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Politics : Israel to U.S. : Now Deal with Syria and Iran -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (6801)	1/21/2005 6:42:09 AM
From: Crimson Ghost	Respond to of 22250

Russian Missiles to Syria, Venezuela and Iran? Why? From Geo-Politics magazine Recent U.S. political and ideological intervention in Ukraine did not constitute merely a shot across Russia's bow, warning it not to continue in its course of expanding geopolitical influence by virtue of energy dominance. It was rather an 'armed torpedo' launched directly at one of Russia's 'lead ships', so-to-speak. In a literal naval encounter that sort of action is, of course, tantamount to a declaration of war. The true meaning of recent U.S. actions inside Russia's traditional sphere of influence have not been lost on the Kremlin. This is war - albeit of the geopolitical flavor. The U.S. intends to roll back the rapidly growing Russian geopolitical influence. How is Russia answering that clear challenge? The Kremlin knows that on the world stage American influence and real power in the diplomatic, economic and ideological spheres is now at an unprecedented low ebb. It also knows the U.S. military is acutely and chronically overstretched and cannot take on significantly more commitment. With U.S. power in all spheres in real trouble around the globe, the Kremlin knows that for now it merely has to act so as to prevent the U.S. military from overtaking certain ones of Russia's growing list of strategic partners, which would damage the global power bloc Russia is hard at work constructing. But Russia does not want, nor can it yet afford, a direct confrontation with the U.S. Hence, it has decided to confront U.S. geopolitical moves in an indirect way, by means of crucial weapons sales to its key strategic partners, notably Syria, Venezuela and Iran. The Kremlin knows that all it must accomplish with regard to these strategically important states is to pointedly increase the costs to the U.S. of any military strikes against them. In so doing the Kremlin is firing a series of shots across the U.S. bow to make it think twice, and to demonstrate Russian ability to hold up its side of the geopolitical game - there will be no Russian forfeit in the face of the American onslaught. Russian missiles currently being sold, or under consideration of being sold to those three states will pointedly increase the costs and risks to America's already overstretched military in any action against them. Russia has developed the sophisticated SA-18 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile and reportedly is negotiating with Syria for the sale of a large quantity. Similar reports have surfaced with respect to Venezuela and Iran. It is no exaggeration to say that at least some of these states may already posses such missiles. As to their importance in frustrating the goals of an attacking enemy, one only has to reflect on how important such missiles were in defeating the Soviet Air Force in Afghanistan. Because they are man-portable and require only seconds to deploy they are virtually impossible to destroy. Consequently, they deny any attacking air force the assurance of attaining air superiority and the ability to conduct air operations unhindered. Reports also indicate the S-300 air defense complex might be under consideration for transfer to at least one of the three states. This system can track, acquire and attack multiple targets simultaneously, including not only incoming aircraft, but also missiles. Coupled with the Tuman system, such air defense complexes are difficult to destroy in an effort to achieve air superiority. A number of different, highly-accurate ground-to-ground missiles are reportedly also being considered for sale to the three states. One of these is the SS-26 (Iskander), which is specifically designed to penetrate U.S. and Israeli missile defense systems. As retaliatory deterrent assets, such missiles are quite effective. They assuredly reach their targets in the event the state which possesses them is attacked, pointedly raising the stakes of any attack. For example, Syria and/or Iran in possession of such missiles could exact a terrible price from Israel if either it or the U.S. were to attack. Finally, the Kornet anti-tank missile, which is already in the hands of the Syrian and Iranian militaries, is a deadly weapon against the most heavily armored and sophisticated American tanks. The Kornet is laser guided, and it is acutely feared by the U.S. army. Any invading ground force moving into Syria or Iran would pay a very heavy price, having to endure the loss of many tanks and armored vehicles. Will Russia transfer such missiles to Syria, Iran and Venezuela? The answer is "Yes", and a qualified "No". Some types have already been transferred, as noted above. If the U.S. continues to show itself to be hard-set against allowing Russia's geopolitical rise to continue, and makes threatening moves against Russia's crucial strategic partners, then one can be assured all such missiles, and many other deadly weapons, will be sold to its partners. By permitting the news of possible missile transfers to surface, the Kremlin is very effectively firing a shot across the bow, warning the U.S. that it has a very costly price to pay if it continues to chop away at Russia's geopolitical interests and goals. Further, the Kremlin sees it as its duty to take prudent steps with regard to its strategic allies to ensure that American military threats cannot easily be carried out against Russia's allies, which would be to Russia's own geopolitical detriment. Many analysts like to repeat the mantra that Russia is no match for the U.S. in the military sphere. But Russia is much smarter than that, plying its strengths indirectly against American weaknesses, to frustrate the ability of America's high-power military to actually achieve its goals. In the geopolitical game currently being played out between the two great powers, ingenious strategy is turning out to be far more important than mere size or raw power.

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (6801)	1/22/2005 4:23:11 PM
From: Crimson Ghost	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

Israel Grabbing Half Of Remaining Palestinian Jerusalem "By all accounts, the Israeli ministry of interior is using land expropriations, identity-card seizure, exorbitant taxes and difficult-to-obtain building, family-reunion and residency permits to slowly force Palestinian residents out of the city.... The total land to be expropriated could add up to half of all East Jerusalem property." MIDDLEEAST.ORG - MER - Washington - 22 January: How long these major political and military Israeli victories for which Ariel Sharon does indeed deserve the major credit will hold remains to be seen. What will be the future ramifications of what has happened in recent years and is now being consolidated at the moment by Israel in coordination with the U.S. remains to be seen. Whether and for how long the back of Intifada II has been broken, and whether or not the "Palestinian Authority" working at the direction of Israel and the U.S. will remain in power and/or be able to prevail in a shooting civil war, all that too remains to be seen. But for the moment Ariel Sharon the General and the Prime Minister has achieved tremendous political and military gains beyond what even he probably expected; and the Zionist movement has never had a firmer grip on the power of the world's only current superpower as well as much of the international mass media. Even as the U.S. and Israeli armed and financed PA forces move into Gaza to force an end to what has been known as Intifada II -- this after the Israeli building of the Apartheid Wall, great expansion of West Bank and Jerusalem settlements, and assassination of top Palestinian leaders including Yassin of Hamas and Arafat of the PLO and large numbers of sub-leadership -- the Israelis are making a major move to further consolidate their hold over all of crucial and historic Jerusalem. The outline of what they are doing was ironically published in Al-Jazeera just as the American President was proclaiming in his Inaugural his professed dedication to 'freedom', 'democracy', and an 'end to tyranny' all guided by his Lord Jesus Christ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Israel plans big Jerusalem land grab By Laila El-Haddad in Gaza Al-Jazeera - 20 January 2005: Palestinians see East Jerusalem as capital of their future state The Sharon government intends to strip thousands of West Bank Palestiniansof their property in occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli press quoting newly released government documents. At stake are thousands of donoms of land belonging to Palestinians who live in the West Bank and are now unable to access their land due to Israel's separation barrier. The decision, reached by the Ministerial Committee for Jerusalem Affairs in June of 2004, and approved by Prime Minister Sharon and his attorney-general a month later, has not been publicised until now. By some estimates, the total land to be expropriated could add up to half of all East Jerusalem property. The move is based on the Israeli Absentee Property Law of 1950, which holds that assets of Jerusalemite Palestinians who were in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at the time of the 1948 War would be expropriated by the state of Israel, without the absentee being eligible for compensation. Political considerations Palestinian claims to Jerusalem are being steadily eliminated The law, which applied to millions of Palestinian refugees who were unable to return to their homes after the 1948 war, has not been applied to West Bank residents with property in East Jerusalem until now. The decision is the latest in a series of measures by the Israeli government apparently aimed at eliminating Palestinian claims to Jerusalem and ultimately predetermining the future status of the city. According to the Israeli Human Rights group B'tselem, the development of East Jerusalem, since its illegal annexation in 1967, has been based on political considerations designed to strengthen Israeli control over the city, by creating a decisive majority of Jews. Pressure tactics By all accounts, the Israeli ministry of interior is using land expropriations, identity-card seizure, exorbitant taxes and difficult-to-obtain building, family-reunion and residency permits to slowly force Palestinian residents out of the city. A law passed by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in the late 1990s, declared that any Palestinian who has not lived in the city for seven continuous years loses his residency rights, for example. The Netanyahu law, whose time limit has since been changed to three years, does not apply to Israeli Jews. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (6801)	1/25/2005 10:30:42 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

Neville Chamberlain() emollient on Iran rift after US talks Ewen MacAskill* Tuesday January 25, 2005 The Guardian The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, played down a rift with the US about possible military action to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon after talks yesterday with the incoming secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice. Last week the White House identified Iran as topping its list of foreign policy trouble spots for George Bush's second term. Mr Bush has refused to rule out military action, while Mr Straw has said he can conceive of no circumstances in which he would back force. Together with his French and German colleagues, he has been pursuing negotiations with Iran that have resulted in a tentative deal suspending Iranian uranium enrichment. Yesterday, Mr Straw said a military option was not mentioned in his talks with Ms Rice, the national security adviser who is awaiting Senate confirmation this week as the new secretary of state. "I think it was indicative that in the discussions I had, the issue was not raised once by either side. It was not on the table," Mr Straw said. The foreign secretary noted that the US had a "different historical perspective on Iran" because of the hostage crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s(*), but added that US officials "have been active in their engagement" with the European negotiators and the International Atomic Energy Agency in support of the Iran talks. The Iranian government denies it is intent on building a nuclear bomb and hinted yesterday that it might be prepared to make the concession of allowing the IAEA unfettered access to the Parchin military base. After his talks yesterday, Mr Straw also welcomed Mr Bush's inaugural address last week, in which the president declared America's global mission to be the spread of democracy to "the darkest corners of the world". Mr Straw added: "I expressed support for what President Bush had said. After all, what he was saying was endorsing the very eloquent central tenets of the UN charter - democracy." The Foreign Office said the main issue of Mr Straw's visit was not Iran but the Israeli-Palestinian conference which Tony Blair will chair in London on March 1-2. One of the biggest issues exercising the US is an EU proposal to lift its arms embargo on China, imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. Mr Straw, trying to bridge the gap, told US officials yesterday the embargo would be replaced by the EU code of conduct on arms. guardian.co.uk () Message 20977727 (**) Message 19842099