Israeli-Arab War

[American Patriot]

Syria develops new missile with Iran's aid
UPI ^ | Published: Feb. 8, 2008 at 7:18 PM

Syria says it has developed, with Iranian help, a surface-to-surface missile that could better target Israeli installations like airports and factories.

It is believed the missile is more accurate than other similar surface-to-surface weapons in the Syrian arsenal, Haaretz said.

This apparent Syria-Iran deal comes at a time when Israeli defense sources have expressed growing concern about Syria's rearmament program, with most arms reportedly supplied by Russia.

(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...

[American Patriot]

Israel sure Iran seeking nuclear arms: Olmert

4 hours ago


BERLIN (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday underscored a vow Tuesday to fight Hamas militants and said all options remained open in dealing with Iran, which he accused of seeking nuclear arms.


Olmert said there was evidence that Iran was trying to develop nuclear arms and warned that not a single mistake could be allowed in dealing with the issue.


"The Iranians are moving forward with their plans to create a capacity for non-conventional weapons. There is evidence that the plan of the Iranians is not that naive and innocent," Olmert told reporters after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.


"This is a main challenge. We can't afford to make one mistake on that issue."


Asked if Israel would consider using military force in dealing with Iran, Olmert cited US President George W. Bush's refusal to rule out force in dealing with Iran's defiance to halt sensitive nuclear work.


"President Bush, I think, once said 'no option is ruled out'. And I think that his definition was very interesting and I have nothing to add to this."


Israel, an undeclared nuclear power with an estimated arsenal of 200 warheads, suspects Iran of trying to develop an atomic bomb under the guise of its controversial nuclear programme, a charge that Tehran denies.


Israel and the United States in particular have called for heightened pressure on Tehran with a third sanctions resolution from the UN Security Council, aimed at forcing Iran to halt uranium enrichment.


Germany is among six world powers trying to convince Iran to halt sensitive nuclear work with a mix of sanctions and incentives.


Olmert also said that Israel remained determined to fight "terrorists," two days after threatening to target Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip over continued rocket attacks from there into Israel.


"We will continue to fight the terrorists, we will not stop," he said.


"We will do it with strength, determination and without any delay. The Israeli government is absolutely determined to respond to the challenge of terror in every way possible that will be effective."


Merkel said "the clock is ticking" to find a resolution to the Middle East conflict.
"We must take advantage of the opportunity," she said.
Merkel said Germany planned to host a conference on aid for training the Palestinian security forces.


"We want to support the work of Tony Blair as the envoy of the Middle East Quartet," referring to the international group working toward peace in the region: the European Union, Russia, the United States and the United Nations.


"Tony Blair asked us to prepare a conference dealing with the issue of the police force. We will do that in Germany."


Asked about Israeli sanctions imposed on the Gaza Strip and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, the chancellor offered Olmert her backing.


"I know the humanitarian situation is difficult and we are of course trying to do what we can to help. But the most simple response is Israel's decision to put an end to terrorist activities."
Violence in and around Gaza has escalated over the past week as militants have fired dozens of rockets against southern Israel, wounding several people.


Anger and pressure on the government to act grew after an eight-year-old boy lost his leg after being hit by shrapnel.
Olmert at the weekend however ruled out launching a widespread ground offensive in Gaza but warned that no one from Hamas was immune to Israeli strikes in the isolated coastal territory where the Islamist movement seized power last June.

[American Patriot]

IDF Chief Of Staff: 'I Have Ordered IDF On Special Alert On Land , Sea & In The Air'

IsraCast / Debka / Ynet ^

'The IDF has gone on special alert on land, sea and in the air' - that's the reaction of IDF Chief of Staff Gaby Ashkenazi after the asssassination of Hezballah's top commancer Imad Mugniyah in Damascus. It is not a question of if, but when Hezbollah will launch a major terror attack against an Israeli or Jewish target somewhere in the world. Whether or not Israeli agents killed Hezbollah commander Imad Mugniyah is a moot point. Hezbollah, Iran and Syria are all pointing the finger at Israel. There is no question that after recovering from the initial shock, all of Hezbollah's resources will be mobilized to avenge the killing of their vaunted 'military' commander who succeeded in evading the security services of Israel, the U.S. and other western countries for nearly a quarter of a century. Iran declared that 'Mugniyah's death will shake the Zionist regime like an earthquake' and can be counted upon to again lend all its aid to the Hezbollah wave of revenge.

Debka :

Defense minister Ehud Barak said the entire national defense system is fully prepared and alert as heavy Israeli reinforcements, including homeland defense units, were rushed Thursday to northern Israel.

Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi gave these orders Thursday, Feb. 14, 24 hours after a bomb killed Hizballah’s military commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that he took these unprecedented steps following a stream of incoming intelligence updates reporting that Iran, Syria and Hizballah had decided not to let Mughniyeh’s death pass without an immediate response.

Israeli forces have been placed on the highest level of preparedness against possible Syrian or Hizballah cross-border strikes. Rocket attacks by Hizballah against Israeli civilians are also taken into account, as well as possible Syrian air force incursions into Israel air space.

Jerusalem has denied Hizballah and Iranian allegations of responsibility for the death of the Lebanese master terrorist.

DEBKAfile reported earlier Tehran, Damascus, Hizballah leadership are coordinating efforts to wreak their revenge for Mughniyeh’s death, convinced that Israel’s Mossad planted the small bomb in the master terrorist’s Mitsubishi Pajero in the heart of the Syrian capital. Wednesday night, all Hizballah’s top leaders went to ground. Hassan Nasrallah did not attend the funeral Thursday but broadcast his eulogy by video. He declared if Israel wants war, so be it. "The blood of slain commander will lead to Israel's demise."

Ynet :

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that the defense establishment is exercising a state of heightened alert in anticipation of a possible attack in retaliation for the death of Hizbullah commander Imad Mugniyah, who was killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Wednesday.

[American Patriot]

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel
Yahoo/AP ^ | Feb. 14, 2008

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel

By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The chief of Hezbollah vowed Thursday to retaliate against Israeli targets anywhere in the world after accusing the Jewish state of killing the militant Imad Mughniyeh in Syria.

Israel ordered its military, embassies and Jewish institutions overseas to go on alert Thursday, fearing revenge attacks for a car bomb that killed Mughniyeh — accused of masterminding dramatic attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s.

Hezbollah and its Iranian backers blamed Israel but Israel denied involvement.

In a videotaped eulogy broadcast on a giant screen to thousands attending the south Beirut funeral for Mughniyeh, Nasrallah said Israel had taken the fight outside the "natural battlefield" of Israel and Lebanon.

"You have crossed the borders," he said. "With this murder, its timing, location and method — Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, let the whole world listen: Let this war be open."

[American Patriot]

The Targeted Killing of Imad Mugniyeh
FrontPage mag ^ | February 14, 2008 | Alan M. Dershowitz

The Targeted Killing of Imad Mugniyeh

By Alan M. Dershowitz

FrontPageMagazine.com |

Thursday, February 14, 2008

If Imad Mugniyeh - the Hezbollah terrorist mastermind who was responsible for hundreds if not thousands of murders – was indeed successfully targeted for assassination, his untimely death should be cause for celebration. I say untimely, because if he had been killed years ago, many innocent lives would have been saved.

At the time of this writing, no one can be sure whether Imad Mugniyeh is really dead, whether if he is dead he was killed by a car bomb, and who is responsible for his killing. But his targeting makes the strongest case for the appropriateness of targeted killing of terrorists who are being harbored by states that support terrorism.

Mugniyeh has been indicted by the FBI for the murder of hundreds of Americans. Syria, where he made his home, was unwilling to turn him over to the United States for justice. He continued to engage in terrorism.

The case for targeting him is compelling - legally, morally, religiously, and militarily. By any reasonable definition of that term, he is a combatant who has declared war on the United States, Israel, France and other countries whose citizens he has killed. Although he did not wear a uniform, he was a general in the terrorist war. Under the laws of war any combatant is a proper target, so long as the means used to kill him are “proportional” -- that is, he can be killed without disproportionate harm to non-combatants. When that condition is met, targeted killing is highly preferable to more conventional military means that have been employed over the centuries.

Throughout history, when one nation has been attacked it has been responded by counterattacking the attacking nation. The counterattack often takes the form of military invasion, air attacks and other conventional military means. Inevitably these military attacks cause large numbers of civilian casualties. Targeted killing on the other hand, if done properly, does exactly what its name suggests – it targets a combatant who is involved in ongoing terrorist attacks, and by killing him prevents the death of innocent civilians. Yes it is “extrajudicial” killing, but all military deaths are extrajudicial, as are conventional killings in self-defense and killings of armed felons who are escaping or resisting arrest.

What I am most opposed to are judicial killings, namely the death penalty for people who are already in custody. When a person such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is already in custody, there is an alternative to killing him – namely confining him for life. When a terrorist like Imad Mugniyeh is not in custody and cannot be captured, there is no reasonable alternative to killing him. Targeted assassination is the option of choice. So a hardy three cheers for whomever killed Imad Mugniyeh. It was a good deed, a lawful deed and a life-saving deed.

[American Patriot]

Tension high for Beirut memorials (Hariri vs. Mughniyeh Funerals)
BBC.com ^ | February 14, 2008

Thousands of people from rival camps are taking part in key memorials amid heightened tension in Beirut. Anti-Syrian groups have been marking three years since the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri.

Meanwhile supporters of Hezbollah are attending the funeral of a leader of the militant group, Imad Mughniyeh, just a few miles away.

A huge security operation is under way in the city amid fears of clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions.

Correspondents say the events come at a potentially explosive time, with no president and no working parliament.

About 8,000 army and internal security force troops have been deployed, with the aim of keeping the two factions apart.

The BBC's Mike Sergeant in Beirut says the two events will separate them naturally, but there are fears that people departing from mixed neighbourhoods could clash with rival groups on the streets.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...

[American Patriot]

Death of a terrorist--The life and death of Imad Mugniyeh says volumes about the jihadi front.
Jerusalem Post ^ | 2-14-08

The life and death of Imad Mugniyeh says volumes about the jihadi front that has declared war on the West, and how and why it must be defeated.

Mugniyeh was reportedly wanted in 42 countries. He was allegedly central to the 1983 bombings in Beirut of the US Embassy, and of the US Marines and French Paratroopers. He was indicted by Argentina for masterminding the 1992 and 1994 bombings of the Israeli Embassy and AMIA Jewish community offices.

In explaining why Mugniyeh was on the US "Most Wanted Terrorists" list, the State Department web site notes his role in the 1985 hijack of TWA 847 en route from Athens to Rome. "US Navy diver Robert Stethem was brutally tortured and murdered during the hijacking, his body dumped on the tarmac of Beirut International Airport."

An analysis, written before he was killed, by Magnus Ranstorp on Counterterrorism Blog describes his centrality to the international Islamist terror network: "The file for handling special operations [like the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers] is usually left to Imad Mugniyeh, the elusive terrorist mastermind for Hizbullah, who stands with one foot within Hizbullah (reporting to Nasrallah directly) and with one foot in Iran inside the architectures of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security and the al-Qods unit within the Iranian Pasdaran." Ranstorp continues: "Mugniyeh is strictly reserved for special occasions… and his primary mission over the last decade has been to forge qualitative 'military' guidance to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives inside Gaza and the West Bank."

Mugniyeh operated against the US and Israel from Lebanon, had a hand in operations directly against both and in third countries like Argentina, shuttled between Beirut, Damascus and Teheran, and was central to training Hamas on Iran's behalf. This sort of networking puts the lie to the strangely persistent myth that Shi'ites and Sunnis don't work together. Just as Shi'ite Iran and Hizbullah, through Mugniyeh, have no compunctions helping Sunni Hamas, there is no reason to believe that these same terror centers are disconnected from al-Qaida, just because it is a Sunni group. Furthermore, Mugniyeh died, having evidently felt particularly safe in, the Syrian capital, Damascus. This should serve as a reminder, in case any was needed, that Syria remains a terror state par excellence.

His death revives central questions in the battle against Islamist terror: What is happening with the endless UN investigation of Syrian assassinations in Lebanon, while Syria seems to keep adding to its hit list? What is happening with the Chapter 7 embargo against Hizbullah that Syria is rampantly violating. When will the UN Security Council take steps to enforce the weapons embargo imposed by Resolution 1701? Most importantly, when will UNIFIL be charged with helping the Lebanese government to prevent the weapons flow to Hizbullah across the Lebanon-Syria border?

The death of Mugniyeh should also refocus attention on the danger posed by his real masters in Teheran. Every time the world contemplates a nuclear Iran, it must also contemplate the possibility that Mugniyeh's successors will be tasked with using that weapon in a way the bears no obvious fingerprints leading back to Iran, presents no clear address for retaliation, and therefore leaves the entire deterrence model in shambles.

But Iran does not have to ever use a nuclear weapon, either directly or through proxies, for that weapon to have a profound impact on the level of terrorism in the world. If Iran goes nuclear, the mullahs will be able to greatly ramp up their support for the entire jihadi axis, including Hamas, Hizbullah and al-Qaida, while enjoying substantial immunity from Western retaliation. This Iranian freedom of action could quickly change the face of the region, substantially raise the price of oil and otherwise pummel Western economies, and destroy any prospects for Arab-Israeli peace.

Standing with Ehud Olmert during his visit to Germany this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel sounded supportive on the need to tighten sanctions on Iran. But we are far beyond the stage of nuance and even saber-rattling. Germany remains Iran's largest European trading partner. Not only does this trade continue, but even government export credits subsidizing this trade are continuing at a reduced level. If Germany's oft-repeated "historic responsibility" is to mean anything, it must become a leader, not just a follower - or worse - in the Western campaign to force Iran to back down. The alternative is for the Imad Mugniyehs of the world to gain a nuclear sponsor, with devastating implications not just for Israel, but for free nations everywhere.

[American Patriot]

Iran: Hezbollah will annihilate Israel
PRESSTV (Iran) ^ | 18 Feb 08 | Some crank in Iran

A top Iranian military official says the world will soon witness the destruction of the Zionist regime at the hand of the Hezbollah movement.

Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari made the remarks in a condolence message to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah following the assassination of the movement's top commander, Imad Mughniyah, Fars News Agency reported.

"Mughniyah was an exemplary Muslim, his martyrdom will without a doubt strengthen the resolve of his comrades in their fight against the Zionist regime," the IRGC commander said.

While it is commonly believed Israel carried out Mughniyah's assassination plot, Zionist officials have denied any involvement in the crime.

Israel and its number one supporter, the United States, have both praised the murder of Mughniyah, who was killed in a Tuesday car bombing in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

[American Patriot]

Hezbollah Will Soon Destroy Israel, Says Iran Guards
Reuters ^ | February 18, 2008

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday Israel would soon be destroyed by the "hands of Hezbollah", the Lebanese group which is backed by the Islamic Republic, Fars News Agency reported.

Guards commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari made the comment in a letter to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to offer condolences after the killing of senior guerrilla commander Imad Moughniyah in a car bomb last week in Damascus.

"In the near future, we will witness the destruction of the cancerous existence of Israel by the powerful and competent hands of the Hezbollah combatants", Jafari was quoted as saying...

[American Patriot]

Iran: Cancerous Israel to be destroyed by radiation
Ynet ^

General Mohammad Ali Jaafari, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, has sent a letter of condolence to Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah following the assassination of the organization's senior commander Imad Mugniyah, saying he believed "the cancerous bacterium called Israel" would vanish soon, the Iranian news agency Fars reported Monday.

According to Jaafari, "I am convinced that with every day that passes Hizbullah's power increases, and in the near future we will bear witness to the disappearance of this cancerous bacterium, Israel, by the radiation of Hizbullah's fighters."

(Excerpt) Read more at ynetnews.com ...

[American Patriot]

Hezbollah: Revenge for Mugniyah killing to be 'extremely costly' for Israel
Haaretz ^

"It won't be long before the conceited Zionists realize that Imad Mughniyah's blood is extremely costly, and it makes history and brings about a new victory," Hezbollah's head of the southern Lebanon region, Sheikh Nabil Kauk, said Sunday at a memorial service for the arch-terrorist who was killed in a car explosion in Damascus last week.

auk, who spoke in Mughniyah's home village, Tayr Debba, in south Lebanon, added that Israel was "standing on one leg of fear and trepidation, having become the hostage of its own act of stupidity."

Kauk spoke at a ceremony attended by the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Hezbollah senior officials and representatives from the Amal terrorist group, Fatah and representatives from the Lebanese army.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak also said Sunday that he anticipated Hezbollah would try to retaliate for the assassination, possibly with help from Syria and Iran. But he added that "it will take a long time before a worthy replacement is found to take Mughinyah's place."

Meanwhile, foreign media published details about the attack. The Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai reported that the hit was perpetrated by security personnel of "an Arab state that shares a border with Syria," using American technology.

The report said Mughniyah was killed by a blast from an explosive charge that contained 3,000 metal fragments, as he was passing near the car that carried the bomb.

The funding for the assassination, according to Al-Rai, came from one of the Gulf states. The final decision to carry out the attack came from Jerusalem, the paper claimed. Israel's Channel 2 said the assassination involved interested parties from Lebanon.

According to "informed Israel sources" cited by London's Sunday Times, it was Israel's Mossad spy agency that carried out the car bombing that killed Mughniyah.

(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...

[American Patriot]

Olmert: Israel will hit attackers
Houston Chronicle ^ | Feb. 17, 2008 | MATTI FRIEDMAN

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that Israel's military has a "free hand" to hit Gaza militants and pledged that his forces will hit everyone who attacks Israel.

Olmert said he would not allow a humanitarian crisis to develop in Gaza, but he said the people of Gaza could not live normal lives while Israelis across the border were constantly targeted by rockets.

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...

[American Patriot]

Israel worried Hezbollah will attack with bomb-laden drone
Haaretz ^ | Last update - 09:35 17/02/2008


The defense establishment is concerned Hezbollah may use an explosives-laden unmanned aerial vehicle to attack a civilian or military target in northern or central Israel in retaliation for last week's assassination of it terror chief.

The Israel Air Force has been placed on alert for such a possibility.

To date, Hezbollah has dispatched five Iranian-made drones against Israel, three of them during the Second Lebanon War in August 2006. Two were shot down by the air force, and one crashed. The drones were loaded with dozens of kilograms of high-grade explosives and apparently had been intended to crash in the heavily populated Dan region.

The IDF also has bolstered its forces along the northern border, anticipating Hezbollah may launch a massive rocket attack on the area. However, the army has no specific information about the group's intentions in this regard.

Syrian and Iranian officials believe there will be a serious military confrontation with Israel in the near future, according to Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese daily affiliated with Hezbollah.

(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...

[American Patriot]

50,000 Hezbollah men said deployed along border with Israel
Haaretz ^ | February 16, 2008 | Yoav Stern

The Lebanese newspaper A-Safir reported Saturday that the Lebanon-based guerilla group Hezbollah has deployed 50,000 "activists" along the southern border with Israel and declared a state of high alert in southern Lebanon.

According to the report, the organization has also evacuated all buildings in the area designated for social or political purposes in recent days, in preparation for a confrontation with Israel in the wake of the assassination of Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyah.

Mughniyah, the organization's deputy secretary general, was killed in a blast in an upscale Damascus neighborhood late Tuesday. On Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the assassination and vowed to retaliate. Israel denied any involvement in the incident. Advertisement Meanwhile Saturday, another Lebanese newspaper reported that Lebanese officials believe a serious military confrontation with Israel will erupt in the near future.

According to a report in the Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar this possibility has been raised in intensive discussions being held between Hezbollah officials and Iranian and Syrian officials. The various militant Palestinian organizations have also declared a state of high alert, the report added.

Al-Akhbar also reported that Syrian investigators probing the assassination suspect that "official security organizations operating in Arab nations" may have been involved in the killing, and that some of the suspects arrested in the course of the investigation were not civilians.

The report also said the investigation revealed that Mughniyah had been killed from a blast originating from a car bomb nearby, and not from a bomb planted in the vehicle he was occupying, as originally believed. The investigation revealed that the car bomb had been detonated remotely as Mughniyah walked past.

(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...

[American Patriot]

Source: Israel deploys Patriot missiles fearing Hezbollah strike
Haaretz ^ | Feb. 18, 2008 | Yoav Stern and Barak Ravid

Israel has deployed a battery of U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles near the northern port city of Haifa as part of precautions against a possible attack by Lebanon's Hezbollah in response to the assassination last week of the group's top commander Imad Mughniyah, Israeli security officials said Monday.

The officials said the battery was put on standby Sunday for the first time since Israel's month-long war with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, when the Lebanese guerrillas fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel.

Patriot batteries were first deployed in Israel during the 1991 Gulf War, but they failed to stop most of the 39 Scud missiles launched by Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

They were originally designed to intercept aircraft, and Israeli media reported their role in the current situation would be to shoot down bomb-laden pilotless planes as well as rockets.

(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...

[American Patriot]

Israel: We Are Ready For Iran, Syria, Hezbollah
Israel News Agency / Google News ^ | February 19, 2008 | Joel Leyden

Israel: We Are Ready For Iran, Syria, Hezbollah

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

Jerusalem ----- February 19, 2008 ....... As the Israel Foreign Ministry protests to the UN repeated statements by Iran to "wipe Israel off the map" security analysts in Israel say that the Jewish democratic nation is more than ready for any aggression by Iran, Hezbollah and Syria.

"Israel was born from the ashes of the Holocaust," said an Israel security analyst. "As such, Israel, the Jewish people and every democratic nation would not allow a second Holocaust to take place. Israel is more than prepared to meet any challenge by the new racist Nazi regime in Iran. We know every step they take, we know the color of the underwear that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah wear. If they think that the US can shoot down a satellite with laser pin point accuracy, they have not seen the weapons that Israel would and could use to defend herself - and I am not talking about nuclear or biological."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards yesterday stated that the Hezbollah in Lebanon would destroy Israel.

"In the near future, we will witness the destruction of Israel, the aggressor, this cancerous microbe Israel, at the able hands of the soldiers of the community of Hezbollah," the ideological force's commander, Mohammad Ali Jafari, was quoted by the Iran Fars News Agency.

Iran's Fars News Agency reported that Jafari's prediction appears in a letter he wrote to Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese terrorist group Hizbullah. Jafari was offering condolences to Nasrallah in the wake of last week's death of Hizbullah mastermind and arch-terrorist Imad Mughinyeh.

"Undoubtedly the martyrdom of this sincere fighter (Mughniyeh) will strengthen the determination of all revolutionary and combatant Muslims, particularly his comrades, in confrontation with the Zionist regime," Ali Jafari was quoted.

Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in Damascus, Syria last week. Israel has been credited with the elimination of the wanted terrorist, who was responsible for several major international terrorist attacks on Israel, American and Jewish targets. No confirmation has been forthcoming from Jerusalem. US President George Bush commented only that "the world is a better place" without Mughniyeh in it.

The escalating rhetoric from Hezbollah in the aftermath of the assassination of terrorist mastermind Imad Mugniyah is "a profoundly troubling development" that should be taken seriously, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said in a statement.

Hateful anti-Israel rhetoric figured prominently in the fiery speeches during today's mass funeral in southern Beirut, with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blaming Israel for the death of Mugniyah and calling for "open war" against Israel and "the Zionists." Nasrallah and other leaders said the terrorist organization was prepared to retaliate "anywhere" against Israel.

"The hateful rhetoric is a profoundly troubling development, for we know the past record of Hezbollah followers and it is not unreasonable that they or others could take this as a call to action," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "In this interconnected world it is not just the tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon who imbibed this vitriolic hatred, but a potential audience of millions across the Middle East and around the world.

"These threats should be taken seriously as incitement to violence. We know what Hezbollah is and what they are capable of doing. The international community must not remain silent in the face of these open threats against a sovereign nation and its citizens and supporters," added Mr. Foxman.

Nasrallah told a rally of 10,000 mourners that, "If the Zionists want war, then they shall have it. "Zionists, if you want an open war, then let it be an open war anywhere."

Mugniyah was responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against Western and Israel targets around the world, including the devastating 1983 bombings of the American embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut, and the 1992 and 1994 bombings of the Israeli embassy and a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Following the assassination, Israel raised alert levels at its embassies around the world, with the Israel Defense Forces increasing security along the country's northern border and around key installations. In the US, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security advised state and local law enforcement authorities to be on alert for potential attacks by Hizbullah on Jewish communities or other targets within the US.

In response to Jafari's threatening letter, Israel's United Nations Ambassador Danny Gillerman filed a formal complaint with the UN Security Council on Monday evening. He called on the UNSC chairman to publicly condemn Iran for Jafari's statements, which he characterized as anti-Semitism and racism of the "most serious" kind.

"Israel has never been more prepared for a conclusive war against Iran, Syria and Iran Hezbollah puppets," said the Israel security analyst."As always, Israel will take whatever measures she can to avoid a war. But if the perverted Muslim leadership of Iran continues to insist on murdering innocent Israel and Iran citizens, if the soldiers of Iran really wants to meet their 72 virgins, Israel is more than ready to provide a one way ticket."

Israel security sources state that advanced Patriot missiles have been deployed throughout Israel's northern border. The officials said that batteries were placed on standby Sunday for the first time since Israel's month-long war with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, when the Lebanese terrorists fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel. The IDF would not comment on possible ground and space laser warfare weapons that they might have on standby. These advanced and sophisticated weapons, with pinpoint accuracy, could destroy a car, an underground bunker or a city in Iran or Syria.

Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday he anticipated Hezbollah would try to retaliate for the assassination, possibly with help from Syria and Iran, and added that Israel was more than prepared on all fronts for an attack.

A sounding rocket was launched into space by Iran on February 4. Iran states it was a preliminary step toward sending its first research satellite into orbit. Iran's state-run television had reported at the beginning of the month that Iranian scientists had built the Omid (Hope) research satellite under a project that took 10 years to complete.

"We need to have an active and influential presence in space," said Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who attended the February 4 rocket launch.

Iran media gave no details about the rocket, called Kavoshgar-1, but some experts believe it could be a variant of the Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,200 miles).

"It's unfortunate Iran continues to test ballistic missiles. This regime continues to take steps that only further isolate it and the Iranian people from the international community," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

"We do not approve of Iran's constant demonstration of its intention to develop its missile sector, and to continue uranium enrichment," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Iran is currently involved in a critical conflict with the West over its uranium enrichment program, with two sets of UN sanctions against Tehran in effect. The US and its allies fear that Iran space and nuclear programs may both serve as a cover for the development of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles.

"It is no longer the citizens of Israel who now face a ballistic missile nuclear attack, but now every citizen of Europe has become a target," a French security analyst said. "It is for this reason that we applaud the US for its US missile defense shield program in Europe."

[American Patriot]

Ahmadinejad: Israel filthy bacteria
The Jerusalem Post ^ | 20 Feb 08 | JPOST STAFF AND MICHAL LANDO

In yet another verbal attack against Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Jewish state a "filthy bacteria" whose sole purpose was to oppress the other nations of the region.

"The world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime, which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast," the Iranian president told supporters at a rally in southern Iran.

"[Israel] won support [from the other nations] which created it as a scarecrow, so as to keep the people of this area under control," Ahmadinejad said.

Referring to the assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, the Iranian leader said that Israel "uses terror as a threat every day, and afterwards is happy and joyful."

Meanwhile, the Israeli mission to the United Nations has written a letter of complaint to the UN Security Council, protesting recent remarks by two senior members of the Iranian regime threatening Israel.

Last week, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that Commander-General Muhammad Ali Jafari of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps wrote in a letter to Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah that he was convinced "that Hizbullah's might is increasing with every passing day, and that in the near future, we will witness the disappearance of this cancerous growth called Israel."

Later that day, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, said in his own letter to Nasrallah that "the hero-breeding land of Lebanon... [would] nurture hundreds and thousands of such heroes... and that combatants of the Lebanese and Palestinian Islamic resistance [would] continue the struggle until the complete destruction of the Zionist regime and liberation of the entire Islamic land of Palestine."

The letter from the Israeli mission - written Tuesday at the request of the Foreign Ministry - to Security Council President Ricardo Alberto Arias, calls on the international community to condemn "these outrageous anti-Israel, anti-Semitic and racist threats, which undoubtedly constitute direct and public incitement to commit genocide."

Ambassador Dan Gillerman said the Iranian officials' letters represented "anti-Israel rhetoric and racism of the worst kind."

He called the Iranian rhetoric a "blatant violation" of the United Nations Charter. Furthermore, the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide is explicit in its demand for states to punish and prosecute those that carry out "direct and public incitement to commit genocide," wrote Gillerman.

The letter does not ask the Security Council to issue a statement, because similar instances in the past have failed to round up the necessary 15-member consensus.

"This still doesn't diminish the importance of the complaint," Deputy UN Ambassador Daniel Carmon told The Jerusalem Post. "The name of the game in this organization is texts, speeches, letters and documents circulated as a way for people to express themselves. We feel that every time there is something [unusual] - a terrorist attack, or a dangerous expression - we put it on record."

While the letter does not call for a statement by the Security Council, it expresses a demand that the international community condemn the Iranian officials' rhetoric, said Carmon. "How will they do it? I don't know," he said.

[American Patriot]

Israel, US discuss W. Bank NATO troops
Jerusalem Post ^ | Feb 20, 2008 | By YAAKOV KATZ

The United States is reviewing the feasibility of deploying a NATO force in the West Bank as a way to ease IDF security concerns and facilitate an Israeli withdrawal from the area within the coming years, defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post.

The plan, which is being spearheaded by US Special Envoy to the region Gen. James Jones, is being floated among European countries, which could be asked to contribute troops to a West Bank multinational force.

Jones, a former commander of NATO, was sent to Israel in November to help the Israelis and Palestinians frame some of the security mechanics necessary for a broader peace agreement.

As first reported in the Post last month, Jones's plan calls for stationing third-party troops in the West Bank to secure the area in the interim period following an Israeli withdrawal and before the Palestinian Authority can take over full security control.

The deployment of such a force has come up in talks, and Jones is known to be working on it," a senior defense official said Tuesday. "At the moment, it's just an idea and has yet to be accepted or adopted by Israel."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has met with Jones and been briefed on the plan, but has yet to finalize his position. An official close to Barak said the deployment of a multinational force in the West Bank could create operational challenges for the IDF if it decided to respond to Palestinian terror attacks following the withdrawal.

(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...

[American Patriot]

U.S. presses N. Korea on Syria
Washington Times ^ | 02/20/08 | Nicholas Kralev

U.S. presses N. Korea on Syria

By Nicholas Kralev

February 20, 2008

The United States, alarmed by mounting evidence that North Korea gave nuclear assistance to Syria, has rejected pressure from some of its partners in six-nation talks to compromise on an overdue declaration of Pyongyang's nuclear activities, U.S. officials said yesterday.

The declaration, which was due at the end of December, would complete the second phase of an October deal aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and clear the way for promised political and economic benefits to the communist state.

"We won't have a complete and correct declaration until we have a complete and correct declaration," Christopher R. Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator, said yesterday after meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, in Beijing. "So I'm not sure if we yet have an understanding on that."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...

[American Patriot]

Hezbollah Retribution: Beware the Ides of March

(Threats Warnings Against Potential Jewish Targets)

STRATFOR ^ | February 19, 2008 1613 GMT | Burton & Stewart

Following the Feb. 12 assassination of Imad Mughniyah, one of Hezbollah’s top military commanders, many threats and warnings have been issued concerning a retribution attack against Israel, which has been blamed for — or credited with — the attack. The threats have come from Hezbollah and Iranian leaders, while the warnings have come from the Israeli and U.S. governments.

Although the unfolding story continues to make headlines, the warnings we have seen have not included any time frame. This means that most of the people concerned about them will be on alert in the near term but will, as is human nature, begin to relax as time passes and no retaliatory attack materializes. Organizations such as Hezbollah, however, typically do not retaliate immediately. Even in a case of a government with a professional and well-armed military, retaliatory strikes take time to plan, approve and implement. For example, nearly two weeks passed before U.S. cruise missiles struck targets in Afghanistan and Sudan following the Aug. 7, 1998, al Qaeda bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Even an organization such as Hezbollah that has created contingency attack plans needs time to dispatch operatives, conduct surveillance, gather materials, construct a bomb and then employ it. Indeed, a review of Hezbollah’s past retaliatory attacks demonstrates a lag of at least a month between the causi belli and the retaliatory attacks. In our estimation, therefore, any Hezbollah retaliatory strike will occur in mid-March at the earliest, though Hezbollah sympathizers not acting as part of the organization could respond more rapidly with attacks that require less planning and preparation.

(Excerpt) Read more at stratfor.com ...