Countdown Iran » pre-emptive strike

On Sanctions, Military Action, and Underground Tunnels

C.I. — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:37:48 +0000

A wide-ranging interview with Raymond Tanter, the prominent Georgetown University lecturer and leading expert on U.S. policy options toward Iran.

Required Reading

C.I. — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:49:10 +0000

JAN. 11 – The following links may be of interest to Countdowniran.com readers:

Israel and Iran: The Gathering Storm. The Economist. Jan. 7, 2010. Israel’s Government Spokesman, Mark Regev, is asked about the piece in the Jan. 8th broadcast of “Frost Over the World.”

Gen. Petraeus to CNN: U.S. Has ‘Contingencies’ for Iran Nuclear Program

C.I. — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:25:40 +0000

JAN. 10 – Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, has told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the United States has developed contingency plans for dealing with Iran’s suspected program to develop nuclear weapons.

“It would be almost literally irresponsible if CENTCOM were not to have been thinking about the various ‘what ifs’ and to make plans for a whole variety of different contingencies,” said Petraeus, whose interview with Amanpour will air today.

According to the report, Petraeus declined to comment about Israel’s military capabilities, when asked about rumors that Israel could attack Iran’s facilities.

Israel’s Channel 10: IDF Retrofits Old Airplanes, Creates Aerial Tankers for Mid-Air Refueling

C.I. — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:50:29 +0000

JAN. 3 – Israel Channel 10 Military Affairs correspondent Alon Ben David reports that the Israeli Air Force has successfully retrofitted decades-old Boeing 707 airplanes, essentially turning them into aerial tankers for refueling Israeli F-15’s.

Covering an air force drill and broadcasting pictures of a mid-air refueling, Ben David showed the interior of an old Boeing aircraft, with its passenger seats replaced with fuel tanks.

Ben David notes that IDF officials don’t mention a word of Iran in their briefings. But the implication is clear, he says. Successul mid-air refueling is critical for any long-range IDF mission, a mission, he says, which could be put to the test in the future if sanctions against Iran fail to stem Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon.