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Supplement #4Israeli Nuclear Strike On Iran Turned Back By USAF By William Thomas www.willthomas.net exclusive 1-19-7 A recent strike by nuclear-armed Israeli Air Force fighter-bombers bound for targets in Iran was turned back after being intercepted by U.S. fighters over Iraq, this reporter has learned. Two sources have independently confirmed the encounter, which took place on January 7, 2007. Though the first informant offered few details beyond an initial tip, a second source long-known by this reporter to have well-placed U.S. and "non-U.S." military and government contacts provided specific information regarding the raid, which was aimed at the radical religious ayatollahs holding ultimate power in Iran. Israeli nuclear strikes are not unprecedented. Soon after Desert Storm, U.S. Navy pilots told this reporter in Kuwait how in late 1990 Israel made good on its pledge to respond in kind to WMD attacks by launching nuclear-armed aircraft against Baghdad following a lethal assault on Tel Aviv by Scud missiles tipped with chemical warheads. That air strike was called off when the Americans refused to provide the vital IFF codes needed to fly through U.S.-controlled airspace. When questioned concerning the "Identification Friend or Foe" transponder codes needed to overfly Iraq today, this source said that allied Israeli aircraft are routinely provided "squawk codes" when flying missions aimed at acquiring the characteristics of air defence radars triggered by their approach to Syrian, Jordanian, Iranian and U.S.-controlled Iraqi airspace. This source added that visiting IAF warplanes are routinely "topped off" by American aerial refueling tankers, but only on condition that the Israeli jets fly a "racetrack" holding pattern-and do not continue "downtown" toward Iran. The designated turn back point is the "160 station"-a clearly charted tapline road located 160 kilometers from Baghdad. Any aircraft proceeding beyond this point must declare its intentions. Otherwise, a USAF F-15 will take position off its wingtip. After waggling its own wings to attract attention, if the interloper fails to turn back, the American Eagle "drops behind and gets tone" by locking a Sidewinder anti-aircraft missile onto the offending plane. According to this very reliable source, on two previous occasions Israeli fighter-bombers armed with nuclear bombs have headed "downtown" before being turned back over Iraq. The January 7th mission, which trespassed beyond 160 station before being recalled by Israeli authorities, comprised three IAF F-16s. Each carried conventional munitions-as well as a single 20-kiloton nuclear bomb. The atomic detonation that razed the city of Hiroshima and killed 140,000 people outright was a 13-kiloton blast. gence France- Presse Aug 6/05] DEADLY DEFENCES This report of an attempted nuclear strike contradicts military analysts who have long maintained that Israel would deploy as many as 25 I-model F-15 fighter-bombers from the 69th Squadron based at Hatzerim Air Base in the northern Negev, about 50 miles south of Tel Aviv. Any Israeli Air Force attack, it is believed, must first suppress Iranian air defenses, while ensuring that enough conventionally-armed F-15s get through to set back that country's widely dispersed nuclear program for many years . The latest model F-15 can carry as much ordnance as a neighborhood- flattening World War II B-17 heavy bomber. As the independent think tank Strategic Forecasting points out, the IAF "has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to conduct long-range strikes"- including the 1976 raid on Entebbe, 2,600 miles from Israel, and a 1985 attack on the PLO headquarters in Tunis, 1,500 miles away. ww.stratfor.com] But Iran's air defenses are far more formidable than any the Israeli Air Force has yet faced. Manufactured at the KBM factory near Moscow, Russian-supplied SA-18 Igla-S mobile missile batteries are said to be highly effective against low-flying jets. According to Russian intelligence sources known as DEBKA, the Igla's mobility "makes them difficult to target and limits the maneuverability of Israeli planes." || - page index - || - chapter index - || - Exit - ||
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