and handled daily, and nightly, for eight years. Thus everything that he said was forged in the Mossad’s operational furnace. That rule applies even if his criticism is correct and his warning vital. But he is not adhering to the rules.

He now wanders to every corner of the country (and in recent days to the Saban Forum in the U.S.), waging all-out war against Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, and he has every right to do that. But not by means of the material in his employ.

While waiting for a lecture at the Sderot Conference, I heard an academic who is highly familiar with the parties involved, say that if any of Dagan’s deputies, branch leaders, or division leaders in the Mossad had expressed (without divulging secrets) an opinion based on background information gathered during their employment, Dagan would have fired them immediately. He might have even wire-tapped them in accordance with the Wiretapping Law that grants this power to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

He would not stand for such tongue-wagging on the part of his subordinates. He appears to have forgotten the rule of "What is hateful to you, do not do to others.” As he sees it, what is okay for Dagan, is forbidden to his subordinates.

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