[antiwar-van] Mofaz: U.S. administration is determined to carry out Iraq attack

[hanna kawas]

"200 U.S. soldiers have been in Israel since mid-January as part of the
joint manoeuvres"

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/259438.html

Haaretz
Wednesday, February 05, 2003


Mofaz: U.S. administration is determined to carry out Iraq attack


Speaking during a visit to navy shipyards in Haifa on Tuesday, Defense
Minister Shaul Mofaz said that the U.S. administration is "determined to
carry out the American attack, and I can say with the appropriate caution
that this attack appears to be inevitable."

Air Force Chief Dan Halutz told Israel Television that "the assessments that
were given recently of the end of February [for a U.S. attack] are seeming
more realistic."

Mofaz was inspecting the refitting of an Israeli Dolphin-class submarine,
which experts say could be armed with nuclear missiles, giving Israel a
second-strike capability if it were attacked with weapons of mass
destruction.

Earlier Tuesday, loud explosions were heard in the southern Negev as
U.S.-made Patriot missiles were fired in a test to simulate their
effectiveness against incoming ballistic missiles.

Army Radio said that as many as 14 Patriots were fired from a gunnery range
to simulate attempted interception of an enemy missile attack.

Trying to play down the missile test, the Israeli army said it was part of
joint Israel-U.S. exercises planned two years ago as part of ongoing
cooperation between the two countries.

About 200 U.S. soldiers have been in Israel since mid-January as part of the
joint manoeuvres code-named "Juniper Cobra", a biennial event that has been
tailored this year to anticipate any U.S. operation against Iraq.

During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq fired 39 conventional Scuds at Israel. But
Israeli officials fear that Saddam Hussein might this time launch Scuds
tipped with chemical or biological agents if he believes he is about to be
ousted.

The Patriot batteries tested on Tuesday were upgraded models of those used
in 1991 which proved largely ineffective at intercepting Scuds missiles. In
fact, some experts concluded that the Patriot anti-missiles fired at the
incoming Scuds in 1991 actually created additional damage on the ground.

Israel has also deployed its new multi-billion dollar Arrow missile killer,
which is the only operational weapon capable of intercepting ballistic
missiles outside the Earth's atmosphere. The two systems are expected to be
used concurrently.

By Haaretz Service and Reuters