In this issue:

New Revelations: Kissinger, Schlesinger Planned Seizure of Mideast Oil Fields in 1973

Saddam Capture Does Not Halt Insurgency

Syria Files Resolution for Nuclear-Free Middle East

Israel Considering Attack on Iran's Bushehr Reactor

Israel Prosecutes Rabbi for Standing Against Bulldozers

From Volume 3, Issue Number 1 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published Jan. 6, 2004
Mideast News Digest

New Revelations: Kissinger, Schlesinger Planned Seizure of Mideast Oil Fields in 1973

Henry Kissinger and James Schlesinger, two members of the Pentagon nest of Iraq warmongers—the Defense Policy Board, headed until April 2003 by neo-conservative Richard Perle—planned in 1973 to seize oil fields in the Middle East, reveal newly declassified British documents, according to reports by BBC, the London Guardian, and the Washington Post. The Nixon Administration, and particularly Richard Nixon's Defense Secretary Schlesinger and Secretary of State Kissinger, were contemplating a military seizure of Middle East oil fields during the 1973 oil crisis, British intelligence reports show.

A Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) report prepared for then-Prime Minister Edward Heath in December 1973, said that U.S. officials were considering an airborne military operation to seize oil fields in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and possibly Abu Dhabi, to be followed by a period of occupation of at least 10 years.

These discussions came after Arab OPEC member countries had imposed a boycott on the U.S. and other Western countries, to pressure them to force Israel to withdraw from Arab territories seized during the 1973 war.

Schlesinger had told the British Ambassador to the U.S., Lord Cromer, that the U.S. could not tolerate being subjected to the "whims of under-populated, under-developed countries," particularly in the Middle East. Cromer got the clear impression from Schlesinger that "it might not ... be possible to rule out a more direct application of military force." The JIC report said that "the American preference would be for a rapid operation conducted by themselves to seize oilfields."

Kissinger stated on Nov. 21, 1973, that, "It is clear that if pressures continue unreasonably and indefinitely, then the United States will have to consider what countermeasures it may have to take." In his memoirs, Kissinger said that, "These were not empty threats," and that he had ordered contingency studies "on countermeasures," if the embargo continued.

In a 1982 speech to the British Establishment's Chatham House, Kissinger boasted that when he served as U.S. Secretary of State, he kept the British Foreign Office better informed than he did U.S. institutions, including the White House.

Saddam Capture Does Not Halt Insurgency

On New Year's Eve, just hours after the U.S. Commander in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, reported that the city was safer after the capture of Saddam Hussein, a car bomb blew up outside an upscale Baghdad restaurant, killing eight, and injuring more than 30, including three Los Angeles Times reporters. The same night, another car bomb in Baghdad killed one Iraqi child and injured 21, including five U.S. Army soldiers and five Iraqi militiamen; another Baghdad bomb wounded three American soldiers and three Iraqis.

Dempsey had bragged that, after more than 80 American servicemen were killed in action, in Iraq, in November, "only" 38 more died in action in December. He is being criticized for mimicking Bush's foolish announcement of the "end of major combat," made beneath a banner reading "Mission Accomplished," on the deck of an aircraft carrier, on May 1, 2003.

To the contrary, senior military officers are expressing great concern to EIRNS about the pattern of the casualties, some of which are reported in media stories.

Associated Press reported Jan. 1, that deaths among reservists in Iraq shot up dramatically in December: they were 14% of the total of U.S. casualties in November; 14% overall since the war began; but more than 25% of the total killed in December.

The rotation planned for early 2004 will increase the percentage of reservists from the current 20% to 40%. This includes three National Guard combat infantry brigades.

On Dec. 28, the Washington Post reported that the rate of U.S. casualties has increased. Between May 1 and the end of August, 65 U.S. service members were killed in action in Iraq. But, from Sept. 1 to the day after Christmas, 145 were killed.

The number of wounded has also increased dramatically, from 574 between May 1 and Aug. 30, to 1,209 between Sept. 1 and Dec. 26. And, since Saddam Hussein's capture on Dec. 13 through Dec. 26, twelve soldiers were killed and another 105 wounded.

One of the real scandals is that no media coverage is allowed, by Pentagon directive, of the wounded who are flown into Andrews Air Force Base every night, or of the bodies of the dead arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. If the number of casualties is so small as to be politically unimportant, as pro-war pundits say, why is the Pentagon so afraid of media coverage?

Syria Files Resolution for Nuclear-Free Middle East

Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations, Fayssad Mekdad filed a resolution in the UN Security Council Dec. 29, calling for a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East, less than 72 hours before Syria's two-year term on the UNSC expires Dec. 31. Algeria will take over as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for a two-year term starting Jan. 1, and has pledged to press forward with the resolution.

Speaking to reporters Dec. 29, Ambassador Mekdad said of the timing of a UNSC vote that, "We are giving members of the Security Council time to consult with their capitals. We will have to wait and see what the next step will be." He added that the resolution was introduced by Syria on behalf of the 22 Arab countries at the UN, the 117 members of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the 54 members of the Organization of Islamic Conference. If the UNSC fails to vote on the resolution by Dec. 31, Algeria "will continue to pursue the objectives of the resolution."

Israel is the principal target of the resolution, and remains the only regional nation not to have signed the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). Reports on the closed-door debate on the resolution on Dec. 29 indicated that only six of the 15 UNSC members spoke in support of the resolution, three short of the nine votes needed to vote up the resolution. Pakistan, France, Britain, Germany, Bulgaria, and the USA, also had reservations, according to a diplomat who attended the session, and added that Syria had further urged the UNSC to require Israel to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction. Sources say that participant believe a resolution would be pointless if the USA did not exert pressure on Israel to cooperate.

In Washington, State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli responded to this initiative, with the limp comment, "as an overall objective, we would like to see a region free of weapons of mass destruction." The UNSC resolution is the first text put before the UNSC to call for adherence to all relevant treaties, and would involve the UNSC "in adopting a global approach to countering the spread of all weapons of mass destruction in the countries of the Middle East without exception" (emphasis added). It also urges countries to adopt the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The UN General Assembly has already adopted a "nuclear-free Mideast" resolution.

Israel Considering Attack on Iran's Bushehr Reactor

"Israel is reportedly considering destroying Iran's nuclear capability," UPI wire service reported on Dec. 21. The brief story quoted both Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Mossad chief Meir Dagan on the possible strike, and reported, quoting an Australian source, that "Dagan said Israel has discovered Iran is close to finishing construction of a uranium enrichment plant that could eventually give it the capacity to build around a dozen nuclear bombs."

A day later, IRNA, Iran's wire service, reported that Iranian "President Mohammad Khatami, on Dec. 22, brushed aside speculation about a likely U.S. attack against Iran and Syria, while he laughed off the Israeli Defense Minister's revelation about Israel's plan to destroy Tehran's nuclear capabilities. "He made a damn mistake," the Iranian President retorted with a smile, when asked to comment on the statements made by Shaul Mofaz, who had been cited as saying that "the necessary steps will be taken if a decision is made to destroy Iran's nuclear capability."

Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was even less polite, saying, "If Israel were to attack, it would be dealt a retaliatory blow, which it would never forget.

Members of Israel's Elite Commando Force Refuse To Serve in Occupied Lands

Israeli reservists from the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces declared their refusal to serve in the Occupied Territories, in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Dec. 21. This is the third such letter signed by members of the Israeli Defense Forces, and is signed by 13 soldiers, including officers up to the rank of major; it said:

"We, citizens who serve in active reserve duty, fighters and officers, Sayeret Matkal veterans, have chosen to join the forward guard in the manner we have been trained. With grave concern for the future of Israel as a democratic Zionist and Jewish state, and with concern for her moral image—we can no long stand aside.

"We tell you today:

"We shall no longer lend our hand to the subjugation taking place in the territories.

"We shall no longer lend our hand to the quelling of human rights of millions of Palestinians.

"We shall no longer serve as a defense shield for the settlements campaign.

"We shall no longer deface our human image as an army of occupation.

"We shall no longer deny our commitment as fighters in the Israel Defense Forces.

"We fear for the destiny of the children of this land, exposed to an evil that is unnecessary, and to which we have lent our hands. We have long transgressed the border of soldiers ... and have become warriors suppressing another nation. We shall cross this border no more!

"We stress and state: We shall continue to protect the State of Israel and the security of its people from all enemies. 'He who dares—wins' " (This quote from the motto of the British SAS.)

One of the signers told Israel's Channel 1 News that insubordination can lead to the disintegration of society, "But Israeli society is disintegrating anyway. I can only hope that the brakes we are applying" will slow it down.

Another signer, a Major, told Channel 1, "I was sent to suppress another nation. I was sent to be an occupying army. I don't know what the political solution to this war is ... [but] I cannot bury my head in the sand."

Israel Prosecutes Rabbi for Standing Against Bulldozers

Israeli Rabbi Arik Ascherman, a member of Rabbis for Human Rights, will be put on trial Jan. 14, facing two counts of standing in front of bulldozers which were demolishing Palestinian homes on the outskirts of Jerusalem. He proudly reports, "the RHR board made the bold decision not to plea bargain, but rather, in the best tradition of civil disobedience, to put the very policy of home demolitions on trial." The latest round of demolitions is "for lack of building permit."

On March 16, 2003, American Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an IDF bulldozer, while attempting to save a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip.

For trial-related reasons, Rabbi Ascherman currently only admits to losing his yarmulke (kippah). In his essay, "There Is a Kippah in the Rubble," posted by The Shalom Center, he writes: "There isn't much in the rubble of those houses, as the families succeeded in removing most of their belongings. It is not like some of the demolitions where we find children's toys, clothes, and schoolbooks among the rubble. However, there is a kippah, and I feel that it means something. Perhaps it symbolizes the trampling and burial of the Jewish values I grew up believing in. Perhaps it means the opposite. Perhaps it symbolizes the fact that there were Jews who stood against this injustice, in the name of Torah."

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