A Israel strike on Iran is inevitable, and is the only way the country can continue to peacefully exist. On the other hand, Iran is an aggressive and large country with a deep and proud history.
In the end, this action, and its consequences, will just be kicking the can down the road. There will be no bridging the gap and animosity in the Middle East, and all parties need to leave the table with their pride intact.
I see only one way - the Iranians themselves must make their choice, and sacrifice blood if necessary for the sake of their children. No outside party can do that.
WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta now believes Israel is poised to attack Iran in the first half of this year to stop Tehran’s nuclear programme, according to media reports.
The prospect of war in the Middle East emerged after Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported Thursday that the Defence Secretary saw “a strong likelihood” that Israel would strike Iran as early as April. Ignatius appears to have written the report after a background briefing in Brussels with Mr Panetta.
Panetta was asked to confirm whether this was his view, and he said he was not disputing it, but then added: “What I think and what I view, I consider that to be an area that belongs to me and nobody else.” He noted the US has ‘indicated our concerns.’
Panetta’s comments come after Israel issued a harsh warning that time was running out to stop Iran’s ambitious nuclear programme. Iran has all along maintained that its nuclear programme is geared to peaceful purposes, not weapon-oriented.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said at a news conference that the country should confront Iran to keep its nuclear programme from continuing to grow and claimed that foreign governments would support such an attack.
And Yoram Cohen, head of Israeli security agency Shin Bet, added fuel to the fire, insisting Iranian agents were attempting to attack Israeli targets in retaliation for the assassination of four Iranian nuclear scientists since November 2010.
Reacting to the Israeli threats, Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised to help any nation or group that wanted to confront Israel and vowed to continue its nuclear programme.
He called Israel a “cancerous tumour that should be cut and will be cut,” blasting Western-backed oil sanctions and warning the US will be defeated if Washington decides to use military force to halt the country’s programme.
“The advancement of the Islamic Revolution has never stopped as we have been on the right track,” Khamenei said.
Agencies add: Panetta emphasised to reporters that US troops in Afghanistan would remain ‘combat-ready’ as the United States winds down its longest war. But he said the troops would largely shift to a train-and-assist role as Afghan forces take responsibility for security before an end-2014 deadline for full Afghan control.
“I want to be clear: Even as Afghans assume the security lead, Isaf will continue to have to be fully combat-ready and we will engage in combat operations as necessary,” Panetta said.
While US officials insisted there was no contradiction in the US message, comments by a senior NATO official underscored the potential for confusion.
“He (Panetta) said the combat role will come to an end but he also said combat will continue. And that’s exactly what I’m saying,” the Nato official said.
Panetta, speaking in Brussels, said there was a general consensus among members of Nato’s International Security Assistance Force that Afghans should take the security lead at some point in 2013, but that Isaf forces would have to continue participating in combat operations in some areas as necessary.
“Between now and the end of 2014, we’re prepared to engage in combat, whether we’re in the lead or the Afghans are,” a US defense official said on condition of anonymity.
In Kabul, a senior Afghan security official said his government had not been informed of Panetta’s announcement and said it “throws out the whole transition plan.”
Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news briefing Nato would move gradually to a support role, but combat operations would continue throughout the transition period and the alliance was committed to a principle of “in together, out together.”
