(New York Times) Elisabeth Bumiller and Jodi Rudoren - A series of public statements and private communications from the Israeli leadership in recent weeks set off renewed concerns in the Obama administration that Israel might be preparing a unilateral military strike on Iran, perhaps as early as this fall. "If I were an Iranian, I would be very fearful of the next 12 weeks," said Efraim Halevy, a former chief of Israel's intelligence agency and national security adviser. But after a flurry of high-level visits to Israel, including one Wednesday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, a number of administration officials say Israel may be willing to let the U.S. take the lead in any future military strike, which they say would not occur until next year at the earliest.
2012-08-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive