WarSclerotic

US Senator Kerry meets Syria’s Assad – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman arrives in Damascus, apparently in light of Americans dissatisfaction with Syria’s conduct. According to American official, Kerry and Assad discussed ‘regional issues’

Yitzhak Benhorin

The meeting with Assad was held not long after Obama renewed sanctions against Syria and after Washington accused Damascus of transferring missiles to Hezbollah. This appears to be the reason Kerry traveled to Damascus.

The Americans are unsatisfied with the Syrians conduct, but continue to talk to them. Fred Jones, a spokesman for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Kerry planned to discuss “regional issues” with Assad.

Kerry clarified that “while the United States has serious, long-standing disagreements with Syria, in particular its support for Hezbollah and other terrorist groups, Syria can play a critical role in bringing peace and stability if it makes the strategic decision to do so.”

In the past, Senator Kerry demonstrated his special diplomatic capabilities in Afghanistan, when he succeeded in preventing a serious crisis in the relations between the Obama administration and President Hamid Karzai.

On the Syrian front, Kerry managed to create trust with President Assad, and became the administration’s emissary for special missions in Damascus.

Follow-up meeting ahead of envoy’s return

Kerry’s first visit to Damascus was aimed at advancing mutual activities to stop terrorists from crossing from Syria to Iraq. On his second visit, the senator tried to look into the chances of advancing the Middle East peace process.

According to a source at the American embassy in Damascus, “This visit is a follow-up one to previous trips that he has made to Syria.”

The Obama administration committed to reappointing a US ambassador to Syria, in order to be able to relay messages on higher ranks from the American administration to the Assad regime.

Obama named Robert Ford as the ambassador to Syria in February, but despite the Democratic majority in the Senate, the appointment has yet to be voted on.

Former US President George W. Bush recalled the American ambassador following the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut in 2005. The Republicans object to the appointment of an ambassador to Syria, viewing it as a reward to Damascus.

Obama wants an ambassador who will be able to relay the American stand to the Syrian regime even during tough times in the relations between the two countries.

AFP contributed to this report

US: No policy change on Hizbullah.

WASHINGTON – A top US counterterrorism official said Friday that the US makes no distinction between different wings of Hizbullah, further pushing back against suggestions that the US might change its policy toward the Shi’ite organization.

“We still do not subscribe to the division that some other countries do, including close friends of ours, that there might be a political or humanitarian wing on the one hand and a military wing on the other and we would talk to one and not the other,” Daniel Benjamin, coordinator for counterterrorism at the State Department, told the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “We emphatically reject such a distinction.”

He stressed, “There’s been no policy change regarding Hizbullah. We’ve changed nothing regarding the contacts policy regarding Hizbullah.”

His comments followed remarks days earlier by US Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan that some saw as a sign of a shift toward the group, though the White House has also said there has been no change in policy.

On Tuesday, Brennan said that the West needs to “try to build up the more moderate elements within Hizbullah,” in a discussion of the group’s evolution from a purely terrorist organization to one that now also has members serving in the Lebanese government.

Benjamin, who was responding to a question on the controversy, described Brennan’s comments as “an analytic remark.”

But the Republican Jewish Coalition on Friday denounced Brennan’s words as “dangerously naïve.”

They also criticized him for a speech in February to an Islamic Center in which he referred to Jerusalem by its Arabic name, “Al-Quds.”

In that case, Brennan said, “In all my travels, the city I have come to love most is Al-Quds, Jerusalem, where three great faiths come together.”

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama will likely raise the US’s “grave concerns” about Syria’s arming of Hizbullah with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri when the two meet on Monday, Reuters reported over the weekend.

The two leaders will discuss a “broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, regional peace and security,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday.

Israel believes that Syria recently supplied Hizbullah with hundreds of surface-to-surface missiles, including Scud missiles and advanced M-600 missiles capable of targeting Tel Aviv and causing extensive damage to Israel. Syria has denied the claims while Hizbullah has refused to respond to them. Hariri has denied the allegations, comparing them to the American charges that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction ahead of the 2003 US-led invasion.

At their meeting, Obama and Hariri will also discuss international efforts to isolate Iran over its nuclear program. Lebanon is the current rotating president of the UN Security Council, a position it holds until May 31.

Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.

Defense official: Home front drill may determine outcome of next war – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Largest ever home front exercise begins Sunday to evaluate preparedness for various scenarios, including rocket attacks, planting of dirty bomb and hazardous material incident. ‘Our enemies consider home front to be Israel’s soft spot,’ IDF source says

Hanan Greenberg

The security establishment stressed that the exercise was scheduled in advance as part of a yearly work plan.The National Emergency Management Authority, Israel Police, Magen David Adom, the Israeli fire department, government offices and municipalities are expected to take an active role in the exercise.According to defense officials, the emphasis of this year’s exercise will be on the response of local authorities to a military emergency. Drills will be held in 68 cities and towns that are home to about 70 percent of Israel’s population.”These types of exercises will not only reduce the number of Israeli casualties in the next conflict, they may determine the conflict’s outcome,” a senior defense official told Ynet on Saturday.

‘Correct response may reduce uncertainty’

At 11 am Wednesday sirens will sound across the country, at which time all residents are to go to bomb shelters or other protected spaces. Drills will be held in schools, as well.

During the exercise emergency units and municipalities will also simulate the derailing of a train in Hadera, a rocket attack on the Haifa area, an incident involving hazardous material at Haifa’s port, a water shortage in Kfar Shmariyahu, the planting of a “dirty” bomb at a Jerusalem school and an attack on military facilities in Beit Lid.

Eight communities will practice the speedy distribution of gas masks.

“During a war, the home front will go through a trying time,” an army official said, “Apart from the mental anguish, some areas will face various crises, and the correct response may reduce the uncertainty.”

“The drill is based on operative plans and lessons drawn from Operation Cast Lead,” said the official.

“A strong home front, which is considered by our enemies as the country’s ‘soft spot’, will give the IDF more time to do its job,” he added.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday lashed out at Israel’s defense exercises and said they ran counter to current Middle East peace efforts.

“Israel has to go to the negotiating table in order to achieve peace. To launch military exercises at such a time runs counter to peace efforts,” Hariri told reporters in Cairo after a meeting with Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak.

“How can you launch peace negotiations with the Palestinians while holding military maneuvers?” asked Hariri, who is to travel to Washington on Sunday for his first visit as premier.

On Friday, Lebanon’s Hezbollah mobilized thousands of militants in southern Lebanon in response to the exercises, said an official from the Shiite group which is backed by Damascus and Tehran.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006 that destroyed much of southern Lebanon, largely a Hezbollah stronghold. It estimates Hezbollah has since stockpiled more than 40,000 rockets.

AFP contributed to the report

Analysis / No real threat of war despite Hezbollah’s threats – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

There should be no confusion between the threat and the exercise that is carried out every year in May, and a threat of immediate war in the north.

By Amos Harel

For a country that at any given moment is being targeted by tens of thousands of missiles and rockets covering most of its territory, it seems there is no other way than to drill.

“Turning Point 4,” the national home front exercise that is to begin this morning and last all week, involves a certain amount of inconveniencing of civilians. Traffic jams are expected, especially on Wednesday morning when a siren will sound throughout the country, calling on everyone to take cover in shelters and other secure places. Nonetheless, it is advisable for anyone complaining to remember less-pleasant events, like the 4,200 rockets that struck northern Israel less than four years ago.

Our routines will be disrupted for a moment, and the public’s level of concern will rise, but these are minor worries compared to the main issue. The threat to Israel’s home front in recent years has been tangible and substantive.
When compared to the summer of 2006, Hezbollah’s rockets today are capable of striking central Israel and further south. Hamas, too, has acquired rockets that have ranges longer than 50 kilometers.

	A UN patrol in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah clashed with Israel in 2006
	Photo by: (Archive)

Even more important is the maturing of the enemy’s strategic insight. Hamas and Hezbollah, and even Syria and Iran, no longer seek Israel’s destruction or to occupy its territory. They are aiming for a war of attrition against Israel’s ability to resist.

As the central means for achieving this goal, they will target the home front with a massive bombardment, which they consider an appropriate way to balance Israel’s superiority in the air. Recent reports in the Arab media noted that Hezbollah acquired M-600 rockets, which are believed to be accurate enough to strike sensitive military and strategic installations. A response to all this requires preparation and drilling.
There should be no confusion between the threat and the exercise that is carried out every year in May, and a threat of immediate war in the north. The threat of war, which came up in January and March this year, actually appears to have diminished in recent weeks. The suspicions of Syria and Hezbollah about Israel’s intentions remain high, but neither side considers the other as having a real interest in a confrontation.
A war in the north could begin as a result of international pressure to put an end to the Iranian nuclear program, or because of a belated Hezbollah attempt to avenge the assassination of its master terrorist, Imad Mughniyeh.
At the moment, and taking into account that intelligence’s ability to predict the enemy’s plans is inherently limited, there does not appear to be a particularly high risk of war, despite Hezbollah’s recent threats.
Home Front Command has achieved great progress since the war in Lebanon. Intensive training has dealt with many of the problems of the Second Lebanon War. “Turning Point 4” should enable additional protective measures. But Israel’s preparations for the next war, which may certainly break out in the near future, still have troubling weaknesses. There are question marks over the Israel Defense Forces’ plans against massive missile barrages from Lebanon and perhaps Syria. Will this be enough to lift the threat on the home front?
Another critical gap is the lack of sufficient missile interception systems. Late last week, thanks to the endless generosity of the United States, Israel was promised $205 million to pay for the manufacturing of more Iron Dome missile defense batteries.

But a multilayered solution for intercepting missiles is not in the bag; far from it. We need more years to completely deploy the systems. This is the sort of gap that no exercise, however successful, can sufficiently cover.

Home front drill to begin as tension in north rises – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Hezbollah’s deputy head said that the Shi’ite organization had stepped up its alert status ahead of the “war game” being conducted on Sunday in Israel.

By Anshel Pfeffer, Liel Kyzer and Avi Issacharoff

Israel’s annual national home front exercise begins on Sunday, as Hezbollah plays up fears in Lebanon that the drill means a conflict might loom with its southern neighbor.

The exercise, “Turning Point 4,” is due to last five days and be carried out in all parts of the country. During the first three days the drill will involve the Israel Defense Forces’ various command centers, the police, emergency services, ministries and other government offices.

The exercise, which is held annually in May, will be broadened on Wednesday to include civilians, with a siren sounded at 11 A.M. throughout the country. Civilians will have to seek cover in shelters or other secure areas.

	IDF forces during Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon
	Photo by: IDF

Hezbollah’s deputy head, Nabil Qaouk, said Friday that the Shi’ite organization had stepped up its alert status ahead of the “war game” being conducted on Sunday in Israel.

Qaouk said thousands of Hezbollah fighters will not take part in one of the stages of Lebanon’s municipal elections today because they are preparing for the possible attack by Israel.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah called on voters to pick the candidates put forth by the coalition between Hezbollah and Amal, another Shi’ite group.

Joining Hezbollah in its worries, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said the Israeli exercise contradicts efforts to reach comprehensive peace in the region.

Hariri met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo Saturday, ahead of his visit to Washington.

Israel has relayed messages to Arab states about the drill, stressing that it has no plans to launch an attack.

The exercise will focus this year on the ability of municipalities to respond to the launching of thousands of missiles and rockets on Israel. Most municipal authorities, where around 70 percent of the country’s people live, will hold drills as part of the national effort, conducted by Home Front Command, the National Emergency Authority and the Defense Ministry.

Hundreds of police officers are scheduled to take part in the exercise; they will practice their three main tasks in the event of missile attacks: routine security, guiding traffic and maintaining order.

The police will be tested on how they respond to local emergencies while the force is spread out all over the country.

The main scenario for the police will be a strike on Be’er Sheva by missiles fitted with chemical warheads.

Another aspect of the drill will be surprise strikes at home front targets.

Many different elements of defense and rescue will be practiced. For the first time, for example, Israel will test its response to a blow to its computer and electronic-communications infrastructure after a cyber attack.

The authorities will also examine their ability to evacuate hundreds of thousands of civilians from areas hit by missile barrages or strikes by unconventional weapons.

The distribution of gas masks, something already underway over the past three months, will be expedited during the drill to include other parts of the country. Home Front Command will be tested on its ability to shift to emergency distribution on a national level.

Extensive participation by volunteers, nongovernment organizations and youth movements is expected to be part of the drill, especially in helping local authorities reach people and communities in distress or needing special assistance.