HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM --------------------------- http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60D33620100114
Reuters January 14, 2010 Israel in talks to buy 6th submarine from Germany By Dan Williams and Brian Rohan JERUSALEM/BERLIN: Israel has broached the idea of buying a sixth discounted submarine from Germany as part of a military buildup designed to signal strength in the face of Iranian nuclear ambitions, officials said on Thursday. Israel has three of the Dolphin-class diesel submarines, with two more on order from Kiel shipyard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) and due by 2012. The vessels are widely believed to have been deployed with nuclear cruise missiles. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who visits Berlin with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, will ask the Merkel government to underwrite another Dolphin sale, aides said. Dolphins cost some $700 million but those in Israel's fleet came at a deep discount from Germany.... "Five submarines are sufficient, but of course we could use more. Our ideal number would be nine -- enough to ensure we have the necessary assets at sea to cover all relevant threats and targets," the Israeli source said. .... STRATEGIC DEPTH Israel does not discuss its own nuclear capabilities. There is further speculation over whether Israeli cruise missiles would be able to reach Iranian facilities from the Mediterranean sea, where the Dolphins routinely patrol from their Haifa dock. ..... A bigger Dolphin fleet could allow Israel the option of basing some in its Red Sea port of Eilat, providing a short-cut to the Gulf. An Israeli submarine crossed the Suez Canal for an exercise off Eilat last July, the first such deployment. .... German opposition parties, including the Social Democrats (SPD), have voiced misgivings about weapons exports to crisis areas, but the last two Dolphin sales were approved while the SPD was part of a previous coalition government. There is also domestic support for keeping production going at HDW, a branch of parent company ThyssenKrupp, given the lack of foreign clients for new diesel-powered submarines. (Editing by Ralph Boulton) =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected] or [email protected] Daily digest option available. ============================== --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bNM5nn.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [email protected] For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit: http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER --^----------------------------------------------------------------
