President Barack Obama should show Iran his muscle and visit Israel as a clear sign of support for a military strike, says former IDF Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin. The White House has said that a presidential visit to Israel is not in the cards before the November elections. Writing in the Washington Post’s Saturday edition, Yadlin outlined steps that President Obama can take to avert a military attack on Iran to halt or delay its undeclared aim to manufacture a nuclear bomb that can be placed on a missile aimed at Israel. Yadlin, now director of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, wrote that a visit to Israel and a clear massage to the Israeli people that “preventing a nuclear Iran is a U.S. interest,” even if it demands military action, “would be far more effective than U.S. officials’ attempts to convey the same sentiment behind closed doors.” He stated that that while the United States and Israel see “eye-to-eye" on the goal of stopping Iran’s nuclear programs, the United States enjoys a longer window of time because of its superior operational capabilities. “Unlike Israel, therefore, the United States can afford to delay beyond this fall, which is precisely what the Obama administration wants. Leave your planes in their hangars, the president has signaled to Israel,” Yadlin stated. He said a military strike can be averted if Iran can be convinced that it faces American power. President Obama “must convince Israel, Iran, Russia and even Saudi Arabia that the U.S. military option is credible and effective,” according to Yadlin. Besides visiting Israel, he said that President Obama “should notify the U.S. Congress in writing that he reserves the right to use military force to prevent Iran’s acquisition of a military nuclear capability.” Yadlin also called on the United States to signal its intentions by placing “a heightened U.S. military presence in the Gulf” and carrying out more military exercises with Middle East allies, including wide media coverage. Another step that would help convince Iran to think twice would be providing Israel with “advanced military technology and intelligence to…extend the window in which Israel can mortally wound Iran’s program.” he wrote. Yadlin also called on the president to “publicly commit to the security of U.S. allies in the Gulf [in order to] reassure jittery friends in the region and credibly anchor the U.S. last-resort military option to three powerful interests: U.S. national security, Israeli security and the security of allied states.”
