Is Israel the "Bad Cop" on Iran?

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech at the UN put forth Israel’s view of Iran, but Israel is in a tough position.

As I write in Foreign Affairs today, Israelis "do not wish to play the bad cop role in an American game with Iran -- and, in fact, the metaphor is misleading. In the good cop/bad cop routine, both officers are on the same team and are carefully coordinating their approaches. In this case, the Israelis fear, the bad cop wants to see the criminals jailed, and the good cop is open to a sweet plea bargain. If that’s what the Iranians get, they will sit back and smile while the United States and Israel end up in a bitter argument."

The full text appears at the Foreign Affairs web site, here.