Mideast News Digest
FLASH: Israel Bombs Targets Inside Syria
In response to the Saturday, Oct. 5 suicide bombing in Haifa, which killed 19 people, Israel launched bombing raids on camps inside Syrian territory on Sunday, Oct. 6. According to one well-placed Arab source, the Israeli action was taken, after the Quartet (U.S., Russia, European Union and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan) failed to strongly condemn Israel's continuing targeted assassinations of Palestinians, in their joint statement from New York City. The source indicated that he did not expect further Israeli military actions against Syria, and that he did not expect an outbreak of regional war. However, he warned that, in response to the flagrant Israeli provocations and violation of Syrian sovereignty, groups like Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad could escalate their operations against Israeli targetsincluding Israeli targets outside the "zone of conflict"ie. the Middle East.
Were Islamic Jihad to begin terrorist attacks on Israeli targets in Europe, it could mean a return to the kind of international terrorism that characterized the 1970s and '80s period.
The source added that the attack on Syria was also intended to be an Israeli message to Iran, which has already warned that the Israelis are planning attacks on the nuclear reactor at Bushear.
The language used by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in announcing the Syrian attacks, was, according to the source, a verbatim repeat of the words used by President George W. Bush, in announcing the American attacks on Iraq. Israel, in effect, is declaring itself to be adopting the "Cheney Doctrine" of preventive war. The source also warned that the unprovoked attack on Syria will likely lead to an acceleration of Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel, meaning a major escalation of conflict in southern Lebanon.
Arab League Head Blasts Iraq Occupation
Iraq is "under occupation" and is not sovereign, said Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League, at one of the final meetings of the U.S. Arab Economic Forum held in Detroit Sept. 28-30. Moussa said that economic construction must be "parallel to political reconstruction", or it will be meaningless, and he stressed repeatedly that Iraq must be treated now as a sovereign country, not as a "country in transition." He said that "nobody should disagree" that this sovereignty must be given as soon as possible while noting that it is not included in the U.S. draft resolution that is currently circulating in the UN.
"Why don't you start now?", said Moussa, rhetorically addressing the Coalition Provisional Authority, whose representative, Richard Greco, was just a few feet away from him, sitting in the audience. Moussa added, "Every minute that you delay begins a move in the opposite direction" from the stability that would be needed before economic reconstruction could ever happen.
Moussa was delivering the final commentary on the Iraq Reconstruction panel the only panel of the 2-1/2 day conference that addressed the war. Moussa began his remarks saying that the Arab League disagreed with the Iraq war, but said that "now is not the time" to address that but to move forward and give the Iraqi people "their voice," and their "sovereignty." After describing the "steps" that the U.S. occupation is laying out for Iraqi government six months of writing a Constitution, and then elections, Moussa said, "What is this?"
New Israeli art student caper
Nine Israeli nationals were arrested in Canada on Sept. 12, in what looks like a replay of the "Israeli art student" caper that flared up in the United States in 2001-02. Beginning Jan. 2001, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies had begun assembling reports about Israeli "art students" attempting to penetrate government buildings, especially military and law enforcement facilities, under the guise of selling works of art. The pattern of incidents was compiled in a 60-page report by the Drug Enforcement Administration in July 2001. The report noted that there were also efforts to profile law enforcement officials and staff for potential recruitment by Israel. After the 9/11 attacks, the investigation was given high priority, and it was determined that most of the "students" had specialized training in explosives and other skills in the Israeli military. Another feature, now replicated almost exactly in Canada, were Israeli "students" selling various toys at airport and shopping center kiosks. Ultimately, over 200 Israelis were detained and deported from the U.S.A. for such unexplained activities.
In Canada, hearings for the nine, who were illegally selling art works, were held by the Immigration and Refugee Board on Sept. 17 and deportation orders were issued. They are expected to be deported. Sources also report that six other Israelis were detained in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Sept. 23, and four others in Calgary.
An article on the arrests was mysteriously pulled from the Ottawa Sun web site within hours of its posting on Sept. 19. The article reported that an Ottawa police source had said that the police were told by Canadian immigration authorities that the nine were possible agents of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
Powell-Bush Meet On Israeli Wall Considers Loan Cuts
The Washington Post reported on Oct. 5 that President Bush and Colin Powell met on Oct. 2 with a White House Middle East task force, to review Israel's so-called security fence, and the group discussed scaling back the U.S. $8 billion loan guarantees to Israel unless they stop the defacto annexation of major parts of the West Bank.
According to news accounts, the Oct. 2 session included Powell, Bush, National Security Advisor Condi Rice, special envoy John Wolf, and NSC resident neocon Elliot Abrams. At the meeting, President Bush agreed that "the wall is a problem."
The next day, Secretary Powell gave an exclusive interview to the Washington Post, which was published on line Oct. 4, in which he warned about the U.S. cutting loan guarantees to Israel. Powell said, "we have not yet come to a conclusion as to what to do.... we are examing the fence [sic] and what our obligations are under the law [i.e., appropriations mandated by Congress]... We've made it clear that the fence, as the president has made clear, is a problem." Of particular concern is what looks like "a contiguous intrusion into Palestinian areas..." Therefore, said Powell, the U.S. was not about to accept the Israel proposal to build the wall with "gaps" because it was clear that the gaps could easily gouge Palestinian land at some future time. He also said that the subtraction of funds for settlement building was also on the agenda.
...And Terrorists Give Sharon a Way Out of U.S. Pressure
The same day the Powell interview with the Washington Post was published, issuing a warning to Israel against further construction of the wall, a suicide bomber killed 19 Israelis at an Arab-Jewish co-owned restaurant in the port city of Haifa. The bombing, on Oct. 4, claimed by Islamic Jihad, prompted renewed calls from Ariel Sharon's government for the expulsion of Yassir Arafat. Israeli Army chief Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon told Israeli radio there would be a "harsh" response to the bombing after nightfall Saturday. Israeli Health Minister Dani Naveh said Israeli must not hesitate. "This awful attack today is definitely an opportunity, the correct opportunity to implement the cabinet decision to get rid of Arafat," he said.
Sharon Moves to Grab More West Bank Land
The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported on Sept. 30 that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has determined that the separation fence, better known as the Berlin Wall of the Middle East, will include the West Bank settlements of Ariel, Kedumim, Karnei Shomron and Emmanuel on the "Israeli" side of the barrier, security chief in Ariel, Eli Shaviro, said. Ariel is the largest West Bank settlement, with 18,000 residents. The policy is explicitly contrary to the position of the United States. These settlements are located deep in the West Bank, and including them within the wall cuts off a huge area.
The topic of the fence was much discussed between National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell and Sharon's top crony, Dov Weisglass, in the past weeks. Rice had voiced concern that the fence posed an obstacle to the road map.
Speaking before the Likud faction at the Knesset, Sharon said, "The separation fence will be built east of Ariel and east of Kedumin. If we reach a certain point when the issue again arouses differences, we will again meet and sit with the Americans."
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz backed Sharon's statement by saying, "The fence's route will encompass 40,000 Israelis and 4,000 Palestinians." But he did not mention how much farm land and other land it would be stealing from the Palestinians.
Turkish Military Plans To Send Troops to North Iraq
The Turkish military has plans to deploy troops in northern Iraq, as part of the U.S. led occupation, the Turkish Daily News reported Oct. 1. The proposed area for Turkish troops involves an area between the northern cities of Kirkuk, Irbil and Tikrit, extended to the northern edge of the capital city of Baghdad, to the Syrian-Jordanian border area.
The Turkish General Staff made this proposal Sept. 26, according to the TDN. The area between Irbil and Kirkuk, which they propose deploying to, is currently controlled by the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). The Kurds have said they would refuse any deployment of Turkish troops in the northern Kurdish area. The U.S. is to give its response sometime this week.
Top U.S. Commander in Iraq Admits Resistance is Organized
Reuters reported Oct. 2 that U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, has acknowledged signs that the Iraqi resistance is building up far-reaching command structures, and is carrying out increasingly sophisticated attacks weakly echoing Lyndon LaRouche's contention of an organized national Iraqi resistance to the U.S.-led occupation. Gen. Sanchez told a news conference: "The enemy has evolved. It is a little bit more lethal, little bit more complex, little bit more sophisticated and in some cases, a little bit more tenacious."
"We should not be surprised if one of these days we wake up to find there's been a major firefight or a major terrorist attack," he warned. "We are still fighting," he said; on average, 3-6 soldiers were being killed each week, and about 40 wounded.
Sanchez said there was increasing coordination in attacks, by an enemy often "embedded in the population."
"It's clear that there's local command and control that's operating," he said. "We are still not seeing national command and control structures, and the regional structures there are some indications that that's beginning to evolve." These candid admissions by Gen. Sanchez strongly contradict statements coming out of senior Pentagon civilians in Washington, including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
Carnegie Endowment President in Iraq
Jessica Mathews, President of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, penned a Washington Post oped on Sept. 29, reporting on her recent visit to Iraq, warning that the situation inside occupied Iraq is blowing up. U.S. military spokesmen told a visiting delegation, the week of Sept. 21-28, that the average number of attacks against U.S. forces and convoys has increased in recent weeks from 13 to 22 per day, according to Mathews, who was part of the predominantly retired military delegation. She likened the U.S. occupation fiasco to "the French in Algeria, the British in Northern Ireland, the Russians in Chechnya, and the Israelis in the West Bank," with no military solution possible.
Mathews said military leaders think more troops would not help; one said "More people are more targets." She pointed out that "de-Ba'athification," the exclusion of Sunnis from a voice in the U.S.-run scheme of things, and the dispersal of the Iraqi army, has simply fed the ranks of anti-U.S. fighters.
See USA Digest for EIR's exclusive report on the Carnegie Endowment forum where Mathews and other Carnegie experts presented their findings.
U.S. Paid Chalabi $1 Million for Bum Intelligence
The New York Times reported Sept. 29 that the U.S. government paid $1 million for so-called intelligence from Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress, prior to the Iraq war, but it proved to be worthless, according to a classified Defense Intelligence Agency report obtained by the Times. The DIA was tasked to deal with this "intelligence" at a certain point. Chalabi's gang arranged interviews with defectors, but many were not the top Iraqi weapons of mass destruction scientists they claimed to be, according to the report. The DIA analysts say they cannot determine whether the informants deliberately attempted to mislead the U.S. government, or simply didn't know what they were talking about. The whole subject of the badly off-the-mark pre-war intelligence is now under investigation by several U.S. Congressional committees.
Hamas Claims Arabs Captured Mossad 'Hit Team'
The Jerusalem Post and Reuters reported on Oct. 2 that Hamas claims it captured a Mossad hit team in an Arab country. Hamas representative in Beirut, Lebanon, Mohammed Nazzal, told Reuters that an Israeli hit team that was planning to assassinate Hamas leaders, was arrested in an Arab country. He did not name which country, but it is believed to have been either Syria or Qatar.
"Hamas has received information that cells of the Israeli Mossad intelligence apparatus have started acting in some Arab countries to target Hamas's political leadership," Nazzal said. "An Arab country ... captured a Mossad cell preparing to undertake assassination operations." He added that Arab and foreign nationals were among those arrested, but not Israeli nationals. "Israel's failure in assassinating the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip pushed it to attempt its destruction in foreign arenas." But he added again, "The success of the security apparatuses in the Arab country where the cell was discovered confirms that the Mossad is not a legendary apparatus and that its terrorist schemes could be undermined."
The Israeli government refused to confirm or deny the story, only claiming they heard nothing of this nature.
Since Meir Dagan was appointed Mossad chief by Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the Mossad has conducted two or three assassinations in Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Warns of Israel Attack on Bushehr
The Jerusalem Post reported on Sept. 28 that Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi has warned of the threat of an Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear program, and declared that Iran would retaliate if attacked. Speaking on ABC's Sunday program "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" on Sept. 28, Kharrazi denied that Iran has "any program to produce weapons of mass destruction." Regarding Israel, Kharrazi said, "Israel knows if it commits such an action, there would be a reaction." He said Iran would not abandon its nuclear program, which he said was for peaceful purposes.
In his Washington Post interview, published online Oct. 4, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that the United States was pursuing an Iranian government initiative to reopen direct talks, to resolve the differences between the two countries. Powell acknowledged that meetings had already taken place between U.S. and Iranian officials, including during the recent session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Such prospects of U.S.-Iranian talks would not be well received by the Sharon government in Israel.
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