Fred Thompson said Israel
is showing restraint in dealing with rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip and warned
of “consequences” should Israel
have to face Iran
by itself.
Israelis “have gone to incredible lengths to stop the
war against them without harming Palestinian non-combatants,” the probable
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S.
senator from Tennessee wrote Thursday
in a column on Townhall.com, a conservative website. “But make no mistake,
Israel is at
war. The elected Hamas government regularly repeats its official promise to
destroy Israel
entirely and replace it with an Islamic state. Hamas openly took credit for
killing one woman and wounding dozens more last week alone.”
Thompson suggested that Israel
would have a case for striking Iran
should the Islamic Republic develop a nuclear weapon. “If the world
doesn’t act to stop Iran’s
nuclear ambitions, it must be prepared for the consequences of Israel
defending itself,” he wrote.
Thompson, an actor, just quit the “Law and Order”
TV series. Analysts say that if he formally joins the Republican race, he will
be in the top tier of candidates.
