The proposed deal, worth as much as $30 million, would provide Israel with the capability to drop 5,000-pound bombs that can penetrate bunkers and other buried structures. The GBU-28 bombs can be dropped from Israel's American-made F-15 fighters.
John Pike of Globalsecurity.org states that Israel wants the ability to hit Iran's bunkers:
The propose sale should give notice to Tehran that the United States will not allow Iran to become a nuclear power if diplomatic efforts fail, he said.
Is it just me, or is this kind of the obvious statement? Are 100 bombs really enough to hit every known and suspected underground bunker in Iran? And could the Israelis really hit all of them from so far away anyway? And in the end, do we think we know where all Iran's facilities are located?
For the US, would we want to give the Israelis this job when we could do it much better? And if we do it, would we really invite Israel in to help?
I don't know. I don't think bombing is our primary method of dealing with Iran's nuclear programs. Selling 100 bombs seems more like getting Iran's attention without actually giving Israel the ability to hit Iran. And with Iran's attention fixed on the Israeli threat, perhaps our regime change efforts will get less attention from Tehran.
I guess I'd just be really surprised if the Israelis bomb the Iranians.
UPDATE: TMLutas thinks the bombs are to collapse tunnels from Sinai into Gaza after the Israelis pull out. Seems reasonable to me as long as civilian casualties are minimized by hitting the tunnels in barren areas. Of course, the need to take out arms-smuggling tunnels assumes the Egyptians and Palestinian Authority don't just wave the trucks through on the surface...
