If reports are correct, the Obama administration has told Israel not to expect any support from the United States if Netanyahu decides to attack Iran.
Via the Debkafile:
The Obama administration has put Israel on harsh notice that an attack on Iran to disrupt or delay its nuclear armament will be refused US missile backup – both in the course of the operation and to cover Israel’s back in the event of a counter-strike widening into a general Middle East conflict. The Netanyahu government will bear full and exclusive responsibility for the consequences of attacking Iran.
Obama, who has repeatedly pledged his commitment to Israeli security, is the first American president to cut Israeli adrift against a major threat to its security explicitly posed by Iran.
The US president has put his campaign for reelection next month at great albeit calculated risk. His rival Mitt Romney will not doubt follow up on the charges he made during his acceptance speech to the Republican convention Thursday that Obama threw “allies like Israel under the bus” and failed utterly to stop Iran’s centrifuges spinning.
Obama may find the Jewish vote and campaign contributions fading. For Romney an incumbent president throwing Israel to the wolves against the ayatollahs is a dream come true.
Binyamin Netanyahu and his defense minister Ehud Barak must bear some of the onus for one of the most damaging ruptures US-Israel relations have ever faced – as will be discussed later. However, the prime cause must be sought elsewhere.
In the last month, Obama has undergone a change of face: The top US soldier and ambassador Dan Shapiro were told to start treating Israel like a pest and telling its leaders that the administration is fed to the teeth with their clamor for action on Iran.
Furthermore, Debka reports that Russia has offered to withdraw some of its support from Libya in return for the United States doing the same in Israel. The entity that stands to benefit greatly from such a deal has been on the receiving end of quite a few fortuitous bounces lately – the Muslim Brotherhood. By Russia providing less support to Syria, it helps the rebels and Israel being on an island is always welcome news to the Ikhwan.
Question: if an Israeli strike on Iran proves successful, will Obama take credit?
h/t Keith