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U.S. Adds Israel to the Iran Equation

(Los Angeles Times) Paul Richter - In bluntly threatening terms on Inauguration Day, Vice President Dick Cheney removed any doubt that in its second term the Bush administration intended to directly confront the theocracy in Tehran. Cheney said Iran was "right at the top" of the administration's list of world trouble spots. When asked in a radio interview on MSNBC whether the U.S. could ask Israel to lead military action against Iran, Cheney replied: "One of the concerns that people have is that Israel might do it without being asked," Cheney said. "If, in fact, the Israelis became convinced the Iranians had significant nuclear capability - given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel - the Israelis might well decide to act first." The Israelis would let the rest of the world "worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterward," he added. The startling reference to an Israeli attack was "the kind of strong language that will get their attention in Tehran," said one allied diplomat in Washington. "There's a rhetorical escalation here: They've ratcheted up the threat level by bringing Israel in," said Henri Barkey, a former State Department official during the Clinton administration.
2005-01-21 00:00:00
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