Israeli forces operating inside Iraq, hunting missiles: newsletter

Agence France-Presse | September 27, 2002

[HAL9000]

LONDON, Sept 27 (AFP) - Israel special forces are operating inside western Iraq, pinpointing locations where Iraqi missile lauchers might be positioned, the Jane's Foreign Report newsletter said in its latest issue, received Friday.

The newsletter said the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit was ordered into Iraq "to find and identify places used by, or likely to be used by, Iraqi Scud missile launchers."

"Our information is that neither Israel nor the United States have a clue about what, if anything, Saddam Hussein is hiding," the newsletter said, referring to the Iraqi leader.

"It was this ignorance that persuaded the (Israeli) prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to assign the Sateret Matkal to a job that is sensitive and dangerous, " it said.

During the 1991 Gulf war Iraq fired a total of 39 Scud missiles over Jordan into Israel. A decade earlier Israeli warplanes had intervened to bomb and destroy an Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad.

Jane's Foreign Report said there were only certain locations from where Iraq's remaining Scud missiles could be launched at Israeli targets, given their limited range.

"Matkal's mission is to detect early preparations," it said, adding: "The Israelis believe the Iraqis have hidden their Scud launchers with great care."

[ExSES]

For whatever it is worth..., I hope this report has some validity!

[Dog]

Janes is a pretty good source..

[Live free or die]

Exactly...if this came from DEBKA or something it would be a different story. Jane's is usually right.

[JSteff]

If nothing else stories like this will have thousands of Iraqi troops in up in the north west looking for Israeli commandos than in in the south waiting for us.
That will work. But don't forget a story a few weeks ago about the Israeli airbase in southern Jordan. True or not, that works for us too.... but definately works against Iraq.

[RightWhale]

AFP is mainstream. No reason to give it other than a modality 1.

[mikegi]

I get a little tired of the "Israel is the master of war" nonsense. Oh yeah, we're 'ignorant' and the Israelis have to come in and save the day. What a pile of BS.

The IDF's reputation is based on wars with Arabs. When we fought the Arabs in the Gulf War they were surrendering to our UAVs and news reporters. That's the quality of opponent the IDF faced.

Israel should step aside, shut the ---- up, and let us take care of business.

[AdA$tra]

We have learned from last time (what we already knew) that SCUDS are simple machines. They are gravity guided missles. In order to hit anywhere near the intended target they have to lauch from specific "SCUD boxes." I have seen a map showing said boxes. It greatly reduces the areas we have to search. Our ability to keep them under scrutiny has greatly improved since last time as well. The advantages of unleashing Israel as a teamate this time are nearly infinite by my calculation.

[Diogenesis]

It is good America has an active alliance with Israel.

Compare with "friends" in Germany.

[katana]

I seem to remember an article a few months ago about a recent exercise in which US planes (not sure if it was Navy or USAF or both) were matched against the Israeli airforce. They kicked our ass. They can't match our (or the Arabs) numbers but they more than make up for it with the quality of training. If this article is true, it's excellent. If it's not, then it's great disinformation. Either way, the Iraqis are screwed.

[Cicero]

Why?

[mikegi]

I'm sure there was an 'exercise' where the Taliban Air Force "kicked our ass", too. Apparently, we lose all the exercises we participate in (wasn't there a recent one where the 'Iranians' sank all our boats and defeated our invasion force???).

Look, I would be more than happy if there was a joint IDF-US sweep through the Middle East but it ain't gonna happen. Because of this, the Israelis need to mind their own business and not complicate matters for us.

[Bedford Forrest]

You are correct except that the compex you refer to was between select IAF units and several of our Navy squadrons. Our people did not acquit themselves well. This occurred during the second term of the Great Cowardly SinkWanker, when his quisling cabal's endless depredations against naval aviation were having serious effects on materiel readiness, training and morale. So, this single episode does not support the conclusion that the IAF is supernormal. That conclusion would be supportable if and only if the Great Cowardly Quisling had been trashing the IAF for five or six years. Let us hope that NavAir is well on the road to recovery. Certainly their conduct of air strikes deep into Afghanistan for six or eight weeks [while the AirFarce tacair people waited for their 15,000' runways, fuel dumps and GSE to be put in place]indicates that they are up to speed, however short of materiel they may be. P.S. Nothing against the BUFF's and the B-1's. They were out#%#*ingstanding.

[Aquinasfan]

Cool. But what do they do if they find one? These things aren't permanently dug in, are they?

[mikegi]

Why? Because we insist upon maintaining relations with the Arab despots. A joint US-IDF military operation against an Arab country would upset those relations (and possibly cut off a large chunk of our oil supply). We don't need that complication. Besides, we can do anything the IDF can and do it better.

[John Lenin]

Yea, we don't want to upset the Saudis, they might send more pilots to the US.

[ChadGore]

Re: Either way, the Iraqis are screwed.

Agreed. Saddom has no choice but inventory his scuds and attempt comunication with the troops manning them which will provide usefill sigint.

[dixiechick2000]

" Israel special forces are operating inside western Iraq, pinpointing locations where Iraqi missile lauchers might be positioned,..."

There was an attack about 3 weeks ago involving over one hundred aircraft from the USA and UK. Wasn't that in western Iraq?

[Always A Marine]

I get a little tired of the "Israel is the master of war" nonsense. Oh yeah, we're 'ignorant' and the Israelis have to come in and save the day. What a pile of BS... The IDF's reputation is based on wars with Arabs. When we fought the Arabs in the Gulf War they were surrendering to our UAVs and news reporters. That's the quality of opponent the IDF faced. Is anyone surprised by this?

I don't think the article implied that Israel is doing anything we cannot also do -- or that we are not also doing. Common sense says that both Israel and the United States (and probably the U.K.) have had special forces teams on the ground in Iraq for much of the past year.

As for the quality of Israeli forces, I have observed it to be quite good. The IAF is a truly superior air force, always matching and sometimes outmatching our own in pilot skill. The IDF possesses some of the best-trained armored forces in the world, and excellent infantry. Reserve forces are seamlessly integrated into the force structure and operational tempo. All Israeli forces well-led by skilled and motivated officers and resourceful NCOs, and boast an enlisted force with perhaps the highest average intelligence of any military on earth.

You might not have much regard for Israel's adversaries, but the fact remains that a relatively tiny force has fought successfully against overwhelming odds for 50 years. Israel has been attacked several times at close range by large, mobile armies massed at its very borders -- and still won. That's not too shabby. And hard to compare with the Gulf War, during which the Iraqis were immobilized in a vast desert barrier with no cover from air power.

Israel should step aside, shut the ---- up, and let us take care of business.

Only a derelict or incompetent leader would agree with that statement, given that Israel is far more directly threatened by Iraq than is the United States. The Israelis are too smart to leave their security to anyone else. Since the first war Israel loses will be its last, I expect she will do whatever she needs to protect herself.

[dixiechick2000]

Do you know the answer to my question in #18?