Prepare Now for the Coming Middle East War

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Nuke Update: “China Will Not Hesitate To Protect Iran With A Third World War”

Mac Slavo December 1st, 2011 SHTFplan.com Comments (181)

UPDATE: December 1, 2011; 10:00AM
Amid the tensions in Iran and the destruction of a second nuclear facility (which is detailed in the original story below), we find it necessary to present our readers with an update made available via The Daily Crux and Zero Hedge, in which Major General Zhang Zhaozhong, a professor from the Chinese National Defense University, said China “will not hesitate to protect Iran even with a third World War.”

Trillions of dollars in debt and regional energy resources are at play here. Perhaps this is the reason Iran is publicly downplaying the threat and the U.S. is overtly ignoring the latest bombing/explosion at a second Iranian nuclear facility. Not a single news report of the incident is present on the homepages of major media outlets like CNN, NBC, ABC or Fox. For their part, Iran completely denies the explosion took place and national media agencies have reportedly pulled all references to the story, even though satellite images (detailed below) confirm it happened.

Don’t miss this Chinese news report. Like the U.S., China has its own propaganda machine and this is what their populace is being fed:
(In Chinese with English subtitles):



ORIGINAL REPORT: Covert Op Suspected as Second Iranian Nuke Site Goes Up In Flames

Either Iran’s nuclear and military programs are headed by imbeciles or their country is under attack.

Though Iran completely denied the incident yesterday, The Australian reports that satellite images confirm another Iranian military site has exploded:

Satellite imagery seen by The Times confirmed that a blast that rocked the city of Isfahan on Monday struck the uranium enrichment facility there, despite denials by Tehran.

The images clearly showed billowing smoke and destruction, negating Iranian claims yesterday that no such explosion had taken place. Israeli intelligence officials told The Times that there was “no doubt” that the blast struck the nuclear facilities at Isfahan and that it was “no accident”.

The explosion at Iran’s third-largest city came as satellite images emerged of the damage caused by one at a military base outside Tehran two weeks ago that killed about 30 members of the Revolutionary Guard, including General Hassan Moghaddam, the head of the Iranian missile defence program.

Iran claimed that the Tehran explosion occurred during testing on a new weapons system designed to strike at Israel. But several Israeli officials have confirmed that the blast was intentional and part of an effort to target Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

On Monday, Isfahan residents reported a blast that shook tower blocks in the city at about 2.40pm and seeing a cloud of smoke rising over the nuclear facility on the edge of the city.

“This caused damage to the facilities in Isfahan, particularly to the elements we believe were involved in storage of raw materials,” said one military intelligence source.

He would not confirm or deny Israel’s involvement in the blast, instead saying that there were “many different parties looking to sabotage, stop or coerce Iran into stopping its nuclear weapons program”.

Iran went into frantic denial yesterday as news of the explosion at Isfahan emerged. Alireza Zaker-Isfahani, the city’s governor, claimed that the blast had been caused by a military exercise in the area but state-owned agencies in Tehran soon removed this story and issued a government denial that any explosion had taken place at all.

A government cover up? Say it ain’t so.

There’s a war on. This was no accident.

The real question is, how, if at all, will Iran respond? Are they biding their time because they are finalizing a nuclear weapon that they intend to deploy against Israel or Western targets, or has all the machisimo displayed by Iranian President Ahmadinejad in recent years been nothing but talk?

We may soon find out.

Hat tip VRF

[Ryan Ruck]

Iranian Diplomats Set To Leave UK

December 2, 2011

Diplomats working at the Iranian embassy in London must leave Britain by Friday afternoon.

Foreign Secretary William Hague ordered their expulsion within 48 hours on Wednesday afternoon after the British embassy in Tehran was stormed. They are expected to fly out this afternoon.

About 120,000 people in the UK hail from Iran, as well as many students.

The Iranian Association's Kaveh Kalantari said most UK-based Iranians "do not like what is going on in Iran".

He said they were "worried".

The diplomats are expected to leave the UK on a charter flight out of London later this afternoon, according to BBC Persian TV.

Tuesday's attack by hundreds of protesters followed Britain's decision to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the BBC's Sarah Rainsford the UK's relationship with Iran had "taken a very serious knock".

He said: "Something really bad happened when the Iranian authorities allowed those people to overrun our embassy compounds, and it is quite right that we have been very clear in our response - as have many other European countries who have withdrawn their ambassadors for consultations.

'Stooges'

"It doesn't mean we're cutting off all diplomatic relations with Iran. It doesn't mean we are in any way lessening our determination to try to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear question, which is immensely important to Europe and the whole world, and we will continue to work tirelessly to find a negotiated solution."

Mr Kalantari said of Tuesday's attack by protesters: "I was really depressed when I heard that these stooges of the government had occupied the embassy."

He told the BBC he believed the embassy occupation was part of a "power struggle" between different factions in Tehran but he added: "Iranians here in Britain are worried about the bad press we are getting."

The sanctions led to Iran's parliament reducing diplomatic ties with the UK.

"If any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil, they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here," Mr Hague told MPs on Wednesday.

The foreign secretary said there had been "some degree of regime consent" in the attacks on the embassy and on another UK diplomatic compound in Tehran.

He also said all UK diplomatic staff in Tehran had been evacuated and the embassy closed.

Mr Hague said relations between the UK and Iran were now at their lowest level, but the UK was not severing relations with Tehran entirely.

Iran's foreign ministry described the British move as "hasty" and said Iran would take "further appropriate action", Reuters news agency quoted state TV as saying.

Germany, France and the Netherlands announced on Wednesday that they were recalling their ambassadors to Tehran for consultation, and Norway said it was temporarily closing its embassy there as a precaution.

Hundreds of protesters - whom Iran described as "students" - massed outside the embassy compound on Tuesday afternoon before scaling the walls and the gates, burning British flags and a car.

Another UK diplomatic compound in northern Tehran, known locally as Qolhak Garden, was also overrun and damaged.

Iran said it regretted the incident, which it described as "unacceptable behaviour by a small number of protesters".

Mr Hague said the majority of those taking part had been members of a regime-backed Basij militia group.

He said the private quarters of staff and the ambassador had been ransacked, the main embassy office set on fire and personal possessions belonging to UK diplomats stolen.

The US, EU and UN Security Council also condemned the attacks.

Last week, the US, Canada and the UK announced new sanctions against Iran, including measures to restrict the activities of the Iranian central bank.

The UK said then it was severing all financial ties with Iran.

The move followed a report by the UN's nuclear watchdog that said Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear device".

Iran denies the accusations, saying its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

On Sunday, Iran's parliament voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic relations with the UK in response to the recent action.

Hmmm... Germany pulls diplomats from Iran. Iran pulls diplomats from UK.

Moves like that are typically not a good sign.

[Ryan Ruck]

'Iran Planning Attacks On US Forces In Germany'

December 2, 2011

Businessman linked to Iranian embassy suspected of spying for Tehran, planning sabotage.

Iran plans to attack US armed forces stationed in Germany in the event of a US attack on its nuclear facilities, the mass-circulation Bild daily reported on Thursday.

Authorities are investigating a German businessman suspected of espionage with intent to commit sabotage who they believe is in contact with the Iranian Embassy, according to the report.

German Attorney-General Harald Range was quoted by Bild as saying “We have launched an investigation and taken operational measures.”

On November 2, a investigative judge ordered a search of the businessman’s house. Jerusalem Post telephone and e-mail queries to Iran’s embassy were not returned.

Bild obtained a copy of the judge’s order to pursue the inquiry against the businessman and the Embassy. The document outlining the inquiry and allegations noted that there is “probable cause of agent activity in connection with the goals of sabotage.”

The investigation is continuing and material still needs to be examined by the German authorities.

A spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office told the Post on Thursday that “an arrest warrant has not been issued” in connection with the businessman. There are no “indications that in Germany an attack against US American installations was planed or will be planned.”

According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the authorities received references to a possible attack that need to be “dispelled.”

There are no additional “operational measures” unfolding at this time from the authorities, according to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a leading authority on the Islamic Republic’s terrorist entities and operations, told the Post during a telephone interview on Thursday that its “terrorist activities were always organized and directed from Iranian embassies.”

He cited the case of Mykanos, a restaurant in West Berlin where four Iranian Kurdish dissident were murdered in 1992 by Iran’s regime. A Berlin court convicted Iranian agents and attributed the executions to Iran’s government.

According to Wahdat-Hagh, who has a copy of the Berlin court decision, Kazem Darabi, the organizer of Mykonos murders, worked for Iran’s intelligence agency VEVAK.

“He had contact to Iran’s Embassy – and was clearly a part of the Iranian terrorist cell that was led by the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Berlin,” Wahdat-Hagh said.

The head of Germany’s Federal criminal agency (BKA) said there was “no immediate danger” in terms of the slated attacks against American military facilities.

According to Bild, Iran planned to paralyze US military logistics and supplies in Germany. A possible target would have been the US Air Force’s Ramstein Base. It hosts the headquarters of the US Air Force in Europe, has a section for NATO, and is the largest US community overseas at some 53,000 people.

In an e-mail to the Post on Thursday, Nasrin Amirsedghi, a German-Iranian author and intellectual, wrote, “It is no secret, and there has already been a great deal written about in the German media regarding terrorist attacks and serial killings of exile Iranians abroad through the foreign intelligence activities of VEVAK (MOIS: The Ministry of Intelligence and Security).”

She added that, in addition to the killings at the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin, there was the assassination of the internationally famous artist Fereydoun Farrokhzad in Bonn in 1992.

“These murders could not have taken place without connections to the Iranian embassies,” Amirsedghi said.

The report came amid diplomatic tensions between Germany and Iran in the aftermath of Tuesday’s storming of the British Embassy compound in Tehran.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iranian Ambassador Ali Reza Seikh Attar for a warning because of the violation of diplomatic protocol and international law.

According to a statement on the website of the German Foreign Ministry, “Guido Westerwelle condemned sharply the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran on November 29.

“Germany stands on the side of Great Britain and is not prepared to accept these types of attacks. Iran has the obligation to protect international institutions.

The Iranian ambassador in Berlin was summoned because of the attack to the Foreign Ministry.”

Germany has also reduced its diplomatic staff in Tehran since the assault on the British Embassy.

Philipp Missfelder, spokesman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, issued a statement on Wednesday to the Post: “By recalling the German ambassador, the federal government is sending a strong signal to the Iranian government. The excess of violence against our British friends is absolutely unacceptable. The Iranian government has disregarded its obligations under public international law to prevent any violations of the physical integrity of diplomatic missions under all circumstances. It has positioned itself even further outside the established norms of international law. This breach of international law must have consequences.

At this critical point, Germany stands firmly with our partner Great Britain.”

Missfelder, one of the strongest proponents of an ironclad Israel-German relationship, added, “We have to continue on the path of harsher sanctions. The latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should have been eye-opening to even the last of the hopeful. The Iranian regime is pursuing its goal of having nuclear weapons. An Iranian nuclear bomb would be a disaster.

We have to prevent its construction by all means.

Therefore, we now need to toughen our diplomatic stance and stricter sanctions against Iran. To be effective, sanctions have to hit Iran’s oil and gas industry, as well as the Iranian Central Bank.”

[American Patriot]

If they attack America Forces in Germany... oh, boy... I can't even IMAGINE the outcome of that situation.

[Phil Fiord]

Yup. Sounds like war is on the horizon.

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Secret war against Iran's nuclear threat is build-up to allies' blitz

by Clare Fitzsimons, Daily Mirror 5/12/2011


A Saegheh missile is fired from its launch vehicle in Iran (pic: Reuters)

AFTER months in the shadows the undercover war on Iran’s nuclear menace has exploded into action.

Sleeper agents in Tehran received coded signals and moved on their targets.

Their weapons were bombs made from household substances.
The result was more than a dozen fire-bomb attacks on the homes and offices of some of Iran’s leading nuclear scientists.

The message was clear. Agents working for Israel’s Mossad were telling Tehran: “Stop the nuclear weapons programme. We know where your key people are.”

The attacks would have been carried out not by Israelis but Iranian *dissidents, *probably trained by Mossad. Today the Mirror *spotlights the secret war against Iran that has been going on for months.

Last week’s bombings were in response to threats by Tehran against Israel and the state-sponsored storming of the British embassy by demonstrators in Tehran.



Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Arak heavy-water project A mob
screaming “death to England” scaled *perimeter walls. The offices were ransacked and six staff are believed to have been held captive.

They were later released, badly shaken. The Foreign Office was forced to *evacuate embassy buildings and the last of the 24 officials left on Friday. Iranian diplomats in Lon**don were then booted out.

Many of the attackers held aloft pictures of their hero Qassem Suleimani, thought to have ordered the outrage. He is a *religious fanatic and has headed Iran’s 15,000-strong paramilitary Quds Force for 10 years.

Suleimani uses Quds to conduct “special operations” outside Iran, which makes it a vehicle for exporting terror internationally.


Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran

MI5 is on the alert for Quds retaliation here to any strike on Iran because of Britain’s close relationship with the US. Behind the tension is the rogue state’s race to make nuclear weapons. Only yesterday Tehran claimed it had shot down a US unmanned RQ-170 spy plane in the east of the country.

Within a fortnight we may see an all-out American air strike on a dozen key targets in the Islamic republic.

There have been suspected Israeli and US-sponsored assassinations in the past two years that have rattled the Tehran regime and bred paranoia.

Last month Iran’s Islamic *Revolutionary Guard buried one of the founders of its nuclear programme, Maj Gen Hassan Moghaddam. He died with 16 others in a mysterious explosion – assassinated by Israeli agents, it is rumoured.


Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan, Iran

In July an Iranian physicist thought to have been involved in the country’s nuclear programme was shot dead by a motorcyclist in Tehran.

Darioush Rezaie, 35, was killed in front of his child’s nursery in Tehran. His wife was wounded in the attack.

A senior western intelligence source told the Mirror: “Every day American military strategists go through the different scenarios being *developed for an all-out strike against Iran. But the offensive is already happening.

“The fire bombs could be a prelude to a much more serious air strike.


A suspected uranium-enrichment facility near Qom, Iran

“The countdown to Iran having *credible nuclear weapons is very real and Israel is growing impatient.”

Diplomatic sources in London said the withdrawal of British and other western diplomatic missions in Tehran last week paved the way for an attack on Iran.

Iranian Defence Minister General Ahmad Vahidi has warned that Israel will come under attack from 150,000 missiles if it targets Tehran with bombs.

And Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned it will target Nato’s missile defence shield in Turkey.

According to our sources, if the strike on Iran does take place, it will be US-led. British signals operators are likely to help monitor Iranian communications from a listening station in the Mediterranean. An *intelligence source revealed: “There are UK experts nearer the region in places such as Cyprus who may assist in *intercepting communications.

“And British warships will, of course, be in the Indian ocean – ostensibly helping the anti-piracy mission – but they will be able to provide aid.”

Almost hourly briefings are taking place between America’s most senior war *planners in a bomb-proof bunker at US Central Command, called CentCom, in Tampa, Florida.

CentCom also has an office at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in the Gulf, where staff help with the *planning of an attack.

A new generation of super accurate missiles could be used to destroy bunkers up to 200ft underground. The US’s Massive Ordnance Penetrator, dubbed the Big Blu, was designed for targets in Iran.

B-2 Spirit stealth bombers will deploy the six-metre GPS-guided rocket, fitted with 2.5 tons of explosives.

They will be used to smash open bunkers and tunnels suspected of containing weapons of mass *destruction. The £700million bombers are the most costly warplanes the world has seen.

They would fly a 13,000-mile-plus round trip to Iran from Whiteman air force base in Missouri or 12,500 miles there and back from Andersen US Bomber Forward Operating Base on the Pacific Island of Guam. If President Obama gives the go-ahead for a strike, Tomahawk cruise missiles are likely to be fired by US submarines in the Indian Ocean. They would slam into more than a dozen key targets.

Hellfire missiles unleashed by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles flying 40,000ft above Iran would target its nuclear labs in precision attacks.

It is not thought the US planners have politicians such as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in their sights.

Destabilising the state in that way could create worse problems.

Israel is committed to stopping Iran’s nuclear weapons programme but only the US has the resources to wipe out the suspect sites.

COMPLEX
Barack Obama knows the longer he waits to give the go-ahead the greater the chances that Israel would launch an attack – with the possibility that they might not complete the job.

A strike on Iran would be the most complex ever undertaken by the US air force. Iran’s ground-to-air missile defence system is one of the most sophisticated in the world so the planners will want to minimise the number of US pilots flying over the country.

A downed pilot who became a hostage would be a massive political headache.

The desire from the Pentagon is for there to be no US boots on the ground.

A land conflict with Iran is close to unthinkable, especially as Tehran can mobilise at least a million troops.

But those troops – and Iran’s leaders – know that the clock is ticking.

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U.S. to leave Iraqi airspace clear for strategic Israeli route to Iran

173 Comments and 191 Reactions



The U.S. military's fast-approaching Dec. 31 exit from Iraq, which has no way to defend its airspace, puts Israel in a better place strategically to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.Iraq has yet to assemble a force of jet fighters, and since the shortest route for Israeli strike fighters to Iran is through Iraqi airspace, observers conclude that the U.S. exit makes the Jewish state's mission planning a lot easier.

Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the Iraqi military will maintain radars to monitor the country's airspace, but it has not taken possession of American F-16s to guard that space.

"The country has a capable and improving capability to see the airspace, a viable system to provide command and control, but no system to defeat incoming air threats until it gets either the F-16s or ground-based systems or, optimally, some of both," Gen. Buchanan told The Washington Times.

Iraq made the first payment in September for 18 F-16s that will not arrive until next fall at the earliest. This means Israel would have a theoretical window of about 12 months if it wants to fly over Iraq unimpeded by the Iraqi air force.

Retired Air Force Gen. Thomas McInerney, who advocates a U.S. strategic bombing raid to destroy Iran's nuclear sites, agreed that Iraq's open airspace would make it easier for an Israeli mission.

"Yes, it will be," he said. "However, it will be much easier for Iranian forces to get to Israel through Iraq via land and air."

Gen. McInerney said he thinks there is a good chance that Iran, stretched economically by Western sanctions and fearing threats from Israel, will launch a war against the Jewish state through Iraq.

"Our departing Iraq will be a huge strategic mistake," he said of the Dec. 31 deadline for all U.S. forces to leave.

Iraq's ruling Shiite majority has historic ties to Iran's dominant Shiite society, but Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has warned Tehran against meddling in his country's politics.

Unknown is the role of U.S. jet fighters stationed outside Iraq but within striking distance from Navy carriers in the Persian Gulf, or possibly Kuwait.

"I would hope we would jump to defend Iraqi airspace," said James Carafano, a military analyst at the Heritage Foundation. "These are the kinds of contingency plans that ought to be put in place."

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, like his predecessor, Robert M. Gates, has downplayed the impact that an airstrike might have on Iran's quest for an atomic bomb. The Islamic republic has denied that it is trying to make a nuclear weapon.

In an appearance this month at the Brookings Institution, Mr. Panetta said U.S strikes might set back the nuclear program two years and acknowledged that some Iranian targets remain elusive.

"The indication is that, at best, it might postpone it maybe one, possibly two years," said Mr. Panetta, who also has mentioned three years as a possible delay. "It depends on the ability to truly get the targets that we're after. Frankly, some of those targets have been difficult to get at."

He added: "You always have the last resort of military action, but it must be the last resort, not the first."

Zalman Shoval, a special envoy for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that when dealing with someone like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a three-year detail may turn out to be significant.

"When you look at someone who denies the Holocaust and makes no secret of his intention to wipe out the state of Israel, and is making a major effort to lay his hands on a nuclear weapon in order to do that then you say to yourself lots of things can happen in three years in Iran," Mr. Shoval told The Times.

"You don't have to take it for granted that if something is held up for three years, then after the three years he comes back with a bang. Who knows?"
Israeli news reports say that Mr. Netanyahu has tried to build a political consensus to strike Iran.

Israel's potent air force includes long-range F-15Is, a specially configured version of the U.S. Air Force Strike Eagle. It is capable of flying low and at night while carrying bunker-busting bombs.

The problem Israeli pilots would face is first getting to Iranian airspace, then penetrating the country's multilayered air defenses.

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Syria deploys Russian anti-sea missiles on coast, Scuds on Turkish border

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report December 16, 2011, 2:06 PM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Syrian uprising Turkey Jordan US special forces IDF Russia



L-300P Bastion carrying Yakhont

Expanded Russian military and diplomatic support for the Assad regime was underscored by the deployment Friday, Dec. 16, of advanced Moscow-supplied Yakhont (SSN-26) shore-to-sea missiles along Syria's Mediterranean shore to fend off a potential Western-Turkish invasion by sea. Last week, Russia airlifted to Syria 3 million face masks against chemical and biological weapons and the Admiral Kutznetsov carrier and strike group was sent on its way to Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus.

Russian naval sources in Moscow stressed that the flotilla is armed with the most advanced weapons against submarines and aerial attack. Upon arrival, the Russian craft will launch a major marine-air maneuver in which Syrian units will take part.

Syria has received from Russia 72 Yakhont missiles able to hit marine targets up to a distance of 300 kilometers - i.e., over the horizon, our military sources report. The missile's radar remains inert, making it hard to detect, until it is close to target. It is then switched on to guide its aim.

Its high speed – 2,000 kmh – enables the Yakhont to strike before its target has time to activate self-defense systems.

Thursday night, in response to the deployment of 21 Syrian Scuds on the Turkish border, including five with chemical warheads, Ankara convened its top military council and declared its armed forces ready for war. Syria also rushed armored reinforcements to the Jordanian border.

debkafile's military and intelligence sources report that the rush of Syrian war moves backed by Russia indicates that both believe a Western-Arab force is on the point of invading Syria. They are keeping an eye especially on Turkey which is suspected of having obtained a NATO marine and air umbrella, including the US Sixth Fleet, for military preparations aimed at ousting Bashar Assad, so repeating the operation against Libya's Muammar Qaddafi.

The diplomatic flurry around Syria was accentuated by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's arrival in Ankara Friday morning to find Turkish armed forces on war preparedness, and Syrian Vice President Farouk A-Shara's landing in Moscow for a crisis conference with Russian leaders.
Thursday night, Dec. 15, debkafile reported:

War tensions around Syria rose alarmingly Thursday night, Dec. 15, when Turkey's top military council convened "to review the armed forces' preparedness for war" in response to the deployment of Syrian missiles, some tipped with chemical warheads, on their common border. debkafile's military sources report the meeting was led by Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

The Assad government also rushed armored units in two directions - to the Turkish frontier and also to the Jordanian border opposite the US special operations units from Iraq newly deployed to defend Jordan against a Syrian attack, as debkafile reported on Dec. 13.

Our sources report that 21 Syrian missile launchers, five of them Scud D with chemical warheads, are deployed in northern Syria opposite the Turkish Hatai (Alexandretta) district. They were moved up in broad daylight to make sure Western spy satellites and Turkish intelligence surveillance saw them. More are on the way.

In Israel, the IDF announced it was reconstituting the special command for operations behind enemy lines under the command of Brig. Gen. Shay Avital.

Before the military council convened in Ankara, Turkey placed its border contingents, air force and navy on war preparedness.

The official statement said the high military council had "assessed Turkish army needs and necessary steps to address these requirements…"

The Turkish press repeated a statement by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in an interview two weeks ago that Turkey does not want to consider a military option for intervention in neighboring Syria as Damascus cracks down on popular protest, but it is ready for any scenario.

The Turkish army has prepared operational plans for seizing parts of northern Syria if the situation there continues to deteriorate. Those plans would essentially carve Syria into two entities, with the Turkish army holding the north and protecting opposition and civilian populations, while the Syrian army and Assad loyalists would remain in control of the central and southern regions.

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Top Turkish military council reviews preparedness for war

(Photo: AA)

15 December 2011 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA

The Turkish military's preparedness for war was reviewed at the most recent Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting, the top military council has announced, hinting that the country is aware of the increased tension in its neighboring countries and is keeping its forces ready for a swift response.

A statement released by the General Staff on its website on Thursday said YAŞ discussed the activities of the Turkish army in domestic and border security, adding that it had reviewed the Turkish Armed Forces' (TSK) preparedness for war. Although the statement did not elaborate as to why preparations were being made and what kind of a threat is perceived by the top military body to trigger the readiness check, YAŞ said it assessed the army's needs and will take the necessary steps to address these needs.

The statement did not name any countries or dwell on the reasons for the timing of the assessment, which coincides with accelerated military activity just outside the country's borders, specifically in Syria.

“We have been hearing from the Syrian side that they are engaged in military drills, I believe this [YAŞ message] the is the Turkish way of saying that we are not standing idly by,” Gökhan Bacık, a professor at Gaziantep-based Zirve University, told Today’s Zaman on Friday as he speculated that the YAŞ message might be directed specifically at Syria, an old Turkish ally that is currently the target of heavy criticism. Turkey has been asking Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step down and stop the crackdowns on pro-democracy protestors, whom the Syrian regime considers terrorists motivated by outside sources. Syria rebuffed Turkish calls and dismissed criticism as interfering in its domestic affairs, but Turkish officials consistently expressed their concern over the deaths in Syria, currently estimated at roughly 5,000 people.

“I do not believe Turkey would ever attack Syria or any other country in the region on its own. If a military move is to be made against Syria it should exclusively be done with the approval of NATO,” Bacık said to rule out the possibility of a Turkish military maneuver against the Syrian army.

“However, the current climate in the Arab Spring region and the threat of a conflict in a neighboring country [Syria] pose good opportunities for Turkey to reassess its militaristic capabilities and judge again whether it has the power to stand up to its rivals,” he added. Although Bacık expressed belief that the YAŞ message might be a psychological move aimed at both domestic and foreign addressees, he also warned of the risks a heightened possibility of war might pose to the Turkish public.

Other experts further suspect that the message might have several targets, including Syria, which is on the brink of civil war that could stir up conflict along the Turkish border, as well as Iraq and Iran. “I see the message speaking to three different parties, Syria for starters, but to Iraq, from where the US troops will be pulling out soon, and to Iran, a country that is ripe with potential to create tension both in Syria and Iraq,” Veysel Ayhan, a Middle East expert at Ankara-based Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM) said to Today’s Zaman on Friday. Although Ayhan joined Bacık in disregarding a possibility that Turkey might be “seriously planning to go to war with others,” he stated that it would be irrational to act “as if nothing is going on in the region.”

Suggesting that the YAŞ review ought to be analyzed in the light of the current developments in the Iraq-Iran-Syria triangle, Ayhan defended the assessment as a timely preparation that became a must for Turkey when the tension in the region evolved into an international level threat. He also welcomed the military decision not to elaborate on the message and not to state any possible targets or countries in the statement, saying it would not be correct to name targets when a country is merely getting ready to protect itself, regardless of who the enemy might be.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in an interview two weeks ago that Turkey does not want to consider a military option for intervention in neighboring Syria as Damascus cracks down on popular protest, but it is ready for any scenario.

“If the oppression continues, Turkey is ready for any scenario. We hope that a military intervention will never be necessary. The Syrian regime has to find a way of making peace with its own people,” Davutoğlu then said.

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12.19 Israel Completes Secret 2 year Upgrade to Dolphin Class Submarine

By John Galt
December 18, 2011 – 23:10 ET



As the news cycle accelerates in the Middle East with massive discontent, the story from the Jerusalem Post’s print edition breaks this shocker (click on tittle to read full article):

Navy completing secret two-year submarine upgrade

The shock is not that the upgrades were done; it was this tidbit from the story:

The submarine was taken out of service almost two years ago but the renovation was a carefully guarded secret in the navy so Israel’s enemies would not know that one of its three submarines was out of commission.

Considering that previous public reports indicated that the entire Dolphin class that the Israeli navy uses were already capable of nuclear weapons delivery per numerous reports, the modifications in question and of course, still unknown, must be considered a disturbing development when taken in context with the current situation with Iran, Egypt, and remainder of the Middle East.

The fact that these two sentences appear in the story should strike fear in every military planner’s heart from the Pentagon to Moscow, and Beijing to Tehran:

“Every vessel that comes in to the shipyard for maintenance and upgrades comes out with improved capabilities,” Col. Eli Shouach, commander of the navy’s shipyard, told the Post. “There are a select number of countries around the world which can independently renovate a submarine. Some have tried and failed.”

Israel’s submarines are the military’s most expensive platform and are often referred to as the country’s second-strike doomsday weapon due to their reported ability to fire cruise missiles tipped with nuclear warheads.

This front page news release was not by accident and should be considered a final warning to Israel’s enemies and potential allies of those enemies.

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Israel hosts Italian Air Force for joint training exercise

Two-week exercise latest in a series of drills that Israel Air Force has conducted with foreign air forces.

By Anshel Pfeffer

The Israeli and Italian Air Forces on Friday completed a two-week joint training exercise involving fighter jets from both nations.

Three Israeli fighter jet squadrons (including F-16A, F-16C and F-15I aircraft) and two Italian fighter jet squadrons (including advanced Eurofighter and veteran Tornado aircraft) participated in the exercise.

	Italian Air Force jet at Uvda Airbase in southern Israel.
	Photo by: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

The exercise was conducted at the Uvda Airbase in the southern Negev Desert.

"Within the framework of the joint training, we are successfully conducting in-depth practice and types of training at the highest capabilities," said Israel Air Force Brigadier General Hagai Topolansky.



Italian Air Force jets at Uvda Airbase in southern Israel.IDF Spokesperson's Unit

The joint training exercise in Israel took place two months after the Israel Air Force carried out a long-range training drill with the Italian Air Force at the Decimomannu Airbase on the island of Sardinia.

Around three weeks ago, Israel hosted F-16s of Greece’s Hellenic Air Force for a joint exercise. The IDF did not publicize that exercise in order to not further exacerbate strained relations with Turkey, Greece's rival.

In a recent effort to strengthen its cooperation with NATO allies, Israel has been carrying out large-scale drills in foreign skies, as well as hosting foreign air forces to train in its training facilities.

On Thursday, the IDF announced it is forming a command to supervise "depth" operations, actions undertaken by the military far from Israel's borders.

Onoing concerns over Iran's contentious nuclear program serve as the backdrop for the IDF's annoucement, with both U.S. and Israeli officials noting that, while diplomatic efforts were the preferred tool with attempting to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, no options were "off the table."

	Israel hosts the Italian Air Force for a joint training exercise.
	Photo by: IDF Spokespersons Unit

[vector7]

Which is the common enemy?

In our Constitution they wrote:

I must defende my country not someone's else country.

Welcome to the Club.

Israeli-Italian aerial drill

Ynetnews presents images from joint aerial exercise; IDF denies Iran was in crosshairs

Yoav Zitun

Published: 12.17.11, 20:09 / Israel News

The IDF says that a joint Israeli-Italian aerial drill held this week in southern Israel was not meant to simulate a potential strike against Iran. Against the backdrop of cool relations with Turkey, Israel's traditional exercise partner, military officials expressed their hope that the IDF would eventually be able to resume its joint drills with its former Muslim ally. Joint military drill (Video: Roee Idan) "Going back to training with the Turks is needed and appropriate," a senior Air Force official said. The joint training session with Italy, which followed an aerial drill in Sardinia about a month ago, was held as part of Israel's effort to convince foreign armies to take part in an international aerial drill to be held in Israel in 2013. Huge firepower (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office) One training session was attended by some 30 foreign military attachés, who observed an exercise featuring cooperation between ground forces and helicopters. This was followed by a series of meetings and lectures. Flying in southern Israel (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office) As part of the drill, advanced Italian jets simulated battles against Israel's F-15s and F-16s. The exercise, which officials said concluded successfully, included joint flight sessions and an opportunity for Italy to become familiar with the Israeli Air Force's special ground equipment. Senior Italian officials who participated in the drill downplayed questions about any possible connection between the exercise and a potential Iran strike. Air Force Brigadier General Hagai Topolonsky also dismissed a possible link, saying that "the media have a tendency to link unrelated matters and make a story out of them. Our deployment in Sardinia was part of our annual training plan."

[vector7]

Iran provokes showdown, warns US carrier not to return to Persian Gulf

DEBKAfile Special Report January 3, 2012, 12:49 PM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Iranian naval exercise US aircraft carriers Strait of Hormuz Persian Gulf


USS Stennis near Strait of Hormuz

In another heated escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Iran Tuesday, Jan. 3, threatened to take action if the US aircraft carrier which "moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill returns to the Persian Gulf." Army chief Lt. Gen. Ataolla Salehi said:" Iran will not repeat this warning."

He referred to the USS Stennis as "the enemy's carrier," which "I recommend and emphasize… not return to the Persian Gulf." He avoided naming the US vessel or the details of action Iran might take if it returned.

debkafile's military sources report that the Stennis transited the Strait of Hormus Wednesday, Dec. 28 and entered the Sea of Oman where Iran was staging a naval drill. Washington was demonstrating freedom of navigation in the international strait through which one-fifth of the worlds exported oil is shipped and underlining Iran's inability to close it to merchant shipping and US warships.

Iran said that its surveillance aircraft and warships tracked and filmed the US carrier's movements in and around Hormuz which it claims to fully control.

Saturday, Dec. 31, Iran announced a long-range missile test-fire would take place over the strait, thereby causing a five-hour stoppage of shipping traffic. Later, an Iranian general said the missile test was delayed.

debkafile's Iranian and military sources reported that this was a trick to prove Iran capable of closing the Strait of Hormuz in defiance of strong warnings from Washington.

Monday, Jan. 2, the Iranian navy marked the last day of its Hormuz drill by testing shore-to-sea Qader and Nour missiles. The Qader is described by the Iranians as a cruise missile capable of destroying large American air carriers with a single hit.

Tuesday, this claim proved to be the prologue in advance of Iran's virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz against the return of the USS Stennis into the Persian Gulf and appropriation of its "right" to open and close the waterway at will.

It is hard to see the Obama administration caving in to Tehran's ultimate challenge to the freedom of this vital international waterway. The Stennis or some other American naval vessel must soon be sent through the Strait of Hormuz to test Iran's assumption of control.

Gen. Salehi said: "We are not seeking to act irrationally, but are ready to confront any threat." Another Iranian commander said that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are preparing another military exercise in the Persian Gulf. He did not offer a date.

Our military sources add that two more American warships, the USS Bataan and USS Makin Island, are cruising in the area. They are small Marine Corps amphibian craft carrying jets and helicopters. The big air craft carrier USS Carl Vinson, deployed in the Pacific from the third week of December, is on standby to advance to waters opposite Iran in an emergency.

[vector7]

'Invading Iran is invading Russia, China'

Sun Jan 1, 2012 3:13PM GMT


Russia and China will be a headache for US President Barack Obama if he decides on a military confrontation with Iran.

A political analyst says Russia and China consider a US military action on Iran as an attack on their own borders and a threat to their own national security.

“The US is assuming that Russia or China will not respond militarily, but they've been wrong before,” Shamus Cooke wrote on the Global Research website.

Cooke explained that when former US president George W. Bush gave the green light to the then President of Georgia Mikheil Saakahvili to attack South Ossetia in 2008, “Russia surprised everyone by responding militarily and crushing Georgia's invasion.”

“Attacking Syria and/or Iran opens the door to a wider regional or even international war,” Cooke stressed.

Last Month, Major General Zhang Zhaozhong, professor from the Chinese National Defense University, said China would not hesitate to protect the Islamic Republic against a military strike, even if this means the start of the Third World War.

Also last week, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin vehemently criticized any plans of attacking Iran, describing the measure as “a very dangerous scenario” which could lead to a “regional catastrophe.”

The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear program may consist of a covert military agenda.

Iran has refuted the allegations, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Over the past weeks, Israel has renewed its aggressive rhetoric against Iran. On November 21, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that "time has come" to deal with Iran.

Israeli President Shimon Peres also threatened on November 6 that an attack against Iran is becoming "more and more likely."

Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.

“If the US becomes militarily involved with Syria and Iran, it is up to the working people of the US to mobilize in massive numbers in the streets to prevent such an attack,” Cooke concluded.

[American Patriot]

You know, if I were the skipper of that ship, I'd turn my ass around and go back and forth through the straits five or six times in front of every Iranian vessel present and DARE them to do shit about it.

[American Patriot]

Americans don't get it. They JUST DON'T FUCKING GET IT.

Muslims, in fact almost ALL ARABS think they have WON a battle when someone "backs down". Leaving the area was "backing down" to them. They WON.

The President doesn't get this... and no one else does.

They win "when they hurt you". Even if it is a SCRATCH.

Don't you guys get this?

[Toad]

The problem is it's high stakes Poker. The highest stakes. We're dealing with a Theocracy bent on "end of days" and totally OK with mutual destruction. (OK, it would be their destruction, but a halla lot of collateral destruction. Hella lotta.) Hundreds of millions, Billions, tens of billions, hundreds? of dollars of damage.

No Admiral worth his salt would dare go in there on ego alone to make a point. Or at least I hope to God they've earned their stripes enough to use their head and not care what the enemy thinks and says, but rather uses brains and plays smart chess and plays a cool game and talks to Command.

I don't care the slightest what the enemy thinks or says. I care what I think, what position I have, what assets I have, where they are, and 10 moves ahead.

Leaving that area wasn't a loss. It was a move. Let the children scream while you play the game.

[American Patriot]

A Carrier Group isn't "alone".

/chuckles


It's not about ego. It's about slapping someone back when they slap you in the face.

Truly though.... and I think Ryan can back me on this. Nothing was going to happen ANYWAY. The Iranians don't have the guts to throw a missile our way. They KNOW better.

it's all about "wins on paper". Which is what we just gave them.

[vector7]

Juniper Cobra and Austere Challenge set to establish Israeli defenses for regional conflict

Dec 29th 2011
By: admin



Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey will arrive in Israel mid January in a trip that comes as the US escalates its rhetoric regarding US military preparations to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. In an interview with CNN last week, Dempsey said that preparations for a military option against Iran “are evolving to a point that they would be executable if necessary.”

Dempsey will meet with IDF Chief Gantz, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

According to The Jerusalem Post’s Yaakov Katz:

Lt.-Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of the US Army in Europe, told The Jerusalem Post that the two armies will hold a massive ground forces exercise in Spring 2012 called ‘Austere Challenge,’ which will seek to increase inter-operability between the IDF and the US Army.

The drill, which is unprecedented in its size, will include the establishment of US command posts in Israel and IDF command posts at EUCOM headquarters in Germany – with the ultimate goal of establishing joint task forces for the event of a future large-scale conflict in the Middle East.

Katz wrote:

Shortly before Austere Challenge, scheduled for May, the EUCOM will also hold the Juniper Cobra missile defense exercise with the IDF, and include the Arrow 2 and Iron Dome as well as America’s THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and the shipbased Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. The exercise is expected to include the actual launching of interceptors from these systems.

The visit of Gen Dempsey comes months before Israel and the US are scheduled to hold the largest-ever joint missile defense drill in April, “Juniper Cobra”.

For “Juniper Cobra” in April, the US will bring in its THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and ship-based Aegis ballistic missile defense systems to Israel to simulate the interception of missile salvos against Israel. The American systems will work in conjunction with Israel’s missile defense systems – the Arrow, Patriot and Iron Dome and live interceptions are expected to take place during the drill.

[American Patriot]

Americans don't get it. They JUST DON'T FUCKING GET IT.

Muslims, in fact almost ALL ARABS think they have WON a battle when someone "backs down". Leaving the area was "backing down" to them. They WON.

The President doesn't get this... and no one else does.

They win "when they hurt you". Even if it is a SCRATCH.

Don't you guys get this?

Rumor has it that some folks are calling this "an act of war" (closing the strait" - which it actually IS) and at least one Presidential Candidate (what's his face, the guy that is way down at the bottom and I never heard of before, something like "huntsman" lol) is saying the same thing too.

It IS an act of war. I don't know where folks stand on this and don't give a fuck.... and that's my opinion on that... but when a country threatens to cut off oil, gas or any other natural resources to the rest of the fucking world... it's an act of war.

Further more by NOT taking any stand at ALL on the subject where Muslims are concerned, we're cutting our own throat by "letting them win" with another slap in the face.

By IGNORING THIS (like Ron Paul would do) and pulling our "troops all home" we OPEN up the world for these kinds of things.

This isn't about "being the world's policemen", it's about being able to PROJECT MILITARY POWER anywhere in the world it is needed, WHEN it is needed, and not having to resort to nuclear weapons to solve our problems down the road.

Iran needs a swift kick in the nuts and the Fifth Navy should be able to do it without blinking. This isn't about "ego" or "arrogance". It's about who is the tougher kid on the block.

And all the blocks belong to the US right now. We have men in or on 146 countries, islands and territories and in 99.9% of them we WERE INVITED THERE.

In the .1% (the middle east) we were kicked hard on 9-11 and we should obliterate ANYONE who does that shit again.

Closing off the straits will barely hurt the US, but it will fuck up the Middle East for a long time to come (worse than it is) and many European countries.

If we walk away from this slap in the face and laugh it off... that's fine. But when do you stop turning the other cheek folks?