Interesting news article from the Asia Times, where I found this information:
… Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Halutz held discussions with the head of the Turkish military, General Hilmi Ozkok, and Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer. The leading left-nationalist daily, the Cumhuriyet, reported that talks centered on how to deal with Iran.
The Turkish Weekly journal claimed further revelations. In a December 27 article it said Halutz had asked permission for training Israeli commandos in Turkey’s Bolu and Hakkari mountains. The magazine speculated that the Israeli request had to do with preparations for operations in northwestern Iran’s mountainous territory.
In November, Israel’s Yediot Aharonot newspaper revealed that private Israeli security firms had sent experts to Iraq’s northern Kurdish region to give Kurdish security forces covert training. The newspaper said the teams had originally entered northern Iraq from Turkey, but had to abandon their mission after receiving a credible warning of an impending al-Qaeda attack on their camp.
The end of the article bolsters my theory that the Iranian nuclear sites will be taken out by the IAF and the USAF working together–I say the USAF will be painting the Star of David on their jets for the operation.
Now, Iran-watchers are arguing that launching a US or Israeli strike from Iraqi Kurdistan would have several advantages. The aircraft would not need midair refueling, as would be the case if the raid were launched from Tel Aviv. Sulaymaniyyah and Irbil airports are in the process of receiving full international licensing, which implies nighttime instrument capability and the potential for receiving and servicing large transport aircraft. And the Kurdish leadership is far more sympathetic toward Israel than its Arab neighbors.
“Iraqi Kurdistan cannot be used by Israeli special forces … because the Kurdistan region remains part of Iraq and the US continues to control Iraq airspace,” Nijyar Shemdin, the representative of the Kurdistan region to the US, told Asia Times Online. “All flights into and out of Iraqi airspace obtain permission from the US military in Qatar. For Israeli operations against Iraq to occur, it would require the support of the Iraqi federal government, the US government and the Kurdish regional government. It is utterly impossible.”
Analysts point out that Israel’s 1981 strike against Iraq’s nuclear reactor in Osirak could only have been carried out with US cooperation. Israeli aircraft crossed Jordanian and Saudi Arabian airspace without being detected by US-supplied Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radars overflying Saudi airspace.
I think that last paragraph points out the obvious. Once again, the US will get deniability, and Israel is already hated worldwide–plus, as before, the sane rest of the world would be grateful that someone took out the nutcase’s nukes.
We’ll see what happens soon enough, I’m sure. The news is that Iran has been pushing full speed ahead on their nuclear bomb in spite of having “sealed” various pieces of equipment.
This is not an issue on which the world–and especially Israel–can afford to wait.
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This is a great post. The situation in Iran is one I’ve written about numerous times, and I believe it is imperative that the US and Israel (and any other concerned parties) take action immediately, and prevent an escalation. As it stands, every day that Iran is allowed to continue their program is a day that their esteem in the Middle Eastern eye is increased and another day where unrest in the region grows.
Unfortunately, the situation has gotten more problematic of late. First, the much publicized threat to hold off on oil exports has panicked some governments, including the Russian government. Russia’s veto power on the UN Security Council makes it necessary to have some blessing from them before carrying out proper actions. Second, Iran has dispersed its nuclear enrichment program over 300-500 small sites, making it impossible to wipe out their nuclear program with one air strike.
Perhaps the dispersement of the nuclear enrichment program is only rhetoric, and perhaps by bombing of the Uranium conversion facility in Isfahan will be enough to bring Iran’s nuclear enrichment program to a halt. Or perhaps Russia will realize that they are not isolated from the threat of a nuclear Iran, and will go further than lip service in asking Iran to honor IEAE regulations. But I fear that it’s a different world then in 1981 when we halted Iraq’s nuclear dreams, and stopping Iran will be much more challenging.
I think that all the speculation on how the attack on Iran will take place is part of the disinformation campaign. I think that stealth aircraft and tomahawk cruise missiles as well as commando raids will be what eventually will happen.
Meryl writes:
For what it’s worth, an Israeli friend predicts exactly the opposite. His argument is almost stereotypically Israeli–that the Americans have to take credit for geopolitical reasons, but understand that only Israel has pilots skilled enough to do the job. Somehow, I find the first part of his reasoning more persuasive than the second.