Submitted by: Lady Byrd
Missile Wars: Israel's Race Against Time
A senior Israeli official says the new David's Sling anti-missile system should be operational within three years but this month's battle against Palestinian rockets underlined how time is the enemy for the Jewish state.
The Israelis' race to set up a credible air defense shield against missiles and rockets -- the weapons of choice for most of the country's adversaries -- is linked to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's threat to launch pre-emptive strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
If such attacks are unleashed, Israel could expect Iranian retaliation that would inevitably include a massive ballistic missile assault, along with missile and rocket attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon, on Israel's northern border, and the Palestinian militants in Gaza on the country's southern flank, on an unprecedented scale.
It can be argued that Netanyahu and his fellow hawks, who are likely to strengthen their hold over Israel's Parliament in January elections, are reluctant to launch strikes against Iran until they have effective defense systems in place.
The Israelis' race to set up a credible air defense shield against missiles and rockets -- the weapons of choice for most of the country's adversaries -- is linked to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's threat to launch pre-emptive strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
If such attacks are unleashed, Israel could expect Iranian retaliation that would inevitably include a massive ballistic missile assault, along with missile and rocket attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon, on Israel's northern border, and the Palestinian militants in Gaza on the country's southern flank, on an unprecedented scale.
It can be argued that Netanyahu and his fellow hawks, who are likely to strengthen their hold over Israel's Parliament in January elections, are reluctant to launch strikes against Iran until they have effective defense systems in place.
