Olmert meets with leader of attack on Iraq nuke

Washington Times:

The Israeli government has been forced to acknowledge a top-secret meeting held Friday between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Aviam Sela, the chief architect of Israel's 1981 attack on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, after the media got wind of the details.

Although Mr. Olmert went to extraordinary lengths to withhold details of the meeting by not even recording it in his diary, the Israeli media reported that Mr. Olmert and Mr. Sela had discussed the details of a potential attack against Iranian nuclear facilities.

This followed initial denials from government sources who eventually acknowledged that the meeting had taken place but went out of their way to downplay the significance of the event, although they confirmed that Mr. Sela had detailed his vision for a military attack on Iran from a technical standpoint.

Mr. Sela's expertise includes fathering the technique of refueling warplanes from the air. He originally had been slated for a high-level appointment in the Israeli air force before he was implicated in the Jonathan Pollard spy scandal.

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... Israel was preparing plans for a strike on Iran and would carry them out in the event that diplomacy fails.

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Iran appeared to be getting the message loudly and clearly as it beefed up its air defenses over the past couple of weeks and went as far as to intercept and double-check an Iraqi civilian flight on its way to Tehran from Baghdad.

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Much of Iran's nuclear program infrastructure is buried under earth and concrete and installed in long tunnels or hallways, making precise targeting difficult. There is also concern that not all of the facilities have been detected. To inflict maximum damage, multiple attacks might be necessary, which may be beyond Israel's ability.

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The US needs a heads up on the timing of this attack so its forces can defend the access to the Persian Gulf that Iran has threatened. It could mean coordinated attacks on Iran's naval assets and weapons factories. If the Israelis surprise the US too, it could have very negative effects on our operations in the Persian Gulf as well as our relations with Israel.