Free Republic

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Former Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer downplayed reports saying that Iraq has moved Scud missiles into Western Iraq. Fox News quoted U.S. officials on Thursday as saying they had seen Iraqi surface-to-surface missiles being moved into Western Iraq, where they could be launched on Israel, as they were during the 1991 Gulf War. The U.S. officials were also quoted as saying that Iraqi troops and heavy artillery were being moved toward the south, possibly to strike U.S. troops in Kuwait, signaling the possibility of an Iraqi pre-emptive attack. But Ben-Eliezer said that the Western area was under...

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The probability of an Iraqi attack on Israel is "very, very, very low," Israel's army chief said in an interview published Friday, noting that he has seen no evidence that Saddam Hussein has moved Scud missiles into striking range of Israel. Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, told the Maariv daily that an Israeli spy satellite had not picked up any sign of Scuds in the area and that the probability of a missile strike appeared slim. "The probability is very, very, very low," Yaalon told the paper. "The director of military intelligence has said...

The Fox News TV station on Thursday quoted U.S. officials as saying that they saw Iraqi surface-to-surface missiles (SCUDs) being moved into Western Iraq, within striking distance of Israel. The officials also said that they saw movement of Iraqi troops and heavy artillery toward the south, possibly to take up positions in Southern Iraq, where they could be able to shell U.S. troops dug in inside Kuwait. The officials said that these developments could signal that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is considering a preemptive missile attacks on Israel, as well as attacks on U.S. forces stationed along his southern border....