(Washington Post).Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's national security adviser said Tuesday that new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran are inadequate to thwart its nuclear progress. A preemptive military strike might eventually be necessary, he said.
Arad's comments, made to a gathering in Jerusalem of the Jewish Agency, a body that promotes Jewish immigration to Israel, illustrated the challenges President Obama faces reassuring an increasingly impatient Israel that the United States can stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Arad did not directly address the likelihood that Israel would strike militarily to set back the country's nuclear program. But he said he believed the international community would back such a decision.
"I don't see anyone who questions the legality of this or the legitimacy," Arad said of a possible Israeli strike. "They only discuss the efficacy, which is interesting. It suggests that people understand the problem. And they are not questioning the right."
Arad called the new U.N. sanctions, along with additional sanctions being drafted in Congress, "necessary" but "simply not sufficient" to thwart Iran's nuclear program.
He also noted what Israeli officials have perceived as a shift in U.S. policy toward Iran, citing a subtle change in rhetoric. Officials say they think Obama is now more willing to employ military force, in the event it becomes necessary, to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon.
"I read with interest observations made by American Secretary of Defense [Robert M.] Gates, in which he didn't rule out any other options," Arad said.
"I also took notice -- all of us did take notice -- that the United States [has] changed the definition of its policy on Iran, from one that said a nuclear Iran would be 'unacceptable' to one in which it said that the United States 'is determined to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear.' There is determination there. There is activism," Arad said.
Arad's comments, made to a gathering in Jerusalem of the Jewish Agency, a body that promotes Jewish immigration to Israel, illustrated the challenges President Obama faces reassuring an increasingly impatient Israel that the United States can stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
Arad did not directly address the likelihood that Israel would strike militarily to set back the country's nuclear program. But he said he believed the international community would back such a decision.
"I don't see anyone who questions the legality of this or the legitimacy," Arad said of a possible Israeli strike. "They only discuss the efficacy, which is interesting. It suggests that people understand the problem. And they are not questioning the right."
Arad called the new U.N. sanctions, along with additional sanctions being drafted in Congress, "necessary" but "simply not sufficient" to thwart Iran's nuclear program.
He also noted what Israeli officials have perceived as a shift in U.S. policy toward Iran, citing a subtle change in rhetoric. Officials say they think Obama is now more willing to employ military force, in the event it becomes necessary, to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon.
"I read with interest observations made by American Secretary of Defense [Robert M.] Gates, in which he didn't rule out any other options," Arad said.
"I also took notice -- all of us did take notice -- that the United States [has] changed the definition of its policy on Iran, from one that said a nuclear Iran would be 'unacceptable' to one in which it said that the United States 'is determined to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear.' There is determination there. There is activism," Arad said.
