Jerusalem is Issue # 1
 
Here in America if you turn on CNN you are constantly bombarded with the message "The Economy: Issue # 1", as if unable to think for yourself, you must be told what is most important. Sadly, most Americans 'eat it up' as they have no idea how they are manipulated by the press and it comes from both the left and the right.
 
However, the media has become nothing but an institution of propaganda not reporting the news, but shaping and preparing it so that it is digested by the public according to a pre-conceived agenda. There are a few exceptions such as WorldNet Daily, but outside of these the only way to navigate the murky waters of current events is to begin with a solid Biblical worldview. [For a related article see Media in love with Obama? Posted on the Be Alert! Blog]

That is why we must know the Bible and be in the scripture continuously to know God's world-view so we can discern what is truth (God's Word) and what is false (the beliefs of the world).
 
It is becoming increasingly more difficult to get a sense of what is real anymore in this world of mass communication. There is so much information and disinformation, true and false reports, much of it done purposely and much done mistakenly that more so the focus has to be narrowed onto the few things we know.
 
That said, the focus of this alert will try to be on what is most important concerning the "cup of trembling" that Jerusalem is to be in these last days. Scripture makes it clear that despite all the rhetoric the real issue is Jerusalem. That is issue number one when it comes to all that is taking place in Israel, the Middle East and in the world except for perhaps the falling away in the church and the unity of false religions.
 
Other important topics of focus seem to be Oil, particularly sensitive shipping areas such as the Strait of Hormuz and I believe this is a big underlying reason we are seeing such unity on the part of Nations that are part of or children of the Roman Empire, that is the United States, Britain, France and the EU. In addition, the developments concerning Syria are particularly interesting to watch; however as usual there are mixed reports on just what is really happening.
 
As always, read with a discerning eye and hold all things before Scripture and the Lord in prayer before taking any information to heart as these are perilous times as even those individuals in the highest ranks of power privy to the best information available may still be and usually are deceived.
 
May the LORD bless you and keep you,
BE/\LERT!
Scott Brisk

Assures Palestinians his declaration to Jewish group was 'misunderstanding'
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - July 23, 2008
RAMALLAH, West Bank - In a meeting here today, Sen. Barack Obama assured the Palestinians he supports a "negotiated settlement" that may grant the Palestinian Authority control over sections of Jerusalem, a senior PA official who took part in the meeting told WND.

"He assured us there was a misunderstanding when he said in [June] he supports the Israelis' rights to hold on to Jerusalem. He told us he corrected this right away and that he supports a negotiated settlement that will give the Palestinians territory," said the PA official.

The official, who was present when Obama met with PA President Mahmoud Abbas today, was referring to a speech Obama delivered in June to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in which he stated if he is elected president, "Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided."

Immediately following the speech, Obama reversed himself during a CNN appearance, explaining he meant Jerusalem shouldn't be physically divided with a partition.

"Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations," he said in response to a question about whether Palestinians have a legitimate claim to the city.

Obama said "as a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute" a division of the city. "And I think that it is smart for us to, to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem but that Israel has a legitimate claim on that city."

According to the senior PA official speaking to WND, Obama today expressed to Abbas his "full understanding" regarding halting Israel's "settlement activities" - a reference to Israeli construction in the West Bank.

The presidential candidate told Abbas he would work to ensure more "freedom of movement" for Palestinians in the West Bank, the senior official said. Freedom of movement usually refers to Israel removing anti-terror roadblocks and checkpoints that have been directly credited with stopping suicide bombers from entering central Israel. Palestinians complain the barriers impede their mobility.

The Palestinian official speaking to WND also said Obama criticized "Israeli measures that create facts on the ground that may affect a future Palestinian state."

The statement was a clear reference to Israeli construction in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods the Palestinians claim for a future state.

Obama spent much of the day trying to allay doubts about his support for Israel, donning a Jewish skullcap at Israel's Holocaust memorial, touring the rocket-besieged town of Sderot and declaring his intent to preserve America's close ties with Israel during a meeting at President Shimon Peres' official residence. - - - -
Read Full Report

Also

Obama tries to reassure Israelis and Palestinians
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Laurie Copans - July 23, 2008
JERUSALEM - Presidential hopeful Barack Obama donned a Jewish skullcap at Israel's Holocaust memorial on Wednesday and vowed to preserve America's close ties with Israel in a dramatic visit to the Holy Land in which he also promised the Palestinians to push vigorously to win them a state.
Obama clearly was trying to allay fears on both sides on how he would tackle their stubborn conflict.
Many Israelis are concerned that Obama - a first-term U.S. senator with little foreign policy experience - would push Israel too hard in negotiations with the Palestinians. His family's Muslim roots have added to the unease, even though Obama is a Christian.
Palestinians doubt Obama or any other U.S. leader would reverse what they see as Washington's bias toward Israel.
"I'm here on this trip to reaffirm the special relationship between Israel and the United States and my abiding commitment to Israel's security and my hope that I can serve as an effective partner, whether as a U.S. senator or as president," Obama during a visit to the official residence of Israeli President Shimon Peres.
A 30-minute drive away, in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Obama assured Palestinian leaders he'd get involved in the Mideast conflict quickly, a top Palestinian official said.
In his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Obama confirmed "that he will be a constructive partner in the peace process" and would not "waste a minute" if elected, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said. . . .
Israeli officials said their talks with Obama included discussions about Iran's nuclear ambitions. Many Israelis are worried by Obama's willingness to talk to Tehran, the Jewish state's bitterest enemy.
Obama met with Barak and Netanyahu at Jerusalem's posh King David Hotel, where an "Israel for Obama" campaign poster was draped over an armchair in the lobby. The poster included Obama's campaign slogan - "Change you can believe in" - in Hebrew. - - - -
----------
Associated Press writers Amy Teibel and David Espo contributed to this report.
Read Full Report

'Obama will immediately birth Palestinian state'
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - July 6, 2008
JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Authority is hoping Sen. Barack Obama wins the presidential election in November and expects the Illinois Democrat to immediately set out to create a Palestinian state once he takes office, a top PA official said.
"We would like to see Obama elected. If he is elected, an agreement about the foundation of a Palestinian state (would be) reached," PA Planning Minister Samir Abdullah told reporters in Tokyo this weekend.
Abdullah, who is the former head of the Palestinian Communist Party, said the PA expects Obama to win in November. He said once Obama takes office, "he will immediately study the Palestinian cause and will try to push it forward." . . . .
Abdullah is not the only Palestinian official to recently express support for Obama.
In a headline-making interview, Ahmed Yousuf, Hamas' chief political adviser in the Gaza Strip, told WND and WABC Radio in April he "hopes" Obama becomes president. . . .
"I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse.  ...  I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principal. And he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance," Yousef said, speaking from Gaza. . . .
Obama questioned over ties to Palestinian activist
Obama has been assailed over his stated commitment to Israel, although he has repeatedly insisted during interviews he is a strong supporter of the Jewish state. - - - -
Read Full Report

Terrorists' assignment: Protect Barack Obama
Posted on the Be Alert! Blog

* Emphasis Added

'Muslim countries vying for influence, expecting Israel to give up holy site'
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - By Aaron Klein
JERUSALEM - A number of Arab states quietly have sent intelligence agents to infiltrate the Temple Mount to determine how they can obtain more influence over Judaism's holiest site, informed security sources told WND.

"It's possible in the coming two years a deal will be made that transfers the Temple Mount out from Israeli hands," said a security source. "The Arab countries are vying for influence, since they think controlling the site means big prestige in the Muslim world."

The security sources said the Arab agents mostly are attempting to infiltrate the Waqf, the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount, securing all sorts of positions from Waqf garden workers through religious clerics inside the Mount's many mosques.

The Waqf is largely controlled by Jordan, which took over top positions from the Palestinian Authority in recent years.

The sources said the agents' primary job is to collect information on how to gain more influence on the site. The agents also are to report on which Waqf officials are paid by Jordan, through which clerics can be suspected of having good relations with Israel.

"The Arab countries want to work their way in so Jordan doesn't get the most control once Israel gives up the Mount," said a security source.

Saudi Arabia sent the most agents to the Mount, but other countries, including Egypt, also sent agents, security sources said.

"Don't be surprised if in the near future even Somalia sends some people over to study how to have influence on the Mount," said a security source.

In line with Israeli-Palestinian negotiations started at last November's U.S.-backed Annapolis conference, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is working to create a Palestinian state before the end of the year.

Olmert is widely expected to announce Israeli evacuations from most of the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem. The Temple Mount is located in eastern Jerusalem, although Israel is not expected to immediately give up the holy site during the initial attempted creation of a Palestinian state.

The Arab countries are "near certain" Israel will eventually evacuate the Temple Mount and likely hand it over to the PA together with a coalition of Muslim states, said an informed security source.

Temple Mount '100 percent Islamic'

Mainstream Palestinian leaders claim the Temple Mount is Muslim in spite of overwhelming archaeological evidence documenting the first and second Jewish temples.

Earlier this month, Rafiq Al Husseini, the chief of staff for PA President Mahmoud Abbas, declared Jerusalem and the Temple Mount belong to the Muslims and said any Israeli action that "offends" the Mount will be answered by 1.5 billion Muslims.

"Jerusalem is Muslim. The blessed Al Aqsa mosque and Harem Al Sharif (Temple Mount) is 100 percent Muslim. The Israelis are playing with fire when they threaten Al Aqsa with digging that is taking place," Husseini said.
In a WND exclusive interview last year, Taysir Tamimi, chief Palestinian Justice and one of the most influential Muslim leaders in Israel, argued the Jewish Temples never existed, the Western Wall really was a tying post for Muhammad's horse, the Al Aqsa Mosque was built by angels, and Abraham, Moses and Jesus were prophets for Islam.

Tamimi is considered the second most important Palestinian cleric after Muhammad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem. - - - -
Read Full Report

ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Steve Weizman - June 23, 2008
JERUSALEM - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday there could be no Mideast peace unless Israel drops its refusal to cede sovereignty over parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinians, challenging one of Israel's most emotionally held positions.

Speaking to a packed session of the legislature, Sarkozy called on Israel to stop settlement in the West Bank. But he tempered his address by assuring Israel that it could count on France's support in halting Iran's nuclear program.

Sarkozy, whose maternal grandfather was a Greek Jew, praised Israel's democracy and quoted the biblical passage in which God promises the Holy Land to the children of Israel. The comments drew applause and broad smiles from most lawmakers but got scowls from the handful of Arab members.

But as he turned his attention to the struggling peace process, reactions were less enthusiastic.

"There cannot be peace without an immediate and complete halt to settlement," he said. "There cannot be peace without recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of two states and the guarantee of free access to the holy places for all religions." - - - -
Read Full Report

Rice pledges to 'seriously' study proposal to cede east Jerusalem neighborhoods
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - June 16, 2008
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday pledged to study a Palestinian proposal for the U.S. to guarantee eastern sections of Jerusalem will become part of a future Palestinian state, WND has learned.

"[Rice] was in total solidarity with us on the issue of stopping Israeli building in (eastern) Jerusalem," a senior Palestinian Authority official who met with Rice yesterday told WND.

The official said Rice promised to "seriously" look into the offering of a formal U.S. letter guaranteeing that new Israeli construction in eastern Jerusalem would be disregarded and that the areas of construction would be included in the final borders of a Palestinian state.

While Rice met with Israeli and Palestinian officials, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski announced yesterday the approval of 40,000 new residential units in various Jewish neighborhoods, including about 1,300 new units in eastern Jerusalem.

Israel recaptured eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians have claimed eastern Jerusalem as a future capital; the area has large Arab neighborhoods, a significant Jewish population and sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

About 231,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem, mostly in eastern neighborhoods. Many reside in illegally constructed complexes on property owned by the Jewish National Fund, a Jewish nonprofit that purchases land for the purported goal of Jewish settlement. Jerusalem has an estimated total population of 724,000.

Rice yesterday strongly lashed out against the new Israeli construction projects planned for eastern Jerusalem. . . .

As a sign of planned future Palestinian control over eastern sections of the city, Israel allowed the PA to hold an official meeting in Jerusalem to discuss dealing with expected Palestinian sovereignty over key sections of the city, WND reported last week - - - -
Read Full Report

Secretive U.S.-backed discussion focuses on West Bank, Jerusalem
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - April 7, 2008
JERUSALEM - U.S.-backed negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians are expected to generate an agreement by the end of the year that would set up a Palestinian state in the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem, according to a source who has participated in the talks. . . .

Since last November's Israeli-Palestinian Annapolis summit, which set as a goal the creation of a Palestinian state before 2009, negotiating teams including Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia have been meeting weekly while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have been meeting biweekly. . . .

According to the source who has been playing a role in the meetings, the two sides are drafting an agreement, to be signed by the end of the year, requiring Israel to evacuate most of the West Bank and certain eastern sections of Jerusalem.

The source said Israeli community blocks in the zones of Gush Etzion, Maale Adumin and Ariel would remain Israeli while most of the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem will be slated for a Palestinian state.

In contradiction to statements by Olmert, the status of sections of Jerusalem is being negotiated but the specifics of any agreed-upon Israeli withdrawal is as yet unclear, said the source.

"It is understood [Jerusalem] Arab neighborhoods would become part of a Palestinian state," the source said.

The source told WND both sides agreed Israel would retain Jerusalem's Pisgat Zeev neighborhood, which is located near large Arab communities. Many of those Arab towns were constructed illegally on property owned by the Jewish National Fund, a Jewish nonprofit that purchases property using Jewish donors funds for the stated purpose of Jewish settlement.

The source said the U.S. pledged advanced training for thousands of PA security officers who would take over security in the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem and operate in those territories instead of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police.

The U.S. previously has trained thousands of Palestinian security officers, including units in which known members of Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group serve. Scores of those security forces have carried out terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, including recent deadly shootings in the West Bank.

But the source claimed the planned U.S. training is different:

"This training is unlike anything before. The PA, Israel and the U.S. are working very closely to vet the forces. All sides are approving the training candidates. The training is more advanced than ever. It will create a very serious Palestinian army," said the source. - - - -
Read Full Report

Israeli government's decision to leave Jewish structures intact for Palestinians results in Hamas usage of Atzmona synagogue as terrorist training center
YEDIOTH AHRONOTH [Yedioth Ahronoth Group - Private] - By Ronen Bergman - July 15, 2008
One of the most visible conflicts in public opinion prior to the Gaza Strip pullout in August 2005 dealt with the issue of public structures following the evacuation of settlers from Gush Katif and the northern West Bank.

Many asserted that the buildings must be destroyed in order to ensure that they would not be used by terrorist organizations in the future. The fate of many of the area's synagogues was also discussed at that time. . . .

Despite the objection, the government decided to leave public buildings, kindergartens, libraries, schools and other structures whole for the benefit of the Palestinian population. The synagogues were left untouched due to the problematic nature of demolishing holy places.

Recently, terrorist organizations and most notably, Hamas have begun using these buildings for training purposes.

Gunmen use synagogue as training grounds

Several videos filmed and produced by various terror organizations present gunmen training at the sites of public buildings once used in Gush Katif, including synagogues and schools.

One of the structures identifiable in the short films in the Atzmona synagogue in which the terrorists train for different scenarios with live ammunition.

Aside from Hamas, the Islamic Jihad also trains at the Jewish holy site.

The buildings serve as scenery for kidnapping scenarios and urban warfare including the invasion and "purification" of buildings. The organizations' members also practice Krav Maga.

The drills are conducted in and outside of the buildings and damage is visible to the structures. The gunmen practice various maneuvers using light weaponry and grenades, light and heavy machine guns and antitank missiles.

The mere existence of the buildings and their accessibility greatly contribute to the terrorist organizations.

The structures are abandoned and isolated and far from the Palestinian civilian population.

If not for these buildings, the terrorists would have to construct buildings and special training areas for these purposes, just like the IDF does in order to conduct counter-terrorism drills. - - - -
Read Full Report

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By James Kanter - July 10, 2008
VIENNA: The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned Thursday that oil prices would see an "unlimited" increase in the case of a military conflict involving Iran, because the group's members would be unable to make up the lost production.

"We really cannot replace Iran's production - it's not feasible to replace it," Abdalla Salem El-Badri, the OPEC secretary general, said during an interview.

Iran, the second-largest producing country in OPEC, after Saudi Arabia, produces about 4 million barrels of oil a day out of the daily worldwide production of close to 87 million barrels. . . .

"The prices would go unlimited," Badri said during the interview, referring to the effect of a military conflict. "I can't give you a number."

Analysts said the timing of Badri's remarks was noteworthy, given that the idea of an attack on Iran has been around for years. In addition, an attack on Iran would probably not specifically target oil facilities, said Johannes Benigni, managing director of JBC, an oil research and consulting firm in Vienna.

"Perhaps OPEC wants to say to the Americans in particular that there would be an economic price to be paid for an attack on Iran," said Daniel Gros, director of the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels. - - - -
Read Full Report

DEBKAFILE - July 21, 2008
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report - - - DEBKAfile's military sources report that Operation Brimstone, starting Monday, July 21, aimed at giving military teeth to the two-week ultimatum the six world powers gave Iran in Geneva Saturday to accept the suspension of uranium enrichment or face harsh sanctions and isolation.

After warning of punitive measures against Iran, Condoleezza Rice met the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Jordan and Iraq in Abu Dhabi. First she was briefed by Under Secretary of State William Burns.

The penalty of withholding refined oil products from Iran would be exercised by means of a partial international naval blockade of its Gulf ports.

Taking part in the 10-day exercise in the Atlantic Ocean are more than a dozen ships, including the US carrier strike group Theodore Roosevelt and expeditionary strike group Iwo Jima; the French submarine Amethyste, and the British HMS Illustrious Carrier Strike Group, as well as a Brazilian frigate.

Six vessels from the Norfolk Naval State will play the role of "enemy" forces.

About 15,000 sailors will be involved in Operation Brimstone. Both the Roosevelt and Iwo Jima will be deployed in the Middle East in the coming months.

The exercise is scheduled to end July 31, two days before the US-European ultimatum to Iran expires. Immediately after the Geneva talks ended in failure, the US State Department issued a statement giving Tehran the option of "cooperation or confrontation." . . .

Operation Brimstone boasts two striking features:

1. It will include for the first time units of the US Expeditionary Combat Command, who are trained to operate in shallow coastal waters and rivers, such as the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf and the small islands around its chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Revolutionary Guards marine units are posted on these islands.

The international force will have to control the islands to ensure oil shipping freed passage out to world markets.

2. The Roosevelt's decks will for the first time host French Rafale fighter jets which will share space with US warplanes, while the only French carrier Charles de Gaulle undergoes maintenance.

Our military sources note that French warplanes have in the past performed short landings and takeoff drills on US carriers from the Charles de Gaulle, but never before taken part in a fully cooperative operational exercise.

This joint endeavor signifies that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is fully committed to a joint US-European military action if necessary to halt Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon.

Addressing the Knesset in Jerusalem Monday, July 21, British prime minister George Brown said: Iran must ''suspend its nuclear program and accept our offer of negotiations or face growing isolation and the collective response not of one nation but of many nations.'' - - - -
Read Full Report

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - July 21, 2008
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Iran on Monday it must freeze sensitive nuclear work or face more sanctions, in the first address by a British premier to the Israeli parliament.

He also railed against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "abhorrent" threats against Israel and declared that Britain stands alongside the Jewish state.

Brown, who held talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday, said peace was within their grasp, but only if Israel withdraws from settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Palestinians stamp out "terrorists".

His comments on Iran's nuclear drive echoed a warning by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Tehran had two weeks to respond seriously to an international offer or face further "punitive measures."

"Iran now has a clear choice to make: suspend its nuclear programme and accept our offer of negotiations or face growing isolation and the collective response not of just one nation but of all nations round the world," Brown said.

"Just as we have led the work on three mandatory sanctions resolutions of the UN, the UK will continue to lead -- with the United States and our European Union partners -- in our determination to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapons programme."

The White House, meanwhile, signalled that it expected Iran to reject the US-backed incentives package.

"It is the position of the P5-plus-one that Iran should suspend its uranium enrichment, that we provided a very generous incentives package that they apparently are going to miss an opportunity to accept," said a spokeswoman.

In Paris, Solana also said a negative response from Iran would likely trigger further sanctions.

"Our relationship with Iran is a relationship of tracks, the political track, the diplomatic ... but at the same time a commitment to continue in New York," he told reporters after a meeting with European MPs.

"If there is no agreement on this, the United Nations will continue." - - - -
Read Full Report

DEBKAFILE - July 19, 2008
This assessment was reported by Israeli national radio Saturday overnight quoting a high-placed "security-political" official.

The source predicted that President George W. Bush would order Iran attacked between the November 4 presidential election and his exit from the White House in January. The quote was aired shortly after the six-power talks with Iran in Geneva - with US official participation for the first time - failed, and just before Israel chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi set out for Washington. He is to spend a week there as guest of Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

DEBKAfile's political sources describe the disclosure as a step aimed at slowing down the collapse of Israel's stated policy of relying on international diplomatic pressure to thwart Iran's acquisition of nuclear arms. It is expected to raise a furious outcry from the powers spearheading the diplomatic effort and prompt extreme reactions from Tehran.

Our sources report that the unidentified Israeli "security-political" source sought to achieve three objectives:

1. Underlining the signal that the US military option had not been taken off the table after the state department spokesman said Iran must choose between cooperation with the international community and confrontation.

The official was also giving Israel's answer to the latest evaluations making the rounds in Washington that the Israeli Air Force does not have enough warplanes to strike Iran's nuclear sites without American military support.

2. A signal that the presence at the Geneva talks Saturday, July 19, of Under Secretary of State William Burns, far from being a concession, was an implicit ultimatum. Tehran was being told that no more than three months remained for it to suspend uranium enrichment before Bush made good on his pledge to resolve the issue before he left the White House. No member of the Bush administration is saying this directly, whether Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates or the president himself. Israel will not doubt be rebuked for its disclosure.

3. As a high-risk step to derail the accommodations Washington and Tehran are on the way to reaching in their secret talks on a wide range of issues, with the exception of the nuclear controversy, as revealed by DEBKA-Net-Weekly and DEBKAfile. Israel fears being abandoned and left out in the cold on all its fronts against Iran by these accommodations.

Tehran may well seize on the Israeli disclosure as a pretext to ditch the nuclear negotiations on all levels, unless all six powers offer guarantees against their pursuit of military initiatives.
Read Full Report

ASSOCIATED PRESS - July 19, 2008
GENEVA -  A U.S. decision to bend policy and sit down with Iran at nuclear talks fizzled Saturday, with Iran stonewalling Washington and five other world powers on their call to freeze uranium enrichment.

In response, the six gave Iran two weeks to respond to their demand, setting the stage for a new round of U.N. sanctions.

Iran's refusal to consider suspending enrichment was an indirect slap at the United States, which had sent Undersecretary of State William Burns to the talks in hopes the first-time American presence would encourage Tehran into making concessions.

Officials and diplomats refused to characterize the timeframe as an ultimatum, but it appeared clear that Iran now has a de-facto deadline to show flexibility.

EU envoy Javier Solana said that Iran still has to answer a request made on behalf of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany to "refrain from any new nuclear activity."

"We have not gotten all the answers to the questions," Solana told reporters. He said the two-week timeframe was meant to give Iran the space to come up with "the answers that will allow us to continue."

In Washington, a U.S. official was blunter.

"We hope the Iranian people understand that their leaders need to make a choice between cooperation, which would bring benefits to all, and confrontation, which can only led to further isolation," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. . . .

The offer delivered to Iranian officials last month by Solana envisions a six-week commitment from Iran to stop expanding enrichment and from their interlocutors to agree to a moratorium on new sanctions for up to six weeks.

That is meant to create the framework for formal negotiations which the six nations hope would secure Iran's commitment to an indefinite ban on enrichment.

Recent Iranian statements had suggested the country is looking to improve ties with the United States, with officials speaking positively of deliberations by the Bush administration to open an interests section - an informal diplomatic presence - in Tehran after closing its embassy decades ago. - - - -
Read Full Report

Also:

Guardian: US to Open Diplomatic Mission in Iran
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Ze'ev Ben-Yechiel - July 19, 2008
In an apparent nod to a non-military solution to the Iranian nuclear threat, the United States plans to restore diplomatic relations with Iran. The US is preparing to station its first diplomats in the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when diplomatic ties were severed between the two nations, The Guardian reported.
According to the British report, an announcement will be made next month on a US "interests section" in Tehran, a preliminary step to establishing a full embassy in the Iranian capital. The section will be staffed by American diplomats.
The announcement represents a dramatic shift in recent US policy towards Iran, which it has long classified a hostile regime. The US has regarded the Islamic Republic's interests as contrary to its own ever since the Muslim fundamentalist revolution which toppled the US-backed Shah, and the sudden reversal of US President George Bush's hawkish approach to the Tehran government comes just as international tensions reach a new peak over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
The last months have seen Iran intensifying its threats to annihilate Israel as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's escalates his invective against the Jewish state and its American ally, whom he has taken to calling the "Great Satan". Meanwhile, following live tests of Iranian long-range missiles, the American military elite have grown sufficiently concerned about the Iranian nuclear threat to issue Israel an "amber light" to attack Iran if and when the US deems it necessary. - - - -
Read Full Report

American Intelligence Analysts Work Overtime as Israel Sends Signals
NEW YORK SUN [One SL LLC] - By Eli Lake - June 24, 2008
WASHINGTON - An attack on the U.S. 5th Fleet, exploding Saudi oil refineries, and a Hezbollah operation against a soft target in the Americas, Asia, or Europe. These are scenarios America's intelligence analysts are now poring over as Israel signals its preparedness to deal with Iran's race for the A-bomb.

The disclosure Friday in the New York Times of Israel's aerial training mission earlier this month over the Greek Mediterranean prompted America's intelligence chiefs to task analysts with developing contingency plans - or what one called "nightmare scenarios" - if the Israelis were to send their F-15s and F-16s to Iran's known nuclear enrichment facilities. While the training exercise was known at the time to American intelligence, the fact that Israel and America chose to make the mission public escalated the already high tensions between Tehran and Jerusalem.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, speaking on Al-Arabiya television over the weekend, said an Israeli attack on Iran's enrichment facilities would turn the Middle East into a "ball of fire." Interviews with current and former national security officials in America suggest that Washington and its allies in the Middle East are bracing for unconventional and conventional attacks from Iran in response to such an Israeli action.

Possible scenarios include:

• A terrorist attack on the Saudi oil port of Ras Tanura, an export point for oil bound for Asia. Saudi and American officials have in the past disrupted Al Qaeda plots on the facility, such as an attack on the Abqaiq oil processing plant near Dammam, Saudi Arabia, that killed two guards.
• A naval assault on the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf. Iran still has warships equipped with Russian-designed Shkval torpedoes that it could fire at American vessels. Another possible attack would be suicide boat sorties similar to the one that bombed the USS Cole.
• The commencement of a new round in the war between Hezbollah and Israel, with Hezbollah firing its Shihab missiles into Haifa and possibly the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv.
• Hezbollah or Iranian intelligence terrorist operations on soft targets, such as shopping malls and community centers, in third countries and possibly even America.
• A renewed effort to stir an uprising in Iraq through Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army or the special groups controlled by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Read Full Report

NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt - June 20, 2008
WASHINGTON - Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Several American officials said the Israeli exercise appeared to be an effort to develop the military's capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Iran's nuclear program.

More than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters participated in the maneuvers, which were carried out over the eastern Mediterranean and over Greece during the first week of June, American officials said.

The exercise also included Israeli helicopters that could be used to rescue downed pilots. The helicopters and refueling tankers flew more than 900 miles, which is about the same distance between Israel and Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, American officials said. . . .

One Israeli goal, the Pentagon official said, was to practice flight tactics, aerial refueling and all other details of a possible strike against Iran's nuclear installations and its long-range conventional missiles.

A second, the official said, was to send a clear message to the United States and other countries that Israel was prepared to act militarily if diplomatic efforts to stop Iran from producing bomb-grade uranium continued to falter. . . .

Iran has shown signs that it is taking the Israeli warnings seriously, by beefing up its air defenses in recent weeks, including increasing air patrols. In one instance, Iran scrambled F-4 jets to double-check an Iraqi civilian flight from Baghdad to Tehran. - - - -

Ethan Bronner contributed reporting from Jerusalem.
Read Full Report

Lebanese leader: 'They opened the doors of Europe to this wrecker'
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - July 16, 2008
By conducting diplomacy with Syria, France and Israel have "opened the doors of Europe" to Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has been working to destabilize Lebanon, charged Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in an interview with WND yesterday.

"They have opened the door to Europe freely to Assad without mentioning his wrecking of Lebanon and the Hariri tribunal," said Jumblatt, head of the Progressive Socialist Party and considered one of the most prominent pro-democracy politicians in Lebanon.

Jumblatt was referring to an international tribunal to try the murderers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated in February 2005 in a car bomb blast widely attributed to Syria.

"I don't understand French policy. I am afraid Assad is now at ease, waiting for new a administration in the United States. President Bush will leave and then the isolation that was around Bashar will be over," Jumblatt said.

Last weekend, Assad attended a French-initiated regional conference at which financial deals with Syria were discussed. French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised to make a state visit to Damascus in September or October and to send a delegation of high-level businessmen and legislators to Syria in next month - a major blow to U.S.-imposed sanctions against Damascus.

Assad's invitation to France was issued immediately after it was announced in May that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was conducting indirect talks with Syria regarding renewing negotiations over an Israeli retreat from the Golan Heights.

The Syrian talks with Israel are widely credited with partially ending a U.S.-imposed policy of isolating the Assad regime, specifically in bringing about French and greater European diplomacy with Syria. - - - -
Read Full Report

DEBKAFILE - July 6, 2008
Under the intelligence cooperation agreement Iran and Syria signed secretly in Tehran on June 27, thousands of Syrian intelligence and police officers will receive special training in Iran, DEBKAfile's intelligence sources report. It was signed at the end of an unpublicized five-day visit to Tehran of Syria's clandestine and security service chiefs headed by Gen. Fouad Sultan, superintendent of internal security. His opposite number was the director of the Iranian interior ministry's external affairs department Ahmed Hosseini.

The accord they concluded is a crucial element in the deepening strategic relationship between Tehran and Damascus. It belies the contention by French president Nicolas Sarkozy and prime minister Ehud Olmert, accepted also by Washington, that the Syrian regime is about to desert its close alliance with Tehran and embrace the West. On the strength of this false premise, Olmert is pressing forward along his peace track with Syria, and Sarkozy invited president Bashar Assad to be his guest of honor at the Bastille Day parade of July 14.

While secretly bolstering his partnership with Iran, Assad has no trouble spreading the illusion of his willingness for a turn to the West, especially when his propaganda effort is promoted by none other than former Israel foreign ministry official Alon Liyel. - - - -
Read Full Report

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - July 2, 2008
Any military attack on Iran would have a "catastrophic" effect on the Middle East, a Russian foreign ministry official said Wednesday after reports that Israel might launch such an attack.

"All this is very dangerous. If force is used it will be catastrophic for the whole Middle East," the official told journalists on condition of anonymity.  - - - -
Read Full Report

Also:

Russia threatens military response to US missile defence deal
THE TIMES of LONDON [News Corporation/Murdoch] - By David Charter, Europe Correspondent - July 9, 2008
Russia threatened to retaliate by military means after a deal with the Czech Republic brought the US missile defence system in Europe a step closer.
The threat followed quickly on from the announcement that Condoleezza Rice signed a formal agreement with the Czech Republic to host the radar for the controversial project.
Moscow argues that the missile shield would severely undermine the balance of European security and regards the proposed missile shield based in two former Communist countries as a hostile move.
"We will be forced to react not with diplomatic, but with military-technical methods," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. - - - -
Read Full Report

ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz and Pinchas Sanderson - July 14, 2008
Arab reports indicate that Hizbullah is preparing to arm its rockets with chemical warheads and to build extensive fortifications. Defense Minister Ehud Barak blames the Syrians, while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asks the United Nations to do something.  

"[UN Security Council] Resolution 1701 is being violated. Hizbullah continues to get stronger with the ongoing and intimate assistance of the Syrians," according to Defense Minister Barak. Speaking at a meeting of the Labor party's Knesset representatives on Monday, Barak said, "The delicate balance that exists on the northern border should not be violated on the two-year anniversary of the Second Lebanon War. We should make an explicit statement: Resolution 1701 did not work, it is not working, and all indications are that it will not work in the future. It is a failure."

Adding further weight to Defense Minister Barak's declaration is an article in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyasa, which reported Monday that Hizbullah has acquired chemicals needed to make weapons such as nerve gas or mustard gas from North Korean suppliers. The Lebanese terrorist organization is allegedly preparing to arm its Katyusha rockets with such chemical warheads. Echoing Barak's claims, the Kuwaiti paper also stated that the assistance of Syria and Iran has been crucial in Hizbullah's efforts to acquire chemical weapons capabilities. The Al-Siyasa report was based on intelligence provided to the Kuwaiti paper by Syrian opposition figures in the United States.

Other Arab sources also indicate Hizbullah is entrenching itself for another attack on Israel. The organization is reportedly stockpiling "truckloads" of building materials, such as steel and concrete, in order to restore and expand the terrorists' network of fortifications in southern Lebanon.

Beirut-based Dalal Steel Industries, a leading manufacturer of steel-reinforced buildings, reported that it has provided Hizbullah with substantial bunker-building and other materials. The company told Arab media that it had been shipping Hizbullah orders southwards towards Israel's border. The underground bunkers used by Hizbullah, usually hidden by natural cover such as trees and foliage, were coined "nature reserves" by the IDF in the 2006 Second Lebanon War, and they proved difficult targets to find and destroy. - - - -
Read Full Report