US military chief heads to Israel

WASHINGTON - US military chief Admiral Michael Mullen will be arriving for an official visit to Israel in the coming days for discussions on the Iranian nuclear threat, the US Department of Defense confirmed on Wednesday. Meanwhile, speculation is growing in Washington that Israel is exerting pressure on the United States to launch a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The press office of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that Mullen left the US on Tuesday "to go overseas to visit counterparts as well as combatant commands, and Israel is not his only stop."

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell also tried to play down the report, saying the trip had been on the schedule for "months."

"I believe this is a routine opportunity for Chairman Mullen to engage his counterpart in Israel on military-to-military matters, as he does in much of his travels around the world," Morrell said.

"I will say this, though: Obviously, when Chairman Mullen goes to Israel and speaks with the Israelis, they will no doubt discuss the threat posed by Iran, as we discuss it in this building, in other buildings in this town."

White House: No Israeli pressure 

The White House rejected reports of Israeli officials pressuring the US to take military action before Bush leaves office. Spokeswoman Dana Perino said the United States and its allies, including Israel, wanted a diplomatic solution.

When pressed on the matter Perino replied: "This is a rumor that I hear quite a lot from reporters being brought to us. And what I can tell you is that President Bush believes that we can solve this issue diplomatically, and that everyone's preference is to solve it diplomatically, not just here in the United States, but with our allies and certainly with Israel."

Earlier this week former US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said he believes Israel will stage a raid against Iran's nuclear facilities if Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama wins the upcoming US presidential elections.

Bolton said the IAF would likely strike in the interim term between election day (November 4th) and the inauguration (January 20th 2009) – while George W. Bush is still in office.

"I don’t think they will do anything before our election because they don’t want to affect it. And they’d have to make a judgment whether to go during the remainder of President Bush’s term in office or wait for his successor."

In a related interview with the British 'Daily Telegraph,' Bolton said he believed the Arab world would be "pleased" by an Israeli strike.

Their reaction, he told the paper "will be positive privately. I think there'll be public denunciations but no action."

News agencies contributed to this report