This past Wednesday, August 15, American journalist and blogger
Richard Silverstein posted an alleged Israeli draft plan leaked to him
by a former minister.
A plan to blast the mullahcracy of Iran to smithereens, which reads
like stuff from a sci-fi yarn.
I reformat it into shorter paragraphs as I'm writing this on a mobile phone.
THE PLAN:
"The Israeli attack will open with a coordinated strike, including an
unprecedented cyber-attack which will totally paralyze the Iranian
regime and its ability to know what is happening within its borders.
"The internet, telephones, radio and television, communications
satellites, and fiber optic cables leading to and from critical
installations—including underground missile bases at Khorramabad and
Isfahan—will be taken out of action.
"The electrical grid throughout Iran will be paralyzed and transformer
stations will absorb severe damage from carbon fiber munitions which
are finer than a human hair, causing electrical short circuits whose
repair requires their complete removal.
"This would be a Sisyphean task in light of cluster munitions which
would be dropped, some time-delayed and some remote-activated through
the use of a satellite signal.
"A barrage of tens of ballistic missiles would be launched from Israel
toward Iran.
"300km ballistic missiles would be launched from Israeli submarines in
the vicinity of the Persian Gulf.
"The missiles would not be armed with unconventional warheads, but
rather with high-explosive ordnance equipped with reinforced tips
designed specially to penetrate hardened targets.
"The missiles will strike their targets—some exploding above ground
like those striking the
nuclear reactor at Arak–which is intended to produce plutonium and
tritium—and the nearby heavy water production facility; the nuclear
fuel production facilities at Isfahan and facilities for
enriching uranium-hexaflouride.
"Others would explode under-ground, as at the Fordo facility.
"A barrage of hundreds of cruise missiles will pound command and
control systems, research
and development facilities, and the residences of senior personnel in
the nuclear and missile development apparatus.
"Intelligence gathered over years will be utilized to completely
decapitate Iran's professional and command ranks in these fields.
"After the first wave of attacks, which will be timed to the second,
the 'Blue and White' radar
satellite, whose systems enable us to perform an evaluation of the
level of damage done to the
various targets, will pass over Iran.
"Only after rapidly decrypting the satellite's data, will the
information be transferred directly to war planes making their way
covertly toward Iran.
"These IAF planes will be armed with electronic warfare gear
previously unknown to the wider public, not even revealed to our U.S.
ally.
"This equipment will render Israeli aircraft invisible.
"Those Israeli war planes which participate in the attack will damage
a short-list of targets which require further assault.
"Among the targets approved for attack—Shihab 3 and Sejil ballistic
missile silos, storage tanks for
chemical components of rocket fuel, industrial facilities for
producing missile control systems,
centrifuge production plants and more."
Oh my! Did I just hear Senator John McCain hum that Beach Boys song or
am I just imagining this?
(Page Address: www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2012/08/15/bibis-secret-war-plan/)
***
Coincidentally, on the same day that Richard Silverstein leaked the
assault plan, President Shimon Peres, a figurehead in a Parliamentary
system like Israel, said in a television interview:
"It's clear to us that we can't do it alone. We can only delay [Iran's
progress]. Thus it's clear to us
that we need to go together with America.
"There are questions of cooperation and of timetables, but as severe
as the danger is, at least this time
we're not alone."
This statement triggered the combined wrath of PM Benjamin "Bibi"
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barack who're now assaulting Peres
by the proxy of their aides.
According to today's editorial of Haaretz--oddly titled "The president
is not the enemy"-- "Netanyahu [...]was aggrieved by the chutzpah of
President Shimon Peres, who dared to disturb the monopoly that he and
Defense Minister Ehud Barak had secured over the debate about whether
to bomb Iran."
(Page Address: www.haaretz.com/opinion/the-president-is-not-the-enemy-1.459121)
***
PHOTO CREDITS: Daniel Bar On/haaretz.com
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