This was a quick blurb I ran across that scared the hell out of me. I figured I would get it out there for wider discussion. According to Reuters, the Israeli military recently conducted a practice trial run of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials say Israel carried out a large military exercise this month that appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, The New York Times reported on Friday.
The article notes how this run was partially designed to intimidate Iran, as well as let other countries know how serious Israel is about curbing Iran's alleged nefarious nuclear ambitions.
A Pentagon official who the Times said was briefed on the exercise, said one goal was to practice flight tactics, aerial refueling and other details of a possible strike against Iran's nuclear installations and long-range conventional missiles.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a second goal was to send a clear message that Israel was prepared to act militarily if other efforts to stop Iran from producing bomb-grade uranium fail.
"They wanted us to know, they wanted the Europeans to know, and they wanted the Iranians to know," the Pentagon official said, according to the Times. "There's a lot of signaling going on at different levels."
Several U.S. officials told the newspaper they did not believe Israel had decided to attack Iran or think such a strike was imminent.
My apologies if this has already been diaried. I didn't see anything up on it. I felt it was important that this information be disseminated as widely as possible.