preemptive strike news stories on Newser

US 'Ready' to Strike Iran: Ambassador

Kevin Spak — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:25:28 CDT

The US has all the planning in place to launch a military strike on Iran should diplomacy fail to curb its nuclear ambitions, the US ambassador to Israel said today, just days before nuclear talks are set to resume. "It would be preferable to resolve this diplomatically," Ambassador Dan Shapiro...

Netanyahu to Obama: No Iran Hit Planned. Yet.

Kevin Spak — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 07:53:42 CST

The US and Israel still don't quite see eye to eye on Iran, but Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House yesterday managed to reassure both sides. American officials emerged saying President Obama's tougher rhetoric had eased pressure on Israel to attack, the Wall Street Journal reports. In their closed-door...

US Talks Israel Out of Attacking Iran (for Now)

Kevin Spak — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:18:01 CDT

The Obama administration believes it has persuaded Israel not to attack Iran immediately, after convincing Israel that the rogue nation isn’t especially close to producing a nuclear weapon. The administration believes it will take Iran at least a year to finish a “dash” toward a nuclear weapon, officials tell the...

Obama Should Brace for War With Iran

Rob Quinn — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:29:40 CST

There's no chance of President Obama deciding to bomb Iran, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be preparing for war, writes Anne Applebaum. Israel has decided for now that attacking Iran's nuclear program isn't worth the consequences, but that calculation is liable to change and if it does, the defining...

Obama's Forcing Israel to Attack Iran

Rob Quinn — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:54:41 CDT

An Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities now looks inevitable and President Obama appears to be doing his best to speed the process along, Bret Stephens writes in the Wall Street Journal . The president has accepted Iran's offer for talks—despite Iran making it clear that its nuclear program won't...

Bolton: Israel May Strike Iran by December

Jason Farago — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:57:51 CDT

Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Jerusalem recently to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran, but according to John Bolton, "relations between the US and Israel are more strained now than at any time since the 1956 Suez Canal crisis." Israel understands what the Obama administration does not—the Iranians are...

US, UK Plan Cyber Strike on Foreign Hackers

Mary Papenfuss — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:07:05 CDT

US and UK law enforcement authorities are planning a preemptive strike on hackers to protect national security, reports the Guardian. The secret plans are triggered by skyrocketing computer crimes launched from China, Russia and North Korea believed to be state sponsored. The "strikeback" attacks will target hackers' computers, disrupt them,...