Biblical countries, in the news.

[Shammu]

Rice: Poor Syria Relationship Overstated
By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
9:14 PM PDT, July 23, 2006

SHANNON, Ireland -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday the United States' poor relationship with Syria is overstated, pointing out that there are existing channels for talking with Syrian leaders about resolving the Mideast crisis when they're ready to talk.

En route to the region, Rice noted that the United States still has a diplomatic mission and State Department officials working in the Syrian capital. That presence, she said, is a "channel for dealing with Syria."

"The problem isn't that people haven't talked to the Syrians. It's that the Syrians haven't acted," she said. "I think this is simply just a kind of false hobby horse that somehow it's because we don't talk to the Syrians.

"It's not as if we don't have diplomatic relations," she said. "We do."

The State Department considers Syria one of the world's state sponsors of terror. In recent weeks, the Bush administration has blamed it, along with Iran, for stoking the recent violence in the Middle East by encouraging the Lebanese Hezbollah militia to attack northern Israel.

The U.S. ambassador to Damascus was recalled last year after the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Syrian officials have been blamed for the murder, which Damascus denies.

Rice's words to reporters on a flight from Washington to a refueling stop in Ireland came as she embarks on a difficult trip to the Middle East, where she will meet with key players trying to resolve the violence along the tense Lebanese-Israeli border.

And they came as Arab diplomats and analysts said Egypt and Saudi Arabia are working to entice Syria to end support for Hezbollah, a move that is central to resolving the conflict in Lebanon and unhitching Damascus from its alliance with Iran, the Shiite Muslim guerrillas' other main backer.

Arab diplomats in Cairo said the United States had signaled a willingness to re-engage Syria through Washington's encouragement of the Egyptians and Saudis to lean on Damascus to stop backing Hezbollah.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensititity of talks, Egyptian diplomats told the AP in Cairo that the American readiness to engage Syria grew in part out of a visit to Washington last week by Egypt's chief of intelligence Omar Suleiman and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit where they met with Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

"The two officials told the administration that the best way to solve this problem is through isolating Syria from Iran, the two main backers of Hezbollah and Hamas," said one diplomat. "The interests of those countries are not always compatible, and if Syria is given a carrot it could help solve the crisis, leaving Iran in the shadows."

In a brazen raid into Israel on July 12, Hezbollah killed eight and captured two Israeli soldiers, provoking Israel's biggest military campaign against Lebanon in 24 years. The fighting has left hundreds of civilians dead, mostly in Lebanon.

Rice is facing increasing international pressure to call for an immediate cease fire. Yet she and President Bush have resisted, saying that any peace agreement must come with right conditions to ensure that it is sustainable. They particularly want to see an agreement that would help Lebanon control its entire territory, including the southern third that is dominated by Hezbollah.

Arabic for "Party of God," Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim political party with its own militia. Funded by Iran, Syria and other individual donors around the globe, it fills gaps left by Lebanon's weak government and provides the bulk of the health care, schools and other social services in southern Lebanon.

Yet Rice said any cease fire agreement would have to be signed by Lebanon, not Hezbollah.

"The last time that I looked, Hezbollah had even run for office as a part of the government of Lebanon," she said, referring to Hezbollah's presence in the Parliament.

"If there is a cessation of hostilities, the government of Lebanon is going to have to be the party," she said. "Let's treat the government of Lebanon as the sovereign government that it is."

Rice has tried to walk delicately between supporting the democratic government of Lebanon, while also not dictating to its ally Israel how it should handle its own security. Her posture has frustrated numerous allies.

"We all want to urgently end the fighting. We have absolutely the same goal," Rice said. But she added that if the violence ends only to restart within weeks, "then all of the carnage that Hezbollah launched by its illegal activities -- abducting the soldiers and then launching rocket attacks -- we will have gotten nothing from that."

Rice plans stops in Israel and then to Rome, where she will join a high-level conference of key players of the Middle East and the international community to focus on the political underpinnings of a potential cease fire. She's also focused on humanitarian aid for war-torn Lebanon.

Before departing Washington, Rice and Bush were joined by other senior administration officials at a White House meeting with Saudi leaders, who urged the United States to use its formidable clout with Israel to help end the fighting.

Rice said the Saudis are urging the international community to use the so-called Taif Agreement and a similar 2004 U.N. resolution as the foundation for peace. Taif calls for the government of Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah within six months and underscores that Syria should not be allowed "to constitute a source of threat to the security of Lebanon under any circumstances."

The Saudis have a special tie to Taif, because it gets its name from the Saudi city where the agreement was reached. Should it become a successful vehicle for peace, it would provide an Arab solution to the crisis hanging over Israel and Lebanon.

"We and the Saudis have the same goal," Rice said. "The Saudis talked a great deal about the importance of Taif and getting a solution that indeed does lead to the fulfillment of the obligations" under that 19-year-old agreement.

Rice also plans to attend an Asia regional forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday and Friday, where North Korea's recent missile launches and nuclear program are expected to be on the forefront of the agenda. She has not ruled out returning to the Middle East on her way home, "if that would be necessary or helpful," she said.

Rice: Poor Syria Relationship Overstated

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Mideast war will have consequences for Iran   

Hezbollah's battle against Israel has served as a timely reminder of Iran's clout in the Middle East, and diplomats and analysts say the Islamic republic is set to reap or suffer the consequences of the conflict. Although Iran's leadership has denied any military or financial links to its fellow hardline Shiites in Lebanon, regime officials have for the past week been heaping praise on Hezbollah's "heroes" for their "great job". "Hezbollah and other groups standing against world oppression have been and are under the influence of the late Imam Khomeini's teachings and the Islamic revolution," Kazem Jalali, a prominent Iranian MP, said of what he viewed as the legacy of Iran's revolutionary founder.

"So there is moral relationship between them and the Islamic republic of Iran," he told AFP, while being at pains not to cross the semantic line separating father figure from financier. But in Israel and many Western capitals, Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers - the event which kicked off the assault on Lebanon - is viewed as being connected to a decision to refer the crisis over Iran's disputed nuclear drive back to the UN Security Council.

Western diplomats say Iran has in recent months underlined its influence across the region in messages that had been taken as a warning not to confront the country's atomic programme. "The nuclear case has no relation to the events in Lebanon," replied Jalali, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission. "The real issue was Zionists trying to divert attention from its killing of innocent people and inhuman acts."

Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini, an independent political analyst, suggested Iran was playing a risky game - even though he argued the Iran-Hezbollah relationship may not be as simple as both sides in the dispute claim. "Hezbollah is holding the initiative, and it is Hezbollah that is drawing Iran towards itself rather than vice-versa," he said. "If Hezbollah wins, Iran can manoeuvre more on its nuclear case. If Hezbollah is weakened, Iran's position will also be weakened."

Analyst Hamid Jalaeipour, from Iran's sidelined reformist camp, also viewed Lebanon as a proxy battleground for Iran's standoff with the West. "The United States, Britain and Israel are fighting the Islamic republic in Lebanon. In the short term they are aiming to paralyse Hezbollah... but they want to weaken Iran's position in the region," he said. "Whether they will be able to do it or not is a different story, but I do not think the current situation is in Iran's favour," Jalaeipour added, underlining fears the conflict may yet widen.

This is view shared by many Western diplomats in Tehran. "The danger is that more and more decision-makers in Washington and elsewhere draw the conclusion that Iran is the main problem in the region and that action needs to be taken," a senior Western diplomat told AFP. "Iran could come out in a stronger position if it dons the cap of a mediator, as it has been asked to do," another Western envoy said. "If not, the prospect of a showdown between Iran and the Americans is sadly more likely."

But if the commentaries in Iran's hardline papers are anything to go by, the Islamic republic appears to be in no mood to settle for much less than Israel's defeat. "The myth of an undefeatable Israel has been thrown into the trash can of history by Hezbollah," trumpeted Hossein Shariatmadari in an editorial for his hardline Kayhan newspaper. "If there is ceasefire tomorrow, Israel will have witnessed an historical and huge defeat incomprehensible for any of the Zionists," said the editor, who is appointed by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"The United States is trying to impose a resolution on our nuclear case... and has unleashed its rabid dog named the Zionist regime," noted the equally ultra-conservative Jomhuri Eslami daily. "But the Islamic republic of Iran has shown it will stand against the world oppressor with all its power until a time when it is able to wipe out the Great Satan in the region, namely the Zionist regime."

Mideast war will have consequences for Iran

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Nasrallah: Rocket attacks will continue despite ground operation

Hizbullah chief says IDF incursion in south Lebanon will not curb rocket fire on Israel, states Israel hyped up its achievements in battle. Nasrallah adds he does not rule out discussing diplomatic initiatives to end conflict
Associated Press

Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in remarks published Monday that an Israeli ground invasion would not prevent Hizbullah from firing rockets into northern Israel.

"Any Israeli incursion will have no political results if it does not achieve its declared goals, primarily an end to the rocketing of Zionist settlements in northern occupied Palestine," Nasrallah told As-Safir newspaper. "I assure you that this goal will not be achieved, God willing, by an Israeli incursion," he said.

His remarks came after Hizbullah fired dozens of rockets at Israel on Sunday.

Responding to reports about diplomatic efforts to end the fighting, Nasrallah said the priority was to end Israeli attacks on Lebanon, but added he was open to discussing initiatives.

Nasrallah would not take a stand on proposals to send an international force to southern Lebanon to keep the peace, but said it was "very noteworthy" that Israel first rejected and then accepted the idea of a NATO-led force.

In a shift of Israel's position, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Sunday his country could accept an international force - preferably NATO - on its border to ensure the peace in southern Lebanon. "This shift in Israel's position must be studied and considered well before taking a positive or negative stand on this idea," he said.

'Israel's losses show weakness'

Nasrallah downplayed Hizbullah's loss of the strategic border village of Maroun al-Ras, saying Israeli media have hyped up the first major ground operation of the 13-day-old confrontation "as if it's the conquest of Stalingrad."

He said Israel's losses in the fighting for Maroun al-Ras showed the weakness of the Israeli army. Israel has said five soldiers were killed in the fighting there. Hizbullah reported three of its fighters killed in the area. Israel said Sunday two terrorists were captured. On Saturday, after fierce fighting, the Israeli military gained a foothold in Lebanon at Maroun al-Ras, a small village in hilly terrain with a commanding view of northern Israel.

The Israelis have not advanced since, despite Lebanese fears that troops could thrust deeper into Lebanon as they did during previous invasions in 1978 and 1982. "The enemy is seeking a military achievement in order to exaggerate it, and use it in the media and in politics," Nasrallah said.

Interested in prisoner swap

The chief of the Shiite organization indicated his group was still interested in a trade of two Israeli soldiers that Hizbullah captured in the brazen cross-border raid that sparked the current crisis, on July 12, for Arab prisoners held by Israel.

In previous statements, he has offered a swap, saying it was the only way for Israel to win the freedom of its soldiers. Israel has refused to negotiate and instead waged the current aerial offensive.

An envoy from Germany's Foreign Ministry visited Beirut on Sunday while the German foreign minister was in Israel, leading to speculation that the European nation may embark on a mission to negotiate the prisoner swap. Nasrallah said that Hizbullah has not been in contact with Germany but that the "German channel is still valid." He said he wouldn't object to other channels that the parties agree to.

In 2004, Germany negotiated a previous prisoner exchange between Hizbullah and Israel.

Nasrallah: Rocket attacks will continue despite ground operation

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IDF Conquers Hizbullah Strongholds, Continues Onward
16:20 Jul 23, '06 / 27 Tammuz 5766
by Ezra HaLevi

IDF forces conquered Hizbullah strongholds, destroyed missiles batteries and located missile caches inside a mosque over the weekend and early Sunday.

IDF forces took a ridge overlooking the Hizbullah stronghold of Bint J’bail Sunday. The village is northwest of Maroun A-Ras, the site of heavy battles, which was conquered over the Sabbath.

Maroun A-Ras was taken by IDF ground troops Saturday after days of fierce battles in the area. The Hizbullah bunkers in, around and below the village have all been raided and the IDF has now stationed troops in the village. Security forces in the area report they found scores of Katyusha shells, missile storage rooms and missile-launchers concealed in the village's mosque.

In addition to all residents of Lebanon living south of the Litani Rover, members of ten additional villages from which rockets have been fired were warned to evacuate their homes by 7 PM Saturday, ahead of IAF air strikes.

The Sayed al-Zahra facility in Sidon, run by a Hizbullah associated Islamic leader, was directly hit. This was the first time a target was hit in Sidon. Beirut was also hit early Sunday morning, with Hizbullah’s strongholds south of the city bearing the brunt of IAF bombs. A Hizbullah compound in Baal Beck was also struck, and the nearby Nabi Sheet.

Over the weekend, air strikes in Lebanon destroyed a building described as “Hizbullah Headquarters,” a half-dozen missile launchers, communications lines and a cache of long-range missiles, anti-tank missiles and guns. Several television broadcast facilities were also hit, presumably due to their complicity in broadcasting Hizbullah's Al-Manar television channel.

More than 1,800 targets have been hit by Israel's Air Force since the beginning of the Reengagement War.

Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said the air strikes will continue as long as they have to. "It takes time to hit at terrorism," he told reporters Friday. "We will fight terror wherever it is, because if we do not fight it, it will fight us - if we don't reach it, it will reach us."

Halutz added that Hizbullah has made a practice of using mosques to hide their Katyusha missile launchers.

Thousands of Israelis received their Tzav Shmoneh emergency call-up orders Thursday evening. Most will be taking the place of members of the standing army who will be headed into Lebanon in what the IDF brass is calling a limited ground invasion. As a result, in addition to the two million Israelis who spent this past Sabbath away from their northern homes or in bomb shelters, thousands more made due without their fathers and sons.

Responding to the extensive coverage of recent IDF casualities in both the print and televised media, IDF Commander of the North Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam urged Israelis to refrain from shedding tears for the fallen until the war is won.

"We have to change our way of thinking," he said. "Human life is important but we are at war and it costs human lives. We won't count the dead at present, only at the end. We'll cry for the dead and will encourage their brothers in arms. There are more places like Meron A-Ras, and unfortunately we'll have to reach them."

Asked the common question voiced by Israel's media - whether the IDF will become "bogged down in the Lebanese mud" - Maj.-Gen. Adam urged Israelis to exercise patience. "This is not a short story," he warned, "but it will not be never-ending either."

Meanwhile, in his weekly radio address, US President George W. Bush reassured those concerned that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's upcoming visit is intended to pressure Israel that Rice would "make it clear that resolving the crisis demands confronting the terrorist group that launched the attacks and the nations that support it."

Bush, referring to Syria and Iran, added: "Their actions threaten the entire Middle East and stand in the way of resolving the current crisis and bringing lasting peace to this troubled region."

IDF Conquers Hizbullah Strongholds, Continues Onward

[Shammu]

American Bombs Aid Israel´s 10-Day Victory Plan
08:03 Jul 24, '06 / 28 Tammuz 5766
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The American government is rushing a shipment of precision bombs to Israel, which is carrying out a 10-day plan to weaken Hizbullah before foreign pressure forces a cease fire.

The Bush Administration has given Israel one week to continue attacks on the Hizbullah terrorist infrastructure before Washington agrees to negotiations, according to the London Guardian.

The Bush administration accepted without debate a decision to rush to Israel precision bombs, despite the chances that Arab countries will compare American arms aid to that of Iran, which has helped armed Hizbullah, The New York Times reported.

The shipment of bombs is part of an arms sales deal approved last year, but the special request for laser-guided bombs indicates that the IDF wants to target many more terrorist sites in Lebanon. Last year's agreement allows Israel to buy "bunker buster" weapons that can penetrate underground terrorist command centers. Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah is believed to be operating from underground.

The American-backed Israeli plan explains the change in the itinerary of American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who originally was scheduled to fly to Egypt and other Arab countries before visiting Israel this week. She now plans to fly on Monday without visiting Cairo.

Arab countries also don’t want to host Secretary Rice because of fears that they will be viewed as siding with the American rejection of an immediate cease fire, according to Martin Indyk, former United States ambassador to Israel.

Rice has flatly stated that the Bush administration is not interested in a cease fire that would return the situation in Lebanon to its former status quo. The U.S. has rejected a request from Saudi Arabia that it act to halt the Israeli retaliation. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said he gave American President George W. Bush a letter asking him to act for an immediate cease-fire "to stop the bleeding in Lebanon."

President Bush and Secretary Rice have agreed with Israel that Hizbullah must return two kidnapped terrorists and that the reality of the terrorist organization must be confronted before a cease fire can be discussed.

Following the meeting with the Saudi official, the White House said one of the subjects discussed was the "the humanitarian situation" in Lebanon.

Arab countries and foreign media have emphasized the number of civilians who have died in Israeli Air Force attacks on Hizbullah centers in Lebanon, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Sunday complained to foreign reporters that they are not reporting the true picture.

A British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) reporter admitted that he saw terrorists using private homes to direct terrorist activities and added," It is difficult to quantify who is a terrorist and who is a civilian."

Israel continued to strike back at Hizbullah Sunday night and has begun to weed out Hizbullah terrorists from southern Lebanon and take control of villages.

The IDF captured two terrorists early Monday, the first prisoners to be taken since Hizbullah began to attack northern Israel two weeks ago.

Hizbullah attacked Israel with more than 90 rockets on Sunday, killing two, including Habib Awad, an Arab who was working in a carpentry shop. Another rocket hit a car and killed the driver, Shimon Glikblich of Haifa, who is to be buried Monday. Three others suffered serious injuries.

The IDF estimates that Hizbullah's weapons stockpile has been depleted by 20 percent following more than 2,200 rocket attacks against Israel. Furthermore, the IDF has destroyed many weapons stockpiles and rocket launchers.

However, military sources said they fear Hizbullah may unleash longer-range missiles that can strike as far south as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The terrorist organization also has cells set up outside of Lebanon who may be planning to attack worldwide Israeli and Jewish targets.

American Bombs Aid Israel´s 10-Day Victory Plan

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Nasrallah avoids stand on int'l peacekeeping force
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jul. 24, 2006

Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, in an interview published Monday morning, would not take a stand on proposals to send an international force to southern Lebanon to keep the peace, but said it was "very noteworthy" that Israel first rejected and then accepted the idea of a NATO-led force.

"This shift in Israel's position must be studied and considered well before taking a positive or negative stand on this idea," Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah avoids stand on int'l peacekeeping force

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Iran's Ahmadinejad tells Israel to pack up and go

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told arch-foe Israel to "pack up" and move somewhere outside the Middle East, Iran's State News Agency (IRNA) reported.

LONDON, July 24 (IranMania) - Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told arch-foe Israel to "pack up" and move somewhere outside the Middle East, Iran's State News Agency (IRNA) reported.

"I advise them to pack up and move out of the region before being caught in the fire they have started in Lebanon," said Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for the Jewish state to be relocated elsewhere on the planet.

Iran refuses to recognise Israel and opposes any two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ahmadinejad has in the past called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" or relocated as far away as Alaska, the report said.

Israel launched its offensive in Lebanon on July 12 after Shiite Hezbollah militiamen captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in attacks on the Israel-Lebanon border.

The Jewish state is also continuing with its attacks on the Gaza Strip, with the aim of retrieving a soldier snatched by Palestinian militants and stopping rocket fire.

"Zionists have launched their own destruction by attacking Lebanon," Ahmadinejad added, while accusing Britain and the United States of being "accomplices in this regime's crimes".

Iran, like Syria, has been accused of financing and arming Hezbollah but has always maintained it only gives "moral" support.

On Saturday, Ahmadinejad lobbied Muslims to be more active in seeking an end to Israel's continuing assault on Gaza and Lebanon.

In a show of support, scores of young Iranian boys and girls staged a support demonstration opposite the Lebanese embassy in Tehran carrying Lebanese flag and pictures of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Iran's Ahmadinejad tells Israel to pack up and go

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 Saudi Arabia Prepares Cease-Fire Proposal
10:17 Jul 24, '06 / 28 Tammuz 5766

(IsraelNN.com) According to Arabic newspaper A-Sharq Al-Awsat, published in London, Saudi Arabia is preparing a proposal for a cease-fire in Lebanon.

The proposal calls for Israel to release convicted Arab terrorists in exchange for its kidnapped soldiers, and withdraw from Shaba Farms, an area on the border claimed by Lebanon. In addition, the Lebanese army would take control of south Lebanon, while Hizbullah forces would move further north.

Saudi Arabia Prepares Cease-Fire Proposal

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War between Iran, Israel inevitable
Posted: July 24, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

With the decision to destroy Hezbollah by military force, the Israelis are playing for a fundamental power alignment in the Middle East. More than just a regional conflict with a local terrorist organization, Israel's fight continues to be about survival.

Yesterday, Iran's President Ahmadinejad declared that by attacking Lebanon, Israel had pushed the button of their destruction. ''I advise them [the Israelis] to pack up and move out of the region before being caught in the fire they have started in Lebanon,'' Ahmadinejad told the state news agency IRNA. ''The usurper Zionists thought attack on Lebanon would create a new atmosphere for them in the region,'' Ahmadinejad charged. ''They [the Zionists] have committed a big mistake.''

Since Israel pulled out of Lebanon in 2001, Hezbollah has boasted of its ability to destroy the Jewish state. Now, should Israel succeed in crushing Hezbollah with military force, Syria and Iran face the prospect of a major political setback in the world of radical Islam.

Iran created Hezbollah, dating back to the 1970s when Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadallah, the spiritual leader who created Hezbollah, and Ayatollah Khomeini, who was responsible for the 1979 Iranian revolution, were both exiled in Najaf in Iraq. Najaf remains a key holy city for Shiite Muslims since Najaf is where the Imam Ali lies buried, the brother-in-law of Prophet Muhammed who was the Prophet's first convert. The central division between Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims is that Shiites believe the rightful line of succession from Prophet Muhammed begins with Imam Ali, not the secular caliphates whom the Sunnis have traditionally accepted as rightful leaders.

Today, Iran funds Hezbollah to the tune of $250 million a year.

Syria also has much invested in supporting Hezbollah. In March 2005, after the U.N. held Syria responsible for the assassination of former prime minister Hariri, Syria began to pull out of Lebanon some 25,000 Syrian military troops that had occupied Lebanon since the Lebanese civil war in the 1970s. To appreciate Syria's influence over Lebanon, we should recall that Lebanon's current President Lahoud stayed in power in 2004, beyond his six-year constitutional term, because Syria insisted upon it.

If today, Iran and Syria stand by idly and allow Israel to destroy Hezbollah, both Iran and Syria will suffer major setbacks not only in the region, but worldwide in the esteem of radical Islamic political parties and terrorist organizations.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to the region is being postponed for a few hours, until President Bush has a chance to meet with Saudi Arabian officials, a meeting evidently requested by Saudi Arabia. We have seen Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt – all Sunni states – state their unprecedented open objection to Hezbollah rocket attacks against Israel.

This type of Arab opposition to forces attacking Israel would have been unimaginable in the 1950s, when Egypt's own President Nassar was leading the charge in the Islamic world to wipe Israel from the map. Today, Iran has taken up Nassar's dream. Now the Sunni states fear that Shiite Iran is gaining too much strength in the region, an ascendance which could threaten them next, especially if Iran is somehow successful in fulfilling the threat to wipe Israel from the map. Iran hates the U.S. and Israel first, but right after that, Iran next hates Sunni Muslims, against whom they have been fighting for centuries.

The White House may well hope Saudi Arabia could intervene to get Syria to stand down in their support of Hezbollah. Yet, every day as Israel gains against Hezbollah with military force, the likelihood increases that Syria will have no choice but to enter the war in support of Hezbollah. Syria predictably will call for a cease-fire that would freeze the status quo and stop the Israelis before they gain a decisive military victory over Hezbollah.

We should also remember that Russia is a strong supporter and military supplier to both Iran and Hezbollah. Russia and China have joined in the emerging ''Shanghai Cooperation Organization,'' something we also never expected to see happen thirty years ago. Iran attended the most recent meeting of the group in June 2006, a likely first move toward gaining full membership in what is emerging to be a regional anti-American economic and military pact.

President Bush is allowing Israel some time to attack Hezbollah, fully aware that Israel is doing the ''dirty work'' for us as well, in setting back a key terrorist threat. Yet, increasingly the discussion within the administration is searching for ways to identify an ''end game.'' If President Bush intervenes with Secretary Rice to end this conflict before Israel completes the job of destroying Hezbollah's military capabilities to attack Israel, we will only postpone the ultimate conflict which the Middle East cannot forever avoid.

As long as Ahmadinejad and the radical clerics who support him remain in power in Tehran, the war against Israel will continue. Ultimately, Israel cannot take the existential risk that will arise the moment Iran has the capability to finish the making of a deliverable nuclear weapon. We continue to believe that Iran will succeed enriching uranium to weapons grade by the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007.

If Syria refuses to step down to allow Hezbollah to be destroyed, a wider war in the region is inevitable, one way or the other.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that a war between Iran and Israel is inevitable, possibly only months away, unless Israel is allowed enough time and provided enough weapons to settle some key strategic survival issues right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

I think most Christians, know this already.

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 Syria will react to any Israel military moves near its borders
Damascus, July 24, IRNA


Damascus threatened to wage war against the Zionist regime if its military forces continue massive strikes on Lebanon and areas close to the Syrian borders.

'Syria News' electronic magazine reported this on Sunday quoting Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal.

Lebanese Islamic resistance forces in recent days have repeatedly foiled Zionist army attacks to penetrate Lebanese territories.

Lebanon Hizbollah forces also have stopped the Zionist army from advancing into Lebanese soil and inflicted heavy human and material losses on the aggressors.

In the past 12 days, the Zionist regime has targeted innocent civilians, infrastructural installations and even humanitarian and medical assistance to the war-ravaged people of Lebanon by conducting heavy bombardments.

Syria will react to any Israel military moves near its borders

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Fox news is reporting that a Apache attack helicopter is down.  Burning on the Israel side of the border. The helicopter went down, about 30 minutes ago.

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 Israel's incursions in Lebanon will not bear fruit politically: Hezbollah chief
Beirut, July 24, IRNA

Lebanon-Israel-Hezbollah
Hezbollah chief Seyed Hassan Nasrallah said incursions of Israeli forces in Lebanon will not bear fruit for Tel Aviv officials.

The Lebanese `As-Safir' daily on Monday quoted Nasrallah as saying Israel's ground attacks on Lebanon will not stop Hezbollah from from firing rockets into northern Israel.

He stressed the importance of putting an end to the blistering air and ground strikes of the Zionist regime on Lebanon, and said Hezbollah was ready to hold serious talks and put forward its views after Israel ends its atrocities.

He said there would be no problem if the Lebanese government would take up the responsibility of holding indirect talks for a prisoner swap.

Nasrallah rejected any official intermediary role for German officials with Hezbollah leaders, saying Germany plays an
intermediary role but other channels can be considered.

Asked about the domestic situation in Lebanon after almost two weeks of Israeli missile strikes, the Hezbollah chief said Lebanese groups are politically united and their unity is stronger at the national level.

He praised members of all Lebanese groups and tribes that support Hezbollah in its current struggle against Zionist forces.

Israel's incursions in Lebanon will not bear fruit politically: Hezbollah chief

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 Pakistan-held Kashmir elects new prime minister
Islamabad, July 24, IRNA

Pakistan-Kashmir election
The Legislative Assembly of Pakistan- administered Kashmir on Monday elected Sardar Atiq Ahmed Khan as its new prime minister.

Atiq Ahmed Khan of the Muslim Conference Party secured 35 votes in the 49-member assembly while his rival of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, Ishaq Zafar, bagged eight votes.

Members of the third largest group in the house, the Peoples Muslim League, stayed away from the voting.

Earlier, the members elected Shah Ghulam Qadir of the ruling Muslim Conference as speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Qadir got 35 votes.

His rival of the Peoples Party, Lateef Akbar, bagged eight votes.

The Muslim Conference also won the seat of deputy speaker.

Members-elect of the Legislative Assembly earlier took their oath of office.

Pakistan-held Kashmir elects new prime minister

[Shammu]

Army chief: Nasrallah will be more careful in his next speech

Army chief says that if Hizbullah chief ever returns to Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, 'he will choose his words wisely.' Halutz estimates there are several hundred terrorists, some 500 civilians in Lebanese town
Hanan Greenberg

IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz responded Monday to Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah's statements regarding the fighting in Lebanon, and said that in his next speech the Sheikh will be more careful about what he says.

"Bint Jbeil is a symbol of Hizbullah. Nasrallah gave a speech there and I assume that in his next speech, if there will be one, he will choose his words wisely," said Halutz during a visit to the Tel Hashomer base to meet with new army recruits.

Halutz said he estimates that in the area surrounding Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon there are a few hundred terrorists alongside 500 civilians who didn't evacuate the area despite IDF warnings.

"We are operating there with infantry corps and armored corps with aerial back up. Our goal is to hit the terrorists," the chief of staff said, describing the battles taking place since the morning hours between Maron al-Ras and Jabal Bint Jbal.

The chief of staff visited an IDF recruitment base. New recruits asked the chief of staff on the continuance of IDF activities in Lebanon and wanted to know whether the divisions they would join were already fighting on the northern front.

"Our activities are defined by targets and missions, and this is not a simple thing. But this is the heart of the IDF's operational capability," the chief of staff said.

"The ground activities alone are not designed to change the reality but it supports the other efforts we are making from the air, the sea, and intelligence. The aim is to strike the terrorists capture whoever can be taken. We do not want to kill them but we want them to stop the terror. Whoever says 'enough' and comes out with raised hands, we will be responsible for their fate and treat them as best as possible. The ones paying a heavy price on what is happening in southern Lebanon are residents of the Shiite villages which Hizbullah is holding as hostages. I can say that until now 75 percent of those residents have fled their homes," Halutz said.

Chief of staff chats with new recruits

The chief of staff stressed that the IDF can operate for a long time in Lebanon, as long as necessary, and that there is action plan for long months.

"On the strategic level, enough aims have been obtained so that we have reached a very close level to what we set for ourselves. We are continuing to operate until we receive an order from the government to stop," he said.

Halutz said that "we are collecting goals accomplished every day and are harming the other side. Our measurement is not the number of Katyusha rockets – it could be that on the last day of fighting Katyusha rockets will still fall in Israel. We can't take out the last rockets from southern Lebanon and kill the last of the terrorists, but our central role is to provide a good starting point for the diplomatic process."

The chief of staff said that Hizbullah still had a collection of rockets, mainly short-range, but also long-range rockets. He did not rule out a scenario of the firing of rockets at Gush Dan (greater Tel Aviv) but did not give further details.

Army chief: Nasrallah will be more careful in his next speech

[Shammu]

Iran ‘to retaliate’ if UN gets tough
Published: Monday, 24 July, 2006, 11:39 AM Doha Time

TEHRAN: Iran warned yesterday it would retaliate if the UN Security Council passed a resolution ordering it to stop sensitive nuclear work, but also made a fresh appeal for negotiations "without preconditions".

"Any harsh measures will face a proportionate reaction," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.

"If the other side chooses anything but the path of negotiations, our attitude will change accordingly," he added, without elaborating on how Tehran could retaliate.

The warning came as a draft resolution was circulated in the UN Security Council. If adopted, Iran would be legally obliged to suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, at the centre of fears the country could acquire nuclear weapons.

Iran insists that it only wants to enrich uranium to make reactor fuel, and argues that this is a right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Several senior Iranian officials have already warned that the Islamic republic could end UN inspections and leave the NPT.

"Iran will clearly not give up its rights. Our rights are non-negotiable," Asefi said.

Iran ‘to retaliate’ if UN gets tough