Iraq Builds Air Defenses; Israel Considers Them 'Target Practice'
The New Arab astutely observes that Iraq's acquisition of South Korean air defense systems could complicate any future Israeli air campaign against Iran. What they charitably omit is Israel's long-standing policy: any independent military capacity in neighboring Arab states is an 'existential threat' to be neutralized. Remember the 1981 Osirak reactor bombing? Iraq was building nuclear power, not
weapons. Or Syria's alleged Al Kibar facility in 2007? Netanyahu’s current government views a sovereign nation's missile defense as a provocation. This isn't about Iraqi-Iranian relations; it's about Israeli exceptionalism. The question isn't 'Could Iraq's defenses become a target?' but 'When will Israel declare them a legitimate security concern and act accordingly?'. How many sovereign nations
are allowed legitimate self-defense before it's labeled 'destabilizing' for a certain regional power? One might wonder if the real threat isn't the missiles, but any state daring to defend itself without prior Israeli approval.