The evidence that shows Iron Dome is not working | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

The evidence that shows Iron Dome is not working | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists



Rather fascinating and fact-based piece on how Israel's much talked about "Iron Dome" defense system is is NOT quite as effective as reported...



Concerning, my biggest concern is not necessary how effective it is but what will happen when the relatively small number of rounds building in the last 2-3 years is soon expended and there is NOTHING but warning sirens and shelters to protect Israelis civilians..

Iraqi army remains on defensive as extent of June debacle becomes clearer - Stars&Stripes

Iraqi army remains on defensive as extent of June debacle becomes clearer - Middle East - Stripes



This is honestly one of the best pieces written to-date concerning the scale of the Iraqi military's collapse against ISIS and its continued problems now five weeks after their offensive in Iraq began.

More From Spy Chiefs: Palestine Conflict, Not Iran, Is Our Top Threat – J.J. Goldberg

More From Spy Chiefs: Palestine Conflict, Not Iran, Is Our Top Threat – J.J. Goldberg



Always curious how Israel's spy masters make relatively public statements (often contradicting the ruling government coalition's policies), while their American counterparts rarely say anything publicly unless being grilled by Congress and almost always hold the "party line" of the administration...



IMHO, the spy chiefs' opinions on Iran's nuclear program being an "existential threat" to Israel is dead-right.



A regime, like the one that rules Iran, has spent a great deal of time and effort to remain in power over the years and the thought that they, IF they had nuclear weapons, would simply "nuke" Israel at the drop of a hat is not only massively idiotic, those who express such an opinion almost certainly has some Neo-Con agenda in mind..

Iraq SITREP July 02 2014

My thanks to the good folks at the Institute for the Study of War, who have been faithfully publishing probably the best daily situation reports on the conflict going on in Iraq between the government forces and ISIS forces anywhere on the web.

With that, here is the Iraq SITREP for 02 July 2014:

Iraq Situation Report: July 2, 2014 | Institute for the Study of War

All Iranian Su-25 Frogfoot attack planes have just deployed to Iraq

All Iranian Su-25 Frogfoot attack planes have just deployed to Iraq

While the article from The Aviationist has several small errors (including the number of Su-25s in service in Iran and what variants they are), it is very interesting and does finally confirm something:

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has joined the war against ISIS.

For those scratching your heads about these aircraft, here is the short version: Iran actually has two separate large aviation forces.

One, is the IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force), which is the conventional air arm that provides primary air defense for Iran and has a fairly large (and varied) fleet of combat aircraft. This is the branch directly descended from the Imperial Iranian Air Force during the Shah's rule of Iran.

Second, is the IRGCAF (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force), which is a part of the larger Revolutionary Guard Corps. This force answers directly to the Supreme Leader of Iran and it's specific goal is to "defense the Revolution" aka the government, from outside threats. The IRGCAF has a relatively small/irregular force of combat aircraft for which the Su-25K/UBKs are the most potent. This force also controls the majority of Iran's ballistic missile forces (ranging from R-17/Shahab-1/2 to the Shahab-3 and Sejil MRBMs).