Extraordinary Traffic Between Tel Aviv and Washington

If you had just emerged from a cave, and had no idea if Israel and Iran were at war, and the only data point you had was the extraordinary traffic between Washington and Tel Aviv -- every senior defense official of both Israel and the U.S. more or less continuously in flight to either the Pentagon or the Kirya, the Israeli defense ministry in Tel Aviv -- you would probably make the assumption that open warfare had already begun, or that it was about to begin. Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, is now heading, again, to Washington, a few days before his prime minister; the traffic toward Israel has been relentless, as well: Not a week goes by in which the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, or the director of national intelligence, or other figures of equivalent rank, is not heading toward Israel. Presumably, the Israeli message is, We can't wait any longer. The American message is, please wait, we've got this. It definitely feels as if we are reaching a climax in this ongoing drama. I hope not, of course. I believe there is time. But the American reaction to the Israelis suggests that the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu believes there is no time.