Overnight music video
Let's go to the videotape.
Israel Matzav: Overnight music video
The military plans to use “paralyzing power” to demolish illegal settler construction where building has continued in defiance of the 10-month freeze on such activity, according to an IDF document obtained by The Jerusalem Post on Saturday night…
Under the moratorium, settlers and contractors working on projects in which the foundations had not been finished must stop work for 10 months. But many settlers have vowed to continue building, anyway.
The IDF, therefore, is planning a second phase of enforcing the freeze, which will involve entering settlements to demolish all illegal construction work…
Physical force would have to be used against the settlers, since it is assumed they would not peacefully stop work and evacuate construction sites when ordered to do so, the document states.
The settlers believe the moratorium is the start of a second disengagement and will do everything possible to prevent the demolitions, the document said. There is no concrete information that the settlers intend to take up arms, said the document, but it added that anything was possible.
The document goes into great detail, outlining different scenarios that could occur. It also distinguishes between “moderate” and “violent” settlements, such as Yitzhar.
Initially, the IDF would try to come to a verbal resolution with the settlers, but if that fails, they would surprise the settlers with what the army termed “paralyzing force.”
The air force is expected to get involved by doing reconnaissance flights over the area. The IDF plans to shut down cellular phone services during the enforcement operation and to ban reporters from the scene.
Somebody has lost his mind.
Israel faces an existential threat from Iran and her proxies, a war which could affect every inch of Israel more severely than any since 1948 could break out at any time, and this is what the government wants the IDF to do?
Netanyahu has agreed to terms of reference for future negotiations, that are enshrined in Clinton’s statement,
“an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements.”
No surprise there. It was obvious when she made the statement right after Bibi agreed to the freeze. In fact the deal was done in the summer.
In addition Jerusalem is on the table and so is the refugee problem. So much for no preconditions.
When Rosen tells why no one can resist the peace jaugernaught, what he fails to mention is that it is only peace on Arab terms that it is concerned with. Peace is a euphemism for capitulation.
Even within the confines of these terms of reference, the differences between the parties are enormous. How can borders based on the ‘67 lines, even with mutually agreed swaps, be reconciled with “borders that…meet Israeli security requirements.” Look for a great deal of pressure on Bibi to capitulate.
by Steven J. Rosen, ForeignPolicy.com
For a year or two at an early stage in his career, I commuted to and from our adjacent offices each morning and evening with Martin Indyk, later a top peace-process official of the Clinton administration at the Camp David negotiations and now vice president for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. I had just left the Rand Corporation to work at AIPAC, the main pro-Israel lobbying organization in Washington.
Even in those pre-Oslo days of 1982 to 1983, Martin was a True Believer in the idea of a grand land-for-peace bargain between Israel and moderate Palestinians. Reviewing each day the latest installments in the Middle East epic as we rolled down Rock Creek Parkway, we argued all the way. I heaped scorn on any solution that required Israel to trust Palestinian intentions, and I held that Israel’s security could only be based on a qualitative military edge and the balance of power. I told Martin that he and our mutual friends Dennis Ross, Aaron Miller, and Dan Kurtzer, though with the noblest of intentions, were pursuing an illusion.
The BBC responded to listeners outraged by Michael White's recent comments on BBC Radio London's Breakfast Show. While discussing the attack on Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, White, who is The Guardian's associate editor, said:
In Israel they murder each other a great deal. The Israeli Defense Forces murder people because they don't like their political style and what they've got to say and it only means that people more extreme come in and take their place.
The Beeb's complaints dept. wrote back:
Arab construction workers have been the backbone of Jewish building projects for decades and were a strong factor in the PA economy, which boomed after the return of Judea, Samaria and Gaza to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967 brought about the building of thousands of new homes for Jews. The Arab Intifadas forced most Jewish contractors to drastically cut the number of Arab workers, resulting in a deep recession in the PA, particularly in Gaza, as well as a surge of foreign workers in Israel.
A rebirth of the concept of Jewish labor has slowly emerged, but Jewish contractors have complained that they cannot find enough Jews willing to engage in non-skilled construction work.
If the PA succeeds in carrying out its freeze of approximately 22,000 Arab laborers working in Judea and Samaria, the demand for Jewish labor, resulting in higher wages, may bring about an increase in their employment.
The settlements are completely dependent on cheap Palestinian labor for their infrastructure," Arab activists Jamal Juma told The Media Line, a Middle East news website maintained by a group of Arab and Jewish journalists. "So I think we can really hurt the settlements if all Palestinians stop working there."
PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met last week with Arab activists seeking to prevent Arab workers from appearing at Jewish building sites, according to the website.
The 17-page document outlines military orders that had been drawn up by the Central Command after the government decided last month to impose a 10-month moratorium on new settlement construction in the West Bank.
Under the moratorium, settlers and contractors working on projects in which the foundations had not been finished must stop work for 10 months. But many settlers have vowed to continue building, anyway.
The IDF, therefore, is planning a second phase of enforcing the freeze, which will involve entering settlements to demolish all illegal construction work.
In the last few weeks, the civil administration and the Border Police have gone into most settlements to hand out stop-work orders and monitor compliance with the moratorium. In a number of settlements, residents blocked the path of security forces and clashes ensued.
In the second phase, the Border Police will oversee the demolitions and evacuate protesters, while the IDF will secure the perimeter. The IDF will move in only in cases of extreme violence.
Physical force would have to be used against the settlers, since it is assumed they would not peacefully stop work and evacuate construction sites when ordered to do so, the document states.
The settlers believe the moratorium is the start of a second disengagement and will do everything possible to prevent the demolitions, the document said. There is no concrete information that the settlers intend to take up arms, said the document, but it added that anything was possible.
The document goes into great detail, outlining different scenarios that could occur. It also distinguishes between "moderate" and "violent" settlements, such as Yitzhar.
Initially, the IDF would try to come to a verbal resolution with the settlers, but if that fails, they would surprise the settlers with what the army termed "paralyzing force."
The air force is expected to get involved by doing reconnaissance flights over the area. The IDF plans to shut down cellular phone services during the enforcement operation and to ban reporters from the scene.
Commanders have been told to prepare for incidents of insubordination.
MK Danny Danon (Likud) said in reaction to the IDF document portraying the large forces to be used to destroy Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria that "the orders have the same bad smell that the disengagement did. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has singled out residents as an enemy, making all actions against them legitimate."
MK Danon, head of the Knesset's Child Rights' Forum, will visit Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria Sunday, where he will review the damage the building freeze has had on children in the region.
"The defense minister's uncurbed zeal for the building freeze in Judea and Samaria has completely confused him regarding who the real enemies of the State of Israel are," said Tzipi Hotovely. She called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to intervene.
In an interview with Israel Radio Sunday morning, MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) said that the IDF's plan to use large forces to demolish buildings said that "we will resist, and block with our bodies the destroying forces. I recommend that Barak issue a general emergency draft call for as many soldiers as he can. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has gone insane." Eldad added that "this is a double crime – using IDF force against Jews, but not against Arabs. Both Barak and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are guilty of this crime, and they are being aided by the government's ministers."
MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) said that "this shocking document shows that the Likud has gone to war against residents of Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu is continuing in the way of Ariel Sharon, who destroyed the IDF in an internal Jewish war, and left Hizbullah a destroyed IDF."
National Union chairman MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) said Sunday that the situation now faced by residents of Judea and Samaria, against whom the IDF is preparing to take drastic action to enforce Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's building freeze, is a direct result of the actions and philosophy of Likud activist Moshe Feiglin. "This is the failure of Feiglinism," MK Katz said, adding that Feiglin, who was determined to change the Likud from within, had paved the way for former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to undertake the Gaza disengagement – and was doing the same for Netanyahu.
"Feiglin helped Netanyahu get elected, and the 'good' representatives who are supporting him out of fear that the weak Prime Minister will fall, are enabling Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who is fighting for his political life, to commit crimes against the Jewish people and its spirit. We should not expect anything good to grow from the detritus of the Likud," MK Katz said.
Just over half of Americans support a military attack on Iran by the United States and its allies if Teheran doesn't halt its nuclear program, according to a new poll by The Israel Project.
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However, should Israel go ahead and attack Iran anyway, and then came under retaliatory attack from Iran, a strong majority said the US should lend military defense. In that case 61% said the US should help Israel in that event (with 32% opposed). The number jumped to 68% (with 29% opposed) if Israel comes under attack from Iranian proxies Hizbullah and Hamas.
"That's a very big number at a time when America's involved in two wars that are fairly unpopular with the American people," said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, referring to American backing for entering a potential conflict with Iran on behalf of Israel.
Those surveyed were skeptical that engagement and negotiations, or even multilateral sanctions, would halt Iran's nuclear program. Only 40% said there was some or even a good chance those would work, with 59% giving them little or no chance. The skepticism increased if the US alone imposed sanctions.
A senior official in the U.S. administration told Haaretz that if the deal for Shalit's release is completed, the U.S. would be interested in seeing Israel releasing Fatah prisoners as well, in addition to other gestures to bolster's Fatah's status compared to Hamas. "We are telling the Israelis that [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas' situation needs to be mitigated," the U.S. official said.
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On Friday, Fox News reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been reluctant to sign a deal presented to him three weeks ago to secure Shalit's release, adding that the prime minister's seven senior cabinet members were divided over the proposed agreement.
The family of Gilad Shalit asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau last night to confirm a number of recent reports on the state of negotiations with Hamas to secure the abducted Israeli soldier's release.
Activists in the campaign to free Gilad, as well as the Shalit family, say that up to this point, they haven't received an answer or any other information from the prime minister.
Meanwhile, the Gaza-based newspaper Palestine reported Saturday that Mohammed Nazzal, a senior Hamas official, said that the talks were frozen due to Israel's refusal to free a significant number of prisoners whose release Hamas demands.
In a briefing in the City of London 12 days ago, a senior detective from SO15, the Metropolitan police counter-terrorism command, said: “Mumbai is coming to London.”
The detective said companies should anticipate a shooting and hostage-taking raid “involving a small number of gunmen with handguns and improvised explosive devices”.
The warning — the bluntest issued by police — has underlined an assessment that a terrorist cell may be preparing an attack on London early next year.
It was issued by the Met through its network of “security forums”, which provide business leaders, local government and the emergency services with counter-terrorism advice.
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Earlier this year, police, military and intelligence services held an exercise in Kent to see whether they could defeat a commando raid in London by terrorists.
“The exercise brought out to those taking part that the capability doesn’t exist to deal with that situation should it arise,” said a military source.
Security sources said concerns had been raised by “chatter” on a prominent jihadist website two weeks ago.
One contributor suggested fighters could use automatic weapons to strike places such as nightclubs, sporting venues and Jewish centres.
In an online discussion hosted on December 2, another contributor invited suggestions for carrying out “guerrilla warfare” and proposed “a group of mujaheddin raid police stations and fire at them”.
Another said: “Make sure that all those at the location are of age, that there are no children and so on. Insist on the locations and times where no Muslims or children are to be expected.
“If machine guns are available, and explosive and expertise for [explosives] are not available, this is a good way ... The [Mumbai] operation is the ideal scenario for operations you are talking about.”
A third contributor said targets should be “chosen in a studied manner”.
He added: “In general, targeting economic joints and intelligence centres if possible has priority over police stations.”
Following are excerpts from a TV children’s show, in which children learn about Palestinian suicide bomber Wafa Idris. The show aired on Al-Quds TV on December 1, 2009.
TV Host: There used to be a girl, who was a student at medical school. She lived in a refugee camp called Al-Am’ari. the Al-Am’ari camp, my dear children, is located near the city of Ramallah in occupied Palestine.
[...]
[Wafa Idris] went to the commander of the resistance, and asked to carry out a martyrdom operation. What, a girl carrying out a martyrdom operation?! She said: I want to carry out a martyrdom operation, just like any young man in the resistance. Obviously, the commander hesitated at first, because this was the first time such a thing happened. Since the beginning of the Intifada, no Palestinian girl had carried out a martyrdom operation. But Wafa insisted, until she managed to convince the commander that the Zionists would not pay attention to a girl. Usually, they only inspect the young men. So the commander agreed. In light of her determination, courage, and persistence – he agreed.
[...]
So he set out. The moment she set foot on the road, she remembered something. What was it? Not a family member or a relative. She remembered that she had not fed the doves on the roof. Quickly, she climbed to the roof. As soon as the doves saw her, they began flapping their wings. From among the doves, Wafa took a white dove in her hands. Its wing was broken two days earlier. Wafa stroked it gently and said to it: Don’t worry, white dove, peace dove. Tomorrow, you will be able to fly again. You will return to your nest in the Old city of Jerusalem. Tomorrow, the skies will open up before your wings, and you will fly over the Galilee, Nablus, Jenin, Bethlehem, and Hebron.
Wafa went to her work as usual, but obviously, she took a day off, and left. Why? Because the time for the heroic operation had come.
Boy: Where was the operation?
TV Host: In Jerusalem. On her way to West Jerusalem, everything she saw encouraged her to commit martyrdom.
[...]
Second boy: Wasn’t Wafa afraid among the occupiers? Didn’t she hesitate?
TV Host: Of course not. She wasn’t afraid, and she did not hesitate, because she placed Allah between her eyes and in her heart. She would always remember Allah and would crush her fear. If fear wanted to come near her calm and peaceful heart, she would get ready to enter Paradise, knowing that she would be among the living, who are sustained [by God]. Who are they? The martyrs.
[...]
Today, Wafa will not treat the wounded in Ramallah. Why? She will go to Jerusalem, and there will be many dead and wounded there, but not from among the Palestinians. They will be from among the Zionist soldiers.
[...]
Wafa fulfilled her wish by successfully carrying out her martyrdom operation. The result was that she killed an Israeli soldier and wounded about a hundred. Why was Wafa martyred? So that the flower of the homeland would not wither.
[...]
Third boy: When was she martyred?
TV Host: Wafa Idris was martyred on Sunday, January 27, 2002. She has become a role model for any Palestinian girl who harbors the spirit of self-sacrifice, national sentiment, and love of death for the sake of Allah and in defense of the homeland.
Young girl: I want to become a doctor like Wafa, so that I can help the wounded.
TV Host: Allah willing, we will all become like Wafa Idris. We will treat the wounded, and Allah will grant us martyrdom.
Iran “wants to hold all the cards in its hands” in any future dialogue with the United States and for that reason it gave Hamas 250 million dollars to derail the internal Palestinian Authority talks over unity, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas said.
In an interview to Egyptian paper Al-Ahram, he said: “Every six months Iran transfers this sum to Hamas. The organization lives off of the Iranian money.”
"The special paint (coating material), the substance used in the shell and some special electronic devices used in the missile are the main three factors giving a radar-evading capability to the missile," Farahi told FNA on Saturday.
"The optimized missile is one of the important achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran's defense experts which plays a significant role in increasing the deterrence power of the Iranian Armed Forces," he added.
Farahi said that the Iranian defense and academic experts have used radar-evading coatings in this kind of missile, which renders enemy's missile defense systems unable to intercept Sejjil 2 missiles.
The Government of Egypt has requested a possible sale of 450 AGM-114K3A HELLFIRE II missiles, spare and repair parts, test and tool sets, personnel training and equipment, publications, a U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics personnel services, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $51 million.
This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.
This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the military capabilities of Egypt and furthering weapon system standardization and interoperability with U.S. forces.
Egypt needs these missiles in order to defend its own borders and to remain militarily viable in the region. The proposed sale of HELLFIRE missiles will greatly improve Egypt’s defense posture. The missiles will be provided in accordance with, and subject to the limitation on use and transfer provided under the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, as embodied in the Letter of Offer and Acceptance.
Some historians and Jewish groups have argued Pius should have done more to prevent the deaths of 6 million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators, but the Vatican insists Pius used quiet diplomacy to try to save Jews. The German-born Benedict's approval of a decree about his "heroic virtues" is certain to set off a new round of criticism from Jewish organizations.
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Benedict ... made an official visit to Israel and has already made two visits to synagogues. But his decision to take a step forward in Pius' long-delayed beatification process will likely spark further outrage among Jews still incensed over Benedict's rehabilitation earlier this year of a Holocaust-denying bishop.
"While it is obviously up to the Vatican to determine who its saints are, the church's repeated insistence that it seeks mutually respectful ties with the Jewish community ought to mean taking our sensitivities into account on this most crucial historical era," said David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee.
Abraham Foxman, a Holocaust survivor and the Anti-Defamation League's national director, said he was disappointed that the pope had taken the decision while the historical jury is still out on Pius' record.
"I can't understand the rush, especially while there are still survivors who are alive who feel the issue very, very deeply and are being told the files need time to be processed. What's the imperative?" Foxman told The Associated Press.
I think Benjamin Netanyahu has gone through a personal evolution a little like my own. He continues to be profoundly skeptical that signing a piece of paper can put an end to this conflict. He is a fierce advocate of defensible borders and military strength as the true guarantors of Israel's security. Nevertheless, he has come back to a second term as prime minister with a deeper appreciation of the reality that his relations with the United States, Europe, and moderate Arab neighbors depend on the perception that he can be a partner in the search for diplomatic progress with the Palestinians. And he certainly knows that many harbor doubts about him.
That is why Bibi agreed to do something unprecedented, something that six previous Israeli prime ministers since the1993 Oslo Accords (Rabin, Peres, Barak, Sharon, Olmert, and Netanyahu himself in his previous term) refused to do. Very much against the will of his party and coalition, Netanyahu consented to putting a freeze on "natural growth"of settlements. He has drastically curtailed the volume of construction starts,even in the "consensus" settlement blocs that he believes wereconceded to Ariel Sharon by George W. Bush.
Now, below the radar, Netanyahu is making a series of additional concessions to Barack Obama and his Mideast peace envoy, George Mitchell. Their current priority is negotiating "terms of reference"to permit the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations (TORs in negotiators' vernacular). Dismissed by some as mere "talking about talking," TORs are in fact vital elements to create the parameters for serious negotiations.For example, then-Secretary of State James Baker shuttled around the region for eight months to negotiate the TORs that made the 1991 Madrid conference possible. All that was done just to phrase a letter of invitation that all sides could accept. The result was far from trivial; it was a framework that opened the way to all the direct negotiations that followed over the ensuing two decades.
Mitchell's challenge today is to define such a framework that can bridge differences between Netanyahu and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas. Defying skeptics who say you can bridge a river but not an ocean, Mitchell keeps going at it, and his perseverance is paying off. While no one was watching, Netanyahu has in fact agreed to language that Mitchell can accept. With the Israeli agreement in his pocket, Mitchell is now working to bring Abbas around, according to sources close to the discussions.
The issues are not small. Abbas wants to enshrine the 1967 boundary as sacrosanct, even though that line was merely a military demarcation after the war that ended in 1949 and had never been recognized by the Palestinians or anyone else as a legal border. Reflecting the Israeli consensus, Netanyahu insists that future agreed frontiers have to meet Israel's security imperatives and reflect post-1967 demographic realities, whether or not they diverge from the former armistice line. But Netanyahu has accepted a solution based on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's formulation: "an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements."
Abbas wants Israeli territorial concessions in Jerusalem as a precondition for negotiations. Netanyahu has accepted that the Palestinians will bring their claims for Jerusalem to the table, but he is not going to make this or any other concession just to bring Abbas to negotiate. Mitchell's TORs will include implementation of all existing agreements between the parties, as well as the 2003 "Roadmap" for a two-state solution. These already define Jerusalem as a subject for discussion.
Abbas wants an absolute two-year deadline for the achievement of a permanent agreement. Netanyahu is accepting target dates for agreements, but he does not believe achievement can be guaranteed. Mitchell has the language he needs for the TORs regarding target dates.
Abbas wants language that obliges Israel to repatriate and compensate descendants of Palestinians who lost their homes in the upheavals before 1949. Netanyahu has agreed to participate in multilateral solutions for this "refugee" problem, provided these solutions do not include an obligation that will dilute Israel's own Jewish majority. Mitchell will point out that a solution to the refugee question is already incorporated in the documents to which the TORs will refer.
Abbas wants the 2002 Saudi-initiated Arab Peace Initiative to be the basis of negotiations. Netanyahu has agreed to have it listed among the references, though it is not among the signed agreements whose specific terms are binding. In any case, the Roadmap already contains a positive reference to the Saudi peace plan, and the Roadmap will be a major source document for the TORs.
The Palestinians eschew the concept of interim agreements because they fear that any temporary arrangements will become final. Israel believes that interim steps are a necessity for building confidence between the two parties. The Roadmap's Phase II already contains "the option of creating an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty," and the Oslo Accords are replete with interim steps. This will not be an obstacle to agreed TORs.
Mitchell has not announced the agreement with Netanyahu because delicate negotiations with Abbas still lie ahead. He did say on Nov. 25,"We have been in discussions with both Israelis and Palestinians for sometime regarding terms of reference for negotiations. We have closed many gaps between them. And while admittedly important differences remain, we've made very substantial progress."
Now, a month later, the work on the Israeli side is done. Netanyahu has put the ball in the Palestinian court.
But to knowingly risk the lives of civilians in order to protect soldiers is to turn the social contract inside out. The state’s first duty to its citizens is to protect their lives and liberties; that is what justifies the creation of a military in the first place. Releasing hundreds of terrorists may mean that Shalit comes home safely, but it almost certainly condemns other Israeli citizens to death. The plight of Shalit and his family is heartbreaking and tragic. Yet it cannot be right to win his freedom by risking the lives of the civilians he, like every soldier, is sworn to protect.
In 1976, Israeli troops rescued Jewish hostages being held in Uganda’s Entebbe airport, a spectacular feat that electrified the world. Jonathan Netanyahu, the mission commander (and brother of Israel’s current prime minister), died in that operation. He made the supreme sacrifice in the service of his nation, as soldiers so often have. Before the Israelis agree to a reckless deal with Hamas, perhaps they should reflect on Entebbe, and ask themselves: What would Jonathan do?
On Friday, the French news agency AFP quoted Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as having said that Iran would be willing to reach a deal with the West over its controversial nuclear program as soon as the U.S. and other Western nations stopped issuing threats against Iran.
"Everything is possible, 400 kilos, 800 kilos, it's nothing," for enrichment abroad, Ahmadinejad was quoted by AFP as saying in a new gesture to try to end the nuclear standoff.
"But not in a climate where they threaten us. They have to change their vocabulary, in respect and legality," Ahmadinejad said.
Six world powers have urged Iran to accept a United Nations-drafted proposal that would have Iran ship 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Russia in one batch.
"From the outset, delivering 1,200 kilos of uranium was not a problem for us," said Ahmadinejad, "but they believe they can wave a stick to threaten us, those days are over."
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has signaled that time is running out for the diplomatic approach to resolving the nuclear dispute with Iran. Both the U.S. and Israel have not ruled out a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities should diplomacy fail.
"They are threatening us now, with sanctions, with resolutions, pressure, it's going backwards," said Ahmadinejad.
An Israeli lawyer and left-wing activist who worked as a linguist for the FBI has pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents to a blogger who posted the information online.
Officials say 39-year-old Shamai Kedem Leibowitz of Silver Spring, Md., admitted giving secret documents to the unidentified host of the Web site.
The FBI says Leibowitz held a top security clearance for his work as a linguist, and in April of this year gave the blogger documents about U.S. communication intelligence activities.
Officials would not say what the information was or where it appeared online.
Leibowitz has described himself "an Israeli-American attorney, admitted in New York and in Israel" and "a certified Hebrew-English translator and interpreter," according to the Web site Politico, which also reported that Leibowitz previously garnered attention for working on the defense team of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti.
A "bunker buster" bomb with more than 10 times the explosive power of its predecessor will be put into service by the United States next December, six months later than previously scheduled, the U.S. Defense Department told Reuters on Friday.Bad news. Really bad news.
The deployment's timing may help shape calculations of the United States and others in long-running standoffs with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs.
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"Funding delays and enhancements to the planned test schedule have pushed the capability availability date to December 2010," Tara Rigler, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said in an email.
This week’s National Journal poll of political bloggers asked for a grade for President Obama’s foreign policy. The average grade from the Left was a C. From the Right, it was a D-. I gave him the highest grade of any voter, which was a B, and explained: “Finally did the right thing on the Afghanistan surge. His most important speech to the world — in Oslo — was magnificent. Badly mishandled Honduras at the start by opposing the lawful removal of Zelaya, but no long-term harm was done.” Next year’s grade might be much lower, in that the shared Clinton-Bush-Obama policy of all talk and no action about Iran’s nuclear weapons development may get to the terminal point of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
[T]oday’s event is part of a well established pattern: Iran attacks us and our friends and allies, and we look away. This is the theme of Accomplice to Evil. Just as we dithered and “negotiated,” as the Nazis prepared the Second World War, and then as the Soviets prepared the Cold War, so we have dithered for thirty years as the Islamic Republic has waged war against us. Do not think for a minute that this sort of appeasement is unique to Obama; the unique thing about the current phase is that we are so open about it.
There will probably be other events for us to ignore in short order. Top Iranian officials, including the head of the national security council and the defense minister, have recently visited Damascus, where they met with the leaders of the region’s terrorist leaders, and those killers, along with Syrian officials, will soon go to Tehran for further meetings. This suggests, to me at least, that an escalation in the terror war is now under way, and I expect to see a considerable tempo of killing in the near future. That is likely to include attacks in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Israel.
I do not expect us to respond effectively. Our own leaders are even shying away from increasing the sanctions against Iran. With this sort of fecklessness, the regime will press ahead with its mayhem, and our friends in the region will be very cautious.
“…they respect it when someone is standing his ground, when someone is not afraid of them. When someone soils his pants prematurely, then they do not respect you more for it.”
The current situation in the West Bank is one of the best, if not the best, since 1948. Quiet prevails in the streets of every city there, the economy is starting to take off, the civilian police are maintaining law and order, and even the courts, despite their tremendous caseload, are upgrading their activity with every passing week.