Print Page - Matthew 24:6 War, and rumor of war.

Iran President:Lebanon Crisis Forces Re-Evaluation Of Nuke Plan
Monday July 31st, 2006 / 0h54

TEHRAN (AP)--Iran's president on Sunday said the crisis in Lebanon has forced Tehran to re-evaluate a Western nuclear incentives package, but his country still plans to respond to the offer next month.

"Events in Lebanon affected our evaluations about...(the) package of incentives. We should review it carefully. I have asked my colleagues to review it more carefully," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a news conference.

Earlier Sunday, Iran's foreign ministry warned that Tehran would abandon the package if the U.N. Security Council approves a resolution against Iran on Monday.

"If any resolution is issued against Iran tomorrow, the package would be left off the agenda by Iran," Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. "We will definitely revise our nuclear policy."

Asefi's comments were the first official Iranian response to a draft resolution giving it until the end of August to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of international sanctions.

The draft was formally circulated to the full 15-member U.N. Security Council late Friday and observers said it would likely be adopted in the next week.

Asefi referred to the ongoing Israeli-Hezbollah war and said that any Security Council action against Iran "will confront the region with more tension," he said.

In a commentary Sunday, state-run radio called on Europe to exercise restraint.
"Under the international regulations, Iran has the right of achieving peaceful nuclear technology," the broadcast said.

"Iran's nuclear case is an opportunity for the international community and some Western countries to find out that managing the world in the 21st century requires laws and regulations. By resorting to double standards, one can not manage international challenges," the broadcast said.

Tehran said last week it would reply by Aug. 22 to the Western incentive package, but the council decided to go ahead with a resolution and not wait for Iran's response. Ahmadinejad said Sunday that Iran will still reply on Aug. 22.

The package includes economic incentives and a provision for the U.S. to offer Iran some nuclear technology, lift some sanctions and join direct negotiations.

The proposal also calls for Iran to impose a long-term moratorium on uranium enrichment, which can produce peaceful reactor fuel or fissile bomb material.

The U.S. and some of its allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains its program is purely peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.

Iran has said it will never give up its right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel but has indicated it may temporarily suspend large-scale activities to ease tensions.

Iran President:Lebanon Crisis Forces Re-Evaluation Of Nuke Plan (http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=33147&lang=fra&NewsRubrique=2)

Edited to change the title of this thread.

Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt Criticizes Nasrallah and Says: "Adolf Hitler Also Aroused His People's Sense of Honor, And Led Germany into War"

Following are excerpts from an interview with Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, which aired on Al-Mustaqbal TV on July 29, 2006.

Walid Jumblatt: Whatever happens, Hizbullah will emerge victorious. To whom will Hizbullah dedicate this victory? Will it dedicate the victory to the Lebanese state, to the honoring of international resolutions, to the Taif Agreement? Or will it dedicate it to the Syrian regime, the Syrian-Iranian axis, in which case we will become scorched earth, annexed to Syria and Iran? Each of these countries wants, with this abduction, to negotiate with America over the remains of the Lebanese homeland.

[...]

I do not think all the residents of South Lebanon want to be displaced every ten years.

[...]

There is no honor without liberty. Honor is meaningless without liberty. Honor is meaningless without democracy. Honor is meaningless without diversity. Honor is meaningless without a free press. Honor is meaningless without pluralism and respect for other opinions. In such a case, honor is meaningless. These are the conditions for honor, not just fighting, missiles, martyrdom, and acts of bravery. No.

It does not come to us from the theories of several intellectuals. Noam Chomsky, because of his hatred for the Bush administration, comes from America, from Yale or Columbia University, in order to present his theory about the weapons of Hizbullah. Great. But I say to Noam Chomsky today: Our country is in flames. One of those people, an Israeli Knesset member, who enjoys the so-called "democracy" of Israel, presents his theory on how Syria cannot be separated from Iran (sic), but he does not care that at least two-thirds of the Lebanese people want freedom and independence, and to preserve this pluralistic model, which is one of a kind throughout the Arab and Islamic world.

[...]

There can be no honor associated with a fascist regime like the Syrian regime, or, to be more precise, there can be no honor associated with a regime which is semi-divine, like the Iranian regime.

Interviewer: You are referring to the principle of the rule of the jurisprudent.

Walid Jumblatt: I don't want to go into jurisprudent theories... Ultimately, there were civilized peoples... I don't want to make a comparison, but Adolf Hitler also aroused his people's sense of honor, and led Germany into war.

[...]

Only an international force in the South could help the Lebanese army extend the sovereignty and rule, and enforce the cease-fire. At the same time, the weapons of the resistance would be incorporated into this army. This will be the beginning of independence of a renewed, respectable Lebanon, after 2000.

Interviewer: But of course, there will be no deployment of international forces if any side is opposed.

Walid Jumblatt: In addition, I tell you with all honesty, if the Syrian regime, with its unique and non-unique methods, insists on keeping the Lebanese-Syrian border open, this international force will be worthless.

[...]

Personally, I support the two-state solution - in other words, a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the return of the refugees in accordance with Resolution 194, Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, and the dismantling of the separation wall and of the settlements. That is the solution. That is the solution that would maintain... But for us, in Lebanon, to enter a general war of liberation, and watch our neighbors enjoy prosperity at the expense of Lebanon's destruction - allow me to say that I view this approach as unacceptable condescension.

[...]

[Bashar Al-Assad] will desperately try to bring Lebanon to a state of anarchy, if he can. I remember that two weeks ago or more, he said that Lebanon has become a base for Al-Qaeda. In other words, there is a possibility that if his efforts to reach a settlement and to get closer to America fail, he might send to Lebanon - just like he sent to Iraq - the so-called "martyrdom-seekers," whom I call "suicide bombers," because they killed without discriminating between American soldiers, Shiites, Sunnis, and Christians. They made no discrimination. He might do this. He sent a messenger to Saudi Arabia, four days before going there himself. This messenger, a high-ranking officer, said to one of the princes, in charge of internal security in Saudi Arabia: "We fear that you will suffer terrorist attacks. If you want, we can help you." That is regarding Al-Qaeda... In other words, he threatened them indirectly. .

[...]

Iran responded to the Security Council and to the G-8 in St. Petersburg, through Lebanon. It sent them a clear message: if you want to pressure us on the nuclear issue - go ahead America, try to defend Israel, which is, ultimately, the 53rd state.

Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt Criticizes Nasrallah and Says: "Adolf Hitler Also Aroused His People's Sense of Honor, And Led Germany into War" (http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1211)
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Is anyone else reading this the same way, I am?

According to current laws, amending Article 81 of the constitution to allow Putin to run for a third term.
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Russian Voters Want Putin to Run for 3rd Term

Created: 08.06.2006 10:15 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:19 MSK

MosNews

Fifty-nine percent of Russians believe the constitution should be changed to allow President Vladimir Putin to run for a third term, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a latest public opinion survey by the Levada Center.

The law requires Putin to step down when his second term ends in 2008 and he insists that is what he will do. But that has not dampened feverish speculation that the popular Kremlin chief may decide to stay on.

The survey by the Levada Centre polling organization also found that only 11 percent of those it interviewed were strongly against Putin, a trim 53-year-old, running for a third term.

The 59 percent that said they wanted Putin — accused in the West of backtracking on democratic reform — to stay on, compared to 44 percent in a poll by the same group in September 2005.

Investors who have benefited from an economic upturn under Putin say the question of who will be in the Kremlin in two years’ time is the biggest single factor of uncertainty in Russia’s investment climate. “The Russian people are disinclined to let Putin go,” the Levada Centre said in a commentary on its website www.levada.ru.

The poll showed that if Putin stood in a presidential election now he would take 32 percent of the vote while his nearest rival, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, would take four percent. If Putin steps down, analysts say, his most likely replacement will be a Kremlin insider endorsed by him.

Rival Kremlin factions are jockeying for their candidates to be chosen. Commentators see First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as likely choices. Some analysts say there is an influential lobby in Putin’s entourage trying to persuade him to stay on. Backers of a third term for Putin say it will bring political stability and continuity for investors.

Those benefits, they say, will outweigh the risk that Western governments will accuse the Kremlin of tinkering with the constitution in order to cling to power.

Levada Centre said it interviewed people in 128 population centers across Russia for its poll in late May, but did not give the size of the sample.

Russian Voters Want Putin to Run for 3rd Term (http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/06/08/putinranking.shtml)

Iran 'ready to play responsible role' to end ME

Monday, July 31, 2006 - ©2005 IranMania.com

Archived Picture - Iran said that it was a "responsible country" that was ready to support calls for a ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, AFP reported. But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also said that "besides asking Iran for help, the world should pressure the United States to stop the 'Zionist' regime's crimes".

LONDON, July 31 (IranMania) - Iran said that it was a "responsible country" that was ready to support calls for a ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, AFP reported.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also said that "besides asking Iran for help, the world should pressure the United States to stop the 'Zionist' regime's crimes".

"As a responsible country we are ready to play our part," Asefi said, adding that "the ''Zionist' ' regime is desperate for a gracious ceasefire".

Shiite Muslim-dominated Iran is Hezbollah's main international supporter, although the Islamic republic insists it only provides "moral support" to the movement.

Since the Israeli attack on Lebanon began on July 12, Tehran has been festooned with posters of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel and Western governments have also stepped up their allegations that Iran finances and arms the group.

"We have not and will not send forces to Lebanon," Asefi said. "We have not provided the Lebanese resistance with arms. We are very transparent: our aid is political and humanitarian."

On Saturday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei feted Nasrallah as the "people's favourite person all over the world".

His comments coincided with Nasrallah vowing to attack cities in the centre of Israel and declaring that the Jewish state had failed to win any military victory after days of bloody clashes with his Shiite militant group.

Iran 'ready to play responsible role' to end ME (http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=44719&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs)

Iran should 'prepare' to fight Israel, US: Safavi

Monday, July 31, 2006 - ©2005 IranMania.com

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards called on his troops to "prepare themselves to get even" with Israel and the United States, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards and Basij should prepare themselves to get even with 'Zionist' s and Americans," General Yahya Rahim Safavi was quoted as saying.

LONDON, July 31 (IranMania) - The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards called on his troops to "prepare themselves to get even" with Israel and the United States, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards and Basij should prepare themselves to get even with 'Zionist' s and Americans," General Yahya Rahim Safavi was quoted as saying.

"The supreme leader will announce the time for this," he said, referring to Iran's top cleric and commander-in-chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It was not clear if the comments represented the latest shot in what Iranian officials describe as an ongoing "psychological war" with Israel and the United States, or the public revelation of an actual order for Iranian troops to mobilise for war.

"We have to keep this sacred hatred of the enemies of Islam alive in our hearts until the time of revenge comes," the general was quoted as saying.

"I hope our nation can one day avenge the blood of innocent people in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan," he said, adding: "I ask God to arouse the dignity of Muslims and destroy America, Israel and their associates."

"I hope the clerical leaders in the Islamic world clarify the duty of Muslims against Israel," he also said.

The Revolutionary Guards Corps was set up in the wake of the 1979 revolution to defend the Islamic republic from "internal and external threats" and played a leading role in the 1980-88 war with Iraq.

The force is now one of Iran's most powerful institutions, and under direct command of the supreme leader. The Basij, which according to official figures has some nine mln adherents, is a volunteer militia attached to the Revolutionary Guards.

Iran should 'prepare' to fight Israel, US: Safavi (http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=44724&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs)

Syrian group claims it attacked Israel
New organization says it will stage more assaults against Jewish state
Posted: July 31, 2006
5:44 p.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

TEL AVIV – A group claiming to operate out of Syria took credit today for what it said was an attack against Israeli troops operating near the Syria-Israel border, according to a source in Syrian President Bashar Assad's Ba'ath party.

The claim preceded statements from Assad today warning Syria would not be deterred from helping Lebanon.

The group, calling itself the Front for the Liberation of the Golan, faxed a letter to Ba'ath party officials stating it planted a roadside bomb that targeted an Israeli army jeep today, killing one Israeli soldier.

A spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces said no soldiers were killed or injured today near the Israel-Syrian border.

A mine did reportedly explode on the Syrian side of the border, but no injuries were reported among Israeli troops. It wasn't clear what caused the explosion. Military officials have warned the past few weeks Hezbollah may fire into Syria in attempts to draw Damascus into a confrontation with Israel.

Israel is operating in select areas close to the Syrian border at positions near Mount Hermon and the Golan Heights. Israeli officials say the Syrian army has been placed on high alert along the border with Israel and Lebanon, but it hasn't staged any attacks.

Israel captured the Golan Heights, a strategic mountainous territory, after Syria used the terrain to attack the Jewish state in 1967 and again in 1973. It borders Israel, Syria and Lebanon.

Israeli security officials said they had no information about the Front for the Liberation of the Golan.

The Ba'ath party official told WND the Front formed last month and will attempt attacks against Israelis. The official said the group claims to consist of "hundreds" of Syrian volunteers, many from the Syrian border with Turkey.

The claim by the Front was followed by statements today from Assad in which he instructed the Syrian army to "be prepared for all scenarios because we believe that falling for the sake of heaven (martyrdom) is the only way to freedom and victory.

"Syria, which stood by its brother (Lebanon) and sacrificed martyrs to defend Lebanon's freedom as we did for Syria's sovereignty, remains as always adamant in standing by our Arab people who's fighting in Lebanon and Palestine, and by the bold national resistance who struck the enemy. All threats voiced by powers in the world who support t he enemy won't deter us from continuing to support our brothers."

Syria, along with Iran, is a primary sponsor of Hezbollah. Israel says Syria has been allowing weaponry, including thousands of rockets, to be transported from its borders to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The leaders of Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, operate openly from Damascus.

Syria is also accused by the U.S. of allowing insurgents to cross through its borders to attack American troops in Iraq. There have been reports of Syria providing weapons and intelligence information to the insurgents.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz have stated dozens of times since the Jewish state started its military campaign against Hezbollah July 12 that Israel has no intention of acting against Syria.

Assad: We won't be deterred from helping Lebanon

In statement issued on 61st anniversary of establishment of Syrian army Assad says Damascus won't be deterred from helping Lebanon; military put on high alert
Roee Nahmias

Syrian President Bashar Assad put the Syrian army on high alert in anticipation of any developments. In a statement issued to mark the army's 61st anniversary Assad said Syria will not be deterred from helping Lebanon.

"The occupying enemy hasn't forgotten the humiliating defeat and its submissive exit from south Lebanon under the strikes bold resistance," the statement read.

"Syria, which stood by its brother (Lebanon) and sacrificed martyrs to defend Lebanon's freedom as we did for Syria's sovereignty, remains as always adamant in standing by our Arab people who's fighting in Lebanon and Palestine, and by the bold national resistance who struck the enemy. All threats voiced by powers in the world who support t he enemy won't deter us from continuing to support our brothers," he said.

'Israel lies about facts on the ground'

Assad called on the army to be prepared for all scenarios "because we believe that falling for the sake of heaven (martyrdom) is the only way to freedom and victory. We have to make all effort in training to save every drop of blood when the hour comes. The fighting continues so long our land is occupied and our rights are denied. Victory will be achieved God willing."

Assad said that this year's anniversary comes at time when "the Israeli enemy continues its extermination war against our proud peoples in Lebanon and Palestine. Our brothers in Lebanon are being subjected to aggression by the Israeli war machine from the air, the sea and the ground," Assad said.

"The aggression, killing and destruction committed by the Israelis in Lebanon are part of an operation that was planned and organized by the large forces dominating the international community," he said.

Assad said Israel lies about facts on the ground in order to cover its losses against Hizbullah, as it does against Palestinian groups in the West Bank and Gaza.

Assad: We won't be deterred from helping Lebanon (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284437,00.html)

'This war is our war'
Iran 'mentally, spiritually' readying for war on Israel

Gary Dimmock
The Ottawa Citizen

Saturday, July 29, 2006

A former CSIS informant who once kept tabs on terrorists says the Iranian regime is "mentally and spiritually" preparing its people for war against Israel.

The Ottawa man, now in Tehran, says the hate campaign against Israel is "everywhere" on the streets of the capital.

"It is not good. It is sad," he told the Citizen.

"There are posters at intersections of (Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah) saying Israel must be erased from the map."

Opponents of the Iranian government in Canada say they have received similar reports describing huge posters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Hezbollah leader alongside the slogan: "This war is our war."

"I had some reports where people said that they do not care what the government of Iran wants to do," said Shahram Golestaneh, president of Committee for Defence of Human Rights in Iran. "They are concerned about the possibility of more bloodshed in the Middle East and (concerned) that the government uses all Iran's money to help fight against Israel by its own Hezbollah."

Iran, which backs Hezbollah, has repeatedly denied Israeli claims that it also arms the organization established in the 1980s to combat Israeli forces.

"Our support has been spiritual. If we had military support, we would announce it. ... We don't have any hidden business," ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on state-run television yesterday, a day after U.S. President George W. Bush sharply criticized Iran's role in the bloody fighting.

"They don't have any right to tell us why Iran supports Hezbollah at all. The question is, why do they support Israel?" Mr. Asefi said.

Responding to statements from top Israeli officials that the fighting could continue for several weeks, Mr. Bush said Thursday that Iran is connected to Hezbollah, and now was the "time for the world to confront this danger."

John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also has alleged that Iranians are Hezbollah's "paymasters, and they're calling the tune."

He estimated that Iran contributes $100 million annually to the Shia Islamic militants, who have supplanted Lebanon's central government as the effective political and military force in the southern region bordering Israel.

Yesterday, the 17th day of the conflict which began after Hezbollah crossed the border and captured two Israeli soldiers, Hezbollah launched a new kind of rocket that made its deepest strike into Israel yet.

"With this, the Islamic Resistance begins a new stage of fighting, challenge and confrontation with a strong determination and full belief in God's victory," Hezbollah said in a statement.

The militants said they used the new Khaibar-1 to strike the Israeli town of Afula, but Israel said the Khaibar-1 rockets were renamed, Iranian-made Fajr-5s. They have four times the power and range of Katyusha rockets, making them able to hit Tel Aviv's northern outskirts.

Iran is also believed to have supplied Hezbollah with up to 120 of the Fajr-5 and the somewhat shorter-range Fajr-3.

Earlier this week, about 60 Iranian volunteers left the country with the hopes of joining Hezbollah in the war against Israel. They called it a holy war, were unarmed and hoped to gain entry to Lebanon from Syria.

According to Mr. Golestaneh, some Iranian dissidents were pleased to see the militants, ranging in age from teens to grandfathers, leave the country.

"In one instance," according to the human rights worker "one person said 'In fact I rather they send all their loyalists to the war so we can breathe more easily.' ''

The human rights group also had reports from one source on the ground who said: "Every time there is an outside war, the level of repression inside also increases dramatically to kill any type of dissent."

In the past few days, according to the Canadian-based human rights group, the Iranian government has condemned 10 people to death.

Earlier this week, the Iranian president, who publicly denied the Holocaust last year, said Israel ordained its own destruction.

Mr. Ahmadinejad told clerical staff in Tehran that Israel and its supporters "should know that they cannot end the business that they have begun."

"The occupying regime of Palestine has actually pushed the button of its own destruction by launching a new round of invasion and barbaric onslaught on Lebanon," the president said, Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, responded by asking the world to listen to the Iranian president's words.

"President Ahmadinejad is a very dangerous and very destabilizing force in this world. He is a person who denies the Holocaust while very diligently preparing the next one," Mr. Gillerman told reporters in New York.

'This war is our war' (http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=d75e5251-c6b2-43cf-ad42-1d2032e4a925&k=4120)

‘Prepare to fight Israel and US’

TEHRAN (Agencies)
Iran to dump incentives if resolution passes

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards called on his troops yesterday to “prepare themselves to get even” with Israel and the United States, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

“Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards and Basij should prepare themselves to get even with Zionists and Americans,” General Yahya Rahim Safavi was quoted as saying.

“The Supreme Leader will announce the time for this,” he said, referring to Iran’s top scholar and commander-in-chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It was not clear if the comments represented the latest shot in what Iranian officials describe as an ongoing “psychological war” with Israel and the US, or the public revelation of an actual order for Iranian troops to mobilise for war.

“We have to keep this sacred hatred of the enemies of Islam alive in our hearts until the time of revenge comes,” the general was quoted as saying.

“I hope our nation can one day avenge the blood of innocent people in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said, adding: “I ask God to arouse the dignity of Muslims and destroy America, Israel and their associates.”

“I hope the scholars in the Islamic world clarify the duty of Muslims against Israel,” he also said. The Revolutionary Guards Corps was set up in the wake of the 1979 revolution to defend the Islamic Republic from “internal and external threats” and played a leading role in the 1980-88 war with Iraq.
The force is now one of Iran’s most powerful institutions, and under direct command of the Supreme Leader. The Basij, which according to official figures has some nine million adherents, is a volunteer militia attached to the Revolutionary Guards.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry warned yesterday that Tehran would abandon the West’s package of nuclear incentives if the UN Security Council approves a resolution against Iran today.

“If any resolution is issued against Iran tomorrow, the package would be left off the agenda by Iran,” Hamid Reza Asefi said. “We will definitely revise our nuclear policy.”

Asefi’s comments marked the first official Iranian response to a draft resolution giving it until the end of August to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of international sanctions.
The draft was formally circulated to the full 15-member UN Security Council late on Friday and observers said it would likely be adopted in the next week.

Asefi referred to the ongoing Israeli-Hizbollah war and said that any Security Council action against Iran “will confront the region with more tension,” he said.

In a commentary yesterday, state-run radio called on Europe to exercise restraint.
“Under the international regulations, Iran has the right of achieving peaceful nuclear technology,” the broadcast said.

“Iran’s nuclear case is an opportunity for the international community and some Western countries to find out that managing the world in the 21st century requires laws and regulations. By resorting to double standards, one can not manage international challenges,” the broadcast said.

‘Prepare to fight Israel and US’ (http://www.bahraintribune.com/ArticleDetail.asp?ArticleId=116391&CategoryId=2)

President al-Assad's Speech Marking Syrian Army Day

Monday, July 31, 2006 - 07:00 PM

Damascus, July 31 (SANA)-

President Bashar al-Assad addressed the Syrian armed forces in a speech through 'The People's Army' Magazine marking the 61st anniversary of the foundation of the Syrian Arab Army, greeting our brave soldiers, expressing proud of their persistent efforts and work to match up with our people's march of liberation and development.

President Assad said that the anniversary of the foundation of the army is marked this year amidst international circumstances and regional challenges that necessitate vigilance, awareness and readiness as the genocide war waged by Israeli enemy on our brave people in Lebanon and Palestine gets more vicious.

His Excellency added in his letter that brotherly Lebanon is under a flagrant aggression by Israeli war machine in air, land and sea, perpetrating ugliest forms of killings, destruction and sabotage against innocent armless people and infrastructure in defiance of all international laws, charters, human and moral principles and supported by the powers of hegemony in the world. Those powers stood by the aggressors, justifying their actions and providing them with means to go ahead with their destruction.

President Assad said that these aggressions, killings and destruction committed by the Israelis are only a pre-meditated plot in collaboration with a number of big powers which dominated the international society, disabling it and confiscating its legitimacy, resolutions and institutions to kill the will of life and freedom. He added that their plot is to undermine all aspirations of resistance, dismember the region and inflict defeat in terms of morale before geography as part of a compensation for the humiliating defeat and departure from south Lebanon under the strikes of resistance.

The President said that this is the time of the national public resistance which has been able to humiliate the occupiers in Iraq, Palestine and today in Lebanon, proving to the world that the might of right is stronger than the might of the unjust power.

His Excellency stressed that Israel is the party which started the aggression by imprisoning the lands before individuals. Israel detains thousands of prisoners in its jails; it's the party which occupies Arab lands in Palestine, the Golan and south Lebanon.

He asserted that those resistance men and this people are fighting for their lands, homelands and dignity and their only flag is that of victory.

President Assad emphasized that Syria, who has always stood by her brothers and sacrificed a lot of martyrs for the defense of Lebanon freedom in as much as for the freedom of Syria, is nowadays stronger and more determined than ever in standing by our patient and struggling people in Lebanon and Palestine.

His Excellency stressed that all shouts of threats and warnings launched by the powers of hegemony which support the aggression would not affect us or force us to abandon the march of liberation or stop backing our brothers and the resistance.

The President instructed all our armed forces to pay more extensive efforts in terms of training and persistent work to reach more readiness, saying that with our belief that martyrdom is the way of freedom and victory, we have to be confident that every effort and each drop of sweat spent in training now will in future spare a drop of blood when it's time to do so. Our battle is continuous as long as our land is occupied and our rights are usurped, and victory is coming, God's will.

At the conclusion of His letter, President Assad praised our steadfast people in the occupied Golan, Lebanon and Palestine. He also greeted the brave resistance men in Lebanon and Palestine and in every place where people look for freedom and liberation.

President al-Assad's Speech Marking Syrian Army Day (http://www.sana.org.sy/eng/21/2006/07/31/53242.htm)

Assad calls on Syrian army to prepare for 'regional challenges'
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies

Syrian President Bashar Assad called on his army Monday to increase readiness to cope with "regional challenges."

The president's comments came during an annual address to the military but also as Israel and the militant group Hezbollah entered their 20th day of fighting in neighboring Lebanon.

Travelers from Syria have reported that some reservists have been called up for military duty - a sign that Syria is concerned the fighting in Lebanon could spill over. The Syrian government has not made any announcement about calling up reserves.

"The anniversary of the founding of the army comes this year in view of international circumstances and regional challenges that require caution, vigilance, preparation and readiness," Assad said in a statement carried by the official Syrian Arab News Agency.

Assad called on all formations and units of the armed forces "to intensify efforts in training and to work for more preparations and raise readiness," according to the statement.

"We must be aware that every effort and every drop of sweat exerted in training now will spare a drop of blood when the time comes," he said.

Assad vowed earlier Monday to continue support to the "Palestinian and Lebanese resistance more than ever."

Syria's official news agency, SANA, also quoted him as saying that the
situation in the Middle East especially in Palestine and Lebanon "requires cautious and preparedness and readiness."

Syria so far has stayed out of the Lebanon conflict, but Israeli air strikes have increasingly come closer, with repeated raids on the Beirut-Damascus highway that links Lebanon and Syria.

In a warning to Israel four days after the Hezbollah-Israel fighting erupted, Syria's government promised a firm and immediate retaliation for any possible Israeli attack on its territory.

Syria has fought several times with Israel, which captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and annexed in 1981.

Assad said Syria was more determined to support Lebanon and will not flinch under international pressure.

"All the threatening cries by the forces of hegemony that is backing the aggression will not hold us from continuing the course of liberation and supporting our brothers and the (Hezbollah) resistance," he said.

Mubarak: Mideast peace process on verge of collapse
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose Arab country was the first to sign a peace treaty with Israel, warned Monday that the entire Middle East peace process could collapse because of Israel's fighting in Lebanon.

"Egypt, which triggered the peace process, warns of the consequences of its collapse," Mubarak said in a nationwide televised statement. "The Israeli aggression undermines the opportunities to continue it."

He added: "There is an urgent need for an unconditional cease-fire which would pave the way for international efforts to end the crisis and deal with its consequences."

Mubarak is under domestic fire from opposition groups for his refusal to revoke Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel. His statement came a day after Israel's deadliest attack on Lebanon since fighting broke out July 12 between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas. The air strike Sunday on the southern Lebanese village of Qana killed at least 56 people - more than half of them children - and sparked outrage across the Arab world.

Mubarak said Monday he had told Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit to increase Egypt's diplomatic endeavors to defuse the crisis.

Aboul Gheit flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with its leaders, a day after discussing the war with Assad in Damascus.

Aboul Gheit advised Assad that Syria should not voice opposition in the event an international force is sent to southern Lebanon to police the border region, diplomats in Cairo told the AP.

"Egypt is trying to convince Assad not to stand in the way of a diplomatic solution," said one diplomat. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Arab diplomats and media say Egypt and Saudi Arabia - two regional heavyweights - are working on a diplomatic initiative to entice Syria to end its support for Hezbollah, a move seen as crucial to resolving the conflict in Lebanon.

Aboul Gheit acknowledged that Syria opposes the dispatch of any new international force.

"The Syrians are talking about expanding the UNIFIL," Aboul Gheit told reporters in Cairo, referring to the widely criticized UN force created in 1978 to restore stability in the area.

On Monday, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported that Egypt was brokering a deal between the United States and Syria under which Damascus would cut its support for Hezbollah in return for a softened U.S. attitude toward Syria, the recipient of fierce criticism from Washington before and during the current fighting in Lebanon.

"Syria must end its support for terror and respect the sovereignty of Lebanon," U.S. President George W. Bush said in a speech at the Port of Miami on Monday.

The report in Al Siyassah said Aboul Gheit carried assurances from the Bush administration to Assad that his regime would not be militarily targeted if he ended his alliance with Iran, Hezbollah's main backer.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was visiting Beirut on Monday in the first visit by an Iranian official to Lebanon since fighting broke out. Earlier, Mottaki held talks with Syrian leaders in Damascus on the standoff.

Also on Monday, former Egyptian deputy prime minister Mansour Hassan urged Mubarak to revoke the peace treaty with Israel, signed for Egypt by former president Anwar Sadat who was assassinated by Muslim extremists opposed to the treaty.

"Israel has proved that it is not interested in peace ... it is a duty to declare the peace treaty as null and void," wrote Hassan, who was a key aide to Sadat and closely involved in the Camp David peace accord between Egypt and Israel.

"After Qana, what will the Arab traitors say," wrote leading columnist Magdi Mahana in the independent Al Masry Al-Youm, bluntly referring to Arab leaders.

Under the 1979 peace treaty, Israel returned Sinai to Egypt after nearly 13 years of its occupation. Egypt has invested billions of dollars in the desert peninsula, which now is a hub for foreign tourists who pour some 6 billion dollars into Egypt's feeble economy annually.

Assad calls on Syrian army to prepare for 'regional challenges' (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/744832.html)

Okay I give up, trying to place just the mideast, and every where else in seprate threads. This will make it that much simplier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

North, South Korea exchange gunfire
Soldiers at Demilitarized Zone trade shots, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs report

Updated: 2 hours, 56 minutes ago

SEOUL, South Korea - North and South Korean troops along their heavily fortified border exchanged gunfire for the first time in about a year, a military official said on Tuesday, with the incident coming as ties between the two have soured.

North Korean troops fired two shots at a South Korean guard post near the Demilitarised Zone on Monday night and South Korean troops returned six shots, an official said by telephone.

“No one was injured in the incident,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff official said.
Story continues below ↓ advertisement

One of the shots hit the guard post, causing South Korean troops to immediately return fire, the official said.

Ties between the two Koreas had been warming in recent years as the two reached a number of agreements on economic cooperation and military confidence building.

The last time there was an exchange of gun fire along the DMZ was in October 2005, the official said, when North Korea fired a bullet toward at a South Korean guard post and the South returned fire.

The navies of the two had a major clash along a disputed maritime border in 2002, resulting in deaths and casualties on both sides.

North Korea defied international warnings and test-fired seven missiles about a month ago.

At an inter-Korean ministerial meeting in July, Seoul pressed Pyongyang to explain why it had launched the missiles. Seoul said it would suspend humanitarian aid until Pyongyang returned to stalled six-country talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme.

North Korean delegates stormed out of the meeting and said the South would “pay a price” for spoiling inter-Korean ties.

Since then, North Korea has halted several projects with the South, including the reunions of families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War.

The two Koreas are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce and not with a peace treaty.

North Korea has stationed most of its 1.2 million-man army near the DMZ. South Korea has more than 650,000 troops, who are supported by about 30,000 U.S. troops.

North, South Korea exchange gunfire (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14126146/)

Pimping Hezbollah: Media bias done well
By Bradley Burston

We don't like to talk about it. But all journalists worth their salt know how to do media bias.

The best use the skill to balance their reporting. The worst use the slant to recast convoluted reality into the more easily digestible villains-versus-victims passion play, the better to market stories and themselves. And then there is the third case, the most prevalent, in which media bias has been effectively eradicated in many quarters, less out of ethics than out of fear.

In an era when professional and amateur watchdogs on both sides of the Arab-Israeli divide monitor every eyebrow inflection, every nuance of camera angle and editing-room juxtaposition for the semblance if a story slanted to the other side, the slightest perceived red flag of opinion can be crushed under an avalanche of viral e-mail indignation and threats of boycott.

The result, all too often, is a kind of homogenized, over-careful, look-over-your-shoulder reporting, in which the sharply observed detail can be lost to the cutting room floor for fear of backlash.

So I suppose it's refreshing, in a way, to see a high-profile contemporary version of the time-honored slant.

I'm not referring to the tragedy of Qana, in which the heartbreaking footage and the lack of a coherent Israeli explanation spoke for themselves.

I'm referring to a major account of the war that preceded Qana by several days.

Say you knew nothing of this Lebanon war. Say you were looking for an authoritative, judiciously balanced, in-depth account of a blindingly complex conflict. The big picture, from both sides. A natural choice might have been to look first to Time Magazine.

Look again.

Time's July 31 issue opens its cover story on the Israel-Hezbollah war with a remarkable photo gallery entitled "The Damage Done," each two-page spread superbly filled by a single riveting shot.

The first photograph shows in shattering detail a south Beirut apartment block ripped to splinters by Israeli bombs.

The second shows a badly burned Lebanese woman being comforted by her brother, both in anguish after an IAF strike that killed their mother and sister.

Then there are the Israelis. The concluding shot does not show Israelis under rocket fire or wounded by Katyushas. In fact, the most remarkable element of the Time report is that one could read the magazine cover to cover and never know that any Israelis had been killed and injured in their homes, in the street, in a train depot, by Hezbollah missiles.

No, the concluding shot is of a squad of Israeli commandos, armed to the menacing eyes, bracing to invade Lebanon.

Later, for balance, there is a photo shoot entitled Inside Hezbollah, which opens with members of Hezbollah's al-Mahdi scouts youth organization giving a straight-arm salute. Captions describe the group as "somewhat like the Boy Scouts" and "a popular and exclusive training ground for future leaders" pictured pledging "their commitment to martyrdom."

On a camping trip, another caption tells us "Here they were asked to create art projects; the boys made a Star of David out of stones so that anyone entering their tent would have to step on it.

Photographer Alexandra Avakian, who, the spread tells us, "found her subjects to be gracious and accommodating."

Yet another photo in the cover story, a reinterpretation of the classic David v. Goliath composition, shows a Hezbollah gunman, natty in aviator sunglasses and AK 47, with what is described as a downed Israeli jet burning in the background

And what of the Israelis? There is one, at least. Ehud Olmert, profiled in an article entitled "What was he thinking?"

After harrowing evidence of Lebanese suffering, and accounts of the hundreds of civilian deaths in Lebanon and of the pimped-up peasant gallantry of Hezbollah, the Olmert piece begins:

"Just days after launching Israel's violent offensive in Lebanon, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took time off to share a leisurely weekend lunch with a few old friends.

"With helicopters buzzing overhead on their way to and from the front, the group sat on the patio of an elegant private home, eating tomato soup, egg noodles and steak."

Pimping Hezbollah: Media bias done well (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/744724.html)

Iranian Assistance to Hizbullah - Iran Revolutionary Guards Officer: Hizbullah Has Iran-Trained Diver, Naval Commando Units; We Have Constructed Command Rooms for Hizbullah; Iranian Martyrdom Forces Have Been Sent To Lebanon

On July 29, 2006, the London Arabic daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published a detailed article on assistance extended to Hizbullah by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as reported by a high-ranking Revolutionary Guards officer who had trained Hizbullah naval units. According to the officer, Hizbullah has a diver unit and a naval commando unit. He further claims that Revolutionary Guards officers assisted Hizbullah in the July 14, 2006 firing of a C802 missile at an Israeli Navy ship, and had also helped Hizbullah construct underground facilities - including command and control rooms - which are being operated by Revolutionary Guards officers along with Hizbullah fighters.

In addition, Iranian news agencies have published a number of reports about groups of Iranian volunteers sent to Lebanon to aid Hizbullah in its fight against Israel.

The following are excerpts from these reports on Iranian assistance to Hizbullah.

Revolutionary Guards Assistance to Hizbullah

Following are excerpts from the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report on aid extended to Hizbullah by Iran's Revolutionary Guards: [1]

"Hundreds of Hizbullah fighters currently confronting Israel's military array took part in special training courses at the Revolutionary Guards bases in Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad and Ahvaz. According to a high-ranking [Revolutionary] Guards officer, who trained one of the Hizbullah naval units, Hizbullah has many surprises up its sleeve. Until now, there has been no direct confrontation between Hizbullah and the Israeli navy, [but] one of the Israeli navy's ships was attacked with C802 missiles with the help of Revolutionary Guards [fighters] stationed in Lebanon. Hizbullah has a divers' unit and a naval commando unit [equipped] with Chinese-made Ho-Dong speedboats, which are capable of dealing [serious] blows to the Israeli navy."

The Iranian officer added that "thanks to the presence of hundreds of Iranian engineers and technicians, as well as North Korean experts brought [into Lebanon] in the guise of [domestic] servants by Iranian diplomats and by the staff at the Iranian representations and offices in Lebanon, Hizbullah has managed to build a 25-kilometer underground [tunnel]. Each opening in this [tunnel] measures 12 to 18 square meters, and has a mobile floor and a semi-mobile ceiling. Each four openings are connected by a passage that allows fighters to pass easily [from one opening] to the other.

"The [Revolutionary] Guards has also built Hizbullah underground storerooms in the Beka' Valley, at a depth of no more than eight meters, which hold huge amounts of missiles and ammunition. In the Beka', there is [also] a central command room operated by four Revolutionary Guards officers and four Hizbullah [fighters]. Each sector has its [own] command and operations room.

"Hizbullah's missile unit includes some 200 technicians and experts trained in Iran. Hizbullah has three missile units, each supervised by a staff of 20."

2,500 Iranian Suicide Fighters Await Khamenei's Order

Following are reports recently published by Iranian news agencies regarding groups of Iranian volunteers sent to Lebanon to assist Hizbullah in its fight against Israel:

On July 25, 2006, the Iranian Farda news agency quoted a report by the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA), stating that Hizbullah-Iran has recruited some 2,500 suicide fighters who are awaiting an order from Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to set out to Lebanon.

Hizbullah-Iran spokesman Mojtaba Bigdeli added that the Hizbullah-Iran Chairman Mohammad Baqr Kharrazi will "soon be stationed in Lebanon in order to support Hizbullah-Lebanon and to express solidarity with the resistance and with the oppressed Lebanese nation, and [also] in order to follow developments [more] closely...

"Some 2,500 people who are fully willing to carry out istishhad [martyrdom] operations have signed up through groups connected to Hizbullah-Iran, so that the list [of martyrs] is now ready, and they await an order from the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei]..." [2]

Enlisting Volunteers Online

On July 26, 2006, the Iranian news agency Alborz announced that volunteers could sign up online for the "Army of the Fighters of Muhammad." The report explained that the Army of the Fighters of Muhammad was recruiting fighters to be sent to Lebanon, and that those interested in signing up could also call a telephone number in Tehran (88938821). According to the report, the minimum age for enlisting is 16.

Two Groups of Martyrdom Fighters Sent To Lebanon

On July 18, 2006, the Alborz news agency reported that "two groups of Iranian martyrdom fighters, who have received guidance and training, have been sent to Lebanon in order to participate in the [war on] its fronts.

"Ali Mohammadi, spokesman of The World Islamic Organization's Headquarters for Commemorating the ubgone19s (martyrdom fighters), stated: 'These two groups, which include 27 people selected from among 55,000 who signed up, were sent to Lebanon in order to participate in the war front against the Zionist regime... These forces have undergone various forms of training... Their mission is to arrive in Lebanon by any means possible, and to carry out martyrdom operations in the event that Lebanon is occupied by the Zionist regime.'

"The sending of these troops, he noted, was on a completely volunteer basis... These people were sent to Lebanon privately, and they have no organizational connection with Hizbullah... It should be noted that these 27 people have mastery of English and Arabic. They are to remain in Lebanon until further notice...'" [3]

Mehr News Agency: "Two Teams [Have Been] Sent to Syria In Order to Reach The Regions Of Conflict In Lebanon"

According to another report, by the Mehr news agency, on the dispatching of two suicide fighter groups to Lebanon, spokesman Mohammadi said that "two teams, one with 18 people and the other with nine, traveled separately... to Syria, in order to reach the regions of conflict in Lebanon by any means possible..." Mohammadi noted that "all 27 [team members] have mastery of Arabic, and some of them can even speak English... We have no organizational connection with Hizbullah or any other group. These people set out with the aim of helping the Lebanese people, and they are acting independently..."

Iranian Assistance to Hizbullah - Iran Revolutionary Guards Officer: Hizbullah Has Iran-Trained Diver, Naval Commando Units; We Have Constructed Command Rooms for Hizbullah; Iranian Martyrdom Forces Have Been Sent To Lebanon (http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD122006)

Assad tells Syrian army to step up state of readiness and takes two further provocative steps

August 1, 2006, 1:05 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian military intelligence agents detonated a bomb at the Golan border fence near Kuneitra, though causing no casualties, and the Syrian president put defense minister Gen. Hassan Turkemeni in charge of military assistance to Hizballah. He also instructed chief of staff Gen. Ali Habib to personally oversee Syrian-Iranian cooperation for military consignments to Hizballah.

In his order of the day to the Syrian army, Bashar Assad wrote: “I call on all units, divisions, brigades and battalions to redouble their training efforts and maintain a high state of readiness. Remember that every drop of sweat you invest in training will save a drop of blood when the time comes.”

He added: “Threats from the ‘masters of the world’ (US and Israel) telling us to beware will not divert us from our path.”

DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources add: For three weeks, Assad has been working up to provoking a limited war engagement with Israel.

1. A close crony, Syrian lawmaker Marwan Habash is advocating the creation of a resistance (terrorist) movement on the Golan Heights - likewise the prominent cleric, Sheikh Asad Kopertou.

2. For the first time in three decades the presidential palace allowed Syrian Druze leaders to openly speak out in favor of an armed campaign to recapture the Golan Heights.

Israeli intelligence leaders are not of one mind about what these steps signify. Some diagnose posturing by Damascus to get in on the Lebanon act while not taking the chance of a missile war with Israel; others argue that the Syrian president must be angling for a limited military confrontation, otherwise he would not so blatantly parade his backing for the Hizballah.

Assad tells Syrian army to step up state of readiness and takes two further provocative steps (http://www.debka.com/)

Syrian Army Prepared for War

Assad said that the anniversary of the foundation of the army is marked by "international circumstances and regional challenges that necessitate vigilance, awareness and readiness as the genocide war waged by Israeli enemy on our brave people in Lebanon and Palestine gets more vicious."

Assad called the fighting in Lebanon a "premeditated plot by international powers to undermine all aspirations of resistance, dismember the region and inflict defeat in terms of morale before geography as part of a compensation for the humiliating defeat and departure from south Lebanon under the strikes of resistance."

"This is the time of the national public resistance which has been able to humiliate the occupiers in Iraq, Palestine and today in Lebanon," said Assad.

While Assad openly called on Syria's army to ready itself, foreign diplomats say the Syrian Army began to ready itself for combat shortly after Hezbollah militants began attacking Israel and the Israeli military struck back.

Assad emphasized that Syria is nowadays more determined than ever in standing by Lebanon and Palestine.

The Syrian President instructed the armed forces "to pay more extensive efforts in terms of training and persistent work to reach more readiness," saying that "with our belief that martyrdom is the way of freedom and victory."

Assad sent Foreign minister Walid al-Mouallem to Doha with a message for Emir of Qatar Sheikh Khalifa Ben Hamad Al-Thani over the situation in Lebanon. Qatar was the only country on the UN Security Council to vote against sanctioning Iran over its nuclear program.

A Syrian-Iranian joint statement at the end of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's visit to Syria said Friday said that Iran strongly backs Syria's principled stances to restore her occupied territories to the 4th of June line 1967.

Syria and Iran underlined the necessity of the Israeli pullout of all occupied Arab territories, including the Syrian Golan, the Palestinian lands and the Lebanese lands which is still under Israel's occupation.

Both sides underscored rights of the Palestinian people to liberate their lands, return home and to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital; basically saying that Israelis had to get out of the Middle East - period.

Iran has been supplying rockets to Hezbullah militants through Syria and now Syria's President is saying that its Army should prepare for war - and martydom.

Syrian Army Prepared for War (http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=916751)

Iran forces urged to prepare to hit Israel

Reuters
Sunday, July 30, 2006; 12:20 PM

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's hardline forces should get ready to take revenge on Israel and the United States for the offensive on Lebanon, the head of the Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday.

"The Basij and Revolutionary Guards should prepare to get even with the Zionists and Americans," Yahya Rahim-Safavi was quoted as telling Islamic militiamen by the conservative Fars news agency.

The Basij are volunteer Islamic militiamen.

"The timing of the this will be announced by the leader," he added.

An Israeli air strike killed 54 civilians, including 37 children in the southern Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday, the bloodiest single attack since Israel's 19-day-old war on Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas began.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards are historically close to Hizbollah and were deployed in south Lebanon during the 1980s. Mostafa Chamran, spiritual father of the Guards, forged his reputation fighting in Lebanon.

The Basij and Revolutionary Guards are directly answerable to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Although Iran funded and armed Hizbollah in the 1980s, it has insisted recently its support is mainly moral and political.

However, many sources have said Iranian arms are being used against Israeli civilian and military targets.

An Israeli military source has said an Iranian-made C802 radar-guided land-to-sea missile with a range of 60 miles (95 km) hit and badly damaged a ship during Israel's offensive against Lebanon.

Hizbollah said it fired "Raad (Thunder) 2" and "Raad 3" rockets at a rail depot in Haifa. Raad missiles are Iranian.

Israel's army said it destroyed an Iranian-made Zelzal missile with range of between 74 and 99 miles before it was launched.

Iran forces urged to prepare to hit Israel (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/30/AR2006073000212.html)

Abbas official: Prepare for 'escalated battle'
Warns of larger conflict as Israel continues offensive against Hezbollah
Posted: August 1, 2006
11:08 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – A senior member of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party sent a letter to hundreds of Fatah members today asking them to prepare for an "escalated battle" against Israel while the Jewish state continues its military campaign in Lebanon, WND has learned.

The letter, written by Bani al-Hassan, a member of Fatah's Central Committee and a former Fatah Interior Minister, also was sent to members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group, the declared "military wing" of Abbas' party.

"You the fighters are the new generation that will bring us victory over Israel," Hassan wrote in the letter, which was obtained by WND from a Fatah official.

He compelled Fatah members to "be prepared" for an escalation against the Jewish state but did not mention particulars or give specific instructions.

Hassan also stated Fatah should ensure the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah "widens" so other Arab parties join the fight.

"It is on our interests that the conflict with Israel is not only led by the Palestinians but also by others," wrote Hassan.

Hassan today led a rally in Ramallah in which he reportedly informed participants he placed Fatah fighters on high alert "ahead of the possibility of escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, which could manifest itself in an escalation of Israeli actions [here]."

"I know what I'm talking about, and I know what I'm referring to," Hassan reportedly told the crowd.

Dozens of large pro-Hezbollah demonstrations have swept Judea, Samaria and Gaza since Hezbollah ambushed an Israeli patrol unit and kidnapped two soldiers July 12.

Earlier in a WND interview, Abu Nasser, second-in-command of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, warned Palestinian terrorist groups might aid Hezbollah by carrying out large-scale attacks inside Israel "much bigger" than suicide bombings.

Abu Nasser said his group has been working for more than a year on contingency plans to escalate violence in Israel should the Jewish state attack Iran, Syria or Lebanon.

"For the moment, we see that Hezbollah is winning, but if – Allah forbid – there is a turnover in the war, we will not hesitate to carry out the plans we have been working on since [the cease-fire signed last February]. We will use rockets. We will target Tel Aviv airport. We will not abandon our brothers," said Abu Nasser, speaking to WND from Nablus in northern Samaria.

The Al Aqsa Brigades is responsible for scores of rocket and shooting attacks, and – together with Islamic Jihad – for every suicide bombing since last February's cease-fire.

Despite War, IDF Distributing Demolition Orders to Outpost
23:12 Aug 01, '06 / 7 Av 5766
by Ezra HaLevi

Though many assumed that the destruction of communities in Judea and Samaria had been postponed, if not canceled, due to the war, the IDF is distributing demolition orders to hilltop communities.

The administrative orders pave the way for the destruction of 15 permanent homes in the hilltop community of Givat Ronen (also known as Skali's Farm), near the town of Har Bracha, in Samaria.

“We are outraged that even during wartime, the IDF is forgetting its true duties and continues to view the settlers as the nation's enemies,” Har Bracha's secretariat said.

Since the start of the war, the issue of the outposts has been mentioned repeatedly – as the homes or passion of three of the soldiers wounded and fallen in Bint Jbeil Lebanon last week.

Major Ro'i Klein, the Golani Brigade commander who saved the lives of his men by jumping on a live grenade in Bint Jbeil last week, lived in the hilltop community of Givat HaYovel, near Eli – in the Binyamin region. IDF officers, slated to destroy his home in the coming months, instead arrived in Givat HaYovel to inform his widow Sara and their two children, of his heroic actions and death on behalf of his country.

The list of communities slated for destruction by the government is based on an understanding reached with the U.S. Government whereby communities founded after the arbitrary date of Ariel Sharon's election as prime minister are considered “unauthorized outposts” rather than nascent towns.

Another Golani Brigade commander, Yisrael Friedler, was shot in the arm during the same battle at Bint Jbeil, while overseeing the rescue of his fellow soldiers under heavy Hizbullah fire. Friedler, who oversaw door-to-door operations in Gaza's Beit Hanoun just weeks earlier, lives in the Gush Etzion hilltop community of Sde Boaz - an ecological community of both religious and secular Jews.

A home built by Sde Boaz residents was destroyed by the IDF in January. Friedler's wife was pushed, his horse's stable demolished and his brother-in-law arrested during the clashes as security forces used tear gas and pepper spray against residents and local supporters who flocked to the site.

Another soldier who fell in Bint Jbeil, Golani platoon commander Lt. Amichai Merhavia, appears in pictures from October, 2002, being beaten unconscious by Yassam riot police attempting to destroy the privately-owned hilltop community of Havat Gilad (Gilad's Farm). The sequence of photos can viewed by clicking here (photos by Miriam Tzachi).

Prior to the Disengagement, Merhavia wrote a letter to the Chief of Staff, objecting to the manner in which the Gaza withdrawal was being orchestrated. Halutz sought to dismiss him from his position permanently as a result, but he eventually returned to his unit, where he was even promoted, just weeks prior to his final battle.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week told former residents of Gush Katif that he is determined to carry out his planned withdrawal from areas behind the Partition Wall in Judea and Samaria, regardless of the current war and the IDF's forced re-entry to Gaza.

Despite War, IDF Distributing Demolition Orders to Outpost (http://israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=108910)

Peres Says Mistakes Made In War; Iran Must Be Checked
Author: Esther Pan

July 31, 2006
Council on Foreign Relations

Shimon PeresNOTE: This is a news brief of a July 31, 2006 meeting at the Council on Foreign Relations. Full transcript will be available shortly on www.CFR.org.

NEW YORK—Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Monday the conflict pitting Israel against Hamas and Hezbollah is an “unprecedented war” with no clear end.

Peres told the Council on Foreign Relations that Israel is not fighting a defined conflict against the established military of a state, but a struggle against an amorphous group of terrorists that could drag on for years. “Clearly, it won’t be the sort of victory we’re used to having with armies,” Peres said. “You can’t beat terrorism with military strength or maneuvers.”

Peres dismissed international criticism of Israeli actions like the July 30 bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana, which killed nearly sixty civilians, more than half of them children. He said Hezbollah was using civilians as human shields by hiding its missile caches under their homes or schools. “The Lebanese people know they are not suffering because of Israel, but because of Hezbollah,” he said. He also denied that Israel’s actions are driving previously moderate Muslims into the Hezbollah camp. “How do you radicalize radical people?” he asked.

“In wars, there are mistakes, unfortunately,” Peres said. “The biggest mistake is the war itself.”

Defining victory

A tactical victory fromIsrael’s perspective, Peres said, would mean that Hezbollah cannot endanger Israeli lives from southern Lebanon; the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped July 12 are returned; control is established over Hezbollah’s arsenal of some 12,000 rockets; and a serious attempt is made to disarm the group.

Peres said it would be catastrophic for the region if Iran succeeded in using Syria, Hamas, and Hezbollah to extend its influence and establish Shiite hegemony. “It would be going back to the Dark Ages. The [countries in the region] would lose modernity, freedom, and change.”

The regional perspective

Peres said the international community’s longer-term goals in the region must include stabilizing Lebanon and drawing it away from Iran’s influence. “Hezbollah wants a Lebanon with an Iranian orientation,” Peres said. “The Lebanese must decide if they will control their own destiny, or will be swallowed up by a larger threat.” If that happened, he said, “Lebanon would be a tragedy of Iranian ambition.”

Peres spoke at length about the threat posed by a rising Iran, saying the country’s influence derives not from economic or military strength, but its plans for a nuclear weapon, which it pursues because the global community allows it. “As long as the world remains divided, Iran will run wild,” he said. He said Iran is using Hezbollah and the fight in Lebanon to “divert attention from their nuclear bomb, which is still their first priority.” Despite Iran’s growing threat, Israel will not preemptively attack Tehran, he said; it will only respond if attacked.

Peres said Iran, taking advantage of a weakened Syria, is working with Hamas—which he called a “state-in-the-making”—and Hezbollah—a “state-within-a-state”—to assert Iranian influence in the region. Sunni countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and the Gulf states—which have reason to fear the advent of a “Shiite crescent”—initially criticized the July 12 Hezbollah raid and kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers that started the latest conflict. However, Israel’s attacks onLebanonhave caused Arab states to line up against Israel.

Syria is running a “double-standard policy,” Peres said, by harboring Hamas leader Khalid Meshal in Damascus and shuttling Iranian arms and funds to Hezbollah in Lebanon. “Assad Sr. [former Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, who died in 2000] never allowed Hezbollah to run the affairs of Lebanon,” Peres said, “but Assad Jr. [current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad] is a friend of [Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan] Nasrallah.” Peres called Bashar al-Assad “the son of a wise man” who had not learned enough from his father.

Peres said Israel, and what he called the “responsible countries of the world,” would eventually prevail in the current crisis, because groups like Hamas and Hezbollah are “shooting without reason or purpose, but [only] to destroyIsraeland bring down our spirit.” He said the militant Islamic groups have no message for their people and cannot meet their needs for employment, education, or a stable, responsible, transparent government. The current violence could even create an opportunity for change in the region. “I think this is a chance to reinvent the Middle East,” he said.

Israelis united

Peres said that, even as much of the Arab world throws its support behind Hamas and Hezbollah, Israelis are uniting behind their government. “I went through all the wars and all the peace,” Peres said, “and Israelis have never been as united as they are now.” He said Israelis feel that they were clearly attacked and that they did not choose the war, but are fighting to protect themselves from persistent, deadly rocket fire from Hamas and Hezbollah fighters. Peres denied that Israel has territorial ambitions in Lebanon. “What we want to be is a nation that lives in peace with our neighbors,” he said.

Peres Says Mistakes Made In War; Iran Must Be Checked (http://www.cfr.org/publication/11183/)

Blair says Syria, Iran risk confrontation

By Adrian Croft
Reuters
Tuesday, August 1, 2006; 6:43 PM

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Syria and Iran on Tuesday that they risked a confrontation if they continued to support terrorism and export instability to Iraq and elsewhere.

In a speech urging a rethink of the West's strategy to defeat extremism in the Middle East, Blair accused Iran and Syria of helping extreme factions in Iraq and backing militant groups in Lebanon and Palestine.

Blair said the international community should tell Syria and Iran that they should either play by the same rules as the rest of the world "or be confronted."

"Their support of terrorism, their deliberate export of instability, their desire to see wrecked the democratic prospect in Iraq, is utterly unjustifiable, dangerous and wrong.

"If they keep raising the stakes, they will find they have miscalculated," Blair said in a speech to the World Affairs Council, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles.

Blair, who has been heavily criticized at home for siding with the United States over the war between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, was asked after his speech whether NATO should take the lead in providing a multinational force in Lebanon.

Blair said it was too early to be clear what was most helpful for the situation, adding that whatever force was deployed should be capable of ensuring that the Lebanese people "vote in a democracy without outside interference from Syria or anyone else and without inside interference from armed militias."

BATTLE OF VALUES

Blair said the West must win the battle of democratic values if it is to defeat global extremism. It also needed to work relentlessly "week in, week out" to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Unless we reappraise our strategy, unless we revitalize the broader global agenda on poverty, climate change, trade, and ... bend every sinew of our will to making peace between Israel and Palestine, we will not win," he said.

"And this is a battle we must win."

Blair said the war in the Middle East was in part a fight between "reactionary Islam and moderate mainstream Islam" and that Western intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan had turned into "existential battles for reactionary Islam."

"We posed a threat not to their activities simply: but to their values, to the roots of their existence."

His speech came as three British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan and one was killed in Basra in southern Iraq.

Blair said Al Qaeda, Syria and Iran felt threatened by the prospect of Afghanistan and Iraq becoming "tolerant democracies."

"So in Iraq, Syria allowed al Qaeda operatives to cross the border. Iran has supported extremist Shia there. The purpose of the terrorism in Iraq is absolutely simple: carnage, causing sectarian hatred, leading to civil war," he said.

Hizbollah was armed by Iran, which was also financing militant elements in Palestinian group Hamas, he said.

Syria supported Hizbollah and housed hard-line leaders of Hamas, he said.

Blair was wrapping up a five-day visit to the United States during which he held talks with President George W. Bush in Washington over the Middle East crisis.

Blair says Syria, Iran risk confrontation (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/01/AR2006080101083.html)

Japan to Bolster Military for Peacekeeping, Defense Against North Korea and China

Tuesday , August 01, 2006

TOKYO — Japan's military is undergoing a major transformation to give it more government clout and a bigger role in international peacekeeping while aligning it more closely with U.S. forces, a government report said Tuesday.

The annual report by Japan's Defense Agency also stressed that Tokyo is under increasing pressure to defend itself from possible attack by North Korean ballistic missiles, and — while careful not to call China a threat — urged Beijing to provide more information of its military expenditures to ease tensions in the region.

This year's report devotes a full chapter to the realignment of the roughly 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan and efforts to meld the Japanese and U.S. forces into a more effective, more closely coordinated force.

The realignment, the result of years of negotiations, involves a streamlining of the U.S. military in Japan — including the transfer of some 8,000 U.S. Marines off the southern island of Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam. It also entails closer coordination on intelligence-gathering and in ballistic missile defense, a major concern for Japan.

The report repeatedly cites North Korea's development of long-range missiles and nuclear weapons as a destabilizing factor in the region, and strongly condemned its test-firing of seven missiles into the Sea of Japan on July 4. It also criticized Pyongyang for pouring money into military expenditures "while it is suffering severe economic difficulties and must rely on international aid for food."

"These activities of North Korea escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and are a serious source of concern not only for our nation but for all of east Asia," the report said.

The 429-page report also expressed concern over the strengthening of China's military, stating that its navy has become especially active. Relations between Japan and China have been tense in recent months in part because of a dispute over potential energy reserves in waters claimed by both nations.

"We are in a region which, unlike Europe after the Cold War, still has territorial disputes and unification issues," the report said. "Using their economic growth, many countries are boosting their military spending and modernizing their armed forces."

While Japan is not significantly increasing expenditures, it is overhauling its military in other ways.

Japan's Cabinet last month endorsed a bill to upgrade the Defense Agency to a full-fledged ministry, reflecting the growing role of the country's military at home and abroad. The upgrade would bolster the agency's status within the government and put it in a better position to negotiate for more funds when the national budget is being divvied up.

Japan currently spends about 4.8 trillion yen (US$43 billion; euro33.68 billion) on defense each year, putting it behind the United States, Russia, China and Britain. It has a standing army of about 150,000, and its air force and navy are among the most powerful in Asia.

Since Japan's crushing defeat in 1945, the military has been tightly constrained by the postwar pacifist constitution, which renounces the country's right to use force to settle international disputes and limits its troops to a strictly defensive role.

With the backing of Washington, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has spearheaded efforts to "normalize" Japan's so-called "Self-Defense Forces" by bringing them out from under the shadow of the country's militarist past and expand their role in international humanitarian operations.

Last week, he presided over a ceremony marking the return of Japan's troops from a 2 1/2-year non-combat mission rebuilding the infrastructure in southern Iraq, the most dangerous deployment of Japanese troops since World War II. Tokyo also announced this week that it would continue to provide logistical support for anti-terror operations in Afghanistan.

Japan to Bolster Military for Peacekeeping, Defense Against North Korea and China (http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,206494,00.html)

Tehran teeters on the path to war
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi

The United Nations Security Council's new resolution on Iran gives Tehran until the end of August to suspend all uranium-enrichment-related activities or face the prospect of international sanctions, an ultimatum instantly denounced by Iran as illegal and unjustified. This means that Iran now faces a double crisis, given Israel's military onslaught against its strategic ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

Thus, contrary to what has become an article of faith in the Western media, about Iran somehow gaining influence due to the war in Lebanon, the exact opposite may be in the works, particularly if Israel's latest claim of destroying most of Hezbollah's rockets turns out to be true.

For the moment, the fog of war disallows anything more than a provisional conclusion with respect to how this war impacts Iran, its external relations and nets of alliances in the region and beyond.

The uncertainties of war, ie, whether or not it will culminate in a quagmire or decisive Israeli victory subsequently bolstered by an international buffer force that would prevent Hezbollah's future role as a deterrent shield for Iran in the event of a foreign attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, give rise to different scenarios, each of which contains a certain plus and minus for Iran.

One scenario, hoped for by Iran, is that a ceasefire will be put in place whereby Hezbollah can claim victory, after having withstood the ferocious bombardments and the ground attacks (which it has defended against rather admirably so far).

But given Israel's unwillingness to halt the war even for 48 hours, after the massacre of civilians in Qana giving rise to the United States' premature statement that Israel had consented to the temporary halt, clearly shows Israel's determination to prevent even a tiny yet tangible step toward this scenario. It is pushing instead for a clear and unambiguous victory aimed at Hezbollah's military disintegration.

While most likely Israel will not get its ultimate wish granted, and will ultimately have to settle with a much-diminished Hezbollah at the end of the military campaign, nonetheless its current efforts are dealing a huge blow to an important edifice of Iran's deterrent strategy.

Only by resorting to an inverse logic can we possibly consider as a gain what is clearly a net loss for Iran, seeing how Iran will be prevented in the future from counting on Hezbollah to strike back at Israel in the aftermath of a showdown with either Israel or the United States.

It is, therefore, hardly surprising that there are strong voices of concern within Iran's ruling establishment, some claiming the war in Lebanon as a victory for Israel, with serious negative ramifications for Iran's "national security and even her territorial sovereignty", to quote Ali Montaseri, an Iranian penning in Baztab.com, a website closely linked to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Another commentator, Seyed Salaman Safavi, has similarly written, "If Israel triumphs in this battle, not only the nuclear dossier, but also the territorial integrity of Iran will be jeopardized."
Increasingly, the military leaders of Iran, particularly in the Revolutionary Guard, can be heard warning of Iran's direct entanglement in the conflict. Led by the country's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, they have denounced the United States' call for Hezbollah's disarmament and any North Atlantic Treaty Organization role in Lebanon, calling instead for an immediate ceasefire, return of refugees and exchange of prisoners.

At the same time, Iran is not blind to the strategic setback caused by the asymmetrical war in Lebanon, vesting its hopes on Hezbollah's ability to deter the invading Israeli army or, at a minimum, to drag the enemy into a protracted guerrilla warfare reminiscent of the 1982-2000 campaign that culminated in Israel's departure - the "day of infamy" in Israel's history, per an editorial in the Jerusalem Post back then.

Meanwhile, the question of Syria, and the current US efforts to wrest Damascus away from Tehran, is also disquieting Tehran, dampened at the same time both by the United States' and Israel's inability to offer anything seriously tangible on the table to Syria; as well as by Syria's own security concerns reinforcing its alliance with Tehran.

Thus so many of Iran's moves and counter-moves are linked to developments in the Lebanese theater of conflict, and here fears and opportunities go hand-in-hand.

Whereas a stalemate or even quagmire may benefit Iran's position with respect to the nuclear crisis, the obverse possibility of Hezbollah's substantial weakening, not to mention the squeeze on Damascus, will translate into a more vulnerable Iran confronted with the distinct possibility that Phase 1 of a multi-stage conflict with the US and Israel has already started in Lebanon and Gaza.

On a related note, historian Immanuel Wallerstein has predicted that Israel's military gambit in Lebanon will prove to be a "catastrophic blunder" paralleling the United States' predicament in Iraq. This is a distinct possibility, if the net of Israel's ground invasion expands, as it has almost on a daily basis, one that Iran is banking on to happen. But the chances are reasonably high that Israel, learning from the past, will ultimately frustrate Tehran's hopes by making it a limited war followed by an international buffer that would tie the hands of whatever fighting was left in Hezbollah.

cont'd next post

What is to be done?
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made a last-ditch attempt to forestall the Security Council resolution on Iran's nuclear program by threatening that the international package of incentives currently under consideration would no longer be considered if the said resolution were adopted.

Faced with the grim prospect of UN sanctions in the months ahead, Iran is now grappling with one of the most important decisions of its post-revolutionary government.

The package contains several "positive aspects", per the admission of Iran's chief negotiator, Ali Larijani, and Iran may blame itself in the future if things turn for the worse and the opportunity to seize on the package of incentives, such as the offer of nuclear assistance, entry to the World Trade Organization, and the like, is lost. Certainly, Iran's economy would benefit enormously if the incentives were fully implemented.

But where will the road lead if Iran rejects the proposal and the UN's ultimatum? Most likely to a new round of Iran's global isolation, something dreaded by nearly all of its top politicians. Can it be avoided? Can Iran somehow come up with a middle answer that would reflect a new flexible response? In terms of this it would agree to a "voluntary and non-legally binding" suspension of its sensitive nuclear activities short of appeasing the other side entirely.

And if so, what would this middle path look like and, more important, would it be enough?

As the debate rages on inside Iran, which had until now leaned more and more in favor of rejecting the US-led demand to give up its budding nuclear fuel cycle, the discussions have now focused on national-security interests and concerns, in light of the conflict in Lebanon.

In fact, privately some Iranian politicians consider a near-future attack on Iran all but a foregone conclusion, and are trying to determine what the appropriate (preemptive) response should be.

Their growing security anxiety is partly fed by the realization that the Western governments and media have succeeded to some extent in pinning the conflict in Lebanon on Iran, by accusing it of masterminding Hezbollah's "reckless adventure" of July 11, when its fighters crossed the blue line and attacked an Israeli patrol.

Yet given the lethal weight of Israel's massive and disproportionate response, Iran cannot afford to risk its national interests by following a hardline policy that would pave the way to the nightmare military-confrontation scenario.

The voices of moderation are currently heard in tandem with the hawkish voices, calling for Iran's exit from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and direct military involvement against Israel in the region, and it is too soon to tell which voices will prevail.

What is certain, however, is that there is no magic solution to the double crisis, and every scenario has pros and cons, which are hard to pre-calculate in the midst of a regional conflict clearly not yet even half over.
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I won't post the link, because it is pop-up hell. Thats with even a pop-up blocker on. :-\

Sri Lanka rebel says war back on
Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:18 AM BST177
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By Simon Gardner

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's two-decade civil war is back on, a top Tamil Tiger said, as seven soldiers and three rebels were killed on Monday in the first army advance on rebel-held territory since a 2002 cease-fire.

S. Elilan, head of the Tigers' political wing in the restive eastern district of Trincomalee, said army troops had resumed a bid to advance towards land they control in the east and had fired artillery and mortars at their territory in the north.

"The cease-fire agreement has become null and void at the moment," Elilan told Reuters by telephone from Trincomalee, adding government troops were continuing an advance towards their forward defence line in the east in a water supply dispute.

"The war is on and we are ready," added Elilan. "The war has begun. It is the government which has started the war ... Militarily, we have decided to fight back if the Sri Lankan army enters our area."

Elilan is not the Tigers' main spokesman, but he is one of their top officials and their political head in Trincomalee. He has repeatedly warned of a return to war.

The Tigers dismissed army reports that dozens of their fighters were killed, saying three had died in a multi-barrel rocket attack. The military said seven soldiers were killed and several injured during a ground battle in the east.

"Fighting is going on," said army spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinge. "Troops are consolidating the area. We have air strikes, artillery and mortar fire."

The Colombo stock market closed 1.37 percent lower in afternoon trade in the wake of the Tiger statement and fresh violence, analysts said.

The rebels, angry at President Mahinda Rajapakse's outright rejection of their demand for a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north and east, have pulled out of peace talks indefinitely and have been cranking up the rhetoric for months.

"CONFRONTATION HAS BEGUN"

The army advance through minefields and booby traps is aimed at reaching a sluice they accuse the Tigers of blocking to choke water supplies to Sinhalese farmers in government territory.

The government says troops are trying to clear mines in their first open advance on rebel-held areas since the 2002 cease-fire, and face intermittent firefights. They say they have purely humanitarian goals but the Tigers have simply gone too far.

"Under international law, denial of water is a crime and people have gone to the gallows for less," said head of the government peace secretariat Palitha Kohona. "The government says categorically that it is totally committed to the cease-fire. But the most important thing is to provide water for 50,000 people."

The head of the island's Nordic truce monitoring mission, Ulf Henricsson, a retired Swedish Major General, said on Saturday the truce was dead in all but name after 800 people were killed in violence this year.

But he said he expected low intensity fighting rather than a full-blown return to a conflict that has killed more than 65,000 people.

Jane's Defence Weekly analyst Iqbal Athas fears the clashes could soon spread elsewhere across the island.

"I think right now they're at war," Athas said. "If you look at the (army) operation that has started now, it is becoming clear that the confrontation has begun."

Sri Lanka rebel says war back on (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-07-31T101817Z_01_SP70368_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SRILANKA.xml&archived=False)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I call right now for Kofi Annan and his body of UN puppets to call for an IMMEDIATE cease-fire from the innocent party of this war. NOW!

Iranian President: Solution to Middle East crisis is to destroy Israel
By The Associated Press

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday the solution to the Middle East crisis was to destroy Israel, Iranian state media reported.

In a speech during an emergency meeting of Muslim leaders in Malaysia, Ahmadinejad also called for an immediate cease-fire to end the fighting between Israel and the Iranian-back group Hezbollah. "Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented," Ahmadinejad said, according to state-run television in a report posted on its Web site.

The Islamic world's biggest bloc on Thursday demanded that the United Nations implement an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon and investigate what it called flagrant human rights violations by Israel.

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Leaders of key countries in the 56-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, including Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey, voiced strong support for the Lebanese people "in their legitimate and courageous resistance against the Israeli aggression."

"We demand that the United Nations Security Council fulfill its responsibility ... by deciding on and enforcing an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire," the OIC said at an emergency summit. The declaration also called for a UN investigation into Israel's acts.

"We hold Israel responsible for the loss of lives and suffering ... and demand that Israel compensate (Lebanon) and its people for the losses sustained resulting from Israeli aggression," the leaders said.

Malaysia, which chairs the OIC, rallied presidents, prime ministers and policy-makers of 17 Muslim-majority nations for one-day talks to articulate their opposition to Israel's attacks in Lebanese and Palestinian territories.

"This war must stop, or it will radicalize the Muslim world, even those of us who are moderate today," said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who leads the world's most populous Muslim country.

"From there, it will be just one step away to that ultimate nightmare: a clash of civilizations," he added.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called for a UN-backed force to stabilize the Israeli-Lebanon border.

Muslims "must show preparedness to contribute forces for peacekeeping operations under the United Nations banner," Abdullah told the conference.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said hostilities must be halted "before the spiraling violence engulfs the entire region and kills the hope for a durable and just peace in the Middle East."

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said his country's "sole request is a comprehensive cease-fire."

Other top figures assembled included President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, as well as leaders of Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei and Turkey. Foreign ministers and senior officials represented Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Senegal, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, as well as the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

About 100 Malaysian Muslim activists chanted anti-Israeli slogans outside the summit venue.

Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas controlling southern Lebanon have been locked in fierce fighting for three weeks, resulting in hundreds of Lebanese civilian casualties.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, addressing the conference in a video statement, said Israel's offensive "is taking an enormous toll on human life and infrastructure, and has totally ravaged our country and shattered our economy."

"Over 900 (have been) killed and 3,000 injured so far, one third of the casualties are children under 12," he said.

Iranian President: Solution to Middle East crisis is to destroy Israel (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/746081.html)

China has deployed missiles giving it second-strike capability against U.S.

The U.S. intelligence community has determined that Beijing has developed and deployed a series of missiles that would give China second-strike nuclear capability in any confrontation with the United States. The determination of a sea-based deterrent is said to have significantly increased Beijing's threat to the United States.

"It is clear to me that China is now embarking on a significant investment in a second-strike capability to ensure the survival and, thus, viability of its nuclear forces," said Richard Fisher, a researcher at the International Assessment and Strategy Center and a leading U.S. expert on China.

In a presentation to the American Enterprise Institute on July 11, Mr. Fisher said China has launched or tested a series of nuclear missiles and platforms.

He said the first Type 94 submarine ballistic nuclear missile has been equipped and launched.

The Type 94, which began construction in 1999, is designed to contain the JL-2 submarine-launched nuclear missiles. Each submarine is meant to contain 16 JL-2s, or DF-31s, with a range of 8,000 kilometers, which would allow Chinese submarines to target portions of the United States from areas near the Chinese coast.

The disclosure of the completion of the Type 94 submarine appeared to mark a significant acceleration in China's nuclear submarine program. As late as May 2004, the Pentagon asserted that the new Chinese missile submarine would not be operational until around 2010.

"The JL-2 SLBM has undergone a series of tests," Mr. Fisher said. "The potential for this to be armed with multiple warheads is there."

U.S. intelligence sources agree with Mr. Fisher's assessment. They said Beijing has made the production of nuclear warheads and launchers a priority, with emphasis on mobility and decoys.

The Pentagon has determined that China plans to deploy the DF-31A, an extended-range variant of the mobile long-range DF-31, in 2007. The sources said the new three-stage, solid-fuel, mobile missile, with a range of 12,000 kilometers, could carry up to three payloads that would separate and overcome existing U.S. missile defenses.

"For China, nuclear weapons largely have four purposes: one, strategic deterrence; two, retaliation; three, counter-coercion; and four, great-power status," Rand Corp. senior analyst Evan Medeiros said.

Another Chinese missile, the DF-5 Mod 2, with a range of 13,000 kilometers, is said to have completed deployment in 2005. The sources said China has developed the two-stage, liquid-fuel missile to carry between five and 10 warheads.

Beijing has also sought to overcome the vulnerability of its fleet by building a huge naval base on Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The sources said the base would contain an underground facility to shelter platforms, such as nuclear submarines, against any potential U.S. attack.

Intelligence sources said Beijing has been developing an anti-ship ballistic missile. They said the weapon could be a sea-based version of the DF-11 Mod 1 land-based missile.

"One could easily imagine that there is a plan to drop, in a surprise manner, 10 to 12 warheads on either side of the continental United States in conjunction with a build-up to rescue Taiwan from whatever kind of attack China seems to be contemplating," Mr. Fisher said. "I can easily imagine, I do not know, President Hillary Clinton sitting in the White House wondering, 'Gee, we could not do anything to stop those 12 warheads that did not explode but landed off of all our major cities on both coasts.' And do we really want to be sending our single carrier that might be deployed with the Seventh Fleet into this maelstrom? That is the kind of coercion potential
that is out there."

Indonesian jihadis set deadline
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta correspondent
August 07, 2006
INDONESIAN protests against the Israeli offensive in Lebanon grew at the weekend, with one of the main organisers, Muslim political agitator Suaib Didu, declaring a deadline of Tuesday for hostilities to cease "or I will no longer bear responsibilities for the jihad activities that follow".

Mr Didu travelled to the northern city of Pontianak at the weekend to witness a passing-out parade for about 200 young men who say they are prepared to travel to Lebanon to fight against Israeli aggression.

The 40-year-old author of provocative books including one titled Radical Islam: Between Jihad and Terrorism, is a player in the Bulan Bintang (Moon and Star) political party, which is positioning itself to challenge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in national elections in 2009.

The agenda of the party -- along with a clutch of other political groups of fundamentalist Muslim leanings -- is for a more stridently Islamic-leaning state than the secular administration that Mr Yudhoyono has been at pains to maintain since he won office in 2004.

Mr Didu has previously claimed 217 jihad bombers had left Indonesia to travel to countries that support Israel -- including possibly Australia -- where they would attack Israeli infrastructure.

He repeated that claim after Saturday's ceremony, adding that if John Howard did not quickly condemn Israel's military actions against Hezbollah, "we have operatives in place who can assassinate him".

However, Mr Didu offered no convincing evidence his boast was any more than bravado designed to play to an increasingly restive domestic audience.

He insisted his followers "have no quarrel with Australia" and claimed unspecified third parties "just want to make us enemies".

He says the jihad bombers who have already been dispatched came to him seeking advice several weeks ago "and I told them not to launch attacks in Indonesia, because it has already suffered enough".

But he admitted he had urged the young men to choose foreign Israeli-aligned targets to bomb "because although there are many ways to practise jihad, including prayer, just praying is no longer enough".

He said several of the group had previous experience fighting in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban in 2001. The numbers involved in that expedition, organised by the Muslim Youth Organisation of which Mr Didu was a leader at the time, remain unclear.

However, it was unlikely to have been more than a few dozen, and the group has never claimed any significant military achievement.

Mr Didu admitted that some of the men on jihad might have had contacts with members of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network who fought in the Middle East in the late 1990s, but insisted his movement "does not practise terrorism".

Mr Didu's local deputy in Pontianak, one of Indonesia's northernmost major cities on the island of Borneo, said he had gathered the black-clad jihad fighters together on Saturday "because they are just angry kids, and my job is to channel that anger".

Tens of thousands of Indonesians have gathered in central Jakarta and other Indonesian cities in recent days to declare their opposition to what they see as US support for Israel's military action in Lebanon and Gaza.

They gathered again yesterday in their largest show of strength to date, demanding an end to the Israeli offensive and threatening widespread boycotts of US products.

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda has admitted the Jakarta Government is "unable to stop people from going to Lebanon" to join the war, and there is a rising chorus of Indonesian Muslim groups signing up local volunteers for the struggle.

However, Vice-President Jusuf Kalla says most of the activity is "just talk -- and how can the Government stop people from talking?"

Indonesian jihadis set deadline (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20041092-31477,00.html)

'Hezbollah agents operating in Israel'

Terrorist says spies passing information on rocket targets, military installations
Posted: August 7, 2006
1:01 p.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah
HAIFA, Israel – Hezbollah has an advanced spy network operating inside Israel consisting of "tens" of agents, mostly Arab-Israelis who provide the Lebanon-based terror group with strategic information such as rocket targets and locations of military installations, a senior terror leader told WorldNetDaily in an interview.

"Hezbollah agents have penetrated Palestine," said Abu Oudai, a chief rocket coordinator for the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank. "[Hezbollah] receives extremely high-quality information from their agents inside Palestine. We are talking about detailed maps of neighborhoods, locations of military bases and regular information every day from many sources to help the heroes (Hezbollah) fire rockets more accurately into [northern Israel].

The Al Aqsa Brigades, the declared "military wing" of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, is responsible for scores of shooting attacks, rocket launchings and, together with Islamic Jihad, every suicide bombing inside Israel the past two years.

Israel says senior Brigades leaders, particularly the group's cell in Nablus in the northern West Bank, coordinate their attacks with Hezbollah and receive funding from Iran and Syria funneled through Hezbollah channels. Several Brigades leaders have spoken openly to WorldNetDaily about their group's affiliation with Hezbollah.

Since Israel started its military campaign in Lebanon last month following a Hezbollah attack, the Lebanese militia has fired more than 2,000 rockets into northern Israeli cities, including into Haifa, the country's third largest. About one-third of the Israeli population is under rocket threat.

While Hezbollah rockets lack guidance systems, the projectiles are launched from specific areas in Lebanon using a rocket's known trajectory and travel distance to score hits on particular Israeli towns.

Israeli security officials say they have been surprised by the accuracy of Hezbollah's rocket attacks. Several Katyushas have scored direct hits on Israeli military installations and other strategic sites.

Yesterday, 12 Israeli soldiers were killed and another 12 were wounded by a Hezbollah rocket attack on a military post at Kfar Giladi in the Upper Galilee.

Abu Oudai, who heads Al Aqsa's rocket infrastructure, told WorldNetDaily "tens" of Hezbollah agents inside Israel provide Hezbollah with targeting information. He said after rocket attacks, Hezbollah agents send the terror group information on hits and misses.

Asked if the regular Israeli and international television footage of the aftermath of rocket strikes help Hezbollah with their targeting, Abu Oudai replied, "Hezbollah doesn't need help. The information they get from their agents is excellent."

Israeli intelligence officials tell WND they are "very aware" of a possible Hezbollah spy network inside Israel and have been working to crack it.

At least 12 suspected Hezbollah agents have been arrested in Israel the past year, including Jasaan Athamleh, leader of an Arab-Israeli political coalition. Athamleh was arrested seven months ago along with his brother and is thought to be a senior Hezbollah agent. It recently was revealed a Canadian professor accused of spying for Hezbollah was arrested here just before fighting broke out July 12.

Security sources say they suspect most Hezbollah agents operating here are Arab-Israeli. They say Hezbollah's most successful recruiting ground is Mecca, where Arab-Israelis travel for the pilgrimage there required by Islam. While Saudi Arabia does not admit Israelis, Arab-Israelis can travel to Jordan where they turn in their passports temporarily for a Jordanian passport voucher they can use to enter Saudi Arabia.

The sources said Israeli Hezbollah agents receive advanced training by Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard members, including in the use of intelligence gathering and secured communications.

"Hezbollah, with the help of Iran, works like the army of a sovereign country," said a security official. "This includes the recruitment and development of spy networks."

Hezbollah many times has boasted of infiltrating Israel.

Saturday, Hezbollah's al-Manar television network aired what appeared to be home video footage of a building in Haifa collapsing last week after a rocket strike. News coverage here only had captured the aftermath of the building collapse and not footage of the structure falling. Al-Manar claimed the video was recorded by a Hezbollah agent operating inside Israel and boasted the group has many agents in the Jewish state. Israel says it is investigating the claim.

August 9, 2006 No.1237

Iranian Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Jannati In Tehran Friday Sermon: Islamic History is Repeating Itself Today With the Battle Between the Descendents of Ali and the Jews

The following are excerpts from a Friday sermon in Tehran by Iranian Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati. The sermon aired on Iranian Channel 1 on August 4, 2006.

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati: "God is using one of Ali's descendents [Nasrallah] to confront the spiritual and physical descendents of Marhab of Khaybar [the Jews]. God is reviving the memories of early Islam - the memories of the conflict between Ali and the Jews of [the battles] of Khaybar and Khandaq. On one side stood Ali with a small number of Muslims, and on the other side stood the strong, rich, vain, and arrogant Jews. Ultimately, the sword of Ali did what had to be done, and he humiliated the people of Khaybar and the vain and arrogant Jews. Today, this descendent of Ali stands in the same position, and so do the descendents of Marhab of Khaybar, the Jews of Khaybar and Khandaq."

[...]

"All the oppressed victims of Lebanon break our hearts, but the most heart-breaking of all are the children, who are being killed everywhere, especially in the village of Qana. Israel gave the blood of these children to the impure and evil Rice, and to Bush, who is more impure than impure, in order to quench their thirst for blood."

[...]

"I wish the Islamic regimes had some compassion, mercy, and honor. I do not know what good they could do. A non-Islamic country [Venezuela] recalls its ambassador, and tells him there is no reason for him to remain in Israel, but the neighboring Islamic countries, and even the non-Islamic countries, do not even do this. They do not even close the gates of their embassies. They really are raising the level of shame to the maximum, but they should know that they will bear this mark of shame, and one day, the hand of divine vengeance will take revenge upon those who kept silent in the face of oppression."

[...]

"The [U.N.] Security Council is so weak, so impotent, and so susceptible to pressure that it is incapable of passing any resolution. But when it comes to Iran, and to the trampling of its right to nuclear technology underfoot, it immediately passes a resolution, with an absolute majority. At that moment, death takes over the Security Council. Indeed, the gates of the U.N. and the Security Council should be closed. What kind of Security Council is this?"

Crowd: "Allah Akbar.

"Allah Akbar.

"Allah Akbar.

"Khamenei is the leader.

"Death to those who oppose the rule of the jurisprudent.

"Death to America.

"Death to England.

"Death to the hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq] and Saddam.

"Death to Israel."

[...]

"What Hizbullah does shows that all the humiliation endured by us and the Islamic world stems from our own impotence. If [the Muslims] were men enough to enter the arena, their spit and threats would be enough to put the others in their place. As [the Muslims] continue to keep silent, [America and Israel] became so insolent, to the point that this wretched woman comes and talks about a New Middle East. This means a Middle East that is subservient to America, [and] follows its orders unconditionally. This is the Middle East they desire, but, Allah willing, they will take this desire to the grave."

Iranian Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Jannati In Tehran Friday Sermon: Islamic History is Repeating Itself Today With the Battle Between the Descendents of Ali and the Jews (http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD123706)

August 9, 2006 No.1238

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani: Our Response To Sanctions Will Be Painful To the West And Will Make it Shiver With Cold

The following are excerpts from a press conference with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, which aired on Iranian News Channel (IRINN) on August 6, 2006.

Ali Larijani: "Iran's nuclear technology is for peaceful purposes. We accept the inspection of the IAEA, and we are NPT members. We are committed to the NPT regulations. We are a country that acts responsibly within the world order. Therefore, we respect IAEA inspection, in accordance with the safeguard agreements. Therefore, we will develop our nuclear activity where necessary. We will develop all aspects of Iran's nuclear technology, including the chains [of centrifuges]."

[...]

"The root of most conflicts between countries in the region, or between Shiites and Sunnis, lies in America's behavior. They are the ones who make provocations. We have information that the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq held a meeting with several terrorist groups in Iraq, and told them three things. He told them, first of all, to stop aiming their rifles at America. Second, he told them to direct their struggle towards Iran, and third, to direct it towards the Shiites in Iraq."

[...]

"We continue on our path with perseverance. I promise you that such [Security Council] resolutions will not affect Iran's nuclear conduct in any way. We will develop Iran's nuclear activity. Therefore, they will have to decide if their behavior will not, in fact, further reduce IAEA inspection. We do not want this to happen. So you don't do anything that would force Iran to do it."

[...]

Reporter: "Dr. Larijani, let me quote [former German foreign minister] Mr. Joschka Fischer. You will probably say you never heard this..."

Ali Larijani: "This thing with Mr. Fischer is very peculiar..."

Reporter: "Yes, he came quietly to Iran, and left quietly. While he was in Iran, he emphasized that Europe has a united position regarding Iran's nuclear program, and said: 'We are willing to shiver with cold for two or three winters...'"

Ali Larijani: "What?"

Reporter: "He said: 'We are willing to shiver with cold for two or three winters if the price of oil reaches 200 dollars or even more.' To what extent, in your opinion, can Iran's oil play a role in the nuclear talks? Will Europe come to terms with it?"

Ali Larijani: "Those who want to shiver with cold - let them shiver. What can we do? We cannot advise them what to do. In any case, it depends on the decisions they make. This issue has many aspects. In some respects, they will have to shiver. We don't want anyone in the world to shiver. We want everybody to have a good life. We don't want to use the weapon of oil, but they are the ones who are forcing certain issues.

"Naturally, and in light of their behavior, Iran must be allowed to defend its rights. As I have said before, the Iranian nuclear issue is not a complicated matter, and it can be resolved through negotiations. Those who want to use force complicate the issue even further. The region does not have the capacity for additional complex phenomena. We will not be the first in this matter, but if they behave this way, they will have to bear the consequences."

[...]

"It will be interesting for you to know that during the previous talks, some experts from various countries, as well as some people in Iran, said: 'Why are you increasing the costs, since, after all, the products of the UCF in Esfahan are defective? Why are you increasing the country's costs?' We operated the UCF in Esfahan, and injected its product [UF6] into the centrifuges. It was very satisfactory. It was clear that they were conducting psychological warfare. The same happened with regard to the centrifuges.

"When we exerted pressure, saying Iran should have nuclear knowledge, one of the [European] parties to the negotiations said to us: 'We don't want you to have nuclear knowledge.' We said: 'It's none of your business. It's up to the Iranian people. You can say we must not turn to nuclear weapons, but you cannot say we must not have nuclear knowledge.' Interestingly, within Iran itself, some people said that our centrifuges are defective and do not meet the requirements. As you've seen, we operated the chain [of centrifuges], and got the product. This too was psychological warfare."

[...]

"What you said about sanctions - this is not an immediate issue. If you recall, they wanted to use this leverage two years ago, saying that if Iran did not suspend [its nuclear activity], there would be resolutions and sanctions. This is not a simple matter. This will have many ramifications in the international arena. They will be harmed more than us. We control all aspects of this issue. They must not think we will not respond if they hurt us. They must not force us to make them shiver with cold, and make them face more problems. We don't want to take this path, but if they do, they will have to bear the consequences. This is not immediate, but if they do so, we will respond in a manner that will be sufficiently painful to them."

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani: Our Response To Sanctions Will Be Painful To the West And Will Make it Shiver With Cold (http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD123806)

Hundreds Die in Sri Lanka, as UN Focuses on Lebanon
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
August 09, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - While the world's attention is riveted on the Middle East, a raging conflict in Sri Lanka is drawing relatively little attention from the United Nations, despite the fact that almost 600 lives have been lost over the same period as the Israeli-Hizballah fighting.

The latest flare-up in a long and brutal civil war began two weeks ago, when the Sri Lankan army launched an air and ground offensive against the LTTE "Tamil Tigers" after the terrorist group cut off a water channel in territory it controls, reportedly leaving 60,000 people without water.

The water blockade was lifted Tuesday, but not before hundreds of people had been killed, and more than 20,000 people had fled from the conflict zone, leaving a four year-old ceasefire in tatters.

Among the dead were 17 Sri Lankan staffers of a French humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) involved in tsunami relief work. They were found lying face-down, each having been shot in the head, execution-style. The army and LTTE accused each other of the killing, and the Action Against Hunger NGO called for a full investigation.

Violence continued Tuesday, when a powerful bomb exploded in the capital, Colombo. Three people were killed in the blast, and among those injured was a veteran political opponent of the LTTE, the terrorists' apparent target.

Most aid agencies withdrew from the area, and after threats from the LTTE, a European Union ceasefire-monitoring mission said it was pulling its members out of the country.

The two-decade conflict between the Buddhist Sinhalese majority and predominantly Hindu Tamil minority has cost more than 64,000 lives.

Over the past month alone -- as the current Mideast crisis intensified -- at least 593 people have been killed, including more than 200 civilians, 65 security force personnel and some 300 Tamil Tigers, according to the India-based Institute for Conflict Management's South Asia Terrorism Portal.

During the current escalation, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued one two-paragraph statement -- on August 3 -- expressing concern about the violence and its consequences, and urging the parties to resume peace talks.

By contrast, Annan's website lists five statements on the situation in Lebanon, including one delivered in Jerusalem and one in Rome.

The Security Council has held 11 meetings since August 12 on the situation in the Middle East, and none on Sri Lanka.

All eyes on Israel

Various U.N. human rights bodies have also given considerable attention to the situation in Lebanon, while Sri Lanka has not received a mention.

The new Human Rights Council (HRC) is preparing to hold its second ever special session shortly, after Arab states supported by China, Cuba and others requested a meeting "to consider and take action on the gross human rights violations by Israel in Lebanon."

Last month, the HRC held its first special session -- on Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.

One month earlier, the HRC held its inaugural annual session, and considered just two country-specific situations -- Israel/Gaza and Sudan/Darfur. The session ended with the passage of a single country-specific resolution, condemning Israel.

The HRC was established because of concerns that its now-defunct predecessor, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, had been tainted by politicization and the presence of rights violating nations. A major complaint was its disproportionate focus on Israel.

Other U.N. bodies have also weighed in in recent weeks:

-- On July 21, six U.N. human rights experts issued a joint statement, calling for an end to the fighting. Apart from a single sentence noting that large numbers of Israelis had been forced into bomb shelters, were fleeing the north, and had their water supplies affected, the statement dwelt entirely on the problems faced by the Lebanese.

The experts are people who deal with the rights of internally-displaced persons, the right to housing, the right to food, the right to freedom of expression, the right to health, and the right to education.

-- U.N. high commissioner for human rights Louise Arbour issued two statements condemning the targeting of Lebanese and Israeli civilians, one of them calling for "accountability for any breaches of international law."

-- The U.N.'s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination suspended its usual session last week to debate the conflict, despite protests from American and Danish experts on the panel that the situation did not fall within the committee's mandate. Some members attributed Israel's campaign against Hizballah to anti-Arab racism.

-- The U.N. subcommission on human rights opened its three-week session Monday by debating and adopting a statement "expressing its deep grief and outrage at the massive denial and violation of human rights in Lebanon."

At least one member of the 26-person body of legal experts, a Briton, pointed out that it specifically had been instructed not to pass country-specific resolutions.

In a statement Tuesday, Hillel Neuer of U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based NGO, said the greatest losers in the U.N.'s lopsided focus on Israel were the victims of human rights abuses around the world.

"Don't other world crises -- mass rape in Darfur, four million killed in Democratic Republic of Congo, repression and strife in Burma, East Timor, Colombia, Somalia -- deserve special sessions?"

Sunnis Urged to Put Anti-Israel Campaign Above Rift With Shi'ites
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
August 09, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - Sunni Muslims around the world are being pressed to take sides in a dispute among scholars over whether a united Islamic front against Israel should take precedence over historical differences with Shi'ites.

The debate is raging in newspaper columns and on Internet sites, with proponents of both positions citing religious edicts (fatwas), scholars' appeals, and Koranic injunctions to bolster their arguments.

Rancor between Sunnis and Shi'ites, whose schism stems from differences over the rightful successor to Mohammed, has existed for centuries and continues to cause bloodshed in Iraq.

Most Arab countries have Sunni majorities - exceptions include Iraq and Bahrain -- but among Lebanon's collection of minorities, Shi'ites are thought to be the biggest. The Hizballah terrorist organization now at war with Israel is a Shi'ite organization, sponsored by predominantly Shi'ite Iran, as well as by Syria, whose ruling elite are Allawites, an offshoot of Shi'a Islam.

In Saudi Arabia, some top Islamist clerics have ruled that Sunnis should not back Hizballah. Most prominent of these in recent days has been Sheikh Safar al-Hawali, who posted a fatwa online saying that Hizballah (the name means Party of Allah) is in fact the party of "the devil" and imploring Sunnis: "Don’t pray for Hizballah."

Hawali, a scholar formerly at Umm Al-Qura University, was a signatory of a Nov. 2004 communique by 26 Saudi clerics calling for jihad against U.S. forces in Iraq.

Another fatwa circulating on the Internet rejects support for Hizballah. Issued several years ago by another Saudi Islamist cleric, Abdullah bin Jibreen, it declares that Sunnis should not support Hizballah or pray for its victory.

(Bin Jibreen used the derogatory term "rafidi," a word based on the Arabic root for "to reject" or "to abandon," and used by Sunnis who regard Shi'a Islam as heresy.)

Jibreen, who at the time was a member of the Saudi government-appointed Council of Senior Scholars, also issued a decree in 1991 ruling that Shi'ites are "idolaters deserving to be killed."

These calls for Muslims not to support Hizballah have upset many other Sunni religious figures, who believe the jihad against Israel is more important than splits among Muslims.

Sheikh Rashid al-Ghanoushi, the exiled leader of a banned Islamist movement in Tunisia, said those issuing the anti-Hizballah fatwas should be ashamed of themselves for doing so "while the nation is under attack and both Palestinian and Lebanese people are facing genocide."

Influential Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi urged all Muslims to support Hizballah against "the enemy," telling the al-Jazeera television network that sectarianism "hurt the resistance."

The publishers of Islam Online, a website affiliated with Qaradawi, said this was a time for solidarity and unity among Muslims.

"Unfortunately, some Muslims do not share this spirit. 'Why should we help Hizballah when they are not Sunni Muslims?' they wonder. Some prohibit any form of cooperation or support to the Lebanese resistance; they even prohibit du'aa [prayer].

"This is a serious issue indeed. The last things we need in this critical situation are disruption and disunity," said Islam Online.

"True, differences do exist between Sunnis and Shi'ites, but these differences do not exclude the Shi'ites from the fold of Islam, nor do they excuse forsaking them in their struggle against the Israeli aggression."
'Close ranks'

The biggest response to the anti-Hizballah fatwas came from a group of 169 Sunni scholars from Muslim nations stretching from Bosnia to Indonesia, including 28 Saudis, who issued a statement at the weekend trying to undo what they saw as damage to Islamic unity.

Published by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Monday and punctuated with verses from the Koran, the statement called on all Arabs and Muslims to "offer all material and moral support" to the Lebanese and Palestinians, "giving this duty the top priority over all religious duties."

In a clear reference to the Sunni-Shi'ite division, the signatories urged "all of the [Islamic] nation's sects to close ranks in confrontation of its enemy who seeks to eliminate us."

It should not allow the sectarian violence in Iraq to spill over into other places, they said.

"When the nation is at war, we must be fully aware that sectarian feuds can exhaust our strength which opens the door wide for the enemy to impose its hegemony on us."

The scholars also called on Arab and Muslim governments to abandon delusions of peace with Israel.

"We must abide by the fatwa issued by the Muslim scholars who prohibit the recognition of the Zionist state, normalization of relations with it or giving up any inch of the Palestinian land. We should believe in the fact that this criminal enemy does not recognize the rights of others except under the pressures of jihad and resistance."

The scholars also said all Arab and Muslim government should base their relations with other nations, especially the United States, on those countries' stances towards "our issues, topped by Palestine."

'Not terrorism'

In the early days of the latest Israeli-Hizballah conflict, the governments of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia cautiously criticized the Lebanese group for its "adventurism" which triggered the fighting.

The comments were widely reported, and have frequently been cited as significant by the U.S. State Department and allied governments.

Many Mideast analysts argued that the stance taken by the Sunni trio was driven largely by their concerns about Iran and the emergence of a "Shi'ite crescent" from Iran to Lebanon. Since those early days, the three governments' public criticism of Hizballah has largely been dropped.

The Saudis' weekly cabinet meeting Monday agreed to stand with the Lebanese and Palestinian people and called for a strong and united Arab stance against "Israeli aggression."

In Egypt, the government-appointed mufti, Ali Gomaa, has voiced strong backing for Hizballah.

"Hizballah is defending its country and what it is doing is not terrorism," the state news agency MENA quoted him as saying on Friday.

Asked in a Time magazine interview for his opinion of Hizballah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said "nobody should be allowed to establish a state within a state" but softened his criticism by saying the organization was "part and parcel of the Lebanese people's fabric." He also did not censure Hizballah for triggering the crisis, but condemned Israel for a "disproportionate response."

Iraq has seen the worst violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites. The minority Sunni Ba'athists dominated and oppressed the Shi'ite majority until U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The sectarian carnage there has been largely attributed to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed last June.

Zarqawi labeled Iraqi Shi'ites "rafidi" and described them in one published letter as "a sect of treachery and betrayal throughout history and throughout the ages."

The targeting of Shi'ites prompted al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri to send a letter to Zarqawi last October questioning the strategy.

Although "anyone with a knowledge of history" knew that Shi'ites were heretics and had a background of "cooperating with the enemies of Islam," al-Swahili said, many ordinary Muslims may not understand.

"Is the opening of another front now in addition to the front against the Americans and the government a wise decision?" he asked.

Last week, al-Zawahiri issued a videotape message urging all Muslims everywhere to join the jihad against Israel in Lebanon and Gaza.

Sunnis Urged to Put Anti-Israel Campaign Above Rift With Shi'ites (http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200608/INT20060809b.html)

Syria checks bomb shelters

Winds of war blow through Syria as country checks bomb shelters for first time since 1973 war
Roee Nahmias

The winds of war blowing through the region are also being felt in Syria, as the country begins checks of its public bomb shelters for the first time since 1973.

Syrian media outlets reported Wednesday that while residents of towns on the border with Israel are independently looking after themselves and shelters, the 'civil guard' began checking the state of bomb shelters in Damascus.

A senior member or the civil guard in Damascus said the body was "working to make sure the shelters were in good shape as a step to prepare for any future development. This is especially true for shelters who have over the years turned into stores, clubs, and even homes."

"Imagine if God forbid a war broke out and they tried to enter here, they would probably prevent it," said Abu Majdi, a senior civil guard member, while pointing at a home in Damascus built in a former shelter.

'We'd be kicked out'

"They would say this was private property and kick us out of here. The law would back up the owners, and indeed this is their house," he said.

"This was a public bomb shelter in a building in which we lived," said Mona, a resident of the Bab Shraki neighborhood in Damascus.

"In the days of the October War (The Yom Kippur War – R.N) all of the people would go down here to protect themselves," she said.

This shelter has also been renovated and Mona does not know where to go in case of an emergency. "This shelter has been sold and bought and we don't even know by who. Once it was open a store for cellular phone equipment, afterwards as a warehouse, and later as a home, before finally becoming a barber shop. The problem is that if it is private property we have no right to enter it in any situation."

The Syrian regime has set up a committee to look into the state of bomb shelters in various areas in Damascus and to prepare them "for any eventually."

Despite the situation on the ground, the head of Damascus' governor's bureau said the public bomb shelters in Damascus were ready and would be used during a time of war.

Syria checks bomb shelters (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3288995,00.html)

Lieberman: Hamas Plans Southern War on Hizbullah Military Model
20:57 Aug 09, '06 / 15 Av 5766
by Hana Levi Julian and Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

Yisrael Beitenu party Chairman and MK Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that Hamas is planning to change the way it is waging war on Israel’s southern front – based on the Hizbullah model.

Hamas opened the Re-engagement War with a terror attack on an IDF outpost on June 25th at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza and Egypt. IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists during the battle in which two soldiers were killed and four others injured.

Hamas is now the majority party that leads the Palestinian Authority, and is also involved in internal fighting with the Fatah faction which controlled the PA prior to elections in January 2006.

Lieberman said the PA is preparing to wage a war on southern Israel modeled on the Hizbullah military strategy against communities in northern Israel. He also expressed criticism of the media for ignoring the ongoing PA Kassam rocket attacks on the cities of the Negev.

Lieberman said that PA terrorists are "smuggling Katyushas and Grad missiles into the Gaza Strip. The southern Lebanon script must be prevented in southern Israel."

Lieberman further criticized the government for failing to keep the Knesset apprised of Hamas war preparations, charging that better information can be found on the Internet than in parliamentary committee sessions.

He added that the government must not close its eyes to the fact that Hamas intentions are to destroy Israel, a goal the terror group does not hide.

The group’s party platform focused on its refusal to formally recognize the State of Israel, disarm or renounce terrorism. Foreign funding to the PA by most western nations was frozen when the terrorist organization took over the government.

Lieberman was interviewed on Arutz-7 Radio during a tour of the south with the Yisrael Beitenu MKs.

Lieberman: Hamas Plans Southern War on Hizbullah Military Model (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=109639)

Israel attacks Palestinian base in Lebanon
Follows flow of weapons to Hezbollah, calls by Abbas' party to join fighting
Posted: August 9, 2006
10:27 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

HAIFA, Israel – For the first since the Jewish state began its military campaign against Hezbollah last month, Israeli gunboats last night shelled the headquarters of a Palestinian militia in south Lebanon.

Military officials here said the target of the attack was Fatah, which maintains a military camp in the Ein el-Hilweh village, the largest so-called Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, located on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon.

The Israeli attack follows a WND article last week in which a senior Lebanese political source said Palestinian militias operating out of Lebanon have passed large quantities of heavy weaponry, including rockets, to Hezbollah for use against Israel.

The move also comes amid calls by Palestinian groups in Judea, Samaria and Gaza to prepare for an "escalation" against Israel and follows statements by members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party that their "fighters" in Lebanon are set to enter combat along with Hezbollah.

Palestinian groups, including Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, maintain armed bases in Lebanon, mostly in the al-Naemeh province just south of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley near Lebanon's border with Syria. The groups also have offices in Syria.

Israeli and Lebanese officials say the Palestinian groups have been provided over the years with rifles, ammunition, several kinds of long-range rockets and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles by Iran and Syria. Israel previously has bombed Popular Front bases following rocket attacks against the Jewish state it says were launched from the Palestinian group's military camps in Lebanon.

The Palestinian groups in Lebanon earlier this year clashed with the Lebanese Army. A United Nations resolution demands Lebanon disarm "all militias," including armed Palestinian groups.

Lebanese officials tell WND the Palestinian groups in recent days passed heavy weaponry to Hezbollah. They said some of the weapons belonged to Hezbollah but were stored in Palestinian bases.

The officials also said they had information Palestinian camps in Lebanon were being used for Hezbollah training and that some Hezbollah members are still operating out of the camps.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert claimed Israel has destroyed most of Hezbollah's bases, targeted much of the terrorist group's weapons arsenal and destroyed nearly two-thirds of the its longer-range rockets.

Hezbollah is still thought to possess up to 10,000 more Katyusha rockets capable of hitting northern Israeli cities and hundreds of Zalzel and other kinds of longer-range rockets that can target central Israel, including Tel Aviv. In addition, security officials here say rockets continue to be smuggled into Lebanon from the country's border with Syria.

During its current military campaign against Hezbollah, Israel until now has refrained from hitting Palestinian bases in Lebanon.

Last month, Sultan Abu al-Aynain, leader of Fatah in Lebanon, announced Palestinian gunmen in the country are set to join the fighting against Israel. He said Fatah has thousands of fighters in Lebanon who are prepared to participate. It was unclear whether his comments were coordinated with Abbas.

WND reported last week Bani al-Hassan, a senior Abbas official, sent a letter to hundreds of Fatah members asking them to prepare for an "escalated battle" against Israel while the Jewish state continues its military campaign in Lebanon. The letter also was sent to members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group, the declared "military wing" of Fatah.

"You the fighters are the new generation that will bring us victory over Israel," Hassan wrote in the letter, obtained by WND from a Fatah official.

Hassan compelled Fatah members to "be prepared" for an escalation against the Jewish state but did not mention particulars or give specific instructions.

Later yesterday, Hassan led a rally in Ramallah in which he reportedly informed participants he placed Fatah fighters on high alert "ahead of the possibility of escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, which could manifest itself in an escalation of Israeli actions (here)."

"I know what I'm talking about, and I know what I'm referring to," Hassan reportedly told the crowd.

Khaibar: a missile's name signals Iran's genocidal intentions
By Micah D. Halpern August 8, 2006

In the West, especially in the United States, we do not pay enough attention to symbols and to the cultural importance of symbols. We pay attention to status symbols, but we totally ignore cultural symbols.

We live in the world of the bottom line. We have little time and even less patience for nuance. The value of terms and the symbolic value of actions are almost totally lost on our culture. Maybe symbolism is a lost art. Maybe it is a study relegated to university seminars. Maybe, just maybe, it is a major oversight on our parts, a major gap in our knowledge bank, another example of the way in which we think of ourselves -- as the most powerful and important people in the world.

Not so in the Middle East.

In Arabic a metaphor is more than a collection of words. It can be a prophecy or a blessing. It can be a curse. In Arab cultures a symbol speaks volumes, only wordlessly. Symbols are ideas, they dictate behaviors, they tell stories. They are lore. They carry religious resonance.

I am a student of history. Imagine my shock when I learned the name of the new and improved Iranian missile that Hezbollah is shooting at Israel, a missile that goes further and causes more damage than any missile that has come before it, a super missile. The Khaibar.

Why has the Hezbollah chosen to name a missile Khaibar? Because Khaibar is not merely a name, Khaibar delivers a message. When the Arab and Muslim worlds hear the word Khaibar a story of mythical proportions is conjured up before them. Israel is familiar with the story.

Khaibar was the name of an ancient town. As the story unfolds in the Koran, it was a town predominantly inhabited by Jews. Mohammed the prophet targeted Jews. He tried to convert them in order to show off the success of his new theophany, his new revelation -- that there is but one God and he, Mohammed, is his prophet.

Mohammed gave the Jews of Khaibar the option to leave the town taking with them all their belongings. The Jews declined to leave. Mohammed gave the Jews of Khaibar the option to just leave. Again, the Jews declined. Mohammed massacred the Jews of Khaibar. All of them. The story of Khaibar is the story of Sodom and Gemmorah, only Mohammed style.

The name Khaibar resonates with hatred and the mass murder of Jews.

Every Arab and every Muslim who has read the Koran realizes the true meaning behind this choice of name. Naming a missile Khaibar is a metaphor for the struggle between the Arab world and Israel. It is a metaphor suggesting the ultimate end to this struggle. The Arab world is telling us, the West, that this battle is not about Southern Lebanon, it is about the very destruction of Israel.

We must not miss the symbolic value of this message. The dream of seeing Israel destroyed resonates up and down the streets and alleys and hallways of the Arab and Muslim worlds today.

When does the Arab world band together? Never to offer praise and rejoice because of the good that has happened to them, only to rejoice because bad has happened to someone else. The Arab world gathers together in hatred. They gather because of the United States and because of Israel. The Muslim world is galvanized because of the story line in a movie, the lyrics of a song, because of caricatures in a newspaper. They are moved to action because of perceived insult and evil, principally insults and evils interpreted to be hurled at them by the West.

It is this destructive side of a once great tradition that will be the cause and the downfall of the Muslim world. Rather than rejoicing at the wondrous advances of the modern world, rather than incorporating the scientific and technical wonders available to us today, the Muslim world opts to deprive itself by shutting out all glimpses of modernity. That is not true ancient Muslim tradition. During the Golden Age when Islam was a significant world cultural force Muslims lent and even borrowed ideas in order to enhance their own society.

Today the majority of the Arab world suffers from abject poverty and illiteracy. The energy spent on propagandizing about how evil the West is, how devilish the United States is and how dangerous Israel is would be well spent instead teaching children how to read and write giving the future of the Arab world the chance to one day become scientists and researchers and economists. Today, the greatest brain-drain in the world is out of the Arab world.

Historically, the desire to destroy has been a simple tool used in order to galvanize a society against a common enemy. But history marches on. Societies can make transitions, they can be resuscitated, societies and even religions can make the move forward. Russia did it and while the Russians are still puzzling out their future, it is clear that the new Russia will not be a society of destruction.

Signs and symbols pointing to a future for the Muslim and Arab worlds are negative. I, for one, am not hopeful.

Khaibar: a missile's name signals Iran's genocidal intentions (http://web.israelinsider.com/views/9101.htm)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope y'all noticed the writers first name.

Thousands in Somalia rally for holy war
Organizer: 'We must sympathize with our brothers in Lebanon'

Friday, August 11, 2006; Posted: 9:13 a.m. EDT (13:13 GMT)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- More than 2,000 people gathered after Friday prayers for a pro-Lebanon rally organized by Mogadishu's new fundamentalist rulers, calling for holy war and chanting "Down with the enemies of Islam, wherever they are!"

Yusuf Ali Siad, one of the organizers, said the protest was sparked by the monthlong conflict between Israel and Lebanon that has killed more than 800 people, mostly in Lebanon.

"We must sympathize with our brothers in Lebanon," Siad told The Associated Press. "It is compulsory to join the holy war."

The demonstrators also shouted slogans against the United States and neighboring Ethiopia, which is Somalia's longtime enemy.

A similar protest was held in neighboring Kenya, drawing about 300 people to Nairobi's main mosque. The protesters, most of them young men, carried signs saying "Israel Stop Killing Our Brothers and Sisters" and "End America's Terrorism of Army Invasion in Iraq."

Somalia has not had an effective central government since warlords toppled longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, plunging the country into anarchy.

As Islamic militants seized the capital and much of southern Somalia in recent months, the country's virtually powerless official government could only watch helplessly.

The Islamists have been imposing strict religious courts, raising fears of an emerging Taliban-style regime. The United States accuses the group of harboring al Qaeda leaders responsible for deadly bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

The conflict in Somalia has sent an average of 100 Somali refugees streaming into Kenyan refugee camps every day, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

"If the current rate of arrival continues, we can expect another 12,000 refugees by the end of the year," the UNHCR said in a statement. The Dadaab camps in northeast Kenya already have some 134,000 refugees, mostly Somalis.

Somalia's government was formed two years ago with the support of the U.N., but it has failed to assert power outside its base in Baidoa, 255 kilometers (150 miles) from Mogadishu.

Thousands in Somalia rally for holy war (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/08/11/somalia.islamists.ap/)

UN force to evacuate Lebanese troops
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 11, 2006

UN peacekeepers were dispatched Friday to evacuate about 350 Lebanese soldiers and police detained by IDF forces in Marjayoun a day after the IDF swept into the southern Lebanese town, security officials said.

Two armored vehicles from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, a 2,000-member peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon, headed to Marjayoun, taken by IDF forces on Thursday.

They will escort the Lebanese troops out of their Marjayoun barracks in a convoy that will take them into government-controlled territory further north, the Lebanese security officials said.

On Thursday, Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat said Israeli troops entered the garrison in Marjayoun in the afternoon "and asked to share it with Lebanese troops there."

He said the troops refused and wanted to leave, but the Israelis did not let them.

"We consider them captives," Fatfat said, adding that the government was trying to win their release.

Lebanese and Arab media reports said that France and the United States intervened to arrange for the evacuation of the Lebanese troops.

There are more than 1,000 Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon conducting security duties. But Hizbullah guerrillas actually control the south.

The government has pledged to send 15,000 troops to the border with Israel as part of a peace package to end one month of brutal fighting and bombardment between Israel and Hizbullah. Israel has insisted on staying in southern Lebanon until a robust international force is deployed, which could take weeks or months.

UN force to evacuate Lebanese troops (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525852026&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer)

Israel Pounds Border Crossings to Syria
Aug 11 11:23 AM US/Eastern
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By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes pounded south Beirut and border crossings to Syria, killing at least 14 people across Lebanon as ground fighting picked up intensity in the south.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is dissatisfied with the emerging cease-fire deal and told his defense minister in a meeting Friday to get ready for a wider ground offensive in Lebanon, a senior Israeli official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the contents of the Olmert-Peretz meeting. It was not immediately clear whether the Israeli threat was meant to pressure the U.N. Security Council or whether Israel is determined to send troops deeper into Lebanon.

Jets struck twice at a busy bridge at the Abboudiyeh border crossing into Syria, killing at least 12 people and wounding 18 others, hospital and security officials said. The checkpoint is some 10 miles inland from the Mediterranean coast, on Lebanon's northern border.

Hezbollah TV reported Friday that guerrillas destroyed an Israeli gunboat off the coast of Tyre, killing or wounding the crew of 12.

The Israeli army said it was not aware of a strike on any of its vessels, which have been enforcing a blockade of the Lebanese coast since fighting began 30 days ago. Larger craft have repeatedly fired shells against Hezbollah positions and strongholds, including in south Beirut.

Israel also struck an area close to the Lebanese border crossing at Masnaa in the Bekaa Valley, about 30 miles southeast of Beirut, but there were no reports of casualties. Masnaa is the main border crossing with Syria, and has been closed after four previous strikes. It was the main escape route for hundreds of foreigners and displaced Lebanese who fled the country over land.

Only one other official border crossing, at the northern coastal town of Arida, is open.

Israeli warplanes also struck three vehicles near the eastern city of Baalbek, killing at least one person and wounding two others, security officials said. Witnesses said the vehicles were directly hit and caught fire. It was unclear whether they were cars or pickup trucks _ a frequent target of Israeli raids.

A drone fired a missile at a motorbike on the southern coastal highway between Sidon and Tyre, killing its driver, security officials said. Jets also hit roads and residential areas near the southern market town of Nabatiyeh, flattening a deserted house there, they said. It was unclear if its owner, Zaino Yassin, was a Hezbollah activist, they said.

Israeli warplanes struck roads and villages in mountainous areas in the southeastern part of the Bekaa Valley as well, security officials said. No casualties were reported.

At least 20 explosions rang out across the Lebanese capital as thick black smoke rose from the southern suburbs. Hezbollah said it unleashed "a new barrage of rockets on Haifa" in response. Later the group said it fired at the Israeli towns of Kiryat Shemona, Nahariya, Avivim, Kfar Giladi, Margelot and Metulla "in response to the continuing Zionist attacks on Lebanese civilians."

Warplanes returned to the capital midday and sent missiles into Chiah, a south Beirut neighborhood where at least 41 people were killed in a strike Monday. Friday's attack came a day after Israeli jets dropped leaflets over Beirut, warning Chiah residents to leave. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In another statement, Hezbollah said its fighters killed or wounded about 15 Israeli soldiers trying to advance toward the border village of Aita al-Shaab. "The remaining soldiers retreated under the cover of artillery shelling," the statement said. Aita al-Shaab is one of several Lebanese border towns where gunbattles have been raging for weeks between Israeli troops and Hezbollah guerrillas.

The group later said it killed four Israeli soldiers in Qantara, about 5 miles from the Israeli border. Hezbollah said its guerrillas inflicted casualties on Israeli forces in the village of Rachaf as well, some 9 miles from the border.

"The Islamic Resistance (Hezbollah) has since early morning been engaged in fierce clashes (with Israeli troops) on the southwestern outskirts of Rachaf. By 9:40 a.m., the (Israeli) enemy was trying to evacuate its casualties from the battlefield," Hezbollah said in a statement broadcast on its Al-Manar television.

Fighting also continued in Beit Yahoun, with Hezbollah saying it destroyed an Israeli tank and bulldozer, killing or wounding their crews. The town is about 7 miles from the Israeli border.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Hezbollah's statements.

An Associated Press reporter in the southern port city of Tyre heard a huge sonic boom over the town early Friday, likely from Israeli jet fighters breaking the sound barrier overhead.

Israel Pounds Border Crossings to Syria (http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/08/11/D8JEA1M01.html)

Egeland: Mideast anger worst in 20 years

By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer Fri Aug 11, 12:36 PM ET

GENEVA - U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said Friday the anger on all sides in the Middle East is the greatest he has seen in two decades of trying to help the troubled region make peace.

"I've never seen nations as polarized as during this recent visit," said Egeland, who was in Lebanon, Israel and the Gaza Strip at the end of July.

"People were enraged collectively in Lebanon, everybody against the Israeli indiscriminate onslaught," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "In Israel, they were a united front to support the strong military measures. In the Palestinian areas, I've never seen them as full of hatred collectively as now. It has to be defused."

Egeland, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said he was counting on the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution that will stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and serve as a first step to finally concluding a peace settlement in the Middle East.

"Everybody wants now to find a permanent political solution," he said in his office in the world body's European headquarters. "This has now become a powder keg. You have really to defuse it. You cannot just delay further conflict."

Egeland said the tensions were the worst he had seen in the more than 20 years he has been working to promote peace and human rights in the Middle East, including a stint as a soldier in the U.N. force in Lebanon in 1978 and involvement in securing the Oslo agreement between Israel and the PLO in the 1990s.

Egeland said the Israel-Hezbollah fighting could be stopped immediately if there is the will because it isn't protracted and there are only two parties, not 20 as in the Sudanese region of Darfur, which has been wracked by conflict since 2003.

The Security Council has to come up with a resolution that will be respected, Egeland said.

"We've seen resolutions that are effective and we've seen resolutions that are ineffective, and an ineffective one doesn't help us at all," he said. "There has to be some teeth in it and there has to be pressure on the parties to respect it.

"Every day of non-decision in the Security Council costs lives," Egeland said.

Hundreds of Lebanese have already died and the numbers are likely to start going up sharply soon, he said.

"Imagine the predicament of the civilian population. On the one side they've been asked by Israel to leave because it's too dangerous to stay. At the same time, now the Israelis say that they will fire at any truck moving that has not been cleared as a humanitarian convoy by the U.N. or the Red Cross," Egeland said. "The people are really in a desperate situation."

He said it was impossible to predict how many people will die.

"People do not start to starve immediately in a place like Lebanon if they are cut off. For weeks they can eat from whatever reserves they have. Disease does not start to spread immediately. But after a few weeks, there are no more coping mechanisms. Sick people die. Hospitals stop to function, and that has already started because they do not have fuel. Wounded people die because they cannot get medical attention.

"It's not going slowly to the worst, it's going dramatically down after a few weeks in this kind of a situation, and that's why it's so urgent to stop it all with a U.N. resolution and get a cease-fire."

He said that by some measures, the situation for civilians in Congo, Sudan's Darfur region and Iraq is worse than it is in Lebanon, but that the number of Lebanese who have fled their homes was very high.

He said the tensions in the region have made it very difficult to avoid offending parties to the conflict.

"It's part of our lives as humanitarian workers to try to be impartial and neutral in political minefields," Egeland said. "But this one has been particularly difficult to tread. I feel that they are weighing my every word."

"Israel was outraged when I said that it was clearly excessive, clearly disproportionate, and I said a war where you kill more children than armed men — there is something wrong with the way of waging hostilities. Hezbollah was outraged when I said that they are blending in to the civilian population, and it's cowardly to blend in among women and children. It's tough."

Egeland: Mideast anger worst in 20 years (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060811/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_fighting_un_aid_chief_1)

U.N. rights body condemns Israel for war

By ELIANE ENGELER, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago

GENEVA - The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday condemned Israel for "massive bombardment of Lebanese civilian populations" and other "systematic" human rights violations, and decided to send a commission to investigate.

European countries, Japan and Canada voted against the resolution, primarily because it lacked balance in failing to name the Hezbollah militia. The United States, which is an observer, has no vote on the 47-member council.

Israeli Ambassador Itzhak Levanon said the discussions were one-sided, referring only to civilian losses in Lebanon while ignoring the deadly Hezbollah missile attacks on northern Israel.

"It is painful and regrettable that the council made a distinction between the sufferings, the blood and the deaths, and this failure will forever be written in the annals of that body," he said.

The council voted 27-11 to pass the resolution, which was proposed by the 57-country Organization of the Islamic Conference. Among those voting for the resolution were China, Russia, India, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Zambia and South Africa. Guatemala and seven other countries abstained.

Although the OIC refused to insert "Hezbollah" in the text, it amended its wording to make an indirect reference to the Lebanese militia, urging "all concerned parties to respect the rules of international humanitarian law (and) to refrain from violence against the civilian population."

Louise Arbour, the U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights, told the council it was obligated to consider violations by both sides.

"Israeli attacks affecting civilians continue unabated," she said. "Also unrelenting is Hezbollah's indiscriminate shelling of densely populated centers in northern Israel which has brought death and destruction.

"There have also been repeated allegations of Hezbollah's systematic use of civilians as human shields," she said.

It was the second time the new council has singled out Israel in emergency sessions this summer.

In a meeting July 6, the body voted 29-11 to deplore Israel's military operations in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip. It has no powers to punish countries beyond public condemnation. However, Arbour, a former Canadian Supreme Court justice, warned there could be other proceedings for any war crimes.

"I remind all belligerents that war crimes and crimes against humanity may be committed even by those who believe, accurately or not, that their combat is a just one and their cause a worthy pursuit," she said.

The resolution said an inquiry commission of experts should go immediately "to investigate the systematic targeting and killings of civilians by Israel in Lebanon; to examine the types of weapons used by Israel and their conformity with the international law; to assess the extent and deadly impact of Israeli attacks on human life, property, critical infrastructure and the environment."

It said the Israelis had "caused thousands of deaths and injuries, mostly among children and women, and the displacement of 1 million civilians, according to a preliminary assessment."

It also condemned "Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which constitute gross and systematic human rights violations" and "the massive bombardment of Lebanese civilian populations, especially the massacres in Qana," where 28 people were killed in a July 30 Israeli airstrike, and other Lebanese towns.

The fighting began July 12 after Hezbollah guerrillas based in southern Lebanon kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. Israel responded with an air campaign and later a ground offensive. Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel.

International efforts to agree on a plan for trying to end the fighting have so far failed.

The OIC, which gathered enough signatures to require Friday's meeting in Geneva, kept its focus only on Israel.

"The situation in Lebanon is appalling," said Pakistan Ambassador Masood Khan, speaking for the group of Arab countries and other countries with large Muslim populations.

Lebanon Ambassador Gebran Soufan said Lebanese were being "collectively slaughtered and punished" by the Israelis.

Levanon said both Israeli and Lebanese civilians were suffering from the conflict and that Hezbollah was conducting a "vicious campaign of terror."

He said the council also should recognize as a deeper cause of the conflict the behind-the-scenes roles of Syria and Iran — "those cowardly states which cynically seek to fight their battles through others, on foreign soil."

U.S. Ambassador Warren W. Tichenor objected to the session being held, saying it was "unhelpful and potentially counterproductive to the (U.N.) Security Council's efforts to address the complex issues involved in this conflict."

European diplomats said they tried unsuccessfully to persuade the OIC to put more balance into the resolution, which they considered one-sided.

U.N. rights body condemns Israel for war (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060811/ap_on_re_eu/un_israel_2)

Annan, UN Under Fire for Stance on Israel
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
August 11, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - Jewish organizations are stepping up pressure on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whom they accuse of siding against Israel in its war against Hizballah.

The move comes amid growing criticism of a range of U.N. bodies that have issued declarations blaming Israel for the crisis.

"How many more Israeli civilians must die before you condemn Hizballah?" the Anti-Defamation League asked in an ad published in The New York Times Thursday.

In a letter to Annan sent a day earlier, the organization said: "While you clearly are not at a loss for words when it comes to criticizing and denouncing Israel, a member state of the United Nations, you seen unable to muster an equally strong voice to denounce the daily firing by the terrorist organization Hizballah of hundreds of rockets into Israel specifically aimed at and intended to kill and maim civilians."

The Jerusalem Post reports that the ADL last week joined representatives of three other U.S. groups -- the American Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations -- in meeting with Annan.

They reportedly urged him publicly to declare Hizballah a terrorist organization.

Annan's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, issued a statement Thursday saying the secretary-general "reiterates his call that the fighting must stop to save civilians on both sides from the nightmare they have endured for the past four weeks."

Asked during a briefing about the ADL allegations, Dujarric replied: "I think the tone of the ad is misplaced and people should read his statements in full and see that the secretary-general has expressed condemnation for the death of all civilians."

During the conflict, which began when Hizballah mounted a cross-border raid on July 12, killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers, Annan has issued a number of statements.

A review of them does suggest an attempt to balance the blame, with such references as "the tragic events in Lebanon and northern Israel," and the sending of condolences to the families of victims in Lebanon and Israel.

"It is important to stress that both sides in this conflict bear a heavy responsibility, and there is strong prima facie evidence that both have committed grave breaches of international humanitarian law," he said on July 30.

Four days earlier, Annan called on Hizballah to stop its deliberate targeting of Israeli population centers, and on Israel to stop "bombardments, blockades and ground operations."

And on July 20, he said that while Hizballah's actions were "deplorable," Israel's "excessive use of force is to be condemned."

'Moral equivalence'

But Annan's critics reject what they see as a bid to equate a military operation by a sovereign state with attacks directed intentionally at civilians by a terrorist organization.

They were also particularly incensed by two Annan statements - his charge of Israel's "apparently deliberate targeting" of a U.N. monitoring force base in southern Lebanon in an air strike that killed four observers; and his assessment this week that an Israeli attack on the town of Qana followed "a pattern of violations of international law ... during the course of the current hostilities."

Twenty-eight people died in the July 30 incident. Israel said that it would not have targeted the building had it known civilians were sheltering inside, and said Hizballah had fired more than 150 rockets into Israel from Qana, in line with its strategy of using civilians as shields.

In a hard-hitting letter earlier, the Zionist Organization of America accused Annan of rushing to judgment and of engaging in "moral equivalence" by saying there was evidence both Israel and Hizballah had broken international law.

"Despite lip-service paid to the right of Israel to self-defense, its legitimate military campaign is being distorted and maligned by the United Nations' chief executive officer," ZOA president Morton Klein and others said in the letter.

"Your biased and loaded criticism of Israel is another page of dishonor in the history of the United Nations' conduct towards the state of Israel and its legitimate fight to secure its existence and protect its citizens."

In recent weeks, Israel has been condemned by the U.N.'s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; a U.N. subcommission on human rights; and by six U.N. human rights experts dealing respectively with the rights of internally-displaced persons, the right to housing, the right to food, the right to freedom of expression, the right to health, and the right to education.

On Friday, the U.N.'s flagship rights body, the Human Rights Council (HRC), is holding a special session, at the prompting of Arab and Muslim nations and their allies.
/lang1024
Rather than debate the conflict in its entirety, the session will "consider and take action on the gross human rights violations by Israel in Lebanon, including the Qana massacre, country-wide targeting of innocent civilians, and destruction of vital civilian infrastructure."

It's the second time in five weeks that the HRC has called an irregular session to discuss Israel, which was condemned last time for the situation in Gaza. Critics say the Geneva-based body is already following its discredited predecessor's habit of focusing disproportionately on Israel.

The American Jewish Committee Tuesday sent letters to the ambassadors of countries serving on the 47-member HRC, expressing concern that the session would ignore Hizballah's role in starting the conflict and continuing to harm and threaten Israel.

"If the council adopts yet another one-sided resolution condemning the attacked while rewarding the aggressor, it may irrevocably stain its reputation for years to come," said the AJC's Aaron Jacob, urging governments to vote against any such resolution.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center said it was time the U.N.'s HRC turned its attention on Lebanon, which it said had failed to implement Security Council resolution 1559. the resolution's requirements include Hizballah's disarmament and the extension of Lebanese government control over all its territory.

"Lebanon is guilty of complicity with Hizballah in the commission of war crimes against the people of Israel because of their failure to disarm Hizballah or to even alert the U.N. of such violations," said the organization's dean, Marvin Hier.

The HRC session was called after a required one-third of its members backed a request, submitted by Arab and Muslim states. The threshold of 16 members was passed when Islamic members were supported by China, Cuba, Russia and South Africa.

Anne Bayefsky, editor of the Hudson Institute's "Eye on the U.N." project, charged this week that Annan had "effectively turned the United Nations into the political wing of Hizballah."

Rather than "come to the aid of a U.N. member under fire from one of the world's leading terrorist organizations," she said, the U.N. "came to the aid of the terrorist by attempting to prevent the member state from exercising its right to hit back."

Annan, UN Under Fire for Stance on Israel (http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200608/INT20060811b.html)

Israeli Objections to Ceasefire Proposal
13:00 Aug 11, '06 / 17 Av 5766
by Hillel Fendel and Hana Levi Julian

Former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom of the Likud has stinging criticism of the ceasefire plan being formulated in the United Nations. He calls it a "disgrace" and a "historic tragedy."

Shalom, who served as Foreign Minister under former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for nearly three years until early this year, said that the proposal under consideration by the Security Council "mortgages the country's future" and would be a "weeping for generations."

Lebanon, too, has objections, which may cause another delay in the Council vote. Lebanon feels that the Shab'a Farms area, which it still demands from Israel, is not significantly mentioned, nor does it like the fact that the international peacekeeping force would be empowered to open fire. Lebanon also insists that Israel withdraw entirely from south Lebanese territory before any ceasefire is carried out.

Israel initially objected to the ceasefire proposal for its lack of a clause requiring Hizbullah to disarm prior to a ceasefire. Nonetheless, Jerusalem appears willing to accept the proposal.

Israel has rejected a Russian proposal to hold a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, says it would only give Hizbullah ”time to regroup and recover. We think this is a bad idea."

Speaking with Voice of Israel Radio on Friday morning, Minister Shalom said if the UN proposal is accepted, "Israel's position would be worse than it was at the beginning of the war: It does not call for a large multi-national force in southern Lebanon, Hizbullah would not be disarmed, and a parallel is made between our abducted soldiers and murderous Lebanese terrorists held by Israel such as Samir Kuntar."

"It could even be," Shalom said, "that Syria might conclude that it can get the Golan Heights back by sending over some missiles to Israel."

Shalom's party colleague, former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Yuval Shteinitz, took an even stronger stance. If Israel accepts this "shameful" ceasefire, Shteinitz said Friday morning, "the government must resign and new elections must be held."

Shteinitz took issue with the fact that the new proposal would replace Resolution 1559 of two years ago, which calls for the Lebanese Army to take over southern Lebanon from Hizbullah:
"The fact that Israel is willing to significantly erode 1559, and even give Hizbullah a territorial achievement in the form of half of Israel's Mt. Hermon (Shab'a) will be understood as a clear victory for Hizbullah. This will invite a difficult war of rockets and commandos from Syria in the near future."

"If this is an existential war, as [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert said, then the results of it are dangerous to Israel's existence," Shteinitz concluded.

On the other hand, the left-wing peace forces are pleading with the government to accept the ceasefire proposal. Meretz MK Zahava Gal'on said, "It is in Israel's interest to accept this plan and to thus end the warfare. Israel must take advantage of the agreement being formed to call for the inclusion of Syria in the negotiations, and to thus turn it into an entity with which we can reach a diplomatic agreement."

A diplomatic agreement with Syria, almost by definition, would entail ceding the Golan Heights to that country.

Israeli Objections to Ceasefire Proposal (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=109802)

Ceasefire Plan Does Not Eliminate Hizbullah Threat
05:36 Aug 11, '06 / 17 Av 5766
by Yechiel Spira

(http://www.israelnationalnews.com/data/images/2004/04/25/un%20flag.jpg)
Cool flag, I've
never seen it that way
before. 8)

The draft ceasefire plan agreed to by the United States and France may result in an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but it will not disarm Hizbullah.

It appears that United Nations efforts are concentrating on halting Israeli military operations throughout Lebanon, but no effort is being made to eliminate the Hizbullah threat. The draft agreement only calls for pushing Hizbullah north of the Litani, not far enough from Israel’s northern border to place Hizbullah rockets out of range from northern Israeli civilian population centers.

While the draft agreement supports UN Resolution 1559, demanding Hizbullah be disarmed by the Lebanese government, it does not make this a precondition to the implementation of the ceasefire.

The plan calls or the deployment of the current UNIFIL force in southern Lebanon, to be supported by some 10,000 French forces and 15,000 Lebanese army troops. Other countries may also send troops to take part in the force, which will be responsible to prevent Hizbullah attacks into Israel.

Lebanese authorities and Hizbullah are already signaling the plan is unacceptable since it does not demand an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, but permits a gradual withdrawal of forces over a month. In addition, Lebanese officials are calling the plan discriminatory, since it mentions the need to work towards the release of captive IDF soldiers while not making mention of the release of Lebanese soldiers.

In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz have put the next stage of the IDF anti-Hizbullah offensive in southern Lebanon on hold, realizing a stepped-up offensive at this time would compromise White House efforts to broker a ceasefire. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expressing cautious optimism, but has decided not to permit Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to travel to New York to address the Security Council, fearing such a move would increase pressure on Israel.

In 30 days, the agreement will seek more comprehensive ceasefire terms as well as formulating solutions towards the release of three IDF captive soldiers.

The agreement is being rejected by the IDF, with members of the General Staff expressing strong opposition, stating the plan prevents planned efforts towards reducing the Hizbullah threat. Military officials fear the implementation of the draft ceasefire will do nothing to disarm the terror organization.

Defense Minister Peretz in statements released in Jerusalem on Thursday stated that prior to advancing military operations; all diplomatic channels would be exhausted. The senior minister added that there are several points that must be included in any ceasefire plan, including the deployment of a multinational stabilization force in southern Lebanon, removing the threat of future Katyusha rocket attacks against Israel, disarming Hizbullah and setting in motion a plan towards the release of captive IDF soldiers.

Ceasefire Plan Does Not Eliminate Hizbullah Threat (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=109778)

Israel Rejects Russia’s Call for Truce, Says It Would Give Hezbollah Time to Regroup

Created: 11.08.2006 11:27 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:23 MSK, 9 hours 35 minutes ago

MosNews

Israel’s representative to the United Nations Dan Gillerman has rejected Russia’s proposal at the Security Council demanding a 72-hour humanitarian truce in Lebanon, AFX reports.

Earlier on Thursday, Russia circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire in Lebanon, saying the crisis was reaching “catastrophic” proportions and was too urgent to wait for passage of a separate U.S.-French measure, The Associated Press reported.

“It would be a very bad solution” to the crisis, because “it would allow Hezbollah to regroup,” Gillerman told Israeli public radio.

Russia’s move came as the United States and France appeared close to breaking a deadlock on their long-awaited resolution and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said there could be a vote on their proposal on Friday. Responding to the Russian draft, Bolton said he did not think it was helpful to distract attention from negotiations over the U.S.-French draft. “We’re not playing games here,” he said. “This is very serious.”

More than 800 people have been killed in the monthlong conflict which has devastated Lebanon.

“This diplomatic activity is not being conducted in a quiet academic environment,” Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said. “War is raging in Lebanon and the humanitarian situation is getting catastrophic.” He said that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan supported the Russian proposal for a 72-hour cease-fire.

The Russian ambassador said his proposal would also call for diplomats to speed up their efforts to seek a political solution.

“We hope it will focus minds, it will energize politicians and diplomats,” Churkin said. He said Russia wanted a vote on its resolution on Friday evening, which would allow the required 24 hours for other council members to consult with their governments.

Israel Rejects Russia’s Call for Truce, Says It Would Give Hezbollah Time to Regroup (http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/08/11/israelrejects.shtml)

Iran seeks Turkey support on UN's ME decision

Saturday, August 12, 2006

According to AFP, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called on Turkey's leaders to intercede with the Western powers to approve a UN Middle East resolution that is "balanced", diplomatic sources said.

LONDON, August 12 (IranMania) - According to AFP, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called on Turkey's leaders to intercede with the Western powers to approve a UN Middle East resolution that is "balanced", diplomatic sources said.

The Iranians "want us to use our weight... so that the resolution is balanced," a high-ranking Turkish diplomat told journalists after a meeting between Mottaki and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and foreign affairs chief Abdullah Gul.

The Turkish diplomat referred to the Franco-US resolution on the crisis in Lebanon that was expected to be presented to the United Nations Security Council later Friday.

The Iranians "would like us to take the initiative, especially with the Western countries, so that the decisions taken by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Malaysia are applied," the source said.

The OIC during its summit earlier this month called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and the opening of a UN inquiry into what it called the "criminal acts" committed by Israel.

Turkey supports the resolution drafted by France, the diplomat said.

Turkey is also one of Israel's only allies in the region, even though it has criticized the recent Israeli raids in Lebanon, and has already offered to play a role as mediator between the Israelis and the Hezbollah militia, which the West says is supported by Iran.

Mottaki was expected to leave Turkey late Friday for visits to Yemen and Egypt.

Putin talks with Iran's Pres. about UN resolution (http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=44977&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs)

Putin talks with Iran's Pres. about UN resolution

Saturday, August 12, 2006

According to an AFP report, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Russia's proposal for a UN resolution on the crisis in Lebanon, which was criticized by the United States and Israel.

LONDON, August 12 - According to an AFP report, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Russia's proposal for a UN resolution on the crisis in Lebanon, which was criticized by the United States and Israel.

During a telephone conversation, "at the request of the Iranian president, Vladimir Putin spoke about the diplomatic efforts undertaken by Russia to bring an end to the bloodshed," the Kremlin said in a statement.

The proposed Russian resolution presented to the United Nations Security Council called for an immediate halt to hostilities for 72 hours for humanitarian reasons, the Kremlin said, according to AFP.

The Russian proposal, competing with the Franco-US draft, was criticized by Washington and Israel who accuse Iran of supporting the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, AFP added.

The Security Council is expected to consider the Franco-US plan later Friday.

It is built around a formula that would see Israeli troops gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon and be simultaneously replaced by 15,000 Lebanese troops backed up by a strengthened version of the UN force, UNIFIL, which is already deployed in the area, AFP noted.

Putin talks with Iran's Pres. about UN resolution (http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=44978&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While the news doesn't mention it, I will. UNIFIL has proven worthless over the years. I can understand why, Israel wouldn't want UNIFIL, into Lebanon. All that does is give Huzzies more time to build their forces back up again.

Bob

UN Security Council to vote on Mideast truce resolution

13 minutes ago

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council was to vote on a French-US resolution calling for an end to hostilities in the Middle East war, an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and the deployment of a 15,000-strong UN force.

Under pressure after more than four weeks of Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, the US and French ambassadors said they expected a unanimous vote for the resolution at a meeting which starts at 2230 GMT.

Amid tense negotiations between France, the United States and the Lebanese and Israeli governments, the draft was changed even in the final hour before it was submitted.

The text calls on Lebanon and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to "deploy their forces together throughout the south" while calling on
Israel "as that deployment begins, to withdraw all of its forces from southern Lebanon in parallel."

A previous version had called for Israel to withdraw "at the earliest".

The first version submitted by Paris and Washington a week ago had not mentioned a withdrawal at all and Lebanon had objected, demanding an immediate Israeli pullout after fighting ends.

The text would also authorize "an increase in the force strength of UNIFIL to a maximum of 15,000 troops".

UNIFIL, which currently has about 1,190 troops in southern Lebanon, would monitor the cessation of hostilities and any permanent ceasefire that is negotiated.

French UN ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said he thought the extra troops could be deployed "very swiftly" since it is the strengthening of an existing UN force.

The force would support Lebanese armed forces as they deploy across the south, a region now dominated by the Shiite militia Hezbollah but which has come under intense attack in the Israeli offensive since July 12.

UNIFIL would also help humanitarian work in Lebanon following the devastating conflict which has seen more than 1,100 Lebanese and Israelis, mostly civilians, killed.

The text gives UNIFIL the ability to "take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces, and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind."

Israel had objected to a peacekeeping role for UNIFIL, which it said had failed to prevent Hezbollah attacks in the past, and demanded that a "robust" international force in terms of size and powers to restrain Hezbollah be deployed.

A senior US State Department official insisted that the force called for under the resolution "will be able to defend itself and has a very strong mandate".

The resolution also calls for the "unconditional release" of two Israeli soldiers whose abduction by Hezbollah sparked the start of the war on July 12.

Israeli objections had cast a late doubt over prospects for a vote.

Lebanon had also raised late questions about the status of the international force and the future of a small parcel of territory, the Shebaa Farms, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

The text calls for UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan to make proposals to settle the Shebaa Farms dispute within 30 days of the vote.

The United States and France have been negotiating different texts of a draft resolution for two weeks.

To have a vote on Friday, the 15-member Security Council had to waive a rule which says votes can only be held 24 hours after a draft resolution is presented.

UN Security Council to vote on Mideast truce resolution (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060811/pl_afp/mideastconflictun_060811213645)

Syria still transferring supply of rockets, missiles to Hezbollah
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent

Syria continues its efforts to transfer large quantities of war materiel, including rockets, to Lebanon, in an effort to assist Hezbollah in its war against Israel, a senior IDF source told Haaretz on Saturday.

According to the IDF source, the air force has succeeded in partially stemming the arms transfers, but intelligence shows that supply convoys have managed to cross into Lebanon from Syria.

Senior Syrian army and intelligence officers are involved in the arms smuggling, according to the senior IDF source, who says it is unlikely this continues without the explicit support of the regime in Damascus.

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Two specific types of weapons - anti-tank missiles and rockets used to target Israeli civilians - are of concern.

The alert levels of the Syrian army, especially on the Golan Heights, is at its highest levels since the Lebanon War in 1982. The Syrian preparedness is mostly defensive, but the IDF is not excluding the possibility that Damascus will initiate a limited ground operation during the closing stages of the war.

Such an act, from a Syrian point of view, would aim at improving its position toward the end of the current confrontation and force Israel to begin negotiations on a broader diplomatic initiative that would include the return of the Golan Heights.

Part of the IDF's defensive deployment is meant to counter such a threat, including the deployment of anti-aircraft missiles in Haifa and the Sharon to intercept possible launches of Syrian Scud surface-to-surface ballistic missiles targetting Israeli cities.

In another development, in recent fighting, IDF forces uncovered the bodies of a number of fighters who appear to belong to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. No identifying documents were discovered on the bodies but tattoos suggest they belong to the Iranian force.

According to IDF sources, Iran sent several dozen Revolutionary Guard fighters to bolster the ranks of Hezbollah.

Syria still transferring supply of rockets, missiles to Hezbollah (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/749692.html)

Hamas holding back Qassam fire from Gaza Strip
By Avi Issacharoff

Palestinian sources report that Hamas has stopped firing Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel, in response to a request nearly two weeks ago by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

According to the sources, only Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade forces, the latter acting on Hamas directives, are continuing to fire Qassams.

The sources say that Hamas briefly renewed rocket fire during the recent Israel Defense Forces operation in Rafah, but suspended it once the IDF withdrew. Last week 11 Qassams were fired at Israel, a steep decrease from previous weeks. The week before, 33 rockets were fired, three weeks ago saw 42 Qassams and 65 rockets hit Israel four weeks ago. Over the weekend, three Qassams were fired from Gaza but fell within Palestinian territory.

Haniyeh demands
Palestinian military sources attribute the drop to several causes. The IDF's aggressive operations within Gaza led Haniyeh to demand an end to the rocket fire. The IDF's bombing of private homes in Gaza, after calling residents to warn them, also contributed to the decision. Another factor in the suspension of Qassam fire was the realization by Hamas leaders that international attention was focused on Lebanon, not Gaza. There was also some public pressure, such as threats made to the families of launcher operators in the northern Gaza Strip neighborhood of Al-Nada, to stop rocket firing from in between houses.

The Palestinian sources told Haaretz that most of the Hamas military leaders were badly injured in last month's assassination attempt in Gaza's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. Mohammed Deif is in serious condition, a quadruple amputee, as a result of the incident.

Ahmed Al-Ghandour, the commander of Hamas' armed wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam in northern Gaza, is in serious condition after a splenectomy. Marwan Issa, who suffered pelvic injuries, is also listed in serious condition.

Another senior leader, Raed Sayid, sustained relatively minor injuries.

Despite the judgment by Palestinian military officials that the abduction of IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit by Hamas has become a hindrance to the organization, there is still no progress pointing to his release. The head of the Hamas military wing, Ahmed al-Jabari, and his colleagues are rejecting Egypt's compromise formula, under which Shalit would be handed over to Egypt until Israel releases Palestinian prisoners it is holding.

On Thursday, significant progress was made in talks among Palestinian groupings. Hamas and Fatah agreed to suspend hostilities in the Khan Yunis area, the site of most of the armed confrontations between Hamas and the Preventative Security Forces.

Hamas holding back Qassam fire from Gaza Strip (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/749856.html)

Hizbullah: Countdown has begun to end of Zionist entity

Senior Hizbullah official: If a mere organization succeeded in defeating Israel, why would Arab nations not succeed in doing so?
Roee Nahmias

Preliminary implications: As the war reaches an end, more and more worrisome voices are heard from Arab nations, asking loudly and boldly if the 'triumph' against Israel in Lebanon will advance 'the day in which Israel will disappear'.

Ahmed Barakat, a member of Hizbullah's central council, said in an interview to Qatari newspaper al-Watan that "Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain that the defeat of Israel is possible and that countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun."

According to Barakat, "This is the reason that Shimon Peres said it was a life or death battle and this is why the triumph of the resistance is the beginning of the death of the Israeli enemy. For, if a mere organization succeeded in defeating Israel , why would Arab nations not succeed in doing so if they allied? Many Arabs and Muslims viewed Israel in a fictional way and the resistance has succeeded in changing this."

When asked how the resistance (aka Nasrallah) succeeded in achieving this victory, he answered: "Our fighters emerged from the Islamic traditions they read about. Moshe Dayan said 'I know that Arabs don't read' but they read very well."

"As Nasrallah likes to say: Regarding the Israeli issue, forgive me, but I don't think anyone knows about it more than us...and therefore, in terms of a deep understanding of Israeli culture, society, economy, psychology, military and media, the resistance has vast experience. This is in addition to the Islamic tradition that our fighters rely on, and which they strive towards: a general ambition – a triumph for the Ummah (Islamic nation), and a personal ambition - to be ubgone19s," he elaborated.

Barakat further stated that none of the Hizbullah leadership was hurt and that the organization retains plenty of rockets and other 'surprises' for use the day after victory. He declared that the inventory would allow the organization to operate from afar and doesn't require proximity to the Israeli border.

Hizbullah: Countdown has begun to end of Zionist entity (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3290303,00.html)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't count on the huzzy, you don't know God you know satan. As a Christian, I know who wins in the end. :D

Neighbors Smell Blood in Israeli Cease-Fire Acceptance
16:53 Aug 13, '06 / 19 Av 5766
by Ezra HaLevi

Arabs and Muslims from Iran, Hizbullah and the PA are celebrating Israel’s acceptance of the UN ceasefire, dubbing it a "surrender" and calling on Arab states to attack the new "weak" Israel.

“After one month of war against Lebanon's resistance, Israelis are the absolute losers and Hizbullah is the absolute winner of the war,” Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamida-Reza Asefi said Sunday. “The occupiers of Jerusalem failed, despite their military, economic, intelligence and diplomatic backings.”

The Iranian official said the Islamic Republic of Iran is “very pleased” with the ceasefire, according to state-run Iranian news agency IRNA. He warned, though, that attacks on Israel would continue as long as “occupation lingers.” He declined to outline whether occupation included retaining sovereignty in regions such as the Galilee – which Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah has termed “settlements” in his wartime addresses. "Let us not forget that as long as there is occupation there is resistance," he added.

Hizbullah central council member Ahmed Barakat told Qatari newspaper al-Watan Sunday, "Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain that the defeat of Israel is possible, and that countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun… If a mere organization succeeded in defeating Israel, why would Arab nations not succeed in doing so if they allied? Many Arabs and Muslims viewed Israel in a fictional way and the resistance has succeeded in changing this."

Barakat boasted that none of Hizbullah’s leadership were injured, and that the group still possesses thousands of rockets and other “surprises” for use in the days following the implementation of the UN ceasefire. He added that the remaining missiles and weapons allow Hizbullah to strike Israel from afar and do not require the group to be near Israel’s border.

Photos of Hizbullah-leader Hassan Nasrallah “hang everywhere in Ramallah,” according to Al-Jazeera, “covering the walls and shop fronts and plastered across T-shirts and demonstration banners.” The number-one song in Ramallah this summer, “blaring [repeatedly] out of shops and streets stalls,” is "The Eagle of Lebanon," referring to the Hizbullah chief.

“Secularists, Christians and Muslims alike refer to the Hizbullah leader as Palestine's newest and truest hero,” the Al-Jazeera report states. “Back at Manara square in Ramallah, Waleed Ayyoub is still selling the Nasrallah images to ‘all people of all ages - even little children.’ He is especially proud of a sale made to an Arab-Israeli woman from Haifa, fleeing the Katyusha attacks on her city.”

Neighbors Smell Blood in Israeli Cease-Fire Acceptance (http://www.arutzsheva.com/news.php3?id=109933)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't count on Israel being weak. Those countries that follow satan, are in for a rude awaking.

Iran Poised to Be 'Mother of All World Threats'

Dave Eberhart, NewsMax
Friday, Aug. 11, 2006

WASHINGTON – For anyone who still thinks the Israeli-Lebanon war is just a border scuffle, one Middle East expert shouts a dire warning:

"As soon as a cease-fire occurs, the 'Hezbollah Blitzkrieg' will crumble the 'Lebanese Republic of Weimar' and install its own 'Khumeinist Republic' on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. The consequences of such a development are far beyond imagination for the region and the world. Hezbollah would have paved the way for Iran to create the mother of all world threats since Hitler."

So cautions Professor Walid Phares, author of "Future Jihad," a visiting fellow with the European Foundation for Democracy in Brussels and a senior fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C.

In an exclusive interview with NewsMax, the Lebanese-born Phares likens the current Hezbollah offensive in Lebanon to a "putsch" – with the convoluted aims of re-establishing a pro-Syrian-Iranian regime in Lebanon, reconstructing a third wing to the Tehran-Damascus axis, re-animating the Arab-Israeli conflict, rejuvenating Syrian dominance, isolating Jordan, reaching out to Hamas, crumbling Iraq, and unleashing Iran's nuclear programs.

The author also sees half-measures and premature truces as catalysts to even bloodier future conflicts:

"If Israel takes 40 kilometers [into the southern belly of Lebanon] and sits, Hezbollah and its allies will take the rest of the country and eliminate the Cedars Revolution [the Lebanese democracy movement]. That is a certainty. Then the two camps will clash in a wider war in few more months."

As a corollary, however, the expert advises that if Israel gets even more aggressive and moves instead through the Bekaa (a fertile valley in Lebanon and Syria, located about 19 miles east of Beirut), it would shut down the Syrian-Lebanese borders (a major supply line for war materials flowing to Hezbollah).

But such a definitive move, says the author, would bring Syria into the conflict, and Israel would then have to engage the Assad regime (Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria).

Meanwhile, Phares suggests, under the scenario outlined above, Iran would not sit still but would intervene in a more covert way than has been seen thus far.

However, he advises, Iran doesn't have a land passage to Syria, so it would strike back by igniting an "intifada" in Iraq.

"But this will put Iran on the path of the U.S. coalition, leading the region to global confrontations," Phares predicts. "Israel could also reach the Syrian borders, but instead of a war with Damascus, Assad would accept a MNF [Multi-National Force] at this time to save his regime, which sounds the most realistic."

Phares then projects that a MNF in control of the borders would isolate Hezbollah from Syria and Iran – enabling a new Lebanese army to slowly take back control of the country, leading Israel to withdraw behind the borders.

Neighboring Jordan will try to remain neutral – unless Iranian forces try to link up with Syria via Iraq, says Phares. Jordan, he adds, will in the end most likely side with NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

For its part, Egypt will face increasing domestic Jihadism but will refrain from cross-border activities, he predicts.

The Risk of an Explosion

The author forecasts some bad outcomes.

If the Lebanon conflict persists too long or if Hezbollah takes over, Jihadi forces in Jordan and Egypt will explode, he predicts.

"In short, if Lebanon falls to Jihadism, all Arab countries will experience similar moves. If the free-Lebanese regain control, democracy forces will move forward in the region. It is a geopolitical crossroad," Phares says.

Phares emphasizes that the old parameters of a "buffer zone" don't work anymore.

He sees as the key for everyone in the region finding security, stability, freedom, and eventually peace – the stopping of the flow of weapons and support from Iran to Hezbollah.

"Israel can establish all the security zones," Phares instructs, "the U.S. and the U.N. can issue all the resolutions, and the Lebanese army can be sent to any area – as long as the Lebanese-Syrian borders are open between the Assad regime and Nasrallah's [Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the current secretary-general of the Lebanese Islamist party Hezbollah] militia, the war will go on."

The Issue of the Lebanese Army

Along with reciting the reams of regional history necessary to understand the origins of the quagmire, Phares tells NewsMax what he sees as intriguing subplots, including a draconian one to rid Hezbollah of the Lebanese army.

The author argues that no changes were made inside the Lebanese army to bring it in harmony with the Cedars Revolution (discussed below).

"So, what you have there is an army of which 80 percent of its officer corps and about 65 percent of its ranks dislike the Baathists, Iranians and Hezbollah – but it is still chained to a pro-Syrian president and paralyzed by [Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad] Seniora's unwillingness to disarm Hezbollah."

But despite the mixed allegiances of the Lebanese army, Hezballoh still wants it out of the way.

Phares opines that Nasrallah wants to move units of the Lebanese army southbound. Hezbollah would then trigger yet more violence with Israel, leading to the latter having to take on the whole Lebanese army.

cont'd next post

"Nasrallah is pushing Siniora to send the army to southern Lebanon to be slaughtered," says Phares. "He wants Israel to destroy the Lebanese army – the institution which in the long term could dismantle the deep terror roots of Hezbollah, once a multinational force deploys and all borders are secured."

Phares pauses for a moment in his analysis of what could come to pass in the near term and looks out to a distant and perhaps hopeful future:

"If democracies allow Jihadism to crush the civil societies of the region, it would take at least two generations to begin another democratic revolution in the Middle East," the author opines. "So, by the end of this century, in this case, you have two scenarios: either bloody war in the region, with greater genocide than ever – and also possibly a number of nuclear blast spots ...

"However, if the international community focuses on assisting the peoples of the region to get rid of the Jihadi-fascism and the remnants of Baathism, in one hundred years you'll be able to ski in Lebanon, enjoy pastries in Damascus, and watch the clever female prime minister of Iran discussing environment issues with her colleague in Afghanistan.

"Jihadists would be looked at as the weird small fractions in the secular multiparty parliaments of the region who are still arguing how they lost the opportunity to re-establish a caliphate in the early century ..."

Lost Horizons

But whether the international community rises to its finest hour remains to be seen, says Phares.

Look back at the Cedar Revolution, he suggests.

The so-called Cedar Revolution was the chain of demonstrations and popular civic action in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.

Following the demonstrations, Syrian troops completely withdrew from Lebanon on April 27, 2005. The pro-Syrian government was also disbanded. History in the region since that time has been defined mostly by Hezbollah wanting to undo the progress toward democracy.

Since the Cedars Revolution, says Phares, no single event has shown the international community greater expression from Lebanon. And that is what Hassan Nasrallah wants to destroy, he maintains.

"His [Nasrallah's] real war waged at his own timing against Israel aims in fact at destroying the Cedar Revolution, the single most dangerous popular resistance against terrorism in the history of Lebanon and the region," argues the scholar.

Continuing, the author says: "The U.S. and Europe loved the images of youth and women chanting freedom in Beirut for many days and thought this was Eastern Europe all over again. They were right, but they missed the point.

"These masses were desperately calling on the international community for help. 'We showed you that we want freedom despite the threats of the most oppressive regimes (Syria and Iran) and of a terrorist organization; we've displayed all the courage of the world, alone and without weapons, responding to the calls of spreading democracy,' said the leaders of the Cedar Revolution's NGOs [non-governmental organizations]."

Poignantly, Phares says that the people of Lebanon were begging, in fact, "Now come and protect us – at least as you did for the Afghan and Iraqi voters."

Meanwhile, the author says, Hezbollah and its masters were watching the Western response: "Lots of celebrations and powerful speeches on both sides of the Atlantic. But inside Lebanon, the old wolves were back to work."

The long story short, says the expert: Syria, Iran and Hezbollah outmaneuvered the Lebanese politicians, as well as the West, by, among other things, keeping pro-Syrian Emile Jamil Lahoud, president of the Republic of Lebanon, at the helm.

"It was terrible how the Lebanese politicians lost all the opportunities provided by the Cedar Revolution," laments Phares, "but it is worse that the bureaucrats in the U.S. and Europe didn't understand what Hezbollah was doing."

Phares says he regrets that no one policy regarding the Cedar Revolution was ever put forth. Billions of dollars were spent on the War of Ideas and Iraq while requests by Lebanese NGOs, small media and civil society groups ready to resume the Cedar Revolution were left unheard, he adds.

Roots of Crisis

Phares argues that Washington and Brussels relied too much on a Lebanese Cabinet that had been penetrated by Hezbollah.

"How can you have U.S. officials sitting with the Lebanese Cabinet in the presence of Hezbollah ministers and talk about the Lebanese army disarming this organization? The naivete with which Hezbollah's offensive was dealt with is stunning."

Iran Poised to Be 'Mother of All World Threats' (http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/8/10/205411.shtml?s=lh)

Hizbullah's Victory in Lebanon Opens the Door for a Third Intifada

In his August 7, 2006 column in the Hamas semiweekly Al-Risala, under the title "Victory in Lebanon – Towards a Third Intifada," Ibrahim Abu Heija' encourages Hamas to use what he sees as Hizbullah's victory as a springboard for a third Palestinian intifada.

The following are excerpts from the article:(1)

"The Greatest Beneficiary [of the Victory in Lebanon] Will Ultimately Be the Palestinian Resistance"

"What has become evident from the ongoing battles in the proud and resistant south of Lebanon is the confirmation of Israel's failure in achieving its goals and the confirmation of the decline in its deterrence capability in comparison with what it was before it got embroiled in the Lebanese quagmire – despite the bloody slaughters that Israel committed against unarmed civilians...

"What is noteworthy here is not only the collapse of the Israeli defense doctrine in the face of a well-organized community possessed of faith and will, such as Hizbullah, but what is more important in the Israeli loss is to examine the consequences of the victory and its implications on additional levels.

"Hizbullah, which achieved the victory, will be the least of those who benefit from this victory, due to certain considerations relevant to the Lebanese arena, which is based on sectarian division. This does not mean that it will not gain greater strength and legitimacy than it had before, particularly since the Israeli aggression, as is evident, proceeds without direction and without any reckoning of consequences, and therefore gets itself entangled in guerilla warfare, in which Hizbullah is unsurpassed in its skill, and has a Syrian and Iranian backing that denies it nothing in terms of arms, money, support, and protection.

"It detracts nothing from Hizbullah's standing that it should benefit from the honor of victory and that it should be a shield protecting Syria and Lebanon from breaking apart, and should be a shield for Iran against an attack on its nuclear reactor.

"However, the greatest beneficiary will ultimately be the Palestinian resistance, because all of the Arab, regional, and international equations, whether they are at variance or in agreement, revolve around the Palestinian cause, either in order to liquidate it or to defend it."

"This is an Important Moment, That the Palestinian Resistance Must Seize"

"This is an important moment, that the Palestinian resistance must seize. It benefited from [a similar moment] at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa [Intifada], when the West Bank and Gaza spoke the Lebanese language, after they had long been immersed in American and Israeli illusions. And following [the Al-Aqsa Intifada], the incomplete [Israeli] withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was carried out.

"And now, after the ceasefire [hudna] has been tried and the experience of changing the [Palestinian] Authority reached its peak, the door will be opened for a third Palestinian intifada, that will transform the resistance from the stage of reaction [to Israeli] actions to [resistance] that is carried out at our initiative."

"The Arab Regimes... Showed Solidarity With Israel... and Placed Their Bets on an Old Horse and a Losing Card"

"The intifada will be honed on [several] sides: 1) victory in southern Lebanon; 2) the necessity of developing elites and Islamic and [pan-Arab] nationalist movements, according to their service to the masses. This is especially true after the Arab regimes have lost the thin patriotic coating under which they had hidden, and openly showed solidarity with Israel and manifested their dissatisfaction with the resistance [i.e. Hizbullah] – and it did not occur to them that they had placed their bets on an old horse and a losing card.

"This will fling the door wide open for the strong elites and movements to [make] radical changes in the structures of Arab [society], and the Palestinian resistance will benefit from this, anyway you look at it.

"On the third side, the spectacle of failure in Lebanon will increase the bungling of the American administration in Iraq, and will expose its selective method of reform. This will affect America's Mediterranean plans, and will lead it either to recoil and flee, or else will lead it to measures and solutions which aim to patch together the Palestinian issue through fragile regional and international coalitions. Neither course will save the United State's standing, and will not turn back the clock.

"The Victory in Lebanon Will Weaken Those Palestinian Voices... Calling for Making Concessions... and Ceasefires"

"The fourth side is this: The victory in Lebanon will weaken those Palestinian voices that are heard from time to time, sometimes calling for making concessions, at other times calling for fortuitous ceasefires. Hamas will be given a significant margin to gain legitimacy for carrying out [armed] resistance on various fronts where [at present] the Palestinian Authority objects and the resistance desists.

"The Israeli Defeat in Lebanon Will Force Israel to Move towards Partial Withdrawals from the Shab'a Farms, the West Bank, and Perhaps the Golan Heights"

"The fifth side: The Israeli defeat in Lebanon will force Israel to move towards partial withdrawals from the Shab'a Farms, the West Bank, and perhaps the Golan Heights, in order to diminish the effects of its defeat – but this will in no way deceive the Palestinians, the Syrians, or the Lebanese. Rather, it will push them all to make yet another move towards achieving their rights.

"In general, it is important for the Palestinian resistance to exploit the effects of the victory in Lebanon for its own interests in order to achieve its rights and move forward towards its objectives, and to encourage the whole public to unite behind its program.

"The growing aggression in the Gaza Strip against children and women is the most important incentive for accomplishing the equation of the new resistance and taking it beyond the merits of the prisoners' document and the consideration of being in authority... towards a third intifada."

Hizbullah's Victory in Lebanon Opens the Door for a Third Intifada (http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD124606)

Israel says can target Hizbollah arms despite truce
13 Aug 2006 17:55:39 GMT

By Adam Entous

JERUSALEM, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Israel believes it will be entitled to use force to prevent Hizbollah from rearming and to clear guerrilla positions out of southern Lebanon after a U.N. truce takes effect, Israeli officials said on Sunday.

Israeli officials said such operations are "defensive" in nature and therefore permissible under a U.N. Security Council resolution which calls for Israel to halt "all offensive military operations".

Western diplomats and U.N. officials said they feared Israel's broad definition of "defensive" actions could lead to a resurgence in large-scale fighting, preventing the swift deployment of international troops meant to monitor a ceasefire.

The Israeli operations could include air strikes against arms convoys travelling anywhere in Lebanese territory, a senior Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Major-General Benny Gantz, head of the ground forces branch, told reporters that the Israeli army will cease fire if Hizbollah will cease fire.

But he added: "The ceasefire is not a cessation of Israeli army activity in the Lebanon arena ... It will protect its troops and civilians."

Like Israel, Hizbollah has said it will abide by the U.N. resolution. But the guerrilla group said it will carry on confronting any Israeli soldiers on Lebanese soil.

"It will be a fragile truce," said a Western diplomat involved in the deliberations.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet formally approved the resolution on Sunday. The United Nations said Israeli and Lebanese leaders had agreed a truce would take effect at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Monday.

CLEARING OUT HIZBOLLAH

The truce will mark the end of Israel's offensive operations, senior Israeli officials said.

But they said the army would press ahead with operations aimed at "clearing out" Hizbollah fighters from areas in southern Lebanon where some 30,000 Israeli troops have been deployed ahead of the truce.

A Western diplomat said the United States and other major powers would not object to such "mopping up" operations, provided they are restricted to the south.

The resolution also imposes an arms embargo in Lebanon on the delivery of weapons or military equipment to "any entity or individual" excluding the Lebanese army and U.N. troops.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the embargo means that any "arms entering Lebanon for Hizbollah would be a violation of the resolution".

"As a result, if no one else was acting to prevent that violation, Israel would be entitled to do so," Regev said, without going into details.

Israel has attacked vehicles it said were carrying weapons to Hizbollah during the month-long war. But some convoys turned out to be carrying civilians, not weapons. An air strike on a convoy on Friday killed a Lebanese Red Cross worker and six other civilians.

A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel was very concerned that the embargo outlined in the resolution will not be enforced, putting the onus on Israel to act militarily.

"We will not allow the re-supply of rockets and ammunition to Hizbollah if they try to do it under the pretext of the cessation of hostilities," the official said.

"Violation of the embargo... is something that is clearly an offensive move against Israel. It is therefore something that we cannot accept and we have full right to take defensive measures again," the official added.

Israel says can target Hizbollah arms despite truce (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1394315.htm)

Arab League Criticizes U.N. Resolution

By MAGGIE MICHAEL
Associated Press Writer

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Arab countries criticized a U.N. Security Council resolution for not clearly labeling Israel the main aggressor in the conflict with Hezbollah, but expressed cautious hopes that an end to the monthlong conflict could be nearing.

Eyptian President Hosni Mubarak was to meet Sunday with the foreign minister of Iran - Hezbollah's top ally - to stress that the region could not bear any more tension and push for the implementation of the U.N. resolution, a state-run Egyptian newspaper reported Saturday.

The meeting comes a day before the cease-fire is to take effect at 8 a.m. Beirut time Monday (1 a.m. EDT).

The Arab League criticized the U.N. Security Council for not labeling Israel as the main aggressor, but said the peace plan was the best option to halt fighting that has claimed nearly 900 lives.

"The resolution is the best that can be achieved in the mean time under the unbalanced international equation," said Ahmed bin Heli, the league's assistant secretary-general.

Qatar, the only Arab League member on the 15-nation Security Council, voted in favor of the resolution, which passed unanimously Friday.

Jordan called the cease-fire plan a critical "first step," and Turkey suggested Saturday that it could send peacekeeping troops.

The plan calls for expanding the U.N. force in Lebanon and adding Lebanese soldiers to patrol a buffer zone between the Israeli military and Hezbollah guerrillas. Lebanon's Cabinet unanimously voted to accept the plan, and Israel was expected to do the same Sunday.

Israel, however, has said it will not withdraw its troops until a strong peacekeeping mission is in place, while Hezbollah has made clear it won't stop fighting until the Israelis leave.

"This is the first step to stop the bloodshed - which is an imperative priority," Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit said after talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. "What's happening in Lebanon is one of the repercussions of the Palestinian issue. We must revive efforts to resolve this problem."

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said his country will look "very favorably" toward sending peacekeepers to Lebanon after a full cease-fire is achieved.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged Israel to acknowledge the international will by calling an immediate end to the attacks and pulling out of Lebanon.

"Israel now should be committed and show total commitment by (announcing) an immediate cease-fire so that the elements of political settlement - which were reached after a big effort and after a heavy price was paid by the families and civilians - can take place," he said.

He also demanded investigations into "massacres" by Israeli forces during the war.

Arab League Criticizes U.N. Resolution (http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/M/MIDEAST_FIGHTING_MUSLIM_REAX?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=US)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How can they identify Israel as the main agressor when it never attacked Lebanon or Gaza until they killed and kidnapped Israeli soldiers and killed civilians for the fun of it?

They are the most delusional people, I have ever witnessed. They need to look into their own house.

Iranian FM meets Mubarak in Egypt
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 13, 2006

Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak has told the visiting Iranian foreign minister that his government should help in world efforts to bring stability back to war-battered Lebanon, Egyptian official media reported Sunday.

Ahead of Mubarak's meeting with Mottaki, the state-owned Al Gomhuria quoted "a senior official source" at Mubarak's office as saying the Egyptian leader plans to urge Iran to support diplomacy in Lebanon.

"Egypt believes that it would be wise to work at easing tension in order to avoid any further escalation that would threaten the existence of Lebanon as an Arab state," the official told the paper.

The official said that Mottaki was intending to press for Egypt to forge a unified Egyptian-Iranian stance in support of Hizbullah and against Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon.

"The Egyptian position is that the region cannot bear more tension," the Egyptian official said. Egypt will press for the full implementation of the international resolutions on Lebanon, he added. The UN resolution unanimously approved Friday calls for the withdrawal of Israel's 30,000 troops in Lebanon and the deployment of an international peacekeeping mission on the border.

The Egyptian president, a key US ally, met for over an hour with Mottaki in his summer retreat, a former royal palace in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Later, Mottaki held separate talks with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

Mottaki, who traveled to Turkey and Yemen in recent day, was on a regional tour to drum up support for Huzbollah.

Egypt has blamed Hizbullah for provoking the war but also accused Israel of overreacting by launching air raids that have destroyed most of Lebanon's infrastructure and killed more than 700 people - largely civilians.

Israel charges that Iran is aiding Hezbollah on the ground in Lebanon as well as supplying the guerrillas with weapons. Iran has denied the charges.

Relations between Iran and Egypt recently improved, but ties have been strained for years. Egypt has accused Iran of supporting the militants who killed President Anwar Sadat in 1981 and Iran was angered when Egypt took in its ousted Shah after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran only has a diplomatic mission in Cairo.

Meanwhile in Teheran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry gave a cool welcome to the UN Security Council resolution for a cease-fire in Lebanon, criticizing its late approval.

"The resolution is inconsistent," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. "Its late approval has damaged reputation of the UN Security Council," said Teheran - itself under the threat of a UN resolution if it does not freeze its contentious nuclear program.

The spokesman said Iran expects "the Zionist regime and its supporters abide by the resolution."

Teheran is the main backer of the Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah guerrilla, which triggered the current violence by capturing two Israeli soldiers in a brazen cross-border raid on July 12.
.
Iranian FM meets Mubarak in Egypt (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525862221&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Iran's FM briefs reporters on his talks with Egyptian officials
Iskandariyah, Aug 13, IRNA

Egypt-Iran-Mottaki
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Sunday briefed reporters on the outcome his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

On the third leg of his regional tour, Mottaki arrived in Iskandariyah, Egypt, Saturday night to hold talks with senior Egyptian officials and convey President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's message to his Egyptian counterpart.

After his three-our meeting with President Mubarak, Mottaki along with his Egyptian counterpart took part in a joint press conference.

"The meeting was quite positive and mainly centered on regional developments, including Lebanon and the Zionist regime's wide-scale aggressions on that country.

"Given that we are situated in a significant region, obviously it is quite natural for regional developments to influence all the countries and nations of the region," he added.

He said that about developments in Lebanon, the attempts of just one country is not in question, but collective efforts are required.

"The Arab League and Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) held various sessions to assess the Lebanese crisis, including the Cairo meeting, foreign ministers meeting in Beirut and OIC meeting in Malaysia, which demonstrated the need to pursue regional developments collectively.

"Of course, part of such attempts were fruitful and some of the points included in the United Nations Security Council's resolution on Lebanon are the consequence of such efforts," he said.

Turning to Hizbollah as part of Lebanon, he said that decision about Lebanon should be made by the Lebanese people themselves, adding that Iran has always supported such a unanimous decision by the Lebanese and will continue its support in future.

In response to a question about Iran's role in the possible disarmament of Hizbollah, he said, "Let the Lebanese themselves decide about it. In fact, the consensus and decision of Lebanese people should be respected."
The minister said that Lebanese nation, similar to other regional nations, showed that they hold talks about whatever is in their interest among themselves to come up with proper decisions, adding that such unanimous decisions will be supported by Iran.

About US charges against Iran on its nuclear issue, he said that it is quite natural for the US to accuse others.

"The US says that it has the right to access nuclear weapons, but others not entitled to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," he stated.

Concerning Iran-Egypt ties, he referred to Egypt's significant regional stance and said that Iranian officials have been exchanging views with their Egyptian brothers at various levels.

"The commonalties between the two states including significant international and regional issues as well as their common concerns contribute to their common approach to many issues.

"Egyptian president expounded on his views on various matters, which was quite beneficial for me," he added.

Mottaki said that he and President Mubarak also discussed their support for Lebanese brothers and sisters along with other Islamic and Arab states, given that this was the key point of President Ahmadinejad's message to his Egyptian counterpart.

Mottaki, who is heading a high-ranking political delegation, wound up an official visit to Yemen and arrived in Egypt on an official visit.

He set off for Turkey on Friday on the first leg of his tour of regional states. During his stay in Turkey, he held talks with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.

Mottaki is expected to leave Egypt this afternoon.

Iran's FM briefs reporters on his talks with Egyptian officials (http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0608134990174141.htm)

Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: We Will Respect Cessation of Hostilities but Have the Natural Right to Carry Out Resistance as Long as Israeli Soldiers Occupy Our Land

Following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, which aired on Al-Manar TV on August 12, 2006:

Hassan Nasrallah: Today, we are facing the natural, logical, and possible results of the great steadfastness displayed by the Lebanese in the different battle-fields.

[...]

In the event that a time is set for the cessation of what was called hostility - they can call it what they like... If an agreement is reached for a specific time, following the efforts of the U.N. secretary-general and in coordination with Lebanon and the enemy's government... Any time that will be declared for the cessation of hostilities will be respected by the resistance without any hesitation. Within this context, before and after this declaration, I stress that the resistance is a reaction, and therefore, when the hostile Israeli actions cease, the reactions displayed by the resistance will consequently and natural cease.

[...]

We said we agreed to the idea of deploying the Lebanese army, reinforced by the UNIFIL forces, and we adhere to this position. When it is decided to deploy the army and the UNIFIL forces, they will encounter, on the part of the resistance, all the cooperation, the facilitation, and the necessary readiness, Allah willing.

[...]

As long as there is Israeli military activity and an Israeli attack on the ground, and as long as Israeli soldiers occupy our land, it is our natural right to confront and fight them, and to defend our lands, our homes, and ourselves. Naturally, therefore, as long as the Israelis continue their occupation and aggression, resistance is our natural right and the right of the entire Lebanese people. We will carry out this resistance, in any way that we consider to be efficient and effective. In this context, and as was mentioned yesterday in the speeches preceding the vote on the international resolution, the 1996 "April Understandings" will be the deciding framework for field confrontations of this kind. I say that we naturally adhere to the "April Understandings," and we call upon the enemy to adhere to these understandings.

Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: We Will Respect Cessation of Hostilities but Have the Natural Right to Carry Out Resistance as Long as Israeli Soldiers Occupy Our Land (http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1234)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They do that, it breakes part 5 of the treaty.

Lebanese Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis: The War - An Iranian Attempt to Resolve Its Nuclear Issues through Lebanon. The Majority in the Lebanese Government Should Be More Resolute, Rather Than Always Trying to Reach a Consensus

Following are excerpts from an interview with Lebanese Minister of Tourism Joe Sarkis, which aired on Noursat TV on August 11, 2006.

Joe Sarkis: We have seen that some of the countries in the region, and specifically Syria and Iran, are trying to impose their regional policies, and [to resolve] their issues and problems through the Lebanese arena. Lebanon can no longer tolerate being the arena for failed gambles, and for the adventures and wars of others on Lebanese soil. As we have seen, the Lebanese have fought and even got killed for the sake of others. This makes no sense. True, Israel is our enemy, but are Syria and Iran really fulfilling their duties of brotherhood and friendship towards Lebanon? I don't think this is what we have seen. This has become evident from the way the Syrian brothers have behaved for a whole year towards Lebanon, and today it is also evident that the Iranians are trying to resolve their problems with the international community, regarding the nuclear issues, through the conflict in Lebanon.

[...]

We cannot tolerate this destruction and ruin anymore. People are being killed, not knowing for what. Clearly, all that has happened does not serve Lebanon's interest.

[...]

I admit that the Lebanese government should have been more resolute. We have always tried to reach results through general agreement between the different parties in the government, but we were not successful, and this certainly does not speak well for the government.

Interviewer: But you are the majority, minister.

Joe Sarkis: That is true, but we have not exercised our majority as we should have, or as is acceptable among governments, with the majority overcoming the minority. Because of the composition of Lebanon, we have tried as much as we could to make decisions - especially decisions of such importance - by agreement and consensus. We were not successful, but I think this war has taught us many things.

[...]

I hope all of us in Lebanon are aware that this war has not brought any results. This war has shown that the only great loser is Lebanon. Eventually, the war will end, and things will go back on track, but there will be one loser - Lebanon. Therefore, I hope we have learned how not to repeat such incidents, which take us backwards. On the contrary, this time we insist on a final solution, so that these issues will not be reopened. This solution can only be achieved through a strong Lebanese state, and through a capable and efficient government, which would assume control over things, as it should, and implement the law with full courage and strength, which would guarantee that the country could go on.

Lebanese Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis: The War - An Iranian Attempt to Resolve Its Nuclear Issues through Lebanon. The Majority in the Lebanese Government Should Be More Resolute, Rather Than Always Trying to Reach a Consensus (http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1235)

Assad: We’ll liberate Golan Heights

Syrian president tells Egyptian newspaper ‘in Lebanon Israel destroyed everything, but it was unable to achieve its true military objectives on the ground;’ adds: The resistance has won the war, now we must win the diplomatic battle as well; if Israel launches a war against Syria, it will pay a heavy price
Roee Nahmias

Syrian President Bashar Assad said his country is prepared for any war that may break out with Israel, adding that he is convinced that the chances for peace have decreased and that “the Golan Heights will be liberated by Syria.”

In a special interview with Egyptian newspaper Al-Osboa, Assad said “if Israel launches a war against Syria, it will pay a heavy price.”

He said Syria has been following Israel closely, particularly after former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came to power.

“The fact that he was elected by such a large majority attests to the fact that the Israeli nation does not want peace,” Assad said.

“Syria and the resistance (referring to Hizbullah) read the situation correctly in that we predicted the confrontation. There have been extensive preparations for the current battle. Our disagreement focused on the nature of the resistance. There were those who thought the resistance didn’t stand a chance in a time when satellites reveal everything, track everything down and can direct severe blows at the resistance, but the reality proved otherwise.

“In Lebanon they (Israel) destroyed everything, but they were unable to achieve their true military objectives on the ground; the resistance has won the war, and now we must win the diplomatic battle as well.”

'New phase in Arab history'

Referring to the international community’s intervention in the conflict, President Assad said “they intervene only when Israel is in pain; but when the Lebanese, Palestinians and others suffer – no one intervenes.”

Assad took the opportunity to praise Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah , describing him as “a unique commander in the history of the noble Lebanese resistance’; he also lauded Hizbullah TV station Al-Manar, saying it was the first time that the Arab media ‘defeated’ the enemy’s.

“The US and Israeli intelligence agencies are unaware of the resistance’s real capabilities,” he said, adding that he had rejected “lucrative offers” presented to him on condition that he abandon Hizbullah and Hamas.

Assad said “there were those who believed that peace (with Israel) was the only option and they attempted to enforce it upon the Arab nation, but the resistance’s firm stand and the change we see in the Arab world, due to which we can see millions of youngsters waving the Hizbullah and resistance flags, have proven that this nation is on the brink of a new phase in its history.”

Assad: We’ll liberate Golan Heights (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3291338,00.html)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Assad'd dad had more brains in his hands, then Bashar has in his whole body.

President Putin, Middle East Arms Merchant
By Jim Kouri, CPP, 8/14/2006 2:32:17 AM

Russia's cash-strapped defense, biotechnology, chemical, aerospace, and nuclear industries continued to be eager to raise funds via exports and transfers. Some Russian universities and scientific institutes also showed a willingness to earn much-needed funds by providing WMD or missile-related teaching and training for foreign students.

Given the large potential proliferation impact of such exports, transfers, and training, monitoring the activities of specific entities as well as the overall effectiveness of the Russian Government's nonproliferation regime remained an important element of the US bilateral dialogue with Russia on nonproliferation.

Russia continued to play a key role in constructing the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant project in Iran. However, President Putin has insisted that all Iranian programs in the nuclear field be placed under International Atomic Energy Agency control.

President Putin amended the presidential decree on nuclear exports to allow Russia in exceptional cases to export nuclear materials, technology, and equipment to countries that do not have full-scope IAEA safeguards. For example, Russia supplied India with material for its civilian nuclear program.

The Russians during the reporting period continued to supply a variety of ballistic missile-related goods and technical know-how to countries such as Iran, India, and China. Iran's earlier success in gaining technology and materials from Russia helped to accelerate Iranian development of the Shahab-3 MRBM, and continuing Russian entity assistance has supported Iranian efforts to develop new missiles and increase Tehran's self-sufficiency in missile production.

The Russians remained a key source of dual-use biotechnology equipment, chemicals and related expertise for countries of concern with active chemical and biological weapons programs. Russia's well-known biological and chemical expertise made it an attractive target for countries seeking assistance in areas with CBW applications.

For instance, Russia and Syria have continued their long-standing agreements on cooperation regarding nuclear energy, although specific assistance has not yet materialized. Broader access to foreign expertise provides opportunities to expand its indigenous capabilities and the CIA is looking at Syrian nuclear intentions with growing concern.

Damascus continued to seek help from abroad to establish a solid-propellant rocket motor development and production capability. Syria's liquid-propellant missile program continued to depend on essential foreign equipment and assistance˜primarily from North Korean entities. Damascus also continued to manufacture liquid-propellant Scud missiles. In addition, Syria was developing longer-range missile programs such as a Scud D and possibly other variants with assistance from North Korea and Iran.

Syria continued to seek chemical weapons-related expertise from foreign sources during the reporting period. Damascus already held a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin, but apparently tried to develop more toxic and persistent nerve agents. Syria remained dependent on foreign sources for key elements of its CW program, including precursor chemicals and key production equipment. It is highly probable that Syria also continued to develop an offensive BW capability.

Syria continued to acquire limited quantities of ACW, mainly from Russia. Damascus's Soviet-era debt to Moscow and inability to fund large purchases continued to hamper efforts to purchase the large quantity of equipment Syria requires to replace its aging weapons inventory.

Russia continued to be a major supplier of conventional arms. Following Moscow's abrogation of the Gore-Chernomyrdin agreement in November 2000, Russian officials stated that they saw Iran as a significant source of potential revenue from arms sales and believed that Tehran could become Russia's third-largest conventional arms customer after China and India.

Russia was the primary source for China, Iran, Libya, and Sudan, and one of the largest sources for India. As an example, Russia actively marketed its thermobaric weapons at international arms shows, which likely increases the availability of this type of weapon in the open market.Russia continued to be the main supplier of technology and equipment to India's and China's naval nuclear propulsion programs.

President Putin, Middle East Arms Merchant (http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?48334641-2cf3-4c30-bb08-f04af55de821)

Syria's Secret Nuclear Program and Long Term Threat

8-14-2006 15:25:33

Washington -- On May 5, 2004 RPS reported that there is growing concern in the Bush administration that Syria has been pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons development program, and may already have centrifuges that can purify uranium for use in bombs. Centrifuges are a vital component in any nuclear weapons development program, as they can be used to purify uranium for use as nuclear fuel or in weapons. Experts say getting weapons-grade material is the biggest hurdle for any country that desires the bomb.

On Septmeber 16, 2005, John Bolton, then Undersecretary for Arms Control & International Security - U.S. Department of State, testified before the Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee on Syria's bio/chem and atomic programs. In his testimony, Mr. Bolton said: "..on the nuclear side we are concerned about Syria's nuclear R&D program and continue to watch for any sign of nuclear weapons activity or foreign assistance that could facilitate a Syrian nuclear weapons capability. We are aware of Syrian efforts to acquire dual-use technologies that could be applied to a nuclear weapons program."

Since Washington began its post-September 11 policy of aggressively pursuing countries it believed had weapons of mass destruction that could be used against the United States and its allies, it has repeatedly issued warnings about Syria. Recent reports issued by the CIA have highlighted growing concern over Syria.

As an important player in the U.N. Oil for Food program, Syria also diverted important resources to its nuclear program by purchasing equipment, expertise, and delivery systems from other rogue nations or individuals.

Early on, various countries such as Belgium, China, Germany, and the former Soviet Union assisted Syria in their nuclear research. Additionally, over the years, Syria has solicited proposals from other countries including Argentina, India, and Italy. Further, the IAEA helped Syria on numerous projects including uranium exploration, uranium extraction from phosphoric acid, isotope production, construction of a cyclotron facility, development of nuclear research laboratories, and preparation for a nuclear power program.

A report by Middle East Newsline (MENL) in July of 2004 disclosed that the Bush administration has expressed concern that Syria might exploit dual-use components and technology approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency for a nuclear weapons program.

MENL further went on to say that officials said the United States has been tracking Syrian orders for dual-use components and technologies for its civilian nuclear research program. They said Russia has also been offering Damascus expertise and cooperation in the development of a Syrian nuclear reactor.

Nuclear Site

Sources close to RPS have disclosed that Syria is involved in military nuclear research not too far from Deir el-ubgone86ar, a tourist area in Syria. Deir el-ubgone86ar is also known for agricultural research, which is intended to hide the real purpose of nuclear research. Experts believe that some of the satellite early detection technology will be dismissed because of the agricultural component of the location.

"The CIA is aware of the site and is monitoring the situation closely" Sources told RPS. The site is built underground and has two facilities: civil and military. The civil facility is a cover for the military one, the real purpose of the site.

Furthermore, the Central Intelligence Agency has unclassified recently a report that was sent to Congress on the "Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions". In it, the CIA accuses Syria of promoting a nuclear, chemical and biological programs.

The report states: "Syria...has a nuclear research center at Dayr Al Hajar. Russia and Syria have continued their long-standing agreements on cooperation regarding nuclear energy, although specific assistance has not yet materialized. Broader access to foreign expertise provides opportunities to expand its indigenous capabilities, and we are monitoring Syrian nuclear intentions with concern.

Nuclear Scientists

RPS is aware of three Syrian nuclear scientists who work closely with the regime of Assad. The most prominent is Dr. Ibrahim Othman who heads the Atomic Energy Commission (AECS), an organization established in 1979 by Hafez al-Assad for, in disclosures to the IAEA, peaceful use of nuclear technology for power plants. Dr. Othman is a habitual visitor to all IAEA annual meetings in Vienna. It is believed that he was the contact man with the Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan known to have delivered important secrets to rogue nations.

The other two scientists are Dr. Mustapha Hamolella, a Kurdish nuclear physicist and Dr. Faris Al-Asfari. Both work closely on the Syrian nuclear program and are closely associated with the regime.

It is also believed that Iraqi nuclear scientists may have escaped to Syria and are working closely with the Syrian regime to build a nuclear bomb. A group of about 12 middle-ranking Iraqi nuclear technicians and their families were transported to Syria before the collapse of Saddam's regime. The transfer was arranged under a combined operation by Saddam's now defunct Special Security Organization and Syrian Military Security, which was headed until recently by Assef Shawqat, Assad's brother-in-law.

The Iraqis, who brought with them CDs crammed with research data on Saddam's nuclear program, were given new identities, including Syrian citizenship papers and falsified birth, education, and health certificates. Since then they have been hidden away at a secret Syrian military installation where they have been conducting research on behalf of their hosts.

Expertise and Equipment

According to an IAEA official, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who has sold nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, is also behind the proliferation of sensitive nuclear technologies to Syria.

"The leadership of Pakistan was well aware of the export of Pakistani nuclear technologies," the unnamed source in the International Atomic Energy Agency was quoted as saying by a Russian news agency, RIA Novosti.

"It is not ruled out that besides Iran, Libya and North Korea, such supplies could have been made to Syria" the official said.

Several Western diplomats who follow the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have been saying for months that Syria was a customer of Khan's.

"Syria certainly had contact with Khan," said a non-U.S. Western diplomat, adding that suspicions of Syrian research in atomic weapons have existed for decades.

MENL reported on August 25, 2004 that the U.S. intelligence community obtained evidence that the Khan network sold and delivered components for an unspecified number of Pakistani-designed P1 centrifuges to Syria.

On April 29, 2004 then U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton said that Adbul Qadeer Khan had "several other" customers who may want the bomb. Western diplomats in Vienna said Bolton was clearly referring to Syria.

And on June 9, 2004, a North Korean expert disclosed to Future Korea that Syrians visited North Korea to acquire equipment. He said that:

* Syria ordered a large number of Scud missiles tipped with bio/chem warheads.
* Syria ordered Rocket engines that were made at "January 8th Factory" in Kaechon.
* Syria ordered Missile bodies that were made at "No. 26 Factory" in Namchon-dong, Kanggye City.
* The missiles were assembled at "Shin-eum-ri Factory" in Pyongyang City.
* And Bio/chemical warheads, the most sensitive parts, were finished at "Namheung Chemical Factory" and transported via train.

Enriched Uranium

RPS reported on March 5, 2004 that large amounts of uranium have gone missing from a nuclear technology company in Sweden. The CIA fears a worst-case scenario where the material has already fallen into terrorist hands, newspaper Expressen reports.

"The company (Ranstad Mineral) is a security risk and we have taken the matter to top level to get the Swedes to stop them," a CIA spokesman told the Swedish newspaper.

The CIA operative claims to know that the little Swedish company has educated Syrian nuclear physicists in the treatment of uranium. The Syrian scientists left the company right after the disappearance of the uranium. He also has information that a Swedish consultancy has sold nuclear equipment to Syria that can be used in the treatment of radioactive material.

cont'd next post

"If it transpires that radioactive or nuclear material has been sent on from Sweden to Syria then this is a very serious matter for Sweden," the CIA source said.

After a meeting with the CIA operative Swedish authorities raided Ranstad Mineral several times and shut the company down on the grounds of deficient security.

"It was one of the worst things I have seen. The company has extremely serious deficiencies in its registration system," said Carl Magnus Larsson, divisional leader of the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority after their inspection.

Chemical Testing

According to well informed sources inside Syria, the Syrian Air Force base in Homs has tested chemical weapons aerial delivery on July 11, 2006 just one day prior to the attacks carried out by Hezbollah inside Israel. Unit 416 and Unit 417 in the Air Force were responsible to carry out the tests.

The tests involved the delivery of Sarin and VX through Syria's Scud missile arsenal (Scud-B and Scud-C) produced in Syria with the help of North Korea. A civilian research center located near Damascus, the Syrian Center for Scientific Studies and Research (Centre d' Etudes et de Recherche Scientifique--CERS) was also involved in the procurement of dual-use technologies that went into the development of the chemical stockpiles in Syria.

Delivery Systems

Syria was the conduit for the purchase of SAM engines for the Iraqi government from Belarus that would have enabled Iraq to use them to deliver any weapon up to 180km in radius. These same engines can be mounted two-to-a-rocket, which would have enabled Iraq to deliver any missile up to 600Km in clear violation of the UN sanctions. Of the 352 engines that were purchased by Syria from Belarus, only a handful have been delivered to Iraq and accounted for, the rest are in Syria's possession.

On May 14, 2004 RPS reported that western diplomatic sources said Beijing has sent several delegations and technicians to accelerate Syria's program for extended-range Scud missiles. The sources said the increased aid was first detected in late 2003 in what they termed a major development.

"The Chinese effort is meant to provide Syria with technical assistance that it has not been able to receive from other countries," a diplomatic source said. "The focus is to extend the Scud from short-range to medium- and even intermediate-range."

The sources said the Chinese assistance appears to be replacing that of North Korea, which was the prime supplier to and developer of Syria's missile programs. Pyongyang supplied and helped develop the Scud C and Scud D programs.

Russia, at one point, planned to sell the Iskander-E missile technology to Syria but backed down after the US lodged its objection to the sale. However, Belarus will be getting these highly accurate missiles and there is no reason, given the level of cooperation between the Belarusian government and the Assad regime that Belarus may not transfer that technology to Syria.

The Russian Role

Russia's arms business has found in Syria (and Iran) willing buyers. Russia has supplied Syria with SA-18 surface-to-air missiles, which according to arms specialists could be easily dismantled and handed over to terrorists. It has been a mystery of how Hezbollah been able to down Israeli helicopters in Lebanon.

According to MissileThreats.com, in June of 2006, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported Moscow's decision to establish naval bases in the Syrian ports of Tartus and Latakia. As part of the plan, the port of Tartus would be transformed into a naval base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet when it is away from the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol. The Russian plan involves the installation of an air defense system with S-300PMU-2 Favorit ballistic missiles. The missiles have a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles), allow a larger warhead and are equipped with a better guidance system than the previous version. The air defense system would be operated by Russia for the defense of the Tartus base and would provide potential protection for a large part of Syria. Through these initiatives, it is clear that Russia wants to strengthen its position in the Middle East.

Russia is searching for a new role in the diplomatic balance in the Middle East and a decision to move into Syria is a step on the path toward increasing its influence in the region. Syria seems to be the best target for this approach because of Damascus' heightened weakness as a result of its international isolation that was reinforced after the U.S. intervention in Iraq and Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is searching for allies to move the country out of isolation. This increases its incentive to turn to Moscow, even if this relationship will not be as strong as it was during the Cold War era. For Russia, its increasing ties with Syria provide Moscow with added leverage in the region.

During the first five years of Putin's presidency, Moscow and Damascus did not share close relations; since the beginning of 2005, however, that situation changed. In the last two years, Russia has built a closer relationship with Syria. The country is an important cash-buyer of Russian arms and an interesting partner for Russia's energy industries. Moreover, Putin is searching for a stronger role in the Israeli-Arab peace process; Russia's February 2006 meeting with Hamas is a clear example of this policy. Through that meeting, Russia tried to seize the initiative from the United States and the European Union, with the latter two's decision-making about the future of the peace process paralyzed by Hamas' election victory.

Furthermore, the London based "al-Awsat" reported on August 11, 2005 that Iran and a number of Gulf States have worked out a way to handle Syria's $12 billion arms debt to Russia so that Syria can now sign a new major arms deal with Russia which will include: 48 MIG-29's; 14-24 Sukhoi-27 [which is claimed to be a better performer than the Israeli F-15's]; SAM-11 ground to air missiles to replace the SAM-6's; SAM-12's for defense against missiles and jets to replace the SAM-5's, M300BMU - a development of the SAM-10 which is claimed to be superior to the American Patriot, able to strike jets 100 kilometers away and missiles 40 kilometers away; as well as 300 T-80 tanks.

The Iranian Role

On February 29, 2005, during a press conference in Beirut - Lebanon, Iranian defense Minister Shamkhani said that his country has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Syria and another with Lebanon to bolster the military apparatuses of both countries. The Syrian MOU in fact was intended to send a clear signal that cooperation between Iran and Syria are an integral part of their foreign policy, which lead many to believe that Iran may be working closely with Syria on a parallel nuclear program.

Moreover, Iran came quickly to the defense of Syria two weeks ago and threatened Israel with retaliation if Syria is attacked. This shows that the NATO-like MOU signed between Iran and Syria will make it very hard to peel Syria off by offering it any incentives.

Iran is calculating that Syria's involvement may distract attention away from its own nuclear program (Which did not happen) but also the intended purpose is to present the US with another challenge that Iran knows well the US will be unable to face simultaneously and because of a multiple fronts opened to confront terrorism.

Conclusion

All indications are that Syria is building a potent nuclear program with Iran's assistance and help. The United States government has never disclosed publicly the information but some believe that the CIA is fully aware of the damage that Khan has done and that Syria's nuclear program is more advanced than previously stated.

Syria has a potent chemical arms arsenal with a delivery system that can reach 700km that Assad is willing to use as has been proven through his direct Syrian-made missiles to Hezbollah.

Syria's Secret Nuclear Program and Long Term Threat (http://www.aina.org/news/20060814102533.htm)

Iranian missiles ready to hit Tel Aviv says cleric

Iran will hit Tel Aviv with its medium-range missiles if attacked, said an influential senior cleric on Tuesday.

"If they (U.S. and Israel) militarily attack Iran ... They should be afraid of the day when our missiles with 2,000 km range will hit Tel Aviv," Ahmad Khatami told state television.

Khatami sits on the Assembly of Experts, the body of 86 clerics that constitutionally supervises the country's most powerful man, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Arms experts say Iran's Shahab-3 missiles have a maximum range of around 2,000 km (1,240 miles), meaning they are capable of hitting Israel as well as U.S. military bases in the Gulf.

U.S. officials accuse Iran of planning to equip its missiles with nuclear warheads. Iran says it has no desire to have atomic weapons and is only developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, such as electricity generation.

Iranian military commanders have repeatedly warned they would not hesitate to deploy the Shahab-3 missiles if Iran came under attack over its disputed nuclear programme.

Washington says it wants a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear dispute with the West, but has not ruled out military options.

Tehran has vowed to expand its atomic fuel activities despite a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding it halt nuclear work by Aug. 31 or face the threat of sanctions.

Khatami praised Lebanon's Hizbollah for its resistance against Israel, saying that U.S. President George W. Bush and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should have learned lessons from the month-long war in Lebanon.

"I congratulate Hizbollah for its victory, which was the victory of Islam. This was a disgraceful defeat for America and the Zionist regime (Israel)," Khatami said.

Iranian missiles ready to hit Tel Aviv says cleric (http://english.alarabonline.org/display.asp?fname=2006\08\08-15\zotherz\941.htm&dismode=x&ts=15/08/2006%2005:34:52%20ã)

For majority of Arabs, Israel no longer undefeatable

By Nadia Aboul El Magd
The Associated Press

CAIRO — Babies have been named “Hizbollah” and “Nasrallah.” Even some die-hard secularists are praising the Shiite group in the wake of its ceasefire with Israel — saying its fighters restored their feelings of honour and dignity.

But behind the outpouring of support for Hizbollah in recent days, some in the Middle East are increasingly worried about the rising power of religious groups.

“The last thing I expected is to fall in love with a turbaned cleric,” wrote Howeida Taha, a strongly secular columnist in Egypt, writing in the Quds Arabi newspaper this week. “I don't like them, and of course they will never like somebody like me ... [but] I feel I've been searching for Nasrallah with my eyes, heart and mind. I feel Nasrallah lives within me.”

Yet, she added, “no matter how much we admire Hizbollah's fighters' bravery, the last thing we want to see is the rise of a religious party in Egypt.”

Around the Arab world, Hizbollah was widely seen as the victor in the 34-day war with Israel, because of the tougher-than-expected resistance it put up under Israel's relentless bombardment and heavy ground assaults — and because it survived an onslaught that Israel had initially wanted to cripple the group. As a result, Hizbollah and its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, have emerged as popular heroes.

“Thanks be to God and to Hizbollah,” read the banner of an opposition independent weekly, Destour, in Egypt on Wednesday.

More than 120 babies born during the war have been named after Nasrallah in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, says the official registrar there. In Gaza City, there are at least a dozen newborns named Hizbollah, (Party of God) Nasrallah (Victory from God) or Hassan.

On an Islamist website for youth, based in Egypt, many women wrote saying they would love to marry someone like Nasrallah.

“I want to marry one of Nasrallah's three boys and dedicate myself to resistance and pride of my [Islamic] community,” said Noha Hussein, a university student in Cairo.

Necklaces and key chains with his image are now in style, the website notes.

Much of the enthusiasm has come from finally seeing an Arab military force dig in against Israel.

Arab nations fought several wars with Israel — in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, as well as Israel's previous two invasions of Lebanon. The first three were heavy defeats for Arab armies, and though Egypt's army saw dramatic successes in 1973, the battle had swung to Israel's favour by the time it ended.

In the eyes of many Arabs, Hizbollah's performance shook the Israeli military's image of invulnerability.

“The Lebanese people may have lost a lot of economic and human resources .... but away from figures and calculations, they have achieved a lot of gains,” said Youssef Rashed, a columnist for the Kuwaiti daily Anba.

“Its heroic resistance fighters have proven to the world that Lebanese borders are not open to Israeli tanks without a price,” he wrote Tuesday. “Lebanon was victorious in the battle of dignity and honour.” Also, the image of a force doing what a regular army could not has apparently deepened the popular resentment towards Arab governments.

“The crux of the problem in Lebanon is that a political movement became bigger than the state,” said Maamoun Fandy, the director of the Middle East programme at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies. “The same syndrome — a perceived lack of legitimacy of governments that are being challenged by armed political movements — can be seen in many Arab and Muslim states. .... Their message is that movements can do what states failed to do, and can restore the honour that governments have squandered.” Awni Shatarat, a Palestinian refugee from Baqaa camp, is among those who strongly view Hizbollah as victorious.

“Israel was defeated by a small group, which succeeded in demolishing the image of the undefeatable army,” he said.

But others are far more critical of Hizbollah and pessimistic about what the war might bring.

For majority of Arabs, Israel no longer undefeatable (http://www.jordantimes.com/thu/news/news8.htm)

War Report from the Northern Border. It Ain't Over Yet!
Neil Cooper
Aug 16 2006 12:00AM

This past Shabbat (Saturday) and Yom Rishon (Sunday), I traveled the northern border of Israel with my friends Miki and Yishai, visiting the troops, giving them food and gifts, and encouragement.

I was also able to take my guitar and play several praise and worship songs and share with them about the Lord and biblical prophecies that we are seeing fulfilled. Most were very interested, but in the heat of this battle, they were also worried and plagued with doubts.

Shabbat morning we visited wounded soldiers in Ram Bam hospital in Haifa. That morning 24 soldiers had been killed and another 20 wounded, most of whom were being brought in as we were there. We were able to bless one soldier with a laptop that had been donated to Miki. It is heart wrenching to see these young men so tragically cut down in battle, many with wounds that will plague them for the rest of their lives.

As we headed further north, everything seemed to take on a surreal atmosphere. The air was hazy, thick with smoke, and the roads were completely empty other than military vehicles.

We first went to an outpost on the hills of Zarit, on the fence line of the Lebanese border. The soldiers were surprised to see us, and overwhelmed at the fact that we would travel all the way from Jerusalem with no other purpose than to bless them. One of the gifts we brought were Beany Babies (little fury stuffed animals). Sounds ridiculous I know, but the soldiers, entrenched in life and death battle, loved these little creatures. They would put them on their tanks and tell us they were going to take them into battle. Some said they would take them home to their kids. What was apparent is that they served to remind them that their was something nice in the world, family who loved them, a life that they wanted to protect and return to. This was their purpose in fighting, not because they were filled with hate or rage, these were the most polite and genuinely nice young men you would ever want to meet, they truly grieve over the loss of life on the enemies side, but they cannot stand by and watch their towns and families endure rocket attacks, and death and destruction. They want to be involved in stopping it.

As we were driving into the area, I begin hearing thuds and though something had fallen over in the back of the van, but I soon realized it was the sound of artillery fire going over our heads. When we arrived in Zarit, we found a full blown battle scene. Tanks and artillery vehicles were stationed throughout the hills and valleys, and they were firing round after round into the cities across the wadi (a small valley between the hilltops). Sirens blared regularly indicating incoming Katush rockets, and helicopter gunship's rotated overhead firing at targets within the embattled city.

I used to wonder how I could so clearly hear the sound of artillery from Gaza on my front maripesset (porch). After standing next to one of these tanks when they fire, I now understand. They are tremendously loud, to the point of shattering an eardrum if you are not careful. The earth shakes beneath your feet and if you didn't know you were standing on solid ground you might worry that you were going to fall through the floor. Being surrounded by literally hundreds of these, the sound became quite four dimensional. Rounds being fired from every direction at varying distances making for layers of various volumes simply filled the sky with the sound of destruction. The trail of a shell fired over your head crackled like the sound of a summer thunderstorm rolling off of the Colorado Mountains and onto the plains. No words can describe it, it was simply awesome.

I must admit to it being somewhat exhilarating. As most men know, as boys we love to blow things up. We can't wait to get our hands on a firecracker, and the bigger the better. These were really big firecrackers.

We then headed to the nearby moshav of Shetula. At the entrance we were stopped by soldiers who though we were the press and were told to leave, but my friend Miki explained who we were and what we were doing and they opened the gate and gave us a warm welcome. None of the places we went would be open to civilians, but Miki has a lot of connections in the military because of his past service, and he knows how to get the doors opened. They told us the press was driving them crazy and they refused them entrance anymore.

Shetula was also in the middle of battle. This was where the whole war was started. We visited a house which was in the middle of being built that now houses the IDF drone team. These soldiers build, fix, and fly the unmanned planes that fly overhead and film the enemy. We were allowed to watch from inside and we could watch their computer screens and see the action below quite clearly.

This house they were in was being worked on by a contractor and his Arab workers when the Hezbollah snuck across the border and up the hill, fired a shoulder launched rocket through the living room window at the workers inside. The rocket blew out of the wall on the other side of the room, amazingly leaving no one injured. I can't imagine standing there working when a rocket suddenly zips through the room your working in.
This caused an emergency situation and the soldiers at Zarit hurried to Shetula along a dirt road that runs between the two moshavs directly on the border. Along that road they laid an ambush in which three soldiers were killed and the two others were kidnapped.
A lot of foot soldiers were also sent into Lebanon from Shetula, and every night we would wait to hear the news from the battle lines. Many soldiers were killed and injured during the 24 hours we were there. We couldn't sleep all night because of the artillery fire, and I wondered how the brave souls who stayed in their homes (Shetula and Zarit have a very Zionist population who will not leave their land for any reason) could be anything but sleep deprived and exhausted after a month of this.

Every soldier and commander that we spoke to was very angry at the government. They told us that they could have stopped the Katushas in three days, and cleared out the Hezbollah in two weeks, but their hands were tied and they were not allowed to do what they knew they had to do to win. Every soldier knew the appropriate battle plan, and in fact this very scenario had been planned for by the military two years prior to the event, and PM Olmert and Defense Minister Peretz stopped them cold in their tracks.

That evening we were hearing that Israel would sign the cease fire in the morning, and the soldiers were already asking what it was all for if we were not going to go in and decisively win the battle. Over 100 soldiers had died, we weren't getting our kidnapped soldiers back, we did not succeed in fully disarming and routing the Hezbollah, Nasrallah was still alive, and now the Islamic world would mock us and claim a victory.

cont'd next post

Sunday morning we moved on to Avivim, and then Kiryat Shmona, and finally up to Metulla. All along the way were masses of soldiers and equipment, some actively engaged in the battle, and some sitting idly by waiting to be sent across the border. These soldiers want to enter the battle, they want to go in and win because they know that Israel cannot afford to lose a war. When they do, they will lose everything. There is nothing more demoralizing than to send troops in to finish the job, and then stop them at the doorstep of victory and make them sit and wait, doing nothing, while the victory slips out of their hands.

In Metullah you will find a stack of reporters from around the world staying in a five story hotel. On the roof of this hotel is an observation tower which lets you look into Lebanon, and consequently into where many Israeli artillery shells are landing and exploding. Every so often, these reporters will climb the stairs to the roof with their camera man, dawn their flak jackets, and give a report that looks like they are in the middle of the battle field. Then they go back downstairs to the lounge and drink beer and eat nice meals. Metulla is right on the border, and artillery fire is blasting overhead, and katushas are flying overhead as well, but because of its close proximity, most of the rockets fly over Metullah and hit Kiryat Shmona instead. It is a pretty safe roost for these brave and unbiased reporters.
Amazingly there was an Al Jezeera reporter giving his report in Arabic, enjoying the same freedoms as his Israeli and American counterparts. I thought, I would like to go into your country and try to give my opinion on TV without being killed, knowing it could never happen, and then I wondered if as a people, they would ever understand the difference in how we value life and freedom and how they, sadly, don"t.

I did have the distinct pleasure of telling a BBC reporter what I felt was lacking in their coverage of Israel and this war, such as objectivity, historical accuracy, factual reporting of events, and things like that.
We had the privilege of going inside a deep bunker where communications and radar facilities were being operated. There were over 100 men stationed (and thirteen women) at this facility, and it was fascinating to watch them track their enemies. They were even able to pinpoint movement along the border and listen to the target.

All across Israel on the Northern parts, fire has ravaged forests and farms, and buildings and homes have been destroyed. People have been terrorized, and children have lost their sense of security. This war cost Israel over 11.5 Billion Shekels in lost productivity alone, not including lost tourism revenue, or the cost of rebuilding to come.

The Cease Fire agreement provides billions of dollars to rebuild Lebanon, but not one red cent to help Israel.

The kidnapped soldiers have not been returned. And every Islamic leader from Nasrallah, to Assad of Syria, to Mahmoud Nutjob, I mean Ahmadinejad, in Iran is claiming an Islamic victory and calling for global Jihad. Bashar Assad said today that he learned that there was another way to take the Golan Heights other than peace negotiations. He is amassing soldiers and tanks along Israel's borders as I write this.

What the world failed to understand is that Israel was fighting for them. And when they pressured Israel to give in to a Cease Fire, they gave the Islamic world all the fuel they needed to start a worldwide war against western civilization. And with the world so caught up in politically correct methods of warfare, the Muslims just might win.

In the West, Cease Fire means an end to hostilities and the laying down of arms. In the Middle Eastern Arab mentality it simply means a chance to rearm and prepare for the next round.

The west does not understand the Arab / Islamic mindset, and unless they wake up to it, and defeat it in no uncertain terms, they will live under its rule. Believe me that is not a reality that anyone really wants.

Had Israel of gone in and decisively won this war in a matter of days, which they were fully capable of doing, they would have set back the Islamic advance for ten or twenty years. But now that the Islamic world sees a weak Israel, and a United Nations with no resolve to fight them, they see the perfect opportunity to strike. Terrorism is going to escalate to unbelievable proportions around the world as a result of what happened here in "Little Ol' Israel".

Neither myself, nor anyone else I speak to believes that this "Cease Fire" will hold. We are bracing ourselves for what will now surly explode into a full scale regional war, and eventually into full scale world war. Of course that is what the New World Order had in mind all along. This is what will bring their dreams to reality as far as they are concerned. But I still believe God is in control and that He is going to use all of this to turn His people back to Him. As angry as I get at the enemy, I find myself even praying for blessings upon them in obedience to the Lord.

War Report from the Northern Border. (http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=GT00XSS0&GroupID=BB006ZUB)

Iran Suspected of Attempts to Rearm Hezbollah Since Cease-Fire

Thursday , August 17, 2006

WASHINGTON — Iran has been attempting to rearm the Lebanon-based terror network Hezbollah since the U.N.-backed cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel took hold earlier this week, two U.S. officials told FOX News on Thursday.

A U.S. arms control official said it appears that Iran is using Syrian channels in its effort to give Hezbollah weapons it has used in the past, including Chinese-built C-802 radar-guided anti-ship missiles. Military observers said a C-802 was used successfully on an Israeli naval vessel off the coast of Tyre on July 14. The arms control officer and a senior American counterterrorism officer both said the U.S. government is "very concerned" about the "ongoing" effort.

Israel's Cabinet approved the U.N.-brokered cease-fire agreement Monday after 34 days of clashes across the Lebanon-Israeli border that began in response to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid and killing three others. Israel retaliated with air and ground strikes throughout Lebanon in an attempt to disarm the terror group, often taking criticism for causing civilian deaths. Hezbollah retaliated by firing 4,000 short- and mid-range rockets into northern Israel.

The cease-fire resolution authorizes up to 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to deploy to southern Lebanon, a region the Shiite Muslim-rooted Hezbollah has controlled since Israel pulled back across the border in 2000. It also calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the unconditional return of the captured Israeli soldiers.

The counterterrorism official said the administration is "working with all of our allies" to get the message to Russia and China that they must do whatever they can to prevent their missiles from ending up in Lebanon.

A foreign government source told FOX News that the Chinese supplied Iran with at least 50 C-802s, and that the Iranians violated their contract with the Chinese by providing this weaponry to Hezbollah.

But the arms control officer was skeptical of that conclusion, saying, "Of course the Chinese knew" that Iran would turn over its weapons to Hezbollah, but Beijing doesn't care at all about nonproliferation.

"It's cash, and it's a lot of cash," the officer said, adding that while some members of the Bush administration have been willing to give the Chinese the benefit of the doubt and attribute the weapons proliferation to "bad export control," the geopolitical leanings of the Chinese have created the proliferation problem. The officials noted that none of China's weapons have inadvertently ended up in countries like India or Taiwan.

A leading security expert agreed with that conclusion.

"China understood that Iran was backing Hezbollah, they would have had to understood that in principal that if they transferred something to Iran, there's always a possibility that Iran was going to retransfer that Hezbollah," said John Pike, head of GlobalSecurity.org.

The arms control officer expressed optimism that an arms embargo in Lebanon could hold up in the short-term, but was less hopeful about the future.

"What happens in three months? If the will is there, the guns will get there," the officer said.

Also of concern is the prospect that Turkey, a Muslim ally in the War on Terror, is serving as or had been a point of access in the past for arms destined for Hezbollah. Pike said in recent days, Israelis have addressed their concerns directly to the Turks over the trans-shipment.

"They requested that Turkey detain a couple of airplanes coming into Lebanon from Iran. Turned out not to have weapons on them, but I don't think this is the last of it," Pike said. "Turkey has simply been looking the other way."

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said he was confident that if the situation in Turkey had been a problem, it isn't now.

"My understanding is that the issue of potential arms shipments through Turkey and through other countries are things that we have talked about with the Turkish government. ... We're fully convinced that they are taking and doing what would be necessary to prevent arms transfers from going through," Casey said.

Iran Suspected of Attempts to Rearm Hezbollah Since Cease-Fire (http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,209071,00.html)

Israel Complains Hezbollah Used Russian-Made Missiles

Friday , August 18, 2006

JERUSALEM — Israel has complained to Russia that Russian-made anti-tank missiles have reached Hezbollah guerrillas who used them against Israeli troops in south Lebanon, government officials said Friday.

An Israeli delegation traveled to Moscow earlier this week to deliver the complaint, said Asaf Shariv, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The anti-tank missiles proved to be one of Hezbollah's most effective weapons in combat with Israeli soldiers in Lebanon. Such missiles killed at least 50 of the 118 soldiers who died in the 34-day war that ended this week.

Another government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media, said the delegation was "senior," but refused to say who they would be meeting with in Russia.

Israel does not accuse Russia of directly arming Hezbollah, but complains that Russia sold the weapons to Iran and Syria, known supporters of Hezbollah, who then passed them on to the guerrilla group.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Russia maintains strict controls over its weapons sales, and that tight supervision "makes any inaccuracy in weapons destinations impossible."

Anatoly Tsyganok, head of Russia's Military Forecasting Center, ruled out the possibility that modern anti-tank weapons had reached Hezbollah through Russia or Syria.

"Any accusations alleging Russian or Syrian deliveries of anti-tank weapons to any forces in Lebanon are unfounded. The Israeli side has not presented any evidence of this, and it is unlikely that it will," Tsyganok was recently quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

"Most probably, such weapons, should Hezbollah militants really have any, might have been brought to Lebanon through third countries," he added.

Israel Complains Hezbollah Used Russian-Made Missiles (http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,209162,00.html)

The Mufti of Egypt: The True Face of the Blood-Sucking Hebrew Entity has Been Exposed

In an article in the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram, Egyptian Mufti Sheikh Dr. 'Ali Gum'a expressed his support of the resistance in Lebanon and stated that the lies of the "Hebrew entity" expose "the true and hideous face of the blood-suckers... who prepare [Passover] matzos from human blood." [1]

The following are excerpts from the article:

"Greetings to the Lebanese people, to the Lebanese government, and to the Lebanese resistance - to the small and beautiful country that has proved to the world that the ideals of determination, bravery and self-dignity still exist in this era that has been taken over by the blood-sucking murderers.

"Anyone who follows the news will discover that the Hebrew entity has turned into a [source] of [empty] talk, while the Arab discourse, which was characterized in the sixties [as empty talk], has developed significantly. [The Arabs] have learned a lesson and have moved from talk to action, and from the fostering of illusions to honesty, transparency, realistic goal-setting and ability to change. The Israeli discourse, [on the other hand], has turned to false declarations based on illusions, with wishful thinking taking precedence over facts.

"These lies have exposed the true and hideous face of the blood-suckers who were described by Filmange in his book The Treasure Hidden in the Talmudic Laws [sic], which tells how [the Jews] planned [to prepare] a matzo [unleavened Passover bread] using human blood. [2] If we follow events, the most important thing [that we discover], in my opinion, is that the war going on [today] plants hatred in the next generations, as though one of its goals is to perpetuate the conflict for many years to come.

"A number of questions have been echoing in my mind. I tried to put them out of my mind several times, but they would not let go: Why do these foreigners come from all over the world, [speaking] many different languages, [and settle] in this small and narrow region of Palestine, in order to create so much mayhem and spill innocent blood in such a stupid manner? Why do they so unjustly insist on harming and rejecting the peace process, attacking their neighbors and occupying their lands, [while] constantly hollering that it is they who are threatened and oppressed? [Why do they insist on] destroying property, killing people, keeping the [entire] world busy [with the conflict], and violating all the principles accepted by the human [race]?

"Why are they here? Why do they receive all this support, which costs the U.S. [so much] money? What emotional or practical benefit does [the U.S.] gain [from this support]? Is it [trying to appropriate] the region's natural resources? After all, [it obtains these resources] anyway with the [full] consent [of the countries in the region], based on accepted agreements with which it is satisfied. Is this a clash of civilizations, or [is America acting] out of fear that some force will return to the region? [Is it acting out of] crazy fundamentalist tendencies, in anticipation of the [second] coming of the Messiah? Why is there need for such a large number of Israeli nuclear weapons, which threaten the existence of the entire region?...

"[I convey my] greetings to Lebanon, to the resistance, and to the [Lebanese] people, so unified and dignified, and say to them: You are writing the pages of the nation's history, [pages of] jihad that will not be in vain. The blood of those you have lost will be a curse on your enemies. You are not only a model for people living [today], you are also lighting the path for the future generations and finding the way to repulse aggression and set priorities, teaching [us] how to fight honorably and fairly, and how to endure the crimes and sins that have taken hold of people's minds...

"All the Lebanese victims of the [Israeli] crimes were civilians, while those killed on the enemy's [side] were all soldiers. This is reality that speaks for itself, and not [empty] talk [that comes to] justify [actions], and will later be exposed as lies..."

The Mufti of Egypt: The True Face of the Blood-Sucking Hebrew Entity has Been Exposed (http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD125506)

Letter threatens to blow up Taj Mahal

By BISWAJEET BANERJEE, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 13 minutes ago

LUCKNOW, India - Soldiers were on 24-hour guard at the Taj Mahal after officials received a letter threatening to blow up the monument, officials said Friday.
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Authorities were investigating a handwritten letter received Thursday — purportedly sent by an al-Qaida supporter — that said the terrorist group planned blasts at the 17th century monument, which drew nearly 2.5 million tourists last year.

"Police are verifying the source of the letter," said Ashok Kumar, a senior government official in Uttar Pradesh state where the Taj Mahal is located. "The letter could be false but we cannot afford to be complacent. We are not taking any chances and have enhanced security at the Taj."

At least 100 additional paramilitary soldiers with automatic weapons have been posted around the Taj Mahal complex, authorities said.

The state government has asked the federal civil aviation authorities and India's air force to declare a no-fly zone within a 2.5-mile radius of the Taj Mahal, said N. C. Bajpei, Uttar Pradesh's highest official.

Tourists have been warned not to carry any liquids, including bottles of mineral water, to the fabled white marble structure located in the city of Agra, 130 miles from the Indian capital, New Delhi. Sandbag bunkers also have been set up outside the towering entrance gates, Kumar said.

The majestic domed monument was built by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jehan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several graves of lesser Mogul royalty.

India deployed tens of thousands of police to patrol major cities and posted sharpshooters on rooftops Tuesday as the country marked 59 years of independence under a terror alert. The celebrations came a month after the train bombings in Bombay killed 207 people.

Letter threatens to blow up Taj Mahal (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060818/ap_on_re_as/india_taj_mahal_security)

Enemy Donned IDF Uniforms In Lebanon

BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
August 18, 2006

TEL AVIV, Israel — In the least friendly fire imaginable, Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon encountered Hezbollah wearing Israel Defense Force uniforms, the Jewish state's leading investigative news program reported.

During a battle on the evening of August 6 and early hours of August 7, in the town of Hule, an IDF unit found two Hezbollah dressed in Israeli fatigues and helmets in a civilian home. The battlefield commander was forced to order his men to remove the white hats they wear on their helmets to distinguish his men from the enemy.

An embedded reporter, Itai Engel, from the weekly television news series "Uvda" — widely regarded as Israel's equivalent to "60 Minutes" — filmed the battle with a night vision camera.

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Engel said,"There were two of them in one of the houses. The soldiers realized they were wearing army uniforms. They had the helmet cover as well. They were wearing everything the IDF soldiers wear."

The report of Hezbollah in IDF uniforms fighting Israelis shows that Israel's foe has studied the Israel Defense Force closely. The tactic presents a challenge for soldiers trying to fight them; according to Mr. Engel, the house to house fighting was brutal, and the surprise of fighting the enemy in friendly uniforms only added to the fog of war.

The story also serves as another example of the Iranian proxy's predilection for fighting outside the laws of war. Earlier, the Israelis claimed Hezbollah fired rockets into its northern towns and cities from civilian positions, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon warned in the first week of fighting that the terrorists were using the U.N. positions as cover.

An IDF spokeswoman said she could not confirm the incident. But a Likud member of the Knesset's defense and foreign affairs committee, Yuval Steinitz, said yesterday that he was aware of these incidents. He cautioned that they were not significant, however.

"You can buy IDF uniforms in shops all over the world. But it is not something serious. What we have to learn is first on the level of tactics," he said.

Mr. Steinitz's committee was briefed Wednesday by IDF generals on tactical lessons learned in Lebanon. On July 31, the IDF reported that it had uncovered a store of IDF uniforms after fighting in Al Adaisa.

A former military intelligence officer also said Hezbollah's appropriation of Israeli military uniforms is not a new tactic among his country's terrorist enemies. The IDF has arrested Palestinian Arab terrorists dressed as Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza, the officer, who requested anonymity, said.

Israel's military has strict rules about uniforms. IDF soldiers may not hitchhike while in uniform out of concern that they may be picked up by Palestinian Arabs looking to confiscate their uniforms. And soldiers are fined if they are not able to account for their uniform.

A former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Dore Gold, said yesterday that Hezbollah had been studying Israeli tactics. "They have been on our border. They know our patrols, where our soldiers go. They have studied our tactics, everything," he said.

"They listen to our radio, they read our books, they read Ariel Sharon's biography," a former brigadier general for IDF military intelligence, Shimon Shapira, said. "They know a lot about Israel. And as you know, the Israeli correspondents are very noisy. They can learn a lot from them."

Enemy Donned IDF Uniforms In Lebanon (http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=38156)

Israel may 'go it alone' against Iran
Herb Keinon, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 24, 2006

Israel is carefully watching the world's reaction to Iran's continued refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, with some high-level officials arguing it is now clear that when it comes to stopping Iran, Israel "may have to go it alone," The Jerusalem Post has learned.

One senior source said on Tuesday that Iran "flipped the world the bird" by not responding positively to the Western incentive plan to stop uranium enrichment. He expressed frustration that the Russians and Chinese were already saying that Iran's offer of a "new formula" and willingness to enter "serious negotiations" was an opening to keep on talking.

"The Iranians know the world will do nothing," he said. "This is similar to the world's attempts to appease Hitler in the 1930s - they are trying to feed the beast."

He said there was a need to understand that "when push comes to shove," Israel would have to be prepared to "slow down" the Iranian nuclear threat by itself.

Having said this, he did not rule out the possibility of US military action, but said that if this were to take place, it would probably not occur until the spring or summer of 2008, a few months before President George W. Bush leaves the international stage. The US presidential elections, which Bush cannot contest because of term limits, are in November 2008.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, in a meeting in Paris with French Foreign Minister Phillippe Douste-Blazy Wednesday, said Iran "poses a global threat" and needed to be dealt with by the whole international community.

"The first thing they need to do is stop the enrichment of uranium," Livni said. "Everyday that passes brings the Iranians closer to building a nuclear bomb. The world can't afford a nuclear Iran." She said the Iranian reply to the Western incentives was just an attempt to "gain time."

Government officials said Israel's role at this time is to warn the world of the dangers of an Iranian nuclear potential. Some government officials are sending the message to their counterparts abroad that the firm implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 on Lebanon will send a strong message to Iran - which is testing the world's resolve - that it is serious about implementing Security Council resolutions.

Meanwhile, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported Wednesday that the Iranian news service Al-Borz, which it said is known to have access to sources in the Iranian government, predicted that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would announce what the news service called Iran's "nuclear birth" on the first anniversary of his government later this month.

In addition, an article Tuesday on the Teheran Times Web site, considered to be affiliated with the Foreign Ministry, implied that Iran's nuclear technology had already reached the point of no return. "If the West is seeking to impede Iran's nuclear industry, it should realize that Iran has passed this stage," the report read.

Diplomats from Europe, the US, Russia and China were poring over details of Iran's counterproposal to the Western nuclear incentives package Wednesday. Initial comments from Russia and China made clear Washington is likely to face difficulty getting at least those nations to agree to any tough sanctions against Iran.

In Paris, however, Douste-Blazy made clear that his government was sticking by the UN demand for Iran to halt enrichment by the end of this month as a precondition to further talks. Israeli officials said France has consistently advocated a firm position with Iran regarding the nuclear issue.

"I want to point out again that France is available to negotiate, and to recall that, as we have always said... a return to the negotiating table is linked to the suspension of uranium enrichment," Douste-Blazy said.

However, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it would continue to seek a political, negotiated solution to the dispute with Iran. China appealed for dialogue, urging "constructive measures" by Iran but also urging other parties to "remain calm and patient, show flexibility, stick to the orientation of peaceful resolution and create favorable conditions for resuming talks as soon as possible."

In London, a British Foreign Office spokesman predicted "some hard discussions" when the Security Council takes up the Iran issue in the coming weeks.

Iran said Tuesday it was ready for "serious negotiations" on its nuclear program and cast the counterproposal as a new formula to resolve the crisis with the West. But a semiofficial news agency said the government was unwilling to abandon uranium enrichment.

The world powers, the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany, have given Iran until August 31 to accept the incentives package.

Israel may 'go it alone' against Iran (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525933028&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Israel plans for war with Iran and Syria
Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv, and Sarah Baxter, New York
THREATENED by a potentially nuclear-armed Tehran, Israel is preparing for a possible war with both Iran and Syria, according to Israeli political and military sources.

The conflict with Hezbollah has led to a strategic rethink in Israel. A key conclusion is that too much attention has been paid to Palestinian militants in Gaza and the West Bank instead of the two biggest state sponsors of terrorism in the region, who pose a far greater danger to Israel’s existence, defence insiders say.

“The challenge from Iran and Syria is now top of the Israeli defence agenda, higher than the Palestinian one,” said an Israeli defence source. Shortly before the war in Lebanon Major-General Eliezer Shkedi, the commander of the air force, was placed in charge of the “Iranian front”, a new position in the Israeli Defence Forces. His job will be to command any future strikes on Iran and Syria.

The Israeli defence establishment believes that Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear programme means war is likely to become unavoidable.

“In the past we prepared for a possible military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities,” said one insider, “but Iran’s growing confidence after the war in Lebanon means we have to prepare for a full-scale war, in which Syria will be an important player.”

A new infantry brigade has been formed named Kfir (lion cub), which will be the largest in the Israeli army. “It is a partial solution for the challenge of the Syrian commando brigades, which are considered better than Hezbollah’s,” a military source said.

There has been grave concern in Israel over a military pact signed in Tehran on June 15 between Iran and Syria, which the Iranian defence minister described as a “mutual front against Israeli threats”. Israel has not had to fight against more than one army since 1973.

During the war in Lebanon, Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, the Iranian founder of Hezbollah, warned: “If the Americans attack Iran, Iran will attack Tel Aviv with missiles.”

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, both Iran and Syria have ballistic missiles that can cover most of Israel, including Tel Aviv. An emergency budget has now been assigned to building modern shelters.

“The ineptness of the Israeli Defence Forces against Hezbollah has raised the Iranians’ confidence,” said a leading defence analyst.

In Washington, the military hawks believe that an airstrike against Iranian nuclear bunkers remains a more straightforward, if risky, operation than chasing Hezbollah fighters and their mobile rocket launchers in Lebanon.

“Fixed targets are hopelessly vulnerable to precision bombing, and with stealth bombers even a robust air defence system doesn’t make much difference,” said Richard Perle, a leading neoconservative.

The option of an eventual attack remains on the table after President George Bush warned on Friday that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

While the American State Department favours engaging with President Bashar Assad of Syria in the hope of detaching him from the Iranian alliance, hawks believe Israel missed a golden opportunity to strike at Syria during the Hezbollah conflict.

“If they had acted against Syria during this last kerfuffle, the war might have ended more quickly and better,” Perle added. “Syrian military installations are sitting ducks and the Syrian air force could have been destroyed on the ground in a couple of days.” Assad set off alarm bells in Israel when he said during the war in Lebanon: “If we do not obtain the occupied Golan Heights by peaceful means, the resistance option is there.”

Israel plans for war with Iran and Syria (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2340486,00.html)

For the last 2 news pieces.......... My guess would be we'd be on Israel's side when push comes to shove. Iran has long been considered a supporter of terrorism. Bush has pressed on with the "War on Terror" despite loud objections from various groups. I can't imagine him backing down against this. I'm sure he'll hold off diplomatically as long as possible.

I am sure Bush is aware of the prophecies of Iran and Russia through the bible and it is just smart for the U.S. to have a presence in the middle east right now. Say what you want against the Iraq war that could be Bushs way of creating a large presence in that region for possible future scenarios. The problem is the media fallout that occurs when we do not make progress and it can create a national outcry against war and therefore any future president would have a difficult time rallying the U.S. for another premptive strike against a country like Iran, therefore it would have to be a situation that was forced by "retaliation" for an attack or a threat so big that we had to take action, like the achievment of nuclear capabilities or some sort of strike against Israel.

The wild cards here are "weapons" and interests within the countries like Iran by bigger suppliers by Russia and the other big wild card is Oil and Natural Gas in which Russia owns the largest percentage through Gazprom with Iran and the middle eastern countries owning the largest percentage of oil.

Those wild cards could play a huge factor. If Iran cut off its flow of oil and caused gas prices to soar into the 5.00-7.00 range it would cripple the U.S. economy and it would prompt a war based on protecting our way of life. When those kinds of things start happening and they could happen then the stability of the world is going to get very dicey.

Assad: War with Israel a possibility
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 21, 2006

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday that the possibility of a new war in the Middle East could not be ruled out.

Assad said he believed Israel could decide to attack Syria, because it was "looking for a way out of the crisis it is in through a new [military] operation."

Israel might attack Syria under the pretense that the country was aiding Iran, Assad said.

In this case, "Syria will resist, stand strong and never give in," Assad told Lebanon's As-Safir newspaper on Thursday.

Since the end of the war between Israel and Lebanon, there has been increased discussion in political circles over the relationship between Israel and Syria.

On August 21 Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter (Kadima) surprised the political establishment by announcing that he was in favor of a withdrawing from the Golan Heights in exchange for lasting peace with Syria.

Dichter's statement was echoed one week later by Finnish Ambassador Kari Veijalainen, when he told The Jerusalem Post that Israel would do well to signal a willingness to pick up negations with the Syrians where they broke off in 1999 as a way to get Damascus on board to help implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

However, soon after Dichter made his remarks, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected the notion of peace talks with Syria.

Syria is the "single most aggressive member of the axis of evil," Olmert said, ruling out a resumption of negotiations with Damascus at this time.

"I am the last person who will say I want to negotiate with Syria," Olmert snapped

Assad: War with Israel a possibility (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1157913678175&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

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Theology => Prophecy - Current Events => Topic started by: Shammu on July 31, 2006, 01:34:50 AM