Posted on 08/15/2002 9:33:30 AM PDT by 1bigdictator
'If attacked, Israel might nuke Iraq'
By Ze'ev Schiff
If Iraq strikes at Israel with non-conventional weapons, causing massive casualties among the civilian population, Israel could respond with a nuclear retaliation that would eradicate Iraq as a country. This grave assessment, from American intelligence, was presented last week to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
During the 1991 Gulf War, then U.S. defense secretary Richard Cheney, now vice-president, told CNN that Israel could respond with nuclear weapons to an Iraqi strike that included the use of chemical weapons. This assessment has only been strengthened since then, because according to all the signs, Iraq now has biological weapons that could cause mass casualties.
According to one assessment, military-grade biological weapons can be almost as lethal as a nuclear bomb.
The U.S. intelligence assessments include an analysis of possible Israeli responses. The lowest probability is that Israel would respond initially with a conventional military retaliation if it is slightly harmed, and would add a warning that a non-conventional response was possible if the Iraqi attacks on the Israeli civilian population continued.
The possibility of Israel using nuclear weapons against Iraq appears in a document submitted by military expert Dr. Anthony Cordesman, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Presumably, the document is based, in part, on official administration assessments.
In the worst case scenario, writes Cordesman, Israel could face an existential threat to important urban areas such as Tel Aviv or Haifa. Under such conditions, it would threaten nuclear retaliation against Iraqi cities and military forces to cease the [Iraqi] attack.
If the Iraqi attack were to continue, and there was a lethal biological strike on an Israeli city, Israel would certainly respond with nuclear strikes against Iraqi cities that were not yet in the hands of American forces, Cordesman says. Such an Israeli reaction could destroy Iraq as a state.
Based on this assessment and the possibility of an Israeli retaliation in the event of an Iraqi strike, it is presumed that the United States will, at the earliest stages, make a special effort to neutralize any possible use of Scud and El Hussein rockets that Iraq positions in its western regions, as it did in the Gulf War, for a more convenient launching site for attacks against Israel. During discussions in Washington, Israeli representatives asked the United States to take action against the missiles in western Iraq.
The Americans know that Iraq is not depending only on long-range missiles in its plans for using chemical or biological weapons against its enemies, including Israel. As part of its preparations, Iraq has also been working on developing pilotless planes. Unlike the usual development of drones used primarily for intelligence gathering purposes, the Iraqis are working on normal-sized planes loaded with chemical or biological weapons and intended to be flown by remote control. They are working on an Eastern European training plane and on a version of the MiG-21. Both planes have been tested.
Actually, the threat of nuclear retaliation will encourage Saddam. During desert storm, launching scuds at Isreal was an attempt to get them to retaliate. If they should do so with nukes, so much the better for Saddam.
Korea and Vietnam were pretty big battles, and part of the Cold War/WWIII.
It would be a profound deterrent for any like-minded country to engage in this sort of activity, since they would realize that they would be destroyed for it.
Otherwise, this nonsense will go on for one hundred more years. Let's end it.
Should we intervene in India or for some other Democracy or civilized society which is under attack from militant Islam... good question.
Put it to rest, lib. As much as you yearn for it, America will not go quietly into that good night.
William Tecumsah Sherman said... “War means fight'in and fight'in means kill'in!”
Sadam won't strike Israel until we put his tit is in the ringer.
He will continue his building of WMDs and using mosques, schools and hospitals as shields.
It's a simple matter if “when” and “who's next?”
Rabid dogs must be put down!
Israel developed their own nukes several decades ago. Most of the help was provided by the French.
Those Islamists have been showing a great deal of restraint. Please, let's not stir them up./sarcasm>
We're we the worlds policeman when we intervened in WWII to stop the Nazis? Do you view this intervention as a positive thing? I am drawing a parallel between militant Islam and WWII Nazis. Do you believe this to be hyperbole?
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