News items that look towards Ezekiel 38 & 39

[Shammu]

Al-Qaida makes Lebanon flashpoint
Analyst expects attack on Israel to result
Posted: December 24, 2008
8:24 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Al-Qaida and other Sunni Salafist forces are gathering in Lebanon at the instigation of Saudi Arabia, making the country a potential flashpoint for a future Middle East conflict and a candidate for certain destruction.

Security officials for months have seen an infiltration of al-Qaida from Iraq. Elements of the radical Muslim group have been moving into various Palestinian camps in Lebanon, particularly Ein-el-Hilweh near Sidon south of the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Sidon is the largest Palestinian camp in Lebanon with some 70,000 people.

"Lebanon quickly is becoming the base from which al-Qaida will launch an attack against Israel," declared one security analyst. "It will also lead to Lebanon's destruction."

The incoming al-Qaida fighters are thought to be under the cover of the Usbat al-Ansar, a sympathetic group that resides at the camp.

According to security officials, the Usbat al-Ansar also has arranged for past operational meetings between the Sunni al-Qaida and the Shiite Hezbollah which resides in Lebanon but is under Iranian and Syrian influence.

The Lebanese Armed Forces are not allowed into the Ein-el-Hilweh camp to pursue alleged terrorists or their sympathizers.

However, those LAF soldiers last year pursued another al-Qaida-related group, the Sunni Fatah al-Islam, at the Nahr-el-Bared camp in northern Lebanon near Tripoli, destroying much of the camp in the process but eliminating their presence.

The influx of al-Qaida into Lebanon was prompted by Syria's departure in April 2005 following the assassination in February that year of former Prime Minister of Rafiq al-Hariri, who was close to the Saudis.

The Saudis blame the Syrians for his assassination. Since that time, relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia have been tense.

The increasing presence of al-Qaida in Lebanon has strengthened the Salafists who are backed by the Sunnis against the Shiites in northern Lebanon. This has been done at the instigation of Saudi Arabia which supports the Salafists and their offshoot, the Wahhabis.

In turn, the Saudis have been backed by the United States in support of Lebanon's Sunni Prime Minister, Fuad Siniora, in partnership with Saad Hariri, who heads the Sunni Future Movement.

[Shammu]

7 missiles ready to be fired at Israel found in south Lebanon
By Haaretz Service
25/12/2008

Lebanese authorities discovered seven missiles aimed at Israel in southern Lebanon, an official Lebanese news agency reported Thursday. The missiles are currently under inspection to determine whether they were enabled for launch, and they will subsequently be dismantled, the news agency reported.

The missiles were found five kilometers from Lebanon's border with Israel, in an area which is considered a Hezbollah stronghold but is officially under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701. Under the terms of the UN resolution, it is forbidden to station weapons in this area.

Two senior officers said that the rockets' timers were activated, and one of the officers said the rockets were to have been fired overnight Thursday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of military rules.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has previously announced that the Lebanese militia Hezbollah had tripled its rocket and missile arsenal since the eve of the 2006 Second Lebanon War, which it waged with Israel in southern Lebanon.

Earlier this month, Syrian President Bashar Assad told a number of foreign ministers and senior European diplomats with whom he met over the last month that he does not intend to "lift a finger" to restrain Hezbollah's arming in Lebanon. "I am not Israel's bodyguard," he reportedly said.

7 missiles ready to be fired at Israel found in south Lebanon

[Shammu]

Egypt slams Israeli 'murder' in Gaza, summons ambassador

59 mins ago
AFP Mona Salem

Egypt condemned as "murder" Israel's Saturday air raids on Gaza that killed at least 205 Palestinians, opening its Rafah border crossing with the territory to allow the wounded through for treatment.

"We call for an immediate end to Israeli military operations. We cannot allow these attacks to continue. We cannot permit the murder of Palestinians," Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on state television.

Egypt, the only Arab state along with Jordan to have signed a peace deal with Israel, summoned Ambassador Shalom Cohen to demand an end to the bombardment that has also left hundreds wounded.

"We summoned the Israeli ambassador and we said we refuse this aggression and we demanded an immediate end to it," foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told AFP.

Abul Gheit telephoned his US, Russian and French counterparts -- Condoleezza Rice, Sergei Lavrov and Bernard Kouchner -- and urged them to call for an end to Israeli operations that should be "reciprocal" with Hamas, a statement said.

Earlier, President Hosni Mubarak condemned "the Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip and blames Israel, as an occupying force, for the victims and the wounded."

He ordered the Rafah crossing -- the only one bypassing Israel -- to be opened so that the wounded could be treated in Egyptian hospitals.

Dozens of wounded have already passed through, with hundreds more expected, state media reported.

A security official said helicopters were being sent to Rafah to fly some of the wounded to hospitals in Cairo.

Abdel Fadil Shusha, governor of North Sinai province, which adjoins Gaza, said he has sent six ambulances to the Rafah crossing.

Amr Mussa, secretary general of the Cairo-based Arab League, called an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers "to discuss the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip."

League ambassadors will meet on Saturday, and Arab foreign ministers on Sunday, the league said.

Mussa also asked Libya, as a member of the United National Security Council, to organise an emergency meeting on the subject of the Israeli raids.

Qatar, meanwhile, called for a summit of Arab League leaders in the coming days to "discuss the Israeli aggressions and savage raids on the Gaza Strip and to adopt an Arab position" on the matter, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Egypt has reinforced security on its frontier with Gaza by deploying 500 anti-riot police, a security official told AFP.

On Friday, Egypt had already stepped up border security in case Gazans broke through the boundary fence and entered Egypt in their thousands, as happened in January when activists opened breaches with explosives.

Egypt mediated a six-months truce between Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement which controls the Gaza strip.

Since the truce expired on December 19, Egypt has been trying to broker its renewal and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni visited Cairo for talks on Thursday.

While in Egypt, Livni vowed to strike back at Hamas as a sharp escalation of violence in Gaza dashed hopes of a new truce.

The spiritual guide of Egypt's Islamist opposition, the Muslim Brotherhood, condemned Saturday's raids as "a crime without comparison in history," adding that "the world looks on and does nothing."

Countering criticism that Egypt might have told Hamas Israel was not about to launch an attack, Abul Gheit said "Israel told the international community and its officials told the whole world of their intentions."

Abul Gheit accused Hamas of having aborted Egyptian efforts to avoid an Israeli attack on Gaza.

On Thursday, he had said the government was preparing to invite Hamas and its secular rival Fatah, which rules the occupied West Bank, to Cairo to resume dialogue.

Hamas boycotted reconciliation talks that were due to take place in Cairo in November, to protest the "political detentions" of some of its members in the West Bank by Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Egypt slams Israeli 'murder' in Gaza, summons ambassador

[Shammu]

Syria condemns Israeli strikes on Gaza as "heinous crime"
2008-12-28 00:04:33

    DAMASCUS, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Syria condemned on Saturday the Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip as a "heinous crime and convicted terrorist act," the official SANA news agency reported.

    "Syria follows, with deep concern, the brutal Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza and stresses that what is going on is a heinous crime and convicted terrorist act," an official source was quoted as saying.

    "Syria condemns this appalling crime and calls on the Arab nations and the international community to use all available means to pressure Israel to stop this aggression immediately, allow the transfer of the injured and insure them the medical care, and open all crossings to allow access of foodstuffs and health needs to the besieged Palestinian people," added the source.

    The source said Syria, in its capacity as head of the current session of the Arab summit, calls upon Arab leaders to hold an emergency summit to discuss the grave situation in Gaza.

    The statement came hours after Israel launched airstrikes into Gaza in retaliation against Hamas' continued artillery fire at southern Israel.

    At least 195 people in the besieged enclave have reportedly been killed in the recent wave of Israeli airstrikes.

    Israeli military said it was ready to continue intensified operations against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip for as long as necessary.

Syria condemns Israeli strikes on Gaza as "heinous crime"

[Shammu]

EU calls for ceasefire after Israel airstrike on Gaza
The European Union has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes killed and injured hundreds.
 
Last Updated: 2:10PM GMT 27 Dec 2008

The French presidency of the European Union called for an immediate halt to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The EU presidency "expresses greatest concern at the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and deplores the very large number of civilian victims," a statement said.

Israeli war planes and combat helicopters pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 155 people and prompting rocket fire from Palestinian militants that killed an Israeli, medics said.

"We are very concerned at the events in Gaza. We call for an immediate ceasefire and urge everybody to exert maximum restraint," a spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said. "Everything must be done to renew the truce," he added.

In London a Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are deeply concerned by the reports of deaths and injuries of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip following the recent Israeli air strikes."

The White House said that Hamas must end terrorist activities while urging Israel to avoid civilian casualties.

Russia's foreign ministry said that Moscow "believes it is necessary to halt immediately the large-scale acts of force against the Gaza Strip, which have already caused considerable victims and suffering amongst the Palestinian population".

Arab foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on Sunday or Monday to take a common position on Israeli raids while Libya, the only Arab country on the UN Security Council, will seek an urgent meeting of the council, Secretary-General Amr Moussa has said.

Egypt condemned Israel's attacks and called for renewed efforts to restore the truce with Hamas. Egypt also opened its border with the Gaza Strip to receive Palestinian wounded.

EU calls for ceasefire after Israel airstrike on Gaza

[Shammu]

World leaders call for halt to violence
Dec. 27, 2008
AP, jpost.com staff and Jonny Paul , THE JERUSALEM POST

World leaders appealed for a halt to violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip on Saturday after at least 190 Palestinians were killed in an IDF offensive against Hamas and dozens of rockets were launched into Israel in response, killing one and wounding several others.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he was "deeply alarmed" by the vlence and bloodshed, and called on both sides to restore calm.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed concern with the situation in Gaza and called on Palestinian terrorists to halt rocket attacks on Israel.

"I call on Gazan militants to cease all rocket attacks on Israel immediately. These attacks are designed to cause random destruction and to undermine the prospects of peace talks led by Palestinian Authority President [Mahmoud] Abbas."

He said that while he understood the Israeli government's sense of obligation to its population," he was "deeply concerned" following the Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip and that Israel must "do everything in its power" to avoid civilian casualties.

Both Russia and the European Union called on both sides to cease hostility immediately, while France's President Nicolas Sarkozy went further in his criticism calling Israel's reaction to Hamas's provocations "disproportionate."

Quartet Representative Tony Blair said: "The terrible events and tragic loss of life in Gaza require, in the immediate term, the introduction of a genuine calm in which the rocket attacks aimed at killing Israeli civilians and the Israeli attacks on Gaza cease so that the suffering of the people, which is severe, can be lifted."

The White House also issued a statement calling to end the violence but put the onus on responsibility on Hamas, saying Israel had the right to defend its border.

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi also urged Israelis and Palestinians to renounce violence and seek a peaceful solution to their conflict, saying Israel's offensive will be a "very serious blow" to Hamas but could also cause many innocent victims and damage peace prospects in the Holy Land.

The Arab world reacted in shock to the attacks on the Gaza Strip, with scattered protests around the region and Egypt summoning the Israeli ambassador to express its condemnation of the air strikes.

In a statement from the president's office, Egypt condemned Israel's attacks and held it responsible for those killed and wounded and called for renewed efforts to restore the truce with Hamas.

"Egypt will forge ahead with its contacts to create a favorable atmosphere for renewing the truce and attaining inter-Palestinian reconciliation in a bid to end the suffering of the Palestinian people," the statement said.

But the Egyptian leadership was also highly critical of Hamas, with Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit saying the organization had ignored Israeli warnings that rocket attacks must stop.

Egypt also opened its border with the Gaza Strip to receive Palestinian wounded.

Egypt's closure of that border has been condemned by many in the Arab world for abetting Israel's siege of the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip.

Arab League head Amr Moussa, meanwhile, called for an emergency meeting of all Arab foreign ministers in Cairo Sunday to address the crisis.

Hundreds of protesters in the Jordanian capital of Amman demonstrated in front of the nearby UN headquarters, waving Hamas banners and condemning Israel's strikes.

King Abdullah II called for an immediate halt "all military actions" in a statement issued by the royal palace, saying the attacks "targeted innocents among the civilians including women and children."

The king warned that "violence will only escalate the crisis and will not bring security to Israel."

In Beirut, dozens of youths hit the streets to express solidarity with the Palestinians and set fire to tires. Larger demonstrations were planned later in the day in Shiite suburbs and in south Lebanon's massive Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.

In Syria's al-Yarmouk camp, outside Damascus, dozens of Palestinians also protested the attack as well, vowing to continue fighting Israel.

"It's a Zionist holocaust, but it won't dissuade us from going on with our struggle to achieve our goals," said Ali Barakah, 42, one of the protesters.

World leaders call for halt to violence

[Shammu]

Russia calls for an immediate end to Mideast violence
Middle East News

Dec 27, 2008, 14:18 GMT

Moscow - Moscow added its voice Saturday to calls for an immediate end to Middle East violence after the Israeli airstrikes that left scores dead in the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko called on Israel to end its 'combat activities which have already led to great loss and suffering among the peaceful Palestinian population.'

At the same time he called on the Hamas organisation to stop its rocket attacks against Israeli territory.

Nesterenko stressed that the problems of the Middle East had to be solved at the negotiating table. An international conference is due to go ahead in Moscow in the New Year.

Russia calls for an immediate end to Mideast violence

[Shammu]

Russia selling missiles to Syria, Egypt

Business daily reports Russia begins to fulfill $250 million weapons deal to deliver surface-to-air missiles seven countries including Syria, Egypt, Libya and Venezuela

AFP
Published:    12.26.08, 14:29 / Israel News

Russia has begun to fulfil a 250-million-dollar contract to deliver surface-to-air missiles to seven countries including Libya, Syria and Venezuela, the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday.

Russia will also deliver the S-125 Pechora-2M missile batteries to Egypt, Myanmar, Vietnam and Turkmenistan under the contract, the newspaper said, citing a source in the state-owned Russian Technologies corporation.

Contacted by AFP, a spokeswoman for the company declined to comment. Russian Technologies includes arms exporter Rosoboronexport among its holdings. The paper did not say which parties had signed the contract.

The Pechora-2M - known as the SA-3A Goa in NATO parlance - is an upgraded version of a surface-to-air missile originally developed in the 1960s that was widely shared with the Soviet Union's allies around the world.

Under the contract, 200 missiles are to be delivered including 70 for Egypt, an unnamed manager at a Russian defence-industry factory told Vedomosti. He added that most would be built at the Obukhov factory in Saint Petersburg.

"It is a simple but effective system, like the Kalashnikov assault rifle," he said of the Pechora.

Russia selling missiles to Syria, Egypt
~~~~~~~~~~~~

All the players from Ezekiel 38 & 39 are linking, just as the Bible tells us. Praise God, for His mercies to us.

[nChrist]

Hello DreamWeaver,

Brother Bob, you're right! - All the pieces of the Bible Prophecy puzzle are coming together. It's almost amazing to watch. We can read about it first in the Holy Bible.

Love In Christ,
Tom

John 6:37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

[Shammu]

Hello DreamWeaver,

Brother Bob, you're right! - All the pieces of the Bible Prophecy puzzle are coming together. It's almost amazing to watch. We can read about it first in the Holy Bible.

Love In Christ,
Tom

John 6:37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

AMEN!!

[Shammu]

Attack on Israel from Lebanon threatens 2nd front
By Arthur Max And Ibrahim Barzak, Associated Press Writers
Thu Jan 8, 6:39 pm ET

JERUSALEM – The U.N. suspended food deliveries to Gaza and the Red Cross accused Israel of blocking medical assistance after forces fired on aid workers, killing two, as the threat of a wider conflict emerged with Lebanon.

With violence unabated in Gaza, key Arab nations and Western powers reached an agreement Thursday on the main elements of a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire between the two sides. It must still be voted on by the U.N. Security Council.

Israel and Hamas are not party to the agreement and it will be up to them to stop their military activities. But the resolution — which would allow for the opening of border crossings to Gaza — was supported by the United States, Israel's closest ally, and Arab nations which have close ties to Hamas.

Militants in Lebanon fired several Katyusha rockets into northern Israel early Thursday, including one that tore through the roof of a nursing home and injured two people. Israel responded swiftly raising the possibility of a two-front conflict.

About 750 Palestinians and 12 Israelis have died in the 13 days of fighting in Gaza, an assault launched by Israel in an attempt to halt rocket fire from the territory, which is controlled by the militant group Hamas.

The conflict has left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza increasingly desperate for food, water, fuel and medical assistance, and the situation was expected to worsen as humanitarian efforts fall victim to the fighting.

Simon Horner, of the European Commission aid department, said 60 percent of Gaza's 1.4 million people have no electricity, and fewer people every day have access to clean water. The sewage system is in danger of a failing, which could lead to an outbreak of disease, and medical services were under severe stress.

"The inability of the U.N. to provide assistance in this worsening humanitarian crisis is unacceptable," said Michele Montas, a U.N. spokeswoman.

She said according to reports, the attack on the U.N. truck, which killed two Palestinian workers, took place during a three-hour humanitarian lull announced by the Israel Defense Force. Four U.N Relief and Works Agency local staff have been killed in the conflict.

In Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it would restrict aid operations to Gaza City for at least one day after one of its convoys came under Israeli fire at the Netzarim crossing during the three-hour lull in fighting Thursday. One driver was lightly injured.

The World Health Organization said 21 Palestinian medical workers have been killed and 30 more injured since Israel began its offensive.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it cooperates closely with foreign aid groups to help civilians, and said Hamas uses civilians as human shields.

The international Red Cross also accused Israel of hindering rescuers from reaching areas devastated in the battles. Ambulances could not get to the Zeitoun neighborhood for four days because the Israelis had blocked access with large earthen barriers, officials said.

When they were allowed in Wednesday, the rescuers "found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses. They were too weak to stand up on their own. One man was also found alive, too weak to stand up," the ICRC said in a rare public statement. "In all, there were at least 12 corpses lying on mattresses" in one of the houses.

During the lull in fighting Thursday, Palestinian health officials dug out 35 bodies from several areas around Gaza that had been engulfed by battles or struck by Israeli air attacks since Israel launched its offensive against Hamas, said Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry.

At least 24 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Thursday, including three elderly people fleeing their home, according to Hassanain. He estimated the death toll around 750, and U.N officials say about half were civilians.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed in combat, raising the number of soldiers killed in Gaza to 10. Four Israelis, including one soldier, also have been killed by rockets fired at Israeli cities.

Gaza militants unleashed 24 missiles at southern Israel on Thursday, wounding four people.

Egyptian-led diplomatic cease-fire efforts showed no immediate breakthroughs. Israeli representatives concluded talks in Cairo and returned home, one day after Hamas leaders reviewed the French-Egyptian plan that might offer a role in Gaza to the rival Palestinian Authority.

Israel's government said Wednesday it viewed the proposal positively, but only if it guaranteed a halt to rocket fire on Israeli territory from Gaza and ensured Hamas cannot rearm. A Hamas official said the Islamic militant group was not ready to either accept or reject the plan.

But Mohammed Nazzal, a member of Hamas' Damascus-based political leadership, said, "We will never raise the white banner. I believe there are going to be fierce battles and the resistance factions will fight house to house, street to street and neighborhood to neighborhood."

Israel launched a ferocious air assault on Gaza Dec. 27 to disable Palestinian militants and cripple the Hamas movement.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the shooting at the U.N. aid vehicle. U.N. spokesman gotcha98 Abu Hasna said the truck was heading toward the Erez border crossing to pick up supplies and had coordinated the delivery with Israel.

"We've been coordinating with them (Israeli forces) and yet our staff continue to be hit and killed," said Chris Gunness of UNRWA, which has been helping Gaza refugees since 1949. he said.

The deaths follow Israel's killing of at least 39 people at a U.N. school where hundreds of people had sought refuge from the relentless air and ground attacks. Israel said its troops were returning fire toward a squad of militants who fired mortars at its troops, then ran toward the school to hide among the refugees.

Two hours after Thursday's shooting on the truck, Israel ordered a three-hour halt in its offensive for the second day in a row to allow aid into the territory. Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said 89 trucks of food were unloaded, along with 83,000 gallons (315,000 liters) of fuel.

The two 3-hour breaks in the offensive provided rare windows for Gazans to buy from the dwindling supplies in the shops, and for rescuers to scour the ruins of entire neighborhoods for unreported casualties. Hassanain, the health official, said 20 more bodies were uncovered during Wednesday's mini-truce, in addition to the 35 found Thursday.

Israel had been braced for a resumption of hostilities on its northern border, anticipating that Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon would try to come to the aid of its Gaza ally, Hamas.

Nonetheless, the four rockets that hit the town of Nahariya created panic. "We are all a bit traumatized at the moment," said Sarit Arieli, 44, standing outside the nursing home that had been hit a few hours earlier.

Hezbollah, which fought Israel to a standstill in a 34-day war in 2006 and is now a key faction in the Lebanese government, denied it was responsible for the rockets. Speculation focused on small Palestinian groups, which have rocketed Israel twice since the end of the Lebanon conflict. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora condemned the attack.

Israeli leaders tried to keep a lid on northern tensions, calling it a one-time incident and welcoming Lebanon's condemnation.

Attack on Israel from Lebanon threatens 2nd front

[Shammu]

Government in Turkey turns squeamish on defense ties with Israel
January 7, 2009

ANKARA — The increasingly Islamist leadership in Turkey has been placed on the defenseive by the parliament over extensive defense relations with Israel. 

The government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has denied signing weapons deals with Israel during its invasion of the Gaza Strip, following condemnations of the Jewish state.

"There are no contracts or agreements in the time being with the Israeli side," Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said.

Gonul and other senior officials have been questioned by parliament over reports of an Israeli-Turkish defense project, Middle East Newsline reported. Under the reported $160 million deal, Israel would supply airborne reconnaissance systems to Turkey's military.

"This was years ago, and its articles are irrelevant to the regrettable developments in Gaza," Gonul said on Jan. 6.

Turkey's media have reported that Israel and Turkey were engaged in $1.8 billion of defense projects in 2007. The projects were said to include unmanned aerial vehicles, airborne systems and a main battle tank upgrade.

"No military agreement was signed [with Israel] during our governments," Gonul said.

The Israeli-Hamas war has sparked condemnations of the Jewish state by Erdogan and parliament. Over the last week, hundreds of Turkish parliamentarians have resigned from a friendship association with Israel.

At the same time, Turkey has been cooperating in U.S.-led efforts to block weapons shipments to and from Iran. Ankara has reported seizing an Iranian shipment to Venezuela believed to contain equipment that could produce explosives. The shipment was seized in the Mediterranean port of Mersin.

"Experts from Turkey's Atomic Institute determined there were no traces of radioactive material, but said the equipment was sufficient to establish an explosives lab," Suleiman Tosun, a Turkish customs official, said. "We have asked the military to send experts to determine whether to resume the shipment."

Government in Turkey turns squeamish on defense ties with Israel

[Shammu]

Russia plans navy bases in Libya, Syria,Yemen
01.17.09

In a sign of Moscow's growing foreign policy ambitions, military official says plan to be implemented within a few years 'without question'

Russia has decided to establish naval bases in Libya, Syria and Yemen within a few years, Itar-Tass news agency quoted military officials as saying on Friday, in a sign of Moscow's growing foreign policy ambitions.
 
"It is difficult to say how much time it will take to create the bases for our fleet in these countries, but within a few years this will be done without question," a military official was quoted as saying.

"The political decision on this question has been taken," the official said. A spokesman for the Russian navy could not immediately be reached for comment.

A senior general said it was too early to name any foreign ports that could host Russian bases.

"There are negotiations conducted with foreign governments. Such publications (on bases) may have a negative effect on the way of these talks," Itar-Tass quoted the Russian army's deputy chief of staff, Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, as saying.

The Kremlin is seeking to play a more assertive role in world politics and has been using its military to project its new-found confidence beyond its borders.

Analysts have said that the Syrian port of Tartus could be revived as a Russian naval base. During the Cold War, the Soviet navy had a permanent presence in the Mediterranean, using Tartus as a supply point.

Russian media reported that opening a naval base in the Libyan port of Benghazi was among the main issues discussed during Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's visit to Moscow in October last year.

Nogovitsyn said it was unclear when Russian naval bases abroad could open. "No one can forecast when this problem will be solved," he told Itar-Tass. "We need permanent bases, and this is very costly. You have to thoroughly calculate it all."

Russia had to vacate the Cam Ranh base in Vietnam in 2002 because its rent was becoming a burden for the state coffers.

"Now we have learnt to count our money," Nogovitsyn said.

Russia plans navy bases in Libya, Syria,Yemen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the other bases Russia has, or has planned, this almost circles Israel from the North, South, East, and West. Biblical prophecy will come true, no matter what man thinks!!

[Shammu]

Iran, Russia to Boost Defense Cooperation
2009-02-15

TEHRAN (FNA)- Tehran and Moscow are to review ways to enhance military cooperation during an upcoming visit to Russia by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar.

According to the Iranian defense ministry, Najjar is scheduled to travel to Moscow on Monday to discuss military and technical cooperation and review implementation of agreements already signed by the two countries.

He is also slated to pay a visit to Russian defense industries.

The Iranian defense minister is also due to discuss possibility for more military agreements between Tehran and Moscow in his meetings with Russian officials.

Tehran and Moscow have expanded ties in bilateral, regional and international grounds and Iran is one of Russia's defense products customers.

Iranian defense minister had earlier said that Tehran would elaborate on the potential Russian sale of advanced surface-to-air missiles when the occasion is ripe.

He added that Iran would never hesitate in purchasing any cutting-edge equipment that it deems necessary for its defense, while noting that any new developments in this field would be made public when the time is right.

His remarks came as Washington pressed Russia to end the confusion surrounding the delivery of the strategic S-300 missile system to Iran.

The advanced version of the S-300 missile system, called S-300PMU1 (SA-20 Gargoyle), has a range of over 150 km (over 100 miles) and can intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft at low and high altitudes.

The reports that Russia had started to supply S-300 systems to Iran and the Russian state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport's confirmation that it is supplying Iran with a number of defensive systems, have raised concerns in the US and Israel which have consistently refused to rule out the possibility of military action against Tehran.

The systems could greatly improve Iranian defenses against any air strike on its strategically important sites, including nuclear facilities.

Iran recently took delivery of 29 Russian-made Tor-M1 air defense missile systems under a $700-million contract signed in late 2005. Russia has also trained Iranian Tor-M1 specialists, including radar operators and crew commanders.

Iran, Russia to Boost Defense Cooperation

[Shammu]

Russia, Libya sign warship contract worth up to $200 mln
10/ 03/ 2009
   
MOSCOW, March 10 (RIA Novosti) - Libya has signed with Russia a contract worth up to an estimated $200 million to buy three missile boats, a Russian military journal reported on Tuesday.

A contract with Vietnam for the Project 12418 Molniya missile attack boats valued the vessels at $45 million apiece without weapons, so the Libyan contract could be worth a minimum $150 million, and as much as $200 million with arms and spare parts, said Mikhail Barabanov, science editor of the Eksport Vooruzheny (Arms Export) journal.

Russian-Libyan military cooperation was unfrozen when then-President Vladimir Putin visited Tripoli last April, with relations further strengthened by Muammar Gaddafi's subsequent visit to Moscow.

During Putin's visit, the two countries signed a deal to write off $4.6 billion of Libya's debt in exchange for a host of new deals, including $2 billion in arms agreements.

The Molniya contract was awarded to the Rybinsk-based Vympel shipyard.

No further details are currently available on the deal.

Russia, Libya sign warship contract worth up to $200 mln