Ooohh! Stephen must be mad at me for revealing all that errors that he;s been presenting as facts...POoor little Stephen ..........................Actually the "Abomination of Desolation" is an event where the ac stands in the holy place and proclaims himself god.....it is at that moment when national Israel will realize....UH-OH we made a BEeeGG mistake!.........Stephen...grow up little man,and be a man..........................benny

New Russian President Vows to Fund Nuclear Weapons

Thursday, May 15, 2008 3:30 PM

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MOSCOW -- President Dmitry Medvedev made his debut as the commander in chief of Russia's armed forces Thursday, touring a missile base and promising to provide the funding needed for nuclear forces to counter global threats.

Medvedev inspected Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles and spoke to officers at the base near Teikovo, a town in the Ivanovo region some 150 miles northeast of Moscow.

"I'm impressed by both the weapons and the level of training," Medvedev said after inspecting the missiles, which are concealed by the military in a dense pine forest. "It's good that the military is getting new missiles like the Topol-M."

Missiles from the base were displayed in the May 9 Victory Day parade, when Russia showcased its combat vehicles and other military hardware on Red Square in Moscow for the first time since the Soviet collapse.

Medvedev said that he "felt a drive" when he watched the missiles and other weapons rolling across the square. He promised that such parades will continue and may even be expanded.

"Our task for the next few years is to make sure that the Strategic Missile Forces receive the necessary funding to respond to modern threats and the current situation on the planet," Medvedev said in televised remarks during a meeting with servicemen. "Certain progress has been made recently, and we mustn't lose the tempo."

He also promised to raise officers' salaries.

Medvedev, who was sworn in on May 7, has cast himself as a liberal and avoided the harsh anti-Western rhetoric of his predecessor and mentor, Vladimir Putin.

Most observers, however, expect Medvedev to continue the policies of Putin, who has taken an increasingly assertive posture on the international scene and vowed to strengthen the military.

Putin, now the prime minister, fiercely opposes a U.S. plan to deploy missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as NATO plans to grant membership to Ukraine and Georgia. Putin has threatened to point nuclear missiles at countries that take part in the U.S. missile defense shield, and he opted out of a key Soviet-era arms control treaty.

Topol-M missiles are capable of hitting targets more than 6,000 miles away. They are deployed in both silo-based and truck-mounted versions.

"It's a new step in missile design," Strategic Missile Forces chief, Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, said in describing the Topol-M to Medvedev.

Putin and other officials have boasted about the Topol-M's ability to penetrate any missile defense.

Its designer, Yuri Solomonov, has said the missile drops its engines at a significantly lower altitude than earlier designs, making it hard for an enemy's early warning system to detect a launch. Solomonov also has said the missiles' warhead and decoys closely resemble one another in flight.

Windfall oil revenues have allowed the Kremlin to buy weapons and fund the development of new missiles. The deployment of Topol-Ms, however, has proceeded slowly, and Soviet-built ballistic missiles have remained the backbone of the nation's nuclear forces.

While the government put cash into modernizing ground-based missiles, the naval component of Russia's nuclear forces has deteriorated. Soviet-built nuclear submarines frequently need repairs and rarely leave their bases. The first in a series of new nuclear submarines is to be commissioned this year, but the nuclear-armed missile developed for it has failed tests.

.............................................benny

"Ooohh! Stephen must be mad at me for revealing all that errors that he;s been presenting as facts...POoor little Stephen ..........................Actually the "Abomination of Desolation" is an event where the ac stands in the holy place and proclaims himself god.....it is at that moment when national Israel will realize....UH-OH we made a BEeeGG mistake!.........Stephen...grow up little man,and be a man..........................benny'

Words that reflect "small" thinking and "big" speculations. You should hear yourself. Your comments reflect your lack of confidence Benny .... otherwise you would not resort to petty hostilities.

Another

You just did it again

Incredible

Why just don't you come on over to this side of Texas, and we can pray for each other. I would just love to lay hands on you, Cause I think that you need a good healing LOL ............................benny

May 16, 2008 0:07 | Updated May 16, 2008 6:33
Dramatic new regional support for Red-Dead seas canal plan
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
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A group of Israeli and foreign businessmen and bankers are finally ready to build a $3 billion canal between the Red and Dead Seas, desalinating the water, producing hydroelectric power and yielding profits, clean water, jobs and potentially unprecedented regional cooperation.


Photo: Courtesy

Slideshow: Pictures of the week The project could create work for a million Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians, draw eight million tourists a year to Israel, and produce a billion cubic meters of desalinated water.

Jordan's King Abdullah and Saudi Prince Walid bin-Talal have already given their enthusiastic endorsement of the project, according to its initiators.

The dramatic Valley of Peace initiative in the Arava was unveiled Thursday - the 60th anniversary of Israel's Independence on the Gregorian calendar - by 57-year-old Israeli billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva, owner of the El-Ad Group that includes Manhattan's Plaza Hotel and Delek, Israel's second-largest oil and gas company.

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With inspiration and involvement from President Shimon Peres, the project needs only government approval, as Tshuva said that tycoons such as Shari Arison, Nohi Dankner and Stef Wertheimer have all committed themselves to investing money in the project.

No state funds will be needed, Tshuva told The Jerusalem Post after his emotional speech during a luncheon at the Presidential Conference 2008: Facing Tomorrow at Jerusalem's International Convention Center.

Tshuva, who sat with Peres along with other leading business people, said that the 166-kilometer-long canal between Israel and Jordan would be only the beginning. The planned Valley of Peace through the Arava would be developed to include tens of billions of dollars worth of hotels (with 200,000 beds) and other tourist attractions, clean industry and one of the largest botanical gardens in the world - providing a million jobs.

It would quadruple tourism to Israel from today's two million annual visitors, he said. The billion cubic meters of desalinated water it would yield would make the Arava green on both sides of the border, said the 57-year-old real estate and fuel tycoon as Peres smiled broadly. Greenhouses would raise winter fruits and vegetables and sell them in the region and abroad.

The area would, according to this "amazing vision," be turned into a free-trade zone, attracting investment from around the world. A high-speed train line and highway would run alongside the canal, transporting people and goods between the Dead and Red Seas within an hour, according to a sophisticated audiovisual presentation shown to the audience.

"This is the only way to get out of the cycle of violence and the dead end in the area," continued Tshuva. Jobs and prosperity, he maintained, would moderate Arabs in the region and give them an alternative to violence and terror. "Peace will be made not by peace agreements but by making cooperation and goodwill among the peoples of the region. The Valley of Peace will provide a solution for generations to come."

Not only did the Jordanian king tell Tshuva that he wants to be an "active partner" in the project and wanted it to "start immediately," but Saudi Prince bin-Talal, who visited him at the Plaza Hotel in New York, said he was ready to invest in the project via Jordan. Tshuva expects investors in other countries such as the US, China, Japan and Russia to participate in funding it.

A "Valley of Peace Law" would be required to pave the way for the canal, "which can be
......................................................benny

May 15, 2008
Constitution’s Checks, Balances Failing As Bush Prepares Iran Attack

By Paul Craig Roberts

On May 15, the White House Moron, in a war-planning visit to Israel, justified the naked aggression he and Olmert are planning against Iran as the only alternative to “the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.”

But the White House Moron has the roles reversed. It is not Iran that is threatening war. It is Bush. It is not Bush who is appeasing. It is Iran.

Iran has not responded in kind to any of Bush’s warlike moves and provocations. Iran has not sunk a single one of our sitting-duck ships and has not given the Iraqi insurgents any weapons that would easily turn the tide of war against the US.

It is Bush, not Iran, who sounds like Adolf Hitler blustering and threatening. It is Bush’s American Brownshirts, the neocons, who express the view: “what’s the good of nuclear weapons if you can’t use them.”

It is the US that is funding assassination teams inside Iran and using taxpayer dollars to fund dissident and violent organizations opposed to the Iranian government. Iran is doing no such thing here.

It is members of the Bush Regime and US generals who continue to lie through their teeth about Iranian support for insurgents, for which they can supply no evidence, and about Iranian nuclear weapons programs, for which the IAEA inspectors can find no sign.

It is the US print and TV media that serves the Bush Regime as propaganda ministry for its lies of aggression.

All the war crimes that are being planned are being planned by Bush and Olmert.

What would George Orwell make of the Bush Regime’s position that anything less than a direct act of naked aggression is appeasement?

The Chicago City Council has passed a resolution “opposing any US attack on Iran and urging the Bush Administration to pursue diplomatic engagement with that nation.” But the White House Moron says diplomacy is appeasement. He learned this false equivalence from the neocon Brownshirts whose control over his administration has made America despised throughout the world, with the exception of Israel.

After broadcasting false claims for weeks from US generals and Bush Regime spokespersons that the US has “definite proof” in the form of captured Iranian weapons that Iranians were “responsible for killing American troops”, the great free American media went silent when LA Times correspondent Tina Susman reported from Baghdad: “A plan to show some alleged Iranian-supplied explosives to journalists last week in Karbala and then destroy them was canceled after the United States realized none of them was from Iran.”

A people devoid of a media are sitting ducks for tyrannical government, which is what the US has.

What is the difference between Hitler’s concocted excuses for his acts of naked aggression and the Bush Regime’s plan to use a briefing by General Petraeus, with “captured Iranian weapons” as props, as proof of Iranian complicity in US deaths in Iraq as a means to break down public and congressional resistance to an attack on Iran?

Why has the Bush Regime suffered no consequences for this blatant attempt to orchestrate an excuse for another war?

Why have there been no consequences to the Regime for the blatant lies it told in order to attack Iraq?

Why has the Bush Regime suffered no consequences for its violation of US statutory laws against spying without warrants and against torture?

In the US criminal justice system, three strikes and you are out.

For the Bush Regime is there any limit on its lawless behavior?

How many strikes? A dozen? Thirty? Three hundred?

Is there a limit?

Paul Craig Roberts [email him] was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He was awarded the Legion of Honor by French President Francois Mitterrand. He is the author of Supply-Side Revolution : An Insider's Account of Policymaking in Washington; Alienation and the Soviet Economy and Meltdown: Inside the Soviet Economy, and is the co-author with Lawrence M. Stratton of The Tyranny of Good Intentions : How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice. Click here for Peter Brimelow’s Forbes Magazine interview with Roberts about the recent epidemic of prosecutorial misconduct.

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....................................................benny

Does the Palestinian cause fuel terrorism?
by Michael G. Mickey
(5-16-08)

I have theorized, on many occasions, that one of the factors leading the West to place Israel in greater and greater danger in a quest for Middle East peace is the leaders of the world have become convinced that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the driving force behind radical Islamic terrorism.

I have further stated it's my belief that the leaders of the world believe repairing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will bring to an end the scourge that is terrorism and flowers of peace will break into bloom all over the world. Nothing could be further from the truth but, for the first time I can recall, Osama Bin Laden may now be indicating that "the fight for the Palestinian cause is the most important factor driving al-Qaida's war with the West and fueled the Sept. 11 attacks." While the authenticity of the message itself hasn't been confirmed according to the Associated Press, this is what Bin Laden's latest speech to the world via a website frequently used by Al Qaeda consists of.

If Bin Laden's statement is soon found to be authentic, the West's desire to see Israel's covenant lands divided in the interest of obtaining peace and safety is about to skyrocket, further setting the stage for the advent of the Antichrist to occur, an event that will be preceded by the Rapture of the Church.

And how about the timing of this message being released to the world? Right now President Bush is in the Middle East where he is, among other activities, striving to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - a goal he continues to state he hopes to see achieved before his term in office is concluded in January. The bar, we can be sure, has just been raised, potentially by Bin Laden's design.

In the event the Israeli-Palestinian conflict isn't resolved by January and Barack Obama wins the White House, get a load of this! Recently, in an interview Senator Obama gave Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic well in front of Bin Laden's statement, Obama said of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "What I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions."

It seems that Barack Obama and Osama Bin Laden are singing off the same page of sheet music, doesn't it? In fairness to Senator Obama, however, I don't think it matters which candidate wins the White House where the future of Israel's safety is concerned. The Bush administration's position, after all, is quite similar in mindset to Senator Obama's in many regards as the U.S.-backed roadmap to peace demonstrates. Suffice to say I feel certain that Middle East peace, particularly in light of this latest development, is going to be near the top of every government in the West's agenda.

Israel, the constant sore

As I addressed in a recent YouTube video, Jerusalem is today the burdensome stone Bible prophecy foretold it would be in the last days. A constant sore it is viewed to be where East-West relations are concerned already, but if Bin Laden's latest message is proven authentic? The push to get a peace covenant agreed to in the Middle East is about to gain momentum - and dramatically!

If, by chance, a seven-year covenant of peace is decided upon in the not-too-distant future, a key element to watch for, prophetically speaking, will be for a confirming aspect to be attached to it - something that someone of Roman descent, a prince (or leader), will be the force behind. This point I emphasize solely for the benefit of those who will be left behind in the aftermath of the Rapture of the Church to see his rise to power manifest itself.

Conclusion

With every passing day it seems we're drawing nearer, seemingly by leaps and bounds, to the return of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

From the ongoing quest for Middle East peace we know is eventually going to plummet the world into the Tribulation Period to California's top court legalizing same-sex marriage, returning us conditionally to the days when Lot lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, to earthquakes, cyclones, tornadoes and famine, the signs of Christ's return are all around us!

If you're not ready to meet Jesus Christ in the air when He comes to receive His Bride unto Himself, today needs to be the day of salvation for you! Tomorrow may be too late.


....................................................benny

Iranian defense minister: Israel too weak to attack


Israel has raised the claim of attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran mostly to cover up its weak points and harsh domestic crises,' Mostafa Mohammad Najjar says

Dudi Cohen Published: 05.16.08, 13:32 / Israel News




Israel is too weak and vulnerable to attack Iran, Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was quoted by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) as saying Thursday.




"Israel has raised the claim of attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran mostly to cover up its weak points and harsh domestic crises," Najjar said, adding that "the Israelis have made the claims on the 60th anniversary of their establishment to divert public opinion from broad corruption and weakness of Israeli officials."



Turning his attention to Lebanon, the Iranian defense minister said the country's destiny is important for the world of Islam.

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According to IRNA, Najjar said Iran supports a "united, safe and broad-based Lebanon in which all parties and groups are cooperating with each other.



"Any foreign intervention will be harmful to the interests of the Lebanese and serve the enemy wishes," he was quoted as saying.

...............................................benny

Israel, US see need for 'tangible action' on Iran


US, Israel agree on need for 'tangible action' to prevent Islamic Republic from moving nuclear program forward, PM Olmert's spokesman says after Bush visit; meanwhile, White House says US to help Saudi Arabia develop nuke energy

Reuters Published: 05.16.08, 14:11 / Israel News




The United States and Israel agree on the need for "tangible action" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman said after a visit by US President George W. Bush.




Islamic Republic

Iranian defense minister: Israel too weak to attack / Dudi Cohen

Israel has raised the claim of attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran mostly to cover up its weak points and harsh domestic crises,' Mostafa Mohammad Najjar says
Full Story



"We are on the same page. We both see the threat ... And we both understand that tangible action is required to prevent the Iranians from moving forward on a nuclear weapon," Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said on Friday.



Regev described diplomatic efforts so far to exert pressure on Iran as "positive", but added: "It is clearly not sufficient and it's clear that additional steps will have to be taken".



Asked about the option of using military force, Regev said:



"Leaders of many countries have talked about many options being on the table and, of course, Israel agrees with that."



'Harsh domestic crises'
Bush ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Tehran in a speech to Israel's Knesset on Thursday, saying critics' calls for talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were comparable to the "appeasement" of Adolf Hitler before World War Two.




Bush vowed that Washington would stand with Israel in opposing Iran's nuclear ambitions, saying it would be "unforgivable" if Tehran were allowed to get the bomb.



Iran has said it will not stop uranium enrichment, which it says is for generating electricity only. In a separate development on Friday, the United States said it would sign an agreement with Saudi Arabia to help the kingdom develop peaceful nuclear energy.

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Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was quoted by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) as saying Thursday that Israel was too weak and vulnerable to attack Iran.



"Israel has raised the claim of attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran mostly to cover up its weak points and harsh domestic crises," Najjar said, adding that "the Israelis have made the claims on the 60th anniversary of their establishment to divert public opinion from broad corruption and weakness of Israeli officials."

.................................................benny

Please speak respectfully.

Thanks!

Pss.140
[1] Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;
[2] Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war.
[3] They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah.
[4] Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.
[5] The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.
[6] I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.
[7] O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
[8] Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
[9] As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
[10] Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
[11] Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
[12] I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
[13] Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Exclusive: Command vessel USS Mount Whitney posted opposite Lebanon
May 17, 2008, 6:16 PM (GMT+02:00)

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Saturday, May 17, the USS Mount Whitney , considered the US Navy’s most advanced command, control, communications, computer and intelligence vessel, took up position opposite Lebanese shores for an “unscheduled mission.”

The Sixth Fleet spokesman Lt. Patrick Foughty said the ship would be there “to support additional communication requirements for our ships already underway.”

DEBKAfile’s sources add that the USS Cole missile destroyer arrived in that sector last week, while the USS Harry Truman carrier strike group began cruising in the Mediterranean around Greece, whence the aircraft on its decks can reach Syrian and Lebanese skies. The fleet spokesman added there are no long-term plans to keep the Mount Whitney away from its home base.

Although the US lieutenant did not name those plans, military observers gained the impression that the American navy-air build-up off Lebanon was designed for a short stay or a specific operation, after which it will disperse.

Our sources disclose that, during the fierce Hizballah onslaught on Beirut last week and its closure of the international airport, the Americans ran a helicopter lift from Cyprus to the US embassy landing pad with provisions of food, water, medicine and personnel.

The Mount Whitney enables a joint task commander to effectively control all the units of his force. The ship can receive and transmit large amounts of secure data from any point on earth and provide timely intelligence and operational support as needed.

.................................................benny

Ex-Israeli AF chief: Thousands of missiles may hit Israel population in future war
May 17, 2008, 5:47 PM (GMT+02:00)

Outgoing Air Force commander, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy said in a radio interview Saturday, May 17, that the peril comes from thousands of missile stocked by Syria, Hizballah, Hamas and possibly Iran. Israel has developed new defensive capabilities to reduce their impact.

He revealed that during the 2006 Lebanon War, the Air Force intercepted a pilot-less aircraft in time (to prevent it landing). Hamas’ arsenal compares with that of Hizballah, said the former air force chief. It consists of missiles, rockets and guns of all types, including anti-air weapons. He said Israeli aircraft have not been “critically affected” until now but they are under constant fire. Asked about dealing with the problem, he replied that this was not a military decision.

Shkedy reported that the force had assiduously fine-tuned its air attacks to reduce Palestinian civilian casualties and had succeeded in bringing it down to a ratio of one to every 24 armed men hit.

The ex-commander went on to say: “One cannot shut one’s eyes to Iran… Their rhetoric with regard to Israel is very precise. But there is no issue of significance that has no operational solution. I have invested a lot in this. We treat it with great seriousness.”

Shkedy added that Israel had invested considerable effort in preparing to deal with threats from the “world jihad movement” (al Qaeda) - “on ground and by air.”

....................................................benny

Iran strikes back at "Satanic Bush" as US prepares for war.

Saturday May 17, 2008

BRISBANE, Australia - Think of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident which prompted the first large-scale involvement of U.S. armed forces in Vietnam when you read this article. Congress granted approval for Lyndon B Johnson to escalate the war in Vietnam.

Presstv.ir carried a story today that shows that Iran is fully aware of the preparations the US and Israel are making. Under the heading "Iran strikes back at Satanic Bush" the Iranians wrote A top Iranian cleric urges countries to 'be more considerate of nations', hammering the US president as undeserving of any expectations.

"Iran is always delighted to hear good news from any Muslim country, but always objects when Zionism imposes hardships upon others," said Tehran's interim Friday prayers leader Ayatollah Mohammad Imami-Kashani.

"Our message and our genial approach to all countries but the Zionist regime has infuriated the Bush administration to such an extent that they now rely on such petty anti-Iran remarks," he continued.

"Bush is a satanic person, and we have no expectations of him... We do, however, request governments, parliaments and the officials of Muslim countries to be more considerate of nations," the senior cleric added in reference to atrocities being committed around the world.

Ayatollah Imami-Kashani concluded that Iran 'seeks nothing more than peace and stability' around the globe.

US President George W. Bush stepped up his hawkish rhetoric against the Islamic Republic on Thursday, branding Iran as 'the leading sponsor of terror' and hinted at another military action in the already volatile Middle East.

"Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations," Bush had preached in Israel on Thursday, describing those who seek diplomacy with Iran as 'Nazi appeasers'.

Meanwhile on the other side, In a Wednesday lecture at the Kansas State University, CIA Director Michael Hayden claimed that slaying US military forces has become the political strategy of Iran's highest governmental officials.

"It is my opinion, it is the policy of the Iranian government, approved to highest level of that government, to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq," maintained Hayden, just a day after the US steamed a second American aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf.

CIA Director Michael Hayden "Just make sure there's clarity on that," the CIA director continued.

His comments come at a time when a recent CBS report indicates that the US Defense Department had ordered military commanders to develop new war plans against Tehran, a claim echoed by top American analysts.

"I believe George Bush and Dick Cheney plan to take care of Iran before they leave office," former CIA analyst Ray McGovern said in an interview published in the Charleston Gazette on Wednesday.

"There's no doubt in my mind that the United States is planning right now, as we speak, a military strike against Iran. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and almost every senior US military official has pretty much acknowledged the same," former UN weapons inspector and now anti-war commentator Scott Ritter had told Democracy Now on Monday.

The US steamed its second aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday in what Washington has termed a 'reminder' of US power.

Senior US officials have been accusing the Iranian government of helping the spread of violence in Iraq without providing any concrete proof.

Pundits, however, say recent 'Washington hype' is a reminder of US preparations made prior to the Iraq war and signal efforts to prepare the public for a war on Tehran while shifting the blame of US failures in Iraq onto others."

The Iranian government ( political and religious ) on Presstv.ir uses the word "Pundits" to provide the message for its people" Here are some examples.

"While the US has failed to provide any concrete evidence in support of its various accusations against Iran, pundits believe Bush is now trying to encourage the media to find a justification of its own to allow him to strike yet another oil-rich country before leaving office."

"Pundits say the US president's go-to-war rhetoric has exposed his flagrant disregard for concrete evidence and expert opinion."

"Pundits, however, say recent 'Washington hype' is a reminder of US preparations made prior to the Iraq war and signal efforts to prepare the public for a war on Tehran while shifting the blame of US failures in Iraq onto others."

As a direct message to the USA and Israel, on Thursday, Iran's Defense Minister said Israel "was too weak to launch an attack on Iran and the Islamic Republic was ready to repel any military invasion."

On another front in the US - Iran cold war the US has announced that it is taking action to prevent the horrendous loss of US personnel to IED's

Air Force Hosts Anti-IED Conference in Southwest Asia By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joel Langton
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 - The battle against improvised explosive devices takes place on the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan every day, but this week coalition members took the fight into a conference room, tucked away on an air base in Southwest Asia.

Arranged by the Combined Air and Space Operations Center's Combined Theater Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell, the conference put IED experts from Iraq and Afghanistan together with William Hughes, director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization's test board and test board members to exchange information during the two-day conference.

"We're here to see if we're meeting the warfighters' needs," Hughes said. "Is the information we're providing helping them, is it in the right format? Meetings like this are critical to that."

Hughes' group decided to make the trip to Southwest Asia to make it easier on the warfighters. "We don't want them to have to come to us; our group came to them to make it as easy as possible for them."

The test board coordinates and synchronizes all counter-IED testing and provides information on results to the combat theater. Hughes said the effort is cyclical, as whenever coalition forces use new countermeasures against the deadly devices, enemy forces respond by changing technology.

Hughes, at 58 and wearing a pacemaker, has personally logged nearly 600 miles on convoys in Iraq, gathering information to help stop terrorists' deadliest weapon. IEDs are one of the primary threats in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We take what we collect here and go back and try to refine what we're doing, to give our guys the best possible defense against IEDs," Hughes said.

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joel Langton serves with U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs.)

To reinforce the message the US is about to release a comprehensive report on Iran's deadly activities against the US in Iran.

More Pressure Needed to Curtail Iran’s Destabilizing Activities
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2008 – A preview offered to Iran of details in a yet-to-be-released Multinational Force Iraq report about its meddling in Iraq appears to have had no effect, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. However, that may change when the report goes public, he added.

The report, prepared under Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ leadership, documents how Iranians have been supplying, training, equipping and financing extremist Shiite groups within Iraq, Morrell told reporters during a Pentagon news briefing. Petraeus has called these so-called “special groups” the biggest threat to the Iraqi government’s stability.

Information from the MNFI report “has already been shared with the Iranian government,” Morrell said. “I don’t know what, if [any], difference that has made. Perhaps when the rest of the world sees it -- sees the extent to which they have been undermining a duly elected government and really wreaking havoc within that country, perhaps it will increase the international pressure on Iran to change its ways.”

Even with “extraordinary military pressure” on Iranian-backed groups operating in Iraq, Iran hasn’t scaled back its activities, Morrell said. “We go after them relentlessly,” he said. “And we have done so to great success recently, uncovering huge caches of weapons that we continue to find that are clearly being provided by the Iranians.”

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is committed to ratcheting up diplomatic, economic and military pressure on Iran to get it to stop its destabilizing activities and to abandon its nuclear ambitions, Morrell said.

“The secretary believes we should be continuing all of those pressures simultaneously and in an amplified way to make sure that Iran feels the pressure of remaining a destabilizing influence in the Middle East,” he said. “Through those pressures, he hopes to gain the leverage to ultimately, at some point, have them say, ‘Enough. We’re ready to talk about changing our ways.’”

Gates has been dealing with Iran for 40 years and “is still looking for the elusive Iranian moderate with whom we can deal rationally and constructively,” Morrell said.

And while the secretary considered the merits of reaching out to Iran in 2004 while it was under then-President Mohammad Khatami’s leadership, he sees little chance of positive exchange with Iran’s current leadership, Morrell said. Iran’s activity in Iraq was “somewhat ambivalent” under Khatami, he told reporters, but is anything but that under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “It is entirely unhelpful,” he said.

Historians will determine if not engaging with the Khatami government was a lost opportunity, Gates told retired diplomats yesterday at a meeting of the Academy of American Diplomacy in Washington.

Direct talks with Iran under Ahmadinejad’s leadership can be effective only after Iran bows to mounting international pressure and ceases its destabilizing activities, Morrell said the secretary now believes.

“With the election of Ahmadinejad and the very unambiguous role that Iran is playing in Iraq today, we need to find a way to build up some leverage with the Iranians and then sit down and talk,” Gates told the Academy of American Diplomacy. “We can't go to a discussion being completely the demander with them not feeling they need anything from us.”

The secretary has been candid about using U.S. military activities -- including the temporary presence of two aircraft carriers in the Arabian Gulf early this month -- to remind Iran of U.S. strength in the region, Morrell said.

The United States has enough military assets in the Middle East to amplify its message, but prefers to emphasize diplomatic and economic pressure first, he said.

“Obviously, we have 150-plus thousand troops in a neighboring country. We have many more troops in the region. We have ships. We have planes. We have more than enough assets,” he said. “But that is not the course of action at this point. It is an option that remains on the table.”

The Gulf of Tonkin incident led a Texan, Lyndon Johnson to war in Vietnam in 1964. In 2008 another Texan George Bush of America is preparing his justification to strike Iran before it has nuclear weapons.

Iran knows what is coming and has set the "Pundits" loose to say "The US president's go-to-war rhetoric has exposed his flagrant disregard for concrete evidence and expert opinion."

It is a bad time to be on guard duty at the power plant.
.....................................................benny

Kings of the earth in Israel for 'event of the century'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Printer-friendly version By Stan Goodenough
May 15, 2008

Twenty current and former world leaders and hundreds of other international dignitaries were making their way to Jerusalem Tuesday and Wednesday for what has been described as an unprecedented gathering in the Israeli capital.

Not since the funeral of assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin have so many heads of state been in Israel at one time.

In the words of the far-left daily newspaper, Ha'aretz, the three-day "Israeli Presidential Conference" will be the "event of the century."

Under the banner theme "Facing Tomorrow," the dignitaries will come together "to discuss the future of humanity and Israel's role in the world".

Attendees will include the presidents of Albania, Burkina-Faso, Croatia, Georgia, Latvia, Mongolia, Palau, Poland, Rwanda, Slovenia, Uganda, Ukraine, the United States.

Other dignitaries will be US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, former prime minister of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel, and the former president of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid.

Among the non-politician VIPs will be Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Yahoo president Susan Decker, media magnate Rupert Murdoch, Nobel Prize Laureate Eli Wiesel, Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, Ratan Tata, chairman of India's Tata group, US billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

On an Internet clip welcoming his distinguished and influential guests, Peres described Jerusalem as "the cradle of the world's greatest religion."

But while Israel had to remain "true to our heritage," the Jewish state also had "to adapt to a new age that has many offers, challenges and problems," he said.

While subjects under discussion will include science, arts, the media and other issues, “buried” among these will be the Land-for-Peace process of which Peres has been and remains one of Israel’s prime proponents.

The conference attendees would have "to try and imagine what will be the face of the world in the immediate future, what will be the direction of Jewish life in it, what will happen to our own state," the president said, blandly but ominously.

More than that, they would have to "try and offer directions."

"By devoting our time, not to the history of our lives, but to the future of the destinies of the still unborn," the leftist, pro-globalism veteran Israeli said the conference would provide "a real service to everybody, every nation, every religion, every person."

The outcome will be, he was sure, "a real contribution to a new age, to a new future."

................................................benny

World
Iran's president says ties with Russia set to grow further
18:38 | 13/ 05/ 2008



TEHRAN, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday he thought relations with Moscow would continue to develop following the inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev as Russian president May 7.

"Fortunately, relations between our countries are positive and we can see no obstacles to their development," he told a news conference.

"As Russian officials have said themselves, there will be no change from Russia towards Iran. That is why we think that our relations with Russia will continue to expand," he added.

He said that given recent world developments Iran and Russia will cooperate "in solving international and regional problems."

The president of the Islamic Republic said he hoped to stage a return visit to Russia following Putin's visit to Iran in October 2007.

On May 7, the Islamic Republic's ambassador said, "Vladimir Putin's presidency was a golden period in Iran-Russia relations," however, shortly before leaving office, Putin signed a decree implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1803 imposing new sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

Iran's president said commenting on the issue: "This will not affect relations with Russia," adding he knew that Russia was under pressure.

Russia is building a nuclear power plant in Iran's southwestern city of Bushehr. Western countries suspect Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, but Tehran insists it needs nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

.............................................benny

Thursday, May 15, 2008
ALL EYES ON THE EPICENTER: Bush, Obama, Osama & Dobson are riveted on Israel and Iran. They're not alone.







* To listen to the Dr. Dobson program on God's love for Israel and the Jewish people, please click here.
* Bin Laden vows to fight Israel on 60th anniversary: 'We will continue, God permitting, the fight against the Israelis and their allies,' al-Qaeda leader says in new audio message, 'will not give up a single inch of Palestine as long as there is one true Muslim on earth'

------------------------------------


The eyes of the world are riveted today on Israel, the epicenter of the momentous events that are shaking our world and shaping our future. President Bush delivered an important and controversial address to the Israeli parliament this morning. A few excerpts worth noting: "Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," the President noted. "We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history. Some people suggest that if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of our enemies, and America rejects it utterly. Israel's population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because America stands with you. America stands with you in breaking up terrorist networks and denying the extremists sanctuary. And America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."....Sen. Barack Obama -- sounding quite defensive, in my judgment -- quickly fired back, though the President did not mention the junior Illinois Senator by name, and may very well have been thinking more of former President Jimmy Carter. "It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 6Oth anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack," Sen. Obama replied. "It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel. Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power -- including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the President's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."....Meanwhile, Dr. James Dobson -- the most-listened-to evangelical Christian on radio anywhere on the planet, with more than 9 million listeners a week in North America alone -- begins the first of two programs on God, evangelicals and Israel. Today, he, author Tom Doyle and I explore the Biblical theology of the miraculous and prophetic rebirth of the modern State of Israel 60 years ago this week, God's everlasting and unconditional love and plan for the Jewish people and all the people of the epicenter, and the prophecies concerning Israel's future. Tomorrow, we will focus on the work of The Joshua Fund, Tom's organization, and some of the ways that evangelical Christians can pray for the people of the epicenter and bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus. Please tune in on your local Christian radio station, or go to our weblog for a link to listen on-line.....At the same time, hundreds of churches, conferences and radio stations around the country are also focusing on Israel over the next few weeks. This weekend, for example, more than 500 radio stations will be airing the "Epicenter Radio Special," a two-hour broadcast of the major speeches and key moments from the Epicenter Conference we held in Jerusalem last month. Please check local listings, or listen on-line at www.epicenter08.com. On Saturday, May 17, Tim LaHaye and I will address the Southern California Strategic Issues Conference in Los Angeles. My subject will be, "All Eyes on the Epicenter: Russia, Iran and The Future of Israel." On Sunday, May 18, I will will speak on God's plan and purpose for the nation of Israel at Calvary Chapel of Chino Valley, California. On Saturday, May 24, I will have the privilege of serving as the closing night speaker at the "Past, Present & Future Conference" at the Tucson Convention Center in Arizona, before an expected audience of some 10,000 people. The event has been organized by pastors from all over the Tucson metro area. Randy Travis is the headlining musical act. Pastors Skip Heitzig and Robert Furrow will speak the first two nights. I will talk about Bible prophecy, Israel, and how we can know the God who knows the future. For details on any of these events, please check the links below.....Finally, please keep my family, my team, and me in your prayers, if you would, as we have these remarkable opportunities to help millions of people to better understand God's heart for the Israel and her neighbors at this critical moment in world history. Thanks so much.



-----------------------------






* "60 Ways To Bless Israel At 60"



* Would you consider signing up to make a monthly donation to The Joshua Fund of $25, $40 or $60? All donations are tax deductible. For more information on how to make contributions by mail -- or by secure on-line credit card transactions -- please click here.






-----------------------------


* What is The Joshua Fund?


* Sign up for Flash Traffic, free email alerts from Joel C. Rosenberg


* Featured on Dobson show: Dead Heat: A Novel (40% off at Amazon)


* Featured on Dobson show: Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings In The Middle East Will Change Your Future (32% off at Amazon)


* Epicenter documentary film on DVD


* Watch on-line speeches from the Epicenter 08 conference, read the exclusive poll on "American Christian Attitudes Towards Israel and the Epicenter," and learn more about the conference.


------------------------------


UPCOMING EVENTS:
* Saturday, May 17 -- Joel will speak at the Southern California Strategic Issues Conference -- topic: "All Eyes on the Epicenter: Russia, Iran and Israel" (Los Angeles, California)
* Sunday, May 18 -- Joel will speak on God's plan and purpose for the nation of Israel at Calvary Chapel of Chino Valley, California
* Saturday, May 24 -- Joel will be the closing night speaker at the Past, Present & Future Conference at the Tucson Convention Center in Arizona before an expected audience of 10,000


------------------------------


HEADLINES TO TRACK:






* Ynet News: Bush tells Knesset US 'stands by Israel in war on terror': During special Knesset session in his honor, US president criticizes deadly tactics of extremist groups, denounces anti-Semitism, 'especially by those who want to wipe Israel off the map.' PM tells Bush 'future peace agreement based on your vision will be approved by this house and by the Israeli public'






* New York Times: Bush Sets Out Vision for Middle East






* White House: Official Text of President Bush's address to a special session of the Israeli Knesset

posted by Joel C. Rosenberg @ 8:52 AM
.............................................benny

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0516/p...me.html?page=2


vision for the Middle East

At the Knesset on Thursday, the president spoke in visionary terms of Israel's future, saying that the core of the current regional conflict 'was an ancient battle between good and evil.'

By Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the May 16, 2008 edition


Jerusalem - President Bush, at the height of his Wednesday-to-Friday visit here to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel, stood before the Knesset and laid out a vision for the Middle East 60 years down the road: an Israel that still stands tall, lives next to a Palestinian state, and is surrounded by countries where democracy and human rights reign.

But his shorter-term vision, particularly in terms of his view of how things look today, sounded like a return to the stark rhetoric he became famous for in 2002 when he described Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as an axis of evil.

His prepared speech was also laden with religious imagery, mapping a spiritual and ideological picture of a close US-Israel relationship that seemed unprecedented in a speech by any US president, analysts say.

"This struggle is waged with the technology of the 21st century, but at its core it is the ancient battle between good and evil," Mr. Bush said Thursday in his official speech at the Knesset, Israel's parliament. "The killers claim the mantle of Islam, but they are not religious men," he said. "No one who prays to the God of Abraham could strap a suicide vest to an innocent child, or blow up guiltless guests at a Passover Seder, or fly planes into office buildings filled with unsuspecting workers."

In the speech, Bush offered unwavering support for Israel, referring to its enemies in Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as dark forces that Israel and the West should not be fooled into "appeasing," evoking the world's appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s.

"No nation should ever be forced to negotiate with killers pledged to its destruction," Bush said, a reference to suggestions from some mediators – such as former President Jimmy Carter in a recent mission here – that Israel should negotiate with Hamas, which controls Gaza. The comment was also seen as aimed at Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama who has suggested that the US sit down at the table with Iran and Syria.

"There are good and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain their words away. This is natural. But it is deadly wrong," Bush said. "As witnesses to evil in the past, we carry a solemn responsibility to take these words seriously," he added, after mentioning Mr. Ahmadinejad's suggestions that Israel ought to be "wiped off the map."

"Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Bush said, engendering a long round of applause.

Analysts here were quick to note some of the words that he did not mention. These include the "Annapolis Process," which he launched last November, and Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, which Palestinians view as one of the primary obstacles to peace.

"I don't think that anything is going to happen here in terms of peace because of Mr. Bush's beliefs," says Ali Jarbawi, a political scientist at Birzeit University near Ramallah, after hearing Bush's address. In the Palestinian territories Thursday, Palestinians marked the nakba, or the catastrophe, which is their commemoration of the Arab exodus that coincided with the founding of Israel

"His speech tells me that we're not going to have a settlement to the conflict, and these things [are] going to be entangled for many years to come. He said that Israel will be around in 60 years, and that the Palestinians 'deserve' to have a state, so maybe we should wait another 60 years," Dr. Jarbawi says, with irony in his voice.

"What he is offering the Palestinians is the Israeli position," Jarbawi adds, "a state of leftovers. Israel can decide what it wants to eat from the West Bank, and will leave the rest of it to the Palestinians."

At the Knesset Thursday, it was Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who sounded the most enthusiastic about reaching a peace breakthrough while both he and Bush are still in office, promising to present a deal for a two-state solution.

"When we reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians, God willing, one which is based on your vision of a two-state solution, it will be brought before this house," Mr. Olmert said, speaking just before Bush. "This future peace agreement, I assure you, will be approved by a majority of this house and by the Israeli public," he added.

Several right-wing members of Knesset walked out of the parliamentary chamber as Olmert spoke, a reminder of the complications the Israeli premier faces, both in politics and in a new criminal probe. In a widening inquiry, Israel's police fraud unit is examining allegations that Olmert received hundreds of thousands of dollars from 1993 to 2005 from Morris Talansky, a business mogul from New York.

The investigations have overshadowed the 60th anniversary celebration and, even amid the fanfare of Bush's visit and the presence of hundreds of other dignitaries in Israel, has the political circuit awash with talk of calling for early elections in a bid to replace Olmert. Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, the defense minister, are the two most often mentioned as leaders waiting in the wings for a return to power. Both men served as prime ministers in the 1990s.

Bush will be in Israel until Friday, when he flies to Saudi Arabia, and then to Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, over the weekend, in order to attend the World Economic Forum. There, he will be meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to push forward peace efforts. But the fact Bush will not have met any Palestinian leaders during his 48-hour visit here, in conjunction with the speech he delivered at the Knesset, is likely to underscore for the Arab world that the main emphasis of Bush's visit here was celebrating the relationship between Israel and the US first, and pushing forward the peace process a distant second.

Even some of the Israelis from the hawkish side of the spectrum noted with some wonderment the extent to which Bush has extended a message of warmth, but one devoid of the "tough love" that often characterized the era of President Clinton, who worked hard at getting Israel and its Arab neighbors to reach watershed peace deals.

"He didn't remind us even once of the words 'the Annapolis Process,' and I don't think it was coincidental," said Gideon Saar, a Knesset member from the right-wing Likud party. "He spoke about peace in Israel almost like it was something that will come at the End of Days."
..................................................benny

Russia’s friendship has its limits :

Syria’s growing relationship with Russia has given it a rare ally in its generally isolated position. However, Moscow plays only a limited role in supporting Damascus internationally, say Syrian analysts.


Syria has built stronger relations with Russia in the past few years. Moscow has refurbished some of its old military bases in the country, and has written off 70 per cent of Syria’s debt.


According to a writer from Damascus, the relationship goes back a long way. The late president Hafez al-Assad “was smart about having a balance in his country’s relationships that included both America and Russia” during the Cold War, he said.


The situation is different today, and Russia is hoping to regain some international leverage through the relationship with Syria, analysts say.


Russia is rebuilding a base in the port of Tartus for use by its Black Sea fleet. The facility was left empty for 16 years and when finished, will be Moscow’s only military base outside the former Soviet Union.


Russian arms deals with Syria have raised tensions between Moscow and Israel. With the support of the United States, the Russians have offered to sponsor Middle East peace talks.


Moscow is looking to “regain its place in an international system now controlled by the United States”, the writer said. "Russia is trying to rebuild its power by creating an atmosphere similar to that of the Cold War. There is no other explanation for restoring its military presence in the region."


When violence erupted last week in Lebanon, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov called for an end to violence and a return to dialogue, but did not accuse Hezbollah, Iran or Syria. Many western and Arab countries hold Hezbollah and its allies responsible for the recent violence, and for the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon.


"Russia can't defend Syria if it is attacked or further punished by the US or even by the [United Nations] Security Council,” said a political analyst in Damascus. “But at least it helps open the wall of isolation around Syria."


He noted that while the Russians have supported Syria, particularly on the Lebanese issue, they have never vetoed UN resolutions calling on Damascus to reduce its role in Lebanon.


Ultimately, he said, Russia “pursues a pragmatic policy” and does not go against the international community.


The writer argued that Russia would not benefit if Syria improved its relations with the West. If the country’s isolation were broken, “it would affect [Russia’s] economic and strategic interests in Syria and the region”, he said.


Russia “would lose a country which enabled it to get back in the Middle East again”.


Damascus, too, has an agenda of its own. "I think that Syria is creating good relations with Russia while eyeing its relations with the US,” said the writer. “Both Russia and Syria use their relations with each other to influence each country’s relations with America, but for different reasons."


The head of the Russian Communist Party, Gennaddy Zyuganov, was in Damascus this week and praised Syrian peace efforts during a meeting with Baath party assistant secretary-general Abdullah al-Ahmar, the SANA news agency reported.


(Syria News Briefing, a weekly news analysis service, draws on information and opinion from a network of IWPR-trained Syrian journalists based in the country, whose identities cannot be revealed for security reasons.)


IWPR'S SYRIA NEWS BRIEFING, No. 10, May 16, 2008: Published under partnership agreement with IWPR. Normal copyrights applied. Visit the IWPR website at:The Institute for War & Peace Reporting

................................................benny

May 18, 2008 16:29 | Updated May 18, 2008 23:18
'US must condition friendships on efforts to stop Iran'
By HERB KEINON AND DAVID HOROVITZ
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Washington must assert to the rest of the world that if they want to be friends with the US, they need to do more to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, visiting US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Sunday in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post.




Nancy Pelosi holds talks on security in Israel

Pelosi said the US needed to be more "proactive" in saying to the countries of the world - including Russia, China and the Muslim countries in Asia - that "one of the pillars of US foreign policy is to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to anyone."

Pelosi said the US needed to make it clear to everyone, including the Europeans, that their policies on this issue would be a term of friendship with the US, and a measuring stick of benefits they could derive from that friendship.

The US cannot stop nuclear proliferation alone, Pelosi said, adding that "if these weapons proliferate they are a threat to everyone, not just to the US, and not just to Israel."

The Democratic Pelosi, the number three ranking politician in the US after the president and the vice president, is leading a blue-ribbon panel of 12 Congressmen to Israel for Israel's 60th anniversary. The group arrived Friday, and is scheduled to leave Monday evening after meeting the gamut of Israel's leaders, including President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minster Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and opposition head Binyamin Netanyahu.

Pelosi said in order to stop Iran's nuclear march short of a military strike, something she did not rule out as a last resort, "You have to go all the way. And people have to know you are deadly serious that if you want to be our friend, if you want the benefit of our friendship, a central pillar of our foreign policy is to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

This just can't be a "conversation," she said, "it has to be seriously enforced and sanctioned, because the alternative is one that has a tremendous downside: and that would be to use military force."

While saying that a military option should not be taken off the table, and adding that a strike by Iran on Israel certainly "cannot go unanswered," Pelosi said that a pre-emptive strike on Iran would have consequences that needed to be considered. Among the consequences she listed were the effect such an attack would have on rallying Iranians around their current leadership, what it would do to the price of oil and the response of the rest of the Muslim world.

Pelosi refused to get drawn into a discussion of whether President George W. Bush was wrong in insinuating during his Knesset speech last week that Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama would appease the Iranians, saying that she would not criticize the president on foreign soil. Before leaving Washington, however, she said that Bush's characterization was "beneath the dignity of the office of President."

Pelosi did say, however, that she was confident Obama would deal squarely and assertively with the Iranian dossier.

"I know that Barack Obama would meet the challenge we have in terms of Iran," Pelosi said. "And he may do it in a larger way. I don't know how you define strength here, but in the US we define it not only in terms of our military might, and our willingness to use it - that's important - but we define it in terms of our values, where we can attract others to a place where we can keep the peace without making war, but without taking war off the table"

Pelosi said she feels Obama is "a real leader, and to be a real leader you have to be prepared to fight in order to make peace, and I think he is prepared to do that."

As to a question very much on people's minds here, whether Obama would be as supportive of Israel as Bush has been, Pelosi said "I think a Democratic presidency would be very supportive."

Pelosi said she didn't know how to measure Bush's support. "I know people here think he has been very supportive, [but] we don't have peace yet. I hope under a Democratic President that we would."

During a meeting with Peres earlier in the day, Pelosi said that Israel was an issue and a value that brings Democrats and Republicans together.

"We owe you a great deal of gratitude," she said, "because in resisting weapons of mass destruction, Israel was not only looking after her own security interests but those of the rest of the world."

Referring to Israel as a beacon of democracy, she said that Israel and the US shared the same vision of the future. And then, on a more personal note, Pelosi - the first female speaker of the House - told Peres, "We always knew you'd be president, but I didn't know that you would welcome me as the speaker of the House."

The other members of the visiting delegation include House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland; Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam of Florida; Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois; Democratic Caucus Vice Chair John Larson of Connecticut; Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman of California; Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman of California: Rules Committee Ranking Member David Dreier of California: Foreign Affairs Middle East Subcommittee Chairman Gary Ackerman of New York: Appropriations Foreign Operation Subcommittee Chairman Nita Lowey of New York: Chairman of Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Alcee Hastings of Florida: Homeland Security Intelligence Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment Subcommittee Chair Jane Harman of California: and Foreign affairs Committee member Ron Klein of Florida.

Greer Fay Cashman contributed to this report
.................................................benny

The Days of Noah: Planet of The Apes
by Michael G. Mickey
(5-18-08)


Luke 17:26: And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

While the context of Luke 17:26 seems to focus on the sudden nature of God's judgment falling on an unrepentant world filled with people who have few concerns about what's going on around them outside of the business of daily living, I think, especially in light of recent developments in the news, we should give special attention to a potential duplicity of message in the prophetic passage above.

While it's true that the world around us is largely unaware that the coming of the Lord may be right around the prophetic corner as was the case in Noah's day where God's judgment falling on a corrupt world was concerned, there were strange things going on in the days of Noah that few people in our churches today are bold enough to address - strange things that were corrupting flesh.

A corruption of flesh

A careful examination of what was going on in Noah's day seems to suggest that Satan's fallen were somehow tampering with God's creation and, it seems, mingling different forms of flesh.

Genesis 6:4: There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

If this interpretation of scripture details a mixing of flesh that outraged God, as such an action clearly would, one of His motives in destroying mankind at the Great Flood may have been to bring to a halt an attempt on the part of Satan and his minions to save themselves from His judgment by tainting the bloodlines of all flesh, corrupting it an effort to circumvent the birth of Christ, the second Adam. A pre-emptive strike of sorts if you will.

Silly? Before you think I've gone off the deep end, consider the following very carefully. In Scripture we find that Noah was spared from the destruction of the Great Flood for three reasons as seen in Genesis 6:9. They are as follows:


Noah was a just man.
Noah walked with God.
Noah was perfect in his generations (note this reference to his bloodline being pure).
The bloodline leading from Adam to the future Christ was clean of whatever corruption the sons of God (ben 'elohiym) had sown at that time, flowing purely in the veins of Noah.

Precedent for the sons of God in Genesis 6:4 being Satan's fallen

One of the things I find most striking about what takes place when the sons of God (ben 'elohiym) produce offspring with the daughters of men is that their offspring are described in a manner that would suggest they were anything but common in both stature and power. The offspring of these unions became mighty men of renown and we read that there were giants in those days, Nephilim as they are sometimes called.

In the book of Job, Satan and his fallen appear before God's throne in two passages and are referred to as the sons of God (ben 'elohiym).

Highlighted in the first passage, I want my readers to zoom in on what the response of Satan, spokesman of the ben 'elohiym, is to the Throne when he is essentially asked what the group has been up to lately.

Job 1:6-7: Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Satan, with the arrogant spirit on full display that led to his downfall, tells the Lord that he and his followers have been trampling all over the earth. He pretty much tells the Lord, "I'll tell you where we've been! We've been here, there and everywhere on the earth. We've been up it, down it, and all around it!"

And then there's the second instance.

Job 2:1-2: Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

There's the arrogance of Satan again. Job, having withstood the onslaught of Satan and his minions once in the aftermath of Satan's first appearance before God, will be challenged yet again as a result of this second meeting between the Lord, Satan and the sons of God (ben 'elohiym) - all of it being permitted to occur for God's purposes, of course.

The story of Job's trials are the subject for another discussion but I hope these examples, at the very least, are adequate precedent for us to look at the corruption of Noah's day in a new light and, not only that, consider how similar events may be in the works now, potentially being influenced by the sons of God at the very least! In fact you may be reading of it in the news of our world today and not even realize it!

Planet of the Apes

By now we've all seen images of Neanderthals and other supposed species of primitive men we have been taught by science to believe preceded us in the evolutionary time line.

But, for your consideration, what if Neanderthal man wasn't a primitive form of man but part of the corruption of flesh we see was taking place in Noah's day scripturally?

What if the sons of God were taking human women as their wives and, possessing wisdom and genetic knowledge of a magnitude only the angelic order could begin to conceive, used that knowledge to create offspring in an unconventional manner that could explain any number of strange versions of life no longer here today as a direct result of the Noahic flood? Hypothetically speaking, the possibility shouldn't be ruled out. Why do I say that? Because we may be seeing - right now - evidence in the news of our world today that a Neanderthal-like man is going to be born in the not-too-distant future.

Scientists, undoubtedly being guided by spiritual wickedness in high places, are beginning to play God, mixing species with species with no idea where the process is going to take us! Soon, as a result, our planet may begin to look like The Planet of the Apes unless God intervenes!

The Scotsman reported the following recently, in part (emphasis added mine):
A LEADING scientist has warned a new species of "humanzee," created from breeding apes with humans, could become a reality unless the government acts to stop scientists experimenting.

In an interview with The Scotsman, Dr Calum MacKellar, director of research at the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, warned the controversial draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill did not prevent human sperm being inseminated into animals.

He said if a female chimpanzee was inseminated with human sperm the two species would be closely enough related that a hybrid could be born.
And....
Dr MacKellar said he feared the consequences if scientists made a concerted effort to cross humans with chimpanzees. He said: "Nobody knows what they would get if they tried hard enough. The insemination of animals with human sperm should be prohibited.

"The Human Fertilisation and Embryo Bill prohibits the placement of animal sperm into a woman The reverse is not prohibited. It's not even mentioned. This should not be the case."
In related news, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, according to the Telegraph, is strongly defending "the medical use of animal-human hybrid embryos, ahead of a key Commons vote on the issue."

If we take what most of us believe to be true, particularly the biblical account of creation, the existence of all life coming as a result of that and introduce into the mix the sons of God trying to corrupt all life, a lot of things that Christian apologists struggle to make sense of could be viewed in a brand new light, couldn't they? That could be an understatement if scientists genetically create an apeman species through its desire to find a way to create non-human organs that are human enough to be transplanted into humans!

Think what such a devlopment, if God should allow the process to be mastered, could lead to! It could become a satanic counterfeit of the gift of eternal life. Something for us to think about as we know what Satan's ultimate goal is, right?
Isaiah 14:14: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
From the time of his fall until now, Satan has been attempting to wrest control of God's creation from His hands. The problem Satan is running into today is the same one he has run into since the days of Noah (and even before then).

The problem with Satan achieving his goals is the only raw materials he has to work with are what God has already created. Thus, the best Satan can come up with, in any venture he undertakes, is a repackaged (and way weaker) version of something God has already achieved! Satan, though powerful beyond human measure, is nothing but a counterfeiter when it comes to His efforts to be "like the most High."

While the Scotsman's story is like reading a science fiction script, this is actually going on in our world today! Mankind, instead of looking to God for help, is trying to be God! How foolish!

Just as playing God was the undoing of Satan, it is going to be mankind's as well! And why is that? Because, as I hope I have made clear here, the devil is in the details. Literally.

Conclusion

While I'm not sure we're going to understand the scope or exact nature of what was going on in the days of Noah this side of the Rapture of the Church, I believe scripture reveals that genetic tampering was occurring and that Satan's minions, perhaps only a limited number of them, were dedicating their energies to corrupting God's creation in an attempt to seize it in a twisted sort of hostile takeover scheme - one that God ultimately brought to its end via the Great Flood.

As I look at what's taking place right now, bearing in mind that the last days are going to see conditions in existence similar to the days of Noah, Genesis 6 is making more and more sense to me all the time as well as all the talk of flying saucers, extraterrestrial life potentially existing, alien abduction phenomena, genetic engineering, gene modification, etc. and so forth! It is even giving me pause as to why paleontologists occasionally dig up something that looks to be similar to a man yet ape-like in other ways. After all, in an article dated May 5th, we read that scientists are saying that Neanderthals co-existed alongside anatomically modern man and that interbreeding took place. Could it be that what scientists today believe was interbreeding wasn't that but the handiwork of Satan's minions - evidence of the corruption of flesh God ended via the Great Flood that Noah could repopulate the earth with the uncorrupted flesh God led to enter the ark with Noah and his family?

Christians, don't get me wrong here. I'm not dogmatically saying that I have reached a profound and 100% accurate conclusion concerning what I've written here today. This is hypothesis to be sure.

What I hope my readers will walk away from this considering is the possibility that there is far more to UFO activity, reports of human beings being experimented on concerning their sexual organs and reproductive capabilities than we have given consideration to, etc.

In the last week or two, I have observed a spike in UFO/extraterrestrial-related content in the news that is so dramatic I have bookmarked a lot of it for deeper review. My hope is that I will be able to share whatever I can discern from it that may be of interest to us as a sign of the last days, especially because a corruption of flesh not unlike that of the days of Noah is underway and gaining momentum.

While I can't quote the source right now, one thing I read of interest is that someone indicated that if we were to make contact with an advanced race of extraterrestrials it is highly probable that they will be capable of creating life making them virtually indistinguishable from God!

If that doesn't smell of Satan trying to deceive mankind, selling man on a concept that would be exactly what he'd love to have, namely the potential of eternal life without consequences for his sin, I don't know what would qualify as such!

The Days of Noah. We're living in them, in my humble opinion.

Soon, I believe, Jesus Christ is going to come for His Church after which we are told a strong delusion is going to befall rebellious mankind that they might believe a whopper of a lie.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: When the strong delusion spoken of in 2nd Thessalonians 2:11 arrives, it may very well be traveling aboard what we today refer to as a UFO or flying saucer.

More to come on that topic, unless other more pressing issues of prophetic concern come to light which is a definite possibility right now.

Keep looking up!

...............................................benny

Israel At 60. What's next?
Perspective by Jack Kelley



In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. (Isaiah 11:11)



"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.” (Ezek. 36:22,24)



I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-27)



This past week marked the 60th anniversary of Israel's rebirth as a fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul and others. Brought back in unbelief to the ancient homeland of their patriarchs, Israel has defied history, world opinion, and the concerted effort of their enemies for 60 years.



Most of the world has no idea how close Israel has come to extinction again, not only in the wars we all know about, but also in several other major efforts that were discovered and prevented at the last minute but never made the headlines. Altogether, Israel has faced and overcome an existential threat at an average greater than one for every 10 years of the nation's modern history.



Will this ever end? Will Israel's neighbors ever come to terms with the fact of Israel's existence? Not according to Bible prophecy. Let's look at what God's word has to say about what's coming for Israel. Because there's more written about this time to come than any other subject in the Bible I've just selected a few of His proclamations to give you an overview. As you read this, keep in mind that if my calculations are correct all this could happen within the next 10 years or so.



According to Psalm 83 Israel will soon face an attack by neighboring nations intent upon its destruction. And according to Isaiah 17 Syria will attack leaving Israel damaged but not destroyed. In the process, the city of Damascus, one of the oldest in the world, will cease to exist and Syria will be defeated.



After that Israel will face its biggest threat yet as the Russian Iranian coalition of Ezekiel 38 mounts what they believe will be the final assault on their sworn enemy. But what should have been an easy victory for Israel's powerful enemies will turn into an utter disaster that leaves their forces decimated.



This time Israel will emerge from the smoke and ashes with the realization that an old and trustworthy Friend has intervened to turn certain defeat into a resounding victory. The King of the Universe will have revealed Himself to the world as Israel's champion. (Ezek. 39:22)



But still the enemy will be relentless. Even the knowledge that God is on Israel's side will not be sufficient to dissuade him because the power behind Israel's enemies believes himself to be God's equal. (Isaiah 14:14). Taking control of the thoughts and actions of a popular leader, he will convince Israel that he's the long awaited messiah and enforce a covenant that appears to be the ultimate assurance of peace for them. (Daniel 9:27)



By means of this peace he will deceive many (Daniel 8:25) and Israel will believe the Kingdom Age is finally coming, that what they wanted Jesus to do 2000 years ago has finally been done for them. Israel's enemies will lie scattered over the battle field in utter defeat, and what will appear to be a permanent peace will have arrived. In gratitude Israel will build a Temple and take up their long abandoned relationship with God.



Just when it looks like peace has finally come, this leader will show his true colors and will proclaim himself to be God, (2 Thes. 2:4) causing the temple to become desolate and worship to cease. There will be war again, even worse than before, and Israel will discover that they've made a covenant with death and it's been annulled (Isaiah 28:18). It will be 3 ½ years of the most terrible time the world has ever seen (Matt. 24:21) and Israel will be right in the middle of it until finally all the nations of the world will be lined up against Jerusalem. (Zech. 12:2-3)



But once again at the last minute God will intervene, this time in the person of Israel's true Messiah. He'll pour our His Spirit of grace and supplication, and they'll will finally acknowledge Him. (Zech. 12:10) With the armies of Heaven at His command, He'll suddenly appear in the skies over Israel just as He promised and with nothing more than the word of His mouth He'll slay Israel's enemies once and for all. (Rev. 19:11-16) The false messiah will be cast live into the lake of fire, (Rev. 19:20) Satan will be bound for 1,000 years, (Rev. 20:2) the Kingdom Age will finally begin, and peace will reign at last in the Promised Land.



Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for. (Isaiah 40:2)



“Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon." The LORD dwells in Zion! (Joel 3:21)



Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. (Isaiah 61:7)



Among men all traces of the anti-semitism so prevalent again today will be gone and Israel will be the world's preeminent nation, home to the people of God.



Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. (Isaiah 65:18-19)



This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." (Isaiah 49:22-23)

The whole creation will rejoice that the curse has finally been lifted and peace has been restored between God and His chosen people.

"In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias. (Joel 3:18)

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. (Isaiah 55:12-13)

No one who reads the Bible literally can dispute that these promises were spoken by God to Israel and have never been fulfilled. Nowhere in the Bible is He called the God of the Arabs, or of the Americans or any other national or ethnic group. He's called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and whether the rest of us like it or not He chose the Jewish people to be His own and has sworn never to forget them.

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deut. 7:6)

This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar — the LORD Almighty is his name:

"Only if these decrees vanish from my sight," declares the LORD, "will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me." (Jere. 31:35-36)

Through out history the nations of the world have been blessed or cursed according to the way they've treated Israel and it's long past time for us to get used to that idea. Even the mighty Babylonians, into whose hands the Israelites were given By God Himself, suffered the penalty for mistreating them. (Isaiah 47)

This doesn't mean that we have to blindly accept every action of Israel's government, which after all is a secular one and as disregarding of God's word as the rest of the world. But it does mean that we shouldn't be pressuring Israel into violating God's commandments concerning the land He gave them. And we shouldn't be tolerating the anti-semitism that's so rampant in our society again, whether it's the deranged rantings of a national leader, the empty boasts of a terrorist chief, or the desecrating acts of teen aged vandals.

Because if the 60 years of Israel's modern existence have taught us anything, it's that God's hand is upon them and He won't let go until they're his again. In the meantime whoever touches Israel touches the apple of His eye (Zech 2:8) and will surely suffer the consequences.

The next 10 years are set to be the most turbulent by far in all of Israel's modern history. God is calling them back to Him and knows that they won't come easily. But come they will, and when they do it will be great news for all of us. For if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring? (Romans 11:12) You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 05-16-08
.............................................benny

Russia fleet in Arctic raises Cold War fear

The battle for control of polar oil reserves has accelerated with the disclosure that Russia has sent a fleet of nuclear-powered ice breakers into the Arctic.

Monday, May 19, 2008

The battle for control of polar oil reserves has accelerated with the disclosure that Russia has sent a fleet of nuclear-powered ice breakers into the Arctic.
It has reinforced fears that Moscow intends to try to annex a vast portion of the ice-covered Arctic, where there is reckoned to be up to 10 billion tonnes of gas and oil.

Russian ambition has led Canada to speed up a mapping of the seabed to support Arctic claim.



Russian ice breakers patrol huge areas of the frozen ocean for months on end. There are thought to be eight in the region, dwarfing the British and US fleets, neither of which include nuclear-powered ships.

The crisis has raised the specter of Russia and the West joining in a new Cold War unless the United Nations can resolve the dispute. Hardly a week passes without Russian aircraft over- flying the North Pole, simulating strikes on bases and shipping.

No country owns the Arctic Ocean or the North Pole, but under the 1982 UN Law of the Sea, each country with a coast has sole exploitation rights in an "exclusive economic zone."

On ratification of the convention - and the United States has yet to ratify it - a country has 10 years to make claims based on geology

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_p...9&sid=18984515
................................................benny

Israel’s Missed Boat in Lebanon

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

May 18, 2008


Hizballah special forces in Beirut
Sunday night, May 11, the Israeli army was poised to strike Hizballah. The Shiite militia was winding up its takeover of West Beirut and battling pro-government forces in the North. When he opened the regular cabinet meeting Sunday, May 11, prime minister Ehud Olmert had already received the go-ahead from Washington for a military strike to halt the Hizballah advance. The message said that President George W. Bush would not call off his visit to Israel to attend its 60th anniversary celebrations and would arrive as planned Wednesday, May 14 - even if the Israeli army was still fighting in Lebanon and Hizballah struck back against Tel Aviv and Ben-Gurion airport.

American intelligence estimated that Hizballah was capable of retaliating against northern Israel at the rate of 600 missiles a day.

Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak and foreign minister Tzipi Lvini, the only ministers in the picture, decided not to intervene in Lebanon’s civil conflict. Iran’s surrogate army consequently waltzed unchecked to its second victory in two years over the United States and Israel.

DEBKAfile’s US and military sources disclose the arguments Washington marshaled to persuade Israel to go ahead: Hizballah, after its electronic trackers had learned from the Israel army’s communication and telephone networks that not a single troop or tank was on the move, took the calculated risk of transferring more than 5,000 armed men from the South to secure the capture of West Beirut.

This presented a rare moment to take Hizballah by surprise, Washington maintained. The plan outlined in Washington was for the Israeli Air force to bombard Hizballah’s positions in the South, the West and southern Beirut. This would give the pro-government Christian, Sunni and Druze forces the opening for a counter-attack. Israeli tanks would simultaneously drive into the South and head towards Beirut in two columns.

1. The western column would take the Tyre-Sidon-Damour-Beirut coastal highway.

2. The eastern column would press north through Nabatiya, Jezzine, Ain Zchalta and Alei.

Sunday night, Olmert called Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora and his allies, the Sunni majority leader Saad Hariri, head of the mainline Druze party Walid Jumblatt and Christian Phalanges chief Samir Geagea and informed them there would be no Israeli strike against Hizballah. Jerusalem would not come to their aid.

According to American sources, the pro-Western front in Beirut collapsed then and there, leaving Hizballah a free path to victory. The recriminations from Washington sharpened day by day and peaked with President Bush’s arrival in Israel.

Our sources report that, behind the protestations of undying American friendship and camaraderie shown in public by the US president, prime minister and Shimon Peres, Bush and his senior aides bitterly reprimanded Israel for its passivity in taking up the military challenge and crushing an avowed enemy in Lebanon.

While the president was busy with ceremonies and speeches, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley took Israeli officials to task. Hadley in particular bluntly blamed Israel for the downfall of the pro-Western government bloc in Beirut and its surrender to the pro-Iranian, Pro-Syrian Hizballah. If Israeli forces had struck Hizballah gunmen wile on the move, he said, Hassan Nasrallah would not have seized Beirut and brought the pro-government militias to their knees.

One US official said straight out to Olmert and Barak: For two years, you didn’t raise a finger when Hizballah took delivery of quantities of weapons, including missiles, from Iran and Syria. You did not interfere with Hizballah’s military buildup in southern Lebanon then or its capture of Beirut now.

IDF generals who were present at these conversations reported they have never seen American officials so angry or outspoken. Israel’s original blunder, they said, was its intelligence misreading of Hizballah’s first belligerent moves on May 4. At that point, Israel’s government military heads decided not to interfere, after judging those moves to be unthreatening.

The Americans similarly criticizes Israel for letting Hamas get away with its daily rocket and missile attacks on Israel civilians year after year. A blow to Hizballah would have deterred Hamas from exercising blackmail tactics for a ceasefire. In Sharm el-Sheikh Sunday, May 18, President Bush called on Middle East countries to confront Hamas and isolate terror-sponsors Iran and Syria.

................................................benny

Palestinians demand regular army for new state


Optimistic developments touted after Olmert-Abbas meeting prove to hold little water as gaps between Israel, PA only seem to widen as negotiations go deeper. Behind closed doors, Israeli and Palestinian officials have confirmed to Ynet, PA negotiator Ahmed Qureia is demanding an army be built for future Palestinian nation

Roni Sofer and Ali Waked Published: 05.19.08, 01:14 / Israel News




Despite previous understandings that a future Palestinian state would be demilitarized, Ynet has learned that in talks held behind closed doors, the top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, Ahmed Qureia, is demanding the establishment of a regular army.


Wishful Thinking?

Bush: Deal on Palestinian state before 2009 / News Agencies

US president presses on with Mideast tour, meets with Egypt's Mubarak in Sham el-Sheikh. Due to speak at World Economic Forum on Sunday, Bush says he will outline vision for reaching agreement on future Palestinian state while still in office
Full Story





High-level Israeli and Palestinian officials confirmed the newly revealed developments on Monday night.




According to the information obtained by Ynet, the new and surprising demand first emerged as the negotiations teams sat down in Jerusalem last Sunday to discuss security arrangements. Qureia told Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni that the Palestinian state would require a regular army to defend itself.




Livni, though perplexed by the sudden demand, made clear that all previous accords specifically spoke of a demilitarized Palestinian state. A senior Israeli source said that Livni sought to clarify if perhaps Qureia had meant a Palestinian police force, but the latter was reiterated that it was a proper regular army the PA was after.




The source added that the new Palestinian stipulation incensed Livni, who ardently rejects the idea of such an army.




Palestinian policemen in Jenin. Soon to be soldiers? (Photo: Reuters)




A very senior Palestinian source close to Qureia confirmed the exchange. "At the meeting in question we raised the demand for a regular army, meant to defend the independent state," he told Ynet.




"This isn't an army intended to launch an attack against Israel. We are not asking for F-16 jets but rather a force that would be able to defend the nation from threat and realize its basic right to exist in security."




The source said the situation had changed greatly since the days of the Oslo Accords in 1993. "Oslo spoke of an intermediary entity. Now we are talking about a Palestinian state born out of a permanent agreement. There is no clause in any of the understandings that denies the Palestinian state an army to defend itself with, to defend its borders and citizens with," he said.




'What significant progress, exactly?"

Following the most recent meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a senior State official declared that "significant progress" had been made in negotiations on the final borders and security arrangements.



An Israeli official well-informed of the proceedings rejected that statement. "What significant progress are they talking about exactly?" he wondered.




"It's very clear that there are complex disagreements on all the core issues. Up until now the points of contention have been the borders and the matter of the refugees. And that was before you even got to Jerusalem. But now the Palestinians want an army of their own, without regard to any of the previous accords. This isn't progress, it's backtracking. Reports of progress in the negotiations are misleading the public."




But other officials connected to the talks taking place in backrooms think little of the Palestinians demand for a regular army. The Palestinians, they said, were well aware that in the event a Palestinian state will indeed be established, it will undoubtedly be demilitarized. Disagreements are an inherent part of negotiations, they said, but this does not mean the talks are stalled.




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In her speech at the president's conference last week, Livni determinedly broached the subject: "Yes, it is important to set recognized borders, but that is not enough. We must determine what will be on the other side of that border.




"We are talking about a demilitarized state here (…) we will not stand for a terror state or an extremist Islamist state. There are conditions that will have to be met, before and after. I don't hold by just tossing the keys over the border and hoping for the best. There will be no agreement over the future territory if there won't be satisfactory assurances regarding what its nature will be."

...............................................benny

Serbia had today what can be called a pudding of hailstones, descend upon them, with expectations for two more days. The Bear has a frosty nose again.

Make no mistake, enemies of Israel, for God and God Only is going to show you the true extend of jealousy.
What you ask is what you get. Our merciful God has been so patient, so listen while you still can. Soon the door closes.
Turn away from Jihad.

In case you want to look over your back towards the east, you have undoubtedly noticed that God knows geology better than you know the land on which you build. The hour of Truth is at hand.

Russia-Iran rail link to open in 2011
Monday, 19 May 2008
KIEV (Reuters) - A railway linking Russia and Iran via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan will open in December 2011, a top Turkmen executive said on Monday.

The link, which will be constructed by the two ex-Soviet states, along with Iran, will cover 900 km (560 miles) and will allow for travel and goods transportation between Europe and the Persian Gulf in one continuous stretch for the first time ever.

"Turkmenistan adheres to the principle of multiplicity in the transport of its oil and gas resources to world markets," Gurbanmyrat Begmuradov, Chairman of Turkmenistan's state-owned Halkbank, said at the annual meeting of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Kiev.

The line, from the Kazakh city of Uzen to the northern Iranian city of Gorgan via Turkmenistan, will start transporting up to 5 million tonnes of goods per year, Begmuradov told a panel.

Russia already connects to Kazakhstan by rail.

"In the long term, this figure is expected to rise to 10-12 million tonnes annually," he added.

The project, which was pioneered by Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov late last year, will allow the Central Asian, resource-rich state access to more trade.

Locked away during Soviet times and later under the 21-year rule of its late leader, Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan has been slowly opening its doors since Berdymukhamedov came to power in December 2006.

Unlike Niyazov, who banned opera during his rule and locked up political opponents, Berdymukhamedov has sought to attract foreign investment to the desert nation.

Two gas pipelines with a combined annual capacity of 50 billion cubic metres, one going to China and one to Russia, are also currently being built.

(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman)

.................................................benny

A prophetic speech?
Our view: President sidesteps Israeli-Palestinian conflict
May 18, 2008
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Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Reprints Post comment Text size: The political commentators, top Democrats and their leading presidential contender couldn't say enough about President Bush's reference to Nazi appeasers during his speech last week to Israel's parliament. It was a perceived slap at Sen. Barack Obama's interest in talking to Iran and Syria - the evildoers the administration loves to hate - but it struck a chord on Israel's 60th anniversary because many of its citizens view Iran as their potential annihilator.

What got less attention was Mr. Bush's single reference to the Palestinians in his speech, and it resonated in a way the president's speechwriters probably never intended.

Looking ahead to Israel's 120th anniversary, Mr. Bush said, "The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved - a democratic state that is governed by law and respects human rights, and rejects terror." Here's what Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat heard: It would take another 60 years before a Palestinian state would emerge. His pessimism is not unwarranted. Despite Mr. Bush's commitment to bring Israelis and Palestinians to some agreement before he leaves office, little progress toward that end has been achieved. The administration's diplomacy has been too late and less than rigorous. The Islamic militant group Hamas retains its hold on the Gaza Strip and won't stop its border attacks against Israel. And the Israeli prime minister is now embroiled in a scandal.

Sixty years may not be soon enough.

.....................................................benny