Archive for July 9, 2012

PressTV – Iran capable of easily routing Israeli military

July 9, 2012

 

PressTV – Iran capable of easily routing Israeli military.

( Forgive me.  I just couldn’t resist this headline. – JW )

Members of the Iranian Army
Members of the Iranian Army’s Ground Force academy perform during a graduation ceremony in Tehran November 10, 2011.
*
While the mainstream news is filled with stories about Syria and the expected downfall of the Assad regime or the new government in Egypt, the alternative press has been talking about Iran invasion.

There are serious issues, two in particular.
1. There is no reasonable proof that Iran has a nuclear weapons program and, to the contrary, vast proof that their current program can never yield weapons grade uranium. We have this from Clinton Bastin, a Veterans Today staffer and one of America’s top nuclear weapons designers for decades. Bastin says the IAEA inspectors, some he knows personally, have no weapons experience and are unqualified.

2. There is a very clear program to assassinate Iranian scientists but with no nuclear program, then who is being killed? Investigations show that Iran is a world leader in the development of benign fusion reactors, even working with some American companies. These new energy sources would bankrupt the oil companies overnight which, for some reason, has made scientists involved in totally peaceful “green energy” science targets for assassination.

Our next evidence comes from the version of the Putin statement given in some Israeli publications. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Israel last week. He issued a very mild statement advocating a diplomatic solution between the US and Iran.

Israeli news took that to mean he openly advocated an immediate invasion. I wonder how Israel intends to invade Iran, certainly not them. Their military would be swept aside easily, has no capability of operating logistically and Israel itself is faced with a population that is currently asking for an end to compulsory military service.

When asked, young Israeli’s say they are tired of hearing the continual fear mongering and no longer find any of the “threats” the Likudist regime harps about credible.

With up to 50% refusing service and “ultra-orthodox” Jews exempt, Israel’s draft laws are no longer credible.

In an interview with a former US Military Attaché to Israel, I was told that only a few units of the Israeli army are “first rate” with the rest much less capable. This is the same operations and intelligence officer who drew up US war plans for the invasion of Iran.

“We have plans drawn up somewhere to invade any country. Iran has to be attacked through Baluchistan, which is logistically impossible. Attack through Iraq violates agreements with that country and any other attack on Iran is impossible except for an air campaign.”

Again, we look at the obvious issues:

1. Destroying air defenses would only allow more air attacks but if no nuclear program exists, what would potential targets be?

2. With no land attack remotely possible due to strategic limitations, not to speak of lack of UN authorization, America’s financial disaster, lack of troops and only real backing being Israel, an “ally” unlikely to bring a single soldier to the battle, chances for invasion are remote.

3. Several years ago, I was part of a study group asked to do an analysis on the Straits of Hormuz. We found that Iran was capable of blocking that key oil outlet as long as needed and sinking any ship, military or otherwise, within hundreds of miles of the Iranian coast. This being true, and, though dependence on oil from the Gulf is less than before, within 48 hours stock markets and currencies in the US and EU would collapse, brought on by predicted profiteering and speculation. Such an endeavor would be economically unrecoverable.

FALSE FLAG DANGER
The most likely scenario, should the Likudists in Israel find their stranglehold on that country, one held through propagandization, pouring millions into the American electoral system, much of it proceeds from drug sales, human trafficking and other areas of organized crime, some of it even America’s own foreign aid to Israel, used for “pump priming,” Israel is likely to try to precipitate a war on Iran by staging an attack on the US, its forces in the Gulf region or on a European NATO target, most likely the London Olympic games.

There has been highly credible information that an attack on the Olympics is planned.

Additionally, Dolphin submarines supplied to Israel by Germany have now been proven to have been specially modified to launch Cruise type and surface to air missiles.

This would allow Israel to attack American ships in the Persian Gulf, stage a nuclear attack on the London Olympics or shoot down commercial aircraft while blaming Iran.

Their powerful lobby in the US would back them up, their control of the press through much of the world would immediately blame Iran and any potential investigation would be rigged beforehand.

A critical component of the success of such an operation is that “highly informed sources” that might speak openly, would be threatened with any number of fates from immediate firing to the “accidental death” of their children.

In fact, we actually have statements from “highly informed sources” that this has happened before, more than once, in the US, United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe.

STRATEGIC REALITY CHECK
With so much blither from pundits, politicians and “armchair” military experts, no one has taken a realistic look at the situation itself.
Let us list the reasons that Israel and Iran have for going to war against each other. Normally, we end up with a series of economic or political considerations, fighting over resources, influence in the region or longstanding historical spats.

In this case, there are none.
Iran has, however, criticized Israel’s policy of using military force against Muslims within its borders and the use of the “holocaust” as justification for acts that most nations, according to dozens of UN votes, find to be “war crimes.”
Thus, Israel wants to censor Iran through the use of American military force.

To justify this, there has been a clear fabrication of claims of Iranian weapons programs, claims made by a nation that has, in itself, been the primary violation of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.


One could safely make this statement: “We have nuclear weapons that we stole or were supplied with through espionage that we use to threaten, not just our Muslim nations but according to noted Israeli military advisor, Martin Van Creweld, can, “at any time we wish, be used against Rome or elsewhere in Europe.”

With world economies on the edge of general collapse, any major conflict, particularly one that could draw in China or, worse still, present the United States in the role of aggressor and Israeli military surrogate again, would be historically unsustainable.

Russia suspends new arms sales to Syria

July 9, 2012

Russia suspends new arms sales to Syria | The Times of Israel.

Military official says only spare parts for existing equipment will be provided to Assad until calm returns

A destoryed Syrian Army tank. Russia has indicated it will not provide Assad with any new weapons. (photo credit: CC BY/FreedomHouse,Flickr)

A destoryed Syrian Army tank. Russia has indicated it will not provide Assad with any new weapons.

MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Russian official said that Moscow will not sign new weapons contracts with Syria until the situation there calms down.

Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy chief of the Russian military and technical cooperation agency, told Russian news agencies on Wednesday at the sidelines of the Farnborough airshow south-west of London that Russia will continue, however, with previously agreed exports.

He said that so far Russia has been providing Syria’s army with spare parts and assistance in repairs of the weapons supplied earlier.

Syrian activists say that about 14,000 people have been killed in an uprising in the country since March 2011.

Dzirkaln said that Russia does not sell helicopters or fighter planes to Syria.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Iran plans to expand, not suspend, its nuclear program, according to position paper obtained by Times of Israel

July 9, 2012

Iran plans to expand, not suspend, its nuclear program, according to position paper obtained by Times of Israel | The Times of Israel.

Iranian document, whose authenticity cannot be independently verified but accords with other reports in recent days, sets out Tehran’s ‘need’ for a ‘backup’ enrichment facility and 4 more research reactors.

Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili at daylong talks with six world powers in Istanbul, on April 14, 2012. (photo credit: AP/Burhan Ozbilici)

Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili at daylong talks with six world powers in Istanbul, on April 14, 2012. (photo credit: AP/Burhan Ozbilici)

A position paper obtained by The Times of Israel, understood to have been used by Iran’s negotiators at last week’s technical-level talks with the P5+1 powers in Istanbul, makes plain the Tehran regime’s unyielding rejection of international efforts to negotiate safeguards and restrictions that would prevent Iran attaining a nuclear weapons capability.

Far from indicating Iranian readiness for a suspension or scaling back of its nuclear program, indeed, the document, made available by an informed source on condition of anonymity, includes references to Iran’s expansion plans. “Facing constant threats, we need a back up facility to safeguard our enrichment activities,” it states at one point, when discussing the Fordow enrichment facility, the underground complex built beneath a mountain near Qom where Iran carries out its 20% uranium enrichment.

A later point, related to the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR), refers to the need “for at least 4 other research reactors because of the territorial extent of Iran and the short lifetime of medical isotopes.” The next clause in the document declares an Iranian ambition “to sell fuel complexes to other countries.”

The position paper, dated July 3, first sets out Iran’s objectives in the diplomatic process — which include obtaining international recognition of what it claims are its rights to enrichment activities, and securing “total termination” of all sanctions against it. It then details Iran’s bitter response to proposals from the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) for a negotiated agreement, notably including rejection of the international demand that it shut down its enrichment facility at Fordow.

The paper includes the statement that “the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes… its opposition to nuclear weapons based on the Supreme Leader’s Fatwa against such weapons.” And it features language that could be read as hinting at an Iranian readiness to suspend uranium enrichment to 20% if supplies are made available from abroad, in a clause that states “Iran will cooperate with 5+1 to provide enriched fuel needed for TRR.” But it also demands recognition of Iran’s ostensible right to enrich as much uranium to 3.5% as it wants — a “right” that is disputed by the West.

Written in imperfect English, in language that is clear in some sections and appears deliberately vague in others, the document’s authenticity could not be independently verified. But its content appears to accord with references made by some Western reporters who claim to have been shown certain texts by Iranian officials and by other anonymous sources in the past few days.

The text suggests that gaps between Iran and the P5+1 negotiating teams are extremely wide after three rounds of ministerial level negotiations in Istanbul, Baghdad and Moscow, and provides little basis for optimism regarding future rounds of negotiation.

Some of the content is marked by a tone of grievance and outrage at the international community’s demands of Iran. In a section subheaded “Transparency Measures,” for instance, the document protests that “baseless accusations and ambiguities have been raised regarding Iran’s past nuclear activities” and asserts that “Iran is asked to answer such allegations beyond its legal obligations.”

Similarly, in the first paragraph of its response to P5+1 positions, it states: “Some of the propositions in the proposal of 5+1 are incorrect, some are ambiguous, some are in contradiction to international documents and some are not in conformity with the realities.”

Objecting to the P5+1 demand for stopping all activity at Fordow, the document acknowledges that the facility is “being used for 20% enrichment” and other activities, but asserts that “this facility is not a military base and there is no reason to consider it so.” Taking issue with the P5 description of Fordow as “heavily fortified,” it argues that “protection of nuclear facilities is not only permissible but necessary” and cites “the sustained threats against nuclear facilities and enrichment activities.” It also protests the “ongoing threats against nuclear scientists.” Because of those constant threats, it adds, “we need a back up facility to safeguard our enrichment activities.”

Responding to a long list of suggestions from the international negotiators for cooperation with Iran in the operation of the Tehran Research Reactor, in various technical projects and in other areas — presumed carrots from the West designed to encourage progress — the Iranian text is withering and gives a hint at the frustrations P5+1 negotiators may have felt in the negotiating rounds to date.

“First, using general terms such as ‘cooperation,’ ‘support,’ ‘adjustment,’ ‘review’ and ‘recommendation’ in these propositions are in contradiction with the basic goal of the very same proposal ‘which is creating confidence and trust in the first stage,’” the document states. “Second, the above-mentioned suggestions are not compatible with the requests such as “stopping enrichment,” “transferring of materials” and “shutting down the Fordo (sic).”

Russia hosts top Syrian dissident for talks

July 9, 2012

Russia hosts top Syrian dissident for talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia was the only state talking to both the regime and the opposition about implementing the stalled peace plan. (Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia was the only state talking to both the regime and the opposition about implementing the stalled peace plan. (Reuters)

Russia on Monday hosted a delegation led by top Syrian dissident Michel Kilo for talks as Moscow comes under growing pressure from the West to halt all support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Kilo’s visit to Moscow comes ahead of a similar trip later this week by the head of the opposition Syrian National Council in a rare flurry of diplomacy between Moscow and the Syrian opposition against Assad’s regime.

The Syrian opposition and the West want Russia to use its influence on Assad to help bring about an end to escalating violence that has already left over 17,000 dead. Moscow has consistently refused to call for Assad to quit power.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Kilo that Russia was the only state talking to both the regime and the opposition about implementing the stalled peace plan of U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

“Russia is one of few, if not the only country which is working actively with the Syrian government and different opposition forces for the implementation of the Kofi Annan plan,” Lavrov said, quoted by Russian news agencies.

“I hope that your evaluation (of the situation) will be useful for us,” he told Kilo.

Kilo said that while he wanted a national dialogue, “the regime — alas — is not replying to our demands and is saying that we are not representatives of the Syrian people.”

The dissident is a member of the National Committee for Democratic Change which groups Arab nationalists, socialists, Marxists, members of the Kurdish minority and independents such as himself.

Russia on Wednesday will host the new head of the exiled Syrian National Council (SNC), Abdul Basset Sayda, whose coalition has at times been vehemently critical of Moscow’s policy on Syria.

Russia will not deliver fighter jets to Syria as situation remains ‘unresolved’

July 9, 2012

Russia will not deliver fighter jets to Syria as situation remains ‘unresolved’.

( Maybe Putin’s visit to Israel was more than the press knows… – JW )

Russia will not deliver Yak-130 fighter planes to Syria. Moscow reportedly signed an order to deliver 40 fighter-trainer jets to Damascus at the end of last year. (File Photo)

Russia will not deliver Yak-130 fighter planes to Syria. Moscow reportedly signed an order to deliver 40 fighter-trainer jets to Damascus at the end of last year. (File Photo)

Russia will not deliver Yak-130 fighter planes to Syria while the situation there remains “unresolved,” the country’s service for military cooperation said on Monday, according to the RIA news agency.

“In the current situation talking about deliveries of airplanes to Syria is premature,” Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy director of the service, told journalists at the Farnborough Airshow, RIA said.

Russia reportedly signed an order to deliver 40 fighter-trainer jets at the end of last year, despite controversy surrounding its arms sales to violence-torn Syria.

Putin urges for peace in Syria

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Syria needed dialogue between the regime and opposition rather than foreign intervention to ensure a lasting peace.

“I am convinced that we must do everything possible to force the conflicting sides to find a peaceful political solution to all the disputed issues,” Putin told foreign dignitaries in a televised address.

“Of course, this is more difficult and delicate work than the crude use of outside force. But only this can ensure a long-term settlement and the future stable development of the situation in the region,” he said.

Putin also repeated his earlier warnings against powers ordering armed intervention against Moscow’s Soviet-era ally without prior approval from the U.N. Security Council on which Russia wields veto power.

“We will continue to firmly defend the principles of the UN Security Council charter. We will make sure that in cases when forced intervention is needed, the decision can only be taken by the UN Security Council,” said Putin.

“Supplanting such decisions with unilateral sanctions can only be counterproductive.”

Putin spoke only hours after prominent Syrian opposition leader and intellectual Michel Kilo held talks in Moscow with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The meeting came amid efforts by Russia to show its ability to speak not only to President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle but also members of the opposition who have been scathing of Moscow’s stance in the near 17-month conflict.

Kilo told reporters after the meeting that he had initially supported dialogue with Assad but now felt that the situation had degenerated too far for meaningful talks.

“The regime — alas — is not replying to our demands and is saying that we are not representatives of the Syrian people,” news agencies quoted Kilo as saying.

Off Topic: Dershowitz defends Adelson

July 9, 2012

Op-ed: NJDC doesn’t speak for me on A… JPost – Opinion – Op-Eds.

( Dershowitz speaks for me here.  Adelson is an incredible supporter of Israel and Jewish causes.  To demonize him because he is anti-Obama is “self hating” as far as I am concerned. – JW )

07/08/2012 22:03
It’s hard to find anyone who has done as much for the Jewish community as Sheldon Adelson, Alan Dershowitz writes, following call from Nat’l Jewish Democratic Council to stop accepting donations from Adelson.
Sheldon Adelson
David Harris, the president of the National Jewish Democratic Council, has asked Jewish Democrats to sign a petition demanding that Mitt Romney and the rest of the Republican Party stop taking campaign contributions from Sheldon Adelson, and return those already received. They claim his money is “tainted.”This absurd allegation comes from a highly questionable, if not totally discredited, source – namely a former employee who was fired and is suing Adelson. He claims that Adelson approved of prostitution in his Macau casinos. Harris has apparently credited this claim even though no evidence has been submitted to support it and no finding has been made by any court. Has he never heard of “due process” or the “presumption of innocence?”

I know Sheldon Adelson and I have worked with him on several matters relating to Israel and the Jewish community. I have spoken on behalf of the wonderful school he has built in Las Vegas, and have had the pleasure of teaching one of the brilliant graduates of that school.

Adelson was deeply involved in the creation of the Birthright Israel Program, which has had extraordinary success in exposing young Jews to Israel. It’s hard to find anyone who has done as much for the Jewish community as Sheldon Adelson.

Adelson grew up in Boston in near poverty and is a shining example of the American dream. He is a self-made multi-billionaire who has contributed significantly to the world of modern technology and to the economic growth of Las Vegas and other areas. His generosity has helped repair the world.

I AM a Democrat and do not agree with many of Adelson’s political views, but I think it’s outrageous for the National Jewish Democratic Council to level unfounded allegations against Adelson. They do not speak for me, and for the many other Jews who admire Adelson’s contributions to the world, to America, to Israel and to the Jewish community.

I don’t know who Harris purports to speak for as president of the NJDC, but his partisan gamesmanship is an embarrassment to many Jewish Democrats. The attack comes with particular ill grace from a Jewish organization, considering all that Adelson has done for Jewish causes, and considering the fact that there is nothing uniquely “Jewish” about the questionable allegations against him.

Moreover, the demand that Mitt Romney return Adelson’s contributions is absurd. If all candidates had to return the contributions of every businessman against whom questionable allegations were made in a vengeful lawsuit, millions of dollars would have to be returned by hundreds of candidates all around the country.

Consider just one highly publicized example: the million dollars given by comedian Bill Maher to a super PAC supporting Barack Obama.

I single out Maher, whose comedy I generally like, because he said that he “decided to become the Sheldon Adelson of the Obama campaign,” and because extremists on the right have similarly demanded that the super PAC return Maher’s contribution, claiming it is tainted by his misogynistic rants against female Republicans such as Sarah Palin, against whom he has used vile, sexist language.

This is how The Christian Science Monitor delicately characterized Maher’s remarks: “[H]e has said some very bad things about Sarah Palin and other Republican women. He’s started with ‘bimbo’ and then moved on into derogatory gynecological references that are too obscene for us to repeat.”

I’m sure that if the Democrats were to apply David Harris’ “Adelson test” to all the contributions they have received from Hollywood moguls and other wealthy business people, they wouldn’t like the results.

So let extremists in both parties stop this nonsense about returning “tainted” contributions and focus on the real issues that separate the Democrats from the Republicans.

The writer is a Harvard law professor and political commentator.

In search of a Middle East policy

July 9, 2012

Israel Hayom | In search of a Middle East policy.

Elliott Abrams is a senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. This piece is reprinted with permission and can be found on Abrams’ blog “Pressure Points” here.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s blast at Russia and China last Friday blamed them for holding up international action against the Assad regime in Syria, but surely their position on Syria was not news. Clinton complained that they were “blockading” progress and “paying no price.”

But complaints do not constitute a policy. What Clinton did not supply was any approach or action that would change things — change Russia’s policy, change U.S. policy toward Russia, or change the facts on the ground in Syria. The administration’s diplomatic efforts, which put Kofi Annan at the fore, have failed, but they have not been replaced by anything effective.

The same is true of policy on Iran. The P5+1 negotiations with Iran have failed to produce progress, but the administration has nothing new to say. When the talks get nowhere, the administration calls for more talks, sometimes technical talks, sometimes talks led by the E.U., sometimes full-scale P5+1 negotiations. But this approach is manifestly not changing Iran’s conduct: The centrifuges keep spinning, the missile tests continue, and we must assume that warhead design is also going forward.

This same pattern is visible on the Israeli-Palestinian front, where administration policy has also failed and been replaced by nothing at all. George Mitchell left the scene in 2010, Dennis Ross resigned last year, the notion that a “settlement freeze” by Israel was the magic formula has been discredited, and there are no negotiations in sight. So what is U.S. policy? Have we advanced beyond Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s urgings last December “just get to the damn table,” as if anything positive would happen at that mythical table?

In all three of these theaters, Obama administration policy is frozen solid: no new ideas, no initiatives, and no acknowledgment that what has been tried for three and a half years has failed. Israelis and Palestinians can probably wait this period out, to see if a new president or a re-elected Obama has any new policy ideas. But the Iranian nuclear weapons program is not in suspension, and dozens of Syrians are dying each day. Nov. 6 and Jan. 20 are very far away in those policy contexts.

Consider what Mrs. Clinton said at the international meeting on Syria just held in Paris:

“What can every nation and group represented here do? I ask you to reach out to Russia and China, and to not only urge but demand that they get off the sidelines and begin to support the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. I don’t think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all — nothing at all — for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime. The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that Russia and China will pay a price. Because they are holding up progress, blockading it. That is no longer tolerable.”

That summation of America’s policy and our situation today is far grimmer than Clinton appears to recognize. The situation is “no longer tolerable” but there is nothing we plan to do about it except to ask other, smaller, weaker nations to plead with Russia and China to be nicer. With such leadership, and such refusal to acknowledge the bankruptcy of current policies in the Middle East, we can expect a grim summer indeed.

From “Pressure Points” by Elliott Abrams. Reprinted with permission from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Off Topic: El Al wins most beautiful flight attendants

July 9, 2012

El Al wins most beautiful flight attendants – Israel Travel, Ynetnews.

( They are also by far and away the smartest and most capable.  Too bad they get no recognition for that. – JW )

Israeli stewardesses are first in top-10 most beautiful in the world list by AFA, followed by Argentinean, Chinese

Daniel Edelson

Published: 07.09.12, 06:51 / Israel Travel

The Association of Flight Attendants, the world’s largest labor union for flight attendants announced on Saturday that Israeli airline El Al is first place of the ten airlines with most beautiful flight attendants in the world.

The selection was first reported in China over the weekend, where it was explained that the sweet smile of Israeli flight attendants made them the first choice for many travelers.

El Al did not receive an official announcement on its win yet. The company’s response stated that El Al is “proud of its flight attendants around the world, and the service it offers its passengers.”

The airline in the second place is the Aerolineas Argentinas, and third is Shanghai Airlines. Asian airlines dominate the list of the top 10 most beautiful flight attendants of the world by AFA, occupying seven places.

Last year a similar survey was made by an airline review website, where Singapore airlines flight attendants were crowned first place.

Danny Sadeh contributed to this report

Heavy clashes reported in central Damascus as Annan hopes to save peace plan

July 9, 2012

Heavy clashes reported in central Damascus as Annan hopes to save peace plan.

A girl, with Kurdish and the Syrian opposition flags painted on her face, takes part in a protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Hasakah. (Reuters)

A girl, with Kurdish and the Syrian opposition flags painted on her face, takes part in a protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Hasakah. (Reuters)

Heavy clashes were reported in al-Abbaseyeen area in central Damascus between the Syrian government forces and the Free Syrian Army, Al Arabiya reported on Monday, citing activists at the Local Coordination Committees.

As many as 99 have been killed on Sunday across the country, activists said. Violent crackdown campaigns were resumed by the Syrian government troops in Damascus suburbs, Homs, Hama and Deraa, they told Al Arabiya.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned on Sunday that time is running out to save Syria from a “catastrophic assault,” and scores of people were reportedly killed across the country, most of them civilians.

“The sooner there can be an end to the violence and a beginning of a political transition process, not only will fewer people die, but there is a chance to save the Syrian state from a catastrophic assault that would be very dangerous not only to Syria but to the region,” Clinton told a Tokyo news conference.

She appeared to be referring to the possibility of Syrian rebels launching such an assault on state institutions rather than to any outside intervention.

“There is no doubt that the opposition is getting more effective in their defense of themselves and in going on the offence against the Syrian military and the Syrian government’s militias. So, the future … should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime,” Clinton added.

“The sand is running out of the hour glass.”

Turkey has reinforced its border and scrambled fighter aircraft several times since Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet on June 22 over what Damascus said were Syrian territorial waters in the Mediterranean. Ankara said the incident occurred in international air space, according to Reuters

International envoy Kofi Annan has arrived in Syria after admitting that his peace plan has so far failed to end nearly 16 months of carnage, as scores more die in the violence-wracked country.

“The Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, arrived in Damascus late Sunday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad,” his spokesman Ahmed Fawzi said of Annan’s third trip to Syria since the outbreak of the conflict.

Earlier, Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi had told AFP Annan would hold talks on his six-point plan for peace with the Syrian leadership.

Annan himself has said his U.N.-backed mission has so far failed to halt the bloodshed, while stressing that Russia and Iran must not be sidelined from peace efforts.

“Russia wields influence but I am not sure that the events will be determined by Russia alone… Iran is an actor. It has to be part of the solution. It has influence and we cannot ignore it,” Annan told France’s Le Monde daily.

He also expressed irritation that while Moscow and Iran are mentioned by some as stumbling blocks to peace, “little is said about other countries which send arms, money, and have a presence on the ground.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused the United States and its allies of opposing Assad’s regime with the goal of dominating the Middle East and propping up Israel.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Sunday in Jordan that any attack on Syria would be “stupid” and “catastrophic.”

Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the country’s navy staged live fire exercises to “simulate the scenario of repelling a sudden attack from the sea.”

Earlier, Clinton acknowledged in Tokyo that efforts led by Annan to get Assad’s regime to halt its crackdown were proving difficult.

“The sooner there can be an end to the violence and a begetting of a political transition process, not only will fewer people die, but there’s a chance to save the Syrian state from a catastrophic assault that would be dangerous not only to the country, but the region,” she told reporters.

“It should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime their days are numbered.”

Clinton was speaking after talks in Paris on Friday where countries pledged to increase pressure on Assad to step down by seeking a tough U.N. resolution backed by a threat of sanctions.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, also speaking in Tokyo, renewed his call on the Security Council for collective action to pressure Syria to stop the violence.

“President Assad must understand that things cannot continue as they are. Fundamental change is needed,” Ban said.

But Assad remained defiant.

The United States is “part of the conflict. They offer the umbrella and political support to those gangs to… destabilize Syria,” he told German public broadcaster ARD in an interview to be broadcast later on Sunday.

Assad said the Annan plan had failed to stop bloodshed because “many countries don’t want it to succeed.”

More than 17,000 people have now died since the uprising began in March last year, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

On Sunday 99 people, including 61 civilians, were killed in violence across Syria, said the Observatory, which gathers its information from a network of activists and witnesses.

The death toll also included 36 regular army troops and two deserters.

Syrian forces attempted to storm the rebel strongholds of Qusayr and Rastan in the central province of Homs, the watchdog said.

Both towns have been outside regime control for months and are rebel strongholds.

Sunday’s violence followed another bloody day in which 77 people were killed, mostly civilians, the watchdog said.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s office released a statement saying she “strongly condemns the recent shelling of the Lebanese border area by Syrian artillery, causing several deaths and injuries.”

Rocket fire along the border on Saturday left two girls dead and 10 other people wounded in northern Lebanon.

The rebels have gained confidence in recent weeks, staging bolder attacks, holding pockets of territory across the country and clashing with troops only a few miles from the presidential palace in Damascus.

It’s all up to the IDF chief

July 9, 2012

It’s all up to the IDF chief – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

All the weight of the decision over whether or not to attack Iran has been placed on the narrow shoulders of a single army officer.

By Alon Ben David Jul.09, 2012 | 3:00 AM

So when do we reach the moment of truth? Have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who until now have been threatening the world with an Israeli strike on Iran to spur the international community into action, started to believe their own threats and the need to implement them? Army people who are likely to be involved are walking around like they’re carrying a heavy burden.

Time is short. Netanyahu and Barak believe that a strike must take place before the U.S. presidential election in November, and one has to wait a few weeks to at least appear to be giving the new sanctions imposed on Iran earlier this month a chance to work. Therefore, the narrow window of opportunity lies between August and October.

The cabinet – which observers believe nearly always has a majority to support an attack – will only be convened right before the strike to prevent leaks. Both Netanyahu and Barak know there are several people prepared to lie on the tracks to prevent an unnecessary war. First among them is President Shimon Peres, who is liable to go as far as informing the White House if he knew in advance about an attack. In the public arena, there are Meir Dagan, Yuval Diskin and maybe even Gabi Ashkenazi, who will put aside for a moment the Harpaz report considerations to halt the approaching disaster.

But the truly key person, the one who has the power to stymie this foolishness, is the Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz. The State of Israel cannot go to war without the support of the chief of staff, and Gantz, whether by direct confrontation or by dragging his feet, will stand between us and the “only 500 dead,” promised by Ehud Barak.

The burden that has been placed on the shoulders of this pleasant man, who so dislikes personal confrontations, is visible on him. The Mossad head, the head of military intelligence and the Israel Air Force commander don’t have the same ability to block Netanyahu and Barak’s crazy vision, even though all three oppose it.

Gantz, who will soon be completing half of his term, still doesn’t have the aura of authority that his predecessor, Ashkenazi, had, but he does have an accurate moral compass. He has avoided confrontation with Barak over promotions to general’s rank and the appointment of the IDF chief prosecutor, and might even capitulate over the appointment of the deputy chief of staff. But he knows that an attack on Iran and the war that would follow is a totally different matter.

In this fateful debate, every word he says will carry significant weight. Gantz will not be able to act like a waiter presenting the different courses on the menu and the price of each offering. On this issue he will have to point to what he believes is the proper course of action, which doesn’t include an attack right now on Iran.

Gantz is familiar with the widespread assessment that an attack will not only not scuttle the Iranian bomb project, it is liable to intensify the pace of its development. Israel will be dragged into a painful war, which will not defeat it but will paralyze it and deliver a critical blow to the home front, after which Israeli society may be irrevocably changed. It will be a war that is liable to lead many Israelis to reconsider their future in this place.

Israel will not be defeated by a conflict with Hezbollah, Iran and maybe even Syria, nor will it be destroyed. But when the smoke clears and we understand that this war wasn’t necessary and didn’t even achieve its objective, it will be hard to accept, even if there are fewer than 500 dead.

All the weight of this decision has been placed on the narrow shoulders of a single army officer.