‘Israel to Give Obama 12 Hours Notice on Attacking Iran’

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Israeli officials told visiting USS Chief Joint of Staffs Martin Dempsey that it would give President Barack Obama no more than 12 hours notice if and when it attacks Iran, The London Times reported Sunday.

The Netanyahu government also will not coordinate with the United States an attack on the Islamic Republic, according to the report, the latest in a number of suposed scenarios concerning cooperation or lack of it between Jerusalem and Washington.

It is left to speculation whether the rumors are based on facts or are leaked by officials to mask the possibility of secret military coordination.

The London Times said its sources explained that that Israel fears that President Obama would try to torpedo an Israel attack if more notice were given because he is concerned that Iran will respond by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a rise in the price of oil that could cripple Western economies. If the attack were to occur in the next 10 months, it would put President Obama in a tight spot on the eve of his bid for re-election.

President Shimon Peres told Dempsey, "I am sure that in this fight [against Iran] we will emerge victorious. It is a fight that does not belong exclusively to the United States or Israel, but a global struggle to create a safe world for all peoples.”

Dempsey, on his first official visit to Israel, was wined and dined by Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gants, who went so far as to arrange an IDF orchestra rendition of song made famous by Frank Sinatra, one of Dempsey’s favorite singers.

Dempsey tried to play down the postponement of what was billed as the largest-ever joint military drill between the Israeli and American armies, involving thousands of U.S. Army soldiers.

Published reasons for the delay have ranged from budgetary constraints, logistical problems to a signal from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he distrusts President Obama’s commitment to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Dempsey maintained that the delay, which was announced by Israel, will give both countries more time to prepare and “achieve a better outcome.”

The top American general left Israel on Friday, before the Sabbath began.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/151965#.TxzBAfnQd8G

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Oops I meant to post this in P&R... have requested it be moved there.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Topic has been moved from M.E.N.A. Regional forum to Politics & Religion Forum

[mounir412 101]

attacking IRAN will be a big mistake

[Pooky 3,829]

attacking IRAN will be a big mistake

May well be.

Or it may be more sabre-rattling to see if the Iranian regime pulls the trigger on their Straits of Hormuz plan and draw the USA into a shooting match first.

[_Simpson_ 250]

attacking IRAN will be a big mistake

Doing nothing could be just as bad. I hope I can count on Obama to stay out of this

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The Netanyahu government is losing credibility fast. The rest of the world, including the US, doesn't want a shooting war with Iran. The question for Mr. Obama is, "Are you going to shoot down the Israeli planes when they don't turn back?"

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Defense Secretary Panetta on Jan. 8 2012:

"Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they're trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that's what concerns us," Panetta told "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer. "And our red line to Iran is to not develop a nuclear weapon. That's a red line for us."

...

The Defense Secretary also addressed questions about what the U.S. would do if Israel took out Iran's nuclear capability on their own.

"Our preference is that the intelligence community, including Israel, ought to work together on this issue," he said. "We have common cause here. We're not interested in them developing a nuclear weapon. We are not interested in them proliferating violence throughout that region. We are not interested in them trying to assist in terrorism. We are not interested in them trying to destabilize governments in that region or any place else. We have common cause here. And the better approach is for us to work together."

When pressed about the U.S. response to an operation by Israel, Panetta said the U.S. would protect its forces in the region.

"If the Israelis made that decision, we would have to be prepared to protect our forces in that situation. And that's what we'd be concerned about."

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

"If the Israelis made that decision, we would have to be prepared to protect our forces in that situation. And that's what we'd be concerned about."

Panetta is a smart guy. There is no chance Israel will be allowed to attack US assets again without retaliation.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

USS Lincoln sails through Strait of Hormuz

US Navy officials report the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and its battle group steamed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf Sunday without incident. It's the first US carrier to pass through the Strait since the Iranians threatened to attack the aircraft carrier Stennis three weeks ago, if it attempted to return to the Persian Gulf. Pentagon and US military officials have made it clear that Iranian threats would not deter the US Navy from operating in international waters in the Strait and the Gulf.

US military officials say the Lincoln, with its guided-missile cruiser and two guided-missile destroyers, saw no sign of the Iranian navy speed boats which occasionally harass US warships as they pass through the Strait. Those incidents have increased, and in fact become somewhat routine since Iran's radical Revolutionary Guard has taken control of Iran's naval forces in the Strait and Persian Gulf.

Navy officials say the Lincoln battle group is in the Gulf on routine and regularly-scheduled exercises.

A second battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is in the Northern Arabian Sea conducting flight missions over Afghanistan.

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10213179-uss-lincoln-sails-through-strait-of-hormuz

[luckytxn 2,265]

Two carrier groups. We planning to keep them there?

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Two carrier groups. We planning to keep them there?

Maybe they're looking for more fishermen in need of rescuing.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Looks like Israel is fixing to take care of some more 12th century nut jobs.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The USS Abraham Lincoln transits Hormuz. Scene set for US-Iranian talks

Three weeks after Tehran threatened action against any US aircraft carrier entering the Strait of Hormuz, Washington made two moves: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta disclosed Sunday, Jan. 22, that the USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group would steam through the strategic strait in March; a few hours later, the US Navy sent the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier through the strategic strait without incident, accompanied by British and French warships.

DEBKAfile: Defusing the Hormuz crisis set the scene for resumed nuclear negotiations leading up to which several messages were exchanged through back channels between the Obama administration and Tehran in recent weeks - amid Israeli preparations to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

These developments deepened the breach between the US and Israel. Two days earlier, on Friday, Jan. 20, Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint US Chiefs of Staff, visited Israel and with Israeli leaders emphasized the cooperation between Washington and Jerusalem on the Iranian threat. The Netanyahu government complained that action against Iran had been postponed for years on one pretext on another, and the same thing was happening to effective sanctions against Iran's oil exports and central bank. Israel was therefore compelled to exercise its military option against the mortal peril of a nuclear Iran, said the Israeli prime minister, before it was too late.

Then Sunday, Jan. 22, Defense Secretary Panetta stood in a hangar of the Enterprise clad in the uniform of a ship's crewman and told an audience of 1,700 personnel that the carrier would be sent to Hormuz in March. His statement was a red herring. A few hours later, the Abraham Lincoln was already through.

But what he said on the Enterprise was this: "That's what this carrier is all about. That's the reason we maintain a presence in the Middle East… We want them to know that we are fully prepared to deal with any contingency and it's better for them to try to deal with us through diplomacy."

DEBKAfile's Washington sources note that Panetta was the first high-ranking administration official to give Tehran an ultimatum: Accept the American offer to negotiate terms for halting your nuclear weapon program, or face up to America's mighty fleet of American aircraft carriers. "Our view is that the carriers, because of their presence, because of the power they represent, are a very important part of our ability to maintain power projection both in the Pacific and in the Middle East," said the defense secretary.

However, behind this show of strength, Washington was actively preparing to sit down and talk.

Saturday, Jan. 21, the Washington Post disclosed that Obama had sent a special emissary to Tehran with an oral message proposing that Iran join the United States for resumed nuclear negotiations.

The emissary was not named – although there was some speculation that Turkish Foreign Minister was chosen for the mission - nor was Iran's reply revealed.

According to the WP, its content was as follows: The United States and the international community have a strong interest in the free flow of commerce and freedom of navigation in all international waterways… Since taking office, the president has made it clear that he is willing to engage constructively and seriously with Iran about its nuclear program.

Also on Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards stated it considered the likely return of US warships to the Gulf part of its routine activity. They were not climbing down from their original threat. The statement came only after Tehran saw the USS Stennis, the object of threat, exiting the Gulf Friday, Jan. 20, and decided it was the Americans who had backed down.

Panetta's comments Sunday aimed at correcting that impression and making it very clear to Tehran that although the Stennis was gone, the Abraham Lincoln was there and the Enterprise was coming "fully prepared to deal with any contingency."

http://www.debka.com/article/21671/

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

The Lincoln is definitely there to send a message - to Israel.