Wars and Rumors of Wars by Richard Sale

By Richard Sale, author of Clinton’s Secret Wars 

I just received the following this morning from a former senior US intelligence source. 

US officials are concerned that Israel is close to reaching an Iranian attack decision but a senior Defense Department official is worried that The Israelis may not warn the Americans before taking military action against Iran's nuclear facilities. US officials thought they would receive warning from Israel if it did take military action against Iran, which is the belief of the political side of the Obama Administration, but some military think that assurance is now not the case. In his recent visit to Israel, American Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta did not get a clear commitment from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak that Israel would not take action against Iranian nuclear facilities without coordinating any such operation with the United States.

 As a result, a senior American military official says the US is concerned that Israel is preparing an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and this concern is increasing. The military official emphasized that the US is apprehensive about the risk a strike against Iran could pose for American troops throughout the Persian Gulf. Separately, an Israeli official said Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are trying to muster a majority in the cabinet in favor of military action against Iran. On Friday, President Shimon Peres said that he believes Israel and the world may soon take military action against Iran. The IAEA report that will come out this week is expected to reveal intelligence suggesting Iran made computer models of a nuclear warhead and other previously undisclosed details on alleged secret work by Tehran on nuclear arms. Israeli security and defense branches are vehemently against attacking Iran while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are in favor. Netanyahu may have a hard time mustering a majority in both the cabinet and the security cabinet, the only bodies authorized to make the final decision. But there is clearly an effort by Netanyahu and Barak to persuade the Americans to take the lead on military action, thereby facilitating broader support in the Israeli cabinet for action. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces are engaged in preparations for the mission. 

This is should be dismaying to anyone of a sound mind.

 Note that the Russians have now publicly warned Israel of “unpredictable consequences” if Israel starts a war and Moscow means it. The Russians recently staged a joint military exercise with simulated an Iranian and Russian attack on the Caspian oil fields operated by American firms in reprisal for an attack by Israel on Iran.

   The exercise involved 12,000 forces and Moscow described the exercise as being of the “highest importance,” and said that the hypothetic scenario was all too likely.  The Russians said that the Iranian offensive, which would use most of Iran’s air force had as its target the Kazakh oil field at Mangustan, operated by Exxon.

The damage any war between Israel and Iran is lunatic, which is why, I fear, it could happen