[R-G] Petraeus Says Israel Might Choose to Attack Iran

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6m8Gjlv2Njs&refer=home

Petraeus Says Israel Might Choose to Attack Iran (Update3)

By Tony Capaccio

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Israel might choose to attack Iran to prevent  
it from developing a nuclear bomb, the top U.S. commander in the  
Middle East said today.

Army General David Petraeus told Congress that “the Israeli government  
may ultimately see itself so threatened by the prospect of an Iranian  
nuclear weapon that it would take preemptive military action to derail  
or delay it.”

While Iran insists its nuclear program is intended for peaceful power  
generation, Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, said “Iranian  
officials have consistently failed to provide the assurances and  
transparency necessary for international acceptance and verification.”

Iran refuses to suspend uranium enrichment, in defiance of United  
Nations Security Council resolutions, and won’t give international  
inspectors full access to its nuclear facilities.

Iran’s “obstinacy and obfuscation have forced Iran’s neighbors and the  
international community to conclude the worst about the regime’s  
intention,” Petraeus said in a statement submitted to the Senate Armed  
Services Committee for a hearing today.

Ali Akbar Javanfekr, media adviser to Iran’s President Mahmound  
Ahmadinejad, responded to the general’s comments.

“Iran’s position as a powerful country that is a proponent of logic  
and peace, the Zionist regime’s chaotic situation, and the state of  
the world’s economy are realities that do not make this possible,”  
Javanfekr said in a telephone interview.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor declined to comment on  
Petraeus’s remarks.

Netanyahu’s Threat

Israel has signaled impatience with the international diplomatic  
effort to deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon. Benjamin  
Netanyahu, in an interview with the Atlantic magazine given shortly  
before he became prime minister yesterday, said President Barack Obama  
must act quickly to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb or Israel  
might be compelled to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.

“You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic  
bombs,” Netanyahu said of Iran’s leadership, according to an excerpt  
posted on The Atlantic’s Web site.

Petraeus appeared before the Senate as Obama began talks with world  
leaders in London on the economic crisis and political issues. Obama  
and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced agreement on a new  
round of arms control talks aimed at shrinking their nuclear arsenals  
and curtailing the spread of such weapons to Iran and North Korea.

Call to Netanyahu

Obama discussed Iran during a congratulatory telephone call today to  
Netanyahu. Obama affirmed the U.S.’s “steadfast commitment to Israel  
and its security,” according to a statement released by the White  
House. The Israeli government described the conversation as “friendly  
and constructive” in an e-mailed statement.

Ken Katzman, a Middle East military analyst for the non- partisan  
Congressional Research Service in Washington, said Petraeus’s  
assertion on Israel “was extremely significant, particularly for what  
he did not say -- that the United States would act to restrain Israel  
or talk it out of conducting such a strike.”

The U.S. has begun a public effort to reach out to the Iranian  
government and people to find common ground, such as exploring joint  
efforts to fight the flow of narcotics from opium-producing  
Afghanistan. Iran borders western Afghanistan.

Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Aliasghar  
Soltanieh, said on March 4 that his government is ready for direct  
talks about its nuclear program with the U.S., Russia, China and  
leading European nations as long as negotiations also include regional  
security and economic issues.

Iran Policies

Petraeus told the Armed Services Committee that Iran pursues policies  
that “frustrate U.S. goals” in the region: providing “material,  
financial and political support” to the Islamic militant movements  
Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iran has undermined efforts to stabilize Afghanistan by “providing  
opportunistic support to the Taliban” insurgency, Petraeus said.

‘Setback’ in Iraq

“In Iraq, however, the Iranian regime has experienced a recent  
setback,” he said. “Iraqi and coalition forces have succeeded in  
degrading Iranian proxies operating in southern Iraq, and during  
January’s provincial elections, the Iraqi people voiced a broad  
rejection of Iranian influence.”

Petraeus testified on the first of two days of congressional hearings  
on the U.S. strategy in the Middle East and Central Asia, with a  
strong focus on the new U.S. strategy for stabilizing Afghanistan and  
Pakistan.

Petraeus said that U.S. forces would “aggressively and relentlessly”  
pursue al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

“We will continue to target, disrupt, and pursue the leadership, bases  
and support networks of al-Qaeda and other transnational extremist  
groups operating in the region,” Petraeus said.

The border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan has become a base  
for Taliban and al-Qaeda militants, and both nations face rising  
terrorist attacks. Civilian deaths last year caused by the Taliban  
insurgency in Afghanistan hit a record level, while suicide bombings  
and other attacks have left more than 4,000 people dead in Pakistan in  
the past two years.

‘Existential Threat’

Petraeus said that Pakistan faces “a truly existential threat” from al- 
Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups. “Additionally, the  
possibility, however remote, of serious instability in a nuclear-armed  
Pakistan would pose a serious danger to the U.S.” and its allies, he  
said.

The general told the senators it was important to turn Pakistan’s  
attention toward the internal extremist threat and away from its  
traditional focus on an attack from India.

Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, praised the  
administration’s new approach as “the right strategy” while noting  
“the road ahead will be long and costly.”

Still, Levin questioned whether the administration was correct to  
suggest that success in Afghanistan is linked so closely to success in  
Pakistan.

Levin said he remained “skeptical” whether Pakistan “has either the  
will or the capability to secure their border.”

“We should not tie Afghanistan’s future totally to the success of  
efforts in Pakistan or to Pakistan’s governmental decisions,” he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio at bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 1, 2009 15:36 EDT