[tolbiny]

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Why exactly would a US strike require Israeli F-15/F-16 CAP? If you were a USAF officer, why would you put the lives of your men in the hands of the Israeli pilots when US F-22 pilots are more than capable of providing support?

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Assuming the commander has the ability to make that kind of call, it is reasonable.

I see a number of possible scenarios:
1- Isreali's act alone and use a nuke.
2 -Isreali's and US act and use a nuke.
3- Isrealis act alone and use a MOAB.
4 - Isrealis act with US and use a MOAB.
5 - US acts alone and uses nuke/MOAB and blame Isreali's
6 - Isrealis have acted unilaterally and are trying to drag the US in through the "leak" story.

I'm really leaning toward an all Isreali action using a small tactical nuke or a MOAB/trying to pull the US into it.

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What would be the benefits of using a nuke over MOAB for the US? It seems like one is an international incident waiting to happen and the other is a relatively minor blip at this point. I can see benefit from Israel's POV of demonstrating willingness to use a nuke and trying to drag the US in to destroy its enemies. To me nuke = Israel acting alone or dumbest move in a long time by US.