- ReutersMarch, 30, 2009: Israeli air force A-4 jets are seen in the background as personnel prepare an F-16 fighter jet at Hatzerim air base, southern Israel.
Israeli officials say they won't warn
the U.S. if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian
nuclear facilities, one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the
discussions told the Associated Press. The pronouncement, delivered in a
series of private, top-level conversations, sets a tense tone ahead of
meetings in the coming days at the White House and Capitol Hill.
Israeli officials said that if they
eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans
in the dark to decrease the likelihood that the U.S. would be held
responsible for failing to stop Israel's potential attack. The U.S. has
been working with the Israelis for months to persuade them that an
attack would be only a temporary setback to Iran's nuclear program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and Defense Minister Ehud Barak delivered the message to a series of
top-level U.S. visitors to the country, including the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, the White House national security adviser and the
director of national intelligence, and top U.S. lawmakers, all trying
to close the trust gap between Israel and the U.S. over how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Netanyahu delivered the same message to all the Americans who have traveled to Israel for talks, the U.S. official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive strategic negotiations.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment, and the Pentagon and Office of Director of National Intelligence declined to comment, as did the Israeli Embassy.
Iran claims its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the International Atomic Energy Agency
has raised alarms that its uranium enrichment program might be a
precursor to building nuclear weapons. The US has said it does not know
whether the government has decided to weaponize its nuclear material and
put it on a missile or other delivery device.
The secret warning is likely to worry US
officials and begin the high level meetings with Israel and the US far
apart on how to handle Iran.
But the apparent decision to keep the U.S.
in the dark also stems from Israel's frustration with the White House.
After a visit by National Security Adviser Tom Donilon
in particular, they became convinced the Americans would neither take
military action, nor go along with unilateral action by Israel against
Iran. The Israelis concluded they would have to conduct a strike
unilaterally -- a point they are likely to hammer home in a series of
meetings over the next two weeks in Washington, the official said.
Barak will meet with top administration and
congressional officials during his visit. Netanyahu arrives in
Washington for meetings with President Barack Obama next week.
The behind-the-scenes warning belies the
publicly united front the two sides have attempted to craft with the
shuttle diplomacy to each other's capitals.
"It's unprecedented outreach to Israel to
make sure we are working together to develop the plan to deter Iran from
developing a nuclear weapon," and to keep them from exporting
terrorism, said Maryland Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on
the House intelligence committee.
He traveled there with the intelligence
committee chairman, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., to meet Israel's prime
minister and defense minister, along with other officials.
"We talked about the fact that sanctions are working and they are going to get a lot more aggressive," Ruppersberger added.
They also discussed talked about presenting a
unified front to Iran, to counter the media reports that the two
countries are at odds over how and when to attack Iran.
"We have to learn from North Korea.
All those (peace) talks and stalling and they developed a nuclear
weapon," he said. "We are going to send a message, enough is enough, the
stalling is over. ... All options are on the table."
"I got the sense that Israel is incredibly
serious about a strike on their nuclear weapons program," Rogers told
CNN on Monday. "It's their calculus that the administration ... is not
serious about a real military consequence to Iran moving forward.
"They believe they're going to have to make a decision on their own, given the current posture of the United States," he added.
U.S. intelligence and special operations
officials have tried to keep a dialogue going with Israel, despite the
high-level impasse, sharing with them options such as allowing Israel to
use U.S. bases in the region from which to launch such a strike, as a
way to make sure the Israelis give the Americans a heads-up, according
to the U.S. official, and a former U.S. official with knowledge of the
communications
Cooperation has improved on sharing of
intelligence in the region, according to one current and one former U.S.
official. Israel is providing key information on Syria
for instance, now that the U.S. has closed its embassy and pulled out
both its diplomats and intelligence officials stationed there, the U.S.
official said.
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