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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Israel will hit Iran in the next few months: Israeli official
2006-05-09
Israel will strike Iran's nuclear facilities in the next "month or two or three," an Israeli official has been quoted here as saying. The unnamed official told Arnaud de Borchgrave, editor-in-chief of the United Press International (UPI), at the recently held national day reception at the Israeli Embassy that he believed Israel would strike Iran first in the next two or three months and that fighter bombers would not be involved as they had been to take out Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor before it went critical in 1981. For Osirak, Israel had used 14 F-15s and F-16s. This time, the Israeli said, it would be missiles. Asked if Israel would employ Cruise missiles, he replied, "with a gesture of his hand that went up and down again", which meant that it would be the weapon of choice.

Asked if tunnel entrances to widely scattered Iranian nuclear facilities would be targeted, he responded that Israel had its own geo-stationary spy-in-the-sky satellite taking constant pictures of Iran with a resolution down to 70 centimetres. "We know far more than anyone realises," he added.
Posted by:Fred

#18  he replied, "with a gesture of his hand that went up and down again", which meant that it would be the weapon of choice.

..I dunno - when I see an 'unnamed official' gesture up and down with his hand, it ain't cruise missiles I'm thinkin' of.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-05-09 18:02  

#17  As far as not telling the U.S. goes, they better.
Iraq is under new management if they try to fly over Iraq without permission they will get shot down. Same with Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, the Arabian Sea, Pakistan. The U.S. has too much military over thier right now for Israel to be able to do that without our permsission. Unless they somehow get permission from Turkey. Good luck with that.
Posted by: Mike N.   2006-05-09 15:56  

#16  Perhaps this is the ol' tried-and-true trial balloon?

Unnamed source sez: "We're gonna bomb 'em."

Hyperventilating newspaper editorials denounce them, but quiet diplomatic exchanges will let it be known that while certain countries will publicly disapprove of bombing the Iranians, privately they'll be relieved.
Posted by: Dreadnought   2006-05-09 15:51  

#15  Geosync optical?

LMAO. Yeah like there's any value to parking a 70 cm resolution lens at 23,000 miles (if such a thing even excists), when you can just as well orbit 60-110, where you'd actually, you know, SEE something, or send a low-emissions/low-reflectivity UAV at 10 miles (60K ft) and actually know what you're seeing.

Bullshit article.
Posted by: OldSpook   2006-05-09 14:04  

#14  Optical spy satellites usually fly around 300 miles up.
Posted by: ed   2006-05-09 12:02  

#13  Oh, really?
Posted by: Darrell   2006-05-09 11:54  

#12  Geo-sync Optical Recon satellites? Naw. It's all BS.
Posted by: 6   2006-05-09 11:22  

#11  Let's take it at face value. That would be that Israel wants to announce something to someone.

First of all, that someone might be one or more of the following: Iran, the US, Russia, China, the concerned EU nations, and other nations with personnel and interests at risk in Iran.

Much harder is figuring out what that something they are trying to say is. The list here has all sorts of possibilities:

1) We will attack, but with/without nukes, so be advised.

2) We will attack, so if you want to put your butt on the line for Iran, or stay out of it, or join us in the attack, let us know now.

3) We will attack, so be prepared for an Iranian counter-attack at other than Israel.

4) We are prepared for hostilities, if Iran plans to attack us, which may/may not require nuclear retaliation.

5) We are bluffing, to agitate Iran into revealing its true intentions to everyone, or to stimulate them into an attack on us.

6) We are sending out false signals to confuse any real signals we might have sent inadvertantly, casting reasonable doubt.

7) (Other reason.)

8) (Other reason.)

9) (Other reason.)

10) (Other reason.)
Posted by: Anonymoose   2006-05-09 10:53  

#10  This unnamed official isn't by any chance named Bar Kochba, is he?
Posted by: Perfesser   2006-05-09 10:15  

#9  another reason its bogus is that Arnauld de B is an idiot, the old paleo con publisher of the Wash Times, who still seems offended its been taken over by neocons. and whose columns ALWAYS feature statements supported by anon sources, if any.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2006-05-09 09:49  

#8  This is bogus for many reasons already stated above. Another one is that Israel doesn't have enough cruise missiles to carry out an attack with them alone unless they were carrying nukes.

Maybe they should consider inserting by commando a 20kton fission bomb one of Iran's main facilities. Then call it a "work accident."
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats   2006-05-09 09:20  

#7  Of course the article is bogus. We've all seen how the Israeli milirary works. Shoot first, and take the heat from the world later. We don't have their perspective, and never will, unless someday we become surrounded by 6 or 7 nations of blood-thirsty fanatics hell bent on destroying us.

However, they will strike. They've already blown up Iran's nuclear facilities both with covert ground forces, and by air. They will do it again. I for one say thank God for a country with some sack.
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2006-05-09 09:09  

#6  No reason to inform the US about cruise missiles or autonomous bombers flying over Saudi territory.
Posted by: phil_b   2006-05-09 08:57  

#5  SPOD - a Question - wouldn't there be at least coordination within the theater with US forces? Several days, at most? For several reasons, the two most important being to avoid a whole bunch of friendly fire from automatic pre-sets, and also that the local military security and leak proofness is superior to anything within 100 miles of DC.????????
Posted by: Omomotle Ulomoque5726   2006-05-09 07:47  

#4  BS. This is a bogus article.

If they go, when they go, They will announce it to US by telling us to stay the hell out of the way because it's already underway. There will be zero notice.

They will not be leaking it to Newspapers or the
media. They will just do it. Israel is not the US.
Israel doesn't practice all the wankery the US seem to need to before we do things. After all we are now known to leak everything we are told. Would you tell the US in their shoes? Would you tell the US in anyones shoes? The CIA is like colander it leaks so much.
Posted by: SPoD   2006-05-09 04:00  

#3  Is it possible the Israelis would go heads up with a minimal or very short notice to the US before it's preimption?? Naw...I'm sure they'll wait for the carrier groups to 'check off' the operation, and the AWACs to be placed, wouldn't they?
Posted by: smn   2006-05-09 02:56  

#2  No. We will impeach Bush becasue he is a liar...has lied...is lying...and will continue to lie.
Posted by: Nancy Pelosi   2006-05-09 02:13  

#1  Oh Dubya, can we have a draft now? Never mind the DemoLeft as they will hide behind anything and everything, and nothing, to achieve their Reality = Propaganda and vice versa, Socialism = Capitalism/Federalism, Regulation = Laissez Faire, Cops/Judges/Law = Crooks-Mafiosi, ....
....@etal. Commie-Socialist, Hated Despicable Fascists = Merely Misunderstood Delinquent Runaway Tweeney Half-A-Commies, agenda. America needs to do what it takes to achieve victory - NO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE FAILED/ANGRY LEFT AND AMER'S ENEMIES ARE DOING NOW TO DESTROY US!? Why are they allowed to do everything to kill us, by any each every and all means necessary, while we aren't allowed to do anything, or only one thing???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2006-05-09 00:34  

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