More on the Israeli strike on Syria

I have reported on this issue a few times and here is some further information from the Counterterrorism blog on why Israel felt that it was necessary to strike the nuclear facility inside the Syrian border:

Interestingly, while North Korea has been mentioned many times, the role of Iran has not been scrutinized.
I just wrote a piece for the Middle East Times on that topic.
Here is an excerpt:
Israel has been providing intelligence and satellite images to the U.S. about a secret Syrian nuclear program for several months, according to media reports. Discussions between Israel and the United States took place last summer regarding a possible strike. But when Israel found the matter so pressing that when they realized the U.S. was not ready to act, on September 6 they attacked a Syrian nuclear site. Hence the question: what is Syria really up to or more to the point what is Iran up to?

First, let's start with an underreported explosion that occurred in a Syrian military base outside Aleppo on July 26. Jane's Defense Weekly reported, citing Syrian defense sources, as saying the explosion took place during a test to fit a "Scud C" missile with a mustard-gas warhead. It quoted the sources as saying the explosion occurred when fuel caught fire in the missile production laboratory.

But there might be another explanation. Kuwait's Al Seyassah newspaper recently reported that a Shiite Lebanese religious cleric claimed the Iranians were allegedly supervising a chemical weapons manufacturing program and that tens of Iranian experts and engineers died as a result of that explosion. He also said Israelis attacked the base. He added that Western officials told him they received proof from Israel on the Syrian chemical weapons program. Even if Israel's involvement is not proven, what remains sure is that it must be very happy that a chemical weapons facility in Syria has been partly destroyed.

You can read the story here

Israel responds to constant mortar attacks from inside of Gaza

 

An Israeli air strike on Wednesday has successfully hit an Hamas controlled post where rockets are being constantly fired into Israeli territory.

Despite the bleating about the alleged "oppression" of Palestinians, there is in fact very little evidence to prove the complaints. Instead, the Hamas controlled Palestinians have been constantly firing their rockets at the town of Sderot, and threaten the lives of at least 300,000 citizens at intervals of every 3 hours.

If Hamas refuses to be a part of the present peace process, then there is little chance of any resolution to the conflicts, because the aims of Hamas happen to be that they should be the ones who control the whole region. As a result Israel's existence remains threatened, first by the existence of Hamas, and secondly by the backers of Hamas, Syria and Iran.

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- An Israeli airstrike Wednesday hit a Hamas post in southern Gaza, killing two Hamas security men in Khan Yunis, according to Hamas sources.

Hamas members in Gaza City watch TV coverage of the Mideast summit on Tuesday.

The Israeli army said the airstrike -- the third in Gaza this week -- was in response to the firing of mortars into Israel.

According to the Israeli military, 11 mortars and Qassam rockets were fired into Israel on Wednesday.

Reacting to incessant rocket attacks from Gaza, Israel's government labeled the Hamas-controlled region a "hostile territory" in September, setting in motion a wide-ranging crackdown that includes military operations and limiting Gaza's power supply.

Gaza militants fire rockets into Israel every three hours, on average, according to the Israeli military.

Speaking at the Mideast peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said "the continued shooting of Qassam rockets against tens of thousands of residents in the south of Israel, particularly in the city of Sderot, serves as a warning sign -- one which cannot be overlooked."

He said the ongoing attacks are a hurdle to achieving peace with the Palestinians and are the result of "the absence of governmental institutes and effective law enforcement mechanisms" in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Can Israel exist if Lebanon falls to Hezbollah?

The situation in Lebanon has begun to reach melting point whilst the UN and everyone else just looks on and smiles, going about their business, as if Hezbollah has a legitimate right to rule.

Israel's situation is all the more precarious because of the way in which Syria has been working in the background. It is a known fact that the Shia led Hezbollah has backing and funding from both Syria and Iran. It is also well known that there have been a number of political assassinations of leaders who are opposed to Syria, and that these assassinations have caused a real problem for the slim majority of the outgoing President.

In other words, by assassinating these particular politicians, Syria was hoping to give Hezbollah the foothold it needs to wrest control of Lebanon.

If Syria gains control over Lebanon again, then the situation for Israel is even more precarious.  Israel has been out of favour because of the invasion of Lebanon last year, even though this invasion was the end result of the provocation from actions by Hezbollah and allies against Israel.

The left wing leaders in Europe have turned their backs on Israel, and instead of doing everything possible to bring about a just settlement to the crisis, countries such as Finland, and Sweden have been backing the terrorists!! The U.N. is also guilty of not taking a neutral stance and its agencies are guilty of issuing biased reports that are based upon a warped interpretation of events (including the faked bombing of the Red Cross Ambulances and the Qana incident that was not properly investigated.)

(As an aside, it should be remembered that Antiochus, was a king of Syria and he was responsible for the persecution of the Jews during the period of the Maccabees)

This is one very ugly bride and terror suspect

In Baghdad, soldiers at a checkpoint stopped what looked like a wedding convoy. The soldiers became suspicious because all of the convoy except the "bride" were male. The suspicions were confirmed when it was discovered that the bride was not a woman but a man dressed up as the bride.

You have to agree with me, but that is just one very ugly "bride"!!

Both "bride" and groom were wanted by the authorities in relation to terrorist activities.

Hamas will most likely not honour any peace settlement that is brokered by George Bush

The BBC reports that the Islamist movement HAMAS has reportedly stated that Palestinians will not be bound by any decisions taken at this weeks US-backed Middle East Peace talks. Ismail Haniya, the leader of HAMAS in Gaza, who is not attending the talks, has described the discussions as "fruitless".

 

Several of the Hamas leaders met at the Palestinian Parliament in Gaza city to sign a document stating that Mr Abbas had no right to make concessions in any peace deal.

"The people believe that this conference is fruitless and that any recommendations or commitments made in the conference that harm our rights will not be binding for our people," Mr Haniya said as he entered the building.

"It will be binding only for those who sign it."

Mr Haniya was dismissed by Abbas from his position of prime minister of a national unity government in June, shortly after Hamas seized control of the Gaza strip from the president's Fatah movement.

Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the USA and Israel and is not represented at Annapolis.

It seems that Hamas is only interested in perpetuating the myth that Israel is occupying Palestinian land, but this is clearly not true. Historically, the Palestinians did not exist until around the 1920s. Gaza was won in the 6 day war, and Israel was entitled to occupy that territory. The same goes for East Jerusalem. It does not belong to the Palestinians. Therefore, we should take heed of the following (threatening) words of Mahmoud Zahhar:

Another senior Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahhar, told the BBC that even if the group had been invited, it would be pointless participating because Israel was not prepared to end the occupation of Palestinian land.

"We are very proud that we are not involved in this conference which will bring for us nothing," he told the BBC World Service.

"We don't believe that this is a real peace process, because without fulfilling our basic demand it will be just as previous agreements reached and unable to be practised practically on the ground," he added.

"Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] is not representing the majority of the Palestinian people."

Palestinian officials say, however, that as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Mr Abbas is entitled to negotiate on behalf of Palestinians. Agreements are signed between Israel and the PLO.

Evidence of fresh Syrian plot in Lebanon

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Hariri: 'Evidence of fresh plot'

They continue to protest their innocence, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the Syrian army and intelligence are behind the plot to murder anti-Syrian Lebanese government members. Already this year the toll has been heavy as several members have been murdered.

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Photo evidence that Syria had a nuclear reactor

Photo suggests quick cleanup of suspected Syrian nuclear site - CNN.com

There are new commercial images that show a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site has been wiped clean since it was bombed September 6 by Israeli aircraft. The analysts say that the cleanup will hinder a proposed investigation by international inspectors and suggests Syria is trying to conceal the evidence.

"It took down this facility so quickly it looks like they are trying to hide something," said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, which analyzed the images. An image taken Wednesday by a DigitalGlobe commercial satellite shows tractors or bulldozers and scrape marks on the ground where the building stood in photos taken prior to the September Israeli attack."

Had the building not been razed, inspectors would have been able to tell from its construction whether it was meant to house a North Korean-style nuclear reactor, Albright said. He said the fact that the structure got a roof so early in its construction also suggests that it was a reactor.

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