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Former American ambassador to the UN John Bolton (AP) Last update - 23:15 22/01/2008 Bolton: Chance Bush will okay strike on Iran is 'close to zero' By Barak Ravid and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service Tags: Iran, nuclear program, Israel  Former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton said on Tuesday that there is almost no chance that U.S. President George W. Bush will approve a military strike on Iran before he leaves office in January 2009. "It's close to zero percent chance that the Bush Administration will authorize military action against Iran before leaving office," he said. Bolton addressed the Herzliya Conference of the Institute for Policy and Strategy, as part of a panel discussion on Iran's nuclear program. Advertisement He said the recent American intelligence assessment, according to which Iran halted its nuclear program in 2003, was a politically-motivated report intended to restrict the Bush Administration's room to maneuver. "It seems that for the next few years the United States will be a bystander to the process," Bolton said. Bolton also said that Israel's "stunningly successful" military strike on Syria last September could constitute a precedent for a similar attack on Iran in the future. The Israel Air Force attacked a structure in northeast Syria that foreign media reports said was a nuclear facility built with North Korean assistance. Syria and North Korea both denied the reports, and Israel has remained silent. Bolton had warned of nuclear cooperation between the two countries before the strike. "Why wouldn't the government of Israel want to take the credit for a stunningly successful military strike?" Bolton asked. Bolton said Israel and the United States know very well that Syria's close relations with North Korea have not been severed, but refused to elaborate. He said North Korea might sell nuclear know-how and a ready-to-use nuclear bomb to the highest bidder. "The proliferation of nuclear weapons in the middle east will start with North Korea. It counterfeits money, sells narcotics, and it will do anything for hard money," he said. He insisted that Syria's nuclear efforts should be taken with the utmost seriousness, as North Korean expertise and Iranian willingness to fund are more available than ever. He insisted that it be made known to the public that the facility that was hit was an offshoot of a joint Syrian, North Korean, and Iranian cooperation. Mofaz hints at greater likelihood of military strike on Iran Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz hinted Tuesday that the probability of a military strike against Iran has increased given "the deterioration of efforts to stop Iran diplomatically." "The diplomatic timetable is running short and thus the next two years are critical for stopping Iran through diplomatic means," Mofaz, who also served as defense minister as well as chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said. On Tuesday, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council proposed additional sanctions against Iran. "Over the course of the last year, the Iranian train has been an express train while the international train has been a local train that experiences delays and stoppages at every station," Mofaz said. "The Iranian locomotive is galloping with strength towards a nuclear bomb and towards regional hegemony," Mofaz told a special session of the Herzliya Conference of the Institute for Policy and Strategy. "Iran has made a mockery of the world and has bought precious time," Mofaz said. "There are two years left to stop Iran before it's too late. The Iranian nuclear program is not an end but a means. Iran hopes to turn into an Islamic superpower that will unite the entire Muslim world under its umbrella. In order to realize this goal, Iran needs a nuclear weapon." Related articles: Report: IAF knocked out Syria radar during Sept. 6 strike ANALYSIS: N. Korea's past threats to spread nuclear technology IAEA: Iran agrees to answer remaining nuclear questions within month Assad says Syria turned down nuclear weapons offer in 2001 Bookmark to del.icio.us   Officer convicted A military court convicts an IDF officer who led troops in a West Bank rampage. A different Anne Frank A Dutch Jewish condemns the distribution of a postcard of Anne Frank wearing kaffiyeh.   1.   no one knows what the strike on syria was all about but we proud 19:10  |  huh? 22/01/08   2.   Reality strikes the neocons 19:11  |  W 22/01/08   3.   Another 9-11 19:12  |  fred 22/01/08   4.   Israel needs to ask forgiveness from Iran 19:14  |  Yaakov Sullivan 22/01/08   5.   it was the persians set us free from babalonian captivity 19:24  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 22/01/08   6.   #4 Yaakov mohammed Sullivan 19:31  |  DR 22/01/08   7.   #3 fred from brooklyn 19:31  |  Rowan Berkeley 22/01/08   8.   Iran are our friends 19:38  |  Lynn 22/01/08   9.   The man is desperate to see another war! 19:41  |  TrippleJump 22/01/08   10.   Nuclear weapons are coming to the Arab world 19:50  |  KA 22/01/08   11.   lol for once i agree with bolton; the usa will not attack iran 19:55  |  pop 22/01/08   12.   #7 Rowan Berkeley 20:13  |  Paul Wood 22/01/08   13.   #10 KA 20:14  |  Chris Linthwaite 22/01/08   14.   Another 9-11 20:35  |  Shlomo 22/01/08   15.   Look who is talking. 20:43  |  Atoo Landarv 22/01/08   16.   WARNING TO ISRAEL ON IRAN 21:03  |  Arik Silverman 22/01/08   17.   Bolton is the only man capable of leading the US. 21:20  |  Pssd off American. 22/01/08   18.   anti-Zionist fruitcakes refuse to accept reality 21:22  |  Paul Freedman 22/01/08   19.   Bolton 21:45  |  P. J. Casey 22/01/08   20.   Mofaz is a self-hating Iranian Jew 21:54  |  Maryam 22/01/08   21.   Bolton should soon suffer the fate of all historical persons 22:01  |  Andreas 22/01/08   22.   Yes, another 9-11. The firts made Americans aware of the Islamist 22:03  |  Andreas 22/01/08   23.   Sullivan # 4 22:03  |  Hoshhosh 22/01/08   24.   Go on - have a go, Mofaz! 22:28  |  Clickfool 22/01/08   25.   Transport Ministry Hints 22:34  |  Dangalil 22/01/08   26.   x x envoy bolton 22:41  |  king k 22/01/08   27.   #16 23:02  |  Jane 22/01/08   28.   Herzliya Conference - Ask For Your Fees Back 23:07  |  Peter Wallace 22/01/08   29.   Iran`s Hegemony 23:12  |  JJ 22/01/08   30.   Bolton is Insane. 23:40  |  Mark 22/01/08   31.   IT`S THE ECONOMY, STUPID 23:44  |  Axel 22/01/08   32.   #24 boris the clucking fool may have to eat his words again 23:46  |  v hardman 22/01/08   33.   Pssd off American - How wrong you are 23:46  |  American 22/01/08   34.   Bolton is an excrecency 00:01  |  Kaled 23/01/08   35.   The psycho-right in retreate 00:04  |  Mark Lincoln 23/01/08   36.   Molten Bolton & The N.Korea Cartel... 00:22  |  Stephen. 23/01/08   37.   The neo-cons are history in America 00:30  |  Wendy 23/01/08   38.   # 31 Axel. War was good for German economy. 00:36  |  Stephen. 23/01/08   39.   Watch out Israel and USA 01:12  |  Daniel 23/01/08   40.   # 12. Paul Wood. 01:15  |  Stephen. 23/01/08   41.   hey axel. wise up - "It ain`t over- till it`s over." 01:18  |  yoggi bera-yankees 23/01/08   42.   The Torah Forbids Jews To Concentrate and Form Govt 01:26  |  Absolute Truth 23/01/08   43.   Stephen: what a stupid man you are! 01:27  |  David James Vickery 23/01/08   44.   So he won`t "okay" it. 01:27  |  Fortuna Benmayor 23/01/08   45.   A POSSIBLE COUP D`ETA AGAINST BUSH 01:44  |  indrajaya 23/01/08   46.   Sullivan # 4 01:56  |  hoshhosh 23/01/08   47.   Collective punishment 01:58  |  the independent 23/01/08   48.   Iran is having a hard time right now 02:41  |  GPS 23/01/08   49.   Why is Bolton only in israeli newspapers? 04:15  |  Jon 23/01/08   50.   Absolute nonsense, #42 05:49  |  Polybios 23/01/08   51.   Bolton for PM , Bomb Iran 06:48  |  Joseph E . 23/01/08   52.   #49 The truth will always drown evil. 06:49  |  Absolute Truth 23/01/08   53.   # 42 Absolute Truth @ God`s Kingdom / Beyond Imagination 06:57  |  Joseph E . 23/01/08   54.   Israel tries to rekindle interest into an attack upon Iran 07:16  |  Natallie Durson 23/01/08   55.   jon your conspiracy theories at work 07:46  |  Genuine Tosefta 23/01/08   56.   #43 vickery needs courses in information 09:02  |  v hardman 23/01/08   57.   Paul Wood #12 to Rowan Berkeley #7 09:27  |  S 23/01/08   58.   # 43. Ignorance or your English just aint good. 12:32  |  Stephen. 23/01/08   59.   #4 Yaakov is right 14:00  |  Advocate4Liberty 23/01/08   60.   Bolton is a Zionist Israeli #49 19:00  |  Janet 23/01/08   61.   Israel tries to rekindle interest into an attack upon Iran 20:24  |  Shlomo 23/01/08   62.   "The Ugly American" 21:29  |  fastfalcon 23/01/08   63.   Tehran go boom! 02:14  |  Allah 24/01/08   64.   Attack Isreal not Iran 07:19  |  Joe F 24/01/08

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