- Dec 29, 2008
- 19,486
- 4,602
- 280
United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told US Marines and sailors on Friday that Afghanistan is making progress against the Taliban but Iran remains a potential threat to the US.
"If Israel decides to go after Iran and we have to defend ourselves, we could be engaged sooner than any of us want," he said.
It was not clear whether Panetta was saying the United States would automatically be engaged if Israel would attack. It also is not clear if the Obama administration has plans to be engaged with Iran.
Panetta: Israel strike in Iran will engage US - Israel News, Ynetnews
Of course it's clear that the US will join in when Israel strikes Iran's nuclear weapons and long range missile programs both from a policy and a political perspective. In terms of policy, the administration has been unequivocal in stating it would do whatever was necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Since an Israeli strike will create a lot of blowback that will make it difficult to take strong action against Iran at a later time, it makes sense to make sure these programs are completely destroyed, and, of course, it makes sense in light of Iran's many threats to retaliate against US interests to destroy Iran's ability to project military force beyond its borders.
As a matter of politics, with recent polls showing the majority of Americans supporting using military force to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, it makes good political sense to make sure Iran's nuclear weapons and long range missile programs are smoked and that Iran's offensive capabilities are destroyed.