(Israel Hayom) Shlomo Cesana and Yoni Hirsch - "There is no crisis with the United States" regarding the necessity and timing of possible military action against Iran's nuclear program, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren told Israel Hayom on Saturday. "The Americans hear the threats made by Iran's leaders, who want to destroy Israel. It is clear to me that the Americans are asking themselves, 'What would we do in their place?'" he said. "If Israel ultimately decides to take action against Iran, we will receive extremely widespread support from the American people and Congress, and President [Barack] Obama will continue to recognize our right to defend ourselves on our own. It won't create a rift with the United States." According to Oren, the only question is "the responsibility for the security of Israel, which lies with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government. It is a responsibility that no sovereign country would cast on another country, even if that country is its best friend in the world, like the U.S. is to Israel." Former Israel Air Force Chief Maj. Gen. (ret.) Herzl Bodinger told Israel's Channel 1 TV: "If you ask me, I think we should have bombed the [Iranian] installations in 2005, when there was only one site, and then we wouldn't be faced with all these questions." "I am almost certain that the world won't be able to prevent Iran's nuclear militarization through sanctions, and when they have a bomb we will be in a completely different situation....We are very appreciative of American help and their support, but at the end of the day you stand by yourself, with your own fate. If we attack, missiles will fall here, but they will also fall here if the Americans attack." "The Chairman of the [U.S.] Joint Chiefs of Staff said this week that in his opinion Israel will not be able to destroy Iran's nuclear installations, but I think he isn't totally in the know about what the Israeli forces are capable of. The Americans don't know everything about us."
2012-08-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive