By Dale McFeatters
No American president would, or should, cede the power to another country to declare war on our behalf, but this is perilously close to what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding of President Barack Obama.
Netanyahu is insisting Obama draw bright "red lines" in front of Iran's nuclear program, which, if crossed, would provoke a U.S. military response. Otherwise, he suggests, Israel might go it alone, although the strategic consensus seems to be that an Israeli attack could only delay, not halt, Iran's nuclear program.
The State Department says it is "not useful" to set deadlines for Iran. Many in the department believe that stepped-up sanctions against Iran are beginning to bite and that it's worth waiting to give them a chance to work.
The Obama administration's position, one that infuriates Netanyahu, is that there is no concrete evidence that Iran has decided to proceed with a nuclear weapon, although the United Nations-affiliated International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Iran has on hand enough low- and medium- enriched uranium that, The New York Times says, with further enrichment could make as many as six nuclear weapons.
The lead time on building a weapon, according to some estimates, could be as little as three to six months, still time enough to respond, in the opinion of the Obama administration.
Meanwhile, despite the bickering at the top, the U.S. and Israel continue to collaborate on Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense and covert operations to disrupt Iran's nuclear program.
But there is ill will at the top. The two leaders have never gotten along, and Obama declined to schedule a face-to-face meeting with Netanyahu next week when the Israeli leader is here for a U.N. meeting. The official explanation is that no request was made, but such requests aren't formally made until the meeting has been agreed to. The two leaders did talk, however, for an hour by phone Tuesday night.
Netanyahu is also close to violating another U.S. taboo, a foreign leader meddling in U.S. elections. Netanyahu is close to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who calls Obama's dealings with Iran the president's "greatest failure" in foreign policy, although, typically, Romney refuses to say precisely what he would do in the president's place.
Netanyahu may feel a real sense of urgency in trying to force the Obama administration into issuing an ultimatum before the November elections. There is the real possibility the president will win a second term, and the Israeli leader's position is weakening at home.
The Israeli public and military are deeply divided on the advisability of a unilateral strike against Iran. Netanyahu's defense minister, Ehud Barak, once a proponent of a strike, is now publicly expressing misgivings and has hinted that he might defect to the leading opposition party.
Even a GOP victory in the Nov. 6 election may provide no solace for the Israeli leader. Once Romney thinks over the consequences of a war against a nation armed with more than assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, he may decide to keep the bombers on the ground and the missiles in their silos.
Dale McFeatters is an editorial writer for Scripps Howard News Service (www.scrippsnews.com).
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