WarSclerotic

North Korea slams Netanyahu claims of Pyongyang-Tehran cooperation, Ynet News, May 17, 2014

(Aside from its anti-Israel remarks, consistent with Iran’s, it is interesting that the NK Foreign Ministry does not appear to deny the allegation. As I noted here about a year ago, there is ample reason to think that Iran and NK have cooperated on nuclear weaponry and will continue to do so. — DM)

Israel is a ‘cancer to peace in the Middle East,’ accuses spokesman for N. Korean foreign ministry.

The North Korean foreign ministry slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he accused Pyongyang of sharing nuclear technology with Tehran, public broadcaster KBS reported on Saturday.

During a visit to Japan this week, Netanyahu told a Japanese paper that Iran “would share whatever technology it acquired with North Korea.”

Asked if Pyongyang is receiving technologies linked to nuclear and missile development from Iran, Netanyahu said: “Yes, that’s exactly the case.”

A spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry said the prime minister’s statement was a “shallow trick to continue expansionist ambitions in the Middle Eastern region.”

The spokesman called Israel a “cancer to peace in the Middle East,” accusing Netanyahu of “trying to divert international criticism of Israel caused by its settlement activity and breakdown in the Middle East peace talks.”

Israel, the spokesman noted, “must shed its bad habit of picking on others when it is driven to the corner and must respond to international demands to achieve peace and denuclearization in the Middle East.”

During a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday, Netanyahu drew a comparison between Israel’s nemesis Iran and North Korean, whose nuclear and ballistic missile program is one of Japan’s major security concerns.

“We see a danger and a challenge posed by a rogue state arming itself with nuclear weapons. In your case it’s North Korea,” he said.

“We are faced with such a rogue state in the form of Iran and its quest to develop nuclear weapons,” he said.

“Iran continues to deceive the world and advance its nuclear program,” he said, adding “Clearly the Ayatollahs cannot be trusted.”

“And if the international community wants to avoid the specter of nuclear terrorism, they must assure that Iran… not have the capability to develop nuclear weapons,” he said.

If Israel wants to attack, it better do it this summer, Iran Times, May 16, 2014

(A “friendly warning” from Iran, although Israel might not need to use aircraft that require en route refueling:  EMP  attacks via drone or satellite, for example. Israel does not brag much about her offensive military capabilities and we don’t know what she has or could use. Nevertheless, it’s a good talking point in favor of attacking Iran sooner rather than later. On another point, in view of the increasingly friendly religious and political ties between Iran and Iraq, why is the U.S. beefing up Iraq’s military?– DM)

By the fall of 2017, Iraq will have received 36 F-16 fighters, said Mark Johnson, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-16.

A logical plan would have the combat planes suck up fuel from aerial tankers over Iraq where there is no threat.  But starting in September, those tankers will be sitting ducks.

The Israelis must still whiz across Jordan.  They could face a threat coming back when the Jordanians would have been alerted.  But, on the other hand, Jordan might not want to object to an attack on Iran the way a Shia-led government in Iraq would feel a need to object. [Emphasis added.]

F-16s….on their way to Baghdad

If Israel really wants to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites, maybe it better do that in the next three months—because in September the United States will start sending Iraq F-16s to build its Air Force.

Except for some helicopters and small planes, Iraq has not had an air force since the United States buried it in 2003.  Until the United States withdrew from Iraq two years ago, the US Air Force protected the skies of Iraq.

But for now, the sky is open for Israeli jets to fly back and forth over Iraq if they choose.  To strike Iran, Israel would have to refuel its combat jets once along the way.  A logical plan would have the combat planes suck up fuel from aerial tankers over Iraq where there is no threat.  But starting in September, those tankers will be sitting ducks.

The Israelis must still whiz across Jordan.  They could face a threat coming back when the Jordanians would have been alerted.  But, on the other hand, Jordan might not want to object to an attack on Iran the way a Shia-led government in Iraq would feel a need to object.

The first two F-16s are slated to arrive in Iraq this September, according to the US State Department.

By the fall of 2017, Iraq will have received 36 F-16 fighters, said Mark Johnson, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-16.

To date, 11 Iraqi pilots have trained to fly F-16s at Tucson, according to the Air Force. Capt. Mohammed Hama Ameen became the first Iraqi pilot to graduate Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training for the Iraqi Air Force F-16 program in March 2012.

Currently, the Iraqis have some Cessna C-208 propeller-driven aircraft, which can be equipped with Hellfire missiles, and they have thin-skinned attack helicopters.