US Air Force Says Israel Has 400 Atomic And Hydrogen Bombs

US Air Force Says Israel Has
400 Atomic And Hydrogen Bombs
WorldTribune.com
7-4-2

A United States Air Force report asserts that Israel is building a nuclear naval force meant to respond to any nuclear strike by such countries as Iran or Iraq.   It is the first time a U.S. military institution has stated that Israel has produced a hydrogen bomb. The number of purported Israeli nuclear weapons cited in the report is double that of previous assessments.   The report, sponsored by the air force's Counterproliferation Center, asserts that the navy can deploy any of what it asserts is Israel's 400 atomic and hydrogen weapons, Middle East Newsline reported. The center is located in the Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.   In a report entitled "The Third Temple's Holy of Holies: Israel's Nuclear Weapons," U.S. Army Col. Warner Farr said Israel's nuclear arsenal has grown from an estimated 13 nuclear bombs in 1967 to 400 nuclear and thermonuclear weapons. Farr said Israel's navy could deploy nuclear weapons on the fleet of three German-built Dolphin-class diesel submarines.   "Israel will then have a second strike capability with nuclear cruise missiles, and this capability could well change the nuclear arms race in the Middle East," the report, which Farr said is based on unclassified sources, read. "Israeli rhetoric on the new submarines labels them 'national deterrent' assets."   The report said these nuclear missiles could have a range of 350 kilometers. Israel would try to base its nuclear naval force near Oman, with which Israel has informal relations, the September 1999 report, which was recently published by the center, said.   "The first basing options for the new second-strike force of nuclear missile capable submarines include Oman, an Arab nation with unofficial Israeli relations, located strategically near Iran," the report said.   The U.S. Air Force Counterproliferation Center was established in 1998. The center is meant to help prepare air force commanders counter the threat from weapons of mass destruction. The report did not deem Israel's purported nuclear arsenal as a direct threat to the United States.   The report said Israel's Defense Ministry has requested from the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon authorization for a retaliatory nuclear strike. Israel could also use Jordanian air space for a nuclear strike on Iran.     Comment   Josh Greenberg 7-4-2   I've been telling my American friends for years not to mess with Israel. We are the world's 4th or 5th strongest nuclear power...nice to finally see it in print. That's why toady Bush is powerless to infleunce the policies of the Sharon government. The US continues to give us many billions a year! ... most of which has gone into building our nuclear weapons, fund our West Bank settlements, and pay for our spies and intelligence services! You don't like Israeli policy? Tough sh*t! You funded it all and we did the rest! 400 nuclear warheads...minimum. Remember that. Now, just imagine what our biological weapons scientists have cooked up and have sitting on the shelf, ready to go. Get this: NO ONE is EVER going to force Israel to do anything against its will. Try it, world, and find out what happens. ------------------------------------------- Tuesday, January 31 2012|Noam Sheizaf Former President Carter: Israel has 300 nuclear bombs Foreign sources debate from time to time the size of Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which is estimated at anywhere between 100 and 400 warheads (*). In a recent interview with Time, ex-president Jimmy Carter – who has read a few intelligence reports over the course his life – said that Israel has around 300 nukes. Asked by the magazine “What do you think it means that Iran seems to have its first nuclear fuel rod?” Carter answers: Well, of course, the religious leaders of Iran have sworn on their word of honor that they’re not going to manufacture nuclear weapons. If they are lying, then I don’t see that as a major catastrophe because they’ll only have one or two military weapons. Israel probably has 300 or so. (*) This information is based on Avner Cohen’s summary of several analyses regarding the size of the Israeli arsenal in The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel’s Bargain with the Bomb, Columbia 2010, page xxvii. According to foreign sources, Israel also has sea-based second strike capabilities (ibid).