1000 US-Made Israeli Bunker Buster Bombs Could Target Iran

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1000 US-Made Israeli Bunker Buster Bombs Could Target Iran

Postby IPC » Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:54 pm

1000 US-made Israeli Bunker Buster Bombs Could Target 16 Iranian Bunker Nuclear Sites

1000 US Made Bunker Buster Bombs for Israel

U.S. Plans to Sell Israel 1,000 Bunker-Buster Bombs
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wir ... id=5805098

U.S. Plans to Sell Israel 1,000 Bunker-Buster Bombs, Could Target Arsenals in Lebanon, Gaza, but on Iran?

By AMY TEIBEL Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM September 15, 2008 (AP)

The U.S. plans to sell Israel 1,000 buster-bunker bombs which Israeli military experts said Monday could provide a powerful new weapon against underground arsenals in Lebanon or Gaza.

The experts said they doubted, however, that the bombs could be used to deliver a crippling blow against Iran's nuclear program.

In announcing the proposed $77 million deal, which still needs Congressional approval, the U.S. Defense Department said the sale of the Boeing GBU-39 smart bombs would be consistent with the U.S. interest of assisting Israel "to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability." The Pentagon issued a release on the planned sale on Sept. 9.

Because it is a precision weapon that generates far less collateral damage than heavier munitions, "this bomb is going to be the general-purpose bomb of the next generation," said Yiftah Shapir, a military analyst at Tel Aviv's Institute of National Security Studies. He said possible targets would include "Katyusha launchers in Lebanon or Qassam (rocket) launchers in Gaza."

Shlomo Brom, the Israeli military's former chief of strategic planning, noted an increasing tendency to place weapons underground.

In Israel's 2006 war against Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group, "one of our problems had been that they put many of the rocket launchers in bunkers and fortifications underground ," Brom said.

One hardened target the military went after in that war was the bunker of Hezbollah chief Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Israeli security officials have said. Nasrallah survived the fighting, but has been in hiding since the war.
Past U.S. sales of bunker-buster bombs to Israel have been construed as a veiled threat against Iran's nuclear program.

But Brom and Shapir said they did not think they would be used against Iran, where key nuclear facilities such as the uranium enrichment plant at Nantanz are buried deep and hardened by yards of concrete.

"You would need something a lot heavier," he said. The GBU-39 can penetrate 6 feet of concrete, and "6 feet is not enough," he said.

Despite a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate that concluded Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003, Israel and many in the United States still believe Iran's nuclear program is geared toward developing weapons. Iran insists the program is only for producing electricity.

Israel hopes Iran can be induced through sanctions and diplomacy to scale back its nuclear ambitions, but has not ruled out a military strike.

The GBU-39 is "a weapon Israel needs for general purposes," said Shapir, who questioned Israel's capability to deal a blow to Iran's nuclear program. "But attaching this thing to an attack on Iran is propaganda, in my view."
Last edited by IPC on Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby IPC » Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:56 pm

U.S. hi-tech bombs for Israel could target Iran

International

U.S. hi-tech bombs for Israel could target Iran
http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/15/stories ... 691400.htm

Atul Aneja

DUBAI: The U.S. has decided to sell state-of the-art air delivered bombs to Israel that can destroy concrete underground bunkers and other fortifications.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Friday that Washington would sell 1,000 units of Guided Bomb Unit-39 (GBU-39) to Israel. Unlike previous versions of “bunker busters” that Israel possesses, these bombs, with an equal explosive power, weigh only 113 kg, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

As they are lighter, aircraft can carry several of these bombs in a single sortie, thereby making each air raid more destructive than before.

During demonstrations, a 23-kg warhead of the GBU-39 penetrated a 1.8-meter-thick reinforced concrete barrier, the daily said. Each unit of the bomb had a price tag ranging between $70,000 and $90,000. Analysts point out that the deal is bound to alarm Iran, which has apparently sheltered its nuclear facilities, such as the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, in deep concrete bunkers.There have been repeated references to a possible Israeli air strike against Iran in recent weeks.

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy said last week Israel could attack Iran if it persisted with its uranium enrichment programme. Iranian media has also drawn attention to reports about aborted Israel plans of using two airfields in Georgia to mount air raids into Iran. Meanwhile, warships from the U.S. have been leading a naval build up in the Gulf, facing Iran.

AP
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j-0h ... gD93781PG0

Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=69 ... id=3510203

Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... srael.html

IHT
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/ ... l-Iran.php

Fars
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8706251329
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