Would now be a good time for Israel to attack Iran

[nealh]

OMFG
Obama has shown little true support to Israel...I fear he will be more of a Carter in this regard

Our only true ally in that region is Israel..never forget that, no Arab nation is our ally, none..they tolerate the USA...do they Kuwait who owes us their freedom is our ally...LOL

We need Israel as much as they need us

Why should they attack Iran...Iran openly wants to wipe them off the face of the earth, simply for religious differences
Israel is not the bad guy here folks..they took their small country and were happy to live in peace, their Arab neighbors attacked and lost "significant land settlements" in Wars they started and now demand them back...what country anywhere would concede that

But they have tried to work toward peacful solutions...not possible in this region

I cant imagine how one lives with such terror on a daily basis....If they attack now, Bush would likely come to their aid..next year I would stake my $$ on Obama turning his back

If Iran obtains nuclear weapons, I also would have little doubt they would use it on Israel without thought of world's opinion if they deem it necessary


Iran is such a wild card ...and like North Korea have zero need for nuclear weapons, cant understand Russia desire to help them achieve this....Israel would do nothing to Iran if their were no risk of nuclear capabilities

 

[WHAMPOM]

Originally posted by: Dari
Question says it all. Both Administrations can feign surprise but stand behind the Israelis. This may be terrible news for Iraq but I can understand Jewish paranoia after the Holocaust.

If only Israel would get over its Stockholm Syndrome.

 

[counterstrikedude]

Originally posted by: Jhhnn
Attacking the Iranians can't possibly occur w/o American complicity. we control the airspace all the way from the turkish/georgian border to the cape of Oman.

Wrong. Israel and US SHARE airspace. Did the Israeli's get permission to bomb Syria? No! Lebanon? No!

There's no rational cause for it, either. Iran is a large country with a population of ~70M, much of which is beyond the range of Israeli strikes, anyway.

Wrong. Israeli bombers can go as far as Siberia.

And then there's the problem of all the countries between Israel and Iran to contend with... compounded by the fact that any strike would only have a temporary effect

How so? Israel would take out the military bases. It would take years for Iran to recoup.

... The Iranians would kick out the inspectors,

They practically already did that.

build new facilities deeper and further away from Israel

Not likely.

Not to mention vastly increased support for palestinians, hezbollah, and syria... maybe even a Shia uprising in Iraq.

Palestinians and Hezbollah will continue to be supported by Iran regardless of what Israel does. There is already a Shia uprising going on in Iraq. To say an attack by Israel would instigate further problems is a legitimate thought - but Israel doesn't care. They're actions are solely to protect their state, not to appease the U.S, Iraq, or Palestinians.

It's a fools' move, but then, the Israeli rightwing is even more desperate than their American counterparts...

Your ignorance is laughable. Someone so certain of the world yet so ignorant - ah, just the American way.

edit: If anything an attack by Israel might throw other Arab nations into a war. I'm not an expert on Arab-to-Arab relations go, but that's what's happened int he past.

 

[0marTheZealot]

There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread.

1. Israeli bombers cannot reach Siberia, they can't even reach deep within Iran without violating Iraqi & Turkish airspace.

2. Most of Iran's nuclear facilities are either unknown or deep underground and thus, safe from conventional attacks.

3. Israel cannot afford a protracted war. If the initial strike fails for whatever reason, Iran would be well within it's rights to fight back. Secondly, such an attack would definitely inflame the region against Israel to the point of a regional conflict.

4. Iran has access to the latest Russian weaponry. The big question is how good is this new Russian weaponry. If it's comparable to the current-gen USA stuff, then an Israeli airstrike might be looking at significant casualties.

5. Finally, Israel only exists because of the 3+ billion dollars we send them unconditionally. This is not a loan but rather a handout. Secondly, Israel has access to special weapons deals that no other country in the world does. Given the current political and economic climate, this deal may be on the chopping block. Israel only has a 150 billion dollar GDP, approximately equal to Pakistan. What do you think would happen to it's military in 10 years if these deals were renegotiated or outright rescinded? It may have an advanced military now, but remember, during the Lebanon war against Hezbollah, Israel suffered major casualties, including the loss of naval equipment. And this was against a rag-tag group of paramilitaries without significant military training or equipment.

In a 5 day or 10 day war, Israel would win, no questions about it. In a 3 month or 6 month conflict? Not so much, especially if it was the aggressor. Most of the world already disapproves of Israeli foreign policy so outside of the United States, I doubt any country would come to it's aid.

 

[palehorse]

There will never be a "good time" for such an attack... but they just might do it anyways.

I pray that they do not...

 

[counterstrikedude]

Originally posted by: 0marTheZealot
There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread.

1. Israeli bombers cannot reach Siberia, they can't even reach deep within Iran without violating Iraqi & Turkish airspace.

Logistically, they can. Legally, probably not - but since when did Israel recognize that? The Arab states have never recognized UN resolutions - why should Israel?

2. Most of Iran's nuclear facilities are either unknown or deep underground and thus, safe from conventional attacks.

How do you know this? Are you an Israeli spy? I'm sure Israel has plenty of available options.

3. Israel cannot afford a protracted war. If the initial strike fails for whatever reason, Iran would be well within it's rights to fight back.

Yes, but Israel will make sure they don't. They'll take out the military bases, rendering Iran helpless. The real threat comes from Egypt, Jordon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, or Russia.

Secondly, such an attack would definitely inflame the region against Israel to the point of a regional conflict.

Probably.

4. Iran has access to the latest Russian weaponry. The big question is how good is this new Russian weaponry. If it's comparable to the current-gen USA stuff, then an Israeli airstrike might be looking at significant casualties.

Are you actually saying Iran has the military equivalence to Israel? Even with the most hi-tech Russian weaponry, it would never compare to Israel's.

5. Finally, Israel only exists because of the 3+ billion dollars we send them unconditionally.

I knew this would happen. Typical liberal anti-zionist zealot. Israel exists because of Israel, not because of the US. If the US dropped support (which would never happen), do you think Israel would just suddenly fall of the face of the Earth? They provide billions in weapons contracts to Europe and the Americas.

This is not a loan but rather a handout.

WRONG.

Secondly, Israel has access to special weapons deals that no other country in the world does. Given the current political and economic climate, this deal may be on the chopping block. Israel only has a 150 billion dollar GDP, approximately equal to Pakistan.

Pakistan has a 100+ million people.

What do you think would happen to it's military in 10 years if these deals were renegotiated or outright rescinded?

You clearly are misinformed. The Israel isn't milking off the US for military support. It's a give and take relationship - many of our weapons, science industries, and health-related tools all come from Israel. This illusion that Israel is being sent billions of dollars in aid without returns is not only insulting, it's false.

It may have an advanced military now, but remember, during the Lebanon war against Hezbollah, Israel suffered major casualties, including the loss of naval equipment.

Which Lebanon War? Israel casualties were less than ~200.

And this was against a rag-tag group of paramilitaries without significant military training or equipment.

Hezbollah was hiding using civilian capitals as shields, plus the backing of Iran and Syria. If Israel truly wanted to win, they'd bomb every last inch of Lebanon, then Iran, and then Syria. That's what the US and Britain would do.

In a 5 day or 10 day war, Israel would win, no questions about it. In a 3 month or 6 month conflict? Not so much, especially if it was the aggressor. Most of the world already disapproves of Israeli foreign policy so outside of the United States, I doubt any country would come to it's aid.

You are delusional. Typical anti-semitic tirade.