Overview

• U.S. defense leaders are debating whether to commit American aircraft to bolster Israel’s strikes on Iran’s underground enrichment sites.
• Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, has asserted that Israel can meet its defined objectives without U.S. assistance.
• Iran nuclear expert David Albright says operations such as cutting power or destroying ventilation systems could render key sites inoperable.
• Critics warn that direct U.S. involvement could entangle America in a protracted regional conflict and strain munitions reserves.
• Analysts caution that bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities may fail to halt its weapons program and could prompt destabilizing regime-change efforts.