White House directs CIA to increase its cooperation and backing of Iraqi state militias - to fight Al Qaeda there and cut flow of Al Qaeda fighters to Syria ( where the GCC nations are arming and funding same fighters , which incidentally the US are training similar bands of islamic fighters in Jordan ) Can we decide whether we are with or against Al Qaeda ? Iran will submit a written promise not to seek a nuclear bomb - written promise is both worthless and won't matter regardless as to whether they are attacked .....Items of note pertaining to the politics of President Obama's Middle east swing - Israel , Palestinians and Security in focus....

CIA Boosts Support for Iraqi Militias

The White House's aim is to stem the flow of al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters pouring into Syria

by John Glaser, March 12, 2013

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The White House has directed the CIA to increase its cooperation and backing of Iraqi state militias to fight al-Qaeda affiliates there and cut off the flow of fighters pouring into Syria.

According to US intelligence, the Islamic militant group al-Qaeda in Iraq has for years been sending fighters over the border into Syria’s civil war in an attempt to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad. In Syria, the offshoot goes by the name of Jabhat al-Nusra, a group the State Department designated a terrorist organization last year.

To stem the flow of these fighters into Syria, the Obama administration has been employing the CIA to work with Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service, or CTS, a state militia bred and trained by the US prior to the withdrawal and which now answers directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The White House directed the CIA to support CTS in a series of secret orders from 2011 to late 2012, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Most Americans have been led to believe that all US forces besides those guarding the massive American Embassy in Iraq have been withdrawn since the end of last year.

In reality, US Special Operations Forces as well as the CIA have been providing this support to these elite Iraqi forces that report directly to the increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. They have essentially been used as a secret police force for Maliki to attack, detain, and torture his political opponents and crack down harshly on public dissent.

While the newly revealed CIA operations appear to be a way to undercut the foreign terrorist elements of the Syrian rebel opposition, the approach is riddled with potential complications.

For one thing, al-Qaeda in Iraq is itself an outgrowth of the US invasion and occupation. One particularly conspicuous consequence of this has been the overflow of terrorist groups into Syria’s unstable civil war. Further meddling on the side of Iraq’s unscrupulous security forces will likely cause similar unforeseen blowback in the future.

and........

Iran Will Submit Written Promise Never to Seek Nuclear Weapons

US Intelligence Director Confirms Iran Isn't Doing So

by Jason Ditz, March 12, 2013

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Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has confirmed that the nation intends to submit a written promise to the UN that their government will never attempt to acquire nuclear weapons.

Details were scant on the matter, but follow a religious fatwa from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei forbidding the acquisition of such a weapon as a binding matter for Iran’s Shi’ite majority.

The promise is hoped to placate Western nations that have been pressing for war against Iran for “seeking nuclear weapons,” even though Western intelligence agencies have repeatedly confirmed that they aren’t.

Indeed, that confirmation came again today by US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who testified to the Senate that Iran is not attempting to develop nuclear weapons and may never do so. Since this isn’t really “news” to officials privy to the intelligence, the real question is whether they can keep ignoring it with the pledge in the open.

Intel Chief: Iran Cannot Secretly Divert Nuclear Material for a Bomb and..... http://www.debka.com/article/22819/Iron-Dome-for-Obama%E2%80%99s-Israel-landing-%E2%80%93-in-case-of-al-Qaeda-chemical-attack Iron Dome for Obama’s Israel landing – in case of al Qaeda, chemical attack DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 13, 2013, 7:28 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags:  Barack Obama   Israel   Iron Dome   Al Qaeda   airport security  Iron Dome to guard Barack Obama's landing US President  Barack Obama’s first engagement upon landing in Israel on March 20 will be a quick tour of the Iron Dome missile interceptor stationed at Ben Gurion international airport. After a round of handshakes, the officers and men operating the system will explain how it works. The innovative counter-missile weapon is to be deployed there, not just as a spectacle to honor the US president for his contribution to its development, but out of necessity for his safety. Air Force One might be seen as fair game for the ground-to-ground missiles wielded by Al Qaeda units fighting Assad in Syria and its affiliates in the Sinai Peninsula at the very moment that the US President steps down to the strains of the IDF welcoming band.  In normal circumstances, personal security arrangements for a US presidential foreign visit are kept under close wraps and rarely visible to the public. This time, DEBKAfile’s counterterrorism sources report, the visit’s planners made an exception. They decided there was no option but to visibly install an Iron Dome battery inside the airport, because the first battery plus a Patriot interceptor stationed for more than two months north and south of Tel Aviv were not sufficient guarantee of security against rocket attack for President Obama’s arrival. This decision set up two precedents: 1. Air Force One will land on the Ben Gurion airport runway on March 20 enclosed by two defensive rings of US and Israeli missile interceptors in the densest formation ever to guard an American president's arrival in Israel. 2. The Iron Dome battery will stay in place for the three days of Obama’s visits to Israel and Jordan. It will defend Jerusalem’s air space against rocket attack for the duration of his stay. Still fresh in Israeli memories are Hamas attempts just five months ago to hit the airport and Jerusalem with rockets fired from the Gaza Strip on the orders of the Iranian general Gen. Hassan Shateri aka Hossam Khosh-Nevis. This Iranian officer was killed in January in Syria in unknown circumstances. No one in US and Israeli security circles is seriously suggesting that Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,  Syrian ruler Bashar Assad or Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah are planning to hit the Israeli airport with rockets on March 20. But neither is any responsible official prepared to expose the president to the slightest risk. After all, in the more than 120,000 square kilometers of the Damascus-Baghdad-Amman triangle and the 62,000 square kilometers of the Sinai Peninsula, it may be possible to find a jihadist commander willing to act on an order from al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zuwahiri to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden in on May 2 two years ago in Pakistan at the hands of American commandos. Both groups of security experts appreciate that Zuwahiri has the motive for punishing the US president for ordering his death and, for the first time, the capacity to reach him from al Qaeda-controlled territory with surface missiles loaded with poison chemicals. Even if their weapon did not touch President Obama, it would be enough for one to explode on an Israeli or Jordanian air field at the time of his arrival for the terrorist organization to chalk up a major strategic feat. and Israel's next government still in doubt ..... ‘Coalition Crisis’ Leaves Israel’s Next Govt in Doubt Kadima May Be Ousted in Final Deal by Jason Ditz, March 12, 2013 Print This | Share This Once sought to be a mere formality, the talks to finalize portfolios in the incoming Israel center-right government has turned into a full-scale political crisis, with Yesh Atid and Jewish Home trying to get as much as they can and Likud anger suggesting no deal is close. Yair Lapid, the Yesh Atid leader, is apparently set for the Finance Ministry, but his effort to secure the leadership of the parliamentary finance committee to go with it stalled after Jewish Homedemanding that position to give them some leverage over economic reforms. Looking for a consolation prize, Yesh Atid has sought the Education Ministry position for their number 2, Rabbi Piron. Likud is said to be furiouswith this demand, having been set to keep Minister Sa’ar in that position and terming the demand “arrogance” from the secular Lapid. Yesh Atid is expected to get 5 portfolios (topped by the Finance Ministry), Jewish Home 3 (topped by Bennett’s Trade Ministry), and Yisrael Beiteinu 4 (with the Foreign Ministry waiting for Avigdor Lieberman to avoid jail). That would leave Likud with 8 to divvy up amongst themselves and the smaller coalition members, and a previous promise to give Hatnua 2 is now being revisited, hoping they’ll settle for Tzipi Livni getting the Justice Ministry only. Then there’s Kadima The once enormous party is down to two seats, and leader Shaul Mofaz was expecting a ministry of some sort out of this deal. Likud’s leadership, notably Benjamin Netanyahu, never liked him in the first place, and there is now some speculation that they may simply be expelled from the coalition outright. If they are, that may well be the end of Kadima, as the majors in the incoming coalition have reportedly agreed on an even higher threshold for minor parties, doubling the number of votes they’d need to get into parliament at all. The move would have Kadima, along with the three Arab parties, on the outside looking in, and while a simple merger of lists might keep the Arabs in the Knesset, Kadima has no such options and, as a voiceless opposition party, would almost certainly end up just another “threshold” party, hoping to get lucky and sneak into the Knesset but almost certainly facing political extinction. and Hamas rattling sabers .... Hamas: ‘Declaration Of War’ If Obama Visits Temple Mount March 12, 2013 10:18 AM A Palestinian man prepares to throw a snowball outside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem on Jan. 10, 2013. (credit: AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP)  — Hamas is warning that if President Obama visits the Temple Mount it would be a “declaration of war” against the Islamic world. Israel National News reports the terror group made the threat during a protest march at the religious site following riots on Friday. Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas spokesman, called for a third intifada if Obama visits the contested religious site in Jerusalem’s Old City between Israelis and Muslims. Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovich believes the warning will lead to violence flaring up in the region ahead of the president’s visit. “The Palestinians have not said the final word yet and we expect that there will be attempts to take advantage of the upcomingevents, like the visit by Barack Obama, in order to continue the violence,” Aharonovich told Israel National News. White House officials have said Obama doesn’t plan on visiting the Temple Mount during his trip. Both Israelis and Muslims have claimed sovereignty over the Temple Mount since Israel liberated the site during the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel left the Waqf in charge of the compound. Obama met with about 10 leaders of Arab American groups on Monday, encouraging the president to deliver a message of hope to the Palestinian people. “[T]here are opportunities for him to say things that get into the public discourse about America’s commitment to them, about America’s understanding of their situation,” Jim Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, told The Associated Press. Following the meeting, the White House said Obama told the group that his trip was not meant to resolve a specific policy issue, but that it was an opportunity for Obama to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the Palestinian people. Obama told them he intends to reiterate the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and to discuss regional concerns – including Syria – with Jordan’s leadership, the White House said.