Dread and awful Czar:
Being a life member of the Air Force Association, I am a recipient of their periodic magazine. On page 51 of the November, 2012, issue is a quote attributed to Mr. Ephraim Asculai, senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, which was first published in "Aviation Week" magazine's October 1, 2012 issue:
There will likely be military action, probably after the US elections, with or without the help of the US. [Israel fears that the] US will accept [political] containment of Iran despite it having nuclear weapons. That's not a good choice in the case of Iran because the regime is very unpredictable. I believe Obama when he says he won't allow Iranian nuclear weapons, but the US red line is an actual break-out. But will they have that information? You can find a lot of cases when intelligence didn't provide the answer in time.Prudence dictates the action should be taken sooner rather than later if intelligence has erred in their assessments and the Iranian nuclear program is farther along than estimated. What he didn't add is there are other times when the intelligence is ignored by wishful thinkers. Israel learned that the hard way in 1973.
This man in all likelihood has the ear of the Israeli government. If he says there will likely be military action, he isn't speaking for the mullahs. Dear Leader's reelection now makes action sooner rather than later a virtual certainty. Since Israel's leaders now can't be certain the POTUS would keep advance notification of an Israeli strike from the hostile power(s), this also means the Israeli action will now be taken without prior notification by Israel to the United States. Who can blame them? My educated guess is we'll hear about it first on CNN or Fox, just like the White House will.
Island Dweller
Scripsit Island Dweller