Thursday, September 25, 2008

Bush refused to support Israeli strike on Iran.

From the Jerusalem Post:
The US refused to give Israel a green light for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities when Jerusalem requested Washington's support for such a move this past spring, The Guardian reported Thursday night.

According to the report, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert raised the issue in a meeting with US President George W. Bush in May, when Bush was visiting Israel for its 60th anniversary celebrations.

Bush, senior European diplomatic officials told the paper, responded that he would not support a strike on Iran, and added that his position was unlikely to change as long as he is in office.

Bush's position was apparently the result of two factors, the sources said: the first was US concern over Iranian retaliation, which would likely include attacks on US targets in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as on trade routes in the Persian Gulf; the second was US fears that Israel could not disable Iran's nuclear facilities in a single strike, while ongoing strikes could bring on a full-scale war.

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