Wars And Rumors Of Wars

[Shammu]

I'm going to post anything that sounds, or read of a war like situation.
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Iran shows off its military might
By Pam O'Toole
17 April 2008
BBC News, Tehran

Iran has been displaying its military power at a ceremony to mark the country's annual army day.

Speaking at the parade, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was the most powerful nation in the world.

The country's strength was such that no major power would dare to challenge its security, he said.

Official media claimed the ceremony included the largest ever show of aerial strength, with a fly past by almost 200 aircraft.

There was also a huge military parade, with missiles displayed on trucks.

Confidence

Top officials have made much of Iran's achievements in being able to maintain and manufacture sophisticated military aircraft or other equipment despite US sanctions against it.

President Ahmadinejad expressed his confidence in the strength of the country's armed forces.

He said Iran was now so powerful that "none of the current world powers are capable of, and have the courage to, threaten the Iranian nation and its interests and security".

The president stressed that Iran's armed forces were purely defensive, but warned that they would respond strongly to any act of aggression.

The parade comes amid continuing tension between Iran and the West over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

It also follows a recent war of words between Iran and Israel, in which an Iranian deputy army commander said that if Israel attacked Iran, it would be eliminated from the global arena.

Iran shows off its military might

[Shammu]

Israeli explores how subs could be used against Iran
By Reuters
17/04/2008

Anticipating a showdown with Iran, Israel decides secretly to deploy a submarine off its coast.

But how? The quickest route from Israel's Mediterranean coast is via the Suez Canal, which runs through Egypt and which the classified vessels shun. So the submarine is hidden in the belly of a commercial tanker, which delivers it to the Gulf.

Such is the plot of an Israeli thriller, "Undersea Diplomacy." Does it hold water? Perhaps not. Then again, the author, Shlomo Erell, is no mere novelist. He's an ex-admiral with experience in Israel's most sensitive military planning.

"It's pure fiction, but it's informed fiction," he said simply, when asked if his book reflects how the Israeli fleet of Dolphin-class submarines could be used against Iran, whose leadership has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," stoking international concern over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Israel has three Dolphins, with two more on order from Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, a German shipyard custom-building them at a steep discount as part of Berlin's bid to shore up a Jewish state founded in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust.

The submarines are a subject of deepest secrecy given speculation that they carry nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.

Many analysts believe the Dolphins are Israel's "second strike" weapons, referring to the Cold War theory that a country can deter foes from launching nuclear attacks by maintaining the ability to retaliate, even after its own territory has been laid waste. A nuclear "platform" out at sea is the best guarantee.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, and independent experts say it is years away from any such capability. Some, in turn, think Israel's expanding submarine fleet may be part of preparations to foil the perceived future threat through force.

"There is nothing on the horizon to suggest Iran would have the capability to knock out Israel's nuclear delivery means," said Sam Gardiner, a retired U.S. air force colonel who stages Middle East wargames for U.S. government and private clients.

The Dolphins, he said, may be part of "a conventional capability to deal with the number of targets Israel believes would need to be struck in a conventional preemptive attack".

Distance no object

Israel sent jets to bomb Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 and has hinted it could do the same against Iranian facilities if U.S.-led diplomatic pressure failed to rein in Tehran's plans.

But the Iraqi raid was on a single site, relatively close to Israel's borders. Targets in Iran might be too numerous and distant for Israel's air force, especially as intermediate Arab states or Turkey would likely refuse overflight rights.

Israel is assumed to have ballistic missiles, yet its small size may make surprise launches impossible: an unannounced missile test in January became news within minutes as the startled residents of nearby towns reported the roaring takeoff.

Submarines could bridge the gap, especially if positioned in Iranian waters. That possibility has given rise to speculation that Israel wants five Dolphins in order to allow for at least one to be at sea at all times while others are being serviced.

The question remains of how far they might travel.

Israeli navy sources say the Dolphins do not use the Suez -- to avoid being inspected by Egyptian harbourmasters. That means that, to reach the Gulf, Israel would either have to resort to fantastical ruses like the one in "Undersea Diplomacy," or send the submarines around Africa -- a month-long trip at least.

Jason Alderwick, a maritime analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, is skeptical.

"I don't buy the idea of a rotation. These submarines have not been purchased with a view to operating in the Gulf," he said. As Dolphins run on conventional rather than nuclear power so require regular refuelling and shore maintenance, he described them as better suited to close Mediterranean missions.

Israel also has access to the Red Sea through Eilat port. But navy sources said there was no plan to dock submarines there because the narrow Red Sea, which is shared with several Arab states, is vulnerable to blockades at the Straits of Tiran.

Deterrents never used

Restricted to the Mediterranean, analysts point out, the Israeli Dolphins could pose a "second-strike" threat to Iran only if they carried nuclear cruise missiles capable of hitting targets as far as 1,500 km (970 miles) away.

Lee Willett of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies noted that Dolphins lacked the vertical tubes used by much bigger Western and Soviet-era submarines to launch ballistic missiles.

Cold War tests showed nuclear warheads are too heavy to be delivered long distances on cruise missiles, so Israel could hit Iran only with conventional warheads if they were fired from the Mediterranean, he said.

A nuclear attack on Iran by a Dolphin, Willett argued, would have to be from the Gulf, which in turn would give away an unsupported submarine's position and probably doom it to being destroyed by surviving Iranian forces.

"The whole point of a deterrent is that it's never used," Willett said. "In designing the Dolphins as a second-strike platform, I imagine the Israelis were thinking 'it's not ideal, but it's the best we've got.'"

Israel does not discuss its nuclear capabilities, under an "ambiguity" policy billed as warding off regional enemies while avoiding the kind of provocations that can trigger arms races.

Erell appeared to support such thinking. The message of his book -- which made a modest splash in Israel, and is currently available only in Hebrew -- was "how to use a submarine without resorting to war."

"It's about affecting statecraft," he said.

Israeli explores how subs could be used against Iran

[Shammu]

Iran training media for Israel-Syria war
The Media Line News Agency , THE JERUSALEM POST    Apr. 17, 2008

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB) has begun a training course for war journalists, who will be sent to Syria and Lebanon in case these countries engage in war with Israel, the Iranian news agency 'A'sr Iran reported.

The course, titled "Training Reporters in Crisis," will be taken by 20 radio and TV reporters.

After graduating the course, the journalists will be placed on call and would be sent to Syria and Lebanon if war breaks out there.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad gave a speech on Wednesday, where he emphasized that while his country was preparing for war with Israel, he felt the odds for war were not high.

"We know that there are those in the American administration who want this war and so we are preparing for the worst," Al-Asad nevertheless added.

The Syrian president said further that the US wanted a civil war in Lebanon and for there to be war between the Arabs and Iran.

For his part, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has recently told the Israeli daily Yedioth Aharonot that Israeli and Syria were exchanging messages.

"I can assure you that with regard to the standing issues between us and the Syrians, they know what I want of them, and I know well what they want from us."

Iran training media for Israel-Syria war

[Shammu]

Olmert: Iran will not be nuclear
By David Landau and Yossi Verter, Haaretz Correspondents
17/04/2008

"I want to tell the citizens of Israel: Iran will not have nuclear capability," said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a pre-Passover interview. According to Olmert, the international community is making an enormous effort, in which Israel has a part, to prevent Iran from attaining nonconventional weapons capabilities. "And I believe, and also know, that the bottom line of these efforts is that Iran will not be nuclear," Olmert said.

In his holiday interview, his first to the print media in a year, Olmert declared that since the Annapolis summit in November, the possibility of reaching an understanding between Israel and the Palestinians during 2008 has grown. The prime minister said that the issue of Jerusalem has not yet been discussed at all, neither in his talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas nor as part of the talks headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni with Ahmed Qureia.

As to Syria, Olmert said: "I know exactly what the Syrians want and I think the Syrians know what the State of Israel and I expect from the peace process."

Olmert said he intented to run again for the leadership of Kadima and to lead the party in the next elections. He did not rule out the possibility of a merger between Kadima and the Labor Party prior to elections.

Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu is not suitable for the post of prime minister, Olmert said, because of his positions. "We remember what happened here when he was prime minister."

Olmert also voiced unequivocal, public backing for Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, calling him devoted to the rule of law. Olmert revealed that a few months ago he asked former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak to head up a committee that would be charged with drafting a law aimed at guaranteeing the independence of the Supreme Court, with Friedman's agreement. According to Olmert, Barak agreed, but later changed his mind.

Olmert: Iran will not be nuclear

[Shammu]

Assad says Syria preparing for possible war with Israel
By Haaretz Service
17/04/2008

Hezbollah's TV station Al-Manar reported on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has said that Syria is preparing for war with Israel as a real possibility.

Assad noted, speaking at a conference in Damascus, however, that he did not expect a conflict between the two states to break out under the current circumstances.

The Syria president also denounced Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's speech in Qatar on Monday, where she stated that a struggle is being fought between moderates and extremists, with the latter attempting to prevent an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal from being reached.

According to Assad, the United States and Israel wish to turn Iran into the enemy of the Arab states. He emphasized that while mistakes may have been made over the supervision of Iranian policies and interests, this cannot be interpreted as meaning Iran is an enemy of the Arab world.

Assad's comments came after recent heightened tensions with Syria, sparked by media reports of Syria having mobilized its reserve forces.

Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence officials subsequently rejected the reports, but did state that there were signs of "nervousness" and alertness on the Syrian Golan Heights - signs that also appeared last spring and continued into the summer.

Assad says Syria preparing for possible war with Israel

[Shammu]

Hizbullah Will Dispatch Israeli Arabs to Attack From Rear in War
April 18, '08
by Ezra HaLevi

(IsraelNN.com) A Syrian newspaper reported that Hizbullah plans to activate masses of Israeli Arab terrorists in the next war.

“A high-ranking Hizbullah official has said the party would launch an offensive on Israel in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 in case the Jewish state wages a new war,” the Iranian Fars News Agency reported in its coverage of the Syrian magazine Al-Hakika’s interview with the unnamed Hizbullah man.

Further elaborating, the Hizbullah planner, a member of the group’s religious “Shura Council,” said, "We would not initiate war but in case they wage any war in the future, there will be a counter attack behind the front lines. And for the first time since 1948 in Palestine itself.”

Israeli-Arabs have increasingly involved in terrorist activities. Former MK Azmi Bishara, one of the most senior and prominent Israeli-Arab representatives, fled Israel after an advanced investigation into treason and assistance to Hizbullah during the Second Lebanon War. Most recently, an Israeli-Arab from Jerusalem carried out the shooting murder of eight yeshiva students at the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva. His parents subsequently set up a mourning tent adorned with the flags of the Hizbullah.

Hizbullah Snatched Mughniyeh’s Body
The official also revealed that the body of terror chief Imad Mughniyeh was whisked away to Hizbullah custody in Lebanon just minutes after he was killed by a car-bomb in Damascus on February 12. He said Syrian President Bashar Assad contacted Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah and begged him to keep the death of Mughniyeh a secret – but Nasrallah refused.

Hizbullah Training Sunni Terrorists at 'Furious Pace'
Hizbullah is training new terrorists, including Sunni Muslims, "at a furious pace," sending them to Iran for 45-day advanced training, the Christian Science Monitor reported. It quoted a terrorist, named Jawad, who said, "The holy fighters are leaving universities, shops, places of work to go and train." Hizbullah traditionally has been popular among the Shi'ite sect of Islam, and attracting support from the Sunnis would make it an even more powerful force in strife-torn Lebanon.

A local commander told the newspaper that the next war against Israel will be offensive, unlike the Second Lebanon War which he called a defensive battle. The next war will be "fought more in Israel than in Lebanon," Jawad asserted.

Hizbullah Will Dispatch Israeli Arabs to Attack From Rear in War

[Shammu]

British intel: China preparing for nuclear war
Analysts say Beijing getting ready for ops beyond Far East
Posted: May 10, 2008
12:30 am Eastern

WorldNetDaily

LONDON – Defense analysts for the British intelligence service MI6 believe China is preparing for the "eventuality of a nuclear war." The conclusion follows evidence that Beijing has built secretly a major naval base deep inside caverns which even sophisticated satellites cannot penetrate.

In an unusual development, the analysts have provided details to the specialist defense periodical, Jane's Intelligence Review, which published satellite images of the base location which is hidden beneath millions of tons of rock on the South China Sea island of Hainan.

The MI6 analysts have confirmed the submarine base hewn out of the rock will contain up to 20 of the latest C94 Jin-Class submarines, each capable of firing anti-satellite missiles and nuclear tipped rockets.

Knocking out the satellites would leave Taiwan, Japan and other countries around the Pacific Rim effectively without a key warning system. An attack also would disrupt vital communications between U.S. battle squadrons in the region and Washington.

Satellite images studied by GCHQ, Britain's spy in the sky intelligence gathering organization based at Cheltenham that works closely with the U.S. National Security Agency, have confirmed the entrance to the base is through no fewer than 11 separate tunnel openings.

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine, one of those in the Typhoon Fleet, now has joined another from the U.S. Pacific Fleet to build up a clear image of what is happening inside the secret base which, as well as China's nuclear subs, could house "a host of aircraft carriers."

Naval intelligence officers in London and Washington have confirmed the discovery of the base will present "a significant challenge to U.S. naval dominance and protection to countries ringing the South China Sea."

The base is sited at Sanya on the southern tip of Hainan island. The island came to the attention of Western intelligence in April 2001, when a U.S. EP-3 spy plane trying to test the island's electronic defenses was forced to land there by Chinese fighters, one of which crashed in the sea killing the pilot.

A Ministry of Defense analyst, who cannot be named for security reasons, believes "this could be the prelude to China preparing for a nuclear response."

[HisDaughter]

Seems the whole world is building up "nucular"-wise...

[Soldier4Christ]

Yep. The nuclear Cold War was never really over. It was just suspended for a short time.

[Soldier4Christ]

'Bush intends to attack Iran'
Israel's Army Radio cites unnamed U.S. official

US denies report on plan to attack Iran

The White House on Tuesday flatly denied an Army Radio report that claimed US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term. It said that while the military option had not been taken off the table, the Administration preferred to resolve concerns about Iran's push for a nuclear weapon "through peaceful diplomatic means."

Army Radio had quoted a top official in Jerusalem claiming that a senior member in the entourage of President Bush, who concluded a trip to Israel last week, had said in a closed meeting here that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were of the opinion that military action against Iran was called for.

The official reportedly went on to say that "the hesitancy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" was preventing the administration from deciding to launch such an attack on the Islamic Republic for the time being.

The Army Radio report, which was quoted by The Jerusalem Post and resonated widely, stated that according to assessments in Israel, the recent turmoil in Lebanon, where Hizbullah has de facto established control of the country, was advancing an American attack.

Bush, the official reportedly said, considered Hizbullah's show of strength to constitute evidence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's growing influence. In Bush's view, the official said, "the disease must be treated - not its symptoms."

However, the White House on Tuesday afternoon dismissed the story. In a statement, it said that "[the US] remain opposed to Iran's ambitions to obtain a nuclear weapon. To that end, we are working to bring tough diplomatic and economic pressure on the Iranians to get them to change their behavior and to halt their uranium enrichment program.

It went on: "As the President has said, no president of the United States should ever take options off the table, but our preference and our actions for dealing with this matter remain through peaceful diplomatic means. Nothing has changed in that regard."

In an address to the Knesset during his visit here last week, Bush said that "the president of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages."

"America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions," Bush said. "Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

[Shammu]

Israel launches 'Iran Command' for war
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:48:04

Israel has reportedly started to set up an 'Iran Command' within its air force as part of preparations for a possible war against Iran.

According to reports by unnamed Israeli military sources, the regime's air force has launched 'Iran Command' to coordinate operations to 'confront the growing threat from Tehran'.

The command's operations are aimed at improving coordination among Israeli ballistic missiles and air and missile brigades which deploy the Arrow and Patriot missile systems.

The report comes amid ramped up Israeli rhetoric against Iran over the country's nuclear program.

Earlier this week, Israeli deputy prime minister Shaoul Mofaz accused Iran of running a nuclear weapons program and threatened to launch a military strike on Iran with the help of US if Tehran continues with its nuclear program.

This is while Iran insists that it is conducting its nuclear program under the regulations of the UN nuclear watchdog and insists that its program is aimed at generating electricity for a growing population.

Israel, believed to be the sole possessor of 'at least 150 nuclear warheads' in the Middle East, seeks to persuade US President George W. Bush to halt Iran's nuclear program by military rather than diplomatic means before the end of his term in office.

Israel launches 'Iran Command' for war

[Shammu]

Only reason this is here is because of the threat, and I didn't feel like starting a new topic.
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Smuggling Network Had Blueprint for Advanced Nuclear Weapon

Sunday , June 15, 2008

A draft report released by a former U.N. weapons inspector found that the international smuggling ring that supplied nuclear designs to Iran, Libya, and North Korea also obtained the blueprints for an advanced nuclear warhead, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

David Albright, a well-known nuclear weapons expert, said that designs for a nuclear device small enough to fit on a ballistic missile were found on computers belonging to the now-defunct smuggling ring of rouge Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.

Khan — who remains under house arrest in Pakistan for selling nuclear technologies — supplied secret nuclear blueprints to Libya, North Korea and Iran, according the Post. The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been conducting an on-going investigation into what other secrets may have sold by A.Q. Khan.

Albright's report said what is troubling about these electronic blueprints — discovered in 2006 on the computer of a Swiss businessman — is that it shows the existence of another, more sophisticated design than the one sold to Libya — better suited the missile capabilities of countries such as Iran.

Swiss authorities, under the direction of the IAEA reportedly destroyed the computer contents, said the Post.

But Albright — who is known for exposing the location of Iran's secret nuclear facilities — warns the electronic blue-prints, made up of hundreds of pages of documents, could easily be copied and shared with a number of countries, according to the newspaper.

"These advanced nuclear weapons designs may have long ago been sold off to some of the most treacherous regimes in the world," Albright wrote in his report, which was obtained by the newspaper.

Albright’s report is expected to be published later this week.

Smuggling Network Had Blueprint for Advanced Nuclear Weapon

[Soldier4Christ]

It looks like a good place to me. This is a definite threat that involves many possibilities in a war that could involve us even on our own land. It is information like this that our enemies have been searching for and most likely already have.

[HisDaughter]

Terrorists admit cease-fire in Gaza will be used to rearm, prepare for battle


The Gaza cease-fire agreed to yesterday by Hamas and Israel is a "victory" for Palestinian "resistance" and will be used by local terrorist groups to rearm and prepare for battle against the Jewish state, top Gaza-based terror leaders told WND.

"We are humiliating the Israelis. They kept threatening to make a huge operation in Gaza, but they were the ones who begged us to go into the cease-fire," said Muhammad Abdel-Al, a leader and spokesman for the Hamas-allied, Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees terror group.

Along with Hamas, the Committees took responsibility for firing nearly 30 mortars and rockets from Gaza into nearby Jewish communities Wednesday, lightly injuring one Israeli woman just hours before the truce went into effect.

"The rocket attacks prove we are not going into this cease-fire from a weak point but from a point of force and power," Abdel-Al said.

Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' so-called military wing, told WND his group will use the truce to rearm itself.

"The hudna (temporary truce) will be used for more training, arming. ... We don't have any intention to stop from bringing in weapons from the Sinai into Gaza," said Abdullah.

He called the cease-fire "one more sign of the collapse of the Israeli army, that this big Israeli army with the so-called best air force in the world didn't succeed to stop the rockets, and they accepted the truce."

The term "hudna," dates back to Islam's founding in the 7th century, when Muhammad declared a 10-year hudna with the tribe that controlled Mecca. Later, after rearming, Muhammad attacked the tribe, claiming it had broken the truce. In 1994, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat invoked Muhammad's hudna when he justified the launch of the second intifada during the Oslo peace process.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy noted in 2003 that Hamas had agreed to 10 cease-fires in the previous decade and returned freshly armed after each one.

"It is important to note," the institute said, "that all cease-fire offers have been presented at a time when Hamas needed a moment to step back and regroup after an organizationally exhausting confrontation with a more powerful foe (either Israel or the PA)."

Israeli security officials have warned in briefings to the Knesset that Hamas would use the truce to rearm itself and strengthen its forces for an ultimate Israeli military incursion into Gaza. The officials said more Israeli troops would likely die fighting in Gaza because of the off-time Hamas is likely to use to prepare itself for battle.

The Gaza cease-fire officially went into effect at 6 a.m. Jerusalem time yesterday. Israel has said it will hold off all military operations in Gaza in exchange for a complete cessation of Palestinian rocket attacks and violence.

Hamas, for its part, reportedly instructed its members to refrain from carrying out any attacks.

If the truce holds through the weekend, Israel said it would ease its blockade of Gaza by allowing a larger number of shipments to enter and may open border crossings closed in recent months.

In a statement issued as the truce went into effect, Hamas' military wing warned Israel the cease-fire was "not in anyway a free gift" and said it is ready to resume attacks:

"[Hamas'] Qassam Brigades is fully ready to launch a military strike that would shake the Zionist entity if they did not abide by all the items of the calm deal and the Zionist enemy would be responsible for any foolish act they may commit," the statement said.

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/June20/2024.html

[Soldier4Christ]

This is a "give-me". It is what they have done each and every time that they needed to "rearm". Of course Israel will be looked down on if they don't recognize the cease-fire.