JERUSALEM, April 14 (UPI) — The United States and Israel will conduct their most complex military exercise ever, jointly testing three ballistic missile defense systems, officials said.
The exercise, called Juniper Cobra, will be conducted in Israel later this year, and include the Arrow 2 missile interceptor system, the U.S.’s terminal high altitude area defense and the ship-based Aegis ballistic missile defense system, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.
The test also would likely include launching interceptors from these three systems, Israeli military leaders said.
If Israel is going to bomb Iran’s nuclear and missile sites, then they need to be prepared for retaliation in case they don’t get them all, or if Iran launches before they can complete the attack. It looks like the US is very much involved in the planning and deployment stages, even though we’ve backed off from the actual attack. We don’t want or need to be involved in a third battlefront, but Israel has no choice except war with Iran, and I’m happy to see that we’re at least lending a logistical hand.
At the same time, it’s just been announced that the Obama administration is set to drop a precondition for the start of negotiations on the nuclear issue – that Iran first suspend its uranium enrichment process.
Negotiations have been given added urgency by threats by the new Israeli government to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities to prevent it achieving a nuclear weapons capability. Israel predicts Iran could reach this point by this autumn, so time is running out.
The Israeli president, Shimon Peres, urged the Iranian president to enter into the talks proposed by Barack Obama. If Ahmadinejad doesn’t back down over the nuclear issue, “we’ll strike him”, Peres said.
You can’t get more direct than that. Either Iran gives up nukes by this Autumn, which means September-October, or there will be war between Israel and Iran.
What I think Iran will do is speed up their program and get enough fissile material for a bomb by July or August, either that or buy a bomb from the Russians, and you can bet that we and the Israelis are figuring the same thing. One thing is sure, we’re finally heading into the end game of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The Iranians are so CUTE, how can anyone not love them? They just issued a demand that the UN give Israel a good slap for “unlawful and insolent threats” to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Irans loud and frequent threats to destroy Israel, to utterly wipe Israel off the map, well, that’s different. Those threats are okay.
Isn’t that just too lovable for words? All they need now is Same-Sex marriage.
Phuffox ache – and me with the bunker only half finished.
Some alien who pisses neat psychedelic deliriant hallucinogens has most certainly stopped off at Planet Earth and tainted the oceans.
It has to be the global water supply, there’s nothing else that could make all 6,500,000,000 of us go wibble moo fribble de-clomp boing boing at the same time.
Whatever happened to just getting on with human living and occasionally loving thy neighbour (in a whoo-hoo no witnesses physical kind of way)?
Somebody bring back my childhood!