I should say there’s at least a 50/50 chance that the ‘exercise’ will morph into an attack on Iran – RB
Postponed Israel-US Drill to be Held in October
Elad Benari, Israel National News, Jan 27 2012
The largest-ever anti-missile military exercise with the US, which Israel postponed a week and a half ago, will be held in October, Ma’ariv reported on Thursday. The report said that the decision to hold the exercise in October was reached late on Thursday night, after lengthy discussions between defense officials. Austere Challenge 12 was postponed on Jan 15 for what Israel said were technical reasons. Ma’ariv reported that the postponement was initiated by Israel and was agreed upon by the US. After the drill was postponed, the report said, security officials denied that the postponement was linked to economic reasons and suggested that at this time of year we should not attract attention, but should prepare for complex challenges which lay ahead. Ma’ariv also noted that in preparation for the drill, US military officers will arrive in Israel next week. About 3,000 US soldiers are expected to arrive in Israel to take part in the large-scale exercise, the report said, and they will be joined by about 2,000 IDF soldiers.
