Maj. Gen. Yair Golan
Photo: Yair Sagi
Top IDF brass tells US Israel can't handle Iran alone
Asked by Defense Minister Lieberman to lay out Israel's national security policy for the US, former deputy IDF chief Yair Golan tells Americans in Washington Israel able to handle 'primitive' ISIS, but insists Iran, with its 'good scientists and talented young people,' cannot be 'coped with alone.'
The IDF’s former deputy chief of staff, Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan told a security conference in Washington DC Friday Israel will not be able to fight against Iran without US assistance, according to reports on the website DefenseNews.
In order to achieve victory over Iran in any possible future military showdown, American help would be essential, he reportedly said during his speech at the Washington Institute.
Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan (Photo: Yair Sagi)
“We cannot fight Iran alone,” Golan was reported as saying in the online publication. “They can affect us; we can affect them. It’s all about attrition. But if you want to gain something which is deeper, we cannot do it alone. This is a fact of life. It’s better to admit that.”
Paying lip service to ISIS’s threatening determination to carry out attacks, Golan insisted that a lid could be kept on the terror organization, adding that it was still Iran that posed the greatest danger.
“For decades, we’ve dealt with ISIS-style terrorism. I don’t say it’s not a problem. But we managed to live with that. … They are primitive and with relatively limited capabilities. Yes, they have their determination and they are dangerous,” Golan was quoted as saying.
”But when looking at the Iranian threat, it’s much more dangerous compared to the ISIS threat.”
Iran, he continued, “are a higher form of civilization. They have nice, academic infrastructure, impressive industry, good scientists and many talented young people. They are very similar to us, and because they are similar to us they are much, much more dangerous. And we can’t cope with them alone.”
Photo: Motti Kimchi
Golan’s trip to Washington as a visiting fellow for military research comes at the behest of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman as the IDF general outlines for his American counterparts Israel national security policy.
According to the DefenseNews, Golan also told his listeners that Israel had to ready itself to lock horns with Iran.
“We cannot allow ourselves not to prepare for direct confrontation with Iran,” he said. “We don’t have expeditionary forces. There is no Marine Corps in Israel … this is beyond our capabilities. So what should we have? That’s a big question. That’s the classified part.”
