Krauthammer’s Take - By NRO Staff - The Corner - National Review Online

Krauthammer’s Take - By NRO Staff - The Corner - National Review Online: On Leon Panetta saying there is a “strong likelihood” that Israel will attack Iran in April, May, or June:

The fact that it was released is puzzling. But the substance is not.

The fact is I think people haven’t understood what the Israeli clock was. It wasn’t that the Israelis would strike when they thought Iran was in a position to break out and produce a weapon. It is earlier. It’s a different clock. It’s [when] the Israelis would calculate that Iran had so hardened its defenses and have put so much equipment inside, let’s say, the Qom facility under a mountain, such that Israel or anybody would never be able to attack it, and thus Iran would have a free ride.

And that is the moment that the Israelis believe is approaching. That’s what the “zone of immunity” is — that all the material and equipment will be so hardened that nobody will be able to attack it.

The question is why did Panetta release this? Was it a mistake? Was it a slip? He made a release yesterday about what we’re going to do in Afghanistan which looked as if it was a mistake. It was supposed to be announced in May.

But if it’s a deliberate leak, then why did he do this? Is he warning Iran to prepare its air defenses and shoot down Israelis? He’s quite specific about the month. Is it a warning against Israel, “don’t do this because we’re going to announce it and warn people about it in advance?” Is it a bluff against Iran — you better think about this and come and negotiate?

I’m not sure how to read it, but it is astonishing that he would give actual, specific dates of an ally attacking what it thinks is an existential threat.