Republican adviser Liz Cheney says Israel has decided it may have to go it alone in a possible attack against Iran because it "can't count on the United States" to do anything about Tehran's efforts to develop a nuclear program.
Speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity Wednesday evening, Cheney also disagreed with President Barack Obama's recent statement describing Iran as a tiny nation that poses no serious threat to the United States.
She called that "just flat wrong," adding, "I think there is a sense on the part of the Israelis that they can't count on the United States."
She cited a recent statement from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney that the U.S. would know when the Iranians "get to the point" that military action might be necessary as an indication of how out of touch the administration is on the threat that Iran's nuclear development program poses.
"I think the Israelis look at that and say, 'Well, you know, you missed it when the Iraqis were much closer than you thought to a [nuclear program] . . . It's a very concerning situation," said Cheney, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs. "There is no trust between the Israelis and the U.S on this."
"I would like to think that the president of the United States would take military action to prevent the Iranians from having nuclear capability. I do not believe this president will do that," Cheney added.
Cheney, now a Fox News contributor, said the differences between what the Israelis consider a threat from Iran and what the president considers a threat may seem small to most observers, but in reality the gap between the two views is huge.
"The Israelis don't want the Iranians to have a nuclear program. The president says we don't want them to have a nuclear weapon," Cheney observed. "There is a difference. The president is putting down a red line that the Israelis think is too far. They think they can't live with that."
"For the Israelis, this is life and death, this is an existential threat," Cheney added.
The Republican said she believes the recent saber-rattling from Israeli leaders in response to calls from Tehran for Israel's destruction is real. Israeli military action, she suggested, could come sooner than anyone expects, possible before the U.S. election in November.
"I don't believe that the American election will enter into their calculation because it's a matter of the survival of the state of Israel," she told Hannity. "I believe strongly that they will act. They will not let the Iranians crop into what for them is a very dangerous zone where they would have the capability, very quickly, to put together a nuclear weapon."
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