US, Israel defense chiefs meet

 
Ehud Barak, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and Leon Panetta meet at the Pentagon
Photo / Dept. of Defense, Chad McNeeley

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday met with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak, discussing security issues in the Middle East as talks of a potential Israeli strike against Iran rages on. The meeting took place at the Pentagon, and Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also participated.

After the meeting, Pentagon press secretary George Little shed little light on whether Panetta urged Israel not to strike Iran. "They discussed the US-Israel defense relationship and a range of regional issues including Syria, Iran and the ongoing changes in the Middle East," he said.

Netanyahu to 'break new ground' in AIPAC speech

 
Netanyahu at AIPAC in 2011
Photo / AP

Government sources said Netanyahu is spending considerable time working on his speech to the annual AIPAC policy conference Monday evening. The sources said this speech will not just be one of platitudes, but rather a "policy speech" that will "break new ground."

Netanyahu and his top advisors have been working on the speech for a number of days. Outside of the brief statements he and Obama are expected to give to the press after their meeting Monday morning – a statement the two sides are working on -- the AIPAC speech will be Netanyahu's only public comments in Washington.

Netanyahu is expected to address both Iran's nuclear march, and the stymied diplomatic process with the Palestinians.