‘No Decision’ on War Yet, But Obama Vows ‘Lockstep’ Support for Israel
In a high profile pre-Super Bowl interview on NBC, President Barack Obama attempted to calm fears of an impending war with Iran, saying that Israel hadn’t yet decided on whether to attack Iran, but assuring that the US was committed to remaining “in lockstep” with Israel whatever it decides and describing Israel’s security as his “top priority.” - Alhough Obama insisted that he personally prefers a diplomatic solution to the endless dispute with the Iranian government, his comments suggest that the decision is really Israel’s to make. He refused to say whether Israel had been warned against starting the war or even whether Israel intended to inform the US before starting it. Even as Obama was committing the US to the war, he sought to assure that the US would not be significantly affected by it, insisting there was “no evidence” that Iran even had the theoretical capability to retaliate against the United States if war broke out. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has warned that if the US attacks it would “harm America.”
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Jason Ditz: Israel-Iran War Would Quickly Spread - War Would Be 'Catastrophic' for Much of World - Much of the talk of an Israeli attack on Iran makes it sound like a push-button operation. The Israeli government sends word, a few warplanes fly to Iran and bomb a few remote locations, and the whole thing blows over. This is, after all, what essentially happened in 1981 when Israel attacked the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq. Yet an attack on Iran, if indeed it happens, is a much bigger matter, potentially involving weeks of bombings by Israel and inevitable retaliation by an Iranian government that has been preparing for decades. The war would not be limited to Israel and Iran, but would have enormous global repercussions.