Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran
Israel's armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed. The order came after Israeli intelligence warned the government that Iran was operating enrichment facilities, believed to be small and concealed in civilian locations.
Defence sources in Israel believe the end of March to be the “point of no return” after which Iran will have the technical expertise to enrich uranium in sufficient quantities to build a nuclear warhead in two to four years. The order to prepare for a possible attack went through the Israeli defence ministry to the chief of staff. Sources inside special forces command confirmed that “G” readiness — the highest stage — for an operation was announced last week.
Gholamreza Aghazadeah, head of the Atomic Organisation of Iran, warned yesterday that his country would produce nuclear fuel. “There is no doubt that we have to carry out uranium enrichment,” he said. He promised it would not be done during forthcoming talks with European negotiators. But although Iran insists it wants only nuclear energy, Israeli intelligence has concluded it is deceiving the world and has no intention of giving up what it believes is its right to develop nuclear weapons.
A “massive” Israeli intelligence operation has been underway since Iran was designated the “top priority for 2005”, according to security sources. Cross-border operations and signal intelligence from a base established by the Israelis in northern Iraq are said to have identified a number of Iranian uranium enrichment sites unknown to the the IAEA. Since Israel destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, “it has been understood that the lesson is, don’t have one site, have 50 sites”, a White House source said.
If a military operation is approved, Israel will use air and ground forces against several nuclear targets in the hope of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme for years, according to Israeli military sources. It is believed Israel would call on its top special forces brigade, Unit 262 — the equivalent of the SAS — and the F-15I strategic 69 Squadron, which can strike Iran and return to Israel without refuelling.
“If we opt for the military strike,” said a source, “it must be not less than 100% successful. It will resemble the destruction of the Egyptian air force in three hours in June 1967.”
The March deadline set for military readiness also stems from fears that Iran is improving its own intelligence-gathering capability. In October it launched its first satellite, the Sinah-1, which was carried by a Russian space launcher. “The Iranians’ space programme is a matter of deep concern to us,” said an Israeli defence source. “If and when we launch an attack on several Iranian targets, the last thing we need is Iranian early warning received by satellite.”
Russia last week signed an estimated $1 billion contract — its largest since 2000 — to sell Iran advanced Tor-M1 systems capable of destroying guided missiles and laser-guided bombs from aircraft. “Once the Iranians get the Tor-M1, it will make our life much more difficult,” said an Israeli air force source. “The installation of this system can be relatively quick and we can’t waste time on this one.”
The date set for possible Israeli strikes on Iran also coincides with Israel’s general election on March 28, prompting speculation that Sharon may be sabre-rattling for votes. Benjamin Netanyahu, the frontrunner to lead Likud into the elections, said that if Sharon did not act against Iran, “then when I form the new Israeli government, we’ll do what we did in the past against Saddam’s reactor, which gave us 20 years of tranquillity”.
Link:
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=137111&D=2005-12-11&HC=1
Let's hope Israel takes care of business--again. I don't think we have the will power for the US to do it.
Aussie beach erupts into violence
About 5,000 people have gathered at Sydney's Cronulla Beach, where locals have vowed to fight Lebanese men they blame for violence in area.
Two men of middle eastern appearance were seen being pursued and attacked as they tried to flee the crowd.
Thousands of people waving Australian flags have gathered on the beach in Sydney's south in expectation of a fight.
The atmosphere had become more like a street party until one man of Middle Eastern appearance was chased into a hotel bistro. Within a minute the hotel was surrounded by several thousand people, who were screaming and chanting.
Police have been forced to stop traffic on Elouera Road, which runs along the foreshore, as the crowd, also chanting pro-Australian slogans, spilled on to the roadway.
Two men chased by the crowd were being protected by police who had moved in on Northies Hotel, on the foreshore, where at least one had sought refuge, it said.
Broken beer bottles scattered Elouera Road, with many in the crowd drinking heavily.
Mounted police and other units are maintaining a heavy presence at the beach today after two rival groups used text messages to urge attacks on each other.
Some of the text messages encouraged people to carry out vigilante style attacks, and some message had racial undertones.
One of the messages had urged "Aussies" to take revenge against "Lebs and wogs". Another urged locals to rally at point on the beach today to take retaliation against "middle eastern" gangs.
As the crowd moved along the beach and foreshore area today, one man on the back of a ute began to shout "No more Lebs" – a chant picked up by the group around him.
Others in the crowd, carrying Australian flags and dressed in Australian shirts, yelled "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ... Oi, Oi, Oi".
North Cronulla Beach, in Sydney's south, was the scene of two violent incidents last week – an attack on two lifeguards on Sunday and a brawl later in the week in which youths turned on a media crew. Authorities have been calling for calm since those attacks, which are believed to have sparked the text calls for attacks between the two groups.
Premier Morris Iemma and Police Minister Carl Scully have warned people against taking the law into their own hands.
"Let there be no mistake – if anyone comes to this beach on the weekend with the intention of causing trouble, the police will respond with the full force of the law to maintain order," Mr Iemma said yesterday.
Link:
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=137112&D=2005-12-11&HC=2
Great OPSEC (OPerational SECurity) here. Nothing like catching an enemy completely off guard and unprepared for your attack!
IMHO, Iran has learned the IRAQ lesson and dispersed it's facilities as well as hardened them against attack. This is going to require an invasion of ground forces (even if it is only SpecOps to target certain locations, there are going to be Jewish "boots on the ground." I wonder what mutual alliance agreements will kick in when this occurs?
There is little doubt that Israel has several atomic devices, though there is some question as to whether or not their capability extends to the arena of thermonuclear weapons. I have little doubt that they will use them, should they feel their backs are to the wall. For the Arab world to regard any attack on Iran as an excuse to Jihad conventional forces against the State of Israel, is literal suicide.
What's our stake? The oil of course! Since we seem to lack the essential GUTS to sink more wells where they need to be sunk and where the oil resides, we're stuck with foreign (OPEC) sources. It would not bode well for our economy to see the oil fields become irradiated and unusable.