And, while Israel’s Arrow ballistic missile defenses, which now surround Dimona, may be superior to the Patriot system that failed in 1991, Syria’s more advanced Scuds and Iran’s Shahab 3 rocket present a more capable challenge than Saddam’s projectiles. Dimona has produced all the plutonium that Israel reasonably needs, and the reactor – one of the world’s oldest – has suffered minor mishaps and evident deterioration, raising the specter of more serious accidents.