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Will Israel strike Iran?

3K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  17thfabn 
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#1 ·
Iran, if recent reports are at all accurate, is well on its way to possessing a nuclear war capability and yet the world simply waits. It seems to me that the Israelis will soon have no choice but to strike Iran's nuclear facilities unless they are willing to let Iran go nuclear. I'm betting it will happen within the next year at the latest unless the US hits them first . . . a distinct possibility. What do you folks think? Shimon, your input here would be most interesting.
 
#2 ·
I was watching a story about this on Fox news yesterday. According to the "experts", the people of Iran are very patriotic and deeply proud of their heritage. They are also very proud of their countries accomplishments. The "experts" said that a strike by Isreal or the United States on Iran's nuclear facilities would be taken very personally by the people of that nation. That would cause them to align with the militants and Islamic extremists, and we would end up with a bigger problem than we had to start with.
Although many of that nation's people do not agree with the decisions of the current regime, they see him as a father figure.

I don't remember which U.S. General said the following, but it goes something like this: "When the enemy falls to a soldier's bullet, it is best to make sure the enemy's son falls as well. Otherwise the sons of the fallen will bond with hatred, and spend their lives determined to seek brutal revenge on the conqueror."

If the above is true, and I tend to believe it is, then it would be foolish to strike just the nuclear facilities. If the only option is to bomb Iran, Isreal and U.S. would save many future problems by using our nuclear arsenals to completely destroy everything inside of Iran's borders.
That may sound a little extreme, but keep in mind that we are fighting extremists. Anything we leave alive in that country will be a problem that our children will end up having to deal with. The proof of this is in the history books. If Jimmy Carter had disinfected Iran with a little radioactive material 20 years ago, they would not be causing the world a problem right now.
 
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#3 ·
The really scary thing, I believe, Blue, is that if Iran is permitted to develop a nuke, and as we already know, Israel has them stockpiled, the potential for actual nuclear war increases exponentially. There are Jihadists in Iran who would welcome such an event as nothing more than a fulfillment of Islamic prophecy.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Yes the Israelis will strike Iran if we don't. They can't have a out of control nut job with Nukes. If Iran gets them they will use them, first against Israel, then against the US, or US interests in the Middle East. The Israelis have shown that they can't abide this sort of thing by their williness to take out Saddams nuke factory some years ago. I think they'll do it again if we don't act soon enough.
 
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#6 ·
Yes the Israelis will strike Iran if we don't. They can't have a out of control nut job with Nukes. If Iran gets them they will use them, first against Israel, then against the US, or US interests in the Middle East. The Israelis have shown that they can't abide this sort of thing by their williness to take out Saddams nuke factory some years ago. I think they'll do it again if we don't act soon enough.
I agree, Shooter. It would not surprise me if Israel made the strike with US intelligence assistance.
 
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#8 ·
I would rather the Israelies do it w/or w/o our help, so we can take a back row seat & help our Allie. The rest of Europe might be willing to get some backbone if the US wasn't in charge.
Perhaps, Bruce, but the French would have to stash the white flags and bombastic rhetoric for a while, which is against their nature. ;) I would be very, very surprised indeed if the Israelis do not already have a plan in place to attack both the nuclear sites and cripple Iran's ability to retaliate. Nor would it surprise me if a part of that plan involves eliminating Ahmadinejad in the process. :cool:
 
#9 ·
Whoever does it, do it right. Don't stop halfway through the process, kick the hell out of them. As far as I'm concerned iran should be a smoking hole in the ground, along with a couple of countries in the middle east. If it takes wiping the sob's out, I'm all for it. I'm tired of the the polititians doing everything half assed and getting our ground troops killed. Level them so the rest of them will get the message, don't screw with the USA. Send the message, "Leave us alone or pay for your stupidity."
 
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#10 ·
Whoever does it, do it right. Don't stop halfway through the process, kick the hell out of them. As far as I'm concerned iran should be a smoking hole in the ground, along with a couple of countries in the middle east. If it takes wiping the sob's out, I'm all for it. I'm tired of the the polititians doing everything half assed and getting our ground troops killed. Level them so the rest of them will get the message, don't screw with the USA. Send the message, "Leave us alone or pay for your stupidity."
But Tom, what would Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton say, not to mention Al Sharpton???? :eek::D

All kidding aside, I completely agree, Tom. Too often we have made the mistake of not using enough force when force was called for, and we usually end up regretting it. You can bet the military has a plan to do just what you suggest, not that the politicians would ever let them implement it.
 
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#15 ·
This has been true, and known by the governments of Middle East countries for years. The problem now is that the present leaders of some of those governments feel that wiping out their own population is justified to achieve the destruction of Isreal and the US.

Pops
 
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#16 ·
This has been true, and known by the governments of Middle East countries for years. The problem now is that the present leaders of some of those governments feel that wiping out their own population is justified to achieve the destruction of Isreal and the US.

Pops
I agree, Pops. I think in many ways, the nuclear genie is far more likely to get out of the bottle today that it was during the cold war. The Soviets were at least rational and cognizant of what use of those weapons would mean, but men like Ahmadinejad are not.
 
#17 ·
One thing I can tell you is that Israel will not wait for the worlds' approval if they feel that Iran is about to go "Hot"
It is obviously a very different scenario than was Osirik, Iraq in 1981.
For starters, Iran's facilities are spread out, and deep underground.
For another, more enemy territory would need to be overflown, with it's inherent risks. (In 1981, The IAF made this work for them by having pilots that spoke perfect Arabic, in perfect dialect).
An attack on Iran would require in-air re-fueling, or possibly a secret agreement with a country such as Turkey for the use of their airfields.
Remember Turkey has strong military ties to Israel, and definately does not want a nuclear Iran. Still, this may be too much to expect, what with the very fine line that they staddle with their Muslim population.
Another wild card is who will be PM at the time. In 1981, with Menachem Begin at the reins, Israel would do whatever neccessary for it's survival, and the hell with world opinion. I'm not so sure the current Weasel, er, Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert has the intestinal or moral fiber to make that decision. At that point I go back to my opening statement, and believe that in a worst case scenario, even he would be "made to understand" that he has no other option.
I hear people say things like" hey, if it's okay for Israel to have nukes, why can't Iran, or anybody else also have nukes".
The easy answer is that Israel has had those nukes for close to 40 years, and has never threatened a single nation with them. They are a deterrent, much as with the other Democracy's around the world who possess nuclear weapons.
However, as was the case with Iraq in the 70's and 80's, Iran has made it very clear what it's intentions are, and I have no doubt that there would be a surplus of pilots ready and willing to volunteer for this mission, even were it to be very clear that there would be no return Home
 
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#18 ·
A most interesting post, Shimon. Thanks for your thoughts. For what it is worth, I agree with everything you said. Israel's nuclear capacity has acted as the ultimate deterrent in the Middle East for the last 40 years, and it is indeed true that Israel has never used its possession of such weapons as a threat against its neighbors or anyone else. Indeed, as I recall, Israel has never officially acknowledged that it even possesses nuclear weapons, though the fact that it does has been an open secret for a very long while.

To put it simply, Israel cannot afford to allow Iran, or any other Middle Eastern power for that matter, to go nuclear. To do so would be tantamount to suicide. I think Israel will strike, and strike soon if the US does not do it first. If and when that happens, I'll be the first one in line applauding. To hit those nuclear sites would be only self-defense in its purest form, and to hell with what the world thinks about it.
 
#19 ·
Pistole, as I've said before, the distance to Iran and size off the country make it a much more difficult mission for Israel to strike Iran's nuke facilities as compared to their 1981 attack on Iraq's nuke program.

Sabashimon I also hear people say "why is it ok for the Israel to have nukes but not Iran?" My answear is why is alright for the average person to have a gun but not a criminal or insane person? Allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons is like allowing a raving lunatic to have a gun.
 
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#20 ·
Pistole, as I've said before, the distance to Iran and size off the country make it a much more difficult mission for Israel to strike Iran's nuke facilities as compared to their 1981 attack on Iraq's nuke program.
There's no doubt it would be quite difficult, 17th, but the Israelis are a very creative people when it comes to such things. Look what they managed to do at Entebbe. It would certainly require some kind of refueling setup, or perhaps a secret arrangement with another of its Middle Eastern neighbors, many of whom are scared of nukes in Iran as well. I do think it more likely though, that Bush will order the strike sometime before he leaves office, maybe right after the results of the November elections are known. He has little to lose, and the world has much to gain if he does.
 
#21 ·
Pistole, I've heard alot of talk that if the new U.S. president is seen as weak willed Bush would order a strike against Iran in his last days in office!
 
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