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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (76597)	2/22/2003 3:19:16 PM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Nadine, Iraq will be made an example of one way or the other. This is directed at the Syrians and the Iranians as much as saddam. NK is a perfect example of what the future would look like with 5 or 10 of these rogue states running around. They could ally with each other or fight each other. They could supply terrorists. Perhaps chirac sees these nations as a future business opportunity for france. "Mr. Mugabe, do i have a deal for you on the L'atomique, our newest and cheapest Reactor." <g> mike

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (76597)	2/22/2003 3:31:45 PM
From: Rascal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

So silly of me. I didn't know that once we invade Iraq I could stop worrying about a dirty bomb! See that wasn't in the talking points. My assumptions show the war and invasion increasing terrorist attacks 10 fold. Rascal@ quickbooks.com

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (76597)	2/22/2003 3:54:57 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	Respond to of 281500

why the Wall won't work: Southerners fear Kassam rocket's future capability Matthew Gutman Feb. 21, 2003 Jerusalem Post Two Hamas-developed Kassam rockets slammed into Sderot, and another landed near Netzarim on Thursday, a day after a Sderot man was lightly wounded by one of four Kassams that hit the southern city on Wednesday. While the rocket's design is still in its infancy the majority of the rockets launched flutter harmlessly off-target IDF brass and residents of the South fear that, with time and practice, Hamas will fine-tune its rocket into a true strategic threat. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz considers the Kassam threat so grave that he has devoted five of the Givati Brigade's eight raids into the Gaza Strip in the past month to destroying rocket factories and lathes. "The Kassam rockets have become a serious strategic threat to the state of Israel," said OC Southern Command Brig.-Gen. Tzvika Fogel told The Jerusalem Post recently. "By taking hostage Israeli settlements inside the Gaza Strip and those outside its borders, and adding over 100,000 civilians into the cycle of violence, the Kassam situation requires immediate and powerful treatment." The western neighborhoods of Sderot lie only 800 meters and from parts of Beit Hanoun, the Gaza Strip village that Hamas has used as its primary Kassam launching pad. It takes the rockets about eight seconds to hit their targets. Israeli forces in the area said the IDF must apply constant pressure on Hamas itself, and constantly work to destroy Kassam workshops, in order to retard the future development of the rocket. The rockets are already a very potent psychological weapon, especially effective in sowing terror. According to Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal, the Kassam threat has major repercussions for his city of 25,000. "The fear is constantly with you. There is absolutely no warning; you don't know when the rockets will fall or where," said a statement from his office. The community has suffered about 10 Kassam-induced injuries and dozens of cases of trauma since the Kassam rockets started falling there last February. The city has petitioned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to be categorized as a city on the front lines. "We are concerned," said city spokesman Shalom Halevi, "that people are going to start running from this place, after all the economic situation here is already bad. It is terrifying to live under the constant threat of a Kassam attack." In addition to added subsidies a "front-line city" receives, Sderot has demanded that the government also construct a system of fencing in the areas vulnerable to infiltration. Intelligence officials believe that much of the technical know-how on rocket production used to make the Kassam derives from Hamas's contacts with Hizbullah in southern Lebanon; it is a well-known and oft-publicized fact that the 415 Hamas activists exiled to southern Lebanon in 1992 participated in intense weapons training with their hosts. In addition, ballistic analysts say the Kassam is distinctly similar to Hizbullah's Katyushas. In a much-covered publicity stunt in January 2002, Hamas announced that it had begun the manufacture of the Kassam rockets, and provided video footage of the wobbly rocket taking off. During the early part of 2002, the IDF captured several Kassams that appeared to have been prepared for launch against targets in the center of the country. So far, the Kassams are a crude instrument of war. The vast majority of the rockets fired outside of the Gaza Strip have landed harmlessly and ineffectually in the fields surrounding Sderot or near the Gaza settlements. But this also means they can be lashed together in a relatively short amount of time with primitive instruments. The rocket's relatively small size it stands just over one meter tall and has a barrel diameter of about 15-20 cm. makes them easy to hide and convenient to transport from Gaza to the oft-used launching pad area near Beit Hanoun's orchards. Over the past year, the Palestinians' attempts to infiltrate Israeli settlements or into Israel proper have ended in complete failure. According to the IDF, in the past year alone, 37 Palestinians were shot dead in infiltration attempts. Dozens of others were killed before they could even approach settlement or border fences. Therefore the launching of Kassams has in recent months become a preferred means of sowing terror or retaliating for IDF raids into the heart of Gaza. jpost.com