Posted on 08/29/2002 7:40:19 AM PDT by TheConservator
TEL AVIV — The United States has told Israel that it will attack Iraq before the end of November.
Israeli military sources said a a senior U.S. military visited Israel earlier this week and toured facilities where the U.S. military has prepositioned equipment and weapons for an emergency in the Middle East.
The sources quoted a visiting U.S. general who heads army logistics as saying that Washington intends to strike the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by late November.
The Israeli sources said the two countries discussed Israel's role in any U.S. military attack, Middle East Newsline reported.
The general was quoted as saying that Washington's aim is to topple the Saddam regime. The general was not named.
In joint military discussions earlier this summer, Pentagon officials said Iraq would be only the first stop in the U.S. war on terror, an Israeli parliamentarian said.
Yuval Steinetz, chairman of the Knesset subcommittee on military doctrine, said he held talks with senior Pentagon officials in June regarding Washington's vision of a post-Saddam Middle East. Steinetz said Washington envisions a new order in the Middle East after Saddam is toppled and a democratic regime is installed.
"Iraq is the key but not the last stop [in the U.S. effort]," Steinetz said. "It is the first stop. After that there will be massive [U.S.] pressure on Syria and Iran to halt weapons of mass destruction programs and Syria's occupation of Lebanon."
U.S. military sources and analysts said Washington has sent tens of thousands of soldiers and military personnel to Gulf Arab states, Central and South Asia and the Levant. They said the force includes at least 1,000 military planners who have prepared for a rapid airlift of forces in case Washington decides on a war against Iraq.
Israeli officials have confirmed that both military and civilian officials from Israel and the United States have been discussing Washington's plans to attack Iraq. They said the talks have included the Bush administration's vision of a post-war Iraq and U.S. policy in the Middle East.
The military talks, the officials said, have focused largely on Israel's response to any Iraqi missile or air strike on the Jewish state. They said Israel and the United States have reviewed a series of scenarios of whether and how Israel would react to an Iraqi conventional or nonconventional missile strike.
Israeli military sources said the level of Israel's response would depend on the number of casualties and damage caused by any Iraqi strike.
The sources said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has told the Bush administration that it would not pledge any policy of restraint as that during the 1991 Gulf war.
The source of the "leak" was Israeli military sources, not the U.S. general. The general was just delivering the mail.
Even though it was the Israeli's who leaked it, there's no way they would tip our real hand in advance either. This was leaked according to plan.
Does this mean Saddam gets to sleep easy until late November? HaHaHaHa!!!! ;)
Wouldn't that be sweet! It would give a whole new meaning of that date to a half billion potential enemy combatants who'll be celebrating it otherwise.
If the administration thinks it needs the whole world to be serious about the Iraq problem, the attack will come in October. There's always a World Serious in October.
Or, he will launch the attack on 9/11, but I'm beginning to doubt that will happen as it is less than two weeks away and we should have started seeing some major activity by now in the way of deployments.
Well not with it posted all over the internet. What is the difference between some government people leaking information...and other people posting it all over the internet news groups. I mean I know there is the initial leak...but how leaked would it be if all the media and news groups would not post the information?
This is one of those threads that fall under the category of loose lips? No?
I think he's scheduled to speak at the UN on 9/12 I think. I don't know if this supports such a date of attack or not.
The monkey wrench is that Congress (the Senate really) has not passed hardly any appropriations bills-- that are necessary to avoid a shutdown. That will occupy a lot of time. Warner and others want hearings and the whole nine yards.
Since Congress is constitutionally mandated to decide on war, I'd say that -- given the opportunity to wait two months -- making the November congressional elections a referendum on war is a master move by the Bush administration.
: )
Whether or not the invasion succeeds in its stated goal, it brings in the Israelis immediately, making it impossible for any Arab country to cooperate with the US (assuming any of them want to). The Arab world cheers and Europe sniggers.
By Election Day, Iraq has several hundred American POWs and the US has no platform from which to invade Iraq. Stalemate.
This could happen.
I wouldn't think so, very risky, lot's of demands, but it would certainly be a bold move.
Saddam always makes bad decision....he will make a doozy before this is over with.
I could see him lashing out at one of his neighbor's with a WMD...which would turn the world against him..
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.