Lara, See below...honestly speaking, I don't think you know what you're talking about...or are you just another partisan hack journalist/propaganda mouthpiece for obama??

BERLIN – Competing analysis articles appeared Monday in The New York Times and last week in the German daily Die Welt outlining vastly different conclusions about Israel’s military capability to knock out Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

While The New York Times report cast doubt on Israel’s success chances, Hans Rühle, who directed the planning department of the German Defense Ministry between 1982-1988, expressed confidence that Israel’s air force could decimate Iran’s principal nuclear installations.

The core differences surround the number of Israeli jets and bombs required to destroy Iran’s primary nuclear facilities, as well as the challenge of refueling fighter planes to travel a distance of more than 1,000 miles into Iranian airspace and return safely to Israel.

The Times titled its rather pessimistic analysis “Iran Raid Seen as a Huge Task for Israeli Jets,” and wrote that an Israeli mission to annihilate Iran’s nuclear infrastructure would require a minimum of 100 fighter jets.

According to a sample of US defense and military analysts, it would be a Herculean challenge for Israel to penetrate Iran’s air space and launch attacks on the country’s nuclear complexes.

The Times cited Michael V. Hayden, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006 to 2009, who explicitly declared that pulverizing Iran’s nuclear facilities is “beyond the capacity” of Israel.

Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula told the Times that, “All the pundits who talk about ‘Oh, yeah, bomb Iran,’ it ain’t going to be that easy.”

Deptula, served as the US Air Force’s top intelligence official until last year, and oversaw the air military strikes conducted in the 2001 Afghanistan War theater in 2001, and during the first Gulf war in 1991 in Iraq.

The Times offered a bleak assessment of Israel’s capability to refuel its fighter planes, saying “Israel would have to use airborne refueling planes, called tankers, but Israel is not thought to have enough.”

In a sharp contrast to the Times analysis, Hans Rühle, a leading German security expert, asserted last week in a lengthy article in the Die Welt that a comprehensive Israel-based bombing campaign could significantly set back, perhaps a decade or more, Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

In the article titled “How Israel can destroy Iran’s nuclear program” Rühle analyzed the number of Israeli fighter jets and bombs necessary to obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Citing experts, Rühle writes that an extensive bombing campaign is within Israel’s capability to decimate Iran’s ability to continue to make progress on developing nuclear weapons.

According to Rühle, there are 25 to 30 facilities in Iran used for its atomic program, of which six are primary-bombing targets.

He cites the nuclear enrichment plant Natanz, the conversion facility in Isfahan, the heavy water reactor Arak and the weapons and munitions sites in Parchin. In addition, he notes the deep underground enrichment facility Fordow and Iran’s operational nuclear plant Bushehr.

The popular PJ Media news website columnist, David P. Goldman, wrote last week that “Hans Rühle was one of the toughest and most perspicacious analysts in those heady days” during the Cold war period.

Goldman added that “Rühle is highly confident that Israel could knock out Iran’s nuclear program for a decade or more with about 25 of its 87 F-15 fighter-bombers and a smaller number of its F-16s. Each of the F- 15s would carry two of the GBU-28 bunker busters, with the F-16s armed with smaller bombs.

Rühle writes that surveillance “information about Natanz is solid,“ adding that the “project has been observed from satellites and from the location from 'Israeli tourists.'”

He added that Israel strongest bunker buster bombs GBU-28 could destroy the roof of the facility. If the damage is not sufficient, a second GBU-28 could be launched to complete the aim of destruction.

According to Rühle, Israel’s successful obliteration of the Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007 laid an important precedent. He writes that “many experts believe “ that strikes against Iran’s nuclear operations could set back the program 10 years, or possibly longer, based on present knowledge.

The fighter plane requirement would entail 20 F-15 machines each accompanied with two GBU-28s. He estimates that Israel’s air force has over 87 F-15 planes at its disposal. The conversion Nuclear Technology Center of Isfahan, which is largely vulnerable to attack because its buildings are not underground, could be eliminated with GBU-27 bombs. Isfahan converts the yellow cake process into uranium.

The least difficult challenge for Israel’s air force is the heavy-water reactor Arak, observes Rühle. The above-ground facility could be razed with 10 GBU-10 bombs, wrote Rühle. The strike would require 10 F- 16 fighter jets.

According to Rühe, the most difficult obstacle to destroy is the underground Fordow enrichment plant. He notes that special team forces would have to attack the facility.

The alternative would be to strike the tunnel openings with GBU-28 bombs to plug the entry points for a period of time.

The complex Parchin site remains beyond the International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and it is unclear how many bombs it would take to destroy the over 100 buildings, many of which are buried underground. Nuclear warheads are believed to be worked on in the Parchin plant.

Rühle views the nuclear power plant Bushehr as a possible primary military target, largely because the plants plutonium can be used for weapons. In contrast to the United States State Department, which views the Bushehr plant as a civilian-energy program without a military dimension, Rühle writes that “the destruction of Bushehr should not be a problem for Israel’s army – 10 GBU-28 or GBU-27 bombs would be sufficient.”

He quotes a high-level representative of the Israeli nuclear expert class who was in Berlin last year. The Israeli expert said “we cannot live with this reactor” in Bushehr because it is not immune to stopping the spread of proliferation-related material.

Rühle adds that if Israel can wipe out essential pieces of Iran’s nuclear program, then the problem is solved for a generation.

His essay is filled with a kind of supreme confidence about the ability of Israel’s military systems.

“Israel’s Air Force is first class, “ writes Rühle. “Their pilots are conditioned from the history of Israel and the constant dangers faced by the Jewish state.”

Though Rühle identifies the refueling of Israel’s fighter jets to be a thorny problem because Israel only has five tankers of the type KC-130H and four of the category B- 700, he said he believes the number to be higher.

He calls the public refuel tanker number a “rather lean supply, “ but notes that Israel’s government had requested to buy or lease from US President George W. Bush’s Administration additional refueling tanks. He adds that Israel’s Air Force has expertise over the “buddy refueling“ process among F-15 and F-16 planes. There is also the possibility of a temporary landing to refuel in Syria, Turkey, or Iraq, noted Rühle.

Perhaps because he was a peace-loving Israeli, Ms Friedman goes to considerable pains to ensure she doesn't tell us this man's name. Strange decision by a publicist. In considering this matter, one must ask: What would Yuri Zhivago say?

What Lantos said, if he's quoted correctly, shouldn't surprise anybody. Another Congressional figure, Charlie Wilson. intervened in Afghan matters 30 years ago in a kaleidoscopic way with a fabulously funded Congressional grant designed to kill people, and when the kaleidoscope changed, America forgot Afghanistan completely and looked for other parts of the planet to shake up. And, as we all know, found them. Thank God there's been no more trouble from Afghanistan since the early 1980s.

So if some one were to call Israel a "festering postule" and said that it should be nuked to stop its nuclear program, you would not be calling that person a bigot, anti-semite or worst.

If you agree with the bigoted "hypocrit" then you are yourself a bigoted hypocrit.

...If you pick up a kaleidoscope and look through it, you don’t see anything special. But if you shake the kaleidoscope and look through it again, you see something more beautiful than was there before." ~ Congressman Tom Lantos

FROM TED RALL, 07/22/10: …Umberto Eco’s 1995 essay "Eternal Fascism" describes the cult of action for its own sake under fascist regimes and movements: “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”…
SOURCE – http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/22-1

Note EH's tediously long post in this blog.

Now go over to Steve Walt's blog and read the tediously-lengthy post attributed to LOL.

Deja Vu, anyone?

What the hell do we expect from a bunch of warmongering fascists who demand that all of America join them in their ultra-patriotic fervor or be labeled as traitorous communists?

Iran with no nuclear weapons is zero military threat against nuclear superpower Israel. Israel is in possession of hundreds of nuclear warheads. More importantly, it possesses the most advanced delivery systems in the world including nuclear powered ballistic missile firing submarines. A nation with zero nuclear weapons does not attack another with hundreds. Even if (a hypothetical) Iran did some day acquire a nuclear weapon (to secure itself from vicarious nuclear attack) it could never use it against Israel because of the intertwined nature of the Palestinian and Israeli populations. Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in world Islam is in Jerusalem and they would never risk its destruction. But lets just ignore all of that.

I ask Israel supporters to seriously consider the CONSEQUENCES of an attack. A war initiated by Israel would spread to our interests in about half an hour. Prices for petroleum would certainly skyrocket to who knows what level, collapsing our fragile economy like a house of cards. Same for the whole world's economy for the same reasons. Mass chaos from Lebanon to Pakistan. Things quickly spiral out of control. China and Russia get quite hostile. Radioactive clouds drift eastward over India.

An Israeli attack slams the whole world into what? Choose your own apocalyptic metaphors. This is their suicide.

Sorry folks but the poeple of Iran themselves MASSIVELY support their nuclear program and resent foreign powers that threaten Iran because of it.

Also if this german is so much smarter than me why did you just agree when i dispproved his belief that isreal could refuel in syria, iraq and turkey? I guess i do know better you just admitted as much. Little georgia doesnt lifeinsuranceblog want another much larger neighbor to have beef with them, they are still recovering from russia bytch slapping the taste out their mouth

What you do is take the knowledge you have gained through study, get your thoughts together in coherant form, and put the words on paper, or on your computer. There are plenty of sources, you just have to do some research. You'll wind up a better student for doing so. Once you graduate, there won't be anyone to do your work for you. You'll be expected to produce on your own..

"Is rio orange war always forfait b and you inevitable ?"
MaximB

This lady is doing more for foreign policy than our whole Congress put together. Her state holds resources that can benefit our entire country. She's suing the government and their environmental wackos with their faulty science for not allowing Alaska access to it. Being more energy independent would help our country more than anything else. You have to have a rounded team..

"Is rio orange war always forfait mobile inevitable ?"
MaximB

I do not care what anyone says, he is lined with louis farakhan, and malcomX, head of the muslim nation, and so is his pastor, where he attends church for the last 20 years, and about your question, YES its true, wake up america!!!!!! all kinds of thing he has been into, but the media won't tell ya!! ya gotta research and find out for yourself, they are all corrupt as heck!!!!!.

"Is rio orange war always comparateur forfait inevitable ?"
MaximB