US shield blunts Israeli military option on Iran

Israel has long pursued a policy of preemptive attack as its preferred form of defense.

But when it comes to tackling arch-foe Iran , that option may have been put on hold under a protective "umbrella" on offer from the United States.

After years of speculation on whether Israel could launch unilateral strikes on the Iranian nuclear program, some experts now see a major shift in the Jewish state‘s strategy.

At the core of the change was a vow by U.S. President George W. Bush President George W. Bush, in a Reuters interview last week, to "rise to Israel‘s defense" in the face of increasingly tough talk from Tehran. "This (Bush‘s pledge) is a landmark bit of phrasing which I am sure was at least partly calculated," said Patrick Cronin of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

http://www.localnewsleader.com/olberlin/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=139217

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edit: i mean i've got video from the stories they did on air.

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Most presidents have been more subtle about it and tsk-tsked loudly when Israel did what they would have liked to have done themselves but couldn't for other reasons, like bombing Iraq's reactor in the 80s (if we did it, it would have been harder to help him against Iran).

Israel cannot safely attack Iran, with or without consent, umbrella or no. It is true that were Israel to make the attempt it would be extremely awkward for the US, entangled in Iraq right next door as it is. The US would have to decide whether to shoot the Israelis down or to admit that they didn't.

...from Hormuz to Turkey. Therefore no Israeli attack could take place without American cooperation. I challenge the notion that F-15 strke aircraft could reach all the necessary Iranian targets without refueling at some point either in the air with American support or actually landing at American controlled air bases to either arm on the way or refuel, either on the way there or on the way back. This however is secondary to the fact that US airpower controls the airspace they have to fly through.

Such an attack would jeopardize the safety of all American forces in that area, therefore the attack by Israel cannot take place without prior American approval no matter what stories are published in the press.

At one point I postulated an old cold war trick where American aircraft markings are painted out or painted with IAF markings and attack Iran directly from American bases.