Posted on 09/18/2004 10:05:01 PM PDT by bunkerhill7
Nov. 18, 2003 7:28 | Updated Nov. 18, 2003 15:17
Mossad warns of Iranian nuclear threat
By NINA GILBERT
Iran will continue to develop nuclear weapons, a move that will put it in the position of being an existential threat to Israel for the first time, Mossad chief Meir Dagan told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.
His assessment of Iranian nuclear capabilities did not differ from those held by the international community, which predicts Teheran could have nuclear weapons by late 2004 or 2005. He said nuclear missile capabilities could pose a threat not only to Israel, but also to Europe.
According to Dagan, the Iranians are developing ground-to-ground missiles with a range of thousands of kilometers in addition to developing an aircraft transport capability.
Dagan told the committee that the 100 megawatt reactor is Bashir is too large to be used only for electricity production. The Kashan uranium enrichment facility is close to completion and has the potential of producing material to make 10 nuclear bombs a year, he said.
Labor MK Ephraim Sneh said the United States has the ability to disarm Iran of its nuclear capabilities and should do so.
Dagan said Iran is trying to obtain nuclear weapons to become a nuclear power and to achieve the intimidating status of North Korea.
He also said the Mossad has information regarding "a number" of plans for attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets overseas by worldwide terrorist organizations that are working for the "Islamic cause."
He refused to give details on the current warnings, saying only that the information is given to the pertinent authorities, which decide whether to publish it.
Dagan said the Mossad did not have "a specific warning" of the attacks over the weekend on the two synagogues in Istanbul. Instead, he said there was a "general warning" of a plan to carry out an attack in Turkey. He noted that the vicinity was secured by private guards and Turkish police, and rejected reports that the sites were not protected.
Dagan's appearance before the main committee was the first by a Mossad chief in 18 years. Committee chairman Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said he would summon the Mossad chief to brief the committee on a biannual basis, as other senior officials do.
Dagan also discussed the new phenomenon of terrorist groups forming an "elaborate network" to fight against non-Islamic societies.
He noted that the Istanbul attack required extensive organization, planning, and financial support. He referred to the new Islamic network as a "world jihad" organization that is comprised of various Sunni Muslim groups, with al-Qaida being only one of them. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack in Turkey, but Dagan attributed it to the "world jihad." He said no country has been identified as a "sponsor" of the network. But some countries, such as Egypt, that feel threatened by the groups have begun to operate against them.
According to Dagan, the difficulty in fighting such an organization is the fact that even if one infrastructure is eliminated, there are others. He predicted that if any of these groups obtains chemical or biological weapons that they will not hesitate to use them.
I doubt there is real artillery in Pally areas. I also don't think Syria would have the stones to attack. They're completely flanked and they know it. It would be suicide.
November 18, 2003?
Wow. Thanks.
BTTT for later read...
They won't need to test a simple, big uranium bomb—there's not much that can go wrong with that. There'd be a lot of testing and engineering involved in producing a bomb small enough to be delivered by IRBM, but a) Iran likely received the benefits of Pakistan's R&D, thanks to Khan, and b) as we've seen, missiles aren't the only delivery options available to terrorist-sponsoring Islamic states.
I agree. I think Israel should do it now.
The Islamic bomb has their name on it, out of hatred and out of close proximity.
But if the Islamofascists had the means to deliver it, they would hit any number of our cities as well.
After everything that they have done, what sane person could now think they wouldn't do it?
As evil as the Soviet Russians were, at least they weren't crazy.
Calm down, that's 40 tons of ore... not pure uranium metal.
And then the uranium metal is less than 1% U-235 (the good stuff).
The structure of the sentence clearly indicates 40 tons of processed uranium.
I hope it was just a lapse in typing.
Let's see how many times I can get away with this excuse.
I've got to stop reading Free Republic past my bedtime!
Perhaps Moshiach will have to fix all of the mess up...
Well Iran has Shihab-3 missiles which are a direct copy of the North Korean Nodong(or what ever dingdong it's called!!) which can target parts of Israel & Turkey.I don't think Syria would get involved-they have not got over the counselling for the Thrashing the Israelis gave them in 82.Hezbollah is the real wild card & if im not mistaken,both Syria & Iran have sold long range artillery & missiles(may be scuds) to target Northern Israel.I don't think that the Palestinians would launch rockets at Israel-that would be total political suicide as it would give the Israelis the perfect excuse to flatten them.I think they would launch a wave of terror attack on civilians & military facilities & may also coordinate with Hezbollah to strike Israeli interests abroad.
Iran operates 3 Kilo class subs,which as of my knowledge only carry torpedoes & the Russians haven't sold the supersonic 'Klub' anti-ship/land attack cruise missile to them(it's only operated by the Indian navy now,though it will be acquired by China by 2006).It has a range of 220-300kms(depending on the variant) & would be perfect for attacking coastal facilities & could also be modified to deploy a nuke(which India may have done).The Iranians subs are not exactly a match for the more Modern Israeli German built Dolphin class subs & we should also remember US forces in the region.
It's obviously not in the Turkish interest for Iran to have nukes. But it's also illogical to assume that they would nuke Israel, since that would kill a lot of their own customers in the process.
Russia continues to support Iran's programme as we speak. It is illogical to assume that the centuries old expansionist tendencies of Russia have suddenly been reversed. What better way for Russia to suppress US interests in the area than to have a pirate there armed with nukes?
Bump
I've had money on October 23 for the past two months.
even god forbid bush dosn't win he can leave kerry a present
Good points, SU30. However, I will insist that people prepare for suffering at home and abroad if we make a well-justified move against Iran.
Freedom isn't free. We must be willing to pay the price it requires or prepare to live in chains as slaves to fear.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.