JERUSALEM [MENL] -- The United States has pledged to warn Israel of any
attack against Iraq.The pledge came as Israeli officials said they are uncertain whether
Washington will widen its war against terrorism. The Israeli assessment is
that the United States will seek to oust Taliban from ruling Afghanistan
before deciding on the next step.But officials said the Pentagon and U.S. military are urging President
George Bush to target Iraq after the Afghan operation. They said Bush
appears to be considering such a move.Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Dalia Rabin-Pelossof said the Bush
administration has told Israel it will obtain advance warning of any attack
on Baghdad. The deputy minister did not define advance warning."There is no doubt that Iraq is in the sights of the United States and
sooner or later the Americans will confront this country," Ms.
Rabin-Pelossof said. "But for the moment we are in the dark and we have to
wait."On Tuesday, the administration warned Iraq against invading the
autonomous Kurdish zone of northern Iraq amid the U.S. offensive. Kurdish
allies of Washington have expressed concern of a military operation by
President Saddam Hussein.Israeli officials have tried to assuage concerns that Iraq would strike
the Jewish state should Baghdad become a U.S. target. Officials and analysts
assert that Saddam's military machine, including his weapons of mass
destruction arsenal have declined significantly since the 1991 Gulf war,
when Iraq fired 42 missiles toward the Jewish state."The buttons [of those Iraqi missiles] are rusted," Israeli analyst
Amatzia Baram said. "The missiles are rusted. Who knows where they would
land."
This service contains only a small portion of the information produced daily by Middle East Newsline. For a subscription to the full service, please contact Middle East Newsline at: editor@menewsline.com for further details.
