Flashback: Isreals attack on Iraq -

Contrary to popular belief, it appears that Israel's attack on Osirak in June of 1981 did nothing to hinder Iraq's nuclear aspirations. Although it temporarily set back its capabilities, it served rather to reinforce and increase Saddam's desire for a nuclear arsenal. In fact, Iraqi nuclear scientist Imad Khadduri claims that Israel's preemptive strike against the French-built Tamuz Iraqi nuclear reactor, which was not really suitable for plutonium production anyway, had the exact opposite effect of the one intended: it sent Saddam Hussein's A-bomb program into overdrive and convinced the Iraqi leadership to initiate a full fledged nuclear weapons program immediately afterwards. - source

Flashback: UK US - attack on Iraq - Wed Dec 16, '98

2 hours ago, the US and UK started an attack on Iraq. Under international law, this attack is illegal as it was not approved by the UN security council. In fact the UN security council has rejected repeated US requests to authorize it. Under international law, this is a war-crime. Under US law it is illegal, since Congress was not asked to approve it. (CT:Sengan is wrong here. Under Executive Order, Clinton can do this) The Pentagon estimates that 10,000 people will be killed. There are disturbing reports that Richard Butler, chairman of UNSCOM, has been in consultation with the US to draft his reports. Moreover, Cofi Annan, UN-head did not instruct Butler to evacuate the arms inspectors -- the US did. France, Russia and China have voiced opposition. Of relevance is that tomorrow, Clinton was to be impeached since most of the congress members wanted him impeached. Indeed, the Senate told the Whitehouse that he would be impeached tomorrow unless he bombed Iraq. - source

Flashback: UK US - attack on Afghanistan - 2003

The United States, with support from the United Kingdom, Australia and the Northern Alliance invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of its "War on Terrorism" campaign. The military campaign, led by U.S. general Tommy Franks, was initially dubbed Operation Infinite Justice but quickly renamed Operation Enduring Freedom, due to perceived religious connotations of the former. British military operations against Afghanistan were codenamed Operation Veritas.

According to the U.S., the purpose of Operation Enduring Freedom was to target Osama bin Laden, suspected of planning and funding the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack, and his terrorist network al-Qaida, as well as the Taliban government in Afghanistan which allegedly provided support to al-Qaida and gave them safe haven. Many journalists have reported that plans to attack al-Qaida and the Taliban existed as early as the Clinton administration. Wikipedia

Flashback: UK US - attack on Iraq - 2003

The 2003 invasion of Iraq began on March 19, 2003, when forces belonging primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq. Ground forces from Australia and Poland and naval forces from Denmark and Spain also played a supporting role. After approximately three weeks of fighting, Iraq's Ba'athist government was toppled and the 2003 occupation of Iraq began. The international community was divided on the legitimacy of this invasion; - Wikipedia

US pre-emptive

flashback 1998-
Washington -- The House of Representatives has followed the Senate's lead in giving overwhelming approval to a bill designed to force an end to Russian transfers of missile technology to Iran. - source

New York, Sept 5 (PTI) A leading Pentagon official has hinted that the doctrine of pre-emptive war could soon apply to potential new targets, a media report said.

During a private conference call with Capitol Hill aides from both parties on August 19, Senior Pentagon policy official William Luti said there are at least five or six foreign countries with traits that "no responsible leader can allow," Time quoted sources as saying.

An outspoken proponent of the Iraq war, Luti had declared at an October 2002 conference that the US has "the right to ... hold accountable nations that harbour terrorists," Time said.

Some democrats on Capitol Hill, Time said, claim that they are worried a second Bush Administration may prove more militarily aggressive than the first. PTI source

Isreal on Syria

An emergency session of the UN Security Council, convened after Sunday's Israeli air strike on Syria, was adjourned without adopting a resolution after the US threatened to veto any draft that fails to sharply condemn Saturday's Palestinian suicide attack in Haifa.

[snip]

It is [...] no coincidence that the Israeli government spoke of an "axis of terror" stretching from Tehran, via Damascus to Gaza, echoing US statements of an "Axis of Evil", which included Iraq, Iran and North Korea, but not Syria, although Damascus features on the US blacklist of state-sponsors of terrorism.

Israel presents its operations as part of the US-led global war on terrorism, and not without success. On Sunday, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, mainly criticised Syria for being "on the wrong side of the war on terrorism." source

=

Isreal on Iran

Israel has completed military rehearsals for a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear power facility at Bushehr, Israeli officials told the London-based Sunday Times.

Such a strike is likely if Russia supplies Iran with fuel rods for enriching uranium. The rods, currently stored at a Russian port, are expected to be delivered late next year after a dispute over financial terms is resolved.

An Israeli defense source in Tel Aviv, who confirmed that the military rehearsals had taken place, told the paper: "Israel will on no account permit Iranian reactors - especially the one being built in Bushehr with Russian help - to go critical." - source

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Iran on Isreal

Asked about the possibility of an American or Israeli strike against Iran's atomic power plant being built in Bushehr, Shamkhani added: "We will consider any strike against our nuclear installations as an attack on Iran as a whole, and we will retaliate with all our strength.

"Where Israel is concerned, we have no doubt that it is an evil entity, and it will not be able to launch any military operation without an American green light. You cannot separate the two."

"The US military presence (in Iraq) will not become an element of strength (for Washington) at our expense. The opposite is true, because their forces would turn into a hostage" in Iranian hands in the event of an attack, he said.

Earlier in the week, a commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying that Tehran would strike the Israeli reactor at Dimona if Israel attacks the Islamic republic's own burgeoning nuclear facilities.

"If Israel fires one missile at Bushehr atomic power plant, it should permanently forget about Dimona nuclear center, where it produces and keeps its nuclear weapons, and Israel would be responsible for the terrifying consequence of this move," General Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr warned. source

Isreal wants EU in on the act

Israel urged leading European members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday to take a tougher stand against Irans uranium enrichment programme.

Speaking on the eve of a crucial meeting at the agencys Vienna headquarters, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said a robust European stand is needed because Iran has violated its commitments under IAEA rules. source

EU strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Russia arms Iran?

MOSCOW -- A senior Russian nuclear official said yesterday that an atomic reactor Moscow is building for Iran, long a stumbling block in Russian-US relations, faced further delays.

Diplomatic sources and specialists in Moscow have said President Vladimir Putin's growing recognition of Washington's concerns over Iran's nuclear program have pressured the Kremlin into delaying until the International Atomic Energy Agency determines that Iran's nuclear program is in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

But the Russian official, speaking just days before the UN nuclear watchdog meets in Vienna to discuss Iran, said the delay was of a technical nature and had nothing to do with US pressure on Russia to ditch the Bushehr project. - source

U.S. Accuses Russian [& Belarus, North Korea, Russia, Spain and Ukraine] Firms of Selling Weapons to Iran

30.09.2004 - Russian company Khazra Trading is on the list of firms penalized by the United States for selling unconventional weapons and missile technology to Iran, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.

Washington slapped sanctions on seven Chinese firms, two Indian nationals, and companies from Belarus, North Korea, Russia, Spain and Ukraine, said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

The penalties were imposed for the transfer of equipment and technology controlled under multilateral export control lists or otherwise having the potential to make a material contribution to the development of weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missile systems, the State Department said.

There was credible information that these entities had transferred one of several categories of items to Iran since January of 1999, spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters, adding that 23 companies and individuals were now subject to similar sanctions.

He said the penalties, imposed Sept. 23 under the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000, apply to the individual companies, not their countries or governments. - MosNews

Isreal supports Russia

JERUSALEM - The foreign ministers of Israel and Russia have signed a deal to step up intelligence cooperation after the Beslan school tragedy, branding terrorism the biggest challenge facing the international community.

Speaking on a one-day visit to Jerusalem on Monday, Russia's Sergei Lavrov said a united front was needed to combat the threats posed by the likes of the Chechen rebels behind last week's hostage tragedy.

He thanked Israel for its expressions of sympathy and solidarity, saying it had been the first country to offer assistance to Moscow in the aftermath.

[snip]

'In this regard, the foreign ministries will encourage in every possible way the development of broad bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation in fighting international terrorism.'

Mr Shalom expressed his condolences over the tragedy in Beslan, telling Mr Lavrov that Israel fully understood the pain and grief that Russia was now experiencing.

'The terror that hit Russia is no different to the terror that hit New York, Tel Aviv or Madrid,' said Mr Shalom.

'Israel and Russia share interests to cooperate against terrorism. Today, we discussed ways to do so.' source

Russia get pre-emptive

Russia's top military commander threatened yesterday to launch preventive strikes on terrorist bases "in any region of the world," raising questions about how far Moscow will go to hunt down suspected Chechen separatists believed responsible for killing more than 400 people in three terrorist attacks the last two weeks.

[snip]

"Military steps are an extreme measure in the fight against terrorism," Col. Gen. Yury Baluyevsky, the Russian armed-forces chief, said after meeting with NATO commanders. "Our position on pre-emptive strikes has been stated before, but I will repeat it: We will take steps to liquidate terror bases in any region."

He added that Russia did not plan to use nuclear forces in such strikes.

The statement caused unease in neighboring Georgia. Over the years, Russia has accused Georgia of allowing Chechen rebels to take shelter in the remote gorges along its northern border. A spokesman for Maskhadov in London predicted that Russia would step up attempts to assassinate Chechens abroad.

"Mr. Baluyevsky seems to have made it perfectly clear to everybody today that Russia will now begin to hunt down and destroy separatists and terrorists wherever they are," said Akhmad Zakayev, a London-based Chechen rebel representative. source

UK warns Iran...to stop getting Russian help...

Britain has set Iran a two month ultimatum to suspend all activities linked to the production of a nuclear bomb or face a demand for United Nations sanctions, the British press said.

Western counties see the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in November as the "point of decision" on the issue of Iran's nuclear program, the Times said quoting an unnamed senior British official.

"Iran needs to meet its commitments," said another unnamed British official in the Guardian.

"We would like it to meet its commitments before then, but if it doesn't, Iran needs to know and it needs to know now, that there is going to be a decision point in November and at that point a very serious option ... is referral to the United Nations Security Council," he said. - source

Russia, Syria work super-weapons deal Israel stunned by Kremlin double-cross, as Assad shops for missiles in Moscow.

Israel is fearing a double-cross by Moscow on arms deals that could make Syria a more serious strategic missile threat to the Jewish state, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is planning his first state visit to Russia next week and he goes with a long shopping list of cooperation agreements and arms deals. The visit comes at a time when Russia is embarking on a plan to expand its political influence and once again become a key player in Middle Eastern affairs, according to the report by Yoram East in the premium, weekly intelligence newsletter published by WND.

Topping the Syrian shopping list are upgrades of packages for existing equipment, including hundreds of artillery and ballistic missiles. Next is the purchase of at least 18 units of the SS-26 surface-to-surface missiles, also known as Iskander-E.

Israel's main concerns are not so much about the sale of modern weapon systems to replace aging equipment in the Syrian military, but rather about Israeli technology incorporated in these systems offered by the Russians to their military hardware clientele. WND

Iran's Khamenei to US: nuclear programme is none of your business

TEHRAN (AFP) May 01, 2005 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday in comments apparently directed at the United States that the Islamic republic's nuclear programme was "none of your business".

In a speech carried on state television, the all-powerful Khamenei also said that the June presidential election would not bring any change to Iran's determination to press on with its controversial atomic actvities.

"The shameless arrogance and rudeness has gone so far that it has given rise to such comments that Iran does not need nuclear technology. This is none of your business," he told a gathering in the southern city of Kerman.

"You do not have the right to judge if a nation needs nuclear energy or not," he said. spacewar.com