Posted on 06/20/2008 1:33:54 PM PDT by rdl6989
As many as 100 F16 and F15 warplanes were involved in flying long-range missions as part of the operation
While Israeli officials remained silent on the matter today, sources in Washington at the Pentagon and other US government agencies confirmed that the exercise was staged two weeks ago over the eastern Mediterranean.
The target of the exercise was 900 miles from Israel, roughly the same distance as Iran's nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz.
A Pentagon official told the New York Times the exercise was deliberately designed by Israel to send a clear signal about the seriousness of its intentions towards Iran.
"They wanted us to know, they wanted the Europeans to know, and they wanted the Iranians to know," the official said.
"There's a lot of signalling going on at different levels."
As many as 100 F16 and F15 warplanes were involved in flying long-range missions supported by air refuelling tankers. They were alongside specially configured Israeli helicopters with long-range fuel tanks which practised rescuing downed combat aircrew.
The exercise, in the first week of June, came as President George W Bush and Ehud Olmert, Israeli prime minister, both used the same language in public to put pressure on Tehran, saying that a nuclear Iran was "unacceptable".
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
And of course the world will condemn Israel for it and give a pass to Iran and Mahmood when he says “Israel should be wiped from the map.”
ping
Go Israel!
Blast them back to the stone age.
Agreed, but I wonder why they let this out? Maybe to force Ahmednutjob’s hand?
That would be the Old Testament book of Ezekiel chapters 38-40 you refer to.
“Search” came up empty.
Did looking to your right at “breaking news” also come up empty?
How dare they make a move before he has a chance to sit down with Mahmoud and Pooh Bear as his national security adviser to talk this over and get a group hug going.
Many threads already, not counting the ton of prior threads nearly every day for the past few years.
Oh, sure.
Just out of curiosity, does the IAF have any air refueling tankers of its own, or were they using ours? The article is murky on that aspect of the story.
Practice makes perfect, practice till perfect than execute like practice.
The IAF has been rehearsing long distance maneuvers involving aerial refueling for several years.
Seems like I read a story about this in an Old Book once??
Seems like this version had more details in it. I see nothing wrong with it.
Nothing will force that nutjob. He will take the hit thinking that some magic 12th imam is going to save them from the jooooozzzz.
Idiot Iranians. I hope Israel gives it to them good.
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