Forum Post: Exposé of Israeli Attack Plans on Iran Gets International Coverage

Yesterday's blockbuster exposé by historian Mark Perry of the Israeli war plans against Iran has gotten widespread international coverage. Atlantic Monthly online published an accurate summary account today by John Hudson, complete with detailed maps of possible routes for Israeli warplanes to strike the main Iranian nuclear facilities. The same routes could be used to deploy commando teams on C-130s. Hudson wrote, "Instead of an airstrike, many U.S. military analysts are anticipating a commando-style mission using an elite special forces unit that's the Israeli equivalent of SEAL Team 6."

Pentagon sources have indicated that the Perry article represented a double warning: Not only is there concern at the U.S. Central Command that Israel will attempt an "Entebbe" raid on Fordow. There is growing concern that President Obama could press the U.S. Special Operations Command to plan and execute the same kind of commando assault. According to one source, feelers have already been coming from the White House about such a wild operation by U.S. special forces. The source indicates that even Admiral Bill McRaven, the head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin-Laden, is opposed to any such mission, on the grounds that it would likely fail.

In addition to the Atlantic coverage of the Perry article, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth and its website Ynet also provided detailed coverage of the Perry story. The Ynet article also made reference to a Sept. 28 article by William J. Broad in the New York Times, headlined "How to Help Iran Build a Bomb," which cited numerous military and security professionals who adamantly oppose any kind of military strikes against Iran, arguing that a limited strike on Iran's nuclear facilities will actually accelerate an Iranian drive to obtain a nuclear weapon. Among the experts cited by Broad is Gen. Michael V. Hayden, former head of the NSA and the CIA, who is a top campaign advisor to Mitt Romney. According to Gen. Hayden, an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities "would drive them to do what we were trying to prevent." As Broad noted, "An attack, for instance, would all but certainly lead to the expulsion of international inspectors, which, in turn, would allow the government to undo hundreds of monitoring devices and safeguards, including seals on underground storage units."

Ynet then picked up on the Perry article, accurately reporting on his warnings about an Israeli "Entebbe" commando attack, and quoting from two of the sources Perry interviewed—Admiral Bobby Ray Inman and Col. Sam Gardiner, who both warned that Israel does not have the capacity to successfully hit the Iranian nuclear facilities, and that Netanyahu's game is to induce the U.S. to join in any attack.

http://larouchepac.com/node/24066