From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2004 10:16 PM Subject: US To Supply Israel With 'Bunker Buster' Bombs; Iran, SyriaTargets.
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM --------------------------- From: Rick Rozoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1) US To Supply Israel With 'Bunker Buster' Bombs For Use Against Iran, Syria 2) Ha'aretz: U.S. To Sell Israel 5,000 Smart Bombs ==================================================== 1) http://news.ft.com/cms/s/48bd2a4c-0bb6-11d9-8318-00000e2511c8.html Reuters September 21, 2004 Israel seeks US bunker bombs [ [A] "senior Israeli security source who confirmed the Haaretz story told Reuters: "This is not the sort of ordnance needed for the Palestinian front. Bunker busters could serve Israel against Iran, or possibly Syria." ] [ "Known by the military designations GBU-27 or GBU-28, 'bunker busters' are guided by lasers or satellites and can penetrate up to 10 metres (30 feet) of earth and concrete. Israel may already have some of the bombs for its U.S.-supplied F-15 fighter jets. 'As they are part of the weapon set for the F-15, I would assume them to be in place,' said Robert Hewson,editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons. He said the bombs proved effective in the 1991 Gulf war and 1990s NATO strikes on Serbian forces." ] JERUSALEM - The United States plans to sell Israel $319 million worth of air-launched bombs, including 500 "bunker busters" able to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear facilities, Israeli security sources said on Tuesday. The Haaretz newspaper quoted a Pentagon report as saying the planned procurement sought "to maintain Israel's qualitative advantage and advance U.S. strategic and tactical interests". The U.S. embassy in Israel had no comment, referring queries to Washington. Israel's Defence Ministry also declined comment. But a senior Israeli security source who confirmed the Haaretz story told Reuters: "This is not the sort of ordnance needed for the Palestinian front. Bunker busters could serve Israel against Iran, or possibly Syria." Haaretz quoted Israeli government sources as saying the sale, including 4,500 other guided munitions, was not expected to go through until after the U.S. elections in November. Earlier this month, Haaretz said Israel sought to obtain the U.S.-made, one-tonne "bunker buster" bombs for a possible future strike against arch-foe Iran's atomic development programme, which the Jewish state considers a strategic threat. "This relationship has a long history. The United States has given Israel more advanced weapons than this" a spokesman for Iran?s Defence Ministry said. "This could be psychological warfare to test us" he added. Tehran denies hostile designs, saying its nuclear programme has peaceful purposes only. This week, it rejected international calls to comply with a U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency demand that it halt all uranium-enrichment activities. Among the nuclear facilities that Iran has declared are uranium mines near the city of Yazd, and a uranium-enrichment plant in Natanz incorporating large underground buildings that could accommodate thousands of gas centrifuges. Western diplomats accuse Iran of having several undeclared facilities close to Tehran thought to be related to uranium enrichment, a process the United States and some other countries believe Tehran will use to produce fissile material for weapons. The exiled Iranian opposition group known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) says Iran is constructing numerous secret facilities under its Defence Ministry. DIPLOMACY STILL SEEN AS PREFERABLE Known by the military designations GBU-27 or GBU-28, "bunker busters" are guided by lasers or satellites and can penetrate up to 10 metres (30 feet) of earth and concrete. Israel may already have some of the bombs for its U.S.-supplied F-15 fighter jets. "As they are part of the weapon set for the F-15, I would assume them to be in place," said Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons. He said the bombs proved effective in the 1991 Gulf war and 1990s NATO strikes on Serbian forces. Israel, which is widely assumed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed nation, wants to stop Iran going atomic, but officials say diplomatic pressure on Tehran is the best method. Many believe a military strike, especially by Israel, could kill off any chance of a diplomatic resolution or efforts by Iranian opposition groups to achieve internal reform. "I think (military action) should be a last, last, last resort. Unlike Iraq and North Korea, there is at least some chance of bringing about an undermining of the Velayat-e Faqih's authority," former CIA director R. James Woolsey told Reuters this month, referring to Iran's ruling Islamic clerics. ----------------------------------------------------- 2) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/479587.html Ha'aretz [Israel] September 21, 2004 U.S. to sell Israel 5,000 smart bombs By Aluf Benn The United States will sell Israel 5,000 smart bombs, for $319 million, according to a report made to Congress a few weeks ago. The funding will come from the U.S. military aid to Israel, and the bombs range from airborne versions, guidance units, training bombs and detonators. The bombs are guided by satellite, in a system already in the Israel Defense Forces arsenal. The guidance unit receives a signal from a satellite, correcting the bomb's course to the target. The Pentagon told Congress that the bombs are meant to maintain Israel's qualitative advantage, and advance U.S. strategic and tactical interests. Among the bombs the air force will get are 500 one-ton bunker busters that can penetrate two-meter-thick cement walls; 2,500 regular one-ton bombs; 1,000 half-ton bombs; and 500 quarter-ton bombs. Government sources said the bomb deal, one of the largest weapons deals of recent years, did not face any political difficulties, despite the use Israel has made of U.S.-made F-16s in some of its assassinations in the territories. The IDF used a one-ton bomb to kill a senior Hamas officer,Salah Shehadeh, in July 2002, an assassination that also took the lives of 15 Palestinian civilians, including children. In September 2003, the air force used a smaller, quarter-ton bomb, to strike at Hamas leaders, but missed. In other cases, half-ton bombs have been used. The government sources said Israel will not be asking for any new weapons systems or purchases until after the upcoming November elections. On October 12, delegations from the two countries meet for their regular six month session for strategic cooperation. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/VL0olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Peruuta ryhm�n tilaus l�hett�m�ll� s�hk�postia osoitteeseen: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kominform2/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
