I'm not a real big fan of WND but thought this ought to be posted anyway.

TROUBLE IN THE HOLY LAND Mideast war in 72 hours? Israel prepares for possible strike at new Iranian missiles in Lebanon

© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com

Israel is making preparations for a possible military strike against new Iranian missile positions in Lebanon -- possibly within the next 72 hours, reports the DEBKAfile intelligence bulletin.

The report says that before returning home to Israel last week, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Wall Street Journal and President Bush about the presence in Lebanon of Iranian Pager surface missiles with a range of 120 kilometers -- capable of striking heavily populated central Israel.

The missiles were flown in last year through Damascus military airport and transported by truck to bases in Lebanon, the report continued. From there they passed to the direct command of Iranian Pazdaran (Revolutionary Guard) officers who maintain them.

Also, according to DEBKAfile, the Israeli Defense Force has begun assembling soldiers and military assets on the northern frontier -- in readiness for a large-scale exercise. DEBKAfile cites sources as saying the Syrian army, Hezbollah militia units and the Lebanese army have been placed on alert. Syria has 35,000 troops occupying Lebanon and controls the central government and military forces.

"The timing is significant: In three days time, on Tuesday, the Arab League summit opens in Amman," said the DEBKAfile report. "The impression is strong that military preparations in advance of that meeting are a lot more hectic than the diplomatic ones."

Earlier, DEBKAfile reported that Washington had given the green light to Sharon to strike "at the core of the blossoming radical Middle East bloc linking Baghdad, Gaza, Tehran, the Hezbollah and possibly Damascus, before it ripens." The decision on whether to administer the blow before or after the Arab summit was left to Sharon, in consultation with Washington.

"A comprehensive Israeli offensive directed simultaneously against the Iranian force commanding the missile strength in Lebanon, the Hezbollah and the Syrian arms supply routes from Damascus airport, at the same time taking out Palestinian bases, would all fall within the province of the understandings Sharon reached with President Bush last Tuesday in the White House," reports DEBKAfile.

The report says the recent announcement by Israel Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer extending the tenure of Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz by a year is part of the general plan.

Sharon also reported to Bush this week that both their predecessors -- Ehud Barak and Bill Clinton -- had received the intelligence data on the Iranian missiles in Lebanon, but decided not to let it out so as not to abort the Israeli troop withdrawal from south Lebanon in August 2000.

Editor's note: DEBKAfile's electronic news publication is a news-cum-analysis live wire, on line round the clock seven days a week. A weekly edition, DEBKA-Net-Weekly, is now available througth WorldNetDaily.com. Drawing on DEBKAfile's unique sources, analytical talents and forward-looking insights, it is presented as a compact, intelligence-angled weekly package. It is available as a direct e-mail feed or via the Internet.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2001