[Apparently that chance has slimmed down:]
French troops almost fired at Israel jets: minister
Thu Nov 9, 5:11 AM ET
French peacekeeping troops in Lebanon recently came within two seconds of firing missiles at Israeli fighter jets that approached as if to attack them, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said.
Speaking to the lower house of parliament on Wednesday night, she said this was the latest in a string of incidents in which Israeli warplanes had "adopted a hostile attitude" to French and German forces and said it was "not tolerable."
"A catastrophe was narrowly avoided by our troops," Alliot-Marie said, according to a transcript of her comments. She did not say exactly when or where the events took place.
Israeli F-15s descended rapidly and then rose quickly as if they were dropping bombs or firing at the French ground forces, which are part of U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL, she said.
"In legitimate defense, our soldiers removed the covers from the missile battery and were two seconds away from firing at the planes that were threatening them," she said. ...
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061109/ts_nm/mideast_france_israel_dc>
[Let's hope the French are quicker with their trigger fingers next time:]
November 10, 2006
Israel Official: Strike on Iran Possible
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 9:01 a.m. ET
JERUSALEM (AP) -- The deputy defense minister suggested Friday that Israel might be forced to launch a military strike against Iran's disputed nuclear program -- the clearest statement yet of such a possibility from a high-ranking official.
''I am not advocating an Israeli pre-emptive military action against Iran and I am aware of its possible repercussions,'' Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, a former general, said in comments published Friday in The Jerusalem Post. ''I consider it a last resort. But even the last resort is sometimes the only resort.'' ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Israel-Iran-Nuclear.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
Carl
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