In an effort to reach out to his Israeli critics, Bush conceded last weekend in an interview with the Hebrew language Yedioth Ahronot, “In essence what the report said was that Iran had a secret plan to develop nuclear weapons... to conclude from the intelligence report that there is no Iranian plan to develop nuclear weapons is only a partial truth.”

Whether this new perspective is enough to hold Israel from striking out on its own remains to be seen. In the words of Gilbert Kahn, professor of political science at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, Washington has abandoned its main ally to face an existential threat. “It appears that the state of Israel may once again be facing a potential existential threat alone,” Dr Kahn said.

Israel, he added, can’t afford ‘mistakes’ by its allies, especially when they pose an existential threat. “They need to refocus the US on Iran’s nuclear ambitions despite the new assessment, persuade other nations to keep the economic pressure on Tehran, and harness the Saudis’ overwhelming self-interest. Time is fleeting.”

The writer is former diplomatic editor of the London ‘Observer’ ShyamBhatia@compuserve.com