Israel's raid on Syria: Prelude to a nuke crisis?
http://aimpoints.hq.af.mil/display.cfm?id=21426
Although some may argue this falls outside the realm of small wars, I think there may be a nexus. Here are some questions I have:
1) What would the impact of an attack be on the pro-democracy forces within Iran?
2) What effect would it have on our current small wars efforts, especially Iraq? In particular, how would it effect the usefulness of our air assets?
3) I'm not familiar with Iran's conventional power, but assuming it is better than Saddam's army (i.e. it will fight), do we face a hybrid or protean war? In other words, could Iran combine its conventional forces and tactics with its use of hezbollah and other terrorist-type forces to fight the war?
Is it possible that after being attacked, Iran launches rockets and missles (conventional and/or chemical) into Israel, US bases in Iraq/Afghanistan, and other regional US allies? As this is occuring, could not Hezbollah then attack into northern Israel while Quds forces infiltrate more heavily into Iraq? Could not these forces also infiltrate or activate in the US and/or Europe? If so, could we not be fighting a conventional war while simultaneously fighting a small one at various places in the world?
One Day It's Chemical, The Other, Nuclear
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,....world/mideast
"LONDON — A Syrian military installation rocked by an explosion in July was being used to develop chemical weapons, and Iranian engineers were among those killed, a respected defense publication reported Wednesday.
Jane's Defence Weekly said the blast hit the site of a joint Iranian/Syrian project to fit short-range ballistic missiles with chemical warheads"
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297732,00.html
"Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to Sunday Times report citing informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem.
The attack was launched with American approval on September 6 after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related, the well-placed sources say."
The Die is Cast, the Dye Applied
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull
"Leading US democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton defended on Wednesday Israel's alleged air strike in Syria, saying that it was justified by intelligence reports which indicated that North Korea was helping Damascus build a nuclear facility."
Israeli attack targeted a Syrian nuclear reactor?
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Damascus states willingness for early talks with Washington on Golan and “other issues,” denies Israeli attack targeted a Syrian nuclear reactor
October 24, 2007, 11:18 PM (GMT+02:00)
Syria’s openness to dialogue with the United States, according to one statement, covers unspecified “other issues’ related to Israel as well as Lebanon and Iraq.
In a second statement issued Wednesday night, Oct. 24, Damascus denied American media disclosures Wednesday that a nuclear reactor was the target of the Israeli attack near the Syrian Desert village of A-Tibnah on Sept. 6.
The Syrian statements, delivered by Dr. Fawzi Shueiebi, over Syrian state television, cited DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly as primary sources for Syrian policy-making on these issues.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report now that the media disclosures Wednesday in the United States confirm the revelation in DNW 320 of Oct. 5 that Damascus was setting up an installation for making “dirty bombs.”
DNW 321 first reported Washington’s intention to start a dialogue with Damascus on Oct. 12.
Something Certainly Is Afoot.....
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull
Oct 25, 2007 0:56 | Updated Oct 25, 2007 5:00
US to speed up stealth fighter delivery
""We asked that for every two jets manufactured for the US, one be manufactured for Israel," a senior defense official said, adding that acquisition of the aircraft would greatly increase Israel's deterrence as Iran races toward nuclear power.
"This plane can fly into downtown Teheran without anyone even knowing about it since it can't be detected on radar," the official said. "
If it is duck-like, it maybe is:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304800,00.html
Report: Satellite Images Show Syrian Facility Resembling N. Korean Nuke Reactor
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I'm trying to track down the source/rumor that is reporting IAF bombed an experimental greenhouse where Palestinian women were working to develop a hybrid olive that is capable of producing tons of olives from a single tree.
Syrian WWTP's = Syrian waste water treatment plants
Quote:
Rural domestic wastewater. According to the Ministry of Environment, an estimated 45 percent of the rural population is connected to wastewater treatment facilities. However, this percentage seems to be high since there are only two treatment plants operational (World Bank, 2001). Wastewater from these villages is often used untreated in irrigation. During the last decade, considerable efforts have been put into the construction of water treatment plants in major cities. Recently the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of Damascus and Homs came into operation, and several are under construction in Hamat, Aleppo, Tartous, Latakia, Edleb, Daraa and Soueida. These wastewater treatment plants are expected to be completed within the next five years.
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:...ient=firefox-a
About 200 miles away 'open channel flow', ie dump it in the streets and let it run towards the lowest point (which was the tigris) was for the most part the economical solution. Fertilization of crops with sewage was an ongoing solution....best tomatoes I have ever eaten. You got much more bang for the buck spending scarce dollars on a WTP (water treatment plant).
Water requirements estimate...
Quote:
In 2000, thermoelectric power generation required an average of 20.6 gallons of water per kWh
http://www.physorg.com/news111926048.html
For the geographical site referenced by Global Security, someone with time on their hands could back into the water requirements needed for this supposed industrial site (or any other) by using data requirements from various open source engineering references and then compare their requirements estimate against the hydrologic estimates produced for the region/site from various open source agricultural/engineering references and software (hec-hms, hec-ras, etc).
Rainwater appears to range 140 to 600 mm/year for the area (yes, that is a big range), while the Anatolian GAP Dam program supposedly allows Turkey to stop the water flow to downstream folks (Syria, Iraq, etc) for somewhere between several days to several weeks depending on who you talk to (and as I was reminded you can't drink oil). The presence of nearby local dams, and/or water truck delivery (common in this region) of course can skew the rainfall analysis...
It's mental gymnastics like this that always takes me back to the classic 'there are known unknowns and unknown unknowns' statement. As we all know too well one has to know the difference between the requirements of horseshoes, hand grenades, and a tight shot group....
My guess is that the Israeli's do...