Nation state.....

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> >
> > Israel
> > Troops: 185,000
> > Spending: $9.3 billion
> >
> > Egypt
> > Troops: 430,000
> > Spending: $2.1 billion
> >
> > Syria
> > Troops: 320,000
> > Spending: $3.4 billion
> >
> > Iraq
> > Troops: 400,000
> > Spending: $1.2 billion
> >
> > Palestinian Authority
> > Troops: approx. 41,000
> >
> > The report says the Israeli invasion plan would be launched after
>another suicide bomb attack which causes a large number of deaths, like the
>one at a Tel Aviv disco last month.
> >
> > "That there is an Israeli contingency plan to re-occupy the
>Palestinian areas comes as no surprise at all," said Francis Tusa, a
>defense analyst. "That it is being pushed up the list and that it's a
>leading option - this is coming as a bit more of a surprise and a worrying
>one."
> >
> > The Jane's report indicates that the plan was presented to the
>Israeli cabinet on July 9. It reflects a possible change in thinking in the
>current government; earlier governments rejected a military solution to the
>Middle East dispute.
> >
> > But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismissed the rumors of war
>Thursday, saying he has no plans to escalate the conflict.
> > "There is no imminent danger of war . I also don't see either a
>deterioration or escalation but I definitely see a situation in which
>terrorism continues," Sharon told reporters on his plane en route to his
>first official visit to Italy.
> >
> > "People in the military get paid to make plans all the time,"
>cautioned Hirsch Goodman, an Israeli military analyst. "There are plans and
>there are plans."
> >

-- Good old Uncle Shimon.. The labour dove!

> > Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said no such plan was ever submitted
>or discussed. "I'm so happy to see that such an important journal has such
>a fertile imagination. It simply didn't happen," he told Israeli army
>radio.
> >
> >
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<title>CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins reports on the battle plan.</title>
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<dl>
<dd>CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins reports on
the battle plan.</dd>
<dd> 
CBS News | World 
July 12, 2001 
 
Israeli War Plan Revealed 
 
(CBS) Israeli generals are planning for a possible massive invasion of
Palestinian territories if the current Mideast cease-fire fails, says a
published report denied by Israeli officials. 
 
The report, published by the Jane's Information Group in London, says the
goal of the action would be to destroy Palestinian armed forces and the
Palestinian Authority, forcing Chairman Yasser Arafat back into exile, as he
was for 12 years after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. 
 
The plan calls for air strikes by F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers, a heavy
artillery bombardment, and then an attack by a combined force of 30,000 men,
including paratroopers, tank brigades and infantry, reports CBS News
Correspondent David Hawkins. 
 
Israel's Arab neighbors, Syria, Jordan and Egypt are expected to stay out of 
the fight - but the report considers the possibility that Iraq might try to 
intervene with troops, who would be destroyed by the Israeli airforce. It 
also states that Egypt could invade the Sinai peninsula, forcing Israel to 
call up its reserves. 
 
The report indicates that Israel expects up to 300 of its troops to die in 
such an attack, with Palestinian deaths in the thousands. 
 
 
The Forces 
The Middle East is one of the most heavily militarized areas of the world.
Israel is second only to North Korea in the percentage of citizens in
uniform - 33.4 out of a thousand. The following are based on 1997 figures
from the State Dept.: 
 
Israel 
Troops: 185,000 
Spending: $9.3 billion 
 
Egypt 
Troops: 430,000 
Spending: $2.1 billion 
 
Syria 
Troops: 320,000 
Spending: $3.4 billion 
 
Iraq 
Troops: 400,000 
Spending: $1.2 billion 
 
Palestinian Authority 
Troops: approx. 41,000 
 
The report says the Israeli invasion plan would be launched after another
suicide bomb attack which causes a large number of deaths, like the one at a
Tel Aviv disco last month. 
 
"That there is an Israeli contingency plan to re-occupy the Palestinian
areas comes as no surprise at all," said Francis Tusa, a defense
analyst. "That it is being pushed up the list and that it's a leading
option - this is coming as a bit more of a surprise and a worrying
one." 
 
The Jane's report indicates that the plan was presented to the Israeli
cabinet on July 9. It reflects a possible change in thinking in the current
government; earlier governments rejected a military solution to the Middle
East dispute. 
 
But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismissed the rumors of war
Thursday, saying he has no plans to escalate the conflict.  
"There is no imminent danger of war . I also don't see either a
deterioration or escalation but I definitely see a situation in which 
terrorism continues," Sharon told reporters on his plane en route to
his first official visit to Italy. 
 
"People in the military get paid to make plans all the time,"
cautioned Hirsch Goodman, an Israeli military analyst. "There are plans
and there are plans." 
 
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said no such plan was ever submitted or
discussed. "I'm so happy to see that such an important journal has such
a fertile imagination. It simply didn't happen," he told Israeli army
radio. 
 
Four Jewish settlers, including a baby, were wounded in shootings Thursday,
reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger. 
 
In response, Israeli tanks shelled Palestinian targets in Nablus, killing a
Palestinian policeman. More than 10 tank shells exploded within seconds of
each other, sending white smoke into the air over Nablus. 
 
An Israeli military official said soldiers took over a hill overlooking
Nablus. The incursion is one of only a few such incidents - which anger
Palestinians - since Israel and the Palestinians adopted a U.S.-brokered
truce on June 13. 
 
 
 
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