Posted on 01/17/2006 10:10:01 AM PST by robowombat
I would hope that our military assets are already in place - Iran has not been sitting quietly in the corner since the Iraq war, and it has even managed to cause considerable problems for us in Iraq with its timed releases of AQ nutcases across its border.
The longer we wait, the worse it's going to be. That said, I don't know enough to have any thoughts about how or when we should go about it; still, this is obviously something in which delay is probably going to benefit them more than it will benefit us.
Iraq built the Osirak nuclear facility near Baghdad with French assistance. When intelligence confirmed Iraq's intention of producing weapons there, the Israeli government decided to attack. However, the raid would have to occur before the reactor went “hot” so as not to endanger the surrounding community.
Every detail of the mission was planned meticulously. The target was distant: 1,100 km from Israel. Preparations included building target mockups and flying full scale dressrehearsal missions. The aircrews were selected from the cream of the Israel Air Force's (IAF) fighter corps.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ChiefofStaff, Lt. Gen. Rafael (Raful) Eitan, briefed the pilots personally. Displaying unusual emotion, he told them: “The alternative is our destruction.”
At 15:55 on June 7, the first F15 and F16's roared off the runway from Etzion Air Force Base in the south. After a tense but uneventful lowlevel navigation route, the fighters reached their target. They popped up at 17:35 and quickly identified the dome gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight.
Enemy defenses were caught by surprise and opened fire too late. In one minute and twenty seconds, the reactor lay in ruins.
The way home was quiet, bringing the mission to its successful completion. It was a perfectly orchestrated opera conducted by the IAF Commander, Maj. Gen. David Ivry. At least for the present, the atomic genie of Baghdad was put back into his bottle.
Iran knows what they are going to do and knows when they're going to do it. That's their advantage.
Somebody needs to put Iran back in its bottle, but the problem is that Iran has actually learned from the earlier strikes on Islamic weaponry. (The Iranians are not Arabs, which may explain their ability to learn and develop - pity they don't use it for more positive ends!)
I gather their weapons sites are now very dispersed - and, since we have a track record of avoiding mosques and residential areas, guess where they are?
I know. I think you've summed it up.
In the meantime, we're just waiting to respond, assuming that their first attack is going to be pretty feeble. Maybe it will be, maybe not. I am hoping that behind the scenes we have a more aggressive plan worked out. Time will tell, I guess.
Iran has learned from the past, but unlike most nations, Israel doesn't waste it's time preparing to fight yesterday's war. The Osirak raid was in 1981; I have all faith that Israel's intelligence and operational capabilities have matured proportionately.
U.N to Iran:
We are very very angry with you. So we are writing you this letter, telling you how angry we are.
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