🚀 go-pugleaf

>>   Is that the "cost and benefits" you refer to?
>
>Do I have to do your thinking for you?
>Cost =
>1.  Risk of loss of pilots and/or planes to the Iraqi military, to
>"mistaken" attack on the part of a Coalition force member, or to
>accident (the last is probably the largest risk).

That certainly didn't frighten Israel in the Past (can you remember
1981?) I'm sure the American and British would have been glad to
concentrate on the Kuwaiti front and let Israel do (maybe better)
job in Western Iraq.

>2.  Risk of degrading the military efforts of the Coalition against
>Iraq (major, considering the public posturing by some of the Arab
partners).

This is Bullshit, I can't imagine Assad rallying with Saddam just
becuase Israel defended itself. much less so Mubarak, the Saudis
or the Kuwaitis. All the arabs did was posturing and Israel should
know better than buy this s**t.

>3.  Risk of provoking even more malicious attacks against Israel (e.g.
>gas).

The risk of Gas was present all along, we are lucky we didn't get any.

>3.  Risk of public and foreign malefactors' opinion of Israel in the
>event of any visible failure to achieve any significant success.
>4.  Risk of losing US public opinion, and thus of future political
>support, in a time when such support is waning already.

Public Opinion gains were pure baloney , sympathy to Israel was
temporary and backfired later.

>5.  Risk of not gaining access to Patriot missiles.
>

Knowing the actual good they brought maybe this was a benefit.

>Benefits =
>
>1.  Eventual (though probably not immediate, and perhaps never
>significant) reduction in Scud attack rates.

I think the IDF could have done very nicely, I think the result would
have been clear-ciut reduction.

>2.  Adherence to the porcupine principle (touch me and you get hurt)
>may reduce attacks in future conflicts (assuming rational opponents).
>
This principle is the basis of Israel's defense doctrine. I think it is
and was one of the major reasons Saddam didn't use gas on us.

>The balance sheet seems clear.

Yeah, pretty clear, but reversed :-)))

The major consideration was the breakneck pressure Bush and Baker put
on the Israeli leadership. The ridiculously inaccurate information that
spewed out of CNN and World media was also a major reason for this
outragous blunder of the Israeli govt.

David.
--
=============================================================================
  David Ben-Ami (irc: bigdav)      |   "I can resist anything but Temptation"
  s2780369@Techst02.Technion.Ac.Il |       Oscar Wilde
  davidba@Carmel.Technion.Ac.Il  davidba@Moav.Techniona.Ac.Il