Posted on 12/10/2005 6:48:44 PM PST by rhainw
ISRAEL’S armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed. The order came after Israeli intelligence warned the government that Iran was operating enrichment facilities, believed to be small and concealed in civilian locations.
Iran’s stand-off with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over nuclear inspections and aggressive rhetoric from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, who said last week that Israel should be moved to Europe, are causing mounting concern.
The crisis is set to come to a head in early March, when Mohamed El-Baradei, the head of the IAEA, will present his next report on Iran. El-Baradei, who received the Nobel peace prize yesterday, warned that the world was “losing patience” with Iran.
A senior White House source said the threat of a nuclear Iran was moving to the top of the international agenda and the issue now was: “What next?” That question would have to be answered in the next few months, he said.
Defence sources in Israel believe the end of March to be the “point of no return” after which Iran will have the technical expertise to enrich uranium in sufficient quantities to build a nuclear warhead in two to four years.
“Israel — and not only Israel — cannot accept a nuclear Iran,” Sharon warned recently. “We have the ability to deal with this and we’re making all the necessary preparations to be ready for such a situation.”
The order to prepare for a possible attack went through the Israeli defence ministry to the chief of staff. Sources inside special forces command confirmed that “G” readiness — the highest stage — for an operation was announced last week.
Gholamreza Aghazadeah, head of the Atomic Organisation of Iran, warned yesterday that his country would produce nuclear fuel. “There is no doubt that we have to carry out uranium enrichment,” he said.
He promised it would not be done during forthcoming talks with European negotiators. But although Iran insists it wants only nuclear energy, Israeli intelligence has concluded it is deceiving the world and has no intention of giving up what it believes is its right to develop nuclear weapons.
A “massive” Israeli intelligence operation has been underway since Iran was designated the “top priority for 2005”, according to security sources.
Cross-border operations and signal intelligence from a base established by the Israelis in northern Iraq are said to have identified a number of Iranian uranium enrichment sites unknown to the the IAEA.
Since Israel destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, “it has been understood that the lesson is, don’t have one site, have 50 sites”, a White House source said.
If a military operation is approved, Israel will use air and ground forces against several nuclear targets in the hope of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme for years, according to Israeli military sources.
It is believed Israel would call on its top special forces brigade, Unit 262 — the equivalent of the SAS — and the F-15I strategic 69 Squadron, which can strike Iran and return to Israel without refuelling.
We got a Get You A Woman....but would David Clayton Thomas approve?
war is alway beyond explanation and war always defies logic, but regrettably war is sometimes necessary.
I agree. Here are 2 of my posts on prior threads that propose one approach to the issue.
Kurds drift toward autonomy, away from Iraq's daily violence
Posted by Kevin OMalley to Camerican
On News/Activism 01/03/2005 1:51:59 PM PST · 7 of 7
I thought it would be cool for us to set up security for the Kurds on their southern border with Iraq, rewarding them for their bravery in defying Saddam Hussein. We put in some military bases there for, say, 20 years as part of the occupation of Iraq in their transition to democracy. We guarantee the autonomy of Iraqi Kurdistan as long as they don't engage with Turkey. But that doesn't say anything about engaging with Iranian Kurdistan. Within those 20 years the Kurds could have a secure and independent nation with expanding borders into Iran. After we close down the US bases, Kurdistan is on her own. But at least Kurdistan would be an independent nation with about half its territory carved out of Persia. If Turkey doesn't relinquish her claim on Turkish Kurdistan after that, it isn't our problem, it's 2 of our allies fighting each other, one for independence and the other for regional primacy. I support democratic independence over a bullying arrogant minority.
Armed Kurds fomenting unrest in Iran pose security threat to Tehran
Posted by Kevin OMalley to F14 Pilot
On News/Activism 08/29/2005 4:18:19 PM PDT · 16 of 17
The kurds are the closest thing we have to friends in that area. They fought against Saddam (got nerve-gassed), they're fighting against Iran, they squabble with our so-called ally Turkey (who didn't allow Americans to operate in the north of Iraq this time around).
It's time for them to have their own country. They deserve it. They carve Kurdistan out of northern Iraq, northern Iran, and eastern Turkey. If Turkey gets angry, we let them know that there are consequences to turning your back on your "friend".
I don't believe the iranian resistance exists, except for a couple hundred university students.
Dr Zin and fellow travelers make a big noise here on FR, but in fact there seems to be more resistance in Communist China and Cuba.
Precisely where they have placed themselves...
They failed to behave as an ally, when they refused transit across Turkey for the Northern Invasion of Iraq --- making it more dangerous for those coming from the South...
It certainly contributed to other problems, all of which led to more Coalition blood being spilled ---- and movement of "unknown" assets into Syria...
Turkey remains more Muslim than Western Ally....
I haven't seen any justification to see them otherwise.
Semper Fi
It's hard to imagine that 14 guys would fly jets into tall buildings knowing that to do so would mean near instant extinction.
Absolutly! God Bless the Child.
However, I don't know what Burton Cummings responce would be.
Count it as a regular disinformation piece. Whatever'll be done will be done in a surprise manner, like an ICBM warhead landing.
IMHO, the RNC and ANY conservative news organization should start RIGHT NOW getting EVERY SINGLE DEM on record and tape with their "opinion" of this, so they can't spin it or deny it later if they felt they made a "bad choice" of which side of the "arguement" they fall on.
Their contradictory "opinions" could be VERY useful in up coming elections, as some of them are now in the Iraqi situation....
...again, just my VERY humble opinion...
You may be right. And certainly a ground war would be tough.
It probably does make sense for Israel to take the lead. The Rats will give them a pass, whereas they would not do the same for Bush.
good luck boys!
They're wasting time talking about it. Get on with it already! "The bombing begins in 5 minutes."
For a minute there I thought this was Debka. Who the hell tells everyone they're going to do a surprise attack?
There's a wealth of fun build your own atomic bomb projects like this one on the web to speed things up a bit.
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/neutronics/todd/nuc.bomb.html
***It'll be WWIII, I doubt have any doubt in my mind.***
It's already WW#, and has been since 1979. We just didn't realize it until 9/11 2001....
The Carter legacy, the legacy that keeps on giving.
A). The media will cover it up.
B). The left will claim it was planted by Bush/Cheney/Rove
C). They'll dust off the Abu Graib headlines and we'll see the guy in the black robe ... yet again.
We tell our enemies well in advance ... what are they gonna do except use the democrat's "cut and run" defense?
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