Posted on 04/09/2006 3:17:23 PM PDT by freedom44
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Middle East News
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Israel's military was said to be unable to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities.
A former leading U.S. intelligence chief said Israel does not have sufficient assets or support for a major attack required to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program. The intelligence chief cited the absence of Israeli aircraft carriers and the need for warplanes to enter the air space of Arab rivals.
"The United States is the only country in the world that has capability of carrying out the estimated thousand strike sorties needed to destroy the Iran's nuclear program," [Ret.] Col. Patrick Lang, director of the Middle East section of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said. "The objective has to be not to destroy the program, but to set it back a desired number of years."
Lang told a March 23 seminar at the Washington-based Nixon Center that Israel's military could not sustain an air campaign against Iran. He cited the more than 1,500 kilometers from Israel to Iran as well as a shortage of Israeli combat aircraft.
A Daily Briefing of Major News Stories on Iran:
Okay, no problem. We take out the nukes and let the Israelis decapitate the regime.
Israel joing in would only make things worse
Cruise missles cant do the job
"While I agree Israel should be helping, it would create other problems. The Arab countries would never allow an attack, which involved Israel. Not that we should care what those countries think."
IMHO, I don't believe the Arab countries would do a d*** thing. Sure, they'll congregate in the streets and whine and burn effigies of Bush and chant "death to Israel" like the bunch of idiots they are, but they are too afraid of Israel and wouldn't want to get nailed by them too. Israel could not only destroy Iran's nukes, but Iran as well if they wanted along with the entire region. Israel is way more advanced now than they were in the 6 days war, and there's a reason it was called the 6 days war. That was how long it took for Israel to clean house.
"we in the USA should do much to help", you mean we don't do much? Give me a break. Without the US there would be no Israel. Look at the BILLIONS that we send there. They purchase our military equipment with our money. Please. They better do much for us and be involved.
"So let it be written; so let it be done!"
If this confrontation with Iran is a fight to the death scenario as projected on another thread (title Iran's Nukes) which I will ping you to, then yes, I agree that we have to throw everything in the air, land and sea that we can get a hold of, including, of course, Israel's arsenal in all its forms, as they have the most to lose.
However, if this is just a preemptive surgical strike, with a reasonable chance of succeeding, and some other Middle Eastern countries are going to give us overflight and landing rights (because Iran scares the bejeezus out of them, too), but those countries will only help on the condition that Israel not be allowed to bomb a Muslim country....then...
keeping Israel out of the fight so the other Muslim countries who are in the fight don't offend their Muslim citizens (i.e. stirring furor in the average idiot who watches al Jazeera) may make sense.
This is a difficult and very dangerous chess game, and none of the options should be off the table as the moves are thought through.
in my opinion.
To read todays thread click here.
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People tend to underestimate the power that Israel represents. I couldn't agree more with your opinion. I think that it would serve us all well to remember that according to the Bible, Israel and it's people are the "chosen people" of God. It's amazing to me that the muslims call the US and others "infidels"....who is really the infidel?
Thanks to the late Jim Kelly for this classic:
http://home.comcast.net/~jackhubing/pogo2.gif
Thanks to the late Jim Kelly
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