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Military Strike on Iran: Are Obama and Netanyahu Now on the Same Page?
(Christian Science Monitor) Howard LaFranchi - While the U.S. and Israel still do not see eye to eye on the likelihood that diplomatic pressure can compel Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions - or when military action might become necessary - several statements by Obama in recent days have reassured Israelis. For example, Obama has unambiguously rejected the strategy of merely containing a nuclear Iran, he has described the issue as a U.S. national security interest and not just an Israeli imperative, and he has emphasized Israel's right to take full responsibility for its own national security. "When you put these together, it's a convergence that wasn't there just a few days ago," says David Makovsky, an expert in U.S.-Israel relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Perhaps the most significant difference concerns each country's timeline for potential military action. Israel, as the less militarily potent of the two allies, has a shorter timeline, Makovsky notes. "The Israeli nightmare goes something like, 'Too early, too early, oops! Too late,'" he says.