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Found 1294 articles

US Awards Iran Role as Military Partner, Sells Israel Short

May 17, 2009, 4:38 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israeli chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi

Only two weeks ago, Israel's chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi, then visiting Washington, was denied interviews with US defense secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the US chiefs of staff Adm. Mike Mullen. He cut short his visit after seeing national security adviser Gen. James Jones and Iran envoy Dennis Ross, lesser lights in terms of their direct influence on President Barack Obama. Since then, the US president has decided the snub was ill-judged. The Obama administration has a bitter pill for Israel to swallow for the sake of progress toward a strategic collaboration with Tehran on Afghanistan and Pakistan. It cuts close to the bone in terms of Israel's security and international standing: Washington will not brook any unilateral Israeli military action that might upset US-Iranian moves towards cooperation in the Afgpak Arena and will squeeze Israel hard for sweeping concessions to Syria and the Palestinians.
In full

So who did bomb the Iranian arms trucks in Sudan?

May 2, 2009, 1:44 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israel's Eitan drone - unlikely to have used in Sudan

The only solid fact emerging from the fanciful "reports" traded between Western and Middle East media over the bombing of an Iranian arms convoy bound for Hamas in January is that Tehran's arms shipments to Hamas via Sinai and the Gaza tunnels continue at full spate. Somehow, as the "reporting" unfolded, the US attacker morphed into the Israeli Air Force. Western imagination outdid itself Sunday, March 28, when the London Sunday Times claimed that Israeli intelligence used drones to bomb the convoy in Sudan, possibly even Eitan UAVs, whose wing span is like that of a Boeing airliner, and that missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv were the target. If this claim and reports in other Western media - asserting glibly that Israeli drones or warplanes had sunk an Iranian ship in the Red Sea - are correct, they would signify: 1. That Israel and Iran are at war; 2. That Tehran has decided to take Israeli attacks on the chin and not respond. Does this sound like the Iranian leaders we know? 3. Israel has declared war on Sudan with two attacks. 4. And, most importantly, Israel's armed forces have failed to stem the flow of Iranian arms to Gaza.
In full

World agencies gearing up to thwart upgraded Islamist terror

April 18, 2009, 2:44 PM (GMT+02:00)

Mumbai Taj Hotel on fire

Using novel, upgraded tactics, Al Qaeda and fellow Islamist terror groups are outperforming anti-terror agencies in their attacks on targeted countries. International counter-terror agencies are worried enough to start retooling their counter-measures after viewing terrorist performances in Mumbai on Nov. 2008, killing 172 people, Lahore on March 3, causing 8 fatalities, and the Jordan Valley, shooting dead 2 Israeli policemen. India, for instance, is overhauling its special forces from top to bottom and preparing to launch the world's first anti-terror satellite RISAT 2 on short-order delivery from Israel. British intelligence and anti-terror services have embarked on a crash program to secure the G-20 summit opening in London on April 2, fearing the posh hotels hosting the leaders and their retinues are designated for a Mumbai-style massacre. Western terror experts have detected common traits in the recent spate of attacks:
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Palestinian PM Fayyad's Exit May Usher in Hamas' West Bank takeover

April 15, 2009, 11:43 AM (GMT+02:00)

Prime minister Salam Fayyad quits ahead of Palestinian unity

By submitting his resignation as Palestinian prime minister Saturday, March 7, the pro-American Salam Fayyad removes a major roadblock to a power-sharing accord between the extremist Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, which governs the West Bank. This accord if concluded would open the door to Hamas domination of the West Bank in the same way as the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamists threw the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority out of Gaza two years ago. His action, three days after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton held well-publicized talks with Fayyad and Abbas in Ramallah, comes as a serious blow to America prestige and is one up for Iran and its Palestinian proxy. The Palestinian prime minister, a former World Bank economist in Washington, saw that in a unity government, his only function would be to act as a respectable non-terrorist address for the receipt of the $5.5 billion dollars the international donors meeting in Sharm e-Sheikh on March 2 approved for Gaza reconstruction.
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Some home truths about the Gaza aid conference

April 11, 2009, 8:28 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israeli air force bombs empty Gaza buildings

Amid a global economic meltdown, high-ranking delegations from 75 countries met at Sharm e-Sheikh Monday, March 2, and approve $5.5 billion for rebuilding the Gaza Strip ravaged during Israel's 22-day anti-terror operation last month. Hillary Clinton will announce at her debut Middle East appearance as secretary of state a $900 million donation: $600 million for the Palestinian Authority, $300 million for Gaza. By following the donors' money trail, DEBKAfile's sources have found out exactly where the international aid for Gaza ends up: At the corruption-ridden Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, feeding Hamas' military might and paying its armorer, Iran. The pro-West Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, who is credited with bringing order to Palestinian Authority finances, regularly diverts to the Gaza Strip funds from all PA revenues including donations. No more than 15% of this revenue ever reaches the Palestinian populace – badly hurt during Israel's military offensive but chronically jobless and poverty-stricken since the Hamas takeover. After the donors leave, Hamas and its sponsors can drop their public pose as victims and have a good laugh over the Western world's gullibility.
In full

Boxed in by Washington, Assad May Resort to Border Violence

April 4, 2009, 1:38 PM (GMT+02:00)

Lebanese politician Rafiq Hariri's assassination finally comes to court

Washington and Jerusalem are bracing for a flareup on the Syrian and Lebanese borders with Israel as the international tribunal for prosecuting the Rafiq Hariri assassins prepares to start sittings next Sunday, March 1. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has engineered a delay in full court hearings by insisting on tight security measures being put in place. But Syrian president Bashar Assad will have to accept the failure of his best efforts to stymie the tribunal or persuade the Barack Obama administration to help remove this cloud hovering over his regime. DEBKAfile's military sources report that Israel's armed forces, the four Syrian divisions arrayed along Lebanese and Israeli borders, the Lebanese army, the United Nations peace force and Hizballah are all in a high state of suspense for trouble. On the surface, hectic US diplomatic activity presages a thaw in relations with Damascus. But when it comes down to brass tacks, Barack Obama is not letting the Syrian president off the hook on longstanding bones of contention.
In full

Hamas' Ceasefire – Smoke and Mirrors

March 31, 2009, 1:21 PM (GMT+02:00)

Hamas' Mahmoud A-Zahar hoodwinks Israel, Egypt

Duped again by a Hamas promise to negotiate a long-term truce, Israel reacted by stepping up its air attacks over the Gaza Strip from Friday, Feb. 13, to hold down a fresh upsurge of Palestinian violence. After spreading false reports that an 18-month truce and a deal for the release of the captive Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit were "hours away", Hamas jerked the carpet from under the Cairo talks in spite of Israel's over-generous concessions. Last week, Israel was persuaded by the Egyptian intelligence minister Gen. Omar Suleiman to let Hamas leader Mahmud A-Zahar travel from Gaza to Cairo, Damascus and Qatar on the understanding that he would override hardline Khaled Meshaal and sign an extended truce deal. Instead of signing, Hamas used the time gained to restock its arsenal after the beating it took from Israel's Gaza operation last month and regroup for a fresh cross-border offensive.
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Washington, Moscow at Cross-purposes on Nuclear Iran

March 29, 2009, 10:25 AM (GMT+02:00)

While US president Barack Obama told the media early Tuesday, Feb. 10, that the US would pursue direct talks with Iran, an official Russian spokesman said his government would complete Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr within three months. DEBKAfile's sources report that Obama is planning on the dialogue with Tehran beginning in late June. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad replied by welcoming talks based on mutual respect provided the changes in Washington were "fundamental and not just tactical." The three statements hung over Israel's general election Tuesday, as 5.2 million eligible voters turned out to choose a prime minister capable of military action to halt Iran race toward a nuclear bomb. Despite the talk in Washington and Moscow of eased strains in their relations, the Kremlin has clearly come down on the side of giving the Iranian leaders a strong hand in their coming dialogue with the Obama administration.
In full

Outgoing Israeli government bargains away military success in Gaza

March 21, 2009, 10:53 AM (GMT+02:00)

All too quickly Israel's three war leaders - prime minister Ehud Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak and foreign minister Tzipi Livni - forgot the goals they set for the three-week military offensive launched against Hamas on Dec. 27, 2008: That Operation Cast Lead would not halt until security prevailed in southern Israel, that the eight-year Palestinian missile offensive be brought to an end and that Hamas never be allowed to rearm for a fresh assault of terror. Six weeks later, the Islamists terrorists are reaping the spoils of a war they lost. Jerusalem is feeding Egyptian mediators with concession after concession to keep Hamas at the negotiating table in Cairo and talking about a long-term truce.
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