InfoAnda - Insight: Divided by common foe, Israel and U.S. tangle over Iran |

New Toyota recall sees global tally near eight million | 30 January 2010

Pentagon Temporarily Increases Army By 22,000 Soldiers | 21 July 2009

Mexico appeals to Supreme Court to spare citizen from death penalty | 30 June 2011

Iraq approves new government with Maliki as PM | | 21 December 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Insight: Divided by common foe, Israel and U.S. tangle over Iran |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (15) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Full Article Images of January Best photos of the year 2011 Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Putin praises Cold War moles for stealing U.S. nuclear secrets 22 Feb 2012 Karzai says U.S. officer burned Korans, Obama apologizes | 10:56am EST Whitney Houston Open Casket Photo Graces National Enquirer Cover 22 Feb 2012 'Seinfeld' Actor in Critical Condition After Apparent Suicide Attempt (Report) 22 Feb 2012 Rome expands cruise ship probe as bodies found 6:32am EST Discussed 178 REFILE-Al Gore takes aim at ”unsustainable” capitalism 178 Santorum says Obama agenda not ”based on Bible” 147 Romney’s struggles fuel talk of brokered convention Watched Mona Lisa double painted simultaneously Tue, Feb 21 2012 Nine-year-old quizzed over shooting Wed, Feb 22 2012 Amateur video claims to show bodies of Western journalists killed in Homs Wed, Feb 22 2012 Insight: Divided by common foe, Israel and U.S. tangle over Iran Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Iran talks failure sparks confrontation fears 7:01am EST Japan may cut Iran oil imports by over 20 percent 6:00am EST Iran defiant as U.N. nuclear talks fail Wed, Feb 22 2012 Russia warns Israel not to attack Iran Wed, Feb 22 2012 Iran says would act against enemies if endangered Tue, Feb 21 2012 Analysis & Opinion Essential tax and accounting reading: Obama and rival offer tax plans, UK considers a mansion tax, and more Obama sings again, this time blues with B.B. King, Mick Jagger Related Topics World » Israel » Special Reports » 1 of 6. President Barack Obama meets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations in New York September 21, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/Files By Jeffrey Heller and Matt Spetalnick JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON | Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:39am EST JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ever since their first awkward encounter - a hastily arranged meeting in a custodian's office at a Washington airport in 2007 - Iran has been one of the few issues on which Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu have been able to find some common ground. Nearly five years ago, neither man was yet in power but both hoped to be, and though they were very different politicians they grabbed the opportunity to size each other up when their paths crossed. The Israeli right-winger came across, at first, as strident in his views, while the newly declared Democratic presidential candidate seemed wary. But when Netanyahu insisted on the urgent need to do more to isolate Iran economically and Obama said "tell me more," the mood suddenly brightened, according to one account of the meeting. It was part of what Netanyahu, who first served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999, has described as a 15-year personal effort to "broaden as much as possible the international front against Iran," a foe that has called for Israel's destruction. Obama, then a first-term senator, would go on to introduce an Iran divestment bill in Congress on the way to winning the White House in the 2008 election. Now, with Obama and Netanyahu due to meet in Washington on March 5, the Iranian nuclear standoff will again top the agenda. But this time, a trust deficit between the two leaders could make it harder to decide what action to take against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program. The Obama administration, increasingly concerned about the lack of any assurance from Israel that it would consult Washington before launching strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, has scrambled in recent weeks to convince Israeli leaders to give sanctions and diplomacy more time to work, U.S. officials say. Israel has been listening - but after a series of high-level U.S. visits there is no sign it has been swayed. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who along with Netanyahu met U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon last week, complained privately afterward that Washington is lobbying for a delay in any Israeli attack on Iran while time is running out for such a strike to be effective, Israeli political sources said. Barak has spoken publicly of an Iranian "zone of immunity" to aerial attack, a reference to the start of additional uranium enrichment at a remote site believed to be buried beneath 80 meters (265 feet) of rock and soil near the city of Qom. Donilon's visit to Israel coincided with a cautionary note from General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, who told CNN it would be "premature to exclusively decide that the time for a military option was upon us." The United States, Dempsey said, has counseled Israel "that it's not prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran." He said sanctions were beginning to have an effect and it is still unclear whether Tehran would choose to make a nuclear weapon. Obama and top aides have said they do not believe Israel has made a decision to attack Iran even as they caution about devastating consequences in the Middle East - and potentially around the globe - if it does so. U.S. intelligence sources say they would expect little or no advance notice from Israel, except possibly as a courtesy call when any bombing mission is at the point of no return. But one line of thinking within the Obama administration is that this might be best for the United States since any sign of complicity would inflame the Muslim world. "When it comes to something that the Israeli government considers essential to Israel's security, they will take whatever action they deem necessary, even if there is a level of disagreement with other countries, including the United States," said Michael Herzog, a former chief of staff to Barak and now an international fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East policy. Obama and his national security team have yet to determine how the United States would respond if Israel does attack Iran, one U.S. official said. But the growing chorus of warnings from Washington - Israel's biggest source of military assistance - serves as a stark message of the potential fallout in relations between the two longtime allies. The debate over the possibility of an Israeli strike has exposed an important difference of opinion over Iran, which says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes. "We are of the opinion that the Iranian regime is a rational actor," Dempsey said in the CNN interview. "And it's for that reason, I think, that we think the current path we're on is the most prudent path at this point." Netanyahu has made clear he believes that kind of thinking is wrong-headed. "Since the dawn of the nuclear age, we have not had a fanatic regime that might put its zealotry above its self-interest," he told The Atlantic in 2009. "People say that they'll behave like any other nuclear power. Can you take the risk? Can you assume that?" ELECTION OPPORTUNITY An Israeli strike ahead of the November 6 U.S. elections would put Obama in a serious political bind. Already defending himself against Republican accusations that he has been too tough on Israel and not tough enough on Iran, he would be reluctant, at least initially, to come down hard on Netanyahu for fear of undercutting support among Jewish voters and other pro-Israel constituencies as he seeks re-election. It's that perceived window of opportunity for Israel to strike at a time when incumbent candidate Obama might be shy about challenging Netanyahu that has helped to fuel speculation of an Israeli attack soon. But for Netanyahu to go ahead with an attack in defiance of Washington, he would risk not only damaging his country's most crucial alliance but also face the near-certain prospect of Iranian retaliation with no immediate U.S. military help - or even a commitment to provide any. More likely, Obama and Netanyahu will try to keep their differences behind closed doors and present a united front against Iran in next month's talks. Any further public rift between the two leaders, who will meet a day before the Super Tuesday voting contests in which 10 states hold presidential primaries or caucuses, would likely be seized upon by Republican candidates looking for ammunition against Obama. And, for the second straight year, Netanyahu will be able to emerge from any White House chill into the warm embrace of the powerful pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose annual convention he will address in Washington. But Israel, in weighing military action, faces the risk of a backlash from Congress and the American public if oil prices spike during a still-fragile economic recovery or if the United States is hit by revenge attacks on its interests around the world. "It's the law of unintended consequences," said an outside expert who advises the White House on national security. "This could lead to the first real reassessment in a generation of how America and Americans feel about Israel." One American Jewish leader who knows both leaders played down the prospects of any dramatic shift in U.S.-Israeli relations. Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told Reuters that strong bipartisan understanding for what he called Israel's "responsibility to its citizens" meant that "nothing" would happen to ties between the two countries. Last May, Netanyahu received 29 standing ovations when he addressed a joint meeting of Congress at the invitation of its Republican leadership. In the run-up to the November U.S. election, a senior legislator of his Likud party has been active in cultivating relations with top Republicans. BLUFF? Though U.S. officials have no reason to believe Israel is bluffing, some both inside and outside the administration suspect that Netanyahu is overstating the immediate danger of an Iranian nuclear "break-out." Netanyahu, they say, may be seeking to pressure the United States and its European partners to move further on new oil-related sanctions, put enough of a scare into China and Russia to get them to ease resistance to tighter enforcement and extract a firmer U.S. commitment to military action if Tehran takes concrete steps toward bomb-making. But even if his top generals and intelligence chiefs advise that it is time to act, questions remain whether Netanyahu, who lacks the extensive military resume of most of his predecessors, will be ready to do so, especially if it means going it alone without the United States. An Israeli security source said that unlike Netanyahu's predecessor Ehud Olmert, who conducted wars in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and ordered the bombing of a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor during his 2006-2009 tenure, Israel's current leader finds it hard to decide on risky operational matters. For his part, Obama will be hesitant at this point to go further than his mantra that "all options are on the table" in dealing with Iran, and is likely to make clear to Netanyahu that without international legitimacy unilateral military action could backfire on Israel and lead to diplomatic isolation. Moreover, the consensus in the U.S. defense community is that Israel, acting alone militarily, would only be able to slow Iran's nuclear progress by months or possibly a couple of years. That assessment is echoed by Israeli security officials, though they argue that their armed forces' capabilities may have been underestimated - even by the friendly, informed Americans. They note that Israel destroyed Iraq's atomic reactor in 1981 knowing that this would only postpone Saddam Hussein's quest for a bomb. Kept in the dark about the tactically audacious sortie, Washington responded angrily, at first. But it later thanked Israel for removing a potential Iraqi threat. "The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has been preparing its capabilities for years," chief of staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz said, without elaborating, in February 18 comments to Israeli reporters, when asked about the prospects for an imminent war on Iran. Israel lacks heavy long-range air force bombers, but its advanced F-15 and F-16 warplanes could hit sites in western Iran and further inland with air-to-air refueling and by using stealth technology to overfly hostile Arab nations. It could also launch ballistic Jericho missiles with conventional warheads at Iran, according to a 2009 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Commandos might be deployed to spot targets and possibly launch covert attacks. Drones could assist in surveillance and possibly drop bombs of their own. Barak has said he believes the home front would suffer "maybe not even 500 dead" if Iran or its allies in Lebanon and Gaza retaliate with missile barrages. Complicating matters is a basic lack of trust between the Obama administration and Netanyahu's government, born in part out of the president's earlier failed efforts to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking by pressuring Israel to freeze Jewish settlement expansion. The last time Obama and Netanyahu met at the White House, in May, the Israeli leader bluntly took the president to task in remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, lecturing him on Jewish history and flatly rejecting his proposal that Israel's 1967 borders be the basis for negotiations on creating a Palestinian state. Obama was furious and relations hit rock bottom. Little more than a year before, Israel had announced a major new settlement expansion in East Jerusalem - a move that embarrassed Vice President Joe Biden during a visit - and Obama ordered Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call Netanyahu and dress him down. Not long afterwards, Obama walked out of tense talks with Netanyahu at the White House and left the Israeli prime minister cooling his heels while he had dinner with his family - treatment widely interpreted as a snub by Israeli media. Frosty relations between the two leaders have thawed somewhat over the past year as Obama has taken a tougher line on Iran sanctions while refraining from any new Middle East peace drives. Obama also scored points with Israelis for opposing a Palestinian bid for U.N. statehood recognition last September. "Open lines and security channels have brought the relationship to a particularly good point and at the same time there hasn't been tension of late on other issues," a senior administration official said. But some Obama aides remain suspicious of Netanyahu's motives. They are convinced that he would prefer to see a Republican take control of the White House in 2013 for fear that Obama's re-election would give him a freer hand to push anew for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians during a second term. And any look at the Iranian equation cannot ignore the Holocaust factor - the alarm-ringing "never again" theme Netanyahu invokes in speech after speech about the existential threat that Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, would face if Iran got the bomb. Those who claim to know Netanyahu well say he means what he says; it is his job to ensure the Jewish state's survival. He has made clear that in addition to the Iranian threat, he sees Israel at risk from the deep uncertainty sown by the Arab spring uprisings, especially with the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was seen by Israel as a guardian of its peace treaty with Egypt. An address to Israel's parliament in January on the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day could easily be tweaked into the kind of statement the government might issue as Israeli planes head home from their Iranian bombing missions. "We cannot bury our heads in the sand. The Iranian regime openly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel; it is planning the destruction of Israel; and it is working to destroy Israel," he said. "In the end, with regards to threats to our very existence, we cannot abandon our future to the hands of others. With regard to our fate, our duty is to rely on ourselves alone." (Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Mark Hosenball in Washington; editing by Janet McBride) World Israel Special Reports Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (15) unclepie wrote: Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Thursday, 23 February 2012
Judge to rule on Mubarak case on June 2 |
Argentine commuter train crashes, killing 49 people |
FCC urges Internet companies to safeguard Web |
Exclusive: Palo Alto Networks, other tech firms tee up IPOs |
EU seeks legal opinion on global copyright |
IBM eyes cybersecurity market with new platform |
Lindsay Lohan pleases judge on home stretch of probation |
Oscars 2012: A year of comfort |
Adele breaks Whitney Houston's chart record |
Obama sings the blues with Jagger, B.B King |
Short films fill tall order as Oscar nominees |
Iran talks failure sparks confrontation fears |
Taliban urge Afghans to kill invaders amid new protests |
Assad forces renew barrage on Syria's Homs |
Baghdad bombings kill at least 20 |
Bomb kills 13 at Pakistani bus station |
Australian PM Gillard calls for leadership vote |
Philippines' Arroyo pleads not guilty in poll fraud trial |
Putin praises Cold War moles for stealing U.S. nuclear secrets |
Argentine commuter train crashes, killing 49 people |
Apple, Google, Amazon, smartphone makers sign privacy accord |
PayPal gets new rival in offline payments race |
Migrants elbow for Foxconn jobs despite labor probe |
White House unveils plan to protect online privacy |
HP profit plummets, CEO urges patience |
Rivals blast Verizon's bid for cable airwaves |
HP, Dell watch rising China labor costs for Apple |
Jennifer Aniston puts name in star on Walk of Fame |
Lindsay Lohan pleases judge on home stretch of probation |
Simon Cowell says learned to keep his mouth shut |
Actor who had role on Seinfeld shoots self |
Kodak is out of the picture at Oscars |
Wrestling scion joins Disney in the ring in China |
Insight: Divided by common foe, Israel and U.S. tangle over Iran |
U.S. threatens sanctions on Somali peace spoilers |
Thousands back Putin's presidential bid in Moscow |
Hamas sets new terms for reconciliation with Fatah |
Tunisia, Egypt Islamists signal bigger religion role |
Court says Apple can still sell iPads in Shanghai |
Study aims to bring Great Barrier Reef to living rooms |
Philips says police investigating its cyber attack |
Tyler Perry steps out of Madea into Good Deeds |
UK's It's a cracker comic Frank Carson dies at 85 |
Oscars 2012: A year of comfort |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01