As the new Israeli PM continues to threaten air strikes against Iran, I figured I'd take a look at how Israeli jets would actually get to Iran. Turns out it's a strategic nightmare for the US.A quick look at the map above shows that there are basically three air routes into Iran for the Israeli Air force- go north through Turkey, south through Saudi Arabia, or due east through Syria/Jordan and Iraq. I'm having trouble seeing any route that's not at the very least a disaster for us. Anything through Turkey or Iraq (where we control the airspace) is going to be assumed by the Iranians and the broader Muslim world to be green-lit by us, and I think that the Saudi route (bypassing Iraq) might be too long to do without multiple refuelings in Saudi airspace...
Remind me again why we sell them the planes with which to vex us?
No comments:
Post a Comment