John Bolton |
HERZLIYA, Israel – There is almost no chance President Bush will approve a military strike on Iran before he leaves office next year, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said at a conference today.
Perhaps tellingly, at the same conference, a senior Israeli minister hinted the probability of military action against Iran has increased in recent months.
"It's close to zero percent chance that the Bush administration will authorize military action against Iran before leaving office," said Bolton, speaking today at the Herzliya Conference, a prestigious Israeli gathering on issues of domestic and foreign policy.
Bolton slammed the recent National Intelligence Estimate that claimed Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003 as a politically-motivated report intended to restrict Bush's maneuvering room.
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"It seems that for the next few years the United States will be a bystander to the process," Bolton said.
The former diplomat said Israel's "stunningly successful" air strike in Syria this past September could be used as an example on what to do regarding Iran.
After Israel's strike in Syria Sept. 6, Bolton was one of the first public figures to label the target a nascent Syrian nuclear reactor constructed with the aid of North Korea. Israel has remained tight-lipped on what it hit, except to confirm it was a Syrian military target.
"Why wouldn't the government of Israel want to take the credit for a stunningly successful military strike?" Bolton asked.
He insisted the exact target be made public so the world can understand the current threat posed by Syria and the regimes in Iran and North Korea.
Bolton described North Korea as one of the primary proliferate of nuclear materials in the world and said Syria still has relations with Pyongyang, but he refused to elaborate.
"The proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East will start with North Korea. It counterfeits money, sells narcotics and it will do anything for hard money," he said.
Also at the Herzliya Conference today, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz hinted at the probability of a military strike against Iran.
Mofaz lamented the "deterioration of efforts to stop Iran diplomatically."
"The diplomatic timetable is running short and thus the next two years are critical for stopping Iran through diplomatic means," said Mofaz.
"Over the course of the last year, the Iranian train has been an express train, while the international train has been a local train that experiences delays and stoppages at every station," Mofaz said. "The Iranian locomotive is galloping with strength towards a nuclear bomb and towards regional hegemony."
Mofaz continued: "Iran has made a mockery of the world and has bought precious time. There are two years left to stop Iran before it's too late. The Iranian nuclear program is not an end but a means. Iran hopes to turn into an Islamic superpower that will unite the entire Muslim world under its umbrella. In order to realize this goal, Iran needs a nuclear weapon."
Mofaz and Bolton spoke from northern Israel while the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, meeting in Berlin, proposed additional sanctions against Iran and said a resolution would be forthcoming.
"We agreed on the content of the next Security Council resolution," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after the meeting of foreign ministers from Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S., plus Germany, in Berlin.
Steinmeier said the resolution would be presented to the Security Council "in the coming weeks."
A senior U.S. official told Agence France-Presse a new resolution "increases the severity of the sanctions already in place and will also introduce new elements."
The official added: "It extends the sanctions and it is a very swift reminder to the Iranians that the six powers are united."
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