The Israeli request for bunker-busters was first submitted in 2006 to
the administration of then-President George Bush. Officials said Bush,
concerned over an Israeli air strike on Iran, vetoed the request.
Instead, Israel was granted approval for tactical bunker-busters,
including the GBU-28, GBU-39 and M141. Most of the weapons were held up by
Bush's successor, President Barack Obama, who entered office in January
2009.
But the weapons approved by Bush were not deemed strategic or capable
of penetrating the bunkers built in Iran or Syria. In 2008, Israel, for
example, was denied a request for a scaled-down version of the so-called
Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a 15-ton weapon meant to punch through more
than 4,000 kilograms of reinforced concrete.
Officials said Barak, who visited Washington on Sept. 21-22, has sought
the advanced bunker-busters as part of any Israeli agreement for a
withdrawal from the West Bank and much of Jerusalem to establish a
Palestinian state by 2012. They said the defense minister was seeking
strategic weapons and guarantees from the United States that any withdrawal
would not exacerbate the threat by Iran and Syria as well as their proxies.
"The situation now is that Iran and Syria are rapidly arming themselves
with improved missiles and air defense systems, some of which are being
transferred to Hizbullah," the official said. "We can't be left behind."
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