WarSclerotic

Experts: Iranian military stuck in the past – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Iran may be technologically advanced but its military capabilities are so limited it can’t risk war on its own soil, Israeli experts claim

Shiri Hadar

If war breaks out with Iran, the Islamic Republic would prefer fighting on foreign soil due to its outdated equipment, claim Israeli experts who believe Iran’s nuclear program is a cover for its limited military capabilities.

“Their most advanced aircraft is still the phantom, which we used in the Yom Kippur War 40 years ago,” says Dr. Soli Shahvar of the Haifa University.

On Wednesday, the New York Times exposed a Pentagon intelligence report which suggested that in 2008, the Iranian military was so wary of an Israeli attack it fired on its own aircraft.

Iran’s leaders may not miss a chance to threaten Israel but its ability to realize those threats is almost non existent, experts claim.

“As far as conventional technological capabilities, Iran is behind 30 years,” Dr. Shahvar explains. “Aware of this handicap, Iran has been smart enough to develop a-symmetric warfare methods and this is a successful strategy indeed. Iran operates elements such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad and goes unpunished.”

What it lacks in military capabilities, Iran makes up in satellite and nuclear energy development based on collaboration with North Korea. “Iran is technologically advanced, but that doesn’t win wars on the battlefield,” Dr. Shahvar says.

But the ayatollahs are good at playing the game. Iran frequently releases images from military parades, missile tests and large-scale air and navy maneuvers.

“It’s mainly a game of deterrence,” says Dr. Emily Landau of the National Security Studies Institute (INSS).

“Iran has a tendency to constantly report about its military advancements but its de facto capabilities are unimpressive. Conversely, it is very advanced as far as missile technology.”

Landau claims that for these reasons, Iran uses its missile technology to create deterrence but at the same time tries to avoid missile warfare on its soil knowing it will not be able to respond.

“Based on its conduct in the past decade, Iran is signaling that it has no interest in a war on its own soil,” she says.

“Iran’s use of Hezbollah and Hamas coupled with its nuclear program proves it is ready for battle, but on foreign territory. ”

Landau estimates that Iran will not risk any escalation on its soil knowing that the US is far superior in terms of military capabilities. “If a country obtains a nuclear weapon, it should not be so concerned over its military capabilities.”

Meir Javedanfar of the Interdisciplinary Center believes that even if Iran meets its nuclear goals it would still not be strong enough to confront the West.

“I don’t believe Iran has the amount of centrifuges it claims it has. If it does, they are 1970s centrifuges,” he says.

Javedanfar claims that Tehran puts up a front mainly due to domestic reasons.

“The regime has to show the people how strong it is, particularly after the 2009 coup attempt. They also need to show their Shiite allies in Iraq, Lebanon and in Hezbollah that they’re a superpower. In reality, Iran is years behind in a military sense.”

He estimated that the crisis over the country’s weakening economy will affect both its military and nuclear capabilities.

Obama’s anti-Israel agenda – Israel Opinion, Ynetnews.

Op-ed: Pre-election polls sad reflection of how unimportant Israel is to majority of US Jews

Dan Calic

With American elections only weeks away, relations between Israeland the US have become a key issue in the campaign. Try as he might, President Obama can’t do enough to hide how strained relations are between the two countries. The fact that the state of relations is being debated almost daily is enough of an indicator they are decidedly worse than prior to his presidency. In other words, when they are clearly good, there’s no need to debate the issue.

His dislike of Netanyahu is as clear as his love for the Muslim call to prayer, as he noted in his 2009 Cairo speech, when he called it the “sweetest sound on earth.”

At a time when tensions in the Middle East are as high as they’ve ever been, he rejected the request to meet with the leader of the only true democracy and America’s best friend in the region, when both leaders were in the same city. Ultimately he did agree to a phone meeting, which lasted 20 minutes.

When interviewed on 60 Minutes this past week, he referred to Netanyahu as “noise” which he “blocks out,” instead of a respectful comment such as “I’m always interested in hearing what the leader of our most loyal ally in the Middle East has to say.”

He referred to Israel as “one of our closest allies in the region.” In other words Israel is no closer than any other country? Please Mr. President, tell us who is as close as Israel?

When Netanyahu asks him to impose a “red line” on Iran, his response is “there is still time for sanctions to work.” In almost four years of his administration sanctions have yet to work. In fact, not only have sanctions not worked, Iran has actually increased the pace of its nuclear program. Does he actually think sanctions will suddenly have their effect in the remaining weeks before the election? Moreover, when will Mr. Obama think time has run out? After Iran engages in a pre-emptive strike killing scores of Israeli civilians?

His UN speech was distinctly absent of passion, nor did he take advantage of the opportunity to invite the nations of the world to stand in unity against Iran’s defiance. This shouldn’t surprise us. Let’s not forget this is a president who in 2010 openly and warmly welcomed Mahmoud Abbas to the White House, despite the fact Abbas has repeatedly said he will never accept Israel as a Jewish state. Conversely, Netanyahu was quietly shuffled into the White House through a side door, and in a clear statement of disrespect left on his own for dinner.

Rose-colored glasses

Also in 2010, 76 US Senators did something quite unusual. They were so disappointed in Obama’s consistent unfair treatment of Israel they sent him a letter asking him to be more fair toward the Jewish State. No previous president has received such a letter. In 2011 Obama chose to undermine Netanyahu when he made his famous “1967 borders” speech as the Israeli PM was airborne en route to meet with him to explain, among other things, why ’67 borders would be “indefensible.”

Leaders of both Republicans and Democrats, Obama’s own party, were so angry with the president’s speech they publically spoke out to distance themselves from his comments about ’67 borders. Just days later both parties sent him another strong message by giving Netanyahu 30 standing ovations when he spoke to a joint session of Congress.

Plus, after the two leaders met privately, Obama’s clear bent against Israel left Netanyahu with no choice, but to tell the president, while the cameras were rolling, that Israel cannot return to indefensible borders and must reserve the right to decide when and how to defend itself. It’s quite a sad moment when Israel needs to publically beg the US for the right to defend itself against a country which has repeatedly threatened to annihilate it and is unabatedly pursuing the very weapons to accomplish its oft stated goal.

More recently, Obama has been trying to put the brakes on Netanyahu’s requests that he publically stand with Israel, and confront Iran. Obama had yet another opportunity during his UN speech, and once again stopped short of ‘red lining’ Iran.

I believe Obama’s conduct is motivated by both political and personal reasons. The political aspect is that he is engaged in an election campaign, and doesn’t want his chances for re-election damaged. If Israel and Iran tangle, he’ll be under tremendous pressure from the American public, Congress and Western allies to support Israel, and possibly take military action. Should this happen it will damage relations with his other so-called “closest allies in the region.” He also risks a hostile reaction such as another oil embargo, like the one imposed after the 1973 war, during which President Nixon re-supplied Israel’s military.

On a personal level, given his background and upbringing, both of which have been significantly influenced by Islam, he doesn’t want to damage the effort to reach out to the Muslim world, an effort which began with the 2009 Cairo speech and has continued throughout his administration.

One would think his anti-Israel agenda would be obvious and negate most of the 78% Jewish vote he received in ’08. Not so. Polls predict that roughly 60-65% of Jews still support him. This is a sad reflection of how unimportant Israel is to the majority of American Jews. While many will outwardly claim they love Israel, and even argue with you over their support for Israel, at the end of the day, their votes reflect no difference from the average non-Jewish liberals who see Obama through rose-colored glasses.

It’s difficult to imagine relations between Israel and the US getting worse, but should Obama win a second term and not need to worry about being elected again, it’s highly likely his anti-Israel agenda will grow from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane.

To this I say Mr. Obama, you can run, but your attitude can’t hide.

Syrian soldiers killed in Turkish strike – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Turkey continues to bombard Syrian posts following mortar attack that killed five Turks; Turkish parliament set to discuss further military action

News agencies

Turkish artillery hit targets inside Syria on Wednesday, killing several Syrian soldiers according to activists, after a mortar bomb fired from Syria killed five Turkish civilians and prompted NATO to call for an immediate end to Syria’s “aggressive acts.”

In the most serious cross-border escalation of the 18-month uprising in Syria, Turkey hit back at what it called “the last straw” when a mortar hit a residential neighborhood of the southern border town of Akcakale.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several Syrian soldiers were killed in the Turkish bombardment of a military post near the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, a few miles across the frontier from Akcakale. It did not say how many soldiers died.

The Turkish parliament is set to convene Thursday to discuss further military action. On Wednesday night, Turkey asked the UN Security Council to take the “necessary action” to stop Syrian aggression and ensure that Syria respect its territorial sovereignty.

Turkey’s government said sought parliament approval for the deployment of Turkish troops beyond its borders, according to a memorandum sent to parliament.

Ibrahim Kalin, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, said on his Twitter account that Turkey had no interest in a war with Syria but would protect its borders. He said political and diplomatic initiatives would continue.

Turkey’s Anadolu news reported that Turkish artillery fire, carried out by a unit stationed near the Akcakale village, had caused massive blasts in the Syrian side of the border. Security sources said that Turkey had amassed additional forces in the border area.

Turks injured by Syrian mortar (Photo: EPA)

On Wednesday, the Turkish prime minister’s office announced Ankara’s swift response to the Syrian mortar attack. “Our armed forces at the border region responded to this atrocious attack with artillery fire on points in Syria that were detected with radar, in line with the rules of engagement,” the statement said.

“Turkey, acting within the rules of engagement and international laws, will never leave unreciprocated such provocations by the Syrian regime against our national security,” the office of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement.

Blasts in Turkish village of Akcakale (Photo: EPA)

Turkish media said Turkey has prepared a parliamentary bill for Syria that is similar to one that authorizes the Turkish military to intervene in northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish militants who have bases there. The bill is expected to be discussed in parliament on Thursday, Anadolu agency reported.

If approved, the bill could more easily open the way to unilateral action by Turkey’s armed forces inside Syria, without the involvement of its Western and Arab allies.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US was “outraged that the Syrians have been shooting across the border,” adding that she would speak with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the matter.

“It’s a very, very dangerous situation,” Clinton said. “And all responsible nations need to band together to persuade the Assad regime to have a cease-fire, quit assaulting their own people and begin the process of a political transition.”

NATO said it stood by member-nation Turkey and urged Syria to put an end to “flagrant violations of international law.”

The US-led Western military alliance held an urgent late night meeting in Brussels to discuss the matter and later on Wednesday in New York, Turkey asked the UN Security Council to take the “necessary action” to stop Syrian aggression.

In a letter to the president of the 15-nation Security Council, Turkish UN Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan called the firing of the mortar bomb “a flagrant violation of international law as well as a breach of international peace and security.”

UN diplomats said Security Council members hoped it would issue a non-binding statement on Thursday that would condemn the mortar attack “in the strongest terms” and demand an end to violations of Turkey’s territorial sovereignty.

AP and Reuters contributed to this report

‘Several Syrian soldiers killed in Turkish bombardment’ –.

The YouTube Video as a Dress Rehearsal | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com.

President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walking along the Colonnade at the White House. Photo: wiki commons.

The Obama administration’s handling of the organized assaults on American Embassies and personnel on September 11, 2012 – and later the other organized protests across the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan – is a window into its possible reaction should Israel conclude that the cost of facing a nuclear-armed Iran outweighs the cost of a military strike against Iranian facilities.

It was a “dress rehearsal,” so to speak, and frightening at many levels – not least of which is that there appears to be no understanding in the White House that there are those who need the United States as their enemy. President Obama said “the tide of war is receding,” but our withdrawal from Iraq and impending withdrawal from Afghanistan are understood by Iran, the Taliban, al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and various Salafist groups as unilateral retreats in the fact of their continuing expansion. This is not only true of Islamic organizations and governments; Vladimir Putin threw out USAID last week, undoing yet another part of the administration’s “reset” with Russia, and Hugo Chavez keeps “U.S. imperialism” on his teleprompter for every occasion.

The administration pedaled as hard and fast as it could from association with the junky YouTube that it claimed set off the massive demonstrations across the Muslim world.

• “Let me state very clearly and I hope it is obvious that the United States government had nothing to do with this video,” Secretary Clinton said. “To us, to me personally, this video is disgusting and reprehensible. It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose, to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage.”
• In case she wasn’t clear, she added, “The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.”
• President Obama weighed in. “The United States has been a nation that respects all faiths… We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.”
• A “hateful video” triggered a “spontaneous protest … outside of our consulate in Benghazi,” said Amb. Susan Rice. Rice and Jay Carney insisted that neither U.S. policy nor President Obama was the focus of the outburst.
• The FBI rousted an American citizen in the middle of the night and took from his home for “questioning,” about a “parole violation,” walking him right by a line of journalists camped outside.
• The administration asked YouTube to consider whether the clip “violates the terms of use” so it could be removed.
• The administration spent more than $70,000 to run ads in Pakistan denouncing the video and disclaiming responsibility.

There couldn’t have been a stronger and more concerted effort to ask people not to blame President Obama & Company – time, money and relegation of the First (and maybe the Fifth) Amendment to an afterthought.

It didn’t work. A protester in Malaysia on Friday held a sign that read, “Obama, our patience has its limit. Don’t blame us if your citizens die. Blame yourself. U started it!” In Egypt they raised the al Qaeda flag and chanted, “Obama, there are still a billion Osamas.”

Compare that to Gen. Dempsey’s comment – unquestionably pre-approved by the White House, since he’s still got his stars – that the U.S. didn’t want to be seen as “complicit” in any Israeli strike on Iran. His remark follows a series of high-profile efforts by the Administration to distance itself from Israel in the international arena even beyond administration-sanctioned statements that military action against Iran would be useless or counterproductive or premature.

• Bowing to Turkish wishes, the administration allowed Israel to be barred from the multilateral air-rescue exercise Anatolian Eagle. Then Israel was publicly slapped by both Secretary of Defense Panetta and NATO Secretary General Rasmussen when Turkey said Iran-related intelligence coming from NATO installations inside Turkey could not be shared with Israel.
• The U.S. held a Special Operations exercise, Eager Lion 2012, with 19 Arab and Muslim countries in May, just after canceling its vaunted Austere Challenge exercise with Israel. Maj. Gen. Ken Tovo, head of the U.S. Special Operations Forces, told reporters covering Eager Lion 2012 in Amman, “The message that I want to send through this exercise is that we have developed the right partners throughout the region and across the world … insuring that we have the ability to … meet challenges that are coming to our nations.”
• He was seconded by Rasmussen, who simply waved away Israel’s absence from the NATO meeting in Chicago, even as he acknowledged that 13 other NATO “partner” nations would attend because, “In today’s world security challenges know no borders, and no country or alliance can deal with most of them on their own.”
• Austere Challenge was slated again and then reduced in size and scope.
• Israel is not a member of the Obama Administration’s Global Counterterrorism Forum – which has 29 members, 11 of whom are members of the organization of the Islamic Conference. How’s that for distancing? Israel can’t be a member of a counterterrorism forum because it won’t agree that attacks on Israeli citizens constitute terrorism.

The administration claims that bilateral U.S.-Israel relations are just peachy, but abandoning Israel in the international arena strongly enhances the efforts of the delegitimizers and boycotters. And to no end.

Radical Arab and Iranian good will cannot be bought by administration efforts to put distance between itself and Israel or by trying to steer their anger toward a single American exercising his First Amendment rights with a video camera. They are at war with the United States – with this president, with the last two and with the next one (whether in 2013 or 2017). Only by acknowledging the depth of the predicament and by standing with our friends, including Israel, can we hope to defeat our foes. Hiding or sidling away won’t help.

Our enemies are smarter than that.

Khamenei on protests: Iran will never bow to pressure – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Amid economic protests in Tehran, supreme leader says West pressuring Iran because it is ‘not bowing to the hegemonic system.’ Top commander: We can destroy Israel in 24 hours

Dudi Cohen

The Iranian regime “has not bowed and will never surrender to pressure, and this has made the enemy furious,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday amid clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Tehran over the collapse of the country’s currency, which has lost a third of its value against the dollar in a week.

According to the Fars news agency, Khamenei told a group of “young Iranian elites” in the capital that “during the last 33 years, Iran has been faced with a wide range of political, security, military and economic pressure and sanctions, but the Iranian nation has not only neutralized these pressures through resistance, it has grown more powerful through resistance.”

The Iranian website Press TV quoted the supreme leader as saying that “the Iranian nation has never bowed to pressure and never will, and this is the cause of enemy’s fury.”

He told the “young gifted talents” that “the cause of all these pressures is the Iranian nation’s independent position and not bowing to the hegemonic system.”

Protests in Tehran

Meanwhile, Khamenei’s representative in the elite unit of the Revolutionary Guards said it would take Iran 24 hours to destroy Israel should it launch an attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear installations.

“If a war with Israel does happen, it wouldn’t be a long one, and it would benefit the entire Muslim world,” Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Shirazi said in an interview with Iran’s Jahan News.

Clashes in Tehran, Wednesday (Photo: AFP)

During Wednesday’s clashes near Tehran’s main bazaar, police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators and merchants angered by the plunge in the value of the Iranian rial. The protesters yelled out slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying his economic policies had fuelled the economic crisis.

Protesters further criticized the Iranian government for aiding the Syrian regime at the expense of dealing with the economic situation in Iran.

The rial has been plunging to record lows against the US dollar almost daily as Western economic sanctions imposed over Iran’s disputed nuclear program have slashed Iran’s export earnings from oil, undermining the central bank’s ability to support the currency.

The protesters further criticized the Iranian government for aiding the Syrian regime at the expense of dealing with the economic situation in Iran.

News agencies contributed to the report

CNN poll: ‘Obama got spanked tonight’ | The Times of Israel.

Romney earns high marks in first presidential debate

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his wife Ann wave toward the audience after the first presidential debate at the University of Denver, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, in Denver. (photo credit: Charlie Neibergall/AP)

A CNN poll of registered voters showed a decisive victory for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the presidential election debate at the University in Denver on Wednesday night, as 67% of respondents saying that Romney won while only 25% said President Barack Obama won.

The poll showed a clear preference for Romney in several specific fields, as well, including which candidate respondents felt would handle the economy better, which one would handle health care better, and which one would handle taxes better.

“What this means,” said one CNN analyst, “is that a lot of the president’s supporters are saying that he got spanked tonight.”

NATO backs Turkey in emergency summit on Syrian ‘threat’.

Wednesday, 03 October 2012

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen agreed with Turkey hold an urgent military bloc summit on in response to Syrian attacks that killed five Turkish people. (Reuters)

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RJC Presents: “Perilous Times” – YouTube.

( A very powerful vid… WOW ! Anyone planning on voting for Obama who cares about Israel should watch this.  No political bull…   A simple review of history that we tend to forget. RECOMMENDED !! – JW )

The Republican Jewish Coalition presents “Perilous Times,” a mini-documentary in which Israeli experts and everyday citizens candidly discuss their concerns about the U.S.-Israel relationship under Pres. Obama.

Among the notable experts consulted for this film are :
• Zalman Shoval, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and a highly-respected diplomat;
• Oren Kessler, foreign affairs correspondent at the Jerusalem Post;
• Barry Rubin, an expert on terrorism and Middle East affairs;
• Jacob Levy, Israel’s leading pollster and founder of Gallup Israel;
• Itamar Marcus, founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch; and
• Yair Shamir, leading Israeli businessman; former chair of El Al and Israel Aerospace; son of former PM Yitzhak Shamir.

For more information about the RJC, visit http://www.RJCHQ.org.

Iran pumps large Bassij militia forces into Tehran as riots flare.

( Roosting chickens? Hope springs eternal… –  JW )

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 3, 2012, 6:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Police clash with Tehran merchants

The Iranian government Wednesday, Oct. 3, invoked the emergency measures drawn up for the 2009 protests to deploy large-scale Bassij militia forces in the capital and put down the first angry protests against mounting economic hardship and the plummeting rial.
debkafile’s Iranian sources report two waves of riots swept through Tehran’s trading centers Wednesday:
the stores trading gold coins and foreign currency on Fereowsi, Estanbol and Manoucheri Streets, and the celebrated gold jewelry market in the Tehran Bazaar.
Money changers and gold traders attacked police forces and torched their vehicles, playing cat and mouse with the officers after they arrested some of the money changers and accused them of black market dealings.
This was part of the regime’s effort to curtail the steep plunge of the Iranian currency against the dollar. Wednesday, a dollar went for 40,000 rials compared with 37,500 rials Tuesday and 24,000 only a week ago.

Fearing that the troubles Wednesday presaged a general strike shutting down the bazaar for an indefinite period, the authorities decided to draw the line before the unrest spread to the rest of the capital and other cities.
Two teams are now at work to deal with the crisis before it gets out of hand: One is meeting at the office of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; the second, including Interior Minister Mostafa Mohamnmad-Najjar and Revolutionary commander of the Tehran district, is working on ways to rein in the crisis in the presidential bureau of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Both have received intelligence briefings, according to which there was a real risk of the Tehran merchants’ revolt igniting a popular uprising in Tehran that may well encompass the entire country.
The brutal Bassij militia were accordingly sent into Tehran. They were told to spread out early Thursday and force the merchants to open their shops. They were directed to act firmly but cautiously and avoid loss of life. Iran’s rulers are fully aware the any blood spilt at this stage would quickly inflame the masses.