http://www.debka.com/article/22250/Jalili-in-Damascus-underscores-Iran%E2%80%99s-commitment-to-Assad
http://www.infowars.com/barak-confidant-israel-has-decided-to-attack/
and.......
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32098.htm
and if Romney goes with Gen Pet as his VP , does that make an October surprise more likely ?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185022/Has-Mitt-Romney-picked-Gen-David-Petraeus-vice-president.html
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185022/Has-Mitt-Romney-picked-Gen-David-Petraeus-vice-president.html#ixzz22u9wyknO
Jalili in Damascus underscores Iran’s commitment to Assad
DEBKAfile Special Report August 7, 2012, 9:20 PM (GMT+02:00)
Saeed Saeed Jalili and Bashar Assad - closer than ever
Tehran gave Bashar Assad its strongest avowal of support Tuesday, Aug. 7, while heaping threats on the heads of his enemies. Saeed Jalili, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stood alongside the Syrian ruler in Damascus at the end of their talks and vowed not to let Iran’s “close partnership with the Syrian leadership to be shaken by the uprising or external foes” or the “axis of resistance (Iran, Syria, Hizballah) be broken in any way.” Assad then affirmed his determination to purge Syria of violence and bring his forces to victory.
DEBKAfile: When Iranian and Syrian leaders refer to “external foes,” they mean the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel.
Jalilii was sent to Damascus to publicly and unambiguously display Iran’s commitment to save Assad from being overthrown either by internal or external forces. He arrived from Beirut after a conference Monday with Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Iranian official most likely laid before the Syrian ruler plans for the responses of the three allies to coming events in the Syrian conflict.
DEBKAfile reported earlier Tuesday:
DEBKAfile: When Iranian and Syrian leaders refer to “external foes,” they mean the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel.
Jalilii was sent to Damascus to publicly and unambiguously display Iran’s commitment to save Assad from being overthrown either by internal or external forces. He arrived from Beirut after a conference Monday with Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Iranian official most likely laid before the Syrian ruler plans for the responses of the three allies to coming events in the Syrian conflict.
DEBKAfile reported earlier Tuesday:
Tehran is not done with threats after shaking its fist at Israel: Tuesday, Aug. 7, Iranian Armed Forces Chief Gen. Hassan Firuzabadi pointed at Ankara and other Middle East capitals when he declared: “Turkey will be next in line for violence after Syria if it continues to work on behalf of Western interests.”
He went on to assert that “Ankara is toeing the Western (American) line in the region, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They are therefore accountable for the bloodshed in the Arab Republic [Syria]”
The Iranian army chief warned: “If those nations carry on this way, they should realize that Turkey is the next in line.” He was in fact holding them all responsible for a potential outbreak of war with Turkey.Spreading around responsibility for violence with accompanying threats appears to be Iran's latest diplomatic ploy.
The Iranian army chief warned: “If those nations carry on this way, they should realize that Turkey is the next in line.” He was in fact holding them all responsible for a potential outbreak of war with Turkey.Spreading around responsibility for violence with accompanying threats appears to be Iran's latest diplomatic ploy.
Earlier Tuesday, Tehran passed a message to Washington in which the United States was held responsible for the lives of the 48 Iranians nabbed by Syrian rebels in Damascus last week. The message was dropped off at the Swiss embassy in Tehran which handles US interests in the absence of diplomatic ties. It denied that the hostages were Revolutionary Guardsmen and insisted they were pilgrims to Shiite shrines in Syria. All the countries “supporting current events in Syria, starting with the US,” would be held responsible for their safety by Tehran.
The rebel Free Syrian Army‘s Al-Baraa Brigade has threatened to execute its Iranian “prisoners” if Syrian army shelling continues against Aleppo. Three were reported already dead as a result of that shelling.
Gen. Firuzabadi addressed his threat to Turkey shortly before the arrival in Ankara of Iran’s foreign minister, Ali-Akbar Salehi, in the hope of galvanizing the Turks into forcing the Syrian rebels to let go of their Iranian hostages.
Tehran now holds at least three nations, the US, Turkey and Israel, in peril of military action in the context of the Syrian conflict. Israel was the object of the first threat of engulfment by the "Syrian fire."
Director of Iran’s National Security Council Saeed Jalili arrived Monday in Beirut for urgent talks with Hizballah leaders, as disclosed by DEBKAfile in an earlier report.
The rebel Free Syrian Army‘s Al-Baraa Brigade has threatened to execute its Iranian “prisoners” if Syrian army shelling continues against Aleppo. Three were reported already dead as a result of that shelling.
Gen. Firuzabadi addressed his threat to Turkey shortly before the arrival in Ankara of Iran’s foreign minister, Ali-Akbar Salehi, in the hope of galvanizing the Turks into forcing the Syrian rebels to let go of their Iranian hostages.
Tehran now holds at least three nations, the US, Turkey and Israel, in peril of military action in the context of the Syrian conflict. Israel was the object of the first threat of engulfment by the "Syrian fire."
Director of Iran’s National Security Council Saeed Jalili arrived Monday in Beirut for urgent talks with Hizballah leaders, as disclosed by DEBKAfile in an earlier report.
http://www.infowars.com/barak-confidant-israel-has-decided-to-attack/
Barak Confidant: Israel Has Decided to Attack
Richard Silverstein
Aug 7, 2012
Aug 7, 2012
Former Labor party minister, Uzi Baram, wrote a column in Yisrael HaYom today that urges Israel’s leadership to tell the people clearly what lies in store when they execute an expected attack on Iran. What is most striking about the article is this:
Recently, I’ve come to believe that the leaders of the State have decided to act [attack Iran].
A trusted Israeli source tells me that Baram learned this from none other than a close confidant of Ehud Barak. In other words, Barak has begun to tell his closest friends that Israel is going to war. Before hearing this, I thought chances of an Israeli attack were 70-30. Now I believe they are 85-15.
Another interesting focus of Baram’s article is the economic fallout that such an attack will generate. Though he speaks in terms familiar to anyone who’s read Meir Dagan’s warnings on this subject, the columnist focuses specifically on economic issues. He warns a strike will bring an end to international investment in Israeli business and a halt to the flourishing tourism industry:
Every Israeli citizen should know that what has been will not be in the future…It will mean the end of today’s Israel.…It’s no secret what will happen. If we attack, the Iranians will respond in kind. The western and Muslim world, including Iran’s allies and enemies, will tighten the “siege belt” around us.
In effect, Baram is warning that a BDS-like state of siege will descend on Israel. It won’t be fueled by moral arguments against Occupation as the current BDS movement is. It will be fueled by an even more potent fuel: outrage at Israel’s aggression against Iran.
and.......
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32098.htm
Obama's October Surprise: Bombing Iran
By Jacob HeilbrunnAugust 06, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- A devastating strike would create an upsurge of patriotism in America and fully neutralize Mitt Romney's contention that Obama is a foreign-policy wimp. It could allow Obama to sweep to victory in November.
By Jacob HeilbrunnAugust 06, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- A devastating strike would create an upsurge of patriotism in America and fully neutralize Mitt Romney's contention that Obama is a foreign-policy wimp. It could allow Obama to sweep to victory in November.
Will he do it?
One reason he might is that Mitt Romney is singlehandedly pushing the entire debate about Israel and Iran to the right. The parameters have changed markedly. As TNI editor Robert Merry and others have noted, Romney's efforts to ingratiate himself with Jewish donors and voters have prompted him to suspend any notion of an independent American foreign policy in the Middle East. Traditionally, the green or red light for military action has come from America, at least when it comes to actions that directly impinge upon American interests. Ronald Reagan, for instance, successfully demanded that Israel halt its attacks on Lebanon in 1983. Romney, by contrast, has effectively promised to give Israel a veto power over military action, indicating that he will do whatever Benjamin Netanyahu wants. As Romney observed in December, he would never, ever criticize Israel. Instead, he would get on the phone with Prime Minister Netanyahu and ask, "What would you like me to do?" So it's fair to say that Romney would outsource his foreign policy to Netanyahu when it comes to Israel and its enemies.
What's more, anyone who thinks that Romney is bluffing should think again. It's no accident that his senior adviser on the Middle East is Dan Senor, a hard-line neoconservative. As the New York Times notes today, Romney relies upon him for advice and frequently cites his book Start-Up Nation. Senor wasn't dissembling when he said in Israel that Romney was prepared to endorse an attack on Iran—he simply got a little ahead of the program.
Obama has not been far behind in giving Netanyahu close to carte blanche. But he has not gone as far as Romney in endorsing the threat that Iran should be precluded from having the capability of building a nuclear weapon. But as Netanyahu champs, or tries to give the impression of champing, at the bit to bomb Iran, Obama must be weighing whether or not he should call Netanyahu out on his threats. So far, the Obama administration has been doing everything in its power to dissuade Israel from speedy action. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's visit to Israel was another sign that the administration is trying to reassure Israel of its commitment to its security. But his emphasis was on sanctions:
The most effective way to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is for the international community to be united, proving to Iran that it will only make itself less secure if it continues to try to pursue a nuclear weapon.
But as Romney calls for "any and all measures" to stop Iran, Obama surely could deflate his sails by launching a strike in October. If it worked, he would be hailed as a hero. The consequences of a strike wouldn't be felt for at least a few weeks—the nightmare scenario is that an oil shock would result in a quadrupling of oil prices, plunging the world into a new Great Depression. Enough time for Obama to sail back into office as a tough foreign-policy president. Given Obama's congenital caution and sobriety, he seems unlikely to follow such a course. But it should not be ruled out. The neocons may be closer to helping bring about an assault on Iran than even they realize. They've already captured Romney. But they may also be on the verge of capturing Obama. Their sustained campaign of pressure, in other words, may be more effective than anyone has acknowledged. For the fact is that Obama already has amply demonstrated his ruthlessness when it comes to confronting America's adversaries. If he were able to carry out regime change in Tehran, he might even start referring to himself as the new Decider.
and if Romney goes with Gen Pet as his VP , does that make an October surprise more likely ?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185022/Has-Mitt-Romney-picked-Gen-David-Petraeus-vice-president.html
Has Romney picked Gen David Petraeus to be his vice president? Report says Obama was overheard saying Mitt wants war hero as running mate
- Drudge Report says Barack Obama was overheard saying Romney was courting the popular general
- Petraeus was the most prominent military commander in the nation -- credited with stabilizing the Iraq War
- Tension between the general, who is now CIA director, and Obama over draw down of troops in Afghanistan
- Obama is thought to fear Petraeus' political power if he becomes a critic of the administration
- White House denies Obama ever mentioned Petraeus as possible vice presidential candidate
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Mitt Romney is courting Gen David Petraeus, the hero of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, to be his vice presidential pick, it was claimed today.
The Drudge Report cites an unnamed source who overheard President Barack Obama talking about the Republican candidate's desire to name Petraeus as his running mate.
It remains to be seen whether the four-star general, who is currently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, would even agree to such a proposition. In previous interviews he has said he has no interest in jumping into the political arena.
If Petreaus were tapped to be the Republican vice presidential nominee, it could shift the entire balance and momentum of the election -- electrifying Romney's campaign by picking a man regarded by most of the nation to be a war hero.
The pick: The Drudge Report says President Barack Obama believes Mitt Romney wants CIA Director David Petraeus to be his vice president
And Obama could find a fearsome political enemy in the retired general. The two men had a falling out after the president declined to follow Petreaus' advice on keeping American forces in Afghanistan longer.
The president is said to be nervous about giving Petreaus too much political power in his administration -- while at the same time worry about the damage he could mete out if he becomes an administration critic.
Drudge quotes an anonymous Democratic fundraiser, who says he overheard the president whispering this week about Romney courting Petreaus for the number two spot on the Republican ticket.
'The president wasn't joking,' the fundraiser told Drudge.
Romney is said to have met with Petraeus in New Hampshire, where both men have homes.
The White House swiftly batted down the report and said the president believes no such thing.
Game change: Picking the general, who has bipartisan popularity, could change the momentum of the race for Romney
'Warrior scholar': Petraeus, who holds a PhD in international relations from Princeton University, is regarded as the greatest military strategist so far this century
THE POLITICAL POWER OF THE 'WARRIOR SCHOLAR'
David Petraeus, 59, has become one of the most prominent military figures of the 21st century, thanks to a combination of political prowess and military savvy.
He was born in upstate New York and attended the West Point, where he graduated near the top of his class in 1974.
He quickly rose through the ranks as a promising Army officer and continued his education by earning a PhD in international affairs from the prestigious Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
His degree, along with combat command experience, led politicians and military officers to begin calling him the 'warrior scholar.'
In 1991, he was shot in the chest by an M-16 rifle when a soldier tripped during a live-fire exercise. After he recovery, he earned an early release from the hospital by impressing the doctors with 50 sit-ups.
He first gained combat prominence in 2003, when he commanded the 101st Airborne Division during the invasion of Iraq.
He became the father of modern American counterinsurgency after he oversaw the writing of the Army manual on the subject in 2007.
That spring, he was tapped by President George W Bush to employ his new tactics during the Iraq War 'surge,' which has been credited with stabilizing the country and allowing US forces to pull out.
The success of Petraeus' strategy, combined with his calm and diplomatic public persona, have made him enormously popular in Washington -- on both sides of the aisle.
In 2010, President Barack Obama tapped Petraeus to employ a similar strategy in Afghanistan.
He was appointed director of the Central Intelligence Agency and retired from the Army in 2011. The US Senate confirmed in with a 94-0 vote.
'I can say with absolute confidence, such an assertion has never been uttered by the president.' press secretary Jay Carney said during a daily press briefing.
'And again be mindful of your sources.'
The former Massachusetts governor overtly dodged a question about Petraeus while speaking with reporters this afternoon.
Allies describe Petraeus as a 'good soldier' who follows orders, but he and Obama had a falling out of sorts over the troop draw down in Afghanistan.
Petraeus opposed pulling American forces out of the war-torn nation when he was the top general in the country and asked the president to give the military more time to beat back the Taliban.
However, the president is believed to have listened to polls from a war-weary nation instead of his top general.
Petraeus confirmed that revelation during US Senate hearings on his appointment to the CIA.
The Romney campaign has been mum about its vetting process for the Republican vice presidential nominee.
Numerous names have been bandied around Washington, some seen as reasonable, others are long shots.
Petraeus, whose name had been mentioned by pundits but only in passing, is considered one of the long shots.
Ohio Sen Rob Portman is viewed as one of the most likely vice presidential picks.
Other possible names in the hat include: Florida Sen Marco Rubio, Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell, former Minnesota Gov Tim Pawlenty, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.
Petraeus could be a game-changer for Romney, who is beginning to trail Obama in some key battleground states.
The general hold a PhD in international relations from Princeton University and is celebrated as one of the greatest military strategists in a generation -- earning him the nickname the 'warrior scholar.'
He is wildly popular on both sides of the aisle. When Obama nominated him to lead the CIA, he passed senate confirmation with a 94-0 vote -- a nearly unprecedented unanimous vote in the heavily-divided Congress.
Petraeus is the author of the counterinsurgency strategy that turned the tide against insurgents in Iraq -- allowed US forces to leave the country with relative stability.
He also deployed the tactic in Afghanistan, to less success.
However, in 2011, he retired from the Army after a career that spanned four decades and assumed a post at the CIA.
When he took the CIA post, The Daily Beast speculated that Obama fears the political power Petraeus could wield.
Critics suggested promoting him to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the most powerful military officer in the nation, would have given him too large a podium -- one where he could control military policy by threatening to make disagreements public.
The Daily Beast also speculated that Obama feared Petraeus could become a deadly critic of the administration if he retired and entered public life.
Despite this, Petraeus has repeatedly denied he has political ambitions.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185022/Has-Mitt-Romney-picked-Gen-David-Petraeus-vice-president.html#ixzz22u9wyknO
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