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By Yossi Verter
Haaretz
Monday 20 November 2006
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The United States lacks sufficient intelligence on Iran's nuclear facilities at this time, which prevents it from
initiating a military strike against them, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told European politicians and
diplomats with whom she has recently met.
Rice mentioned three reasons why the United States is currently unable to carry out a military operation against Iran:
the wish to solve the crisis through peaceful means; concern that a military strike will be ineffective - that it would
fail to completely destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities; and the lack of precise intelligence on the targets' locations.
U.S. President George W. Bush and President Jacques Chirac of France met several weeks ago. Bush told his French
counterpart that the possibility that Israel would carry out a strike against Iran's nuclear installations should not be
ruled out.
Bush also said that if such an attack were to take place, he would understand it. According to European diplomats who
later met with Rice, the secretary of state did not express the same willingness to show understanding for a possible
Israeli strike against Iran.
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