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White House: "No possibility of a US attack on Iran!"
"For all the glitz of the G20 summit the discourse in Washington remains subdued and introverted. Personal charges and counter charges fill the air in the Republican presidential nomination race, with important policy issues failing to command attention. While the expectation remains that Governor Romney will eventually win the nomination, the selection process is diminishing all the candidates. A sense of pessimism accompanies the deliberations of the Congressional “super-committee” mandated to find some $1.3 trillion in deficit reductions measures over the coming decade. Experienced observed fear that the outcome will be that the Congress faces another sustained period of paralysis. None of this bodes well for a smooth execution of foreign policy. With the Middle East peace process on hold and concerns that the “Arab Spring” is fragmenting along national lines, US policy in the region now faces an additional challenge. As the momentum for Palestinian statehood gains momentum among the UN specialized agencies, the US faces the prospect of continued mandatory cessation of US funding. This has already happened in the case of UNESCO and may extend soon to other agencies like the IAEA. With the latter poised to issue a hard-hitting report on Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program, Administration officials are trying to find ways to maintain a US presence in these agencies even if they grant Palestinian statehood. On Iran, we have reported the increase in decibel level of calls from some conservative organizations for military action – either unilaterally or in support of Israel – against the nuclear research sites. Once the IAEA report is released, these will certainly intensify. Our Administration contacts tell us, however, that there is no possibility of a US attack on Iran. Nor do they expect one from Israel at this juncture. Of more far-reaching consequence is the report from the National Counterintelligence Executive alleging massive cyber attacks on government agencies and businesses by China and Russia. A consensus is forming among US defense experts that the US is increasingly vulnerable in this area. Significant resources are being devoted to cyber security and the issue has the capacity to bedevil relations with China."
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