israelinsider: diplomacy: Israelis Keep Cool After Iraq Attack

Israelis keep cool after Iraq attack
By Reuven Koret February 18, 2001


		02/19 Syrian forums suspended Ha'aretz 02/19 Iraqis see escalation by Bush Washington Post 02/18 Arafat regime “near collapse” BBC




	Experts warn of wider war

Many Israelis may have experienced a sense of déjà vu when viewing the breaking news of US-British air strikes on the outskirts of Baghdad. The Israeli leadership was reportedly taken by surprise by the attack, which came about ten years after the Gulf War. Only on Saturday Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld updated Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Friday's air strike against Iraq. U.S. officials described the strike as "routine" but it represented the first such attack in more than two years and was clearly intended as a signal of a tougher policy from the incoming Bush Administration.

Israeli Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz said this morning that Israelis have no reason to worry about the results of the air attack on Iraqi air defense installations. "We are following the developments and meanwhile there is no reason to take additional steps," Mofaz commented during a visit to those wounded in the Azor bus attack. MK Moshe Arens also said to Army Radio this morning that was no need for special precautions "at this time" and that Iraq's arsenal was still not what it was during the Gulf War a decade ago.

However, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh warned that there was reason for concern in Iraq's statements and developments, especially in terms of long-range missile capabilities and non-conventional arsenal. "In the end," he said, "we can only rely on ourselves."

Nevertheless, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein continued to blame Israel for involvement in the attack. His government released a communique claiming that "the aggression unleashed tonight against targets in the Baghdad area emphasizes that America schemes, and carries out its plots, hand in hand with the Zionist entity."

The Iraqi announcement claimed that the air attack was undertaken to "set the stage for actions which the Zionist entity is planning to carry out against Arabs and Palestinians." Iraq also boasted that more than 20 brigades had already being formed for the liberation of Jerusalem. Army Radio reported pro-Saddam demonstrations in the Palestinian-controlled territories, with calls for the Iraqi leader to hit Tel Aviv.