# Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 18, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495 "2009-04-18T02:23:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bruce\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495/161 "2009-04-22T02:15:44Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > As for nukes, they’ll deter an American invasion for fear of them being used on our soldiers or nearby military facilities. There has never been a real threat of an American invasion of Iran. More likely a surgical strike at nuclear facilities. Any nuclear retaliation for that would be against American targets in Afghanistan or Iraq, which would only hurt Iran. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495/162 "2009-04-22T03:13:14Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > So Amerika would be deterred by some loss of soldiers in the field with a first use of anuclear weapon that used in that context would hurt the user more than it would hurt us? Considering the damage we do to our victims, using nukes on their own soil to stop an invasion would certainly do less damage. And even if we were talking about only a few thousand dead American soldiers that would be enough to deter America. America is a nation of bullies; we’d cheerfully kill a million Iranians, but only so long as we suffer negligible casualties ourselves. > [@Bruce\_Wayne](#): > > There has never been a real threat of an American invasion of Iran. If Iraq had gone well, we’d have attacked them long since. Why should the Iranians trust the restraint of an implacably hostile and irrational country like America ? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495/163 "2009-04-22T16:18:53Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Yes, but that doesn’t matter. If I attack you with conventional weapons and you have nukes, I lose. If I attack you with nukes and you have nukes, you may lose, but _I still lose too_. I don’t gain anything from either situation, thus have no incentive to get my nuke on in order to attack you. What would be the point for me to vaporize us both ? > > M.A.D. works. If it didn’t, the Cold War would have seen the missiles flying at some point. But outside from Hollywood Soviets, no one was ever prepared to pay the price of a nuclear exchange. Why do you think Iran is, when a long string of jingoistic and full of “they are the enemy of everything we stand for !” rethoric Soviet and US presidents never were ? Thats not my point, what i am trying to say is that yes, MAD is stable, however from the point of view of the country that currently has nukes, the current position is far better than MAD, is in effect EAD (Enemy Assured Destruction). ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495/164 "2009-04-22T16:20:02Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > We are not going to attack Iran. Why would anyone think so? We’re in a different presidential administration that is attempting to embrace diplomacy over force, and we’re stretched to the limit anyway, militarily speaking. It would not be rational for the USA to atack Iran, it would not be rational for Iran to attack Israel, however as \*\*Alessan \*\* said not all actors are rational all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495/165 "2009-04-22T16:22:04Z")
[quote=“Notassmartasithought, post:157, topic:493495”] > [@Frodo](#): > > Is the hypothetical planned attack a nuclear one? /QUOTE] > > According to the Jan, 2007 story in the Times, it’s a nuclear attack. The April, 2009 story makes no characterization either way. A preemptive nuclear attack would be justified IMHO only if Iran were about to **launch** nukes not just for developing them. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495/166 "2009-04-22T16:32:59Z")
Having coincidentally just read the extract [here](http://www.geocities.com/hammihanirani/soraya.html) from The Stoning of Soraya M. I’m inclined to echo the member upthread. Go Israel! The mere thought of this regime of lunatic medieval Islamicists with nuclear weapons is horrifying. ---
**Author:** ![Notassmartasithought](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c0e974/32.png) [@Notassmartasithought](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Notassmartasithought)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495/167 "2009-05-01T05:06:32Z")
Here, finally, is an authoritative US response to the issue. [Satellite News and latest stories | The Jerusalem Post](http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710831142&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull) So the dance continues… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israeli-military-is-preparing-itself-to-launch-a-massive-aerial-assault-on-iran/493495.md?page=8)