U.S. senators: Iraq strike could lead to 'Arab-Israeli' war

WASHINGTON - Prominent members of the U.S. Congress warned Sunday that a unilateral U.S. attack on Iraq could draw in Israel and lead to a wider Arab-Israeli war.

Senator Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat and chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said if the Israelis became involved "it becomes an Arab-Israeli war."

Biden and others appearing on Sunday television talk shows responded to a New York Times report that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had told the Bush administration he would hit back if Iraq attacks Israel.

A source in Sharon's office contested that report, however, repeating the frequently stated policy that Israel reserves the right to respond. "It does not have to mean attack," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On CNN's "Late Edition," Foreign Minister Shimon Peres would not say what Israel would do in the event of an Iraqi attack, but made it clear his country would coordinate its response with the United States.

"We are not the ones to tell the United States what to do," Peres said. "We understand there is not going to be two wars and there are not going to be two supreme commands. So whatever will be, if it will be, should be coordinated."

Biden, appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," said if Israel responded to an attack no Muslim nation, including such critical allies as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, could support the U.S. effort against Iraq, even behind the scenes.

"And you would find probably every embassy in the Middle East burned to the ground before it went too far," Biden warned.

Senator Richard Shelby, ranking Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said any retaliation by the Israelis could mean "a widespread war in the Middle East."

Shelby, also speaking on "Face the Nation," said, "And also we'd be perceived, we'd be fighting side-by-side with the Israelis against all the Arab interests, and the war could spread."

The New York Times said Sharon had told senior American official privately of Israel's intention to act, unlike in the 1991 Persian Gulf war, when dozens of Iraqi Scud missiles struck without an Israeli response.