PRESIDENT OBAMA, issuing an unusual clarification of his vice- president’s words, has said that his administration has “absolutely not” given its blessing for an Israeli attack on Iran.
Mr Obama said on Tuesday that although Israel has the right to defend itself, US officials have emphasised the need to avoid “major conflict in the Middle East”.
Vice-president Joe Biden created a stir on Sunday by suggesting that the US would stand aside if the Israelis wanted to attack. “Israel can determine for itself – it’s a sovereign nation – what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else,” Mr Biden said on ABC’s “This Week”.
His words set off a debate over whether the White House was hardening its line on Iran in the wake of Iran’s post-election crackdown, or whether he had simply committed a gaffe.
Mr Obama said that Mr Biden merely was stating “a categorical fact, which is that we can’t dictate to other countries what their security interests are”. But Mr Biden left out another part of the administration’s usual formulation: that the US wants to avoid a military strike because it could destabilise the entire Middle East.
Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed his own concern on Tuesday about a strike. “I worry a great deal about the response of a country that gets struck,” Admiral Mullen said in Washington. “How does it end up? Does it get contained, or does it expand?”
Mr Obama’s comment was not the first time that administration officials have had to clarify a Biden remark. In April, White House officials struggled to explain that they were not recommending the public avoid aircraft and subways, even though Mr Biden said that he would not want family members to use them because of the threat of swine flu. – (LA Times-Washington Post service)