Real Time Discussion thread - Many things

[American Patriot]

What Israel Really Gained by Bombing Syria
New Republic ^ | Dennis Ross | Dennis Ross

Sometimes in international relations it is good to preserve mystery. The irony is that often when an action has been taken but not admitted, everyone seems to know anyway. That certainly seems to be the case with Israel's military strike against a target in northern Syria.

The Israelis aren't talking about it or acknowledging anything. The Syrians are describing an episode in which they fired on Israeli aircraft, the aircraft dropped something, and fled Syrian airspace. The President of the United States won't comment on the event--of course, by not denying it, he leaves the impression that something significant absolutely took place.

And, it appears, something did. The sketchy reports that have emerged, again all citing anonymous sources in Israel or in the intelligence community here, are that Israel took out a facility in northern Syria in which North Korea was helping Syria develop a nuclear capability. The absence of leaks coming out of Israel lends credence to the reports. Israel used to be one of the best keepers of secrets. Excluding this episode, it has become one of the worst. Everything seems to leak--and not in drips, but in torrents. (Once when I was negotiating, the Israeli prime minister at the time insisted on a one-on-one meeting with me because, he told me, this was the only way he could ensure that nothing would leak out of the meeting. He wasn't concerned with my side, but his.)

In this case, Israel has played it very smartly. Much is being made about the silence of Arab criticism of the apparent Israeli raid and what it says about Arab attitudes toward Syria. In fact, had Israel taken credit for the raid, Arab states would have felt duty-bound to condemn it, Israel's resort to force, and its unilateral effort to impose its will once again.

Why would Israel carry out such a raid now? Anything involving a Syrian nuclear development is going to be a concern for the Israelis--and their threshold of tolerance is going to be low. Israel has tracked the North Korea-Syrian military relationship very closely for a long time. North Korea has provided Syria with advanced missile technology and surface-to-surface rockets of increasing range, accuracy, and payload. Moreover, the Israelis know that North Korea has practically never developed a weapons system that it has not sold. Given that history, North Korea's nuclear developments and continuing military cooperation with Syrian has drawn extremely close Israeli scrutiny.

So, on one level the Israeli raid simply reflected an effort to blunt North Korean-Syrian nuclear development before it could allow the Syrians to develop a nuclear capability. But that is only part of the story.

The Israeli security establishment has become increasingly concerned about significant Syrian weapons acquisitions, forward deployment of forces, training exercises, and directives about a possible war. Israeli military officials to whom I have spoken have become convinced that Syria's president, Bashar al Assad, has begun to believe that he could fight a limited war against Israel. Using as many as 20,000 rockets--with some chemically armed as a reserve and a deterrent to prevent Israel from striking at the strategic underpinnings of his regime--he appears, at least according to many in Israel's intelligence community, to believe he could fight a war on his terms. He was impressed by what Hezbollah did in the war with Israel in the summer of 2006 and believes he, too, could win by not losing in a limited war.

Israel has been looking for ways to convince Assad that he is miscalculating; that he will not be allowed to fight a war on his terms; and that he had better not play with fire. This summer, Israel has conducted military exercises designed not just to improve Israel's readiness but to convey a message to Assad. The raid not only blunts Syria's nuclear development but also reinforces the Israeli message of deterrence. In effect, it tells President Assad that Syria has few secrets it can keep from Israel. For a conspiratorial and paranoid regime, this is bound to keep its leaders preoccupied internally trying to figure out what Israel knows and doesn't know.

Beyond this, the raid sends the message that Israel can hit what it wants--no matter how valuable and sensitive to the regime--when it wants, and Syria is powerless to stop it. Here the silence from the Arab world, even if a function of Israel's silence, can provide small comfort to President Assad. No one in the Arab world much cares if Syria suffers blows to its prestige and losses to its military capabilities.

So, the raid is as much about preemption of a potential nuclear threat as it is about reestablishing Israel's deterrent in the eyes of the Syrian regime. Indeed, Major General Amos Yadlin, the head of Israel's military intelligence, was quoted as telling the Israeli cabinet that Israel had "restored its deterrence."

From this standpoint, Israel may also have had Iran in mind. The press is now reporting that an accident took place in July in Syria at a chemical plant at which a number of Iranian experts were killed. Perhaps this is just a coincidence. Or perhaps Israel is also sending messages to Iran that it has the capacity, and more importantly, the will to protect itself from those who would seek to threaten it with weapons of mass destruction.

At a time when Iran appears to be determined to press ahead with its nuclear program and may have doubted Israel's will to do anything about it, Israel may well be acting to show it will do whatever it takes to ensure its security. With the United States bogged down in Iraq and apparently unable or unwilling to prevent Iran's nuclear developments, the Israelis may be signaling everyone, including the Bush Administration, that if the international community doesn't take more decisive action, it will.

Statecraft involves using all the tools of the state to affect the behavior of friends and foes alike. Israel's raid against the Syrian plant reflects the use of a military instrument applied quite selectively to affect the psychologies of many different actors on the world stage. Whether it will have the affect the Israelis desire remains to be seen. But for now, the Israelis have made a statement without triggering a wider conflict in the process.

[American Patriot]

Approaching critical mass

Enter Stage Right ^ | September 24, 2007 | Carol Devine-Molin

One of life's pivotal maxims is to anticipate problems and head them off at the pass. And in this brave new world, where we find a very dangerous nexus among rogue states, terrorism, and nuclear proliferation, it's absolutely essential to grasp the big picture and think a few steps ahead. That being said, I appreciate the analysis being provided by conservative radio and television talk-show host Glenn Beck, especially on the theme he's dubbed "the perfect storm". In short, Beck underscores how a series of events can come together to produce a devastating synergy, which can wreak havoc upon our society.

But it's never enough to just anticipate catastrophe – Smart people proactively attempt to thwart catastrophe. And by "smart people", I mean those that are able to successfully negotiate life's difficulties utilizing their intellect, experience and basic common sense.

Mind you, it doesn't have to be WMDs that tear at the fabric of western civilization, although nuclear, chemical and biological warfare are clearly at the forefront of our concerns. On his website, Glenn Beck lists the crucial issues that could readily produce disasters of one kind or another:

(Note, I edited this list for accuracy making it a set of lists instead of a sentence
a) Hot Zones (Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, etc.) in this increasingly turbulent world
b) Iran and other lawless regimes, most notably Syria and North Korea
c) Terrorism
d) Oil and the economy
e) Border and culture-related matters.

To that I would add the political polarization that's taken hold in this nation, especially the far Left's willingness to aid and abet Islamo-fascists, and its twisted viciousness toward conservative Republicans and the military. The simple truth is that most Americans want to fight and win this global war on terror – However, we'll have to simultaneously fight off Leftist groups such as moveon.org, which are determined to throw a monkey-wrench into the mix at every opportunity.

Interestingly, not one of the Democrat presidential contenders voted for the Senate resolution to denounce moveon.org for their ad that denigrated General David Petraeus and, by extension, our troops and their efforts in Iraq. Why? Because Democrats have a tiger by the tail. Moveon.org and other members of the far Left do the dirty work for the Democrat presidential contenders, attacking and smearing conservatives and the GOP presidential field with alacrity. The Democrat presidential contenders dare not complain about moveon.org's methods, lest they be assaulted by their own thugs who boast they "bought and own" the Democrat Party.

Regarding terror threats on American soil, Glenn Beck regularly interviews security experts that suggest how we can anticipate and prevent future attacks. We have to ask ourselves fundamental questions: What are the most likely targets? What venues have terrorists targeted overseas? What has been their modus operandi? What has been the American experience with mass violence? And how can we best strengthen and protect potential targets such as schools, school buses, shopping malls, stadiums and entertainment arenas? A greater security presence, including more armed guards, could be enough to dissuade a terrorist attack simply because terrorists look for the easier targets. Furthermore, we should take heed and learn from past episodes of violence, even if they're not terror-related: For example, the "gun free" zone at the Virginia Tech campus made it possible for a psychotic such as Cho Seung-Hui to murder scores of fellow students, before the police were able to make it to the scene and take him down.

As to the escalating Iranian crisis, it's doubtful that the Bush administration is going to permit the fanatical mullah-run regime – that's in bed with every major terror group in the Middle East – to have nuclear weapons capability. With that in mind, military action taken against Iran will surely produce blowback or unintended consequences. Airstrikes upon Iran's nuclear infrastructure and military sites could very well activate terror cells in America and other western societies. Therefore, it's time for all Americans to adhere to the Boy Scout axiom, "Be Prepared!"

In this post 9/11 atmosphere, it's natural, even desirable, that we're on the look-out for circumstances on the world scene that can come back to bite us. Two recent news reports were red-flags, indicative of "warning" or "danger" for me and probably for many Americans: First, one of our crucial allies on this war on terror, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, is in a very precarious position, with radical Islam on the ascendancy in Pakistan, and Osama bin Laden calling upon the citizenry to topple Musharraf. If Musharraf is ejected from power or assassinated, there's an increasing likelihood that elements sympathetic to al-Qaida and the Taliban are going to have a nuclear arsenal at their disposal. Do we really want these Islamic fundamentalists to possess nukes? It makes you wonder if the US has a sufficient plan to secure Pakistani nukes so that they don't fall into the wrong hands.

Second, Israel recently conducted airstrikes on a Syrian nuclear facility reportedly being set up by North Korea. So North Korea is now subcontracting out its nuclear program? It's evident that all of these "axis of evil" nations – Iran, Syria, North Korea, and new kid on the block, Venezuela – are involved in collaborative efforts. This is the new "Pinky and the Brain" gang. Each evening, "Brain Ahmadinejad" is asked by the other "axis of evil" nations, "Gee, what are we going to do tonight?" And "Brain Ahmadinejad" answers, "The same thing we do every night. Try to take over the world."

[American Patriot]

The Three Nos--What do Israel and Taiwan have in common?
FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | September 24, 2007 | John G. Adam

As Communist China seeks to block Taiwan's application for membership to the United Nations, and as we confront evil of Militant Islam, we should consider what Israel and Taiwan have in common in order to understand the nature of evil and the dangers of appeasement.

Israel and Taiwan are small democracies facing serious threats from totalitarian ideologies. Both are rejected and even hated by much of the so-called "international community." Both lack oil. Both face regimes that hold the free world economic hostage. Both would be sacrificed by the likes of Jimmy Carter on the alter of appeasement.

But both are allies of the United States and have been since they became independent nations, both, in the late 1940s.

The totalitarian regimes in the Arab/Persian Muslim world and the Communist regime in China ("People's Republic of China") seek the destruction or subjugation of Israel and Taiwan, respectively. Like other totalitarian regimes, they cannot tolerate democratic countries or free people on their borders. They do not adhere to "multiculturalism."

They do not follow the Geneva conventions. They do not worry about the Red Cross or belated disapproval the editorial writers at the New York Times.

Following the Six-Day War of June 1967, a great military victory by Israel against the combined Arab armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, Israel offered peace. In reply, the Arab leaders passed the infamous "Three No's" resolution at the Khartoum conference in September 1967: "No Peace with Israel. No Recognition of Israel. No Negotiations with It." Terror and propaganda continued.

Communist China has its own "three-no's: No "Two Chinas." No Independence for Taiwan. No membership for Taiwan in international organizations.

Like the Jihadists attacking Israel, Communist China has amassed more than 800 missiles aimed at Taiwan, only 90 miles away. Calling Taiwan a "renegade" province, China has repeatedly threatened to attack Taiwan if its leaders declare independence or demand "state-to-state" relations. A few years ago, commenting on the possibility of a nuclear standoff, a Chinese general confidently said that the U.S. would never sacrifice LA for Taipei, the Taiwanese capital, in a nuclear standoff.

What can you expect from regime that killed more than 30 million of its people during the "Great Leap Forward," the "Cultural Revolution," and otherwise? China's gulags hold more than a million political prisoners (with no Red Cross visits). Free trade has not led to freedom or the rule of law.

Though separated by thousands of miles and facing different enemies, Israel and Taiwan are "canaries in the mine shaft." They warn the free world of danger. If five million Israeli Jews and 23 million Taiwanese citizens can stand up to 1.2 billion in Communist China and more than 300 million Arab Muslims, the free world surely can do so – if it has the will. But, as George Orwell said: "The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it." And the quickest way to lose your freedom is to lose wars, not defend your allies and appease and embolden and strengthen your enemies. Churchill put it better: "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."

The crocodiles are hungry. One only has to look at the Islamists committing Jihadocide throughout the world, not just Iraq. Thanks to United Nations, Jimmy Carter and appeasers, Taiwan is not recognized as a sovereign nation, which is why each year since the early 1990s it applies for membership to the UN and each year it is rejected.

While the UN was kicking out Taiwan, it was inviting in the PLO and Terror Arafat, shortly after the 1972 Munich massacre of Jewish athletes. Consider that moral equation and it makes you sick. And while Israel is in the UN, it is subject to the most grotesque and unfair criticism and held to standards to which that no nation could or does adhere. In the UN, Jews become "Nazis" and terrorists become "freedom fighters." Good is bad and bad is good, in this living embodiment of Orwell's 1984.

It should come as no surprise that Nobel "Peace" prize recipient/Mr. "Human Rights" – Jimmy Carter – was and is hostile to both Israel and Taiwan. Carter's distorted views on Israel and Jews – and his affinity for terrorist-apologists and hate-America demagogues – and too well known to have to repeat. But most people do not know or remember that it was President Carter in December 1978 who unilaterally withdrew U.S. recognition of Taiwan and abrogated the 1954 Taiwan defense treaty. President Carter's actions betraying an ally caused the (Democratic-controlled) Congress to pass the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which pledges that any attempt by the Communist China to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means would be "a threat to the peace and security of Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States." Sec. 2(b)(6) of the Act requires the United States to maintain the "capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan." While Carter was ready to cast more than 20 million Taiwanese adrift, Congress and the American people were not.

Appeasers find it hard to come up with conspiracy to explain why the U.S. supports a democratic Taiwan. It isn't even mentioned in the Czarist forgery, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

The United States supports these nations, not because of oil or the "Jewish lobby," but because they are free nations that support our national interest, because we stand by our allies and against evil and aggression. The US offers the world a moral clarity that is sorely lacking. After removing the evil regimes of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, we are trying build these countries but are opposed by evil regimes in Iran and Syria as well as groups motivated by the evil ideology of Militant Islam.

That significant portions of the Muslim world may be irrational, destructive or suicidal is not the fault of the United States. We are not to blame for Militant Islam. We are not to blame for the Sunni and Shia murdering and beheading each other, a practice going back to the first successors to the warrior and founder of a new religion, almost 1400 years ago.

The United States is hated in the world by Islamist, communists, terrorist and dictatorships. Is that bad?

To be called "Satan" by Iranian 'supreme ruler' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or 'president' Ahmadinejad is not a bad thing. To be hated by evil regimes or groups actually a good sign. You can be known by your enemies and by your friends. The desire to be loved is not a goal of a great nation, let alone a superpower. Our goal is to protect freedom where it exist, to spread freedom and the rule of law where it does not and to defend against evil regimes and ideologies.

"Three" of the great dangers we face – a remilitarized China, Militant Islam and appeasers – are being directly faced by Israel and Taiwan. Let's support Israel and Taiwan. The freedom we save will be our own.

[American Patriot]

'Chances of war with Syria still high'
Jpost ^ | Sep 23, 2007 23:46 | Updated Sep 24, 2007 2:07 | By YAAKOV KATZ

The IDF continued to maintain a high level of alert along the northern border on Sunday as senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post that while close to three weeks have passed since Israel's alleged air strike in Syria, there is still a chance war could break out.

Reflecting the escalation in tension, IDF troops were alerted to the northern border fence Sunday morning after the electronic alarm was activated, sparking fears of a possible infiltration from Syria. The army said the alarm went off after the fence was touched, and that tracks were spotted on the Syrian side of the border. Soldiers who arrived on the scene ruled out an infiltration, and the IDF said it was possible that a roving animal had triggered the alarm.

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

[American Patriot]

Iran Closes Border With Northern Iraq
ABC NEWS ^ | 24 SEPT 2007 | KATARINA KRATOVAC

Iran Closes Border With Northern Iraq to Protest U.S. Detention of Iranian, Official Says

Iran closed major border crossings with northern Iraq on Monday to protest the U.S. detention of an Iranian official the military accused of weapons smuggling, a Kurdish official said.

At least four border gates had been closed, with just one remaining open in a move that will severely curtail trade between the two countries, the governor of the Kurdish province of Sulaimaniyah, Dana Ahmed Majeed, told The Associated Press.

The move came four days after U.S. troops arrested an Iranian official during a raid on a hotel in Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad.

U.S. officials said he was a member of the elite Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that smuggles weapons into Iraq. But Iraqi and Iranian leaders said he was in the country on official business and with the full knowledge of the government.

[American Patriot]

Israel to Syria: Use chem weapons & we'll wipe you off map

---

BY MATTHEW KALMAN in Jerusalem and BILL HUTCHINSON in New York
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Thursday, September 20th 2007, 4:00 AM

---

Israeli officials vowed to wipe Syria off the map if it is attacked with chemical weapons like one that reportedly exploded in July at a secret Syrian base staffed with Iranian engineers.


Politicians in Israel said yesterday they were not picking a fight with their neighbor, but pledged to forcefully retaliate if chemical warheads come screaming across its shared border.


"We will not attack them first. But if they ever use these weapons against Israel, then we must be clear — it will be the end of this evil and brutal dictatorship," Yuval Steinitz, a right-wing member of the Israeli parliament, told the Daily News yesterday.


Sparking shock waves across the Middle East was a report in Jane's Defence Weekly about an accidental explosion at a top secret Syrian base in July.


Citing Syrian intelligence sources, the report claimed a team of Iranian and Syrian engineers were killed July 26 while trying to arm a Scud-C missile with a mustard gas warhead.


Syrian official news agency, SANA, reported that least 15 Syrian military personnel had been "martyred" and 50 others injured in the blast near the northern city of Aleppo on the Turkish border. It claimed the early morning explosion was caused by the high temperatures.


The SANA report mentioned nothing of Iranian personnel killed in the mishap.


Jane's said dozens of Iranian workers were among those who died when a fire in the missile's engine triggered the explosion and release of a toxic cloud of lethal chemical agents banned under international law.
U.S. intelligence sources played down the report saying they've seen no credible evidence chemical weapons were involved in the Syrian accident.


With James Gordon Meek in Washington

[American Patriot]

Sep 23, 2007 2:32 | Updated Sep 23, 2007 17:04
'IDF seized nuclear materials in Syria'
By JPOST.COM STAFF



Soldiers from an elite Israeli unit seized North Korean nuclear material from a secret Syrian military installation before it was bombed by IAF jets, a report by Britain's Sunday Times wrote Saturday night, quoting "informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem."


North Korea's nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. Did Israel present the US with evidence of North Korean nuclear material in Syria?
Photo: AP [file]



Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who, according to the Times report, supervised the operation personally .
Photo: AP [file]




RELATED




According to the sources, the alleged IAF attack was sanctioned by the US on September 6, after the Americans were given proof that the material was indeed nuclear-related.


The sources confirmed that the materials were tested after they were taken from Syria and were found to be of North Korean origin, which raised concerns that Syria may have been trying to come into the possession of nuclear arms.


The commandos, who, according to the report, belonged to the legendary General Staff's Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal), may have been disguised in Syrian army uniforms. It was also stated that Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who used to head the unit, personally oversaw the operation.
Israeli sources admitted that special forces had been accruing intelligence in Syria for several months, the report said, adding that evidence of North Korean activity at the installation was presented to President George Bush during the summer.


Former Syrian information minister, Ma'ahdi Dahallah, rejected the report and called on Israel to present the evidence.


This type of report, Dahallah told Radio Sawa, was merely a form of psychological warfare.


According to the Times, North Korea and China believed that North Koreans were among the dead in the subsequent alleged IAF air strike.


On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Israel and the United States had collaborated on intelligence ahead of the alleged IAF raid.
According to the Post report, Israel informed the US over the summer that North Korean personnel were in Syria in order to assist the country's nuclear weapons program. The intelligence in question reportedly included satellite imagery.


Meanwhile, Newsweek quoted Binyamin Netanyahu adviser Uzi Arad in reference to the Syria operation. "I do know what happened, and when it comes out it will stun everyone," he said.

[American Patriot]

Cheney May Have Mulled Israeli Pretext For U.S. Attack On Iran
Haaretz ^ | September 23, 2007

Newsweek Magazine reported Sunday that Vice President Richard Cheney may have considered a plan for Israeli missile strikes against an Iranian nuclear site in an effort to draw a military response from Iran, which could in turn spark a U.S. offensive against targets in the Islamic Republic. Citing two unnamed sources the magazine called knowledgeable, the magazine quoted David Wurmser, until last month Cheney's Middle East Advisor, as having told a small group of people that "Cheney had been mulling the idea of pushing for limited Israeli missile strikes against the Iranian nuclear site at Natanz - and perhaps other sites - in order to provoke Tehran into lashing out." According to the report, "The Iranian reaction would then give Washington a pretext to launch strikes against military and nuclear targets in Iran"...

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

[American Patriot]

Choose your weapon: A new arms race in the Middle East
CNN World Weekly ^ | 09/21/2007 | Dean Irvine

Choose your weapon: A new arms race in the Middle East

By Dean Irvine for CNN

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Saber-rattling in the Middle East has been growing, with Israeli air strikes over Syria at the beginning of the month and France's Foreign Minister talking of war with Iran, but behind the scenes there are fears of a new arms race in the region.

In a deal announced this week, Saudi Arabia has agreed to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Europe's largest defense company, BAE Systems worth almost $9 billion. A boon for the company, especially given that a previous major deal is under investigation for allegations of corruption.

Hailed by the UK ministry of defense as a "new chapter" in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, the contract will be called "Project Salam," meaning "peace." It is also a new chapter that will see much more military hardware entering the region and one that ratchets up current tensions and divisions between Sunni-dominated states, such as Saudi Arabia, and Shiite Iran.

Larger deals between governments have been taking place. In August this year, the U.S. agreed to provide Israel with $30 billion in military aid over the next ten years.

Another agreement that is currently awaiting approval by the U.S. Congress would see a further $20 billion in military aid go to Saudi Arabia and other weapons deals to UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, plus a further $13 billion to Egypt.

CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson believes it's a move that shores up the U.S. allies in the region in uncertain times. However it does little to ease the simmering international tensions between the west and the focus of its ire, Iran.

(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...

[American Patriot]

Israelis have unearthed a deadlier axis of evil
UK Telegraph ^ | September 21 2007 | Con Coughlin

Just when we thought we'd seen the back of one axis of evil, up pops another one to give us all sleepless nights.

The original axis of evil, as defined by President George W Bush in his State of the Union address in January 2002, consisted of Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

In fact, this axis was always an unlikely amalgam, conjured from the imagination of David Frum, the President's chief speechwriter at the time, who was casting around for a suitably demonic phrase to capture the gravity of the threat America was said to face from its combined enemies in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The phrase made great headlines, but the reality was that Saddam Hussein's Iraq had no meaningful ties to Pyongyang or Teheran, other than a shared hatred of American military supremacy.

This summer it appeared that, with the stubborn exception of Iran, Mr Bush's axis of evil was on the wane: Saddam's regime no longer threatened the Gulf oil fields that fuel the West's economies, and the North Koreans appeared to be moving towards decommissioning the nuclear reactor that enabled it to test an atom bomb last autumn.

There were even signs that the serious economic hardship Iran was suffering because of its controversial nuclear programme had prompted the mullahs to have a serious rethink about pursuing the holy grail of uranium enrichment.

All that optimism seems wildly out of place following this week's revelation that the Israeli Air Force launched a daredevil attack on a remote region of northern Syria to destroy a top-secret military facility.

The precise nature of the target remains a matter of intense speculation, not least because the Israeli government has imposed a news black-out on the events of the night of September 6; and the Syrians, whose much-vaunted, Russian-built air defence systems failed to detect, let alone repel, the intruders, have been equally secretive.

But judging from the small scraps of information that have emerged, it would be fair to conclude that a new axis of evil is under construction, with Syria assuming Iraq's place. But unlike Iraq, Syria has well-documented links to the pariah regimes in North Korea and Teheran, and is cooperating with them on a range of projects, from the acquisition of long-range ballistic missiles to the development of chemical and nuclear weapons.

The failure to find ready-to-use stockpiles of WMD in Iraq following Saddam's overthrow may have seriously undermined the coalition's justification for invading Iraq, but no such doubts exist about Syria's capability.

Even before the Israeli raid, Syria had been identified by a number of intelligence and government agencies as possessing the largest and most advanced chemical weapons capability in the Middle East.

Moreover, unlike Saddam's Iraq, Syria has the delivery systems to make them a palpable threat.

Syria is believed to have 60 to 120 Scud C and 200 Scud B missiles with a range of 300 miles - more than sufficient to hit all Israel's major cities. The Syrians are also thought to have adapted the warheads for chemical weapons, and Washington formally accused Syria of test-firing chemical weapons in 2003.

Although the Scuds are Russian-made, the Syrians have relied on teams of North Korean experts to maintain them, as the North Korean Nodong missile is modelled on the Scud.

More recently, Damascus signed a mutual defence pact with Teheran to supply Iran's Shahab-3 missile system, which is an Iranian-made version of the Russian Scud and North Korean Nodong missile.

Syria and Iran first signed the defence pact in late 2005, but a decision to implement it was only taken last May following a meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which was chaired by former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Iranian engineers are in northern Syria building storage facilities for the new missiles, which are due to be shipped from Iran at the end of the year.

The Israelis were already taking a keen interest in these nefarious activities when their suspicions were further aroused by a North Korean cargo ship in the Syrian port of Tartous, which docked on September 3.

Officially the 1,700-ton Al-Hamed, which had reflagged itself as a South Korean vessel to avoid detection, was unloading cement. But according to reports circulating in Israel, Israeli intelligence officials, who are convinced Syria is trying to buy a nuclear device from North Korea, suspected the North Koreans might be attempting to off-load some nuclear technology and components to Syria before being required to surrender them to United Nations nuclear inspectors as part of the deal recently negotiated with Washington.

Whether these nuclear components - assuming that was the cargo - were destined for Syria or Iran remains contentious. Syria is known to have a small, Chinese-made nuclear research reactor at Dayr al-Hajar, on the outskirts of Damascus, but this is under constant supervision by UN inspectors. Iran, on the other hand, has misled the West about its nuclear programme, fuelling suspicions that it has a clandestine weapons project under way.

Reports from Israel suggest the Syrians have a secret nuclear compound at Dayr az-Zawr in the north of the country. Whether it was being used for research or for storing ballistic missiles is unclear: what is clear is that whatever it was at Dayr az-Zawr that concerned the Israelis no longer does - US satellites show a pile of rubble after eight Israeli F-15 bombers destroyed the site, just as they did in 1981 when they wiped out Saddam Hussein's Osirak nuclear reactor.

In taking out the Dayr az-Zawr complex the Israelis have not only demonstrated their capability to carry out long-range bombing missions undetected - Iran take note - but have also highlighted the extent to which Syria, North Korea and Iran – the new axis of evil – are cooperating to make the world a far more dangerous place than it was on September 11.

[American Patriot]

Snatched: Israeli commandos ‘nuclear’ raid
(find North Korean "material" at Syrian base)
The Times of London ^ | September 23, 2007 | Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv, Sarah Baxter, Washington, and Michael Sheridan

ISRAELI commandos from the elite Sayeret Matkal unit – almost certainly dressed in Syrian uniforms – made their way stealthily towards a secret military compound near Dayr az-Zawr in northern Syria. They were looking for proof that Syria and North Korea were collaborating on a nuclear programme.

Israel had been surveying the site for months, according to Washington and Israeli sources. President George W Bush was told during the summer that Israeli intelligence suggested North Korean personnel and nuclear-related material were at the Syrian site.

Israel was determined not to take any chances with its neighbour. Following the example set by its raid on an Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak 1981, it drew up plans to bomb the Syrian compound.

But Washington was not satisfied. It demanded clear evidence of nuclear-related activities before giving the operation its blessing. The task of the commandos was to provide it.

Today the site near Dayr az-Zawr lies in ruins after it was pounded by Israeli F15Is on September 6. Before the Israelis issued the order to strike, the commandos had secretly seized samples of nuclear material and taken them back into Israel for examination by scientists, the sources say. A laboratory confirmed that the unspecified material was North Korean in origin. America approved an attack.

News of the secret ground raid is the latest piece of the jigsaw to emerge about the mysterious Israeli airstrike. Israel has imposed a news blackout, but has not disguised its satisfaction with the mission. The incident also reveals the extent of the cooperation between America and Israel over nuclear-related security issues in the Middle East. The attack on what Israeli defence sources now call the “North Korean project” appears to be part of a wider, secret war against the nonconventional weapons ambitions of Syria and North Korea

(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...

[Brian Baldwin]

I give it four years before the Big three fully engage. sooner if a terrorist actually nukes a city anywhere in this world.

[American Patriot]

This is the end of 2007. I've been predicting by 2012 to 2015 sometime we'll be fully involved with China at least.

The way things are going now, I can see things going to hell in a handbasket in the next few months with the middle east, and others joining into the fray soon thereafter.

[American Patriot]

WOW! Alert.

Read the below and tell me what you see wrong and weird... (ok it's highlighted for you)

Syria Refuses Peace Talks With Israel
Science Daily ^ | 9-24-2007 | UPI

Syria refuses peace talks with Israel

DAMASCUS, Syria, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Senior Syrian officials said Monday the U.S. airstrike on a Syrian nuclear facility Sept. 6 has ruined all chances of peace with Israel.


The announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier Monday there would be no war with Syria, the Jerusalem Post reported.


Olmert said ongoing tension with Syria in the past few weeks would not turn into armed conflict, and while Syria's troops are "on alert," Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said Syria would not initiate an attack, Ynetnews reported.


Regarding talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Olmert said they "have gained momentum since the Palestinian unity government was dissolved and Hamas took over the Gaza Strip," the report said.


Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu challenged Olmert, saying the prime minister was "the only one in the State of Israel who believes (Abbas) is a partner," the report said.


Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

[American Patriot]

""Meanwhile, Newsweek quoted Binyamin Netanyahu adviser Uzi Arad as saying, "I do know what happened, and when it comes out it will stun everyone."

[American Patriot]

Folks, I'm betting a couple things here.

1) North Korea is protesting so LOUDLY because they had people killed there.

2) Syria is blaming the US because they THINK we did it (and perhaps we did)

3) Israel has been MORE than quiet on this.

So... I think we were highly involved, maybe even Americans flew the mission out of Israel, North Koreans were killed and everyone is afraid to admit what happened (especially Syria) because it will certainly trigger a nuclear war!

[Brian Baldwin]

This is the end of 2007. I've been predicting by 2012 to 2015 sometime we'll be fully involved with China at least.

The way things are going now, I can see things going to hell in a handbasket in the next few months with the middle east, and others joining into the fray soon thereafter.

I believe you're spot on here. This is a huge hinge point in the coming months.

[American Patriot]

Here's what the French had to say...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Allowing Iran to acquire nuclear weapons could destabilize the world and could lead to war, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the United Nations on Tuesday.


In his maiden speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Sarkozy said: "There will be no peace in the world if the international community falters in the face of nuclear arms proliferation.


"If we allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, we would incur an unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world," he said, adding in a general warning: "Weakness and renunciation do not lead to peace: they lead to war."


Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

[Brian Baldwin]

I had doubts if the French would wake up to be honest. I almost expected them to lick the boots of Russia's boots in order to spite America. This is actually good news in the war front. France tends to get the EU to do what they want most of the time and this could lead to a much larger force to confront and sanction Iran. Barring that a strike on Iran will at least be looked upon favorably by key European countries giving us an edge in that area of strength. I look forward to seeing what our own nation's liberal loons say in response to their favorite country backing us. lol

[American Patriot]

Former Official: North Korea Aids Syria { John Bolton }
AP via SFGate ^ | 9/26/7 | BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The target of Israel's air strike in northeastern Syria earlier this month was either a joint nuclear or missile facility with North Korea, John R. Bolton, a former senior Bush administration official, said Wednesday.

"I am definitely hearing it from U.S. and Israeli sources," Bolton said in an interview. "The information is very closely held."

The strike raised tensions in the region, but has not stopped the Bush administration from including Syria in its plans for Mideast peacemaking or for six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program. Those discussions are due to commence Thursday in Beijing.

"What the Israelis struck I cannot say; whether a nuclear or missile facility is not clear," Bolton said from his office at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

He offered the possibility that it was a joint research venture or simply a North Korea facility located in Syria. "Any of these options is enough to show proliferation by the North Koreans and that is very dangerous," Bolton said.

He ruled out other theories, meanwhile, including that the target was Iranian missiles to be shipped to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon for attacks on Israel or that Israel was testing Syria's air defenses.

"I don't think the Israelis would have taken the risk unless it was a very high-value target," Bolton said.

Neither American nor Israeli officials are saying whether the target was a nuclear or missile facility and many don't know, Bolton said.

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