Focus On Jerusalem Newsroom

May 2….(Bloomberg) Gulf states are considering dropping their pegs to the dollar after the US currency's decline stoked inflation across the region, Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shimali said. Yes, there are some'' Gulf Cooperation Council states considering dropping their pegs to the dollar, which has fallen 13 percent against the euro in the last 12 months, al-Shimali said in an interview in Kuwait late yesterday without naming the countries. Some countries will do what we are doing.'' Al-Shimali's comments may restoke speculation of a change in Middle East currency systems that eased after the United Arab Emirates and Qatar last month ruled out any revaluation or dropping the dollar peg in the short term. The issue will likely remain a key issue as long as inflation remains high. Inflation is rising in the Gulf to a great extent because of loose monetary policy. Tightening monetary policy can only happen if they drop their currency pegs or strengthen the currency, preferably both.'' The UAE, Bahrain and Qatar lowered their benchmark interest rates today by a quarter point, matching a cut by the US Federal Reserve a day earlier. The move is needed to maintain the dollar pegs. Inflation is running close to 10 percent in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while Qatar's consumer prices rose 14 percent in the fourth quarter. The Kuwaiti dinar has appreciated 7.9 percent against the dollar since the nation in May became the only Gulf Arab state to drop its peg to the US currency. Contracts to buy UAE dirhams in 12 months time are trading at a 2 percent premium and Saudi riyal forwards are trading at a 1.3 percent premium to the spot price, suggesting that some traders are betting that those countries will follow Kuwait in revaluing. The link to the dollar meant that imports in euros and other currencies that have strengthened against the dollar became more expensive. The idea of dropping the dollar peg has been started by other Gulf countries and they are partially going this way because the dollar has been going down for some time,'' al-Shimali said yesterday. Revaluation speculation peaked in November after UAE central bank Governor Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said he was considering dropping the dirham's peg to the dollar, and a Saudi Arabia central bank official said that Gulf states may revalue their currencies together. All the GCC states, apart from Oman, are planning to form a single Gulf currency by 2010. The group's central bank governors will meet in June in an attempt to get the project back on schedule. The case for currency reform is strong,'' Simon Williams, chief Middle East economist at HSBC Holdings Plc, said in a telephone interview from Dubai. The inflationary pressures the Gulf faces not only demand a stronger currency, they also require an independent monetary policy.

May 2….(In The News) China has secretly built a major underground nuclear submarine base that could threaten Asian countries and challenge American power in the region, it can be disclosed. Satellite imagery, passed to The Daily Telegraph, shows that a substantial harbor has been built which could house a score of nuclear ballistic missile submarines and a host of aircraft carriers.

(“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” Revelation 16:12)

In what will be a significant challenge to US Navy dominance and to countries ringing the South China Sea, one photograph shows China’s latest 094 nuclear submarine at the base just a few hundred miles from its neighbors. Other images show numerous warships moored to long jetties and a network of underground tunnels at the Sanya base on the southern tip of Hainan island. Of even greater concern to the Pentagon are massive tunnel entrances, estimated to be 60ft high, built into hillsides around the base. Sources fear they could lead to caverns capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites. The US Department of Defense has estimated that China will have five 094 nuclear submarines operational by 2010 with each capable of carrying 12 JL-2 nuclear missiles. The images were obtained by Janes Intelligence Review after the periodical was given access to imagery from the commercial satellite company DigitalGlobe. Analysts for the respected military magazine suggest that the base could be used for “expeditionary as well as defensive operations” and would allow the submarines to “break out to launch locations closer to the US. It would now be “difficult to ignore” that China was building a major naval base where it could house its nuclear forces and increase it “strategic capability considerably further afield. The development so close to the sea lanes vital to Asian economies “can only cause concern far beyond these straits”. Military analysts believe that China’s substantial build up of its forces is gaining pace put has remained hidden from the world in the build-up to the Olympics. China has diverted much of its resources from the huge Peoples Liberation Army to the navy, air force and missile development. Within the next five to 10 years the Peoples Liberation Navy is expected to build up to six carriers which will also coincide with the Royal Navy’s construction of two major carriers. The location of the base off Hainan will also give the submarines access to very deep water exceeding 5,000 meters within a few miles, making them even harder to detect. While it has been known that China might be developing an underground base at Sanya, the pictures provide the first proof of the base’s existence and the rapid progress made. Christian Le Miere, editor for Jane’s Intelligence Review, said the complex underlined Beijing’s plan “to assert tighter control over this region”. “China intends to become a challenge to any hegemonic power, particularly the US which still remains dominant in the region.”

(The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” Isaiah 17:1) (Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.” Zechariah 11:1)

May 1….(In the News/John Higgins) Given the official US statements, backed by extraordinary visual evidence, there is little doubt that the Israeli Air Force raid on the night of September 6, 2007 destroyed a building housing a nuclear reactor. There are many political and military ramifications both of the facts themselves and the way they were brought to light. However, one of the longer term effects is the impact of the revelations on the nuclear non-proliferation regime in general and on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in particular. What did the new information reveal? that the installation that was destroyed was a nuclear reactor, probably still under construction; that the reactor was similar to the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon that produced plutonium (subsequently used in an underground nuclear test explosion); and that Syria, despite its NPT obligations, concealed the very existence as well as the purpose of the installation and repeatedly denied the facts to the world and to the IAEA. Syria has been trying to buy a nuclear reactor from several sources for a long time. It had sought to buy a research reactor from Argentina in the mid-1990’s, but this failed when Argentina’s foreign minister told Syria that it would not sell it a reactor unless Syria signed a peace treaty with Israel. Syria then tried, unsuccessfully, to buy a reactor from Russia. Apparently, Syria then concluded a secret deal with North Korea for the construction of a Yongbyon-type reactor in Syria. The extent of the North Korean involvement is not yet publicly known and is not that relevant, except for the fact that North Korea acted in breach of its NPT obligations. There can be little doubt as to the purpose of the ill-fated reactor. Had it been intended for truly peaceful uses, it would have been declared to the IAEA. In addition, Syria’s repeated denials give credence to the claims that the reactor was part of a clandestine weapons development program. Furthermore, Syria acted with astounding speed, razed the stricken installation, and is putting up a supposedly military installation on the old foundations, making it almost impossible for any investigators to reveal the original purpose of the site. There are five members of the NPT that have seriously reneged on their treaty obligations – Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Libya. Iraq’s project came to an end as a result of the 1991 Gulf War. Libya agreed to a rollback, probably as a result of the American invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The remaining three may still be conducting illegal activities aimed at producing nuclear weapons. North Korea has long been suspected of having a clandestine uranium enrichment project. Iran has an ongoing nuclear weapons development program. And there is no guarantee that Syria is not going the same route, given the rumors about the connection with the Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan, the biggest proliferator of all. The nuclear non-proliferation regime suffered an additional blow with the uncovering of Syria’s misdeeds. The extent of the damage will be only known over time, and the prospects for the future need a much more elaborate discussion. In any case, if there will be no substantive change in the manner of the oversight and the application of regime, and if the NPT PrepCom and review conferences continue to become bogged down in secondary issues, the situation can only deteriorate further.
The reaction of the IAEA to the information that came out of the Congressional briefing was astounding. An Associated Press report quoted the IAEA: “The Director General [DG] views the unilateral use of force by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the non-proliferation regime.” In addition, “The Director General deplores the fact that this information was not provided to the Agency [by the U.S.] in a timely manner, in accordance with the Agency’s responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to enable it to verify its veracity and establish the facts.” With regard to these statements, it should be noted first that verification is not a substitute for the demise of the reactor, which removed the potential for and the danger of plutonium production. Second, one should ask what would have actually happened had the facts been verified by safeguard inspections? Given the historical precedents, the IAEA DG would likely have deplored the fact that the reactor had not been declared in a timely manner, accepted Syrian assurances that hitherto the reactor would be safeguarded, and stated that Syria had the right to build and operate a nuclear reactor, as long as it was safeguarded. In any case, the IAEA could not have prevented the continuing construction and later operation of the reactor, which would have resulted in the potential for the production of plutonium, as was demonstrated by this reactor’s sibling – the Yongbyon reactor. It is easy to understand the DG’s wrath – he probably did not figure in any of the decision making process prior to the bombing. At present, Syria signaled that it would be willing to let the IAEA search for the truth. It is a “no win” situation for Syria if the inspectors uncover the remains of a nuclear reactor. It is a “lose” situation to the IAEA if it does not. One cannot escape the conclusion that the IAEA has continuously failed in its missions, notably in Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

May 1….(In The News/John Higgins) Iran’s defiant pursuit of nuclear technology has raised the specter of a nuclear war in the Middle East. It has also led to a debate over what role, if any, the U.S. should play in securing Israel against what appears to be an inevitable nuclear threat from the Islamic Republic.

(And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” Genesis 16:12) (This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. II Timothy 3:1-2 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” II Timothy 3:13)

Advocates of extending America’s defense commitment to Israel argue that America’s current posture is too ambiguous to sufficiently ward off an Iranian nuclear attack. Only an institutionalized commitment, such as the inclusion of Israel in NATO, or an unequivocal extension of America’s so-called “nuclear umbrella” is deemed sufficient. Israeli membership in NATO has been proposed by raft of analysts, including the Heritage Foundation’s John Hulsman and Ronald Asmus, a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration. Some member nations, such as the Czech Republic, have publicly welcomed the idea, while NATO’s “Mediterranean Dialogue” has sought to bolster cooperation between the two parties (and several other nations in the region) as well. However such a step would be unwise, at least for the immediate future. First, NATO is not exactly firing on all cylinders. Bereft of its original rationale and struggling to meet its urgent commitment to Afghanistan, it hardly makes sense to toss the far more fraught and combustible issue of the Arab/Israeli conflict onto its plate. NATO was formed for a specific purpose, to defend Western Europe from a Soviet attack. The borders in this instance were clear, as were the combatants. NATO offered protection to nations that were, individually, weak before a much stronger conventional enemy. In the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the borders are unsettled, the combatants are not fixed armies but armed guerilla groups that blend into the populace of Israel’s neighbors, and Israel is the stronger party. Admitting Israel to NATO would open up a host of questions. How, for instance, would NATO interpret Article V of its charter which stipulates that an armed attack on one will be deemed an attack on all? The language was invoked only once in the organization’s history: on 9/11. Yet Israel suffers serious terrorist attacks on a more routine basis, including near daily rocket fire from the Gaza strip. Would NATO be bound to attack Hamas in Gaza? Israel is also attacked by forces such as Hezbollah with ties to Syria and Iran. Would NATO, then, be thrust into conflict with Iran and Syria? Would NATO have been summoned to strike at Lebanon in the summer of 2006? Given some NATO members reluctance to commit forces to Afghanistan, it’s difficult to see them rushing into the Levant. That leaves reserving NATO to act only in the event of a conventional land invasion of Israel. Such an invasion, while not impossible, is certainly implausible given the history of such attempts, and the peace (however cold) that prevails between Israel and its immediate neighbors. Israeli membership in NATO is not per-se a bad idea but it is premature. If Israel and the Palestinians reached a binding accommodation, membership for Israel would make more sense. NATO’s role would be both clearly defined and more achievable: keeping the peace instead of making it (although there would still be the thorny issue of Hezbollah). Then there is the suggestion that Israel be placed under America’s nuclear umbrella, whereby the US would respond to a nuclear attack on Israel with its own nuclear forces. According to the Brookings Institute’s Bruce Riedel, such a proposal was put to President Clinton by Ehud Barak during the Camp David talks in 2000. It has been aired most recently by Hillary Clinton, who suggested that the US would “obliterate” Iran were it to attack Israel with nuclear weapons. Yet this presumptive obliteration obligation is, at best, superfluous. The principle reason behind the so-called nuclear umbrella was to both dissuade an adversary with a much greater nuclear arsenal (i.e. the Soviet Union) from attacking non-nuclear nations and, in so doing, to dampen the urge of non-nuclear states to seek nuclear weapons in self defense. The umbrella kept the Soviets at bay and the nuclear club elite. Neither rationale applies to Israel. They are already a nuclear weapons state and their arsenal is, and will remain, orders of magnitude more destructive than any presumptive Iranian capability. Some argue that because Israel is small, any nuclear attack would incapacitate its ability to launch a counter-attack, thereby diminishing the credibility of Israel’s nuclear deterrent. Such statements overlook the considerable investment Israel has made in insuring against precisely just such a scenario. Though the details of its nuclear force are understandably secret, Israel is reported to possess an arsenal of some 200 nuclear weapons, capable of being launched from land, air and sea (via three submarines). Were Iran to precipitate a nuclear exchange with Israel, the results would be calamitous for both sides. In a study for the Center For Strategic and International Studies in 2007, Anthony Cordesman concluded that Israel could lose between 200,000 to 800,000 people while Iran could suffer as many as 16 to 28 million fatalities. The large disparity in death toll derives in part from Israel’s quantitative and qualitative nuclear superiority: they would deliver significantly more weapons at much higher yields (i.e. destructive force) than Iran, and far more accurately to boot. Though Iran is a large country, its vulnerabilities are numerous: Tehran, a city of some 15 million, sits in a “topographic basin with a mountain reflector” Cordesman wrote. “Nearly ideal nuclear killing ground.” Iran also lacks the kind of medical, civil and missile defenses that the Israelis possess. These weaknesses led Cordesman to conclude that though Israel would suffer grievously, it could emerge from such an exchange. On the other hand, he wrote, “Iranian recovery is not possible in the normal sense of the term.” If Iran is undeterrable, as some suggest, then they are undeterrable whether threatened by Israeli or American nukes. If the Mullahs don’t wish to embrace national suicide, then Israel’s nuclear weapons are a sufficient deterrent. Israel has, admirably and with no small measure of US assistance, procured the requisite tools for her defense. They are rightfully an American ally by virtue of political and cultural affinity and have, for years, been the largest recipient of US aid. Their security is not in doubt. Given that, and given that America has a multitude of foreign policy priorities of far greater importance (Pakistan, China, and Russia, to name a few, the US should not seek to bind itself with Cold War-era security guarantees.

Israel Cannot Accept a Nuclear-armed Iran. All Means of Prevention Legitimate

May 1….(DEBKA) The Israeli transport minister Shaul Mofaz, speaking at Yale University Tuesday night, April 30, on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, warned Iran may attain command of enrichment technology before the end of this year. He said: “Israel will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. This time, the Jewish people won’t let it happen. I would like to believe the world will not let it happen. To prevent this, all means are legitimate.” Israel’s annual Holocaust remembrance ceremonies focused this year on the theme of courage displayed by Warsaw Ghetto Uprising leaders 65 years ago, knowing they were doomed. Israeli’s president and prime minister laid wreaths in their honor at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Institute in Jerusalem. Israelis stood in silence as sirens wailed for two minutes in remembrance of the victims of Nazi World War II genocide, two-thirds of Europe’s nine million Jews. Cafes and places of entertainment were closed and TV and radio broadcast special programs. In Sderot, memorial ceremonies took place in a new, fortified social center under relentless Palestinian missile fire from Gaza - nine by midday Thursday. And in Poland, Israel’s chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi led the March of Life from the gates of the former Auschwitz concentration camp to Birkenau. He was joined by 12,000 people from 52 countries. In a short speech, the general noted that the world had stood aside when the Nazis murdered the Jews of Europe.

May 1….(Stan Goodenough) Although never far from their collective and - in decreasing numbers individual - memories, the genocide of Europe's more than six million Jews was set to be revisited by Israel's 5.5 million sons and daughters of Abraham Wednesday, as the nation whose state was reborn out of the very ashes of Auschwitz prepared to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. For 24 hours, until sunset Thursday, Israelis will saturate themselves with images, films, interviews, news reports, special gatherings and school assemblies, and a two-minute-long nationwide siren designed to pause them in memory how one out of every three of the world's Jews was murdered at Nazi hands. About 250,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive in Israel today, according to The Jerusalem Post. A torch-lighting ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem will start the special day for this people which, more then any other in history, has been hated and targeted for destruction just because of who they are as a nation. While the numbers crushed in Hitler's death machine were unprecedented, they were "only" the largest batch of victims who have fallen prey to Jew-hatred down the centuries. Today's Israeli Jews know that the same hatred endures, seething in the hearts of tens of millions of Arabs and Muslims around and among them. As Hitler sought to exterminate the Jews of Europe, and ultimately of the whole world, so Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the leaders and citizens in the Arab world dream and plan to exterminate the Jews in Israel. Some 12,000 young Jews, Poles and World War II survivors tookd part in the March of the Living Thursday, an annual event at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau that honors the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust. IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi led the march along with 160 IDF soldiers participating in the "Witnesses in Uniform" educational program. Israeli ambassadors from Hungary and Poland, along with ministers from both countries were also present. Participants hailed from 54 different countries. This year's march, the 17th, started with the blowing of the shofar, or ram's horn, at the iron gate - crowned with the words "Arbeit Macht Frei," or "Work Sets You Free" - that leads into the former camp of Auschwitz. Participants carrying white-and-blue Israeli flags were led by some camp survivors on their two-mile trek between Auschwitz and Birkenau, another area of the camp that is the site of wooden barracks and ruins of the gas chambers. The Kaddish - the Jewish prayer for the dead - will be said at a huge stone monument to the camp's victims at Birkenau. At least 1.1 million people, including Jews, Poles and Roma, perished in the camp's gas chambers or from starvation, disease and forced labor. The camp was liberated in January 1945 by Soviet troops. In a speech Wednesday evening marking remembrance day, Israel's president took a veiled swipe at Iran and its disputed nuclear program. Shimon Peres charged that the world woke up too late to eliminate the threat of Adolf Hitler before he started a war that killed 60 million people. He warned that the world must not let that happen again. "In history, it is forbidden to be late," he said at the ceremony at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial.

April 30….(Israel Today) A top Syrian official on Tuesday told Arab media that Damascus will never agree to sever its strategic alliances with Iran and the Lebanese terror group Hizballah, even in the framework of a peace agreement with Israel. Speaking on Hizballah's Al Manar television news network, Dr. Samir Al-Taki, said to be heading Syria's indirect contacts with Israel, said it was naive of anyone to think Syria would seriously consider cutting ties to its strongest regional allies, both of which advocate the destruction of the Jewish state. Nevertheless, Syria continues to insist it will not even hold public talks with Israel unless Jerusalem first agrees to the total surrender of the Golan Heights. It would be naive to think Syria will neglect or abandon its strategic alliances that do not stem from the Arab-Israeli conflict," the analyst, Dr. Samir Taqi, said in an interview with Al-Manar television. When asked why Syria elected to trumpet messages from Israel and relayed by Turkey of Jerusalem's willingness to cede the Golan Heights in exchange for peace, Taqi replied that the intent behind the media campaign was "to solidify the right" of Syria to the strategic plateau it lost as a result of the Six-Day War. As such, Taqi sought to emphasize that he is personally not involved in the recent developments, but is rather providing commentary on the matter.

April 30….(Israel Today) US President George W. Bush on Tuesday defended his government's decision to disclose details of a September 2007 Israeli air strike on a suspected Syrian nuclear facility. The president told reporters in Washington that getting the evidence that led to the strike out in public, and confirming that Israel had in fact executed the highly successful raid, sent a strong message to both Syria and Iran. Bush also said that the disclosure, which was made at a closed-door congressional hearing last week, served to warn North Korea that the US and its allies "may know more about you than you think." CIA officials said intelligence gathered at the Syrian nuclear facility indicated direct North Korean involvement, and that the reactor was just weeks away from becoming operational when Israel destroyed it.

April 30….(Reuters) US President George W. Bush will try to bolster the faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace process on a May 13-18 trip to the Middle East, but the White House said on Monday he is “under no illusions” of a quick breakthrough. It will be Bush’s second visit to Israel and neighboring Arab states since hosting a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November where Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged to try to reach a peace deal before he leaves office in January 2009. Negotiations between the two sides have since bogged down, deepening skepticism about the chances that Bush will succeed in the quest for Middle East peace after so many of his predecessors failed. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino insisted that Israeli and Palestinian leaders remain committed to the peace effort but acknowledged that “more needs to be done.” “Moments like when the president is going to go and travel to the region can create opportunity to push this system a little bit further,” she told reporters as she released details of Bush’s itinerary. “But we’re under no illusions that things are going to happen immediately,” she added. “There’s a lot of deep-seated history that has to be addressed if they’re going to define a state by the end of the year.” She sought to play down discouraging words from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who said on Saturday after last week’s White House talks that he was uncertain that a peace deal was possible this year. Bush is scheduled to meet Israeli leaders and address parliament during a visit to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state, the White House said. He then travels to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Abdullah before going to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he will see Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah. Once wary of taking a hands-on role in peacemaking, Bush told Abbas, weakened by Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip last year, that Palestinian statehood remained a “high priority.” Critics had accused Bush, who disdained predecessor Bill Clinton’s failed peace effort at the end of his presidency, of neglecting the Middle East conflict and they say he still has not deployed Washington’s full diplomatic weight.

April 30….(WND) Recognizing the severe political damage from Rev. Jeremiah Wright's remarks at the National Press Club yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama struck a solemn tone, telling reporters he was angered and saddened his pastor put himself at center stage at the expense of the campaign for the White House with "a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in truth." The Democratic candidate declared his 20-year relationship with the pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago has been affected. "There's been great damage," Obama said at a news conference in Winston-Salem, NC. "It may have been unintentional on his part, but I do not see that relationship being the same after this." When Wright stepped down from the Obama campaign's spiritual advisory committee in March, Obama spoke warmly of the pastor, calling him a man "I've known for 17 years, who helped bring me to Jesus, helped bring me to church." Obama at the time said, "I strongly condemn" Wright's statements, but "I would not repudiate the man." Later, in a major speech on race, he denounced the sermon rhetoric but refused to "disown" Wright. Today, he took a stronger stance, saying he was angered by the suggestion yesterday that his previous denunciation of the pastor's remarks was merely political posturing. Asked why he had not come across so strongly until now, Obama said he had not seen the press conference until later. What he saw surprised him, he said. "The person I saw yesterday was not the person I had come to know over 20 years," Obama insisted. "He was pained and angered about what had happened previously during the first stage of this controversy. I think he felt vilified and attacked, and I understand he wanted to defend himself. I understand that he's gone through difficult times of late and that he's leaving his ministry after many years. That may account for the change. "But the insensitivity and the outrageousness of his statements and his performance in the question and answer period yesterday I think shocked me; it surprised me," the senator said. Obama sought to further downplay the relationship with Wright, when he gave an interview to "Fox News Sunday" yesterday in which he admitted his relationship with Wright is a political issue, but he vehemently denied that he secretly agrees with him. But perhaps making matters worse for Obama is the fact that Wright suggested that the church congregant secretly concurs with his views. Wright said, "If Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected." "Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls." Obama stated flatly that he doesn't share the views of the man who officiated at his wedding, baptized his two daughters and been his pastor for 20 years. Yet the title of Obama's second book, "The Audacity of Hope," came from a Wright sermon. "What has become clear to me is that he was presenting a world view that contradicts who I am and what I stand for," Obama said. "And what I think particularly angered me was his suggestion somehow that my previous denunciation of his remarks were somehow political posturing. Obama has been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992, and has known Reverend Wright for 20 years." Obama said he heard that Wright had given "a performance" and when he watched news accounts, he realized that it more than just a case of the former pastor defending himself. "His comments were not only divisive and destructive, I believe they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate," Obama said. Obama said his earlier mild reaction came because he gave him the benefit of the doubt, but that evaporated when he saw Wright's speech. Wright's comments may well have severed the relationship. "He has done great damage, I do not see that relationship being the same," said Obama.

Gas in Israel Rises to $7.19 a Gallon at the Pump - Where Does Israel Get Its Oil?

(Fuel prices in Israel will rise to an all-time high of $7.19 a gallon) (The rising prices are due to a general rise in oil prices worldwide, with the cost of a barrel nearing the $120 mark)

April 30….(Arutz) Israel’s gas prices have always been relatively high, as it must buy its fuel from middle-men and smaller oil-producing nations across the globe. Israel has purchased oil from Mexico, the UK and Norway, and more recently, from Russia and Kazakhstan. A steadily increasing amount of natural gas is bought from Egypt, and Israel also imports coal for some of its power plants from Australia, Angola, South Africa and Columbia. For the decade following the 1967 Six Day War, Israel benefited from direct reasonably-priced fuel piped in from Iran, when it was ruled by the Shah. In 1979, when Iran underwent an Islamic revolution, the pipeline was closed. Israel also lost a major source of oil when it relinquished the oil fields of the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for a treaty with Egypt in 1982. In 2004, Minister of Infrastructures Yosef Paritzky (Shinui) revealed that most of Israel’s oil imports originate in countries with which the Jewish state does not maintain diplomatic relations. He did not elaborate. In response to Israel’s recent condemnation of a Swiss oil deal with Iran, Swiss newspapers alleged that Israel continues to purchase a large amount of high-quality oil from the Islamic Republic through a European intermediary. About 3 percent of Israel’s energy consumption is supplied by solar power, mostly in the form of rooftop solar panels to heat water for residential buildings. Several projects to expand solar power through large facilities in the Negev desert are currently underway.

April 29….(Fox News) Cigarette smuggling is generating millions of dollars every year that can be reaching terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda, according to law enforcement sources. In a single case, $100,000 was sent to Hezbollah. A 15-page report congressional report, obtained by FOX News, includes intelligence from law enforcement as well as New York State’s Department of Taxation and Finance. The report reads in part: Cigarette smuggling is generating millions of dollars every year that can be reaching terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda, according to law enforcement sources. In a single case, $100,000 was sent to Hezbollah. “This is a very serious homeland security issue, one that has gone unnoticed for far too long,” said Rep. Peter King, (R-NY), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, who called for the investigation. “Cigarette smugglers are able to generate millions of dollars in illegal profits with a great deal of this wealth being sent to terrorist groups overseas, groups that would like nothing more than to inflict devastating harm on our country and its citizens.”

(IDF Minister Mofaz paints grim picture in meeting with secretary of state, warns against Golan withdrawal)
April 29….(YNET) Israeli officials are extremely concerned about Hizbullah's growing strength in south Lebanon, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz told United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday. Mofaz, who heads the Israeli team for strategic talks with the US, met Rice ahead of the strategic dialogue to be held later with the participation of 15 senior Israeli and American officials. Hizbullah controls southern Lebanon and enjoys a "complete hold" over the area, Mofaz said, and added that the group doubled the number of long-range rockets it possesses. The minister said that while in the past the group secretly transported weapons, these days it is done much more openly, thereby allowing Hizbullah to equip itself rapidly. Mofaz warned that Hizbullah is preparing itself for the next war and said that Security Council Resolution 1701 that arranged the Lebanon ceasefire has been virtually emptied of all substance. "The presence of UNIFIL and Lebanese Army forces in southern Lebanon is insignificant and does not constitute an obstacle in the face of Hizbullah's strengthening," he said.

Mofaz also spoke out harshly against the possibility of withdrawing from the Golan Heights, in contradiction to messages on the subject reportedly conveyed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "Handing over the Golan Heights to Syria means having the Iranians on the Golan Heights," he said. Mofaz warned that just like Iran has a foothold in southern Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip, it will also do the same on the Golan. "In this reality, the Golan Heights is a strategic asset that must not be handed over to the Syrians," he said. However, in a talk with Israeli correspondents in Washington Mofaz said that "this doesn't mean that emissaries can't be sent and that messages can't be conveyed." The minister also said that he spoke with Rice about the fact that the radical axis led by Iran and comprising Syria, Hizbullah, and Hamas is gaining strength every year. Abbas Rejects Meeting With Diplomats Who Honor Israel's Independence Day
Meanwhile, PA officials said Monday that Abbas would not meet with foreign leaders and diplomats who visit Israel in honor of the country’s 60th Independence Day. At that time, they said, the PA will be commemorating the "Nakba", or “Disaster,” as it refers to the creation of the modern state of Israel. PA sources said visiting diplomats should “show sensitivity to the Palestinian people’s feelings” and realize that the PA will be mourning the creation of the state of Israel, not celebrating it.

April 29….(Israel Today) Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas reportedly left his Oval Office meeting with US President George W. Bush on Monday feeling "upset, alarmed and disappointed." According to an Abbas aide who spoke to Reuters, Bush told the Palestinian leader that if either of them wants the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian Arab state by the end of the year, they will have to accept some of Israel's conditions and abandon the Arab world's all-or-nothing demands. "We heard from the Americans that Israel would not accept the return of Palestinian refugees, Jerusalem would not be divided, and that Israel wants to annex settlement blocs. So in short, what we are being offered is much less than the 1967 borders," said the aide. Bush remains determined to oversee a final status peace agreement before the end of his presidency, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed his readiness to make that happen. However, Olmert has had a tough time selling the division of Jerusalem and the surrender of Judea and Samaria to the Israeli public. Most Israelis look to the disaster that followed the full surrender of the Gaza Strip to Abbas, and feel that quitting Judea and Samaria could only lead to additional security hardships. Despite its willingness to meet most of the Arab demands, the Olmert government has remained firm on Israel's refusal to accept a "right of return" to sovereign Israel for millions of foreign born Arabs who are the descendants of Palestinians that fled the area during the 1948 Middle East war. Abbas has made the "right of return" a red line demand, but Israelis recognize that acquiescing would mean the demographic destruction of the Jewish state.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. today at the National Press Club in Washington (Courtesy C-Span)

April 29….(WND) Rev. Jeremiah Wright demonstrated that he is a "man of principle" by sticking to his teachings of "black liberation theology" during today's highly publicized session with the news media, Malik Zulu Shabazz, national chairman of the New Black Panther Party, told WND in an interview. Shabazz, who was in the audience at Wright's National Press Club event in Washington, said he was particularly proud of Wright's defense of Nation of Islam head Louis Farrakhan. He also labeled as "strong" Wright's accusation US policy was to blame for the 9-11 attacks. "I respect Wright for defending Farrakhan," said Shabazz. "When I look for leadership I look for people of integrity who will stand up for what they believe in and not denounce somebody just because the heat is on. Wright stood up and continues to stand up on why he supports Farrakhan and he stands by him." Shabazz's NBPP is a controversial black extremist party whose leaders are notorious for their racist statements and for leading anti-white activism. The deceased chairman of the NBPP, Khallid Abdul Muhammad, is a former Nation of Islam leader who was once considered Farrakhan's most trusted adviser. Muhammad gave speeches referring to the "white man" as the "devil" and claiming that "there is a little bit of Hitler in all white people." During a question and answer session at today's event, Wright praised Farrakhan as "one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century, that's what I think about him." "Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy. He did not put me in chains, he did not put me in slavery, and he didn't make me this color," said Wright. Wright quoted Farrakhan stating "Zionism, not Judaism, was a gutter religion. He was talking about the same thing that United Nations resolutions say, the same thing now that President Carter's being vilified for and Bishop Tutu's being vilified for. And everybody wants to paint me as if I'm anti-Semitic because of what Louis Farrakhan said 20 years ago." Wright accused the US of carrying out terrorism and used Scripture to defend his claim 9-11 signified that "America's chickens are coming home to roost." "Jesus said: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Shabazz told WND he thought Wright's remarks about 9-11 were "strong. He backed it up with Scripture." Shabazz chalked up Sen. Barack Obama’s recent statement distancing himself from some of Wright's positions as "pure politics." Wright himself today indicated Obama was not sincere in distancing himself from his spiritual adviser of nearly 20 years. "He didn't distance himself. He had to distance himself, because he's a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was anti-American," Wright said. Speaking before an audience that included Marion Barry, Cornel West, Malik Zulu Shabazz of the New Black Panther Party and Nation of Islam official Jamil Muhammad, Wright vigorously praised Louis Farrakhan, defended the view that Zionism is racism, accused the United States of terrorism, and repeated his view that the government created the AIDS virus to cause the genocide of racial minorities, stood by other past remarks ("God damn America") and held himself out as a spokesman for the black church in America.

During the press conference, Wright scolded media for repeated airing of inflammatory remarks from his sermons, saying it is "not an attack on Jeremiah Wright, it is an attack on the black church." A reporter asked whether Obama regularly attended church and paid attention during sermons. "He goes to church about as much as you do," Wright replied. "What did your pastor preach in the last week? You don't know?" Last month, after what he called a "firestorm" sparked by the sermon videos, Obama gave a race speech in Philadelphia in which he denounced Wright's remarks but refused to "disown" him. Wright encouraged blacks to stop supporting Israel.

April 26….(DEBKA) Addressing a news conference in Washington, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday, April 25, the Pentagon is planning for “potential military courses of action” against Iran. He spoke of the Tehran government’s “increasingly lethal and malign influence” in Iraq. A conflict with Iran would be “extremely stressing” he said, but not impossible and “it would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability.” The admiral stressed the reserve capabilities of the Navy and Air Force. Adm. Mullen’s statement came four days after US defense secretary Robert Gates said he favored keeping the military option against Iran on the table “given the destabilizing policies of the regime and the risks inherent in a future Iranian nuclear threat, either directly or through proliferation.” DEBKAfile’s military sources report those remarks were underscored by news of large US naval, air and marine forces on their way to beef up the Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf and Middle East. DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources reported Friday that the USS Harry S. Truman Strike Group has just taken up position in Persian Gulf waters. It consists of 12 warships led by the giant LSD-41 class USS Whidby Island landing craft, submarines and eight assault squadrons. The legend on their banner is: Give ‘em Hell. Another nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, will soon set out for the region from the South China Sea, along with two more US naval strike forces: the USS Kitty Hawk and the USS Nimitz attended by strike groups. Adm. Mullen went on to say: "I have no expectations that we're going to get into a conflict with Iran in the immediate future." Our sources ask what time scale is indicated by the indefinite “immediate future,” the 8 months remaining to the Bush presidency or thereafter. Mullen tied his remarks to Iran’s "increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq. Of late, the US Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus pointed out that Iran is interfering increasingly in Iran and continues to arm insurgent militias. The Tehran government is clearly not deterred by Washington’s warnings or its military movements.

April 28….(DEBKA) Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy tells CBC News 60 Minutes Bob Simon that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threats against Israel must be taken extremely seriously. In an interview to be aired Sunday, April 27, the general said: “I think it is a very serious threat to the state of Israel, but more than this, to the whole world. They are talking about what destroying and wiping us from the earth.” He said it reminds him of the Holocaust. “We should remember. We cannot forget, We should trust only ourselves.” Gen. Shkedy likened ignoring Ahmadinejad today to the atmosphere that enabled the Holocaust yesterday. “In those days, people didn’t believe Hitler was serious about what he said. I suggest we do not repeat this way of thinking and… prepare ourselves for everything.” Veterans of the 1981 Israeli mission which destroyed Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor told the CBS interviewer: “Israelis hope they won’t have to undertake such a mission today, but a bombing mission to Iran, is a different thing. Zeev Raz, commander of that mission, compared the situations to Simon: “We had one point to destroy. They have many points, many of them deep under the mountains, underground and it’s a much more complicated problem than in 1981. I hope it will be solved another way.” Raz commented: “The only thing worse than the Israeli air force having to do it, is Iran having a nuclear bomb.” Col. Ziv Levy, an air force base commander said: “We spend a lot of time and a lot of effort in training and being prepared for the worst. We cannot lose a single war. The first war we lose, Israel will cease to exist,” said Col. Levy.

April 28….(Times on Line) America's top military officer has ratcheted up the pressure on Iran by issuing an unusual public warning that the Pentagon is planning for “potential military courses of action”. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, blamed the Iranian government and Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for its “increasingly lethal and malign influence” in Iraq. He said conflict with Iran would be “extremely stressing” for America’s overstretched forces, but added: “It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability.” Mullen said he was increasingly concerned about Iran’s growing involvement in supplying munitions and training to rebel Shi’ite militias and “killing American and coalition soldiers in Iraq”. Speaking at a Pentagon news conference late on Friday, he said recent operations in the southern port city of Basra had revealed “just how much and how far Iran is reaching into Iraq to foment instability.” A Pentagon source said the admiral’s frankness was “extremely significant” and could pave the way for some form of attack on Iran. However, Mullen said: “The solution right now still lies in using other levers of national power, including diplomatic, financial and international pressure.” Mullen’s tough rhetoric came shortly after General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq responsible for the troop surge, briefed Congress about the “nefarious activities” of the Quds force in stirring violence in Iraq. There were a total of 923 civilian deaths in Iraq last month, the highest number since August 2007. “We should all watch Iranian actions closely in the weeks and months ahead, as they will show the kind of relationship that Iran wishes to have with its neighbor,” Petraeus said. Petraeus was nominated last week to take over as commander of all US forces in the Middle East from Admiral William Fallon, who resigned in March after becoming an outspoken critic of American policy towards Iran. Petraeus has been asked to prepare a briefing on the extent of Iranian involvement in Iraq. It will include the recovery of weapons with date stamps showing that they were recently manufactured in Iran. American officers claim that Iran is responsible for new, highly dangerous roadside bombs in Iraq and accuse Iranian-trained militants of responsibility for the deadliest rocket and mortar attacks on Baghdad’s green zone. “The question is not if Iran is unhelpful in Iraq,” said Philip Crowley, a retired air force colonel and defense expert at the Center for American Progress in Washington. “The question is what to do about it.” Robert Gates, the US defense secretary, said last Monday that Iran is “hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons”. He added that war would be “disastrous” but the military option must remain on the table. However, a senior defense source said the administration regarded Iran’s nuclear program and its interference in Iraq as separate problems, requiring different tactics and solutions. Moqtada al-Sadr, the Iranian-backed radical Shi’ite cleric, called on his followers at Friday prayers to stop fighting Iraqi troops and unite against “the occupiers” – US troops.

April 28….(JNEWSWIRE) The future of Israel's Golan Heights appears to be suddenly under renewed threat as reports during the Passover week that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had offered to give them to Syria in exchange for peace were quickly followed Sunday by Syrian demands for an Israeli guarantee of a complete pullout from the plateau. According to the Qatari newspaper al-Watan, Syrian President Bashar el-Assad told Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Damascus demands a written commitment by Israel of the Jewish state's willingness to fully relinquish the Golan. Assad said Israel's refusal thus far to make such a pledge meant that the time has still not come for peace. Olmert, who spent some of his Passover vacation on the Heights, refused to deny Syrian claims reported on April 24 that he had messaged Assad via Erdogan that the Golan was up for grabs. In September 2006, Israeli newspapers quoted Olmert as saying: "As long as I serve as prime minister the Golan Heights will remain in our hands because it is an integral part of the State of Israel." Biblically part of the Land of Israel, and included in the inheritance of the Israelite half-tribe of Manasseh, the Golan Heights were part of the Ottoman province of Palestine until World War 1, and were thus included in the area designated for the creation of a Jewish homeland in the 1917 Balfour Declaration. Unilaterally lopped off from that promised land by the British government, the Heights were subsequently given to Syria, which after its independence in 1946 enjoyed control of the territory for just 21 years - during which time they used it as a platform for murderous aggression against Israeli farmers and communities in the Upper Galilee. Israel took over, and subsequently annexed the Golan following two wars of self-defense against the Syrians, in 1967 and 1973. Modern Israel has now controlled, settled, farmed and developed the Heights for more than 40 years - nearly twice as long as Syria.

April 28….(Arutz) Palestinian Authority terrorists launched a barrage of Kassam rockets at Sderot and Ashkelon on Monday morning as IDF soldiers continued operations to put an end to attacks against Jewish communities in southern Israel. Several barrages of Kassam rockets exploded in Sderot early Monday morning, and again at approximately 11:00 a.m. By 12:00 noon, eight rockets had landed in the western Negev. Two rockets slammed into areas within the Sderot city limits in late morning, leaving several victims severely traumatized. One of the rockets exploded close to a school in a residential neighborhood. The second scored a direct hit on a house. The damage has not yet been assessed. Magen David Adom paramedics treated the victims for emotional shock. There were no physical injuries reported in the attacks. Two rockets slammed into the Ashkelon Coastal Regional Council area in mid-morning. Terrorists also shelled kibbutzim in the Eshkol Regional Council area. A number of buildings were damaged but no one was injured. Seven mortar shells exploded in fields around the Kerem Shalom Crossing area as well. The day began with residents in Sderot and other Gaza Belt communities forced to race for the safe rooms and bomb shelters as children were arriving at school and parents were on the way to work. Three rocket attacks were fired at approximately 7:45 a.m. One of the missiles exploded in an open field near Sderot. Two other rockets landed in open areas in the Sha'ar HaNegev region. No one was injured in these attacks, and no property was damaged.

Several of the Kassams were fired at Sderot after the IDF attacked rocket-launching terrorist cells in northern Gaza. Hamas claims that Israeli soldiers killed a mother and four of her children during an attack on terrorists in Beit Hanoun. The IDF issued a statement officially denying the charge, saying the family was most likely killed when explosives inside the home were detonated by accident. An IDF soldier from the Givati Brigade was lightly wounded in the heavy clashes that began in northern Gaza early Monday morning. He was evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva. Israeli counterterrorism operations in northern Gaza continued Monday afternoon as Hamas vowed to escalate its attacks on Jewish civilians in the western Negev.

April 28….(Israel Daily) The dead militants of Hezbollah watch the living from the sides of buildings and from lampposts, their faces staring out defiantly from posters. These are Hizbollah's martyrs: men killed fighting against Israel before it abandoned the occupation of the south in 2000 or in the numerous clashes since, including the bloody summer war of 2006. The images are often the only public acknowledgement of the individuals who make up this most secretive of institutions: Hizbollah's military wing. But an Observer investigation has discovered that this covert organization is quietly but steadily replacing its dead and redoubling its recruitment efforts in anticipation of a new, and even more brutal, conflict. Hizbollah has embarked on a major expansion of its fighting capability and is now sending hundreds, if not thousands, of young men into intensive training camps in Lebanon, Syria and Iran to ready itself for war with Israel. 'It's not a matter of if,' says one fighter. 'It's a matter of when Sayed Hasan Nasrallah [Hizbollah chief] commands us.' But what is becoming more obvious, even as Hizbollah tries to hide it, is that the group has embarked on an unprecedented build-up of men, equipment and bunker-building in preparation for the war that almost everyone, Lebanese and Israeli, considers inevitable. 'The villages in the south are empty of men,' said one international official. 'They are all gone, training in Bekaa, Syria and Iran.' A trip by The Observer through villages in the Hizbollah heartland confirmed a conspicuous lack of fighting-age men. Visible were several new martyr posters. The initial training and selection of recruits is done in Lebanon, with Iran preferred for training on specialties, use of certain weapons, RPGs and anti-tank missiles, that require firing live rounds. 'But mostly the training in Iran is in theoretical things: philosophy, religion. Another crisis driving the build-up is Lebanon's political conflict, which pits Hizbollah and its allies against a coalition of Sunni, Druze and Christians supporting the Western-backed government. Street fights between Sunnis and Shias are becoming commonplace but Hizbollah cannot afford to take its men away from the bunkers in the south to fight on the streets of Beirut, say members of Amal and the Lebanese army. 'They know they can't send their best fighters, or the Israelis could attack. Israel will always be their main focus.

April 25….(Arutz) Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza launched an attack on the port city of Ashkelon Friday morning, firing four medium-range rockets at the coastal city. One of the missiles exploded close to a strategic site in the southern section of the city, damaging many gravestones in the local cemetery. All four rockets hit the city’s industrial area; no one was injured. Ashkelon is home to a large electric power station, which also provides energy to Gaza, as well as much of Israel. Also located in the city are oil and gas pipelines and storage tanks.

April 25….(Arutz) The White House said Thursday that North Korea’s secret work on a nuclear reactor with Syria was “a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development for the world,” raising doubts about Pyongyang’s intention to carry through with a promised disclosure of its nuclear activities. (The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” Isaiah 17:1) Seven months after Israel bombed the reactor, the White House broke its silence and said North Korea assisted Syria’s secret nuclear program and that the destroyed facility was not intended for “peaceful purposes.” White House statement reports that the North Korean-built and Israeli-destroyed reactor in Syria was "not intended for peaceful purposes." In a statement issued on Thursday by White House press secretary Dana Perino, the US Administration sharply criticizes Syria. The statement refers to Syria's "covert nuclear reactor" which was "damaged beyond repair on Sept. 6 of last year" - but does not mention that it was Israel that destroyed it. The statement censures Syria for supporting terrorism, destabilizing Lebanon, allowing foreign fighters into Iraq, and repressing its own people. The White House issued the statement after CIA officials briefed select Congressional committees on what the White House called "an issue of great international concern." The statement continues, "Until Sept. 6, 2007, the Syrian regime was building a covert nuclear reactor in its eastern desert capable of producing plutonium. We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert nuclear activities." The Bush Administration believes that the reactor was not intended for peaceful activities, because of the following: "Carefully hidden from view, the reactor was not configured for such purposes. In defiance of its international obligations, Syria did not inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the construction of the reactor, and, after it was destroyed, the regime moved quickly to bury evidence of its existence."

"The Syrian regime must come clean before the world regarding its illicit nuclear activities," the White House states. "The Syrian regime supports terrorism, takes action that destabilizes Lebanon, allows the transit of some foreign fighters into Iraq, and represses its own people. If Syria wants better relations with the international community, it should put an end to these activities." The statement was issued a day after a Syrian government minister confirmed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had agreed to hand over the entire Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for a peace agreement. "The construction of this reactor," the White House concludes, "was a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development for the region and the world. This is particularly true because it was done covertly and in violation of the very procedures designed to reassure the world of the peaceful intent of nuclear activities. This development also serves as a reminder that often the same regimes that sponsor proliferation also sponsor terrorism and foster instability, and cooperate with one another in doing so."

April 25….(Ha Aretz) The closed-door hearings of the House Intelligence Committee regarding a site in Syria that the Israel Air Forces bombed last September were closely followed Thursday by senior officials in Israel. US officials said that the Israeli strike destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor built with North Korean design help. Senior Israeli defense sources said Thursday night that it was still early to gauge how Damascus would react to the news, but warned that the Syrians may now reconsider and decide to retaliate against Israel in some way. In recent internal discussions, senior Israeli defense establishment officials expressed concern that the official American release of details about the strike would embarrass Syrian leader Bashar Assad, and lead him to take a more aggressive stance toward Israel. Intelligence officials said that the reports on the nature of the site make Assad vulnerable, internationally and domestically. Most senior members of his regime in Damascus apparently were not aware that the country had a nuclear program, they explained. Defense sources said Thursday night that there was still risk of an escalation in the area and warned that Israel must be cautious and avoid embarrassing Assad unnecessarily. Meanwhile, the Israeli government decided to maintain its silence over the September 6, 2007 strike. However, the hearings may have raised a new problem in Israel: Members of Congress were shown a video recorded by an agent inside the Syrian nuclear plant prior to the attack. This revelation may lead the Syrians to the source of the leak that allowed Israel and the US to gather intelligence on the nuclear site. In Washington, a senior US official said the facility in Syria was destroyed soon before it would have become functional, at which point testing would have begun. At the time of the attack, no uranium was evident at the site. The reactor site was veiled in secrecy until this week. US intelligence and government officials had refused to confirm suspicions that the site was to be a nuclear reactor. The administration has thus far refused to reveal why it chose to release the information now, but the briefings come at a critical time in the diplomatic effort to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. As part of that process, North Korea is required to submit a "declaration" detailing its programs and proliferation activity, but the talks have stalled over Pyongyang's refusal to publicly admit the Syria connection. However, officials say the North Koreans are willing to accept international "concern" about unspecified proliferation. Syria had not declared the alleged reactor to the International Atomic Energy Agency, nor was it under international safeguards, possibly putting Syria in breach of an international nuclear nonproliferation treaty. House Foreign Affairs Middle East Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Gary Ackerman (Democrat-N.Y.) sharply criticized the administration for embargoing the information and the press leaks surrounding it. "This is the selective control of information that led us to war in Iraq," he said. US officials were also briefing members of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, at its Vienna headquarters.

(FOJ) This undated image released by the US Government shows a steel liner in place for a concrete reactor vessel before concrete was poured at the suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site in Syria.

April 25….(Jerusalem Post) Syria on Friday accused the United States of involvement in an Israel Air Force attack on Syria last year that Washington said struck a suspected nuclear reactor built with North Korea's help. A US official said Thursday that the United States did not green light the IAF attack. The official spoke shortly after American intelligence officials heard details of the alleged incident. The White House on Thursday urged Syria to "come clean" about the nuclear facility, which a senior US official said had been near completion when it was destroyed by the Israel Air Force in September 2007. "The Syrian regime must come clean before the world regarding its illicut nuclear activities," White House press secretary Dana Perino said, shortly after US intelligence officials presented lawmakers with evidence that Pyongyang had assisted Syria's secret nuclear program. "We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert nuclear activities," she said, adding "We have good reason to believe that reactor, which was damaged beyond repair on September 6 of last year, was not intended for peaceful purposes." Syria's statement of response on Friday repeated Damascus's denial of involvement in nuclear activity and dismissed Washington's accusations as part of a campaign to discredit the Damascus government. "The Syrian government regrets the campaign of lies and falsification by the US administration against Syria, including allegations of nuclear activity," said the statement, which was issued on the state news agency. "Syria asks the United States to act responsibly and stop creating more crises in the Middle East," the statement added. Syria's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday denied any nuclear link to North Korea.

April 25….(AP) Meanwhile, the head of the UN nuclear monitoring agency on Friday criticized the US for not giving his organization intelligence information sooner on the alleged nuclear reactor. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei also chastised Israel for bombing the site seven months ago, in a statement whose strong language reflected his anger at being kept out of the picture for so long. "The director general deplores the fact that this information was not provided to the agency in a timely manner, in accordance with the agency's responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to enable it to verify its veracity and establish the facts," the statement said. "Additionally, the director general views the unilateral use of force by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime," it said. CIA Director Michael Hayden and other intelligence officials went to
Congress on Thursday to brief the lawmakers on the evidence related to the bombed Syrian facility. They had appearances scheduled before the House and Senate armed services, intelligence and foreign affairs committees. The White House also said that the suspected nuclear site, which the lawmakers were told had been built with North Korean help, had been demolished beyond repair, and that Syria tried to bury evidence of its existence. The White House said that the reactor had not been intended for peaceful purposes, and demonstrated the need for action against Iran's nuclear program. Meanwhile, a senior US official said Thursday that the reactor was within weeks or months of being functional when it was destroyed. "The facility was mostly completed but still needed significant testing before it could be declared operational," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. However, no uranium, needed to fuel a reactor, was evident at the site, a remote area of eastern Syria along the Euphrates River. Independent American nuclear experts have determined that while the suspected nuclear site was in its final stages of construction when destroyed, it was still far from being operational or active. Experts David Albright and Paul Brannan, of the independent Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) based their conclusion on a CIA document released earlier Thursday to the American media. According to the two, the US did not know how Syria was planning to activate its nuclear program nor does it have intelligence proving that North Korea has, or plans to give Damascus - the nuclear fuel required to activate the facility. The Syrian reactor was similar in design to a North Korean reactor that has in the past produced small amounts of plutonium, a US official told foreign media, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information. According to a report by The Washington Post on its Web site Thursday, the US has video footage, which the report says was obtained by Israel - that shows that the similarities in design between the Syrian site and the North Korean nuclear reactor in Yongbyon. The reactor was reportedly not yet complete but far enough along to demonstrate a resemblance to the reactor at Yongbyon, which supposedly is being dismantled. The official said no uranium, a reactor's fuel, was evident on site. Since Israel learned of the planned Congressional hearings three weeks ago, its defense officials have expressed concerns that publication of classified details about the attack could compel Syria to resort to a violent response, or at any rate reignite tensions between Jerusalem and Damascus. The closed-door briefings conducted by Hayden and other intelligence officials breaks US official silence on the matter and could complicate American diplomacy with North Korea and in the Middle East. While lawmakers declined to discuss the intelligence after the briefings, some described them as "compelling."

The Washington Post said Thursday that the White House was expected to show video images "it claims support allegations that North Korea was helping Syria to build a nuclear reactor." A US official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss classified matters, said that among the intelligence the United States has was an image of what appeared to be people of Korean descent at the facility.

However, the official stressed that this image was only part of a wider array of information gathered from multiple sources on the suspected cooperation between Syria and North Korea. The report quotes a US intelligence official saying the Syrian facility bears "remarkable resemblances inside and out to Yongbyon." It also quotes a nuclear specialist calling the video "very, very damning." Israel apparently showed the video to the US prior to the September strike, according to the Post report, after the Bush administration said it doubted the site was built with North Korean assistance.

Syria on Thursday dismissed US accusations that North Korea was helping it build a nuclear reactor that could produce plutonium. Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari told reporters on Wednesday that "there was no Syria-North Korea cooperation whatsoever in Syria. We deny these rumors." Syria's ambassador to Britain, Sami al-Khiyami, told Reuters that the accusation was intended to put pressure on North Korea in talks about Pyongyang's nuclear program. "This has nothing to do with North Korea and Syria. They just want to exert more pressure on North Korea. This is why they are coming up with this story," Khiyami said. "This is political manipulation ahead of the talks with North Korea to exert more pressure on them." The White House has said little about the possibility of such cooperation between the two since Israel allegedly conducted the mysterious September 6 air strike. "Unfortunately the scenario of taking and retaking pictures looks like what happened before the Iraq war, when the US administration was trying to convince the world that Iraq had nuclear weapons," Khiyami said. "Instead of coming up with these ridiculous photos I think the US administration should put all their effort into clearing the Middle East region of all weapons of mass destruction, starting with its closest ally Israel."

IAEA's Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.

April 25….(Jerusalem Post) The head of the UN nuclear monitoring agency on Friday criticized the US for not giving his organization intelligence information sooner on what Washington says was a nuclear reactor in Syria being built secretly by North Korea. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei also chastised Israel for bombing the site seven months ago, in a statement whose strong language reflected his anger at being kept out of the picture for so long. The White House broke its silence about the issue on Thursday, just hours after top US legislators, members of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, were briefed on the alleged reactor. US intelligence officials said evidence included dozens of photographs taken from ground level as well as footage of the interior of the building taken by spy satellites after the Israeli strike. The IAEA's mission includes trying to keep nuclear proliferation in check, and it depends on member states for information in trying to carry out that task. The agency is currently investigating allegations Iran tried to make nuclear weapons, and it is using not only its own research but intelligence provided by the US and other members of the 35-nation IAEA board. "The director general deplores the fact that this information was not provided to the agency in a timely manner, in accordance with the agency's responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to enable it to verify its veracity and establish the facts," the statement said. Additionally, "the director general views the unilateral use of force by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime," it said. ElBaradei was briefed by telephone Thursday by John Rood, the US undersecretary of state for arms control. Additionally, a senior US official, who demanded anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said a US intelligence team was in Vienna to brief IAEA representatives.

April 25….(DEBKA) US and Israel intelligence experts upgrade the chances of president Bashar Assad retaliating for the Israeli attack, which irreparably damaged the secret nuclear North Korea built for him in eastern Syria, now that the episode is out in the open. DEBKAfile quotes those experts as recalling Saddam Hussein’s burning ambition to hit Israel’s nuclear site at Dimona after Israeli jets smashed Iraq’s French built nuclear reactor in 1981. Assad will find it hard to avoid avenging his humiliation Thursday, April 24, when America’s top intelligence officials briefing congressional committees laid bare detail after detail of Syria’s nuclear program. They all agreed that it was incumbent on the United States to take further steps against Iran as well as Syria to avert any more developments which endanger the world. The briefing brought out key data hidden from the public in the eight months since the Israeli raid.

1. It confirmed DEBKAfile’s October 2007 report that North Korean personnel had built a reactor for the production of plutonium in a remote part of Syria.

2. Israel managed to plant a mole or moles inside the reactor compound capable of producing professional photos from inside the reactor. US lawmakers where shown, for instances, images of a concrete floor with rows of holes ready for the nuclear fuel rods to power the plant. Assad must have been irked beyond endurance when his most coveted secrets and security were shown to the world as having been blown wide open, when the regime he heads depends for its survival on a battery of secret police and undercover agencies with eyes and ears everywhere.

3. The Israeli raid demonstrated too that Syria’s military establishment has been penetrated as fatally as his clandestine agencies.

4. The congressional briefing will have done more to mar the relations of trust between Tehran and Damascus than any diplomatic or military action. Cracks are inevitable in their strategic pact. It will be hard for Iran to continue to pose as the No. 1 Middle East power after Syria, its foremost ally and military mainstay, exposed its extreme vulnerability.

5. Tehran’s precise role in the Syrian nuclear program is not known, but it was obvious to the American lawmakers listening to the intelligence briefing that Syria would not have built a nuclear reactor with Iran’s knowledge and consent, and that the Syrian plant was designed to be an integral part of Iran’s own nuclear program. Iran will no doubt have inferred from the disclosures about the Israeli attack on the Syrian reactor and its painful fallout for the Assad regime that its own projects may be subjected to the same fate. It is a matter of record now that Israel is the only country in the world to have ever destroyed two nuclear reactors in successful go-it-alone, intelligence-backed military operations.

April 25….(FOJ) A reproduction of the golden menorah that sat in Israel's biblical temple overlooks the Temple Mount, which today is occupied by Islamic mosques. The site represents the battleground between the god of Islam, and the God of Israel. Many Israeli’s look forward to the day when the Temple can be rebuilt on the ancient site, but any such activity would unleash a holocaust upon Israel. The complex sensitivity of the issue requires a miracle. The Bible reveals that Israel will enter into a “covenant with Hell” to accomplish this dream. (Isaiah 28:14-15 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:)

April 24….(Ha Aretz) A video taken inside a secret Syrian facility last summer convinced the Israeli government and the Bush administration that North Korea was helping to construct a reactor similar to one that produces plutonium for North Korea's nuclear arsenal, according to senior US officials who said it would be shared with lawmakers today. The officials said the video of the remote site, code-named Al Kibar by the Syrians, shows North Koreans inside. It played a pivotal role in Israel's decision to bomb the facility late at night last Sept. 6, a move that was publicly denounced by Damascus but not by Washington. Sources familiar with the video say it also shows that the Syrian reactor core's design is the same as that of the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, including a virtually identical configuration and number of holes for fuel rods. It shows "remarkable resemblances inside and out to Yongbyon," a US intelligence official said. A nuclear weapons specialist called the video "very, very damning."

The site of the Syrian nuclear facility before and after it was hit in an IAF strike last September.

April 24….(Arutz) The CIA, the US Central Intelligence Agency is set to confirm that the Syrian installation destroyed by Israel on September 6, 2007 was a nuclear reactor. CIA representatives will brief members of a Congressional intelligence subcommittee. The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that the installation was meant to produce plutonium, and was partially funded by North Korea. Israel bombed the reactor before it attained its planned capacity to manufacture plutonium for nuclear weapons, the CIA says. The Congressional subcommittee session is to deal with Syrian-North Korean relations, amidst reports that a possible deal is in the works to remove North Korea from the American list of state sponsors of terrorism. At the presentation at Congress, which will be repeated afterwards to reporters, the intelligence officials will show video images showing Korean faces among the workers at the Syrian plant. Other pictures show what appears to be the construction of a reactor vessel inside the building. Shortly after the Israel attack, Syria bulldozed the area and constructed a new building there, which it has not allowed foreign visitors to enter. Israel, the US and Syria have never divulged details about the attack, and today's presentation is a major departure from this policy. Israel is reportedly not happy with the change, fearing that it will revive the tensions between Syria and Israel.

April 24….(Arutz) The Islamist Hamas terrorist group swept student elections at a Hevron university and says it will do so in the next Palestinian Authority (PA) elections in Judea and Samaria as well. Hamas won by a landslide at the Al-Khalil Polytechnic University on Wednesday. “The United Islamic Bloc, a union of the academic wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad at the University, won the student elections despite attempts of Fatah's Shabiba to spoil the victory,” a Hamas statement declared in one of its media sites. "This is clear evidence to all that Hamas was strong enough, and that all the attempts made to marginalize it in the Palestinian arena, particularly in the West Bank, totally failed," the statement continued. Hamas runs on a platform openly calling for terrorist attacks on Jewish civilians and the complete destruction of all of Israel. It also encourages Israeli-Arabs to rise up and join the struggle. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that the results of the election proved that efforts by Fatah, Israel and the US to convince PA Arabs to align themselves with Fatah have failed. “Those people [PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and his security forces] will certainly fail in doing what the Israeli occupation forces had failed to do against the Movement," Barhoum said. “The victory of Hamas in the election was a big blow to Abbas's futile negotiations with the Israelis.” In 2006, Hamas won PA legislative elections, taking 74 seats while the US and Israeli-backed Fatah netted only 45. Hamas defeated Fatah in the popular vote by a much smaller margin, 44 to 42 percent. The Islamist group is now gearing up for an election of a new PA chairman, which could completely dissolve Fatah and unseat terror-chief Yasser Arafat’s successor Mahmoud Abbas.

April 24….(Bill Wilson, KIN Senior Analyst) Across the nation anti-American organizations rooted in godless socialism are partnering with ruthless, corrupt judges to make a run at removing God from the public square and cementing America's decline from the nation's founding laws and principles that were rooted in the Bible. Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union have found favor with morally bankrupt judges to quell religious freedom of speech and expression. These cases, if left unchallenged and standing, could determine a new prophetic position for the United States with respect to its already accelerated economic and moral decline. A Federal Appeals court has ruled that East Brunswick New Jersey Football Coach Marcus Borden breaks the law when he takes a knee and bows his head during student led prayer before football games. The court ruled that the 25-year-old practice constitutes "an unconstitutional endorsement of religion." In Louisiana, a Federal Judge ruled that a portrait of Jesus in a courthouse with the caption "To know peace, obey these laws" was unconstitutional unless it was accompanied by other historic figures such as Moses, Charlemagne, and Napoleon to show historical context. A school district in Ohio, yet to take court action, has demanded a teacher remove his personal Bible from his desk. The teacher refused. There are also allegations brought by Americans United For Separation of Church and State against Pastors Wiley Drake in California and Steve Riggle in Texas. Constant persecutor of Christians, Americans United led by the so-called "Reverend" Barry Lynn has written letters about Drake and Riggle to the Internal Revenue Service demanding an investigation of the pastors with an eye toward revoking their non-profit status. Lynn argues that the pastors use the pulpit to endorse political candidates. The pastors rightly say they can personally endorse whom they wish. Riggle has countered with a letter to the IRS asking that Americans United be investigated for obstructing the political process. The First Amendment guarantees complete freedom of religion to every American citizen, whether he is employed by the government or not, whether he has tax exempt status or not--a guarantee that trumps any law or regulation because the Constitution expressly prohibits Congress from making any law respecting religion or the free exercise of it. Deuteronomy 7 gives warning about breaking covenant with God: "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love him and keeps his commandments to a thousand generations; and repays them that hate him to their face, to destroy them." Let us not allow our nation to fall from covenant with God.

April 24….(FOJ) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a warning to Syria on Thursday not to side with the Americans. "We must always be prepared to thwart the plans of the US in the region," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem in Teheran. According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Ahmadinejad said that "the Americans are on the verge of destruction" and that "anyone who sides with them will also go the same way." The Iranian president's office stated that in his meeting with Moallem, Ahmadinejad called on Middle Eastern countries to "raise their alert in the face of the enemies' plots and make plans to foil them." The Iranian president asserted that the US government was embarking on numerous operations in the region due to its internal issues, the "dead end" its policy toward Iran and Syria had reached and the upcoming US presidential elections. Moallem mentioned the "sensitive situation" the Palestinians were in, saying that "despite the blockade on Gaza and the continuing Israeli aggression, Gazans have succeeded in continuing the resistance under the leadership of Hamas and conducting their affairs." The Syrian foreign minister also accused the US of making baseless accusations in order to create internal conflicts and divide the nations in the Middle East.

April 23….(Ha Aretz) Head of the Knesset House Committee MK David Tal on Wednesday said he intends to accelerate the passage of a bill requiring any withdrawal from the Golan to be dependant upon a national referendum, speaking after a Syrian news agency reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has offered Damascus a full Israeli withdrawal from the region in return for peace. Tal, a member of Olmert's own Kadima party, said he would push for the bill to be legislated immediately after the Knesset plenum returns from its current recess. "Evacuating the Golan Heights will pump Hezbollah forces into region, who will embitter residents of the North's lives," Tal said. Syrian news agency "Cham-Press" reported Wednesday morning that Olmert has relayed a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad affirming that he agrees to a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with his nation. According to the report, the message was passed on by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose mediation met with great success. The Prime Minister's Office did not deny the report, choosing only to state that they "refuse to comment on the matter. In his interviews last week, Prime Minister Olmert stated that Assad is familiar with Israel's position regarding peace talks and visa versa." The report comes after a series of recent signals from Damascus relating to ongoing contacts with Israel. On Sunday, Assad said that, "friends are making efforts to renew negotiations between Israel and Syria," speaking before the Baath party's central committee. He repeated that Syria's position is that it will not hold secret talks with Israel. Former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) slammed Olmert's alleged consent to cede the Golan Heights. "Olmert's readiness to withdraw from the Golan represents an unprecedented political and national abandon," he said. Steinitz added: "Without the Golan, Israel will be faced with great difficulties in defending itself and keeping the Kinneret and water resources. I haven't the slightest doubt that the People of Israel adhere to the Golan much more than they do to Olmert." Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Six Day War, and later annexed the northern territory in 1982. MK Arieh Eldad (National Union-National Religious Party) joined the assault on the prime minister's reported message to Assad, demanding that opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu immediately announce he will not commit himself to honor any "suicidal" concession made by Olmert. Eldad added that the prime minister is acting without legitimacy. MK Effie Eitam, also a member of the National Union-National Religious Party, said Olmert "is abandoning Israel's security in a desperate attempt to present a political achievement." On Monday, former US president Jimmy Carter said Assad is "eager" to restart negotiations with Israel over the Golan Heights and believes that 85 percent of the differences between the two countries have already been resolved. Speaking to reporters following talks with officials in Syria and Egypt, Carter said: "In all my conversations with President Assad, whom I've known since he was a college student, I was impressed with their eagerness, complete the agreement on the Golan Heights." According to Carter, Assad said that "the only major difference in starting good faith talks was that Israel insisted that there will be no public acknowledgement that the talks were going on when Syria insisted that the talks would not be a secret."

(Syrian report suggesting Olmert will agree to pull out of Golan Heights for sake of peace with Damascus inflames political area: Likud blames him for thinking of nothing but political survival; Kadima MK says will push forward referendum on area's future)

April 23….(YNET) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert undoubtedly heard about the Syrian report saying he had agreed to cede Israeli control of the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Syria, while on vacation. The report by the Damascus-based website Shams Press was joined by a report in the Syrian newspaper al-Watan, which claimed that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan telephoned Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday and informed him of Olmert's willingness to fully withdraw from the Golan Heights in exchange for a peace agreement. According to the report, which quotes "knowledgeable sources" in Damascus, Erdogan is expected to visit the Syrian capital over the weekend and take part in a first-of-its-kind economic summit between Syria and Turkey. Head of the Knesset's House Committee, Knesset Member David Tal of the prime minister's Kadima party, announced Wednesday that he would push forward the forming of the Golan Heights Act once the Knesset returns from its Passover hiatus. The bill will make a referendum on the region's future mandatory. Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz said the report indicated "unprecedented irresponsibility on Olmert's part both political and defense-wise." The Likud party later issued a formal statement on the matter: "There is no limit to the dangerous concessions Olmert is willing to make for the sake of his political survival. Now he is willing to give way to Syria, an ally of Iran, which supports Hamas terror and supplies Hizbullah with weapons," said the statement. MK Marina Solodkin (Kadima) party, also criticized Olmert: "I am utterly against any withdrawal from the Golan, mainly because Syria is in cahoots with Iran and Hizbullah. Peace with Syria at this point in time is suicidal for Israel." MK Ze'ev Elkin (Kadima) reiterated the sentiment, saying that in the last six months "Olmert has been fooling the Israeli public and the international community, making promises he can't keep, he has no support for this move, neither in the Knesset nor in Kadima. Knesset Member Effie Eitam of the National Union-NRP, said Olmert is sacrificing Israel's safety in a "desperate attempt to show his constituents some sort of a political achievement. He is willing to give up the one strategic asset which has kept the northern border quiet for the past 40 years."

April 23….(DEBKA) In a series of statements, including one by Saudi King Abdullah, the world’s biggest oil producer has suspended plans for a further increase in long-term production capacity. DEBKAfile reports: The Saudi warning to consumers that it sees no need for further expansion reversing their recent pledges to the US president George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. It is also challenged by the world’s major consumers. In Rome, where 90 energy ministers and 40 oil company executives are attending an energy forum, Kuwait’s acting oil minister Mohammed al-Aleem argued that supply and demand factors are not to blame for the soaring price of crude oil. “The oil price rises as the dollar gets weaker,” he said. OPEC can increase supply if there is a real Global need,” he said.

April 22….(Ha Aretz) A new Israeli study of anti-Semitism with Muslim roots has concluded that the phenomenon is growing, even in Jordan and Egypt, which have peace treaties with Israel, and that "Anti-Semitism and the accompanying hate industry are a strategic danger for Israel and the Jewish people." The study was conducted by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, a research institute under the aegis of the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC), an NGO which commemorates the fallen of Israel's intelligence services. According to the findings of the study, "generations of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims are brought up hating the Jews; the peace process is damaged and obstacles to the normalization of Israel's relations with the Arab countries of the Middle East are erected; indiscriminate Palestinian terrorism against Israel is made palatable, as is Hezbollah's Shi'ite terrorism and that of Al-Qaida, when directed against Israel and Jews around the world." The study also found that Arab countries such as Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Jordan "enable (and some even encourage) anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic incitement for a variety of internal reasons: they can use the struggle against Israel and the image of support for the Palestinians as a way of letting opposition groups let off steam (especially when Israel-Palestinian confrontations escalate), for increasing their identification with Islamist groups and for increasing support for their own regimes." Paradoxically, both Israel-Arab military escalation and progress toward Israeli-Arab peace act to increase anti-Semitism in the Muslim world, the research showed. Among the central themes in contemporary Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism are Holocaust denial coupled with claims that Israel is carrying out a holocaust against the Palestinians, as well as the drawing of parallels between Israel and Nazi Germany, the study found. "The motifs used in anti-Semitic propaganda are often taken from Western neo-Nazi literature, media and rhetoric and there are clearly reciprocal relations between Holocaust denial in the West and denying it or trying to minimize it in the Arab-Muslim world," it said. The study also found that Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism has a broad field is widespread among both lower classes and intellectuals, opposition groups and radical Islamic movements. "Arab-Muslim regimes in the Middle East all use it, although the way they use it changes from country to country. It is not limited to the Middle East, since anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic propaganda are distributed to Muslim communities all over the world, especially in Europe. Anti-Semitism is marketed in a variety of ways (books, the Internet, television) and helps fan the flames of hatred for Jews and Israel among Muslim communities far beyond the Middle East." The report singled out the Iranian regime for having turned anti-Semitism and the desire to destroy the state of Israel into a strategic weapon. It concluded that "anti-Semitism supported by a state which publicly adheres to a policy of genocide and is making efforts to arm itself with non-conventional weapons which will enable it to carry out that policy is unprecedented since Nazi Germany."

April 22….(WND) As Pennsylvania voters go to the polls in a primary widely regarded as do-or-die for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, the New York Democrat apparently is positioning herself to the right of some Republicans, vowing that if Iran attacks Israel with nuclear weapons, she would respond in kind against Tehran, with the ability to "totally obliterate them." Clinton's remarks came during an interview airing tomorrow morning on the ABC News show, "Good Morning America." ABC's Chris Cuomo asked Clinton what she would do if Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons, according to the network. "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president we will attack Iran," Clinton said. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them." On the floor of the Senate on Feb. 14, 2007, Clinton stated, "If the administration believes that any, any use of force against Iran is necessary, the president must come to Congress to seek that authority." Clinton offered a new defense doctrine during the Democratic presidential debate in Philadelphia last week that would have the US defend Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates with nuclear weapons. Here's what Clinton said: "We should be looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes much further than just Israel. Of course I would make it clear to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the United States. But I would do the same with other countries in the region. You can't go to the Saudis or the Kuwaitis or UAE and others who have a legitimate concern about Iran and say, well, don't acquire these weapons to defend yourself unless you're also willing to say we will provide a deterrent backup." Morris suggest the sweeping new defense doctrine offered by Clinton is "perhaps influenced by her husband's $15 million paycheck from Dubai or the $10 million the Saudi monarchy gave to his library." In a column yesterday in the New York Post, Morris said "no American president has ever made so sweeping a commitment in the region. Hillary certainly appears willing to break new ground" Morris concluded: "If there is one real warmonger in this race, it is Hillary Clinton, who is now willing to risk our cities to save some of the most repressive regimes in the Middle East."

April 22….(Israel Today) Former US President Jimmy Carter on Monday said that following a meeting with the Hamas leadership in Damascus late last week, he can confidently announce that Hamas truly desires peace with Israel. The premature claim was almost immediately rebuffed by Hamas. Speaking at an event hosted by the Israel Council on Foreign Relations, Carter asserted that Hamas is prepared to accept a Palestinian Arab state in Gaza and the West Bank and Israel's right to exist in the rest of the land west of the Jordan River. The self-styled peace envoy said that Hamas' top leadership had assured him that it would accept such a solution to the conflict if approved by a majority of Palestinians in a referendum. Having established Hamas' willingness to make peace, Carter went on to imply that the only obstacle remaining was Israel's unwillingness to hold talks with the terror group. However, almost immediately after Carter spoke, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told reporters that the American had apparently gotten ahead of himself, or misinterpreted statements by the Hamas leadership to fit his own agenda. Hamas, said Abu Zuhri, was indeed prepared to allow a referendum on a two-state solution, but made no guarantees that it would accept the results. And that, of course, is the primary reason Israel will not consider including Hamas in peace talks.

Jimmy Carter and his wife lay a wreath
on the tomb of proto-terrorist Yasser Arafat

April 22….(Israel Insider) Jimmy Carter’s visit to the Middle East was everything a Palestinian terrorist could hope for: a wreath laid on Arafat's tomb, wet kisses from a former US President, and a high profile meeting with leaders of Hamas that flew in the face of US and European policy. But that didn't faze Jimmy Carter, who relished the controversy, enjoyed the rough-cheeked nuzzles, and gave the top terrorist organizations the dubious legitimacy of a president who has joined the actively anti-Israel club. The Israeli and US governments condemned former President Carter's meetings this week with top officials of Hamas, which they consider to be a terrorist organization. His controversial tour of terror bigwigs included a meeting Thursday in Cairo with two senior Hamas politicians, and with the top Hamas politician, exiled leader Khalid Meshaal, on Friday in Damascus, Syria. Carter laid a wreath of red roses at the grave of Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat during a visit to the West Bank City of Ramallah on Tuesday. "He and Mrs. Carter and his son Jeff wanted to pay their respects to President Arafat," Carter's trip director Rick Jasculca told Cybercast News Service. But the former president didn't make any comments there, he said. Most Israeli officials refused to meet Carter during his prior visit to the Jewish state, furious over his defiance of State Department policy in meeting with a terror organization responsible for hundreds of Israeli deaths, by his insistence that Israel should talk to Hamas and his explicit comparisons of Israeli policy with South African apartheid. US and Israeli officials doubt Carter's talks with Hamas will achieve anything except muddy efforts to isolate the Hamas terror organization, which has made no secret of its ultimate goal of eliminating Israel, and its continued support for suicide bombing, cross-border infiltrations and rocket attacks, especially from its Gaza base. "We think it is not useful for people to be running to Hamas at this point and having meetings with Hamas," US national security adviser Stephen Hadley said. Even left-wing Israelis insist that talks with Hamas won't bring peace in the Middle East conflict. Carter had to endure a dressing-down by Shimon Peres, himself a Nobel Peace Prize winner, dubiously shared with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin. Peres told Carter in no uncertain terms that meeting the leaders of the terror group