Washington Times: Bomb Bushehr
In an editorial, the Washington Times calls on Israel to bomb Iran's Bushehr reactor on Friday. Israel is the only country likely to mount a military strike, and the Bushehr site is an exposed facility that could be taken out with conventional weapons. It's located on Iran's west coast, less than a third of a mile from the shore; air forces would not have to spend much time overflying Iran to attack it. The plant also could be hit using sea-launched cruise missiles from Israeli submarines. With an effective range of at least 900 miles, the subs wouldn't have to transit the Strait of Hormuz to mount the attack.While I believe that ultimately Israel will have to attack Iran's nuclear program, bombing Bushehr alone would be a mistake.
The strike needn't happen before Friday. Mr. Bolton set that deadline because he was concerned that destroying an operational plant would create a radiation hazard, but a strike that left the site radioactive would hinder Iranian attempts to get it back up and running. Civilian casualties would be minimal because the site is located nine miles downwind of the city of Bushehr, and potential fallout would drift over either the Gulf close to Iran or the immediate area, which is arid and sparsely populated.
The most dangerous fallout could be political. Russia, Iran's nuclear sponsor, is likely to voice strong objections; the usual anti-Israel suspects will howl; and the United States may not be as sturdy a champion for Israel as it was in the past. But the time has come to demonstrate resolve in face of an imminent threat from Iran. The Free World depends on Israeli power.
If the plant is as exposed as the Iranians make it out to be, so be it. It can be bombed later too. If there are civilian casualties, that is Iran's fault, not ours.
But bombing Bushehr only would make the 'international community' more vigilant about preventing an Israeli strike on the rest of Iran's facilities, and that is a risk we cannot afford to take.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:59 AM
3 Comments:
Much as I respect John Bolton for his support of Israel and his condemnation of Osama/obama, I think he should include the US in his proposal to attack Iran: why should Israel alone get left with the dirty jobs?
http://juniperinthedesert.blogspot.com/2010/08/daily-mail-israel-must-strike-now.html
you are 7 years behind times. see this 2003 article "BOMB BUSHEHR" by Irish-Israeli Sean Gannon
http://israelinsider.com/Views1/1971.htm
The Washington Times is 7 years behind the times. See this 2003 article "BOMB BUSHEHR" by Irish-Israeli SEAN GANNON
http://israelinsider.com/Views1/1971.htm
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