President Obama has made clear over and over again that he does not want Israel to strike Iran, no matter what the circumstances. Last week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta leaked to the Washington Post that “there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June – before Iran enters what Israel described as a ‘zone of immunity’ to commence building a nuclear bomb.” Now, the only reason to leak that information is to stop the attack. And that’s been the Obama Administration pattern, as I wrote over at David Horowitz’s FrontPageMag.com. In June 2010, the Administration leaked a secret deal between the Saudis and the Israelis that would have given Israel access to Saudi airspace for the strike. This is the pattern.
Sources inside the Israeli government know that if President Obama wins re-election, he will have no incentive to back Israel if they do strike Iran. That means that Israel’s window is closing fast. That’s why Panetta leaked the information, to try to push Israel’s attack past the election.
Israel can’t stake its future on a Republican nominee’s possible win. It must bank on Obama’s re-election for its own safety’s sake. And that means that it must attack now, hoping that Obama’s desire to look hawkish and to lock up the Jewish vote in states like Florida will prompt him to back Israeli action.
Incredibly, Obama’s anti-Israel position is also pushing Iran toward war. Iran can’t bet on Obama winning re-election, which means they will escalate action toward Israel in the hope of prompting Obama to continue to stymie Israel’s responsive actions, kicking the can down the road. Iran figures that if it can delay the attack past the election, it may have bought enough time to make its nuclear program irrevocable.
To that end, Iran ratcheted up its attacks on Israel, planting car bombs in New Delhi and Tblisi, Georgia to target Israeli diplomats. Iran, of course, blamed Israel for trying to ruin its relationships with India and Georgia – as though they had any real relationships to begin with. “In all these cases, the elements behind the attacks were Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We will continue to act with a strong hand, systematically and patiently, against international terrorism, whose source is Iran.” And, as usual, the Obama Administration pledged half-hearted support, with anti-Israel Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing, “we stand ready to assist with any investigation of these cowardly actions.” Note the language there: the U.S. doesn’t stand ready to actually back Israel based on the results of the investigation. The U.S. is just offering its super-sleuths.
Israel and Iran are on the brink of war – and it’s Obama’s fault. His pusillanimity (or outright favoritism for Islamism around the Middle East) has forced both Israel and the Islamists into a corner. And they’ll come out fighting.
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