For the first time, Israel has indicated its inability to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program.Officials said senior members of the government and military have quietly expressed concern over Israel's ability to strike Iran without direct help from the United States. They said some of the ministers and commanders were advising that Israel prepare to live with a nuclear Iran.
"We are taking upon ourselves a task that is bigger than us," former Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz said.
In a television interview on Feb. 13, Halutz reflected what was termed a growing realization within the government and military that Israel could not destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program. Until his forced resignation in 2007, Halutz, a former air force chief, focused military development on long-range precision air strikes that could target Iran.
"I think that the state of Israel should not take it upon itself to be the flag-bearer of the entire Western world in the face of the Iranian threat," Halutz said.
"I'm not some pedestrian," Halutz, blamed for Israel's failure to defeat Hizbullah in the war in 2006, said. "I've been in several positions that have made me more informed than the average person."
Officials said the position of Halutz, who rarely appears in the media, was similar to senior members of the government. They said Defense Minister Ehud Barak, regarded as the leading U.S. supporter in the Cabinet, has also warned that Israel did not have the means to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities.
"The problem is much broader and deeper and threatens the world as we know it," Dan Meridor, the minister responsible for Israel's intelligence community, said.
Halutz's assertion came on the eve of a visit by the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen. Mullen, who met Barak and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, has repeatedly urged Israel not to attack Iran.
"I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike," Mullen told a news conference on Feb. 14.
