Iran War: Is it really in America's interest for this to happen?

From the Times of London 12/11/05: Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran by Uzi Mahnaimi and Sarah Baxter 12/11/05.  They write:

Israel's armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed.

The order came after Israeli intelligence warned the government that Iran was operating enrichment facilities, believed to be small and concealed in civilian locations. ...

Defence sources in Israel believe the end of March to be the “point of no return” after which Iran will have the technical expertise to enrich uranium in sufficient quantities to build a nuclear warhead in two to four years.

“Israel - and not only Israel - cannot accept a nuclear Iran,” Sharon warned recently. “We have the ability to deal with this and we’re making all the necessary preparations to be ready for such a situation.” ...

Aharon Zeevi Farkash, the Israeli military intelligence chief, stepped up the pressure on Iran this month when he warned Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, that “if by the end of March the international community is unable to refer the Iranian issue to the United Nations security council, then we can say the international effort has run its course”.

The March deadline set for military readiness also stems from fears that Iran is improving its own intelligence-gathering capability. In October it launched its first satellite, the Sinah-1, which was carried by a Russian space launcher.

“The Iranians’ space programme is a matter of deep concern to us,” said an Israeli defence source. “If and when we launch an attack on several Iranian targets, the last thing we need is Iranian early warning received by satellite.”

A follow-up article in Ha'aretz (Defense Min. official: No plan to attack Iran 'at the moment' 12/11/05) reports:

Referring to the Sunday Times report, Defense Ministy diplomatic policy chief Amos Gilad said that with respect to the description of "The order that was given, linked to a date, an operation in north Iraq - this appears more imaginary than real."

Asked directly if he had no knowledge of such an order, Gilad said "At the moment, in the current phase, the focus is in the sphere of international diplomacy. The international system is working with a great deal of determination to prevent the Iranian nuclear threat."

Gilad refrained from a blanket denial of the report.

"I deny the concrete matters, the [description of] the plan, the timetables, the operation in northern Iraq, but it's impossible to say, in advance, that all options will be ruled out."

A few thoughts on what it implies for the US if Israel does this:

* I hope the Israeli intelligence on Iran's nuclear program is better than the assumptions on which the Bush administration went to war with Iraq.  Supposedly Israeli intelligence agreed with many of the alarmist claims on Iraq's WMDs that turned out to be false.

* Kiss the hope of a "peace with honor" cover for a US exit from Iraq.  Iran has the capability to make the situation for US troops in Iraq far worse.  If the Bush administration is entertaining any idea of a negotiated settlement with the main insurgent groups, they should seriously consider concluding the deal before Israel ultimatum deadline to Iran.

* If Bush and his war-hungry advisers had let the UN inspections run their course in 2003 instead of invading and occupying Iraq, the threat of US military pressure would be far more credible in pressuring Iran now.  As it is, Iran knows very well that, whatever military strikes Israel or the US make on their country, the US simply doesn't have the ability to invade and occupy Iran.  But, of course, our war fans didn't want to hear any of that back then.  And the hardcore supporters don't want to hear it now.