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Israel: Reports About Iran Strike Plans Reflect Internal U.S. Debate

[ Jerusalem Post] Herb Keinon, Yaakov Katz and Etgar Lefkovitz - The recent spate of reports from Washington about whether Israel should take military action against Iran is a reflection of deep divisions on the matter inside the Bush administration, Israeli diplomatic and defense officials said Sunday. The officials said that the two sides of the argument, the "hawkish camp," led by Vice President Dick Cheney, and the "dovish camp," led by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, are leaking assessments about Israeli intent to further their own agendas. One Israeli diplomatic official said, "Everyone understands that we could not take action without U.S approval, both because we would need to fly through [Iraqi] airspace controlled by the U.S, and we would need their help in dealing with repercussions from any attack....We would have to deal with possible military action from Hizbullah and Syria, and also diplomatic fallout. Don't expect the world to clap if we attack Iran, and as a result oil prices spiral from $140 a barrel to $300 a barrel."
2008-07-07 01:00:00
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