French "almost" fire on Israeli jets

[BrandonJ1780]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-11-09T175409Z_01_L09461793_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-FRANCE-ISRAEL.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

So I don't know if almost firing really counts as news...It was more enlightening to read that the French Minister of Defense is a woman...a lil ironic, in my own male chauvinistic view...

 

[AppleCello]

I don't know, She is rather Man-ish, Basil...

http://www.defense.gouv.fr/sites/defense/decouverte/le_ministere/ministre_de_la_defense/biographie/michele_alliot-marie_1/

 

[Brett327]

Two points:

1. This doesn't belong in the media. If it really did go down like this, it belongs within diplomatic channels.

2. Knowing what I know about French missile systems, you can't go from nothing to being 2 seconds away from firing on an aircraft. If they really were 2 seconds from firing, then they would have had to be well into the engagement sequence and that would mean locking up the jets with various radars. That in and of itself is considered a hostile act which would justify the Israelis in attacking the missile launcher.

Either way, I'm sure there's much more than meets the eye going on here. More reason to keep it out of the media.

Brett

 

[pourts]

Either way, I'm sure there's much more than meets the eye going on here. More reason to keep it out of the media.

Brett

Granted. But, there is a certain person or group who it distinctly benefits to have this story published, and that's how these things get leaked. It should stay on the DL, but these things never will if some ambitious person has a lot to gain from their publication.

 

[Brett327]

Granted. But, there is a certain person or group who it distinctly benefits to have this story published, and that's how these things get leaked. It should stay on the DL, but these things never will if some ambitious person has a lot to gain from their publication.

Obviously. The French are certainly no friends of Israel and will take any opportunity to give them grief.

Brett

 

[Lawman]

Obviously. The French are certainly no friends of Israel and will take any opportunity to give them grief.

Brett

Man you'd think they would be good friends with the idea of Israel. Figure every nuclear reactor they get to sell to some country thats just gonna turn around and use it to develop weapons is based on the idea of bombing the Jews.

 

[OldNavy]

French "almost" fire on Israeli jets

That's the "French" perspective....

The Israeli perspective would probably be;
"French 'almost' get their asses handed to them by the Israelis"

 

[Flash]

Man you'd think they would be good friends with the idea of Israel. Figure every nuclear reactor they get to sell to some country thats just gonna turn around and use it to develop weapons is based on the idea of bombing the Jews.

The ironic thing, the French are the ones who supposedly helped the Israelis start thier nuke program:

"For reactor design and construction, Israel sought the assistance of France. Nuclear cooperation between the two nations dates back as far as early 1950's, when construction began on France's 40MWt heavy water reactor and a chemical reprocessing plant at Marcoule. France was a natural partner for Israel and both governments saw an independent nuclear option as a means by which they could maintain a degree of autonomy in the bipolar environment of the cold war."

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/

Air War College paper by an Army LTC:

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cpc-pubs/farr.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3340639.stm

 

[BrandonJ1780]

Didn't read your links yet, but I know the French were pissed at the Israelis for sabotaging nuclear tech they were providing other 'unfriendly' nations...This is pre-Osirak...See Gideon's Spies (history of the Mossad), by Gordon Thomas and Raid on the Sun (the strike on Iraq's nuke reactor) by Rodger Claire.

 

[Flash]

Didn't read your links yet, but I know the French were pissed at the Israelis for sabotaging nuclear tech they were providing other 'unfriendly' nations...This is pre-Osirak...See Gideon's Spies (history of the Mossad), by Gordon Thomas and Raid on the Sun (the strike on Iraq's nuke reactor) by Rodger Claire.

Read the links, the French provided assistance in the 50's and 60'......well before Osirak.......

 

[BrandonJ1780]

Flash, thanks--will do.

 

[FlyinSpy]

......well before Osirak.......

From the "there I was..." file: was on an orbit south of Baghdad this summer and saw something kinda-familiar looking. Took a pic, and then went back and looked up the reference imagery: sure enough, Osirak (Tuwaitha). Or more precisely, what's left of it...

 

[jarhead]

2. Knowing what I know about French missile systems, you can't go from nothing to being 2 seconds away from firing on an aircraft. If they really were 2 seconds from firing, then they would have had to be well into the engagement sequence and that would mean locking up the jets with various radars. That in and of itself is considered a hostile act which would justify the Israelis in attacking the missile launcher.

Either way, I'm sure there's much more than meets the eye going on here. More reason to keep it out of the media.

Brett,

i suspect it was a MANPAD vice anything radar-guided. could be wrong though. personally i'd like to see if the French has the sack to engage the Israeli's.

as you said though, no doubt there is more to the situation than the media knows about.

 

[IRfly]

The ironic thing, the French are the ones who supposedly helped the Israelis start thier nuke program:

No supposedly about it...The French built Dimona. And Osirak.

 

[Flash]

No supposedly about it...The French built Dimona. And Osirak.

I said supposedly because just about everything surrounding the Israeli nuke program is shrouded in secrecy, including its origins. While it is pretty certain that the French helped them out in a big way in the beginning I would not discount them getting help from others. They were ready to make a deal with almost anyone in order to ensure "never again....." was a reality.

The only person who has first hand knowledge about the program and has publicly said anything about it was thrown in jail for almost 20 years (after being kidnapped by the Mossad) and even though he was released recently, he is still forbidden to say anything about it. Wikipedia will give you a good intro about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu