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Pentagon Proposes Sale of 100 Bunker-Busting Bombs to Israel
By Aluf Benn
Haaretz
Wednesday 27 April 2005
The Pentagon notified Congress on Tuesday of a proposed sale to Israel of 100
guided bunker-busting bombs, a weapon which would significantly upgrade the
Israel Air Force's offensive operational capability and one which analysts said
could prompt concerns about a unilateral Israeli strike against Iran.
In a notice required by law for government-to-government military sales, the
Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Israel had requested the
sale of the Lockheed Martin Corp. GBU-28s, worth as much as $30 million.
The GBU-28 was developed for penetrating hardened command centers located deep
underground and would be used by the Israeli Air Force on their U.S.-built F-15
aircraft, the agency said.
Israel has denied speculation that it might make a military strike on Iran
to prevent it from producing an atomic bomb.
In 1981 Israel sent jets to bomb an Iraqi reactor, driving Saddam Hussein's
quest for a bomb underground, and fueling speculation of a similar strike on
Iran.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in a interview with CNN earlier this month, said
his country was not planning any military attack on Iran.
Sharon, in a separate interview with Fox News, said: "Of course we take
all precautions and all the steps to defend ourselves. But it's not that Israel
should give the answer to the international problem" of Iran potentially
developing a bomb.
In January, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney warned Israel could in the future
try to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the sale of the GBU-28s would
"not affect the basic military balance in the region."
John Isaacs, president of the Council for a Livable World, said the proposed
sale was clearly "a provocative step" that would prompt concerns about
a unilateral Israel strike, particularly in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle
East.
"One could be suspicious that these bombs could be used for an Israeli
attack on Iran," Isaacs said, noting that the bunker-busting bombs in question
were nonnuclear, which limited their ability to dig far underground.
"This particular munition is designed to destroy deeply buried high-value
assets such as command centers or nuclear weapons facilities," agreed Loren
Thompson at the Virginia-based Lexington Institute. "Draw your own conclusions."
The success of any such strike on possible Iranian nuclear facilities would
depend on the quality of intelligence about the location of such facilities,
as well as how far underground such sites were buried, Isaacs said.
"It's not a slam-dunk in any way," he added.
Once notified, Congress has 30 days to reject planned foreign military sales
but rarely does so.
The Pentagon announced the sale a short time after visits by Sharon and Defense
Minister Shaul Mofaz to Washington. This week, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe
Ya'alon is visiting the U.S. for the final time prior to his retirement from
the military.
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