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

To: one_less who wrote (250539)	12/4/2007 6:18:14 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

google it...........

To: one_less who wrote (250539)	12/4/2007 7:00:21 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 281500

Israeli officials reject U.S. findings on Iran By Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers Tue Dec 4, 1:29 PM ET JERUSALEM — Israeli officials, who've been warning that Iran would soon pose a nuclear threat to the world, reacted angrily Tuesday to a new U.S. intelligence finding that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons development program in 2003 and to date hasn't resumed trying to produce nuclear weapons. ADVERTISEMENT Defense Minister Ehud Barak directly challenged the new assessment in an interview with Israel's Army Radio, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the new finding wouldn't deter Israel or the United States from pressing its campaign to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability. "It seems Iran in 2003 halted for a certain period of time its military nuclear program, but as far as we know, it has probably since revived it," Barak said. "Even after this report, the American stance will still focus on preventing Iran from attaining nuclear capability," Olmert said. "We will expend every effort along with our friends in the U.S. to prevent the Iranians from developing nuclear weapons." Probably no country felt more blindsided than Israel by the announcement Monday that 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, in a stunning reassessment, had concluded with "high confidence" that Iran had halted its nuclear program in 2003 and with "moderate confidence" that it hadn't restarted that program as of mid-2007. For years, Israel has been at the forefront of international efforts to isolate Iran , with Israeli intelligence estimates warning that Iran was on the brink of a nuclear "point of no return," an ominous assessment that often fueled calls for a military strike. Israeli officials also have sought to isolate Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , citing his calls for Israel's destruction and his skepticism that the Holocaust took place. The U.S. intelligence finding said that evidence "suggests" that Iran isn't as determined as U.S. officials thought to develop a nuclear weapon and that a diplomatic approach that included economic pressure and some nod to Iranian goals for regional influence might persuade Iran to continue to suspend weapons development. On Tuesday morning, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper called the U.S. findings "a blow below the belt." An analysis in the competing Haaretz newspaper suggested that Israel might come to be viewed as a "panic-stricken rabbit" and said that the U.S. intelligence estimate established "a new, dramatic reality: The military option, American or Israeli, is off the table, indefinitely." "This is definitely a blow to attempts to stop Iran from becoming nuclear because now everybody will be relaxed and those that were reluctant to go ahead with harsher sanctions will now have a good excuse," said Efraim Inbar , the director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Israel's Bar-Ilan University . The estimate created an awkward situation for Israeli leaders, who mostly tried to sidestep direct criticism of the Bush administration. Olmert sought to focus on the report's finding that Iran had been deterred in 2003 from pursuing its nuclear weapons program by international pressure. That, said Olmert, made continued sanctions essential. Barak was tougher and promised that the report wouldn't influence Israeli policy. "We cannot allow ourselves to rest just because of an intelligence report from the other side of the earth, even if it is from our greatest friend," he said. Israeli officials also highlighted where the U.S. and Israeli assessments agree. They noted that while the latest U.S. assessment said that the earliest Iran was likely to develop enough weapons-grade material for a nuclear bomb was 2010, Israeli assessments weren't dramatically different, finding that Iran could develop the workings for a nuclear bomb by 2009. Gerald Steinberg , the chairman of the political science department at Bar-Ilan University , suggested that the findings might increase the chances that Israel will attack Iran because they reduce the chances that the United States will act. "I think it may introduce a lot of stress in the Israeli-American relationship," he said. But Emily Landau , the director of the Arms Control and Regional Security Program at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies , said it would be very difficult for Israel to launch an attack without explicit support from the United States . "If Israel were to carry out a military action, it would have to be in coordination with the United States , so if the United States is moving away from that option, it would have implications for Israel as well," she said. ( McClatchy special correspondent Cliff Churgin contributed to this report from Jerusalem .) Check out the latest from the Middle East at Checkpoint Jerusalem: washingtonbureau.typepad.com

To: one_less who wrote (250539)	12/4/2007 10:46:42 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 281500

Al Qaeda-linked Web sites number 5,600: researcher By Ibtihal Hassan Tue Dec 4, 12:12 PM ET RIYADH (Reuters) - There are now about 5,600 Web sites spreading al Qaeda's ideology worldwide, and 900 more are appearing each year, a Saudi researcher told a national security conference on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has identified the Internet as a key battlefield with militants who launched a campaign to topple the U.S.-allied ruling royal family in 2003. "Research shows there are more than 5,600 sites on the Internet promoting the ideology of al Qaeda," Khaled al-Faram told the Information Technology and National Security conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh. "There are some 900 news sites appearing every year, and despite the retreat of some media outlets specifically run by al Qaeda, extremist Web sites are constantly on the rise." He said it was difficult to track most of the sites, though hardcore al Qaeda sites often change addresses to avoid detection or start up again elsewhere once infiltrated. Faram was addressing a conference organized by the Saudi intelligence agency to encourage the public to cooperate more with the government and share expertise on how to survey the Internet for militant activity. This week the Saudi intelligence agency launched a Web site in an effort to open up to the public and change the negative perceptions of security services. People can send information anonymously to the site about any suspicious activity. "Mukhabarat" (intelligence) agencies are generally feared around the Arab world as tools of governments that abuse human rights. Saudi Arabian intelligence uses the name "Istikhbarat" partly to avoid the negative connotation of the traditional term. "The real battle with al Qaeda is no longer on the ground, but rather a media battle, and it is a real threat to national security," Faram told Reuters. "For al Qaeda media coverage is more important than the actual operations," he said. The Islamist network al Qaeda is headed by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, but analysts say al Qaeda has transformed from a close-knit militant group to a brand that disseminates radical ideas for sympathizers to act on independently. "The Internet, chat lines, text messages -- these are the new warriors," said Alessandro Zanasi, an expert on Internet monitoring known as "text mining." (Additional reporting by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Giles Elgood) * Email Story * IM Story * Printable View RECOMMEND THIS STORY