
The United States would find it difficult not to join an Israeli  air strike in the event that Jerusalem decides to strike Iran's nuclear  facilities, a former top-ranking U.S. Air Force officer told participants at a  conference this weekend organized by a Washington think tank. 
Charles F.  Wald, former deputy commander of United States European Command, said a military  strike on Iran could set back the Islamic Republic's alleged nuclear weapons  program by several years, but cautioned, "I don't think Israel can do it alone."  
The former commander's remarks were made at an annual gathering of  financial backers of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who were  joined by diplomats, journalists and analysts
"They have a fantastic military, but not big enough for weeks or months of  attacks - hundreds of sorties per day," he said. 
Wald said that should  "our great ally Israel" decide to take military action to prevent Iran from  acquiring a nuclear weapon, "pressure will mount for us to stand by Israel."
He also criticized the U.S. government and military leadership for not devoting  enough attention to Iran's nuclear program in recent years due to their  involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
Wald was also asked to comment on  the suggestion by Jimmy Carter's former national security adviser Zbigniew  Brzezinski last month that the U.S. shoot down Israeli warplanes if they try to  fly over Iraq to attack Iran. 
"The chance of that," Wald said, "is zero  - no, less than zero." 
Last month, Wald and two former U.S. senators  authored an article calling for U.S. President Barack Obama to begin  preparations for implementing a military option against Iran. 
The goal  of such preparations, they wrote, would be not only to achieve military  readiness for such a strike, but to persuade Tehran of the seriousness of the  administration's intentions and convince Israel that it need not act alone.