US Expresses Doubts About Supporting Israeli Attack On Iran – OpEd

By Vladimir Gladkov

The issue of Iran and its notorious nuclear program may seriously increase the tense relationship between Israel and America. While Israel doesn’t even try to disguise its determination to stop the Iranian nuclear program by any means necessary, it seems that the Pentagon is not so eager to stay in the game.

The risky situation around Iran, which is accused by the West of secretly attempting to build a weapon of mass destruction remains one of the most discussed issue of the modern world politics. This is not surprising considering the fact that the further development of the situation may easily lead to a new world war.

Iran which suffers from the economic sanctions and the oil embargo applied by the EU and US keeps insisting that its nuclear program carries an exclusively peaceful character. At the same time Tehran refuses to allow Western experts to examine its nuclear facilities and threatens to block the Hormuz Strait – the key point of one of the main routes of world oil traffic. This threat caused an immediate reaction in Washington which promised to send its war fleet to Persian Gulf. The reaction of Israel was most predictable. Israeli officials don’t even bother to deny Tehran’s accusations of assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists and expressed its strong intention to start a military campaign against Iran.

Until the recently, the determination of the US to support Israel looked firm and stable. But now the White House is starting to demonstrate signs of hesitation. Even Conservative America Fox News agrees, quoting Karim Sadjadpour, a Middle East specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

“Israel can commence a war with Iran, but it may well take U.S. involvement to conclude it,” says Karim Sadjadpour.

While the statement of the experts is questionable, it is hard to deny that the involvement in another military conflict, especially with such an unpredictable opponent as Iran, may lead to some unwanted consequences for America. And, as the latest series of the Fox News reports demonstrate, this point of view is supported not only by Liberals but by Conservators as well. After the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan which revealed numerous problems of American military, a new war may have the absolutely bitter results. It’s hard to ignore the disastrous state of the American economic system which may hardly endure massive military spending. The person least interested in war with Iran is Barak Obama, who may abandon any hopes for re-election in the case of sending American troops to Iran. The American President is followed by a trail of unkempt promises and starting a new war may easily become his final mistake.

However, Israel could hardly be stopped which is easily understandable, considering that it risks becoming the first target of Iran’s nuclear warheads. The raging Anti-Israeli and Anti-Semitic rhetoric of Iranian leaders leaves no illusions about this. While US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta states he doesn’t think Israel has yet decided to attack Iran, it is hard to imagine any other scenario. American experts keep insisting that the diplomacy backed by strong economic sanctions remain the most effective instrument in the current situation. However, Iran has already demonstrated its stubbornness and immunity to said sanctions. The world leaders have the last chance to come up with a solution to the problem. Since Israel has no other option, it could attack Iran even without the support of America and NATO. The consequences of this move may be catastrophic not only for the participants of the conflict, but also for the rest of the world.