Israel's long-range fighters plan practice runs

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WASHINGTON – As the debate rages between Washington and Israel over whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, U.S. intelligence sources tell Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin that Israel has decided to conduct long-range missions with U.S.-supplied F-15 jets in what Israeli officials say are practice runs leading up to a possible attack.

Until now, sources say, practice was being conducted on simulators to mask the extent of preparations.

"Not sure if the flights are supposed to be a message, per se (to the Iranians), but at some point they've got to get off the simulators and do it in the real airplane," said one source who also pointed to preparations continuing with arming and fueling Israel's nuclear-capable Jericho II missiles.

Until now, the Israeli Air Force has been practicing on simulators which, a source said, was to hide preparations from U.S. detection of "Indications and Warnings" of impending conflicts.

A source for G2Bulletin also suggests that the Israelis may rely more on "stand-off" warfare when it comes to any military strike against Iran, using missiles and drones, while deploying almost all military aircraft to protect the immediate home front.

These developments were under way as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Obama to try to get him to agree to a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The U.S. position now is to let diplomacy and sanctions take their course to contain the Iranians, while the Israelis increasingly are concerned that Iran is quickly approaching the "zone of immunity" beyond which its nuclear program cannot be stopped.

For that reason, the Israelis have made it clear that the "c" word – containment – is not a viable option, as Washington proposes.

With timing being the central question, regional analysts believe that an Israeli unilateral military strike – without initial U.S. participation – may be just weeks away.

Analysts say that the timing will be a political dynamic for Obama and his re-election efforts in November.

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