LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 21/2012
Bible Quotation for today/False
Teachers
02 Peter 02/01-22: "False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in
the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in
destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and
so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction. Even so, many will follow
their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others will speak evil of the
Way of truth. In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of
telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and
their Destroyer has been wide awake! God did not spare the angels who
sinned, but threw them into hell, where they are kept chained in darkness,
waiting for the Day of Judgment. God did not spare the ancient world, but
brought the flood on the world of godless people; the only ones he saved were
Noah, who preached righteousness, and seven other people. God condemned the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them with fire, and made them an
example of what will happen to the godless. He rescued Lot, a good man, who was
distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people. That good man lived among
them, and day after day he suffered agony as he saw and heard their evil
actions. And so the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and
how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of Judgment, especially
those who follow their filthy bodily lusts and despise God's authority.
These false teachers are bold and arrogant, and show no respect for the glorious
beings above; instead, they insult them. Even the angels, who are so much
stronger and mightier than these false teachers, do not accuse them with insults
in the presence of the Lord. But these people act by instinct, like wild animals
born to be captured and killed; they attack with insults anything they do not
understand. They will be destroyed like wild animals, and they will be paid with
suffering for the suffering they have caused. Pleasure for them is to do
anything in broad daylight that will satisfy their bodily appetites; they are a
shame and a disgrace as they join you in your meals, all the while enjoying
their deceitful ways! They want to look for nothing but the chance to commit
adultery; their appetite for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into
a trap. Their hearts are trained to be greedy. They are under God's curse! They
have left the straight path and have lost their way; they have followed the path
taken by Balaam son of Beor, who loved the money he would get for doing wrong
and was rebuked for his sin. His donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the
prophet's insane action. These people are like dried-up springs, like clouds
blown along by a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest
darkness. They make proud and stupid statements, and use immoral bodily lusts to
trap those who are just beginning to escape from among people who live in error.
They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive
habits—for we are slaves of anything that has conquered us. If people have
escaped from the corrupting forces of the world through their knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are again caught and conquered by them,
such people are in worse condition at the end than they were at the beginning.
It would have been much better for them never to have known the way of
righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that
was given them. What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: A dog
goes back to what it has vomited and A pig that has been washed goes back to
roll in the mud.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous
sources
Iran already started a
war, a cold one between Israel, U.S./By Sefi Rachlevsky/Haaretz/March 20/12
Toulouse shootings shows hatred has more than one
source/By
Jean-Yves Camus/Haaretz/March 20/12
Obama's Risky
Ploy - Iran/By:
Leslie J. Sacks/March
20/12
The battle of history/By: Hazem Saghiyeh/March 20/12
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
March 20/12
Barak Warns about Hizbullah’s Nonstop Plans to Target Jews
Hizbullah Suspect to Appear in Thai Court on Weapons
Charge
Maronite MPs Bkirki meeting postponed, station reports
Merhebi: Lebanese cabinet an ‘accomplice’ to crimes
against Syrians
Cohen Arrives in Beirut for Talks with Top Officials
U.S. Treasury official meets Mikati
Geagea Says Aoun Attacking LF to Shift Attention from His
Ministers 'Catastrophic Failure'
“Tawfiq Taha is Al-Qaeda’s number one in Lebanon,” a
security source told The Daily Star.
Ain al-Hilweh calm
following anti-Lebanese Army protests
Jumblat: Syrian Crisis Can Only Be Solved through
Overthrowing its Regime
Sleiman says Lebanon model of dialogue between cultures
Phalange: We Condemn Attempts to Harm the Army as it
Represents Lebanon’s Unity
Another Tabarja building collapses, no injuries
Obama Condemns 'Electronic Curtain' in Iran
Peres to Iran: Return to your Persian heritage of culture,
not missiles
Khamenei: Iran can withstand global diplomatic, economic
pressure
."Cruel" gunman filmed French school carnage: minister
Gunman may have filmed killings at French school; hunt for
killer intensifies
French police suspect neo-Nazi link to attack on Toulouse
Jewish school
EU's Ashton: I did not parallel Toulouse attack to Gaza
deaths
Lieberman: Ashton's comparison of Toulouse attack to Gaza
deaths 'inappropriate'
Lavrov: Lebanon, Russia
on same page regarding Iran, peace process
Lavrov Meets Mansour: Russia to Support Ultimatum-Free
U.N. Statement on Syria
Russia calls on Syria, rebels to hold daily truces
Clashes hit Syrian capital; West wants united front
Syria rebels quit
eastern city, army on offensive
Attacks in 8 Iraq
cities kill 46 ahead of summit
Hizbullah Suspect to Appear in Thai Court on Weapons Charge
by Naharnet /A Lebanese man with alleged links to Hizbullah arrested in Thailand
will appear in court Wednesday on charges of breaking weapons control laws, a
senior prosecutor said.
Atris Hussein, who is also believed to have a Swedish passport, was arrested in
Bangkok in January and police later found a large amount of chemicals that could
be used to make a bomb at an address he rented. "Prosecutors agreed to charge
him with breaking weapons control laws," Pongniwat Yuthaponboripan, director
general of the department of criminal litigation, told Agence France Presse
Tuesday.
Ammonium nitrate is commonly used in agriculture, but mixed with other
substances can make a bomb. Possession of the chemical requires a permit in
Thailand. Pongniwat said police investigators had concluded one charge against
him and, depending on the evidence, he could later also be charged with
terrorism. The court will hear his plea on Wednesday. Prior to Hussein's arrest,
the United States had warned of a "serious" threat of a terrorist attack on
tourist areas in Bangkok. The country has been further shaken by a string of
botched blasts in the capital on February 14 in an alleged plot to kill Israeli
diplomats. Thai police are holding two Iranians, one of whom was badly hurt as
he hurled a bomb at police while fleeing. Another suspect was detained in
Malaysia, while arrest warrants have been issued for two more Iranians believed
to have left the country. Israel has blamed Iran over the Bangkok blasts, as
well as attacks on Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia a day earlier.Thai
police have said they believe that Israeli diplomats were the intended target of
the botched plot but have yet to produce hard evidence. SourceAgence France
Presse
Barak Warns about Hizbullah’s Nonstop Plans to Target Jews
by Naharnet /Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that Hizbullah plans
to continue attacks on Jewish targets abroad, the Israeli Jerusalem Post daily
reported.
“Although recent attempted attacks have failed, Hizbullah is likely to continue
the attempts,” the newspaper quoted him as saying on Monday.
Israeli deterrence is still strong in Lebanon, Barak told the Knesset Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee, but stressed that Hizbullah is continuing to
obtain many rockets of different kinds. Barak held the Lebanese government
responsible for any escalation with Hizbullah in light of the fact that the
party is a significant player in Lebanese politics, the daily added.
Barak also said Iran will soon enter the “immunity zone,” making an attack
difficult, pointing out that Iran funds, and in some cases initiates, terror
attacks around the world, according to the paper.
While sanctions are important and harm the Iranian economy, they have yet to
convince Tehran to change its nuclear program, he added. “If Iran gains military
nuclear capabilities, a conflict with them will be longer, more complicated and
cost more in human life and resources,” Barak stated.
Merhebi: Lebanese cabinet an ‘accomplice’ to crimes against
Syrians
March 20, 2012 /Future bloc MP Mouin al-Merhebi told LBC television on Tuesday
that the Lebanese cabinet was “an accomplice to the murders and crimes”
committed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against his people.Merhebi also
addressed the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and said there were a lot
of difficulties related to admitting those who are injured to hospitals.
“Refugees were [left] in unequipped places [to be treated] because they were not
able to be admitted to hospitals due to [financial reasons].”Merhebi added that
the Finance Ministry has not transferred any money to the Higher Relief Council
in more than three months.He also said that it was not the first time that the
Lebanese cabinet “orders the HRC to stop covering the financial hospital
expenses [of Syrian refugees],” adding that he was following up on the issue
with the Finance Ministry and the relevant figures.Syria has witnessed
anti-regime protests since mid-March 2011. The United Nations estimated that
more than 8,000 people have been killed in the regime’s crackdown on dissent.
Thousands have fled to Lebanon. -NOW Lebanon
Maronite MPs Bkirki meeting postponed, station reports
March 19, 2012 /OTV reported on Monday that the meeting scheduled for April 3
between Maronite MPs in Bkirki was postponed “due to the Lebanese Forces
campaign against Marontie Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai.” Last week, LF
leader Samir Geagea slammed Rai’s positions on the Syrian crisis, saying he was
not “proud of them.”Rai said earlier in March that “the closest thing” to
democracy in the Arab world was Syria and that he was against “turning the Arab
Spring into winter.”
-NOW Lebanon
The battle of history
Hazem Saghiyeh, March 19, 2012
The showdown over the Lebanese history textbook should not go by unnoticed.
Indeed, this is not about two ideological points of view, one rightist and
another leftist for instance; rather, this is about two sectarian points of
view, each of which reflects the sensitivity of a given community and its vision
with regard to the surrounding world. In this sense, the most dangerous
implication of this showdown is that the winner wants to write history according
to his own will without any regard whatsoever for the points of view of the
communities with whom he claims he wants to live. However, this crude and
extremely selfish exploitation of the military balance of power fails to take
notice of the fact that history is not decided by the aforementioned balance of
power and that ideas and facts do not belong to the same category as power.
Numerous parties and states that sought to dissociate culture – in the broader
sense of the word – from guns became victims of this same contradiction.
In reality, surrendering in this confrontation or abstaining from delving into
it leads to a dangerous result in the future, i.e. allowing the balance of force
to use ideas as weapons and justifications for its actions, and subsequently to
impose them and generalize them to its victims. If these victims can be expelled
from history and ideas after having been expelled from politics, violence
becomes the only form of expressing protest against injustice and
marginalization. This can only mean the end of what is left of Lebanon in the
shape of never-ending civil wars or de facto partition [of the country].
It would be no exaggeration to say that defending Lebanon’s history and
pluralism is tantamount to defending Lebanon as such.
The battle of the history textbook expresses totalitarian penchants in a local
sauce. In so doing, those writing this “new” history are acting exactly like
totalitarians anywhere, as they claim to possess the whole truth and do not
acknowledge that anyone can have part of it. Moreover, they are also loyal to
our despotic neighbors in Syria and, before that, in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq back
when the “cause” was the source of the truth and all knowledge. One can safely
say that the “cause” of preserving Lebanon as a country of pluralism, one that
enjoys political life and media freedoms, is undoubtedly more supreme than all
these boring “causes”, which merely empower despotism, tyranny and the
belittling of public opinion before taking us back for years and years.
The Syrians are fighting their despotic rulers nowadays and dying in this battle
against those exploiting the “cause.” In contrast, it will not be too much for
the Lebanese to protest against this form of disgusting despotism, which
threatens them in the name of the same “cause.” **This article is a translation
from the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic site on Monday March 19,
2012
Tawfiq Taha is Al-Qaeda’s number one in
Lebanon,” a security source told The Daily Star.
March 20, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: A Palestinian man accused of heading a
terror cell with the aim of attacking the Lebanese Army was described Tuesday as
Al-Qaeda’s number one operative in Lebanon. “Tawfiq Taha is Al-Qaeda’s number
one in Lebanon,” a security source told The Daily Star.The source, who closely
follows the activities of extremist groups in Lebanon, said Taha is wanted by
Lebanese authorities for his involvement in over 30 security-related cases. Taha
– also known as Abu Mohammad – was leader of the six-member terror cell recently
charged with planning attacks on the Lebanese Army, the source added. Military
Prosecutor Saqr Saqr charged the six earlier this month with “setting up an
armed gang and conducting training exercises with the aim of carrying out
terrorist acts and operations against the [Lebanese] military
establishment.”Among the cell members were two Lebanese Army officers. Taha is
reportedly holed up in Ain al-Hilweh, the Palestinian refugee camp located near
Sidon. The Lebanese Army beefed up its presence around Ain al-Hilweh Monday and
enacted stringent security measures, prompting protests by Palestinian residents
who complained of having their freedom of movement severely limited. The
security source who spoke to The Daily Star said Taha, who was a deputy to
Abdel-Rahman Mohammad Awad, “masterminded” the attacks of recent years against
U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese Army in south Lebanon. Awad was Al-Qaeda’s
top military official in Lebanon and succeeded Shaker Absi as leader of Fatah
al-Islam, an Islamic extremist group that took over the Nahr al-Bared
Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon and attacked the Lebanese Army in 2007
before being crushed. Awad was killed in a Lebanese Army ambush in the Bekaa
Valley in Aug. 2011.“Rare are the cases being examined by the Lebanese military
justice regarding terrorist attacks and bombings, including those targeting
UNIFIL, in which Tawfiq Taha is not the prime suspect,” the source said.
Ain al-Hilweh calm following anti-Lebanese Army protests
March 20, 2012 /By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star /SIDON, Lebanon: An air of
tranquility reigned Tuesday morning over Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, near the
southern coastal city of Sidon, a day after Palestinians protested stringent
security measures enacted by the Lebanese Army.The measures were introduced by
the Lebanese Army due to its pursuit of Tawfiq Taha, who is accused of heading a
terror cell that penetrated army ranks. Taha is reportedly holed up in Ain
al-Hilweh.The army demanded last week that Palestinian factions and Islamist
forces inside the camp hand over Taha to the authorities.Three of about 12
schools in Ain al-Hilweh closed Tuesday after some teachers failed to show up
and others arrived late.In a meeting late Monday, the Palestinian Follow-up
Committee, which comprises nationalist and Islamist factions in the camp,
described the Lebanese Army as an "ally."“The Lebanese Army, which fought the
Israeli enemy, is an ally of the Palestinian people,” the committee said in a
statement at the end of the meeting.“We reject all acts that result in harm to
the Lebanese Army,” the statement added.The committee called on the Lebanese
Army to limit its measures to the entrances of the camp and refrain from
“harming the interests of the camp’s inhabitants.”It slammed “chaotic action”
directed against Lebanese Army checkpoints around Ain al-Hilweh and called for
democratic action instead.The Lebanese Army beefed up its security presence at
Ain al-Hilweh Monday, bringing in anti-riot police in response to protests by
some 300 Palestinians at the camp.Demonstrations on the road leading to the
southern entrance of the camp, where the Lebanese Army mans a checkpoint, were
met with shots in the air by members of the Armed Palestinian Struggle force, a
Fatah-dominated faction that polices the refugee camp.
Obama Condemns 'Electronic Curtain' in Iran
by Naharne/U.S. President Barack Obama, in a holiday message Tuesday to the
Iranian people, said that the two nations despite their tensions share a "common
humanity," as he pressed for greater freedom for those living in Iran. "There is
no reason for the United States and Iran to be divided from one another," Obama
said in a statement to Iranians on Nowruz, the Persian New Year, adding that
"the Iranian people are denied the basic freedom to access the information that
they want." "To the people of Iran, this holiday comes at a time of continued
tension between our two countries," Obama said.
"But as people gather with their families, do good deeds, and welcome a new
season, we are also reminded of the common humanity that we share." But the
message offered fresh criticism of the Iran government on human rights issues,
saying Tehran has created an "electronic curtain" for Iranians.
"The Iranian government jams satellite signals to shut down television and radio
broadcasts," Obama said.
"It censors the Internet to control what the Iranian people can see and say. The
regime monitors computers and cell phones for the sole purpose of protecting its
own power. And in recent weeks, Internet restrictions have become so severe that
Iranians cannot communicate freely with their loved ones within Iran, or beyond
its borders. Technologies that should empower citizens are being used to repress
them."
Because of the actions, Obama said "an electronic curtain has fallen around Iran
-- a barrier that stops the free flow of information and ideas into the country,
and denies the rest of the world the benefit of interacting with the Iranian
people, who have so much to offer."
"I want the Iranian people to know that America seeks a dialogue to hear your
views and understand your aspirations," he added.
"That's why we set up a Virtual Embassy, so you can see for yourselves what the
United States is saying and doing. We're using Farsi on Facebook, Twitter, and
Google Plus."
Even as Washington has imposed sanctions on the Iranian government, Obama said
his administration "is issuing new guidelines to make it easier for American
businesses to provide software and services into Iran that will make it easier
for the Iranian people to use the Internet."
Millions of Iranians -- along with people of other Persian-influenced nations
such as Afghanistan -- celebrate Nowruz with the start of spring, which is meant
to represent renewal.
Iran and the United States have no diplomatic relations. Washington has
repeatedly urged Iran's clerical regime to improve its record on human rights,
including treatment of political critics and religious minorities. The Obama
administration has since ramped up economic sanctions to pressure Iran to end
its nuclear program, as Israel leads calls for the world to ensure that Tehran
does not develop an atomic bomb. SourceAgence France Presse
Lavrov Meets Mansour: Russia to Support Ultimatum-Free U.N.
Statement on Syria
by Naharnet/Russia said Tuesday it was willing to support either a U.N. Security
Council statement or a resolution on peace envoy Kofi Annan's mission to Syria
as long as it contained no ultimatums.
"We are ready to back the mission of U.N. and Arab League representative Kofi
Annan and the proposals to the government and opposition to Syria," Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after holding talks with his Lebanese
counterpart Adnan Mansour. "We are ready to support his proposals to the U.N.
Security Council, and not only in the form of a statement but also a
resolution," he said.
But Lavrov also stressed that the proposals Annan made to Syrian President
Bashar Assad during their meetings in Damascus this month had still not been
published and needed to be put up for an open debate at the Security Council.
"First of all, these proposals must be published," Lavrov said. "Second of all,
the Security Council should approve them not as an ultimatum but with
consideration for the work that is ongoing, and approve them as the basis for
Kofi Annan's continuing efforts to achieve agreement between all Syrians." The
U.N. Security Council was expected later Tuesday to discuss and possibly vote on
a Western-drafted statement on Syria that diplomats said called for possible
"further measures" if Assad failed to carry out Annan's proposals.
America, terrorism sponsor
Hussein Ibish, March 20, 2012
Now Lebanon/Has any other maxim led to greater error and remorse than the
twisted logic that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend?” Yet the irony is that
this malevolent cliché is actually the most charitable interpretation for why a
large and bipartisan group of prominent Americans is currently lobbying on
behalf of the bizarre Iranian terrorist cult the Mujahedeen e-Khalq, or MEK.
This unlikely coalition is pressuring the US government to change its policies
towards the main MEK base, “Camp Ashraf,” in Iraq and thwart American and Iraqi
plans for resolving that issue. More ominously, the group is pressuring to have
the MEK removed from the list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
The somewhat less charitable explanation is that many of the American MEK
supporters have been paid tens of thousands of dollars for speeches and other
services. Because all material dealings with the MEK are serious felonies, the
Treasury Department has recently issued subpoenas to some of its key US
supporters, including former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, former Department
of Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, and
former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Hugh Shelton. Rendell’s
office, for example, admits he has received $160,000 for such efforts over the
past year.
Other prominent MEK supporters include Republican notables such as the former
Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former Homeland Security Advisor Fran
Townsend, former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, and former New York
City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, many of whom are self-styled anti-terrorism
crusaders. On the Democratic side, MEK backers include former Vermont Governor
Howard Dean, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and former Senior
Allied Commander of NATO Wesley Clark.
The MEK is on the terrorism list for good reason. According to a State
Department report published in 1997, the organization “assassinated at least six
American citizens, supported the takeover of the US Embassy [in Tehran], and
opposed the release of the American hostages.” Since then, the organization has
been implicated in numerous terrorist attacks inside Iran and elsewhere, and for
many years its main sponsor was Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
A further, and more disturbing, motivation for this indefensible championing of
the MEK was recently revealed by NBC News. It reported that US officials said
“deadly attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists are being carried out by an
Iranian dissident group [the MEK] that is financed, trained and armed by
Israel’s secret service.”
For some, it seems, although the MEK may be a terrorist group, it has the “right
targets,” and therefore should be supported rather than banned.
But the MEK is not simply a run-of-the-mill dissident group employing terrorist
tactics. It is a bizarre and dangerous cult run by a strange and fanatical
couple, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, that reportedly keeps its members in total
isolation, forbids marriages and imposes divorces, and engages in disturbing
“self-criticism” sessions. Its ideology is a twisted syncretism of Shia
fundamentalism, Marxism and feminism run amok. Numerous observers have aptly
compared its mindset to that of the Khmer Rouge.
While the MEK opposes the foul dictatorship in Tehran, its own structure and
practices reveal disturbingly similar undemocratic practices, and indeed far
worse. For a simple primer on how the MEK conducts itself, readers should
consult Elizabeth Rubin’s 2003 New York Times report, “The Cult of Rajavi.”
The Treasury Department is to be commended for launching a long-overdue
investigation into the MEK’s well-funded US lobby, as well as its large payments
to exceptionally prominent Americans who certainly ought to know better. Some
have claimed ignorance about the MEK’s history and practices. However, any
10-year-old with an Internet connection could discover the truth about this
nefarious organization within minutes of casual browsing.
Were the State Department to de-list the organization as a terrorist group, the
official American approach to international terrorism would be shorn of any
pretense of principle. Moral clarity on terrorism would be abandoned in favor of
the logic of “they’re our terrorists, so they’re acceptable,” simply on the
basis that their targets are the repulsive regime in Tehran and its nuclear
program, possibly under Israeli state sponsorship.
For far too long, MEK front organizations have operated with impunity in the
United States. Prominent Americans have accepted cash payments that with regard
to other designated terrorist groups would have long since led to major
prosecutions. Rather than de-listing the MEK from the terrorism list, the United
States government should vigorously pursue its investigation into those
Americans who have accepted payments from its front organizations.
By legitimizing the MEK, Washington would lose almost all credibility when it
comes to opposing terrorism. The enemy of my enemy is by no means necessarily my
friend. That way madness lies.
Hussein Ibish writes frequently about Middle Eastern affairs for numerous
publications in the United States and the Arab world. He blogs at
www.Ibishblog.com
*SourceAgence France
Iran already started a war, a cold one between Israel, U.S.
By Sefi Rachlevsky/Haaretz
If Netanyahu is really right about Obama, he should seek Western support of
Israel. That's what senior defense officials past and present have been arguing.
One could assume this is how Barak would be proceeding if he were in charge.Who
said the home front isn't protected? People who have spoken in recent years with
Defense Minister Ehud Barak know he's well aware of the suggestion that he take
care of two things before a war with Iran: The return of Gilad Shalit and the
sale of his home in the luxury Akirov Towers.
He had to take care of Shalit so he could look benevolent and patient before
hundreds or thousands of lives are dumped. And the apartment? There's no better
preparation for war than to sell. Because if "only" 500 people are killed, you
can be sure thousands of apartments will be damaged. Barak's situation, in which
he has sold his real apartment but his next one is still "on paper," is ideal.
Apartments in the planning stage don't get destroyed. You can't compare Barak to
former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, who sold only a few of his stocks before he
ordered the Second Lebanon War to get underway. These are good days for Barak.
Ever since he returned to the Defense Ministry, most IDF operations have been
well planned and frugal with Israeli lives. So it was with the Syrian reactor,
Operation Cast Lead and the last round in the south, which is preparing us for
the upcoming Israel-Iran War. Now anyone sitting in the bunkers in the heart of
Tel Aviv or in the giant bunker under Jerusalem's Har Hamenuhot cemetery can be
assured that their own personal real estate won't suffer any damage.
But Barak is just a footnote. Barak has no God. The thing is, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu does. Not for nothing, many evangelist groups are
enthusiastically supporting Netanyahu - evangelists who preach about an
Israeli-Iranian war of Armageddon, which will wipe out most of the Jews,
fulfilling the condition for Jesus' second coming.
So who is whose donkey? That we'll know soon. Not just about evangelists and
AIPAC, but also in the Knesset.
On November 8, 1956, David Ben-Gurion, the victor in the Sinai, gave a speech in
which he made clear he didn't give a damn what the United States thought. Within
two days, his and Moshe Dayan's Third Kingdom of Israel backed down in the face
of threats from the Russians and a U.S. president who had just won reelection.
But Netanyahu doesn't intend to back down. For Barak, the war Israel is planning
is both real and a bluff to get the Americans moving. But not to Netanyahu, who
decides. As far as he's concerned, there's only one script.
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss did us a big favor when he slipped up on
the job and didn't check whether the hundreds of millions being spent on
propaganda at newspaper Israel Hayom were a violation of the Parties Funding
Law. This was a favor because in a place where democracy is being trampled on,
there has to be a Tishreen - the Syrian government newspaper. If not, how would
we know what's really going on?
Last Thursday, the editor of Israel Hayom, Amos Regev, delivered an astounding
attack on the Americans and their government. Maybe he didn't go so far as to
say that the newspaper's backer, Sheldon Adelson, has determined that President
Barack Obama's policies are liable to lead to Israel's destruction, but it came
close to that.
Regev compared Israel to a man whose car breaks down on the road to Jerusalem. A
driver who stops to help claims that he was a mechanic in the Armored Corps, but
messes things up even more. According to Regev, writing in the party organ,
Obama isn't even an army mechanic and his intentions apparently aren't good. His
article didn't sling mud on Obama only. The United States, he said, hasn't been
able to win a war in decades. The only ones who can win are the Israelis.
When hostile countries achieve a nuclear capability, a cold war begins. But a
cold war has already broken out, only it's not between Israel and Iran. It's
between Israel and the United States. The whole global drama taking place is
essentially between Israel and the United States. Iran is just a chance remark
in this confrontation.
Netanyahu - the commissioner of the generations that won't come after us - has a
great fear, but it's not Iran. Netanyahu is afraid that the U.S. administration
will cook up an agreement with Iran in an effort to prevent Israel from
attacking in the summer. Since that's the case, Netanyahu is liable to push to
attack quickly, before such talks even begin.
It's understood that if Netanyahu is really right about Obama, his policy ought
to be reversed; he should seek Western support of Israel. That's what senior
defense officials past and present have been arguing. One could assume this is
how Barak would be proceeding if he were in charge.
But as one of the first Israelis who was a victim of kibbutzim's communal
sleeping arrangements, with no parents present, Barak insists on having his own
teddy bear. The leaders of the kibbutz are the ones with vision. The people who
have God in them. The people who believe in their power to defeat America. This
God is better not to trust in.
No leads to Jewish school murders in Toulouse
DEBKAfile Special Report March 20, 2012/French security circles close to the
investigation of the shooting Monday, March 19, which left a teacher and three
children dead at the Ozar Hatora school in Toulouse, told debkafile Tuesday that
they have no leads as yet to the killer or suspects. He vanished by motorbike as
mysteriously as he arrived at the school. All that can be deduced for now was
that he was a trained - and possibly a hired - assassin. This theory is
strengthened by one of the witnesses reporting that he had a video camera
hanging around his neck. He may have used it to record the attack on the Jewish
school along with his report to whoever paid him to commit the crime. The French
investigators are not even sure that the school killer was also responsible for
the point blank shooting Thursday, March 15 in the neighboring town of Montauban
of French paratroops of North African descent who had served in Afghanistan.
Three soldiers died and one was badly injured. Even if the same pistol was used
in both cases, it might have been passed by a single paymaster to two killers.
Initial ballistic tests indicate that different bullets may have been fired.
Witness descriptions between the two attacks vary: The man who shot the soldiers
is described as tubby, while the school shooter was said to appear very fit. The
same French sources were surprised to hear Israeli media suggestions that the
Ozar Hatora murders were part of a chain of hate crimes perpetrated by pro-Nazi
soldiers expelled from the French army. Nothing points in that direction, they
say. French political sources with links to security services told debkafile
that the investigation is also exploring the theory that the two attacks were
somehow related to the French presidential election coming up in a month. Both
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is running for reelection, and his Socialist
rival, Francois Hollande, were quick to grasp the ramifications of the terrorist
killings for their campaigns. They lost no time in flying to the scene of the
crime and responding to the horror - no doubt sincerely, but also in a
politically appropriate manner. Until some light is shed on the motives for the
killings, France has boosted security at all faith schools in the country as
well as Jewish institutions.
."Cruel" gunman filmed French school carnage: minister
By John Irish and Jean Décotte | Reuters
TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) - The gunman who shot dead three children and a rabbi
at a Jewish school was a cold, cruel killer who filmed his carnage, France's
interior minister said, as the country prepared to hold a silent tribute to the
victims on Tuesday.
Claude Gueant told reporters video surveillance tapes at the school in Toulouse
showed the gunman was recording his shooting spree with a small video camera
attached to his neck.
"This adds another element to the profile of the killer. It is someone who is
cruel enough to record it," Gueant said at a primary school in the southwestern
city.
"This shows a profile of the murderer as someone who is very cold, very
determined, with precise gestures, and therefore very cruel," Gueant added.
The school attack, and the killing of three soldiers last week, has stunned
France and prompted President Nicolas Sarkozy and other leading candidates to
suspend campaigning for next month's presidential election.
More than 200 police officers have joined the hunt for the gunman, who is the
prime suspect in the killing of three paratroopers in two separate shootings
last week in Toulouse and the nearby town of Montauban, to the north.
Gueant said police were pursuing several leads into the attacks, which shared a
number features. In each attack, the gunman arrived on a stolen scooter and used
a Colt 45 handgun.
Sarkozy ordered security tightened in Toulouse, with guards posted at religious
sites and the terror alert raised to its highest level in Toulouse and the
surrounding region.
"We will track down this monster. We will find him, bring him to justice and
punish him," Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said of the killer on France 2
television.
A child who survived the attack spoke of his feelings of terror as the shots
rang out through the school.
"We were getting ready for prayers when the principal stormed in and screamed
that there was a shooting. I panicked and fled to the old canteen and heard the
shots, but saw nothing," an 11-year old boy who survived the attack told France
Info radio.
"I thought he was going to come in any minute and finish us all. Then I waited
and waited and then my daddy came to get me," he said.
Police have not named a suspect but are searching the city of around one million
for a man they believed could be a trained marksman, as well as the Yamaha
scooter he used to flee. The shooter's face was hidden by a motorcycle helmet
during the attack.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said on Monday the school killings
appeared to be motivated by racism, was due to attend a one minute silent vigil
at 1100 a.m. (1000 GMT) in a Paris secondary school. Schools in all of France
will observe a minute of silence.
At the entrance to the school, a five-floor brick building in a leafy
residential neighborhood, residents and parents left floral tributes and candles
in memory of the victims.
The bodies of three of the victims, who had dual French and Israeli nationality,
were expected to be sent to Israel but no details were available about the
timing.
ANTI-SEMITISM
Monday's shooting was the most deadly anti-Semitic attack on French soil in
nearly 30 years. In August, 1982, six people were killed in a combined grenade
and gun attack at the Goldenberg restaurant in Paris' Marais Jewish district.
"Anti-Semitism exists in France, we have fought it for years," Juppe said. He
said Jewish organizations had complained about an increase in anti-Semitic
incidents recently, but rejected suggestions racial tensions stirred during the
campaign could have triggered the attacks.
"Nobody should try to benefit in any way from this drama, which is in no way
linked to the electoral campaign," Juppe said.
Sarkozy, who is seeking re-election in a two-round election in April and May,
said he would suspend his campaign until Wednesday. Far-right chief Marine Le
Pen, trailing frontrunner Hollande and Sarkozy, also made a similar pledge.
Dominique Reynie, head of the Fondapol politics institute, said the killings
could transform the election campaign, five weeks before polling day.
"The tone of the campaign cannot go back to what it was," he told Reuters. "The
campaign was dominated by an aggressive tone and a strong degree of populist
rhetoric. This rhetoric will cease because there will be voter demand for
healing."
(Additional reporting by Geert De Clercq, Emmanuel Jarry and Marine Pennetier;
writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Jon Boyle)
Gunman may have filmed killings at French school; hunt for
killer intensifies
By Jamey Keaten,Johanna Decorse, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press –
TOULOUSE, France - Hundreds of police blanketed southern France on Tuesday,
searching for a gunman — possibly a racist, anti-Semitic serial killer — who
killed four people at a Jewish school and may have filmed his attack.
Authorities suspect the same killer was behind attacks last week on French
paratroopers of North African and French Caribbean origin.
France was reeling Tuesday after Monday's shooting in the southern city of
Toulouse, the deadliest school shooting in the country and the bloodiest attack
on Jewish targets in decades. Schools across the country held a moment of
silence to honour the victims, who were heading to Israel for burial. "The
children are exactly like you," President Nicolas Sarkozy told junior high
children in Paris after joining them for the moment of silence. "That could have
happened here."
He vowed to find the killer.
He was speaking at a public school across the street from a memorial to the
French people who helped Jews during the Holocaust, when most of France was
occupied by the Nazis.
Interior Minister Claude Gueant said the attacker was "wearing around his neck
an apparatus" that could be used to film and post video online. He said that
gave investigators new clues to the killer's "profile," though he admitted they
don't appear to close to an arrest.
Gueant described the suspect as "someone very cold, very determined, very much a
master of his movements, and by consequence, very cruel."
In Monday's shooting, the attacker first gunned down a rabbi and his 4-year-old
and 5-year-old sons, then chased down the 7-year-old daughter of the school
principal, shooting her dead at point-blank range. Asked whether the gunman
recorded the scene, Gueant responded, "We can imagine that." But he added that
authorities have not yet found any images of the killings online.
Gueant said authorities are studying reports about three paratroopers kicked out
of a regiment near Toulouse in 2008 for suspected neo-Nazi activity, but said is
one of many leads and "not favoured any more than the others." He stressed the
need to increase security at synagogues and other Jewish sites in France. "All
believers in France must feel protected in their faith," he said. Sarkozy is
meeting with members of France's Jewish and Muslim community. France has the
largest population of Jews and Muslims in western Europe.
Hundreds of police are looking for the killer, the terror threat level was
raised to scarlet across a swath of southern France — the highest level since
the four-point system was created in 2003.
It was the third motorbike killing in the region in about a week. In all three
killings, the assailant fled on a motorbike.
In Toulouse on Tuesday, France's fourth city, the town centre is usually
bustling with activity, but the streets were emptier than normal. In one of the
main squares, Place Wilson, a dozen police officers were on patrol, with some
guarding the subway entrance.
The shootings echoed across a nation that has been focused on an upcoming
presidential race in which issues about religious minorities and race have
gained prominence. Sarkozy — who has struck a nationalist line in his
campaigning — raised the terrorism alert level in the region to its highest
level, while also noting a possible racist motive.
All of the dead were dual Israeli-French citizens. Police bearing automatic
weapons stood in front of Jewish schools in Paris on Tuesday.
"It's impossible not to imagine the worst, because it can happen to any child in
France at some point," said Mendy Sarfati, a father dropping his three children
off at a Jewish school in Paris. "We wish to put this drama behind us and that
the French Republic will draw lessons from it."
**Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris contributed to this report.
Russia calls on Syria, rebels to
hold daily truces
By Thomas Grove | Reuters
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his foes on
Monday to agree to daily humanitarian truces, backing an initiative from the
International Committee of the Red Cross to treat the wounded in the
violence-torn country. Russia is one of Syria's main remaining international
allies but it is unclear how much influence Moscow can wield over Damascus more
than a year into a bloody uprising against Assad. Russia's foreign ministry
called on both Damascus and the armed opposition to agree "without delay to
daily humanitarian pauses" after ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger held talks
with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
Moscow also called for the ICRC to have access to "those detained in Syria for
their participation in protests".
On February 21, the ICRC, the only international agency to deploy aid workers in
Syria, proposed a daily humanitarian ceasefire of two hours to allow time to
evacuate the wounded and deliver food, medicine and other vital supplies.
Kellenberger said he told Lavrov on Monday the situation had grown more "urgent"
and that a likely deterioration made the need for the daily ceasefires all the
more important.
"It cannot be that when you have the most intense fighting you do not have
access to evacuate the wounded," Kellenberger told Reuters in an interview.
"We also want to do protection activities, and by that I mean protection of
medical missions, and it means access to detainees so that we can check their
conditions and treat them."
Kellenberger told Reuters Lavrov had "clearly agreed to and was supportive of"
the ceasefire idea.
The ICRC chief said it was not clear what channels Russia would use to exert
pressure on Assad.
CONCRETE RESULTS
For the daily ceasefire to work, Kellenberger said: "I need unambiguous
commitment from all those concerned. And this I do not have. I mean from the
government side but also from the armed opposition."
The government "is in favor in principle, but you know how it is with
principles, so I wouldn't consider it an unambiguous commitment."
Among the opposition, Kellenberger said he had received a positive response from
the Free Syrian Army, but had not got the same support from the Syrian National
Council, an umbrella opposition group abroad. The ICRC's meeting with Lavrov was
held "in the framework of its contacts with all those who could have a positive
influence on its action in Syria," ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan told Reuters in
Geneva. "We hope to see concrete results from such contacts on the ground in
coming days or weeks," he said.
Russia has shielded Assad from U.N. Security Council condemnation by vetoing two
Western-backed draft resolutions along with China.
Russia has continued delivering arms to Syria, whose ties with Moscow date back
to the Soviet era, and has warned Western and Arab nations against military or
political interference, while expressing its support for international
humanitarian aid efforts.
In a rare show of unity with Western powers, Russia and China joined other U.N.
Security Council members on March 1 in expressing "deep disappointment" at
Syria's failure to allow U.N. humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos to visit the
country, saying she should be let in immediately.
Amos has since been allowed to enter Syria, and has called for unhindered access
for humanitarian aid.
Taking an unusually firm tone in remarks published on Saturday, Lavrov urged
Syria to support U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's peacemaking efforts
"without delay" and said Moscow disagreed with many of the decisions Assad's
government has taken.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States was
heartened by Russia's public support for the ICRC ceasefire proposal.
(Reporting by Thomas Grove; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva,
Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Andrew Quinn in Washington; Editing by Alissa de
Carbonnel and Andrew Heavens)
Toulouse shootings shows hatred has more than one source
By Jean-Yves Camus/Haaretz
To believe that the only kind of anti-Semitism in France today is a reaction to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dangerous nonsense.
The shooting spree against a Jewish school in Toulouse on March 19 is the most
serious anti-Semitic attack that has taken place in France since Paris' Jo
Goldenberg restaurant was bombed in 1982, with the loss of six lives. While it
is too early yet to identify the killer and his ideology, intelligence officials
here have made a link between this cold-blooded murder, carried in a military
style by a lone killer, and the assassination of three servicemen a couple of
days ago from a paratroopers' unit who served in Afghanistan. Those shootings
have taken place in the same region, they seem to have been carried out by the
same man, with the same weapon. What has sparked suggestions of a common
ideological cause for these killings is that all the victims are from minority
groups, whether Jews in the case of the school, or Muslim north African or West
Indian, in the case of the soldiers.
Today investigators say that there are three possible motivations for the
killer: he might be an Islamist; a former soldier suffering from battle trauma
who has run amok; or a neo-Nazi walking in the steps of Anders Breivik. In the
military unit whose members were killed, three soldiers were discharged in 2008
because they displayed a swastika flag in the barracks. The police take
seriously the possibility of a link between all those cases.
But so far the most important fact to emerge for the Jewish community in France
is that they will have to learn how to live under threat from an enemy that is
not necessarily a terrorist network with a leadership and cells, but one which
follows the pattern of "leaderless resistance," a concept believed to be on the
rise within a range of radical movements, both Islamist and extreme-right.
Jewish communal institutions repeated on Monday that, although the Toulouse
killings are the most dramatic and deadly anti-Jewish action for decades, they
are only the most shocking among the 400 anti-Semitic incidents that are
recorded every year by the community’s protection service, the SPCJ. Since the
beginning of the second intifada in 2000, the level of anti-Semitic attacks has
been rising, with a peak of more than 900 in 2004. And regardless of the real
efforts of the French government, police and justice authorities, the level of
attacks remains much higher than in the 1990s.
The so-called "new" anti-Semitism of the post-Intifada era emanates mostly from
radicalized (although not often observant) Muslim immigrants or long-standing
citizens, and it is rooted both in religious prejudice and in anger emerging
from support for the Palestinian cause. The Jewish community has come to believe
that this is the only source of anti-Semitism in France, with some would-be
scholars and experts even claiming that France has become part of "Eurabia," or
a Europe colonized by Islam. This is dangerous nonsense. As shown in the Breivik
case, sectarian hatred and bigotry, a bigotry that kills, can equally emanate
from the other end of the political spectrum, for neo-Nazis may not scale
intellectual heights, but they do have enough brains to hate Jews and Muslims at
the same time, and for much of the same reasons. They also have the brawn to
turn their ideology into real events.
*Jean-Yves Camus is a Research Associate with the Institute of International and
Strategic Relations (IRES), France
Something is Happening in Damascus
Farid Ghadry Blog/Reform Party of Syria
"Since when Russia cares about its people to send special forces to protect
them? Russian Spetsnaz forces, under Putin, chemically gazed the Chechnyan
terrorists with their hostages in the 2002 Nord-Ost siege of the Dubrovka
theater killing four times the number of hostages than the number of
terrorists."
Something is Happening in Damascus
The events of the last 24 hours in Syria leads me to believe that there is
something big that just happened beyond what we read in the news.
Yesterday, the Russians sent special military units into Syria and an oil tanker
dropped anchor in Tartus port with support from a Russian Equator reconnaissance
ship off the Syrian coast. All under the pretext their mission is to protect the
Russian cadre of diplomats and nationals. Some 200,000 Russians make Syria their
home. However, in the history of the Middle East, Russians have never dispatched
special forces to any country to protect their own.
Oil? Reconnaissance? Russian special forces? There is more to this story than
the public cover.
Parallel to the Russian invasion, the threats of both WMD and the large arsenal
of missiles the Russians and the Iranians have equipped Assad with is a high
concern issue for the international community. Not just because these may fall
in the wrong hands but also because Assad is imbalanced enough to think of
launching them. If Assad's brother Majd died of mental illness, that vein exists
in every Assad who is descendent of Suleiman, father to Hafez, Rifaat, and Jamil.
Further, the Mazzeh battle yesterday between the Assad loyalists and the
rebellious Syrians fighting for life and liberty has had an impact on the psyche
of Assad, especially in light of major attacks on the Air Force Intelligence
buildings two days earlier in Aleppo; this makes the WMD concerns legitimate
enough for covert operations against his rule.
As of yesterday, fighting could erupt anyplace, anytime and no area is safe in
Syria. In my book, this qualifies as a full blown-out civil war.
The Russian equation backing Assad so conclusively and overtly has never been
witnessed before in the region; even during the height of the Cold War when the
US and the Soviets were battling each other through Arab-Israeli wars. The
vacuum left behind by a hurried US exiting the region and implementing an
Erdogan caretaker policy provides the Russians with an opportunity to stick it
to the Americans and to re-emerge as a powerhouse through a full-throttled
support of Assad. The ultimate price would be levied by the Syrian people dying
while waiting for help and the Israelis sensing Obama has abandoned them to the
radical wolves of the region.
Whomever gave Obama this idea of outsourcing US interests to Erdogan should
appear in front of Congress to explain himself.
With all these events taking place so suddenly, would it be safe to assume that
something extremely important has just happened in Damascus? What if a failed
military coup prompted the Russians to back Assad and Iran's heavy infiltration
with added reinforcements? What if these special counter-terrorism forces have
entered Syria to protect Assad from putsches?
Since when Russia cares about its people to send special forces to protect them?
Russian Spetsnaz forces, under Putin, chemically gazed the Chechnyan terrorists
with their hostages in the 2002 Nord-Ost siege of the Dubrovka theater killing
four times the number of hostages than the number of terrorists. This on top of
a Stalinist history that recorded 40 million Soviets killed by his regime of
terror.
Something is really up in Damascus and If I have to make a bet, it must be
regime supporters flipping against their boss. Who would not after reading their
emails?
Copyrights © Reform Party of Syria (Project Syria, Inc.) 2003-2011
Peres to Iran: Return to your Persian heritage of culture,
not missiles
By Nir Hasson and The Associated Press/Haaretz
President sends greeting for Persian new year; urges Iranian leaders not to
threaten anyone or make their 'children flee home,' an apparent reference to the
possibility of war. President Shimon Peres sent greetings for the Persian new
year to the Iranian people yesterday, urging them to "replace the corrupt regime
and return to your glorious Persian heritage, a heritage of culture and values,
not of bombs and missiles." Speaking first in Farsi and then in Hebrew, Peres
also urged Iranian leaders not to threaten anyone or make their "children flee
home," an apparent reference to the possibility of war. The greeting for Nowruz,
the Iranian new year that is celebrated today, was broadcast over Israel Radio's
Farsi service, which is popular in Iran. Peres opened his greeting in Farsi,
wishing Iranians wherever they may be a happy Nowruz. "I wish the Iranian people
a real, true holiday, in which they may taste freedom, dignity and human honor,"
he said. "It is not too late to replace the corrupt regime and return to your
glorious Persian heritage, a heritage of culture and values, not of bombs and
missiles.
"At times I ask myself how such a civilized nation, with such a rich history,
has allowed such a radical, blind and hate-filled group to dishonor its historic
legacy. How does a people permit a regime to sow fear, rob people of their
freedom and horrify the younger generation, which is looking for a way out of
dictatorial Iran?"
Peres to Iran: Return to your Persian heritage of culture, not missiles
President sends greeting for Persian new year; urges Iranian leaders not to
threaten anyone or make their 'children flee home,' an apparent reference to the
possibility of war.
By Nir Hasson and The Associated Press
President Shimon Peres sent greetings for the Persian new year to the Iranian
people yesterday, urging them to "replace the corrupt regime and return to your
glorious Persian heritage, a heritage of culture and values, not of bombs and
missiles." Speaking first in Farsi and then in Hebrew, Peres also urged Iranian
leaders not to threaten anyone or make their "children flee home," an apparent
reference to the possibility of war.
The greeting for Nowruz, the Iranian new year that is celebrated today, was
broadcast over Israel Radio's Farsi service, which is popular in Iran.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Follow Haaretz.com on Facebook and share
your views
Peres opened his greeting in Farsi, wishing Iranians wherever they may be a
happy Nowruz. "I wish the Iranian people a real, true holiday, in which they may
taste freedom, dignity and human honor," he said. "It is not too late to replace
the corrupt regime and return to your glorious Persian heritage, a heritage of
culture and values, not of bombs and missiles.
"At times I ask myself how such a civilized nation, with such a rich history,
has allowed such a radical, blind and hate-filled group to dishonor its historic
legacy. How does a people permit a regime to sow fear, rob people of their
freedom and horrify the younger generation, which is looking for a way out of
dictatorial Iran?" Peres asked.
"Iran, once loved by many countries worldwide, has turned the whole world
against it ... The Iranian regime puts all its money into its nuclear [program],
abandoning its people to wallow in poverty and hunger. Enriched uranium cannot
feed the hungry," he concluded.
Obama's Risky Ploy - Iran
By:
Leslie J. Sacks
There are now many self-evident and destabilizing developments:
1) Obama feels more comfortable with Turkey's Erdogan, Saudi Arabia's King
Abdullah, perhaps even with the Iranian leadership, than with Netanyahu. He
likely believes Netanyahu is the least rational, the least predictable in the
arena.
2) Obama and many of his advisors have felt for a long time that containment of
Iran's nuclear program (even its attainment of nuclear weapons), is not only
possible but preferable to war.
3) Obama's public proclamations change creatively with the audience. He is,
after all, the perfect politician, a natural chameleon. His recent support for
Israel, at the preeminent Aipac conference, is too-little-too-late to fully
dispense with his visceral dislike of Netanyahu and his consistent lack of
empathy for Israel's past security policies. He has yet to visit Israel during
his presidential term, yet he saw fit to wax eloquent in Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
and Turkey.
4) So Obama prefers no military confrontation. This would raise gas prices, hurt
the economy (albeit temporarily), and damage Obama's reelection prospects, his
primary and all-consuming goal.
5) The USA has the conclusive and indisputable ability to obliterate the Iranian
nuclear program. It can do so in an exceptionally efficient, pin-pointed and
largely non-lethal way. Iran would then measure its response modestly, for to be
too aggressive would in turn invite America's wrath, most likely leading to the
destruction of Iran's military and industrial capability. This follow-up
response would put the regime at risk and embolden the opposition - the worst
outcome for the ruling despots, as they could live without nuclear weapons but
not without their absolute power.
6) However, Obama abhors the idea of being identified as a war president,
especially one who supported intransigent Israel against the victims of
colonialism and imperialism in the Middle East. He would after all prefer to be
president of the World's United Nations, rather than just the USA.
7) Ingeniously, Obama is playing a very deft poker game in the Middle East:
-First he established negotiation as his primary tool
-Then he instituted inconclusive and slow-acting sanctions
-Now that everyone is, as a result, running out of time, he sets a timeline for
the USA that suits only Ahmadinejad and the State Department, that of
disallowing Iran to actually assemble a bomb
-The danger is that only America can, at that late stage with its incomparable
reach and firepower, destroy Iran's nuclear program
-Then Israel will necessarily be dependent on Obama's word, his changing
assurances. Israel's timeline ends much sooner and she needs to take out the
nuclear facilities before they are hardened further, before the essential
components are dispersed even more widely
-Obama knows this and is relying on Israel's immutable commitment to retain
control over its own destiny, to never allow its existential existence to fall
into the hands of others, whether it's Obama or Khomeini
-So Obama, with vote-enhancing pronouncements of support for Israel, will bide
his time, forcing Israel's hand, ensuring Israel ultimately takes responsibility
for its own fate and attacks Iran's facilities, thereby neutering Iran's nuclear
risks for the USA and the world as well
8) The poker hand is thus played with disarming charm and panache, with
believable concern. Israel is blamed for Iran's reaction, for oil price hikes,
for economic dislocation. Obama is lauded as Israel's best friend, and gets
re-elected. Game over.
JUST IN - A leading Israeli newspaper (and numerous blogs here in the USA)
reported that Obama and the White House have offered Netanyahu crucial bunker
busters and advanced refueling planes if, and only if, Israel guarantees to wait
until after Obama's re-election to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, a risky
proposition indeed. These bombs and planes would presumably allow Israel to
delay their preemptive attack as they would provide the ability to go deeper,
for far longer. To place Israel's survival (and Iran's genocidal pledges) behind
Obama's political agenda suggests an order of cynical and political blackmail no
former U.S. president would likely have countenanced. The White House
ambiguously denies parts of this story. I would like to believe the veracity of
this report is suspect - I pray it would be so. Time surely will tell.
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