Did Somebody Say "Wolf!"

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, gave a speech before the U.S. Congress today. Have a look at the transcript. At least have a look at how much applause he was getting, ending with "cheers and applause."  Apparently, there were several standing ovations.

Here's what he's telling them about Iran's nuclear arsenal capabilities:

I feel a profound obligation to speak to you about an issue that could well threaten the survival of my country and the future of my people. Iran's quest for nuclear weapons.

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Iran could soon be armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs.

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Absent a dramatic change, we know for sure any deal with Iran would include two major concessions to Iran. The first major concession would leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure providing it with a short breakout time.

Breakout time is the time it takes to mass enough plutonium for a nuclear bomb.

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[With this concession,] Iran's breakout time would be very short. About a year by U.S. assessment. Even shorter by Israel's.

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Iran would be free to build a huge nuclear capacity that could produce many, many nuclear bombs.

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Iran could make the fuel for an entire nuclear arsenal in a matter of weeks once it makes that decision.

  Talking Points Memo

Where have we heard this before?

In 2012 Netanyahu said in closed talks reported by Israeli media that Iran is just “a few months away” from attaining nuclear capabilities. Later that same year, he gave a widely-mocked address at the United Nations in which he alleged that Iran would have the ability to construct a weapon within roughly one year.

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A 2009 U.S. State Department diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks described then-prime ministerial candidate Netanyahu informing a visiting Congressional delegation that Iran was “probably one or two years away” from developing weapons capability.

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Almost two decades ago, in 1996, Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress where he darkly warned, “If Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, this could presage catastrophic consequences, not only for my country, and not only for the Middle East, but for all mankind,” adding that, “the deadline for attaining this goal is getting extremely close.”

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Four years before that Congressional speech, in 1992, then-parliamentarian Netanyahu advised the Israeli Knesset that Iran was “three to five years” away from reaching nuclear weapons capability, and that this threat had to be “uprooted by an international front headed by the U.S.”

  The Intercept

March 3, 2015, Billmon Twitter: