Arad, who spent 25 years in the Mossad, including a stint as Paris station chief in the 1980s, is barred from entering the U.S. because of his frequent contacts with Larry Franklin, the Pentagon official
convicted of passing information to Israel.
Not only that, Netanyahu was making the portly Arad chief of his National Security Council.
Which was bad news for Clinton on another count as well: Arad's strategy for dealing with Iran's leaders is to ape their views on Israel, which is to say, threaten to blow them off the map.
Israeli generals and politicians who object say such a tactic only invites Iran to unleash a pre-emptive nuclear attack.
An intense, bespeckled man with a prominent bald pate (giving him a
striking resemblance to
Seinfeld's Jason Alexander), Arad "has been a close associate of the
Likud leader for the past 13 years and wielded a strong influence in shaping his foreign policy views," according to the Paris-based "
Intelligence Online" newsletter, which forecast Arad's appointment.
"Arad is a bona fide hardliner," the foreign policy blog
China Matters pronounced in an extensive piece.
"Ex-director of research for the Mossad, head of Israel's most influential right wing think tank, architect and participant in various Israeli back channel initiatives vis-a-vis Syria and Iran, Bibi Netanyahu's brain for security and foreign affairs, and, no doubt background briefer par excellence for journalists hoping to get the real skinny on goings-on in the Middle East."
As for what Israel should do about Iran, Arad argued for "maximum deterrence" during a 2006 panel discussion in Tel Aviv, according to
a dispatch from UPI's Joshua Brilliant.
Israel should threaten to strike "everything and anything of value," Arad said, including its leadership and "holiest sites."
The Israelis were on the verge of attacking Iran last year until the Bush administration refused flight clearance over Iraq, according to reports.
In their talks with
Secretary of State Clinton in Jerusalem, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak both set the clock ticking on any U.S. talks with Iran.
"There must be a deadline to dialogue with Iran," both argued to Clinton in their separate meetings with her on Tuesday afternoon, according to
Israeli reports.
Jeff Stein can be reached at jstein@cq.com.
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