Former Military Intelligence head Amos Yadlin came to the defense of Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Saturday, saying
that the government’s discussions on Iran were “very serious.”
Yadlin’s
statements on Channel 2’s Meet the Press program stood in stark contrast with
recent statements from former Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin and retired Mossad
chief Meir Dagan, who each in their own way painted the two as reckless
adventurers who should not be trusted to make fateful decisions about
Iran.
Yadlin, who left his post in 2010 and is currently the head of the
Institute for National Security Studies, said that the forum that deals with
Iran – once the septet but now expanded with the addition of Shaul Mofaz to nine
members – is made up of “very serious people” and includes three former chiefs
of staff along with “others who devote a lot of time to this issue.”
In a
reference to Diskin’s and Dagan’s comments, Yadlin – one of eight pilots who
took part in the 1981 attack on an Iraqi reactor – said that unelected officials
needed to be “very careful” when making public statements on sensitive
issues.
“We sat in closed meeting in the most select forums,” he
said.
“We expressed ourselves straightforwardly, with a great deal of
integrity and professionalism. But when we are regular citizens, we should
impose on ourselves a cooling-off period, and not come out with explosive
statements.”
