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| By israelinsider staff and partners February 25, 2007 |
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Despite the Bush administration's insistence it has no plans to go to war with Iran, a Pentagon panel has been created to plan a bombing attack that could be implemented within 24 hours of receiving permission from President George W. Bush, The New Yorker magazine reported in the March 4 issue.
The special planning group was established within the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in recent months, according to an unidentified former US intelligence official cited in the article by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh.
The panel initially focused its efforts on plans for destroying Iran's nuclear facilities and on regime change but has more recently been directed to identify targets in Iran that may be involved in supplying or aiding militants in Iraq, according to an Air Force adviser and a Pentagon consultant, who were not identified.
The consultant and a former senior intelligence official both said that US military and special-operations teams had crossed the border from Iraq into Iran in pursuit of Iranian operatives, the article said.
In response to the report, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said: "The United States is not planning to go to war with Iran. To suggest anything to the contrary is simply wrong, misleading and mischievous.
"The United States has been very clear with respect to its concerns regarding specific Iranian government activities. The president has repeatedly stated publicly that this country is going to work with allies in the region to address those concerns through diplomatic efforts," Whitman said.
Pentagon officials say they maintain contingency plans for literally dozens of potential conflicts around the world and that all plans are subject to regular and ongoing review.
The article, citing unnamed current and former US officials, also said the Bush administration received intelligence from Israel that Iran had developed an intercontinental missile capable of delivering several small warheads that could reach Europe. It added the validity of that intelligence was still being debated.
Gulf states to let Israel use airspace
Israel requested permission from the United States to fly through Iraqi airspace, in case Jerusalem should decide to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, a Ynet article reported, citing a report Saturday in the Daily Telegraph.
A senior Israeli defense official said negotiations were underway for the US to provide an 'air corridor' over Iraq.
However, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh denied the report Saturday and said any talk of an Israeli offensive against Iran was speculative alone.
Sneh said the reports apparently came from sources that did not want to uphold responsibility for the diplomatic inaction regarding Iran's possible nuclear armament.
In the event that Israel should target Iran's nuclear facilities, Israeli war planes would have to fly across Iraq to reach their targets, for which they need authorization from the Pentagon.
The Israeli defense official who spoke to the Telegraph said Israel was "planning for every eventuality, and sorting out issues such as these are crucially important."
"The only way to do this is to fly through US-controlled air space. If we don't sort these issues out now we could have a situation where American and Israeli war planes start shooting at each other," he added.
Meanwhile, on Sunday the Kuwaiti daily al-Siyassah reported that the Gulf states of Oman and the UAE would allow Israel to use their airspace should the Jewish state decide to launch preemptive strikes against Iran. The report quoted European and Arab diplomats.
The newspaper also quoted a Pentagon official said saying that Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan would assist Israeli raids on Iran.
Ynetnews contributed to this report. |
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