Thanks for the compliment of asking my opinion. Really, I don't know, but I suspect that there's little connection between Israel's current war with the Palestinian Authority and America's apparently coming war with Iraq. It is true that Israel is under U.S. pressure to not push for victory too hard until after our Iraq D-Day. On the other hand, pressure on Israel from overseas democracies to act weakly is always present. Plus, there's always pressure from Egypt (and maybe Jordan) that if Israel goes too far, they'll break their peace treaties. It's also important that Israel not offend Turkey, its crucial Moslem ally. Then there's the constant pressure of the big Israeli left. You did know a lot of Jews are liberals, didn't you :-)
All these factors mean that there never is a good time for Israel to make preemptive strikes. Out of office right wing politicians, like Netanyahu, claim that if only they were in office, things would be different. Not really true. It is always tough for a democracy to mobilize properly for war. The U.S. is a little different in that we put up with a bit less than most other democracies. This is why we are, despite the one terrible day of terrorist success last September, are safer than most.