Hagel: US Can Support Israel If It Strikes Iran
NEW YORK – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the House subcommittee on defense appropriations on Tuesday that the US has “the military capability” to back any Israeli action against Iran should President Barack Obama decide to do so.
Hagel was testifying on the Pentagon’s budget before the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee when he was asked about US military support in the event of an Israeli strike on Iran.
He replied that the decision to provide such support rested with Obama, but insisted, “We have the military capability, and we have the ability to provide the president with what’s required to protect the interests of this country and our allies.”
--CLIP
On the same day on the other side of Capitol Hill, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed Senate Resolution 65, sponsored by committee chairman Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and ranking Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), which called for strengthened sanctions against the Iranian regime and for US backing for any action Israel feels it needs to take “in its defense of its territory, people, and existence.”
The resolution, which has the backing of 80 cosponsors in the 100-member Senate, calls on the US government to provide various forms of support, including military, in the event that Israel feels it must strike Iran’s nuclear program. The resolution is not a legal authorization for the use of force, but rather a policy stance taken by lawmakers.
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http://www.timesofisrael.com/hagel-us-can-support-israel-if-it-strikes-iran/
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