Nuclear umbrella

Barack Obama is set to do what his new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has advocated: Bring Israel under our nuclear umbrella, which means that if Iran or some other nation nuke Israel, the USA will nuke them back. From Obama’s atomic umbrella: U.S. nuclear strike if Iran nukes Israel – Haaretz – Israel News :

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s administration will offer Israel a “nuclear umbrella” against the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran, a well-placed American source said earlier this week. The source, who is close to the new administration, said the U.S. will declare that an attack on Israel by Tehran would result in a devastating U.S. nuclear response against Iran.

But America’s nuclear guarantee to Israel could also be interpreted as a sign the U.S. believes Iran will eventually acquire nuclear arms.

Secretary of state-designate Hillary Clinton had raised the idea of a nuclear guarantee to Israel during her campaign for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidency. During a debate with Obama in April, Clinton said that Israel and Arab countries must be given “deterrent backing.” She added, “Iran must know that an attack on Israel will draw a massive response.”

Clinton also proposed that the American nuclear umbrella be extended to other countries in the region, like Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, if they agree to relinquish their own nuclear ambitions.

Good idea? Is that an adequate response to Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon, let them do it but trust to deterrence?