In this issue:

LaRouche: Netanyahu Plans To Provoke New Land War in Asia With Iran Attack

Netanyahu Promises Permanent Occupation of Palestinian Territories

Obama's Appeasement of Israel Can Only Lead to War

Iranian Press TV Video Features EIR Correspondent on Obama

From Volume 37, Issue 44 of EIR Online, Updated Nov. 19, 2010
Southwest Asia News Digest

LaRouche: Netanyahu Plans To Provoke New Land War in Asia With Iran Attack

Nov. 15 (EIRNS)—Addressing a private audience in Washington, D.C. today, Lyndon LaRouche warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is intent on launching an attack on Iran sometime in the near future, that will trigger a new land war in Asia, if he is not stopped. LaRouche issued the warning in response to reports from a recent visitor to Israel, who met with the Prime Minister and top military officials, and came away with the clear indication that Netanyahu was intent on provoking a new war.

According to the source, a New York-based former Israeli intelligence officer, Netanyahu believes that the Nov. 2 midterm elections have so weakened President Obama that he can count on U.S. support for an Israeli air strike against Iranian nuclear sites. Furthermore, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has quietly pledged French support for such an Israeli military adventure, in what amounts to a sharp break from the policies of other European countries, including Germany, which is intent on averting a confrontation, by working out a diplomatic solution with Iran.

The source described Netanyahu as adamant about the Iran attack, despite the fact that top Israeli military commanders oppose such an attack, and warn of serious consequences, including a possible military coup in Egypt, a possible Syrian military move into the Golan Heights, and serious Hamas and Hezbollah retaliation against many targets inside Israel.

LaRouche was even more blunt, citing a long history of British manipulations of land wars in Asia, and warning that a full-scale regional long war would result from an Israeli attack on Iran.

Netanyahu Promises Permanent Occupation of Palestinian Territories

Nov. 9 (EIRNS)—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly released his promise to never withdraw Israeli troops from the Palestinian territories and the West Bank of the Jordan River, even if a "final settlement" should be reached in Israeli-Palestinian talks (which, of course, will not happen).

In a speech posted on the Prime Minister's website for delivery to the annual convention of the Jewish Federation of North America, Netanyahu said, "Israel also wants a secure peace. We do not want to vacate more territory only to see Iran walk in and fire thousands of rockets at our cities. That is exactly what happened after we left Lebanon and Gaza. We don't want to see rockets and missiles streaming into a Palestinian state and placed on the hills above Tel Aviv and the hills encircling Jerusalem. If Israel does not maintain a credible security presence in the Jordan Valley for the foreseeable future, this is exactly what will happen.

"I will not let that happen.

"We do not want security on paper. We want security on the ground. Real security."

The permanent "foreseeable future" occupation of the Jordan Valley that Netanyahu mentions is exactly what was promised in the letter reportedly drafted by White House advisor Dennis Ross, and leaked to the Israeli think tank in the U.S., Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) in September.

The rest of Netanyahu's speech is a war rant: On Iran, "the only responsible policy is to prevent it from developing atomic bombs in the first place. The bottom line is this: Iran's nuclear program must be stopped. Iran's nuclear program is the greatest danger we face." Containment, sanctions, are not enough.

Netanyahu, according to Israel press accounts, is emboldened by the Republican victory in Congress, and will now pursue his British-authored war plans with vigor, scuttling the talks with the Palestinians through repeated provocations, and ramping up the propaganda attacks on Iran.

Obama's Appeasement of Israel Can Only Lead to War

Nov. 15 (EIRNS)—Mark Perry, a military historian and Middle East peace activist, penned a hard-hitting attack on President Obama's appeasement policies towards Israel in today's Foreign Policy online magazine. Under the headline "Not One Cent for Tribute: Obama's Embarrassing Gift to Israel," Perry attacked the Obama Administration for the announcement over the weekend, that the U.S. would give $3 billion in Stealth fighters to Israel, supplementing 20 F-35 fighter jets that Israel will "purchase" from the United States with $2.75 billion in military aid provided to Israel by U.S. taxpayers.

At the same time, the President pledged that the U.S. would veto any UN Security Council resolution, brought on behalf of Palestinian statehood, or denouncing Israel—all in return for a 90-day extension of the settlement freeze in the West Bank. "The administration's decision would be shocking were it not so predictable," Perry wrote, citing an Oct. 20 statement by State Department spokesman Andrew Shapiro, who announced a $60 billion U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia by explaining, "Israel does not object." Perry reviewed a string of Administration actions, including by Gen. David Petraeus, all demonstrating a slavish capitulation to Israel and the Israeli lobby.

Perry used uncharacteristically harsh words to describe the latest Obama capitulation to Netanyahu: "The Obama Administration's newest promise to Israel is abject, embarrassing and gutless. Our country—our president—is rewarding a foreign leader who openly boasts that America 'is something that can easily be moved,' who urges a waiting game with the U.S. because he knows that Israel's friends in the Congress will defy a president who opposes him." After accusing Obama of caving in to extortion, Perry warned that the F-35 sales give Israel the capacity to strike Tehran. "The message, intended or not, will be heard by Iran: we're not interested in allowing Israel to defend itself, we're interested in having it attack others.... We have lost our way. It is not Israel's legitimacy that needs defending, but ours."

Iranian Press TV Video Features EIR Correspondent on Obama

Nov. 11 (EIRNS)—The Iranian official English-language channel, Press TV, today posted a video with title "Obama's Approval Hangs in the Balance," in which EIR's William Jones is prominently quoted. Jones identifies Obama's health-care policy, and his bailout of the Wall Street banks as the reasons behind the collapse of his approval rating. The video was among the top three videos on Press TV's front page.

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