UPDATED: IRAN'S NUKES: ISRAEL CAN'T DESTROY THEM ALONE

ACCORDING TO DEBKA, ISRAEL ALONE IS INCAPABLE OF TAKING OUT THE IRAN'S NUKES.

To Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Bomb Program, 350 Targets Must Be Hit
No one familiar with Iran’s record of broken promises on its hidden nuclear weapons program will be surprised by the allegations leveled against Tehran this week. On Wednesday, November 17, outgoing US secretary of state Colin Powell said to reporters during a South American tour: US has intelligence that Iran is working to adapt missiles for the delivery of nuclear weapons. “I have seen information that they not only have the missiles but are working hard to put the two together.”

The highly classified, unverified information Powell referred to was described in more detail by the Washington Post the next day: According to one official with access to the material, a “walk-in” source approached US intelligence earlier this month with more than 1,000 pages purported to be Iranian drawings and technical documents, including a nuclear warhead design and modifications to enable Iranian ballistic missiles to delivery an atomic strike. The warhead design is based on implosion and adjustments aimed at fitting the warhead on existing Iranian missiles.

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THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY HAS AN INTERESTING ARTICLE ABOUT A WAR GAME RE TAKING OUT THE IRANIAN NUKES. THEY DON'T THINK EVEN A U.S. STRIKE CAN GET THEM ALL.

Will Iran Be Next?
Soldiers, spies, and diplomats conduct a classic Pentagon war game—with sobering results.

UPDATE: Report: US discussing strikes on Iran
LONDON – Pentagon officials are said to be discussing possible military action to neutralize Iran's nuclear weapons threat, according to a report in London's Observer. US administration sources are quoted as saying that air strikes – "either by the US or Israel" – to wipe out Iran's fledgling nuclear program would be difficult because of a lack of clear intelligence about where key components are located.

Instead, sources quoted by the paper said the Pentagon is considering strikes in support of regime change, including attacks on the leadership, as well as on political and security targets.

The new "modeling" at the Pentagon, with its shift in emphasis from suspected nuclear sites to political target lists, is said to be causing deep anxiety among officials in Britain, France, and Germany, who last week appeared to have negotiated a deal with Teheran to cease work that could contribute to a nuclear weapons program. But Washington is said to be skeptical about the deal.