Breaking: Olmert admits that Israel has nuclear weapons
Allahpundit
Thus ends the world’s worst kept secret. ...
The prime minister became enraged when he was asked if the fact that Israel possessed nuclear power weakened the West’s position against Iran.
“Israel is a democracy and does not threaten anyone,” he exclaimed. The only thing we have tried to do is to live without (threats of) terror, but we have never threatened to destroy another nation. Iran explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map.”
Olmert then went on to admit Israel’s nuclear capability. ...
Olmert indicates Israel has nuclear capability
By JPost.com Staff
In a move unprecedented by any Israeli leader, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday included Israel in a list of nuclear nations. ...
Israel is a democracy and does not threaten anyone," Olmert exclaimed. The only thing we have tried to do is to live without [threats of] terror, but we have never threatened anyone with annihilation. Iran explicitly, openly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map."
"Can you say that this is the same level, when [Iran] is aspiring to have nuclear weapons, like America, France, Israel and Russia [JPost italics]?" he said, adding that these were "cultured nations" who did not threaten the world's foundations with nuclear destruction.
The Prime Minister's Office denied on Monday evening that Olmert's statement was an official acknowledgement that Israel possessed nuclear weapons. ...
Israel has constrained itself for decades by insisting on a policy of 'amimut,' nuclear ambiguity or opacity, never admitting to its real capabilities, necessitating local journalists to add the line 'according to foreign sources' every time they report on Israel's alleged nuclear weapons.
This policy proved successful in preventing the kind of international pressure to disarm that might have been caused by an open admission to having the bomb, but it's not very useful when confronted with an enemy freely using nuclear information and disinformation to suit its interest of the moment.