Q. How aggres­sive can Obama be in insisting to the Israelis that a mil­i­tary strike might be in AmericaÂ’s worst interest?


Brzezinski: We are not exactly impo­tent little babies. They have to fly over our air­space in Iraq. Are we just going to sit there and watch?

Q. What if they fly over anyway?

Brzezinski: Well, we have to be serious about denying them that right. That means a denial where you aren’t just saying it. If they fly over, you go up and con­front them. They have the choice of turning back or not. No one wishes for this but it could be a Lib­erty in reverse. [Israeli jet fighters and tor­pedo boats attacked the USS Lib­erty in inter­na­tional waters, off the Sinai Penin­sula, during the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel later claimed the ship was the object of friendly fire.]