So sayeth the UK Sunday Times, the Israeli Air Force is making ready preparations to use tactical nuclear weapons on Iran:
Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.
“As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the sources.
The plans, disclosed to The Sunday Times last week, have been prompted in part by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s assessment that Iran is on the verge of producing enough enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons within two years.
Israeli military commanders believe conventional strikes may no longer be enough to annihilate increasingly well-defended enrichment facilities. Several have been built beneath at least 70ft of concrete and rock. However, the nuclear-tipped bunker-busters would be used only if a conventional attack was ruled out and if the United States declined to intervene, senior sources said.
And it does appear as if senior Democrats – Majority Leader Stenny Hoyer among them – are indeed prepared to use force to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Of course, this is all purely hypothetical. But it does send a pretty clear message that there’s plenty of neighborhood kids on the block who don’t want to see a nuclear Iran anymore than we wanted to see a nuclear Iraq.