Steve Quayle News Alerts

August 19, 2002
Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com

Israel is preparing for mass destruction attacks, and has begun the first phase of inoculating its population against a smallpox attack.

Fearing that Saddam Hussein may attack Israel before war breaks out with the U.S., Israel has also begun distributing anti-radiation pills.

This week the Israeli government announced that it has begun vaccinating some 1,500 health workers against an outbreak of smallpox launched by Saddam.

Ido Hadari, a government spokesman, told the New York Times Friday that the vaccinations were a preliminary measure, involving those who, if Israel decided on broader measures, would be responsible for giving the vaccine to others.

If the security Cabinet decides to extend the vaccination measures at its Wednesday meeting, however, it will add to the program as many as 150,000 so-called first responders, including police officers, members of the armed forces, emergency medical personnel and hospital workers who would be involved in an immediate response to a biological attack.

According to Hadari, the vaccination program got under way early last month and approximately 700 people have received the vaccine so far, with about 800 more scheduled.

"If in the future, Israel will decide to vaccinate people, they will be the ones to do the vaccination, so it's wise to know that they are already vaccinated," Hadari told the Times.

"Following Sept. 11, we have prepared ourselves for any scenario, including that of smallpox," Health Minister Nissim Dahan told Israel Radio.

"The Health Ministry is making every effort to complete the inventories of all the medications needed to vaccinate the population. The moment that we receive such an order, the population of the state of Israel can be vaccinated within a few days."

But there is speculation in the Israeli press that the government may move to vaccinate the whole population. Last week, the head of the task force advising the Israeli Health Ministry on biological war resigned in protest when his recommendation for a total population vaccination was not accepted.

Smallpox vaccinations are not the only prophylactic steps under consideration, the Times reported. Among the other measures now being considered include giving iodine tablets to people living near Israel's two nuclear reactors.

According to Israel's Atomic Energy Committee, iodine tablets offer limited protection against radiation. The agency linked the measure to the possibility of a radiation leak, but the Times says that Israeli news media have been full of speculation about what Iraq might do if it came under an American attack, which Israel considers increasingly likely.

One pubication, Yediot Ahronot which the Times described as "a mass circulation tabloid," speculated, in a four-page lead story Thursday, on the biological, chemical or radioactive agents that Iraq could launch at Israel, including smallpox, Ebola, anthrax and radioactive "dirty bombs."

The preparations under way and those being considered are justified due to the strong possibility that Israel may be the first nation exposed to retaliatory biological and chemical attacks. During the 1991 Persian Gulf war, Iraq's response to American-led attacks was to hurl a total of 39 Scud missiles at Israeli cities.

And while the Scud warheads contained conventional explosives and did little damage, Israel worries that this time they may be armed with the chemical or biological agents Saddam is believed to have. As a result, the government has distributed gas masks.

"With the Bush administration openly weighing a military operation to eliminate the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, the tension is palpable," the Times reported. The worst-case scenario would have Israel responding to an Iraqi attack with the nuclear arsenal it is known to possess.

So far, the government has tried to tone down public anxiety by openly discussing the threats Israel faces, but the smallpox vaccinations, and reports that the government plans to include iodine tablets with the gas mask kits that it already distributes, have made clear that serious preparations are under way.

On the military front, Israeli armed forces leadership has confirmed it is deploying a second battery of Arrow missiles, which destroy incoming missiles by exploding in their path, in the center of the country.

Though there is no evidence that Iraq has the smallpox virus, intelligence officials have been unable to preclude the possibility, the Times reported.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/8/17/165828.shtml