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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/world/middleeast/05mideast.html
Hoping Sanctions Work But Readying Gas Masks
(New York Times) Ethan Bronner - Lately, the real action in Israel on the Iranian issue has been the parade of top American security officials. The chairman of the joint chiefs, the director of the CIA and the national security adviser have all just been here; the vice president arrives on Monday. "Some have described it as a bear hug," said a senior Israeli official. "All the visitors to Israel are sending us and the region a message: that Israel is not alone," said Ilan Mizrahi, a former head of Israel's National Security Council. Officials say this is the time to try to put tougher sanctions against Tehran into place. "For Iran to go nuclear on Obama's watch would be seen as a colossal failure. There is a common interest to make sanctions work," commented a former official closely involved in the discussions. Intelligence cooperation between the U.S. and Israel is intensifying, and assessments regarding Iranian intentions and capabilities are closer than they were during the Bush administration. "We have seen a real change in the administration," a senior Israeli official said. "They now see Iran as riper for tough sanctions."