March 19th, 2012 by Oman Views

US should assume Iran seeks nukes: Kissinger

Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said in an interview Sunday that the United States should assume that Iran is actively preparing to build nuclear weapons.

Kissinger, 88, was asked on the CNN show “GPS” if the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon was so dire that Israel would need to launch a military strike in the near future.

“I am very uneasy with the so-called intelligence report that say we don’t know whether they are actually working on nuclear weapons,” Kissinger told CNN.

“I think we should start from the premise that they are undergoing all this in order to achieve a military capability. I don’t think that is a disputable point.”

US intelligence analysts believe there is no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb – an assessment broadly consistent with a 2007 intelligence finding that concluded that Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program, The New York Times reported in February, citing unnamed US officials.

The assessment was largely reaffirmed in a 2010 National Intelligence Estimate, and that it remains the consensus view of America’s 16 intelligence agencies, the Times reported.

The US administration maintains that tough sanctions on Iran and diplomatic efforts need to be given more time before any resort to bombing raids.

Israeli leaders however say time is running out for any pre-emptive strike. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that sanctions against Iran have not worked, and “none of us can afford to wait much longer.”

US President Barack Obama has cautioned against “bluster” in talking about possible war with Iran, saying there still exists a window of diplomacy.

AFP

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March 4th, 2012 by Oman Views

Israel Probably Won’t Tell the U.S. If It’s Going to Attack Iran

Israeli officials have reportedly let it be known that they won’t give their United States counterparts a heads up if the country decides to launch an airstrike against Iran.

According to the Associated Press, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told this fact to every American official coming to Israeli hoping to talk them out of a pre-emptive strike of Iranian nuclear facilities.

Officials say it’s for the U.S.’s own good, since if they don’t know about the strike in advance, they can’t be blamed for failing to stop it. Never mind that most of Israel’s enemies don’t trust anything they say and would likely assume that the Americans were behind it anyway.

Israeli leaders likely also assume (rightly) that the United States doesn’t want to help, so they will make any decision on a possible attack without American input.

Netanyahu will be in Washington next week to meet with President Barack Obama and top Congressional and diplomatic officials. This news won’t get those talks off on the right foot.

By Dashiell Bennett | The Atlantic Wire

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March 4th, 2012 by Oman Views

Why Netanyahu’s Visit to Discuss Iran Puts Obama in a Political Minefield

President Barack Obama’s reelection bid could face a stern test when he addresses the annual conference of the America Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) on Sunday, and then meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day.

Top of the agenda on both occasions is Iran, which has also been chosen by Republicans as the Number 1 foreign policy issue of the presidential race. And publicly aired differences in the assessment of, and strategies for dealing with, Iran’s nuclear program have become a source of friction between the Administration and the Israelis.

Netanyahu’s leverage in the debate is boosted not only by Israel’s threat to take unilateral military action if it deems Washington’s efforts to restrain Iran insufficient, but also by Obama’s need to remain onside with the flagship Israel lobbying organization – which tends to take its cue from the Israel Prime Minister, who also generated far more bipartisan enthusiasm on Capitol Hill when he spoke there last year than Obama ever has.

While the President maintains the support of a solid majority of Jewish voters despite repeated domestic criticism of his handling of Israel, he may need AIPAC’s seal of approval to maintain the backing of some deep-pocketed donors for whom Israel’s concerns are a top priority.

That, and the relentless charge by Republican presidential hopefuls that Obama is soft on Iran and jeopardizing Israel’s security, has made Israel’s Prime Minister an improbable player in this year’s U.S. presidential election.

But the President can’t focus only on electoral concerns as he urgently seeks to cool the climate of hysteria that could plunge Israel, Iran and possibly the U.S. into a potentially disastrous shooting war.

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By TONY KARON | Time.com

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