Now we know why Israel was so involved with equipping and training the Georgian military: it was a deal in exchange for the use of air bases in Georgia from which an attack on Iran would be launched.
Georgia is closer to Iran than Israel, so the Israeli air force’s flying time would have been reduced to 3.5 hours and would not have required US permission to fly over Iraq.
But now the Russians have raided those air bases in Georgia, and captured Israeli spy drones. Once Russian engineers dissect the drones, they will share the intel with Iran, possibly giving the Iranians an edge.
The Russians are also dredging a port in Syria to make it large enough to accommodate Russian naval vessels. And they have gone back to work on Iran’s nuclear reactor at Bushehr. So, the Russians are right in Israel’s face.
If Israel wants to continue with its attack plans, it may have to move much more quickly than envisioned before the Russians make it impossible. The commonly accepted “after the US election, but before the inauguration” time-frame may be too long to wait because the Russians are coming on strong.
DAMASCUS (AFP) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Iran on Thursday that its determination to press on with its controversial nuclear drive risked an Israeli strike that would be a “catastrophe.”
“Iran is taking a major risk by continuing the process of seeking nuclear technology for military ends,” Sarkozy said at a four-way summit in Damascus with the leaders of Syria, Qatar and Turkey.
“Because one day, no matter which Israeli government is in power, one morning we will awake to find Israel has attacked,” Sarkozy said on the second day of a landmark visit to Syria.
“It’s not a question of whether it is legitimate or intelligent or not… It would be a catastrophe, and we must avoid such a catastrophe.”
Iran has consistently denied that its nuclear programme is aimed at building an atomic bomb and says it wants only to generate energy for its growing population.
But Tehran risks a fourth round of UN sanctions over its failure to abide by international calls to freeze uranium enrichment, a process which makes nuclear fuel but can also be used to build the core of a nuclear weapon.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080904/wl_mideast_afp/irannuclearpoliticsfranceisrael_080904092516
Any ideas on when this morning might happen?
Steve