Israel jets fly over E. Lebanon, head north over Beirut, after striking targets in Syria
DEBKAfile Special Report May 4, 2013, 12:48 PM (GMT+02:00)
Israeli troops in combat gear on Golan border
Israeli military activity is reported in Lebanon Saturday, May 4 and not just over Syria.
US sources said earlier Israeli warplanes had struck targets in Syria including a chemical weapons depot outside Damascus, firing missiles remotely from Lebanese air space and the Golan starting Friday and continuing up until early Saturday, May 3. An Israeli spokesman confirmed only an air strike in Syria against a shipment of long-range surface missiles.
The latest reports from Lebanon point to expanding Israeli military activity inside Lebanon as well.
They describe Israeli warplanes as flying “at a medium altitude over the Eastern and Western Mountain ranges of the Beqaa Valley.” DEBKAfile: Hizballah strongholds are located in this region which is close to the Syrian border. Other warplanes were described as heading north over Beirut.
US sources said earlier Israeli warplanes had struck targets in Syria including a chemical weapons depot outside Damascus, firing missiles remotely from Lebanese air space and the Golan starting Friday and continuing up until early Saturday, May 3. An Israeli spokesman confirmed only an air strike in Syria against a shipment of long-range surface missiles.
The latest reports from Lebanon point to expanding Israeli military activity inside Lebanon as well.
They describe Israeli warplanes as flying “at a medium altitude over the Eastern and Western Mountain ranges of the Beqaa Valley.” DEBKAfile: Hizballah strongholds are located in this region which is close to the Syrian border. Other warplanes were described as heading north over Beirut.
One Lebanese source claimed Israeli ground troops had descended from the Mt. Dov-Hermon range, crossed the Lebanese border and entered the Shebaa Farms region.
None of these reports are confirmed by Israel, Lebanon or Syria. But DEBKAfilenotes that if Israeli troops have indeed penetrated Lebanon to a depth of 5-7 kilometers and reached the Shebaa Farms, they have taken up positions opposite the 30 Syrian Shiite villages guarded by incoming Iranian elite Basij militiamen.
None of these reports are confirmed by Israel, Lebanon or Syria. But DEBKAfilenotes that if Israeli troops have indeed penetrated Lebanon to a depth of 5-7 kilometers and reached the Shebaa Farms, they have taken up positions opposite the 30 Syrian Shiite villages guarded by incoming Iranian elite Basij militiamen.
DEBKAfile reported exclusively Friday that thousands of Basij militiamen had just been airlifted from Iran to Syria, establishing an Iranian military presence opposite Israel from Syria as well as Lebanon. They joined a comparable number of Hizballah militiamen fighting for the Bashar regime.
Given the rush of adverse military developments across Israel’s northern borders, its operations in Syria and Lebanon are expected to continue and even expand.
This is also indicated by last week’s mobilization of thousands of reservists for an event termed by the IDF spokesman “a military exercise” beginning Sunday, May 5 along Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon.
This is also indicated by last week’s mobilization of thousands of reservists for an event termed by the IDF spokesman “a military exercise” beginning Sunday, May 5 along Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon.
The spokesman was clearly trying to misdirect attention from Israel’s preparations for an important military operation by announcing a routine drill.
DEBKAfile adds: The initial claim by Syria, Iran and Hizballah of ignorance of any Israeli action is unlikely to hold up for long. They might keep up the act if the Israeli strike turned out to be a one-off against a single target - the picture the “Israeli official” tried to present after the event.
But if there is more to come, Bashar Assad, Ali Khamenei and Hassan Nasrallah will not let Israel go unchallenged. This threesome is undoubtedly on the phone at this moment working on their response.
DEBKAfile adds: The initial claim by Syria, Iran and Hizballah of ignorance of any Israeli action is unlikely to hold up for long. They might keep up the act if the Israeli strike turned out to be a one-off against a single target - the picture the “Israeli official” tried to present after the event.
But if there is more to come, Bashar Assad, Ali Khamenei and Hassan Nasrallah will not let Israel go unchallenged. This threesome is undoubtedly on the phone at this moment working on their response.
Some of the earlier reports by US media claimed Israeli jets were seen Saturday before dawn circling over Assad's presidential compound in Damascus before moving on to target a weapons site. The Israeli jets reportedly received fire but returned to base unscathed.
DEBKAfile’s military sources added that the start of the Israeli air force operation could have been fixed precisely by the sirens which went off suddenly over the Golan Friday afternoon and again before dawn Saturday. The IDF spokesman said they were set off by a “technical glitch.” They now prove to have been triggered automatically by Israeli aerial movements. For five days, Lebanon has been reporting Israeli warplane intrusions of its air space.
http://www.infowars.com/israeli-airstrikes-signal-western-desperation-in-syria/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/obama-says-if-more-evidence-of-chemical-weapons-in-syria-is-found-us-will-present-it-to-world/2013/05/03/59711f50-b44b-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_print.html
Asked about Syria at a news conference in Costa Rica, Obama said: “We will stay on this.”
He says if systematic use of chemical weapons in Syria is confirmed, the United States will present that evidence to the international community, because it concerns the entire world.
But Obama declined to say what action the U.S. might take. He called for caution to avoid unintended consequences. In his words, “It’s important for us to do it right.”
http://www.infowars.com/israeli-airstrikes-signal-western-desperation-in-syria/
Israeli Airstrikes Signal Western Desperation in Syria
Tony CartalucciInfowars.com
May 4, 2013
May 4, 2013
Once again, Israel is “leaking” information about alleged airstrikes it claims it has conducted against Syria along the Lebanese-Syrian border. According to CNN’s “Sources: U.S. believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria,” it was stated that:
The United States believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria, two U.S. officials tell CNN.
And:
The Israelis have long said they would strike at any targets that prove to be the transfer of any kinds of weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorist groups, as well as at any effort to smuggle Syrian weapons into Lebanon that could threaten Israel.
This was the same flimsy pretext used in an earlier alleged Israeli attack on Syrian territory earlier this year.
In reality, the “other terrorists groups” Israel claims to worry about, are indeed funded and directed by the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia as part of a long-standing, documented conspiracy to overthrow the nations of Iran and Syria.
Reported by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in his 2007 New Yorker article, “The Redirection,” it was stated (emphasis added):
Reported by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in his 2007 New Yorker article, “The Redirection,” it was stated (emphasis added):
“To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.”
Of Israel it specifically stated:
“The policy shift has brought Saudi Arabia and Israel into a new strategic embrace, largely because both countries see Iran as an existential threat. They have been involved in direct talks, and the Saudis, who believe that greater stability in Israel and Palestine will give Iran less leverage in the region, have become more involved in Arab-Israeli negotiations.”
Additionally, Saudi Arabian officials mentioned the careful balancing act their nation must play in order to conceal its role in supporting US-Israeli ambitions across the region:
“The Saudi said that, in his country’s view, it was taking a political risk by joining the U.S. in challenging Iran: Bandar is already seen in the Arab world as being too close to the Bush Administration. “We have two nightmares,” the former diplomat told me. “For Iran to acquire the bomb and for the United States to attack Iran. I’d rather the Israelis bomb the Iranians, so we can blame them. If America does it, we will be blamed.””
This, in fact, reveals the true nature of the attacks, a result of US, Saudi, and Israeli proxies failing inside of Syriaand the desperate need to carryout military intervention to save them, while leaving intact whatever remaining legitimacy and plausible deniability the US holds globally, and Saudi Arabia holds across the Muslim World.
What Israel’s Strike May Really Mean
Indeed, Israel’s explanation as to why it struck neighboring Syria is tenuous at best considering its long, documented relationship with actually funding and arming the very “terrorist groups” it fears weapons may fall into the hands of.
In reality, the pressure placed on Syria’s borders by both Israel and its partner, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey in the north, is part of a documented plan to relieve pressure on the Western, Israeli, Saudi-Qatari armed and funded terrorists currently collapsing inside Syria.
The Fortune 500-funded (page 19), US foreign-policy think-tank, Brookings Institution – which has blueprinted designs for regime change in Libya as well as both Syria and Iran – stated this specifically in their report titled, “Assessing Options for Regime Change.”
Image: The Brookings Institution, Middle East Memo #21 “Assessing Options for Regime Change (.pdf),” makes no secret that the humanitarian “responsibility to protect” is but a pretext for long-planned regime change.
….
Brookings describes how Israeli efforts in the south of Syria, combined with Turkey’s aligning of vast amounts of weapons and troops along its border to the north, could help effect violent regime change in Syria:
“In addition, Israel’s intelligence services have a strong knowledge of Syria, as well as assets within the Syrian regime that could be used to subvert the regime’s power base and press for Asad’s removal. Israel could posture forces on or near the Golan Heights and, in so doing, might divert regime forces from suppressing the opposition. This posture may conjure fears in the Asad regime of a multi-front war, particularly if Turkey is willing to do the same on its border and if the Syrian opposition is being fed a steady diet of arms and training. Such a mobilization could perhaps persuade Syria’s military leadership to oust Asad in order to preserve itself. Advocates argue this additional pressure could tip the balance against Asad inside Syria, if other forces were aligned properly.” -page 6, Assessing Options for Regime Change, Brookings Institution.
Of course, airstrikes inside Syria go beyond “posturing,” and indicate perhaps a level of desperation in the West who appear to have elected their chief villain, Israel, to incrementally “intervene” just as they had planned in regards to attacking Iran – also documented by Brookings in a report titled, “Which Path to Persia?”
In regards to Iran, in Brookings’ “Which Path to Persia?” report, it states specifically (emphasis added):
“Israel appears to have done extensive planning and practice for such a strike already, and its aircraft are probably already based as close to Iran as possible. as such, Israel might be able to launch the strike in a matter of weeks or even days, depending on what weather and intelligence conditions it felt it needed. Moreover, since Israel would have much less of a need (or even interest) in securing regional support for the operation, Jerusalem probably would feel less motivated to wait for an Iranian provocation before attacking. In short, Israel could move very fast to implement this option if both Israeli and American leaders wanted it to happen.However, as noted in the previous chapter, the airstrikes themselves are really just the start of this policy. Again, the Iranians would doubtless rebuild their nuclear sites. They would probably retaliate against Israel, and they might retaliate against the United States, too (which might create a pretext for American airstrikes or even an invasion).” -page 91, Which Path to Perisa?, Brookings Institution.
And in this statement we can gather insight behind both Israel’s otherwise irrational belligerent posturethroughout its brief history, as well as its more recent acts of unprovoked aggression against Syria. Israel’s role is to play the “bad guy.” As a regional beachhead for Western corporate-financier interests, it provides a “foot in the door” to any of the West’s many desired conflicts. By bombing Syria, it hopes to provoke a wider conflict – an intervention the West has desired and planned for since it tipped off Syria’s violent conflict in 2011.
For Syria and its allies – the goal now must be to deter further Israeli aggression and avoid wider conflict at all costs. If NATO’s proxy terrorist forces are as weak as they appear – incapable of tactical or strategic gains, and tapering off into desperate terrorist attacks, it is only a matter of time before NATO’s campaign grinds to a halt. As mentioned before, such a failure on NATO’s part will be the beginning of the end for it, and the Western interests that have been using it as a tool to achieve geopolitical hegemony.
Israel should be expected to commit to increasingly desperate acts to provoke Syria and Iran – as its leadership represent directly corporate-financier interests abroad, not the Israeli people, or their best interests (including peace and even survival). For the people of Israel, they must realize that their leadership indeed does not represent them or their best interests and is able, willing, and even eager to spend their lives and fortunes in the service of foreign, corporate-financier interests and global hegemony.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/obama-says-if-more-evidence-of-chemical-weapons-in-syria-is-found-us-will-present-it-to-world/2013/05/03/59711f50-b44b-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_print.html
Obama says if more evidence of chemical weapons in Syria is found, US will present it to world
By Associated Press,
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — President Barack Obama says the United States will keep pressure on Syria while investigating whether the government has used chemical weapons against its people, but that it must proceed carefully.Asked about Syria at a news conference in Costa Rica, Obama said: “We will stay on this.”
He says if systematic use of chemical weapons in Syria is confirmed, the United States will present that evidence to the international community, because it concerns the entire world.
But Obama declined to say what action the U.S. might take. He called for caution to avoid unintended consequences. In his words, “It’s important for us to do it right.”
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/05/03/us-mulls-different-ways-of-attacking-syria/
US Mulls Different Ways of Attacking Syria
Officials Say Attacking Chemical Stockpiles Probably the Worst Idea
by Jason Ditz, May 03, 2013
The Obama Administration is still letting out minor details about their plans to attack Syria today, with the latest being that they are considering different options for the type of attack to launch, including attacking Syrian planes or anti-aircraft systems.
Officials say they have “all but ruled out” attacking Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles, since it would be montrously stupid and would like cause “exactly the disaster you are trying to prevent.”
Attacks on Syria’s air defenses have been floated several times as an option, but isn’t nearly as easy as officials were making it out to be, since Syria has been acquiring a large amount of air defenses to fend off potential attacks.
In the end, officials say that several different options are on the table, and all of them except the obviously worst one are “more or less on equal footing.” Though recent polls have shown overwhelming American opposition to attacking Syria, it seems all of the “options” under consideration boil down to that in some form or other.
Iran news........
http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/856808.html
Iran set for fresh nuclear talks
Thu, 02 May 2013 6:04 PM
The EU's top diplomat Catherine Ashton will meet chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Istanbul on May 15 in a fresh effort to defuse international concern over Tehran's disputed nuclear drive.
Ashton's office said "the talks are a follow-up to the last round of negotiations held in Almaty" on April 5 and 6 that failed to produce an accord.
The EU foreign policy chief represents the five permanent UN security council members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - plus Germany in the so-called P5+1 talks aimed at reaching a deal on Iran's nuclear programme.
Ashton said after two days of talks in the Kazakh city that the positions were still "far apart".
World powers had offered some easing of the sanctions that have hurt Iran's economy in the past two years, in return for Tehran accepting limits on its nuclear programme.
But Ashton said after that the world powers were still waiting to see "real engagement" from Iran over the proposal.
Iran insists on international recognition of what it says is its "right" to enrich uranium, a key component of the nuclear fuel cycle which can also be used to make the explosive core of an atomic bomb.
But the world powers insist on Tehran ending enrichment to high levels and verifiably suspending operations at the Fordo mountain bunker where such activity takes place before recognising Iran's rights to less threatening nuclear activities.
Iran has reportedly been offered the right to deal in some precious metals and perform small financial transactions now prohibited by the international sanctions. Tehran says it is being asked too much for too little in return.
The P5+1 grouping is especially worried about Iran's enrichment to levels of up to 20 percent and wants the Islamic republic to ship out the part of its 20-percent enriched uranium not converted into powder for reactor fuel.
Iran denies it is developing the atomic bomb and argues that it requires a nuclear programme solely for peaceful medical and energy needs.
Ashton's office said "the talks are a follow-up to the last round of negotiations held in Almaty" on April 5 and 6 that failed to produce an accord.
The EU foreign policy chief represents the five permanent UN security council members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - plus Germany in the so-called P5+1 talks aimed at reaching a deal on Iran's nuclear programme.
Ashton said after two days of talks in the Kazakh city that the positions were still "far apart".
World powers had offered some easing of the sanctions that have hurt Iran's economy in the past two years, in return for Tehran accepting limits on its nuclear programme.
But Ashton said after that the world powers were still waiting to see "real engagement" from Iran over the proposal.
Iran insists on international recognition of what it says is its "right" to enrich uranium, a key component of the nuclear fuel cycle which can also be used to make the explosive core of an atomic bomb.
But the world powers insist on Tehran ending enrichment to high levels and verifiably suspending operations at the Fordo mountain bunker where such activity takes place before recognising Iran's rights to less threatening nuclear activities.
Iran has reportedly been offered the right to deal in some precious metals and perform small financial transactions now prohibited by the international sanctions. Tehran says it is being asked too much for too little in return.
The P5+1 grouping is especially worried about Iran's enrichment to levels of up to 20 percent and wants the Islamic republic to ship out the part of its 20-percent enriched uranium not converted into powder for reactor fuel.
Iran denies it is developing the atomic bomb and argues that it requires a nuclear programme solely for peaceful medical and energy needs.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/iran-sets-next-round-of-nuclear-talks-with-un-watchdog-for-late-may.premium-1.516902
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili leaves a final news conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Feb. 27, 2013.Photo by AP
THIS STORY IS BY
Reuters
Iran and officials from the United Nations nuclear watchdog will hold a new round of talks over Iran's disputed nuclear program on May 21 in Vienna, Iranian media reported on Monday.
The Mehr and ISNA news agencies gave no further details in their reports. The International Atomic Energy Agency press had no immediate comment. Last week, a diplomatic source told Reuters that a meeting in May was a possibility, but that no date had yet been fixed.
It would be the 10th round of negotiations between the two sides since early 2012, so far without a deal that would enable the UN watchdog to resume its long-stalled investigation of Iran's nuclear facilities.
The IAEA wants inspectors to restart a long-stalled investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by the Islamic Republic.
The IAEA-Iran talks are separate from, but still closely linked to, broader diplomatic negotiations between Tehran and six world powers aimed at resolving the decade-old dispute peacefully and preventing a new Middle East war.
Iran denies Western allegations that it is seeking to develop the capability to build nuclear weapons, saying its atomic activities are aimed at generating electricity. But its refusal to curb sensitive nuclear work that can have both civilian and military purposes, and its lack of openness with IAEA inspectors, have drawn United Nations and Western sanctions.
The last round of IAEA-Iran negotiations, in February, yielded no breakthrough.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/05/03/hagel-to-israel-attacking-iran-will-be-considered-after-june-vote/
Hagel to Israel: Attacking Iran Will Be Considered After June Vote
Nations Will Conduct 'Joint Assessment' After Iran's Election
by Jason Ditz, May 03, 2013
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has reportedly reassured Israel about the ongoing threats to attack Iran militarily, saying that they will start seriously considering it again after Iran’s June 14 elections.
The election will choose a replacement for outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the US and Israel have scheduled a “joint assessment” for after the result is announced to decide how it impacts the ongoing threats to attack them.
Bizarre, to say the least, because Iran’s president has limited power over the nation’s civilian nuclear program, and even less on the P5+1 negotiations. Rather, while Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric is often cited as an excuse for war, his actual ability to implement changes in Iranian policy is comparatively minimal.
Ahmadinejad is perceived as on the outs with the ruling clergy in Iran at any rate, and the fact that he survived to the end of his term is a bit of a surprise as well. His hand-picked successor, Esfiander Mashei, hasn’t been confirmed as a candidate yet, and has been accused religious deviancy. A more religiously hardline candidate is expected to be the Ayatollahs’ preferred choice, though a front-runner hasn’t been named yet.
It isn’t clear then what this new “assessment” will focus on, since literally nothing will change about the program no matter who wins the election. Rather, the comments may be seen as the Obama Administration trying to put off the Netanyahu government’s incessant calls for military action.
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