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Despite Missiles on Kuwait, Israel Believes Threat Remains Low

(Ha'aretz) - Amos Harel The missiles Iraq fired against Kuwait on Thursday were not long-range Scuds as initially reported on the international media, but "Frogs," with a range of not more than 70 kilometers. IDF sources stress that the chances that the country will come under direct attack from Iraq remain very limited, especially because the assessment is that Saddam Hussein is not interested in exposing whatever supply of Scuds or non-conventional weapons he may have. In Israel it is believed that allied forces were operating in the western Iraqi desert, the area most sensitive in terms of Scud missile launches from an Israeli perspective, even before the initial air strikes began. The IDF says that Iraqi air force activity has not stopped. Nonetheless, a senior officer in the IAF said that "the flight of an Iraqi aircraft to Israel is a difficult, if not impossible mission. They must pass through a number of defensive rings and the most difficult is the final one, ours. I feel very comfortable with the defense we can present," he added.
2003-03-21 00:00:00
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