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In reply to the discussion: U.S. concerned that Barak is pushing for Israeli attack on Iran [View all]Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)They are unlikely to successfully pull it off, and then what?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/world/middleeast/iran-raid-seen-as-complex-task-for-israeli-military.html?hp
Iran Raid Seen as a Huge Task for Israeli Jets
Hasan Sarbakhshian/Associated Press
WASHINGTON Should Israel decide to launch a strike on Iran, its pilots would have to fly more than 1,000 miles across unfriendly airspace, refuel in the air en route, fight off Irans air defenses, attack multiple underground sites simultaneously and use at least 100 planes.
That is the assessment of American defense officials and military analysts close to the Pentagon, who say that an Israeli attack meant to set back Irans nuclear program would be a huge and highly complex operation. They describe it as far different from Israels surgical strikes on a nuclear reactor in Syria in 2007 and Iraqs Osirak reactor in 1981.
All the pundits who talk about Oh, yeah, bomb Iran, it aint going to be that easy, said Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, who retired last year as the Air Forces top intelligence official and who planned the American air campaigns in 2001 in Afghanistan and in the 1991 Gulf War.
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The possible outlines of an Israeli attack have become a source of debate in Washington, where some analysts question whether Israel even has the military capacity to carry it off. One fear is that the United States would be sucked into finishing the job a task that even with Americas far larger arsenal of aircraft and munitions could still take many weeks, defense analysts said. Another fear is of Iranian retaliation.