Recently, the U.S. government came up with this proposal to Israel if Israel would agree not to attack a nuclear-armed Iran.
To make Israel feel secure in the new reality, Riedel "proposed" four steps for strengthening the Israeli armed forces and lending it a second-strike capability - even against an Iranian nuclear attack.
1. The US must spread a nuclear umbrella over Israel that would entail the installation of American nuclear depots in Israel to show Tehran that a nuclear attack on the Jewish state would meet with a US nuclear response.
2. American nuclear submarines would be supplied to the Israeli Navy as the backbone of its nuclear counter-strike capability. There are two categories - ballistic missile submarines and attack submarines.
3. The Israeli Air Force would receive US F-22 Raptor stealth jets, the most sophisticated warplane in the skies today. They would be equipped with all the systems and ordnance needed to strike the Iranian nuclear program.
4. The US would arrange for Israel's full membership of NATO, so rendering an Iranian nuclear attack on Israel subject not just to US retaliation but a declaration of war by the 26-member alliance. [full story]Let's look at the items:
- If Iran was belligerent enough to attack Israel with nuclear weapons, what makes the U.S. think that Iran would not attempt to deliver strikes against the U.S. in a variety of ways... by ocean transport, by suitcase bombs, by EMP attack? This is a meaningless point. The Obama administration would want to "negotiate" after the fact.
- American submarines are nice, but Israel already has a submarine force with nuclear missiles. That counterpunch already exists for Israel.
- Israel has already demonstrated the ability to fly sorties into areas with sophisticated defenses and return them safely. The U.S. overestimates its technology advantages versus what the Israelis have developed for themselves.
- Wow! NATO.
What makes the U.S. government think that Israel is willing to let Iran strike its tiny country with nuclear weapons just to please President Obama and his "report human rights violations" Secretary of State Clinton?
The Israelis know that military commitments under the Obama administration come with a very limited time warranty and the warranty is subject to change of content.