Panetta: US has a year if Iran decides on a nuclear bomb
Panetta: US has a year if Iran d… JPost – Iranian Threat – News.
( Is it just me? Reading this made me sick to my stomach. – JW )
Photo: REUTERS/Larry Downing
WASHINGTON – If Iran decides to make a nuclear weapon, the United States would have a little more than a year to act to stop it, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday.
“It’s roughly about a year right now. A little more than a year. And so … we think we will have the opportunity once we know that they’ve made that decision, take the action necessary to stop (Iran),” Panetta said on CBS’s “This Morning” program.
He said the United States has “pretty good intelligence” on Iran. “We know generally what they’re up to. And so we keep a close track on them.”
Panetta said the United States has the capability to prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb.
“We have the forces in place to be able to not only defend ourselves, but to do what we have to do to try to stop them from developing nuclear weapons,” he said.
The United States and Israel believe Iran is working toward developing nuclear weapon development capability. Israel, widely thought to be the Middle East’s only atomic power, says a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence.
Iran says its nuclear work is for peaceful energy purposes only.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ramped up threats to attack Iran, saying if world powers refused to set a red line for Tehran’s nuclear program, they could not demand that Israel hold its fire.
“The world tells Israel ‘wait, there’s still time.’ And I say, ‘Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel,” Netanyahu told reporters in Israel.
Netanyahu has said Israel and the United States were in talks on setting a “clear red line” for Iran’s nuclear program. But the two allies remain at odds over whether to spell out a clear threshold for military action.
Powers to voice ‘serious concern’ about Iran atom work
Six world powers are expected to voice “serious concern” about Iran’s uranium enrichment program and to urge Tehran to provide the UN nuclear watchdog with access to the sites it needs for its investigation, diplomats said on Tuesday.
They said the six powers – the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – had agreed a draft text on Iran’s nuclear program at a meeting of the 35-nation governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.
One diplomat said the text was expected to be put forward as a proposed IAEA board resolution, to be voted on later in the week.
WarSclerotic 
September 11, 2012 at 4:58 PM
JW,
The Obama regime has made me sick for 4 years now. Sure a lot of Americans feel that way. But look at it this way – the more they oppose Israel the less votes they’ll get for reelection. I expect them to be crushed come November.
But in the meantime Netanyahu knows he’s on his own.
September 11, 2012 at 5:01 PM
Ditto JW.
September 11, 2012 at 5:05 PM
By now I know who Obama is so I expect his administration to delay until Iran has the bomb. What makes me sick, and very angry, are the many Jews in my area who will still vote for Obama. They read the New York Times.
September 11, 2012 at 5:24 PM
Agree. Completely.
September 11, 2012 at 6:13 PM
What makes me sick is most Americans knew or should’ve known Obama’s anti-semetic views the first time around. Israel has now been brought to the brink of catastrophe by this traitor.
September 11, 2012 at 5:07 PM
The Obama administration is feckless and will not support Israel in its legitimate defense of its sovereignty nor will it take actions to alleviate the threat. I think he best we can do is PRAY for a Romney victory in Nov. Yes it will take time to get people in key places and that will give the Iranians time to make progress toward a Red Line or even cross a Red Line. We should remember however, that in the spring when the weather window opens again the Iranian economy will be considerably weaker, the people will be more anxious since inflation will be higher, more goods scarce and resentment against the government will grow. A major US strike at this time, one that will cripple the entire IRGC, destroy the nuclear weapon infrastructure and demonstrate to the populace in a clear and unequivocally way that their government is: 1) not able to protect or govern correctly and 2) that the whole nuclear quest has done nothing but destroy the economy, the military and Iran’s pride; can be the catalyst for a revival of the Green Movement that will bring about regime change. We need to remember that good weather brings people out to the street faster and longer than cool weather. A strategy like this will allow Israel to keep its EMP arsenal which probably includes non-nuclear driven EMP bombs, in storage. While it is clear that Iranian nuclear weapons is an existential problem for Israel the rest of the world aided by the left wing media will make Israel an international pariah. Second, there is always a danger when introducing new weapons to the battlefield. Maintaining an offensive/defensive balance in battlefield weaponry is important for overall systemic stability.
September 11, 2012 at 5:20 PM
What Mr. Panetta means is as follows:
If Iran makes a bomb now , next year , the US will stop it. As an Iranian nuke missile takes only 10 minutes to reach Israel, after it is assembled, therefore the US doesn’t have to bother about stopping anything, simply because 10 minutes is much less than 1 year, and it is none of his business.
September 11, 2012 at 6:37 PM
Anybody here remember the 80’s american TV series , ” Alf ” ?
Every time I look to Panetta I cannot help but thinking at that nice ET. The problem is, the comparison between Panetta and Alf ends here, because Alf was more intelligent.