Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, ended his brief visit to Israel Friday with a series of closed-door meetings with Israeli leaders.

Dempsey told Israeli President Shimon Peres the Iranian threat was a "challenge shared by Jerusalem and Washington." 

There was speculation that Dempsey's visit was to convince the Jewish state not to attack unilaterally and allow sanctions more time to work. 

During his visit, Dempsey also visited Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial and museum. He laid a wreath in memory of the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust.

"I have studied the Holocaust and visited concentration camps in Europe," the general wrote in a letter. "Nothing is so profound and moving as this site."

He pledged that the U.S. was "committed to ensuring that such a human tragedy never happens again."

--Published Jan. 20, 2012