Tag Archives: Jay Carney

White House on Israeli leaks: ‘We share a great deal of information’ about Iran

Posted on by

White House spokesman Jay Carney responded to press questions Monday about Israeli leaks of alleged U.S. intelligence on Iran.

“We have a shared interest with Israel, countries in the region and around the world in preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and we cooperate accordingly,” Carney told journalists aboard Air Force One en route to Nebraska Monday when asked about Israeli leaks of U.S. Iran intelligence.

Asked again if leaks are complicating the matter, Carney didn’t exactly deny that any such leaks had occurred.

“We, as you know, have a robust, cooperative relationship with Israel on security matters; we share a great deal of information, and especially about Iran,” he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak raised eyebrows in the United States last week when he said that a new U.S. intelligence report “making the rounds” in Washington “transforms the Iranian situation into an even more urgent one.”

“Apparently a report by American intelligence agencies – I don’t know if it’s under the title NIE or under another title – which is making the rounds of high offices …comes very close to our own estimate, I would say, as opposed to earlier American estimates,” Barak told Israel Radio August 9, CBS News reported. (However, the last US NIE on Iran is from late 2010, experts told Al-Monitor, who said it would not be unusual if there was a new, more focused report on a narrow aspect of Iran’s nuclear program.)

Carney reiterated Monday that the US administration and its allies believe “there remains time and space to pursue a diplomatic course” with Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that “they had not yet made a decision about taking action, kinetic action,” Carney noted. Continue reading →

NATO offers solidarity with Turkey but muted on response over downed plane

Posted on by

NATO ambassadors, meeting in Brussels Tuesday, expressed strong solidarity with member nation Turkey over Syria’s downing of a Turkish military reconnaissance plane last week (June 22). But the 28-member military alliance remained muted on the looming question of what further action it may be willing to contemplate, vowing only to “remain seized” of developments.

“Let me make this clear: The security of the Alliance is indivisible,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a press briefing following the meeting of the North Atlantic Council Tuesday.  “We stand together with Turkey in the spirit of strong solidarity.”

“I would certainly expect that such an incident won’t happen again,” Rasmussen said. “Should anything happen Allies will remain seized of development, we closely monitor the situation and if necessary we will consult and discuss what else could be done.”

The White House, echoing the expressions of solidarity from Brussels, also praised Ankara’s “measured response” so far.

“The United States and NATO stand in solidarity with Turkey,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told journalists on Air Force One Tuesday.  “We will work with Turkey and other partners to hold the Assad regime accountable and to continue to push forward for Syria’s needed political transition.”

“We commend Turkey for its measured response thus far,” Carney added.

The meeting in Brussels came as reports emerged Tuesday suggesting the downed Turkish aircraft–an unarmed RF-4E Phantom reconnaissance fighter jet–may have been conducting a spying mission over Syria. But Turkey’s deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc, while acknowledging in comments Monday the craft was outfitted for espionage, “strongly denied it was doing so on this particular mission,” the New York Times reported, in an article noting that the downed 2-seat aircraft “has the ability to gather high-resolution imagery about 60 miles from the target, aviation experts said.”

Syria says the plane was shot down in self-defense after straying into Syrian airspace and that it did not know it was a Turkish plane. Ankara vehemently denies this, hinting it has some  technological evidence–such as intercepted radar communications–to prove it.

Back in Brussels Tuesday, the military alliance did not discuss possibly declaring the plane downing an attack on the entire alliance, Rasmussen indicated. Such an invocation of NATO’s Article 5 has only once occurred—after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Continue reading →