Radio host: Israel trying to ‘blackmail’ US into war with Iran

This video is from Fox Business's Freedom Watch broadcast Nov. 29, 2010.

By Stephen C. Webster
The Raw Story
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 -- 12:09 pm

Reacting to Raw Story exclusive, Horton tells Fox that Americans 'oughtta be really upset'

By declaring they'd wage a war against Iran by themselves, the nation of Israel is effectively "blackmailing" the United States into combat operations, according to a radio host who appeared on Fox Business Monday night.

Scott Horton, the Los Angeles radio host behind Antiwar.com, told Fox Business host Judge Napolitano that revelations contained within the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables revealed Israel's aggressive strategy for regime change in Iran.

These revelations were first detailed in an exclusive investigative feature published Monday by Raw Story.

"I think what emerges most [from the leaks] is the arrogance of the American empire and the people who run it, whether it's the previous administration or this one," Horton said. "The way they look down on everyone in the world, it's certainly not the attitude you'd expect from a humble, commercial republic."

"There are some really outrageous things in these documents, " he continued. "Things that oughtta get the American people really upset. For example, the Israelis are shown to push, continually, to get the United States into a war with Iran. There's one State Department document from August of 2007, where Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad, is telling Assistant Secretary of State [R. Nicholas] Burns that even though the CIA's assessment of Iran's nuclear program and our's, that is Israel's, are different -- and, we have our deadline. If you don't go ahead and attack, we will."

"That's really blackmail, right there. Of course, if the United States wanted to start a war with Iran, they could at least do it their way, but if Israel starts a war with Iran, America will be involved no matter what. We'll just -- he's basically threatening to drag us in, kicking and screaming."

"Of course, we have thousands of troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have the fleet in the Persian Gulf that are greatly at risk in any real war with Iran."

Horton also noted that criticism of WikiLeaks -- saying they've endangered lives by releasing this information -- is transparently disingenuous.

"Secretary of Defense Gates admitted in a letter to Senator Levin that no one has died -- there's no evidence that there's any blood on WikiLeaks' hands. There's blood on the hands of the American Pentagon and the American State Department that are waging these wars around the world. It's not the truth that hurts, Judge. It's what the truth is about, the real story: that's what hurts them. They're not worried about blood. They're worried about pink slips."

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has appeared on Napolitano's Fox show before. In the same episode, the host jeered Rep. Peter King, who recently called for the US to designate WikiLeaks a "foreign terrorist organization."

"They’re mad at Wikileaks?" Napolitano asked, appearing on Shepard Smith's Fox News show, Studio B. "That it’s a terrorist organization? What the hell? Come on."
David Edwards contributed to this report.