[robertpaulsen]

"but I doubt that Pentagon would want to deal with the fallout resulting from an Israeli Airstrike."

Nice choice of words.

[BuffaloJack]

Any negotiation with the USA or anyone else is a distraction. The fact that negotiations are happening means that they've already decided on a course of action. The USA, of course, will deny permission, then look the other way as some electronic or radar malfunction is used as the official reason that we didn't see any Israeli warplanes. This gives us an out and allows the good guys to pound the pogies out of the bad guys in the process. The Russians will be watching the whole thing and all we have to do is play Sergeant Schultz ("I know nothing!").