Posted on 09/21/2002 10:20:24 AM PDT by Dallas
Israel's deputy defense minister, Weizman Shiri, said Israel is well prepared for an Iraqi attack with chemical or biological weapons.
"I say with my hand on my heart, not just to calm everyone, that the state of Israel is ready," Shiri said. "It would be easier for them to carry out a biological attack on even the United States than Israel."
The government decided last month to inoculate 15,000 emergency workers against smallpox. On Tuesday, Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv began the inoculations, at a rate of 30 people per day, hospital officials said. Other hospitals will also begin inoculations.
During the Gulf War ( news - web sites) in 1991, Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles against Israel, causing damage but few casualties. Israeli experts say they do not know if Iraq possesses chemical or biological weapons, but the possibility cannot be ruled out.
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Wednesday he supported an American attack on Iraq, but Israel wanted to keep a low profile in the dispute.
"We greatly respect the decisions of the (U.S.) administration and identify with the intention to hit one of the key Mideast elements of the 'axis of evil,'" Ben-Eliezer said, using President Bush ( news - web sites)'s term for Iraq, North Korea ( news - web sites) and Iran.
"But we are not directly part of the coming conflict, if it comes, and we have no intention of being part of it unless it is forced upon us by an Iraqi attack," Ben-Eliezer added.
Israeli officials have said Israel reserves the right to respond to an Iraqi attack.
The Israeli government this week ordered increased gas mask production to prevent a shortage as the expiration date on 600,000 old masks draws closer, and Israelis continue to flood mask distribution centers.
Shiri said the Home Front Command distributed 24,000 new masks on Tuesday alone, proof that there is no shortage at the moment.
In the event of a real threat of a biological attack, it will take authorities four days to vaccinate the entire population against smallpox, Shiri said. Israel has 2.5 times as many smallpox vaccine doses as there are citizens, he said.
The Shavrav company that builds air filtration devices has reported a 300 percent jump in sales, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported. Bottled water companies say sales are up by 25 percent.
In addition, Israelis have been purchasing more tranquilizers in recent days, said Aharon Reiss, chairman of the Pharmacists Union.
Why give a tourist a gas mask if the attack isn't until Jan/Feb as the American media is saying..
Soon.......my thoughts exactly when I saw this story.
Right before the elction -- how about October 15th?
Any other guesses/projected attack dates out there?
At the end of the first week into September we had a new moon. It was dark as Hell in the Iraqi desert and mountains for several days at that time. We hit several radar stations very hard at that time. What an opportune time to move in hundreds of special forces and preposition commandos. I said it before and I'll say it again. We started on September 6, quietly. I'm counting on a spectacular show for this election season.
With our wide-open borders this is very true.
But it will shake the poor Democrats in their boots! LOL!
Shouldn't we learn from the people who deal on an almost daily basis with terrorists?
I think the US is learning, they now have the same military statergy that Israel has had since 1967.
Stike first and never let your adversaries get as stong as you, and never mind what the rest of the world thinks.
Forget the "WE" for the "ME" /sarcasim
The United States will have enough smallpox vaccine on hand to innoculate the entire population by December. The government put in an order for 300 million doses after last year's anthrax threats. On the anthrax front, the government has redirected the Army's stockpile, created to protect troops during a "Gulf War II," to a civilian reserve. A new "morning after" anthrax vaccine is also on order, with a requisition for 25 million doses, but delivery is still a long way away for that.
There are NO stockpiles of smallpox vaccine in our area. I've been posting in this board for six months about our demands for such vaccines, but we still haven't seen any of the vaccine companies moving product!
It was excusable last year. It's now this President's responsibility to tell CDC to get the damn vaccine moving. If the Jews in Israel can get the vaccine, is there a reason American Jews can't? Isn't it clear enough that the Jewish population is being targetted by these terrorists? Gov't needs to wake the hell up!
For info on redirection of military anthrax vaccine to civil defense: Pentagon Shifts Anthrax Vaccine to Civilian Uses .
For info on the government's plans to purchase 25 million doses of anthrax vaccine: RFP ANNOUNCEMENT: PRODUCTION AND TESTING OF VACCINES AGAINST ANTHRAX.
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.