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Politics : Attack Iraq? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: AK2004 who wrote (170)	9/3/2002 8:54:50 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8683

Israel preparing by November 1 for possible US attack on Iraq The Associated Press Sep. 3, 2002 Israel has asked its security and emergency services to complete preparations for a possible US attack on Iraq and an Iraqi counterstrike against Israel by Nov. 1, officials said Tuesday. The United States has not told Israel if or when it will attack Iraq, and Nov. 1 was chosen by Israel as a "reasonable" deadline for preparations, to make sure no branch of the security or emergency services lagged behind, said a senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Security officials, including a senior member of the Home Front Command, also said they have been asked by the government to present their plans by Nov. 1. Israel is getting ready for the possibility that if the United States attacks Iraq, President Saddam Hussein will strike against Israel, as he did during the 1991 Gulf War. In 1991, Israel did not respond to the firing of 39 Scud missiles, but officials have publicly said Israel will retaliate if Baghdad attacks again. US President George W. Bush has called for Saddam's removal, but aides have said repeatedly that Bush has not made a decision on what to do about Iraq. Members of his administration, including Vice President Dick Cheney, have called for pre-emptive military action to oust Saddam. Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, refused to discuss Israel's preparations for a possible US attack on Iraq, except to say that Israel would be forewarned about any such action. "The President of the United States will give us ample warning so that we can prepare for the possibility of an Iraqi attack on Israel," Gissin said. The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that Sharon met Tuesday with the heads of his security forces to discuss a possible US attack on Iraq. The newspaper reported that the military was training for the possibility that Saddam would use chemical or biological weapons against Israel. In 1991, all the Scud missiles fired on Israel had conventional warheads. Zalman Shoval, an adviser to Sharon, would not confirm Tuesday's meeting but said there have been ongoing meetings recently to discuss a possible US attack. "The Israeli government is examining all possible developments in case the United States should attack Iraq, without necessarily putting a date on that or without necessarily taking it for granted that the attack will take place. But we are definitely examining all the eventualities," he said. The Israeli army said that in the past two weeks the Home Front Command, responsible for defense against an attack on Israeli soil, had held an exercise, but refused to give details on the training. Maariv said soldiers had practiced distributing antibiotics to a civilian population hit by biological and chemical weapons. Last month, Israel's Cabinet decided to inoculate 15,000 security and rescue officials against smallpox to prepare for what officials called the very remote possibility of an Iraqi attack with non-conventional weapons. Israel has also deployed anti-missile batteries in central Israel and in the Negev Desert near its nuclear reactor.