http://antiwar.com/blog/2013/03/08/ignore-threat-of-north-korean-nukes-obsess-over-threat-of-imaginary-iranian-nukes/
The Philippines government says they are not entirely clear what happened, but the rebels refused to turn over the captured troops and reiterated their demand for the Syrian government to abandon a nearby village to them in return for the hostages’ freedom.
Reports from the Syrian state media indicate that rebels rigged a bomb to the underside of Muhanna’s car while it was parked in the Mashru Dummar district, near a mosque. It was detonated, apparently remotely, when Muhanna attempted to drive away.
The three attackers were killed, and while they haven’t been identified yet all indications are that they were members of the Afghan military carrying out an “insider” attack, the first such attack against NATO troops in over a month.
Though Hagel included the typical “dangerous and difficult missions” ahead caveat, the comments may suggest that the newly appointed secretary may be leaning toward a smaller US presence in Afghanistan after 2014.
Ignore Threat of North Korean Nukes. Obsess Over Threat of Imaginary Iranian Nukes.
John Glaser, March 08, 2013
Phillip Weiss points out the conspicuous hypocrisy of Washington: whereas North Korea’s nukes aren’t a threat, Iran’s non-existant nukes are not only a threat, they’re a threat to our existence!
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has been one of the foremost hawks on Iran, repeatedly proposing new sanctions and constantly haranguing about the threat a (hypothetical) nuclear-armed Iran would pose. At AIPAC this past weekend, as Weiss points, Menendez declared (repeating the dominant slogan across Washington) even a nuclear capable Iran is a threat that cannot be contained and therefore must be prevented.
Weiss: “Then yesterday North Korea threatened to use nukes to turn Washington into a ‘sea of fire,’ and Menendez dismissed the threat as ‘absurd and suicidal;’ if North Korea attacks us, that’s the end of North Korea.”
Similarly, both the White House and the State Department have advised America todisregard North Korea’s threat. It’s basically an empty threat that is not credible, they explain.
So, let’s review:
EXISTENTIAL THREAT: Iran, which has never ever threatened to use nuclear weapons on the US or Israel, has never threatened preventive attack, and most importantly, does not have a nuclear weapons program and has so far demonstrated no intention of getting one.
PATHETIC NON-THREAT: North Korea, which has nuclear weapons and threatened to use them.
The Washington establishment is correct on this one: North Korea is not a threat. It’s a nuclear power that can be contained, and although its leadership behaves belligerently sometimes, they are not so irrational to use their paltry nuclear weapons arsenal on the world’s military superpower and current owner of the biggest nuke arsenal in the world. In any case, they do not have nuclear warheads that can reach the United States.
Iran is even less of a threat. Iran could also be contained and also would behave rationally with weapons. But, in fact, they don’t have nukes and have sworn upon the alter of god they will never pursue them.
Two things make the difference. First, US deference to the radical alarmism of the Israelis regarding the Iranian (non)threat makes the truth about Iran virtually unspeakable in Washington.
Second, Iran’s unwillingness to serve as an American puppet regime interferes with Washington’s aim to maintain hegemony in the resource-rich Middle East. In a word, oil. Oil is why the Iranian non-threat is transformed into an existential threat in America.
Unless, that is, Menendez has a better explanation for this rather obvious discrepancy.
Obama’s Israel visit is on - to sweeten pill of nuclear Iran
DEBKAfile Special Report March 9, 2013, 7:31 PM (GMT+02:00)
"We're coming" to Israel
President Barack Obama will visit Israel later this month, the 20th, even if Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fails to put together a governing coalition beforehand. "We're going," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a briefing for reporters Friday, March 9. In answer to a question, he said, "The formation of the Israeli government is the responsibility of Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior officials of the Israeli government..."
Secretary of state John Kerry thought otherwise when he skipped a visit to Israel as not worthwhile until a government is in place. (Netanyahu’s deadline for forming a government has been extended to March16.)
DEBKAfile reports from its Washington sources that President Obama’s calculations for making the trip are a lot more complicated than Kerry’s. According to some Israeli circles, none of them are good news for their country.
He arrives less than a month after the last Six-Power (US, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany) nuclear discussions with Iran ended in Kazakhstan. After those talks, US and Western media trumpeted “an unusual sense of optimism” or more cautiously allowed “a faint and perhaps fleeting light at the end of one of the world’s most durable tunnels.”
DEBKAfile reports from its Washington sources that President Obama’s calculations for making the trip are a lot more complicated than Kerry’s. According to some Israeli circles, none of them are good news for their country.
He arrives less than a month after the last Six-Power (US, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany) nuclear discussions with Iran ended in Kazakhstan. After those talks, US and Western media trumpeted “an unusual sense of optimism” or more cautiously allowed “a faint and perhaps fleeting light at the end of one of the world’s most durable tunnels.”
Western sources predicted on the strength of these assessments that the follow-up to Kazakhstan in April, shortly after Obama’s talks in Jerusalem, would be devoted to “cementing that progress,” which translated into rewarding putative nuclear concessions by Iran with the easing of economic sanctions.
However, according to DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources, this diplomatic fluff, while representing elation in Washington, London, Moscow, Paris and Berlin, caused serious disenchantment in Jerusalem, which viewed it as a smokescreen for concessions to, and not by, Iran.
They have found that the “fleeting light” appearing at the end of the Iranian nuclear tunnel obscures three dangerous US concessions to Tehran:
However, according to DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources, this diplomatic fluff, while representing elation in Washington, London, Moscow, Paris and Berlin, caused serious disenchantment in Jerusalem, which viewed it as a smokescreen for concessions to, and not by, Iran.
They have found that the “fleeting light” appearing at the end of the Iranian nuclear tunnel obscures three dangerous US concessions to Tehran:
1. President Obama has given in to the Fordo uranium enrichment plant continuing to operate instead of shutting down, as demanded by Israel – even though its function is to turn out 20 percent pure (near-weapons grade) uranium;
2. He has even consented to the Iranians continuing to manufacture uranium to that level;
3. Washington has dropped its insistence on Iran sending out of the country its stocks of 3.5-5 percent enriched uranium.
With these gains, the Iranian negotiators must have been laughing all the way home from their talks with the six big powers on 26-27 of February and crowing over what one Israeli official called "Tehran’s huge success and Israel’s total defeat.”
2. He has even consented to the Iranians continuing to manufacture uranium to that level;
3. Washington has dropped its insistence on Iran sending out of the country its stocks of 3.5-5 percent enriched uranium.
With these gains, the Iranian negotiators must have been laughing all the way home from their talks with the six big powers on 26-27 of February and crowing over what one Israeli official called "Tehran’s huge success and Israel’s total defeat.”
Conscious of how these concessions to the Islamic Republic are received in Jerusalem, it is no wonder that President Obama brushed off the invitation to address the Israeli Knesset, where lawmakers would likely put him on the spot. He has chosen instead to deliver a speech at Jerusalem’s Convention Center, so as to deliver his message straight to the Israeli public.
By going over the heads of Israel’s government and parliament to face a less informed audience, he believes he can get away with sweet-talking his surrender to a nuclear Iran.
Former military intelligence chief, Amos Yadlin stepped in with a timely comment last week when he said that an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities would be no more than a one-night operation.
Former military intelligence chief, Amos Yadlin stepped in with a timely comment last week when he said that an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities would be no more than a one-night operation.
So when Air Force One lands in Israel March 20 and Israeli dignitaries push forward to greet the US president, a small group of anonymous Air Force pilots will be watching from a distance, waiting for the order to fly out and carry out their mission in a single night.
After Jerusalem, President Obama continues to the Palestinian Authority and then Jordan.
and War on Terror BFF Terrorists commit acts of terror to make Syria free from terror of Assad or something...... just waiting for that AL Qaeda chemical attack .....
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/03/08/syrian-rebels-back-off-promise-to-release-un-troops/
Syrian Rebels Back Off ‘Promise’ to Release UN Troops
Officials Express Hope They Will Be Freed Soon
by Jason Ditz, March 08, 2013
UN officials continue to express hope that a deal to release the 21 Philippines soldiers captured by the Syrian rebel fights in the Golan Heights, but a previous rebel promise to release them Friday morning appears to have fallen through.
The Philippines government says they are not entirely clear what happened, but the rebels refused to turn over the captured troops and reiterated their demand for the Syrian government to abandon a nearby village to them in return for the hostages’ freedom.
The UN didn’t address the Friday morning failure, but says that a later promise to release them Friday night fell through because “due to the late hour and darkness” and hoped a new deal could come to release them on Saturday.
Rebels have hinted that they may keep the UN troops because of their value as human shields, claiming that the Syrian military could kill “as many as 1,000 people” in the area if they were free to attack, which owing to concern for the UN reaction to killing the hostages, they are not.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/03/08/syrian-rebels-bomb-top-damascus-officials-car-killing-him/
Syrian Rebels Bomb Top Damascus Official’s Car, Killing Him
Civilian Bystander Also Wounded in Blast Near Mosque
by Jason Ditz, March 08, 2013
Bombing attacks continue to be a favored tactic of rebel factions in Syria’s ongoing civil war, and Asaad Muhanna, the head of the Damascus Governor’s Office, was assassinated today in a bombing attack against his car.
Reports from the Syrian state media indicate that rebels rigged a bomb to the underside of Muhanna’s car while it was parked in the Mashru Dummar district, near a mosque. It was detonated, apparently remotely, when Muhanna attempted to drive away.
The blast killed Muhanna and wounded a bystander who was walking nearby. It also caused what was reported to be “significant” damage in the area. No group has yet claimed credit for the attack.
Rebels have favored the use of bombing attacks, particularly in Damascus, for the past several months, as a way to underscore their ability to cause damage in the heart of the Syrian government’s remaining territory. Though difficult to detect, the bombings have the downside of causing civilian casualties, sometimes in large numbers.
Joint US-Israel-Turkish-Jordanian HQ to operate in Syria in chemical war
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 8, 2013, 6:51 PM (GMT+02:00)
USS Truman on standby for chemical warfare
A new US-led contingency headquarters for joint US, IsraelU, Jordanian and Turkish operations will go into action inside Syria if any or all these allies should come under chemical or biological attack. Agreement to establish this headquarters was finalized at the talks US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel held with visiting Israeli defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Pentagon Tuesday, March 5.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Hagel spoke of a chemical war in Syria in terms of an imminent and realistic eventuality. Washington expected the Syrian rebels close to al Qaeda to initiate this type of warfare and the Syria army to fight back in kind. Such an exchange could quickly spill over the Syrian borders to its neighbors, it was likewise predicted.
The abduction of 21 UNDOP Filipino UN observers Wednesday, March 6, by the Islamist Martyrs of the Yarmouk, is now seen as tying in closely with the next plans of the Islamist militias of the Syrian rebel force, headed by Jabhat al-Nusra, which are to cement their grip on the Syrian Golan, eastern Syria and the Upper Euphrates, where the important towns of Deir Azor and Abu Kemal are situated.
The abduction of 21 UNDOP Filipino UN observers Wednesday, March 6, by the Islamist Martyrs of the Yarmouk, is now seen as tying in closely with the next plans of the Islamist militias of the Syrian rebel force, headed by Jabhat al-Nusra, which are to cement their grip on the Syrian Golan, eastern Syria and the Upper Euphrates, where the important towns of Deir Azor and Abu Kemal are situated.
Therefore, the parties involved in their release refute the optimistic accounts of the blue-helmeted hostages’ early release issuing from Damascus, UN headquarters in New York and Middle East capitals.
By strengthening their holdings in eastern Syria, the Islamist militias believe they would pave the way for the creation of an al Qaeda-dominated territorial entity, the first of its kind, ranging from the eastern outskirts of Damascus to the northern approaches to Baghdad.
Jabhat al Nusra, al Qaeda’s most effective combat force in Syria and Iraq, is determined to go through with this plan, even if it necessitates fighting with the chemical or biological weapons they have managed to get hold of.
The kidnappings of UN observers have attracted worldwide attention and put the Islamist camp now dominating the Syrian rebel movement on the map as a force to be reckoned with and respected – internally and internationally.
The US defense secretary warned his Israeli visitor that the intelligence data reaching him indicates that al Qaeda and its affiliates will prefer multiple chemical attacks inside Syria and across its borders for greater effect, rather than aiming for single targets. Each of the victimized countries will then have to decide whether to react at once, or wait for the member-governments under the new headquarters to get their act together for a collective response.
Our military sources add that the new headquarters places under one roof the American, Israeli, Turkish and Jordanian counter-WMD commands operating separately since last year in Tel Aviv, Ankara, Beirut, Amman and areas abutting Syria.
According to those sources, although US defense spending cuts have held up the overhaul and refitting of the USS Harry S. Truman carrier and its strike force and their departure for the Middle East, the ship and its air combat unit are nonetheless on standby for deployment in the event of chemical warfare raising its head in the Syrian conflict.
and wonderful War in Afghanistan moving forward , no problems there......
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/09/Suicide-blast-gunfire-in-Afghan-capital-during-Hagel-visit.html
Last Update: Saturday, 9 March 2013 KSA 11:36 - GMT 08:36
Taliban’s Kabul bombing ‘a message’ to U.S. defense chief Hagel
AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES -
A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed nine people outside the defence ministry in central Kabul on Saturday during a visit to the Afghan capital by new U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack.
“This was not a direct attack to target him but we want to send a message that we are always capable of hitting Kabul even when the top U.S. defense official is there,” Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP news agency by telephone.
One Afghan soldier covered in blood at the scene said he had helped carry five people from the attack site, where several cars were damaged and a wall was left pock-marked.
Gunfire erupted in central Kabul on Saturday after a suicide bomb exploded near the defense ministry during a visit to the city by Hagel.
“It was a suicide bomb followed by gunfire at the south gate of the defense ministry,” a spokesman for the NATO force said, according to AFP news agency.
There was no immediate word on casualties from the blast, or from the gunfire that followed.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman said Hagel was nowhere near the explosion. A U.S. defense official said Hagel was in a safe location at an ISAF facility.
The attack underscored the security challenges facing Afghanistan as U.S.-led NATO forces prepare to leave the country by the end of 2014.
There was no immediate word on casualties from the blast, or from the gunfire that followed.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman said Hagel was nowhere near the explosion. A U.S. defense official said Hagel was in a safe location at an ISAF facility.
The attack underscored the security challenges facing Afghanistan as U.S.-led NATO forces prepare to leave the country by the end of 2014.
Hagel landed in Afghanistan on Friday on an unannounced visit nine days after he was sworn into office, vowing to ensure a successful withdrawal of international troops.
Hagel arrived in Kabul as the U.S.-led military coalition prepares to pull out by the end of next year and leave Afghan security forces to battle the Taliban insurgency that has raged across the south and east of the country.
“We have a lot of big issues and challenges ahead as we prepare for a responsible transition,” he told reporters on his plane. “That transition has to be done right, it has to be done in partnership with the Afghans (and) with our allies.”
Hagel was sworn in last week as heavy cuts loom for the U.S. military, but he said that Americans realised that Afghanistan remained a major conflict zone with U.S. troops fighting against Islamist militants since the 9/11 attacks.
“We have 66,000 troops still at war in a combat zone, that reality is there,” he said. “I don’t minimise or marginalise anything just because we may be transitioning to a new phase, we’re still at war in Afghanistan.”
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/03/08/insider-attack-afghan-soldiers-attack-us-base-in-kapisa-kill-contractor/
Insider Attack: Afghan Soldiers Attack US Base in Kapisa, Kill Contractor
Soldiers Were in Afghan Army Uniforms, Driving Military Vehicle
by Jason Ditz, March 08, 2013
A group of three as-yet-unidentified Afghan soldiers, wearing full Afghan National Army uniforms and driving a military vehicle attacked a US base in the Kapisa Province this morning, forcing their way into the base and killing a US contractor, while wounding three additional US troops.
The three attackers were killed, and while they haven’t been identified yet all indications are that they were members of the Afghan military carrying out an “insider” attack, the first such attack against NATO troops in over a month.
The area around the base has seen its share of protests recently, as the Tagab District of Kapisa, where today’s attack took place, was also the site of a US night raid last month, in which NATO claimed to kill over a dozen “insurgents,” but where later revealed to have killed a number of innocent civilian bystanders.
There have been no claims of responsibility for the attack yet, which is unusual since the Taliban normally claims credit for anything resembling an insider attack whether they were actually involved or not. NATO has yet to comment on the incident beyond the initial report confirming the attack itself.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/03/08/hagel-us-goals-in-afghanistan-clear-and-achievable/
Hagel: US Goals in Afghanistan ‘Clear and Achievable’
May Suggest Support for Lower Troop Levels Post-2014
by Jason Ditz, March 08, 2013
Visiting Afghanistan today, new Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel expressed confidence in the ability of the Afghan government to “assume full responsibility for security by the end of 2014,” adding that it was “clear and achievable.”
Though Hagel included the typical “dangerous and difficult missions” ahead caveat, the comments may suggest that the newly appointed secretary may be leaning toward a smaller US presence in Afghanistan after 2014.
This would put him in opposition to Centcom head Gen. James Mattis, who earlier this week expressed support for a US and NATO deployment dramatically larger than what officials have been indicating was likely,calling for 13,600 US troops and 7,000 other NATO troops post-2014, more or less in perpetuity.
Hagel hasn’t specifically come out on the matter of specific troop levels, but has been seen as skeptical of open-ended military commitments and his suggestion of specific, finite goals may point to him setting the stage for an argument to reduce troop levels.
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