DEBKAfile - Senior Israeli official: If nuclear talks fail, Bush will order Iran attack between November and January

If the talks fail, and they will, we will see an attack before Bush leaves office.

This assessment was reported by Israeli national radio Saturday overnight quoting a high-placed “security-political” official.

The source predicted that President George W. Bush would order Iran attacked between the November 4 presidential election and his exit from the White House in January. The quote was aired shortly after the six-power talks with Iran in Geneva – with US official participation for the first time – failed, and just before Israel chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi set out for Washington. He is to spend a week there as guest of Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

DEBKAfile’s political sources describe the disclosure as a step aimed at slowing down the collapse of Israel’s stated policy of relying on international diplomatic pressure to thwart Iran’s acquisition of nuclear arms. It is expected to raise a furious outcry from the powers spearheading the diplomatic effort and prompt extreme reactions from Tehran.

Our sources report that the unidentified Israeli “security-political” source sought to achieve three objectives:

1. Underlining the signal that the US military option had not been taken off the table after the state department spokesman said Iran must choose between cooperation with the international community and confrontation.

The official was also giving Israel’s answer to the latest evaluations making the rounds in Washington that the Israeli Air Force does not have enough warplanes to strike Iran’s nuclear sites without American military support.

2. A signal that the presence at the Geneva talks Saturday, July 19, of Under Secretary of State William Burns, far from being a concession, was an implicit ultimatum. Tehran was being told that no more than three months remained for it to suspend uranium enrichment before Bush made good on his pledge to resolve the issue before he left the White House. No member of the Bush administration is saying this directly, whether Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates or the president himself. Israel will not doubt be rebuked for its disclosure.

3. As a high-risk step to derail the accommodations Washington and Tehran are on the way to reaching in their secret talks on a wide range of issues, with the exception of the nuclear controversy, as revealed by DEBKA-Net-Weekly and DEBKAfile. Israel fears being abandoned and left out in the cold on all its fronts against Iran by these accommodations.

Tehran may well seize on the Israeli disclosure as a pretext to ditch the nuclear negotiations on all levels, unless all six powers offer guarantees against their pursuit of military initiatives.

That won't work out well.

(apparently they're on the Iraq/Iran border)

homeslice fags up the one thread where orbital uses a semi-legit source

Semi-legit is not legit, ergo...

I don't think they have any other choice really. The US government wants to make the people forget about their economic problems, which will become progressively worse as time goes on, and the best way to get their minds off of economics is a war.

While I do think Bush is an idiot, I don't think he will attack Iran before his presidency is up. I think he will leave that mess to the next person in line.

Originally Posted by orbital 123

I don't think they have any other choice really. The US government wants to make the people forget about their economic problems, which will become progressively worse as time goes on, and the best way to get their minds off of economics is a war.

The US Government is very stupid, yes... but they aren't that dumb. They realize that the war is causing the problems with the economy. Invading and occupying a third country is retarded, although its location is good.

Iran is threatening to trade their oil in Euros.

This is what's going to instigate a war with Iran. (Just like it did with Saddam.)

Period.

Everything else is purely a dog-n-pony show to justify using military force.

During Bush's last couple months, he won't have enough power to do anything, plain garbage/fear mongering. Don't you tire of this incessant US bashing Orby? It is a tired show, get us back to the nano-tech living forever science ****, the political bashing has run it's course.

Originally Posted by Archimedes

While I do think Bush is an idiot, I don't think he will attack Iran before his presidency is up. I think he will leave that mess to the next person in line.

Bush is enamoured of the Israelies, and the Jewish Lobby is very strong in America. They know Obama wouldn't support an attack on Iran like the neocons would.

Besides, Bush would be leaving the mess he creates to the next president.

So Absent and Orbital are on the same side now?

Originally Posted by Von-Bek

During Bush's last couple months, he won't have enough power to do anything, plain garbage/fear mongering. Don't you tire of this incessant US bashing Orby? It is a tired show, get us back to the nano-tech living forever science ****, the political bashing has run it's course.

Since when does Bush need congress to sign off on military strikes? He has all the power he needs to strike at Iran.

Iran is threatening to trade their oil in Euros.

This is what's going to instigate a war with Iran. (Just like it did with Saddam.)

Period.

Everything else is purely a dog-n-pony show to justify using military force.

Originally Posted by orbital 123

Since when does Bush need congress to sign off on military strikes? He has all the power he needs to strike at Iran.

He can send the orders all he wants, but Congress needs to sign the check. Its tough to force march units from the US to Iran.