Something is decidedly fishy here. The administration was seemingly all in favor of blowing the poop out of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, and then suddenly, in just a few days, they slammed on the brakes across the board. I remember it distinctly.
This was not, could not be a political decision. It takes weeks to get the whole administration, any administration, to change direction in normal circumstances. This means that the reason is purely military. And something so undeniable that there is no argument against it.
This means one of two things: either the US has the means to totally, absolutely, neutralize any nuclear threat from Iran, which is what I suspect; or Russia has threatened to go to war if the US attacks Iran. I think this is highly unlikely, despite Medvedev’s and Putin’s recent military pushiness.
What is known is that the US, because of President Bush’s unilateral action, has at least 300 PAC-3 anti-missiles surrounding Iran, as well as several other anti-missiles systems, such as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), which augments the Israeli’s own ARROW anti-missile defense system.
And while defenses can be very good, it is unlikely that they are ever perfect. So this implies an offensive anti-missile capability as well.
The obvious answer is an in-theater airborne anti-missile laser system, or likely more than one. The Boeing YAL-1A, adapted to use a high power solid state pulse laser instead of a chemical laser, might be able to take out so many missiles in launch phase or even on the ground or in the silo, so that any missile that was able to get to altitude would be a sitting duck for conventional anti-missiles.
If such aircraft with such capabilities are in theater, it means that Iran has only a very limited window in which it could launch a sneak attack. For as soon as the US had an inkling of an attack, these aircraft would be in the air, and the missile defenses would be on full alert.
Maybe....maybe not.
I'm 100% convinced that Israel is going to do what she is going to do, matters not what the USA says.
If they can get some help from the USA, the better off they are....but they know they can't put the USA in the spotlight to take direct heat for their actions.
Smoke and mirrors, I mean diplomacy, at it's finest.
Just info, nothing more......
I've had my feet on a dune overlooking a runway at Cairo West - military base just outside of Cairo.
Perfect pattern of bombs (repaired) going down that runway...twas a thing of beauty. Shot up EAF planes just pushed off to the side......
The story was a 4-6 ship IAF flight of F-4's took off, low-level, out over the Med. After a bit they did a tight formation - real tight - climbed, and turned around.....
Then radioed Cario IAP that they were "flight xxxx" and had an "in-flight-emergency" and needed to land ASAP. Cario let them come in, then at the last, the IAF flight did a hard right and balls-to-the-wall to the military base...
Many years ago I was looking at that repaired runway in Egypt...I remember giggling, thinking, "now that is how you f*** someone up!"
Israel is just full of surprises.......
and my $$ is on them every time!
“The Boeing YAL-1A, adapted to use a high power solid state pulse laser instead of a chemical laser, might be able to take out so many missiles in launch phase or even on the ground or in the silo,...”
In the silo?