Word: launchful
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...part in it," he has warned his countrymen that they have entered a "period of emergency." In an interview on Israeli television, Shamir said Saddam "wants to involve us in the current confrontation." Defense Minister Moshe Arens concurs: "If somebody in Iraq decides to push a button and launch a ballistic missile, that missile will probably land somewhere in Israel...
...meantime, the Israeli air force remains on alert, and the air defenses around Dimona, Israel's nuclear complex, have been strengthened. Military intelligence claims that it can detect in advance any Iraqi preparations for a missile launch. But officials do not believe that Iraq has the technological ability to loft chemical warheads inside Israel's borders. In the worst case, say experts, Iraq can wound but not cripple the Jewish state...
...East experts have dubbed the Samson scenario, lashing out in desperate attempts to relieve the siege, even if his efforts pull him down too. Some suggest he might invade Jordan in order to provoke Israeli intervention and turn the struggle into an Arab-Israeli war. Others believe he might launch air and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil fields, take millions of barrels of oil out of production and create a world financial crisis. And there is widespread worry that he might torture or kill his hostages...
Saddam is well aware that the U.S. would launch any offensive with its air power, and he has kept his own 513-plane air force at home. It would have to be swept from the sky before American bombers could operate freely. Iraqi Mirages and MiGs, armed with air-to-air missiles, would take their toll of attacking U.S. F-15 and F-14 interceptors. Air-defense missiles would probably down some B-52 and F-111 bombers. Thousands of antiaircraft guns ringing missile launchers, military bases and nuclear and chemical plants would destroy some low-flying...
...military intelligence has nothing like the satellite and electronic capabilities of the U.S. What Iraq is good at is & fighting defensively. And when the going got worse, Saddam would probably fire his poison-gas weapons, much as he did against Iran when defeat looked imminent. He would also probably launch his missiles at Saudi oil installations. The resulting destruction could unhinge the world's economy...