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Politics : The Palestinian Hoax -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (3263)	1/6/2003 11:07:52 AM
From: JHP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3467

Arrow anti-missile test in “difficult conditions” DEBKAfile Military Analysis January 5, 2003, 12:04 PM (GMT+02:00) Arrow-2 anti-ballistic missile with launching tubes The official announcement that Israel’s anti-ballistic missile Arrow 2 system is to be tested Sunday, January 5, in “difficult and unusual flight conditions, in a complex targeting environment”, raises questions – especially when US defense officials have come especially to observe the first nearly simultaneous launching of four Arrow missiles, one of them armed. One of those questions is this: How come this multi-billion ballistic missile system, tested-fired 9 times, is only being test-launched in “difficult and unusual conditions” on the eve of war with Iraq? Another is: What are those difficult conditions? The effect of abstruse, uninformative official statements of this kind is to leave people guessing and worrying instead of reassuring them that “Israel has never been better prepared for any contingency”, as the prime minister keeps on saying amid the frequent alarums and excursions over the Iraq missile threat. The Arrow test will be part of the joint US-Israel air defense exercise due to begin in different parts of Israel in the next few days, in which, aside from the Arrow, 2 Israeli and 2 German Patriot anti-missile batteries will take part, as well as an American warship equipped with long-range radar for detecting missiles. The hundreds of US troops taking part in the exercise will remain in Israel. One thousand Marines are due to land this week. It is worth remembering, as DEBKAfile’s military sources stress, that the two Arrow batteries deployed in central and southern Israel are capable of shooting down 5 to 6 incoming missiles. Their ability to intercept a massive salvo of 15 or 20 missiles from Iraq is questionable. In theory, a single Arrow warhead tackles a single Scud at one time. However, the Arrow 2 system, consisting of the Green Pine static radar station, the Citron Tree fire-control and the rocket, is designed to intercept an attacking missile at about 50-90 km from cities. It has a proximity-fused warhead which gets it to within two seconds of an intercept and then blows it up. It does not need direct impact to kill an enemy missile; it can miss by 50-60 meters and still destroy the warhead. The Arrow’s big asset lies in its radar. While Green Pine is capable of judging the path of an enemy missile and its target shortly after it takes off – from as far away as 500km - questions exist about its ability to simultaneously track a large number of incoming missiles and calculate the number of warheads needed to intercept them before they hit target. The difference between doubt and certainty is measured in seconds. While Israeli may be the first country with complete anti-missile capability, it has its limits. To stop this gap in Israel’s anti-ballistic missile defenses, the IDF has deployed all the Patriot and Hawk batteries in its armory, while the Americans have rushed over improved Patriot batteries. Sunday’s hurried test-launching is being staged to settle a difference of opinion between Israel and American air defense experts. The Israeli side is certain the batteries in place can be safely counted on to defend the country against enemy missile assault; the Americans are less certain and want to see Israel’s assertion stand up to field testing. In the 1991 Gulf war, the old Patriots failed to stop 39 Scud missiles from landing in the Tel Aviv area. Since then, the Americans have re-engineered and improved the system, producing the PAC3. On January 5, therefore, at the eleventh hour before the Iraqi conflict begins, Israel will belatedly carry out a definitive test to establish whether its anti-missile and anti-air defenses are proof this time against potential hazards from the sky. The tardy discovery of any defects or faults in the Arrow system will not exactly help public morale or enhance Israel’s deterrent strength against Iraq and other enemies, such as the Palestinians and the Hizballah. Over the weekend defense minister Shaul Mofaz leveled with Israelis when he warned that air defense tests often go wrong. But, if they did, he said there was time enough to correct them before the Iraqi campaign gets started.

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (3263)	1/19/2003 5:31:12 PM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3467

This Arab is on our side Journalist Joseph Farah was so upset about the anti-Israel sentiment in the press that he started his own pro-Israel news service. Oh yeah, Farah's an Arab. By Aliza Libman/Jewsweek Magazine Joseph Farah is an unexpected, yet welcomed ally of Israel. Like many journalists, he's become involved in politics following his self-proclaimed "eye-opening" experiences. Farah, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Internet news service worldnetdaily.com toured North America recently on speaking engagements, where he discussed the pro-Israel outlook WorldNetDaily holds. But what makes Farah truly unique is his heritage. He is American. And Christian. And he's also an Arab. "I've always been proud of my heritage," says Farah, who freely admits that until the mid-1980s, he had the same preconceived notions about Israel and the Palestinians, as did "all other journalists." A trip to the disputed lands changed his viewpoint. He personally witnessed the hardships suffered by the Palestinian refugees and formed the viewpoint he holds today -- mainly that Arafat and his men are abusing their power and taking advantage of their citizens. His findings triggered an "incredible journey" where he researched the Palestinian people and their situation, and came to the conclusion that most Palestinian propaganda about sovereignty is just that -- propaganda. He is also quick to point out that the only true Palestinian state is Jordan, formed around 1948 when Israel established independence. When the current crisis began in late September 2000, Farah wrote an articulate article called "Myths of the Middle East" about the Palestinians' tenuous land claims to Israel. It was a popular article that described the historic Jewish ties to the land, debunking the myth that Palestinians have had a connection to the land before the Jews. Farah's firm pro-Israel approach comes from a sense of nationalism and identification with the Palestinian refugees. His grandparents immigrated to the United States from the West Bank with nothing, and built a life for themselves. He wishes that all other Palestinians could have the same opportunities that he has had. "When I see the Arab people in this predicament?it just breaks my heart," says Farah. However, he believes the Oslo Accords was never the right way to help the Palestinians out of their poverty-stricken lives into independence and prosperity. "The entire peace process was wrong from the beginning," he asserts, claiming that Arafat and his parliament only wish to further subjugate the Palestinians for their own personal gain, a fact which has come to light with the discovery of Arafat's misappropriation of foreign aid funds. Even if the Palestinian Authority had the purest of motives, the "land for peace" deal is ludicrous when comparing Israel to the Arab nations that surround it. Considering Israel's minuscule size and the incredible masses of empty land that Arab nations possess, Farah asks, "Do they really need more land?" Farah's quest is "about wanting freedom for Arab people?the only way to achieve it is to recognize who their enemies are." The enemies in question are, of course, Arafat, Hussein, and the other Arab dictators in the Middle East who deny their citizens basic rights, such as education and health care. Farah doesn't believe that they can be trusted to further the situation of the refugees. In stark contrast, he thinks that Israel, a free and democratic country, has the responsibility to do so. A deeply religious person, Farah quotes the biblical book of Isaiah for proof of his theories and refers to Israel's status as "a light unto the nations." He believes that to truly be a light unto the nations, Israel must follow the example set by the United States and endeavor to set up a home for the Palestinian refugees that is democratic and allows them to self-govern. "Is it being a light unto the nations to say to your Arab neighbors 'We're going to allow [a dictator] to set up a police state here' or to say 'Why don't you let us set up a free state?'" he asks. “… News media is a very closed, restricted society -- unless you see the world through a specific lens you won't fit in ...” Farah thinks that Israeli society is shifting to the point where public opinion is moving towards his viewpoints. He says the "dramatic shift in the political climate" of Israel is beneficial to the current level of recognition of who the evil people in the Middle East are. However, he is not optimistic that people will be able to solve the problems in the Middle East alone. "God's gotta sort this one out," he claims. Farah knows his nationality affords him more opportunity to speak about Israel. He freely admits that no Jew would be able to say what he says without being labeled a racist fanatic. However, he didn't begin his wildly popular Internet news site as a forum for Middle East lobbying. He endeavored to create a "USA Today for the Internet," and has succeeded in building up a following of two million readers per month since WorldNetDaily's inception in 1997. "It wasn't until 2000 that Jews in great numbers discovered WorldNetDaily," he explains, citing WorldNetDaily's "very favorable" Israel analysis of the worsening Intifada as a major draw. Farah explains that it was necessary for him to leave his major editorial positions achieved in 25 years as a journalist due to his convictions. "News media is a very closed, restricted society -- unless you see the world through a specific lens you won't fit in," he explains. Farah believes that his story proves that good journalists can achieve "just about anything" despite their adherence to unpopular views, provided that they are prepared to create their own opportunities for advancement. However, Farah freely admits that his life would be very different if he wasn't so determined to stick to his ideals. "If my opinions and world view were a bit more conventional, I'd be editing the Washington Post or New York Times -- I wouldn't have had to go invent my own news service." jewsweek.com