Saturday, August 26, 2006

Israel Prepares for War with Iran

The Israeli military estabishment reports that they've created a new command to deal exclusively with Iran.

...According to Israeli officials, Israel has expanded its military command structure to include an "Iran Command" as prospects of war with the radical Islamic country appear inevitable.

According to Ha'aretz, Israeli Air Force commander Major General Elyezer Shkedy was appointed as "GOC Iran Command" (commanding officer) and will be tasked with coordinating all military and intelligence efforts in the event of a war with Iran.
Stephen Zunes summarizes how the Bush administration pushed Israel into attacking Hezbollah and urged an attack on Syria.
The Bush administration's larger goal apparently has been to form an alliance of pro-Western Sunni Arab dictatorships--primarily Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan--against a growing Shiite militancy exemplified by Hezbollah and Iran and, to a lesser extent, post-Saddam Iraq. Though these Sunni regimes initially spoke out against Hezbollah's provocative capture of the two Israeli soldiers that prompted the Israeli attacks, popular opposition within these countries to the ferocity of the Israeli assault led them to rally solidly against the U.S.-backed war on Lebanon.

In the years prior to Israel's July 12 bombing of Lebanese cities, Hezbollah had become less and less of a threat. It had not killed any Israeli civilians for more than a decade (with the exception of one accidental fatality in 2003 caused by an anti-aircraft missile fired at an Israeli plane that violated Lebanese airspace). Investigations by the Congressional Research Service, the State Department, and independent think tanks failed to identify any major act of terrorism by Hezbollah for over a dozen years.

Israel is no banana republic. Even those like Hersh who recognize the key role of the Bush administration in goading Israel to attack Lebanon emphasize that rightist elements within Israel had their own reasons, independent of Washington, to pursue the conflict.

Still, given Israel's enormous military, economic, and political dependence on the United States, this latest war on Lebanon could not have taken place without a green light from Washington.
Israeli boosts its nuclear capability
With the purchase of two more German-made Dolphin submarines capable of carrying nuclear warheads, military experts say Israel is sending a clear message to Iran that it can strike back if attacked by nuclear weapons.

The latest submarines not only would be able to carry out a first strike should Israel choose to do so, but they also would provide Israel with crucial second-strike capabilities, said Paul Beaver, a London-based independent defence analyst.

Israel is already believed to have that ability in the form of the Jericho-1 and Jericho-2 nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, which are buried so far underground they would survive a nuclear strike, he said.
All the recent moves are showing more war preparation. If I was Iran I would be preparing counter-strike scenarios and installing their new air defenses as fast as possible. Iran is conducting war games now to test its readyness.

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