Saudi Arabia Gets Pakistani Military Support vs CIA Color Revolution, India Confirms Chinese Military Engineers in Kashmir, India’s Secret Services Join Hands With CIA to Destabilise Pakistan, Saudi Diplomat Shot Dead Two Days after Grenade Attack on Consulate in Karachi, “Pakistani Militants” Hit Anti-Submarine Warfare Base in Karachi, China “Asks” U.S. to Respect Pakistan’s Sovereignty, Islamabad Offers China a Naval Base on Indian Ocean, Russia Expels Israeli Military Attache for “Industrial Espionage”, Expelled Israeli Spy was after Russian-Arab Arms Deals, Moscow Says Washington May Extend Missile Shield to Bulgaria Turkey, Threatens Nuclear Build-up, Syrian Policemen Clash With Hundreds of Gunmen on the Turkish Border, 120 Members of the Security Forces Killed in Ambush, Armed Groups Flee to Turkey, Erdogan: Turkey Will Not Close its Borders to Syrian “Refugees”, Saudi Air Force to Take Part in Turkey’s Anatolian Eagle Exercise, CIA Now Thinks Greece Military Coup Possible, Britain Will Not Abandon Military Bases in Cyprus, Israeli Stealth Ships in Reconnaissance Missions against Iran’s Secret Nuclear Sites, Iraq’s Sadr Rallies Supporters against U.S. Troop Extension, Five U.S. Soldiers Killed in Attack on Base in Iraq, German Soldiers Killed, NATO General Wounded in Afghanistan Attack, Iranian Submarines Sent to the Red Sea
Tarpley.net | April 20,2011
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India confirms Chinese military in PoK
Indian intelligence agencies now have credible evidence of their own that several hundred of the Chinese working in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are People’s Liberation Army engineers. They are in the process of verifying if these Chinese military engineers are engaged in some sort of military construction like bunkers.
Continue Reading >> The Times of India | May 12, 2011
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RAW, RAMA join hands with CIA to destabilise Pakistan
The ongoing tussle between the ISI and the CIA has intensified while the Indian, Israeli and Afghani secret agencies have stepped in to support the American secret service, raising concerns about possibility of more attacks on Pakistan’s military and other strategic installations.
Continue Reading >> The Nation | May 25, 2011
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Saudi diplomat shot dead in Pakistan
Shooting comes two days after grenade attack on consulate in Karachi as tensions rise between Sunni and Shia populations.
Motorcycle-riding assassins have gunned down a Saudi diplomat in the Pakistani city of Karachi, four days after a grenade attack on the Saudi consulate there.
Continue Reading >> The Guardian | May 16, 2011
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Pakistani militants hit Karachi naval base in Bin Laden revenge attack
Pakistani commandos continued to battle with heavily armed militants at a naval airbase in Karachi on Monday after 10 hours of fighting triggered by a Taliban assault to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden.
Blasts were heard after dawn local time as the military stepped up its counterattack on insurgents inside the PNS Mehran base, just off one of the city’s busiest roads.
Continue Reading >> The Guardian | May 23, 2011
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China asks US to respect Pak’s sovereignty, independence
China on Thursday said the international community “must respect” Pakistan’s sovereignty, tacitly confirming reports that it has asked the US not to violate Islamabad’s territorial integrity, following the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Continue Reading >> The Economic Times | May 20, 2011
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Pakistan Offers China a Naval Base on Indian Ocean
China’s “good neighbor” Pakistan recently confirmed to the Financial Times (FT) that it has requested China to build a naval base at its China-financed southwestern port of Gwadar and hopes to see the Chinese navy maintaining a regular presence there.
Continue Reading >> Military.com | May 24, 2011
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Russia expels Israeli military attache for ‘industrial espionage’
The Kremlin has expelled a top Israeli diplomat, accusing him of illegally obtaining Russian military secrets in order to help Israeli companies win lucrative defence contracts.
Continue Reading >> The Daily Telegraph | May 19, 2011
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Expelled Israeli spy was after Russian-Arab arms deals, says FSB
The military attaché at the Israeli embassy in Moscow, who was unceremoniously expelled by the Russian government last week, was allegedly gathering intelligence on Russian arms exports to the Arab world.
Continue Reading >> Intelligence News | May 24, 2011
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Russia Says U.S. May Extend Missile Shield to Bulgaria, Turkey
[...] “Russia is deeply concerned that after Poland and Romania, elements of U.S. missile defense will emerge in the Czech Republic, Turkey, Bulgaria and some other NATO members,” the deputy chief of Russia’s general staff, Valery Gerasimov, told foreign diplomats today in Moscow. “In the future, it may create risks for Russian strategic nuclear forces.”
Continue Reading >> Bloomberg | May 20, 2011
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Russia threatens nuclear build-up over U.S. missile shield
Russia will need to speed up the development of its nuclear strike capabilities if the United States does not convince Moscow its missile defense system isn’t aimed at Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday.
Continue Reading >> CNN | May 18, 2011
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Syrian forces clash with hundreds of gunmen – TV
Syrian security forces clashed with hundreds of gunmen in the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour on Monday, state television said.
“They have managed to end a blockade over one of the neighbourhoods that was seized by the gunmen for a while and are now battling them to end the blockade on the other neighbourhoods,”
Continue Reading >> Reuters | May 18, 2011
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Syria armed groups flee to Turkey
The terrorist groups behind days of deadly clashes in a northwestern Syrian town have escaped to Turkey, reports say.
Hundreds of Syrian civilians have also crossed the northern border into Turkey to escape violence in the town of Jisr al-Shughour after Ankara announced that its doors are open to those seeking refuge.
So far, hundreds of Syrians have crossed the border and Turkish ambulances have moved into Syria, transferring those injured in the unrest to the other side of the border.
At least 120 Syrian soldiers were killed after armed groups attacked police and security stations in the town on Monday. Some 200 others were also injured in the clashes.
Dozens of civilians were also killed and injured during the exchange of fire. Syrian officials said the armed groups were hiding in houses and firing at soldiers and civilians alike, using residents as human shields.
According to the state TV, armed groups also took over parts of Jisr al-Shughour and torched several government buildings.
Continue Reading >> Press TV | June 8, 2011
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Royal Saudi Air Force to take part in Anatolian Eagle exercise
The Royal Saudi Air Force will participate in this year’s Anatolian Eagle military training exercise, which will begin next month in the central Anatolian province of Konya, a newspaper in Saudi Arabia has reported.
This year the participation of the Royal Saudi Air Force, which joined last year’s Anatolian Eagle exercise as an observer, will be a first. Jordan, Pakistan, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Turkey are other participants in the exercise which will run June 13-24.
[...] In the fall of 2009, the Turkish military changed the Anatolian Eagle exercise, which is a joint international military exercise and which was to have included Israel, into a national military exercise, in a move widely seen as a way to exclude Israel.
A delay in the delivery of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Turkey from Israel was linked to the tension sparked by this cancellation, which is contrary to popular speculation that the delay was due to Turkey’s disapproval of Israel’s devastating offensive against the Gaza Strip in the winter of 2008/2009.
Continue Reading >> Today’s Zaman | May 24, 2011
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CIA Now Thinks Greece Military Coup Possible
Despite last year’s 110 billion euro Greece bailout — from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank — there remains serious concern that the periphery EU nation will be unable to continue its debt repayments. Due to the increasing severity of the problem, and the ongoing resistance to additional support, the Central Intelligence Agency has now issued a report warning on how worsening Greek unrest could bring rise to even a military coup.
Continue Reading >> Business Insider | June 1, 2011
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Britain says will not abandon bases in Cyprus
Britain said on Wednesday that the review of its military bases in Cyprus does not involve entirely abandoning them.
In remarks to mostly correspondents of Cypriot media, made public in Nicosia, a spokeswoman for the British Defence Ministry said the bases in Cyprus are very important for Britain from a strategic point of view. “Issues which will be reviewed are what we have now there, how do we use it, can we use it in a better way and with less spending, are changes needed and if yes which these changes should be,” the spokeswoman was quoted as saying.
Continue Reading >> Xinhuanet | May 26, 2011
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Israeli Stealth Ships in Raids on Iran
Cargo vessels owned by Israel’s richest man, who died on Friday, had been used to ferry elite Israeli forces for operations inside Iran, according to defence sources.
The death in Tel Aviv of Sammy Ofer, 89, came just days after the United States accused his company of breaching sanctions by selling an oil tanker to Iran. It has mystified Israelis why a company with close links to the government was allegedly breaching sanctions.
Military experts suggested the cargo ships had carried Black Hawk helicopters, hidden in modified containers, for use by commando teams in reconnaissance missions against Iran’s secret nuclear sites. Israel is conducting a massive intelligence operation to monitor Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.
Continue Reading >> The Progressive Mind | June 5, 2011
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Iraq’s Sadr rallies supporters against U.S. troop extension
Anti-U.S. Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr brought thousands of Shi’ite supporters onto the streets of Baghdad on Thursday in a show of force against any extension of the U.S. military presence in Iraq past a year-end deadline.
Sadr’s threats to revive his Shi’ite militia and protests by his Sadrist bloc are testing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s fragile coalition government over the divisive issue of whether American troops should remain on Iraqi soil.
Continue Reading >> Reuters | May 26, 2011
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Five U.S. soldiers killed in attack on base in Iraq
The American military suffered the deadliest attack against its forces in Iraq in more than two years Monday when rockets slammed into a joint U.S.-Iraqi base in Baghdad, killing five U.S. troops and reviving concerns about security and the stability of the country’s unwieldy coalition government.
Continue Reading >> The Washington Post | June 6, 2011
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German soldiers killed, NATO general wounded in Afghanistan attack
Two German soldiers and the police chief of northern Afghanistan were killed in a suicide attack in Takhar province. General Markus Kneip, the German commander of NATO forces in the region, survived the attack.
Continue Reading >> DW-World | May 29, 2011
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Iranian subs to the Red Sea – riposte for nuclear watchdog’s indictment
The deployment of Iranian “military submarines” in the Red Sea, announced Tuesday June 7, was Tehran’s response to the latest International Atomic Energy Agency’s report accusing Iran of nuclear work with “possible military purposes.”
Continue Reading >> DEBKAfile | June 7, 2011
Arms Flowing to Syrian Rebels from Iraq Jordan Lebanon, IAEA “Confirms” Syria Secretly Building Nuclear Reactor, U.S. Focused on Economic War against Iran, Over 15.000 U.S. Soldiers to Remain in Iraq, U.S. Base in Iraq Under Second Rocket Attack in Less than a Week, 25 Die in Italian Police Station Attack in Southern Iraq, 6 U.S. Soldiers Gunned Down in Afghanistan, Egypt Pipeline Blast Cuts Gas Supplies to Israel Jordan, Iraq Syria Eager for Cooperation With Iran in Building Joint Gas Pipeline
Arms flowing to Syrian rebels from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon
Syrian opposition sources said tribes in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon have been relaying weapons in an effort to oust President Bashar Assad. They said the weapons were sent to avenge the killing by Syrian security forces of tribal members over the last month.
Continue Reading >> World Tribune | April 28, 2011
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IAEA Confirms Syria Secretly Building Nuclear Reactor
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency has said for the first time that a target bombed in Syria in 2007 was a secretly built nuclear reactor.
Yukiya Amano Thursday told a Paris press conference that the facility destroyed by Israel in an air strike was a “nuclear reactor under construction.” As such, Amano said, it was not producing plutonium.
Continue Reading >> Energy Tribune | April 29, 2011
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Commander: US Focused on Economic War against Iran
Head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization General Gholam Reza Jalali warned that the US has concentrated its efforts on strong economic pressures against the Islamic Republic as its major strategy in confrontation against Tehran.
Continue Reading >> Fars News Agency | April 29, 2011
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Over 15,000 U.S. Servicemen to Remain in Iraq
[...] Maliki is planning to send a delegation headed by Abdul-Haleem al-Zheiri, a leading figure in Maliki’s Dawa party, to the neighboring Iran to explain his move and to give assurances to Tehran that the remaining U.S. troops will not be used against Iran, it added.
Continue Reading >> Xinhuanet | April 26, 2011
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US base in Iraq under rocket attack
Security sources say a Untied States military base in eastern Iraq has come under a second rocket attack in less than a week.
Three Katyusha rockets hit the Echo Army base near the city of Diwaniyah late on Saturday, Fars News Agency reported on Sunday. The projectiles are reported to have been fired from the southern parts of the city.
Continue Reading >> Press TV | April 24, 2011
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25 die in Italian Iraq base attack
A suicide bomber drove a tanker packed with explosives into the Italian military police station in southern Iraq killing at least 25 people, most of them Italian.
Continue Reading >> The Daily Mail | April 21, 2011
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6 US Soldiers Were Just Gunned Down By An Afghan Army Officer
An Afghanistan Army officer shot and killed six American soldiers following an argument in a Kabul airport today, NATO said.
The incident took place at a facility used by the Afghan air force at around 1100 local time, the Afghan defence ministry said.
Continue Reading >> Business Insider | April 27, 2011
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Egypt pipeline blast cuts gas supplies to Israel, Jordan
[...] It is the second such attack on the pipeline in the past few weeks. In late March, gunmen planted explosives on the pipeline, but they failed to detonate.
An explosion on the pipeline in February during an 18-day uprising in Egypt was blamed on a gas leak, although security services said they suspected sabotage.
Continue Reading >> RIA Novosti | April 27, 2011
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Iraq Syria Eager for Cooperation With Iran in Building Joint Gas Pipeline
Baghdad and Damascus are prepared to cooperate with Iran to build a joint pipeline to transfer Iran’s gas supplies to Syria and other Arab states, a Syrian official said.
[...] “The pipeline in question will meet the needed gas in Iraq and Syria and will facilitate Iranian gas exports to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt through the Arab Gas Pipeline.”
Continue Reading >> Fars News Agency | April 28, 2011
U.S. Mulls Keeping 10.000 Troops in Iraq, Admiral Mullen: No Iraq Request for Keeping U.S. Troops, Rare Suicide Blasts Near Baghdad’s Green Zone Targeted at Convoys Carrying Iraqi Defense and Political Leaders, Saudi Arabia Determined to Lead the Gulf Region on the Road to a Confrontation With Iran, Gulf Council Taking Steps Towards the Establishment of a Diplomatic and Military Confederation, Gulf Troops to Stay in Bahrain “till Iran Threat Gone”, Saudi National Security Adviser Gets Pakistani Military Support, Pakistan Ready for Middle East Role, Two Army Divisions Kept on Standby for Deployment to Saudi Arabia, Over 1000 Ex-Army Personnel Recruited for Service in Bahrain, Saudis Offering to Widen Huge U.S. Arms Deal to Keep Washington on the Kingdom’s Side, Buying Advanced Nuclear-Capable Missiles in China, Iranian President: “America is Trying to Sow Discord among Shi’ites and Sunnis… They Want to Create Tension Between Iran and Arabs… But their Plan Will Fail”, Ties Remain Strained But Turkey Israel Keep on Trading
U.S. Mulls “Keeping 10.000 Troops in Iraq”
US and Iraqi officials are looking into keeping 10,000 US troops in the country beyond a year’s end deadline for a complete withdrawal, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The talks are politically sensitive for both countries, with Americans keen to end their involvement in Iraq and Iraqis concerned that prolonging the troop presence could fuel sectarian tensions and protests.
Continue Reading >> AFP | April 22, 2011
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No Iraq request for keeping U.S. troops: Admiral Mullen
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on a visit to Baghdad that Iraq would need to begin talks very soon if it wanted to alter that plan in order to avoid “irrevocable logistics and operational decisions we must make in the coming weeks.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said the country’s police and army are ready and U.S. troops will not be needed beyond the year’s end.
Maliki said in a statement released on his website late on Thursday that the government was keen to develop relations with the United States, particularly with regards to training and arming its security forces.
Continue Reading >> Reuters | April 22, 2011
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Rare Suicide Blasts Near Baghdad’s Green Zone Kill 11
The first major attack in months at an entrance to the heavily fortified Green Zone killed 11 and wounded at least 19 on Monday as talk in the capital increased about whether Iraqi leaders would ask U.S. troops to stay beyond a year-end deadline to leave.
Suicide bombers simultaneously detonated two cars packed with explosives at a security checkpoint crowded with Iraqi parliament staffers. Iraqi police said the attacks appeared to be targeted at convoys carrying Iraqi defense and political leaders, including a military commander who survived the second attempt on his motorcade this month.
The speaker of the Iraqi parliament said the other blast seemed to be aimed at one of his advisers. The adviser also survived, but six Iraqi army officers and bodyguards for both dignitaries were killed, as were the two bombers.
The four-square-mile green zone houses the largest U.S. embassy in the world and thousands of American soldiers and contractors. None was injured in Monday’s attack. The gate where the bombings occurred is most frequently used by Iraqi politicians and military officers and their staffs and by the Iraqi media.
Continue Reading >> The Washington Post | April 18, 2011
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Saudis Give up on U.S., Instigate Direct Gulf Action against Iran
After giving up on US and Israel ever confronting Iran, Saudi Arabia has gone out on a limb against the Obama administration to place itself at the forefront of an independent Gulf campaign for cutting down the Islamic Republic’s drive for a nuclear bomb and its expansionist meddling in Arab countries, DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources report.
Two US emissaries sent to intercede with Saudi King Abdullah – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on April 6 and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, who arrived in Riyadh six days later – were told that Saudi Arabia had reached a parting-of-the ways with Washington, followed actively by Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
Abdullah said he could not forgive the Americans for throwing former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to the wolves in Cairo and for the unrest they were promoting against Arab regimes.
Saudi Arabia was therefore determined to lead the Gulf region on the road to a confrontation with Iran – up to and including military action if necessary – to defend the oil emirates against Iranian conspiracies in the pursuit of which the king accused US-led diplomacy of giving Tehran a clear field.
[...] Iran has taken two steps in response to the Saudi-led Gulf challenge: Thousands of Iranian students, mobilized by the Revolutionary Guards and Basijj voluntary corps have laid the Saudi embassy in Tehran to siege for most of the past week, launching stone and firebomb assaults from time to time, but so far making no attempt to invade the building.
Then, Saturday, April 16, the Iranian foreign ministry summoned the Pakistani chargé d’affaires to warn him sternly against allowing Saud Arabia and Bahrain to continue conscripting Pakistani military personnel. Tehran claims that by offering exorbitant paychecks, Riyadh has raised 1,000 Pakistani recruits for its military operation in support of the Bahraini king and another 1,500 are on their way to the Gulf.
Iran also beefed up its strength along the Pakistani border to warn Islamabad that if it matters come to a clash with Saudi Arabia, Pakistani and its military will not escape punishment.
Continue Reading >> DEBKAfile | April 19, 2011
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GCC Taking Steps Towards Confederation
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are discussing setting up a Gulf confederation, a Kuwaiti daily said.
The Gulf confederation will have a unified foreign, defence and security policy, but each of the six countries will remain independent and sovereign, Al Seyassah daily reported on Tuesday.
Turning into a confederation will help the Arab states confront challenges and threats from Iran to their security, sovereignty and independence, the paper said, quoting highly placed Gulf sources that it did not name.
Continue Reading >> Gulfnews | April 12, 2011
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Gulf Troops to Stay till Iran Threat Gone: Bahrain
Saudi and UAE forces will only leave Bahrain when an Iranian threat to Gulf Arab countries is judged to be over, Bahrain’s foreign minister said on Monday, hinting that Gulf troops could be there for some time.
Continue Reading >> Reuters | April 18, 2011
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Pakistan ready for Middle East role
With a broad Sunni Muslim bloc of countries lining up against an emerging Shi’ite crescent in the Middle East, Sunni-majority and nuclear-armed Pakistan could play an important – albeit somewhat reluctant – role.
A step in this direction is Pakistan’s decision to keep two army divisions on standby for deployment to Saudi Arabia in the event of trouble there. This followed a visit by Saudi Prince and secretary general of the National Security Council Prince Bandar Bin Sultan to Pakistan.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Fauji Foundation, an armed forces entity, organized the recruitment of over 1,000 ex-army personnel for service in Bahrain’s National Guard. The small Persian Gulf state, which is headquarters to the United States 5th Fleet, is suppressing protests with the help of Saudi invasion forces.
[...] Iranian media have broadcast stories predicting a strong Pakistani role in the Gulf region; this resulted in Iranian-sponsored agitators in Bahrain killing several Pakistani workers for “collaborating with the Sunni rulers of Bahrain”.
Continue Reading >> Asia Times | April 2, 2011
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Saudis “Offer to Widen Huge U.S. Arms Buy”
As Saudi Arabia’s confrontation with Iran swells amid claims Tehran is exploiting political turmoil in the Arab world, Riyadh reportedly has offered to expand its $60 billion arms deal with Washington to keep it on the kingdom’s side.
Continue Reading >> UPI | April 19, 2011
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Saudi Arabia and China Now More Than Just “Good Friends”
US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon is the second high-ranking American official to visit Riyadh in less than a week. He landed Tuesday, April 12, just six days after US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Saudi King Abdullah ended a stormy interview which failed to bridge the widening gap between Washington and Riyadh.
[...] Bandar recently paid a secret visit to China and clinched terms for CSS-3 DF-3 ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads to replace the hardware Saudi Arabia bought from China in the 1980s.
Continue Reading >> The Wall Street Shuffle | April 15, 2011
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Iran Eyes Mediation Role in Bahrain
“America is trying to sow discord among Shi’ites and Sunnis… they want to create tension between Iran and Arabs… but their plan will fail.” Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in a speech on Monday to mark national Army Day.
Continue Reading >> Asia Times | April 21, 2011
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Ties Remain Strained, but Turkey, Israel Keep on Trading
Just as diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey appear to have hit rock bottom, bilateral trade between Israel and Turkey have reached an all-time high, indicating that commercial interests can trump political differences.
Continue Reading >> The Jerusalem Post | April 17, 2011
Israel Prepares for Multi-Front War against Hamas Hezbollah and Syria in War Games, Will Deploy Four More “Iron Dome” Anti-Rocket Defences “With the Financial Help of the Americans”, Israeli Minister: War on Gaza Coming Soon, Sudan Accuses Israel Over Port Sudan Air Strike, Israel Believes Weapons are Being Smuggled through the Region to Gaza, U.S. Embassy Convoy Stoned in Southern Lebanon, Syria-Iran-Backed Hezbollah Fortifying South Lebanon, Washington Urging U.S. Citizens to Avoid Traveling to Lebanon, “The Potential for a Spontaneous Upsurge in Violence is Real”, Emboldened Gulf Arabs Speak Out against Iran, Kuwait Arrests Two Iranian “Spies” Recalls its Ambassador to Tehran Two weeks after Bahrain’s Similar Move, U.S. Forces Germany to Stop Indian Oil Payments to Iran, Egypt Extends Olive Branch to Iran Seeks to Normalize Ties, Iran’s Foreign Minister Invites Egyptian Counterpart to Visit Tehran, Iran Lawmakers to Visit Egypt, U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to Double Staff, NATO Chief Holds Talks in Turkey, Ankara Bolsters Security on Syria, Iraq Borders
IDF Prepares for Multi-Front War in War Games
Military holds drill aimed at preparing forces for all-out war against Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas; exercise did not include soldiers, live-fire.
In the face of a changing Middle East, the IDF held a set of war games this week aimed at preparing the military for all-out war against Hezbollah, Syria and Hamas.
The exercise did not include soldiers or live-fire exercises, but was held to drill commanders and their decisions in the event of a large-scale war on multiple fronts.
Continue Reading >> The Jerusalem Post | April 1, 2011
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Israel to Deploy Four More “Iron Dome” Anti-Rocket Defences
Israel is planning to deploy four more batteries of its “Iron Dome” short-range missile defence system, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday.
Speaking on military radio, Barak said: “With the financial help of the Americans, we hope to equip ourselves with four new ‘Iron Dome’ batteries.
[...] According to plans, the system will first be deployed along the border of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, from where militants fired a daily barrage of improvised rockets prompting Israel to launch a devastating 22-day offensive in December 2008.
It will then be deployed along the Lebanese border, from where Hezbollah militants fired some 4,000 rockets into northern Israel during a 2006 war. It was that experience which prompted the development of Iron Dome.
Continue Reading >> Space War | April 3, 2011
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Israeli Minister: War With Gaza Coming Soon
Israel’s Minister of Public Security Yitzhak Aharonovitch warned on Tuesday that Israel and Gaza are on the verge of another flare-up like Operation Cast Lead, Israel Radio reported.
[...] In response to a query by Xinhua, Aharonovitch’s media advisor was emphatic that “the minister meant exactly what he said, that he believes that there will soon be another war with Gaza.”
Continue Reading >> Xinhuanet | April 5, 2011
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Sudan Accuses Israel Over Port Sudan Air Strike
Sudan has accused Israel of carrying out an air strike that killed two people in a car near the city of Port Sudan on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Ali Ahmad Karti said one man was Sudanese, but the identity of the other passenger was unknown.
There has been no comment from Israel. But correspondents say Israel believes weapons are being smuggled through the region to Gaza.
Continue Reading >> BBC News | April 6, 2011
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U.S. Embassy Convoy Stoned in Southern Lebanon
A US embassy convoy in Lebanon was stoned on Saturday in the southern port city of Sidon by a group of unknown assailants, the embassy in the capital Beirut confirmed.
The group threw stones at the convoy while it was touring a touristic area of Sidon, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
‘The Lebanese army immediately cordoned off the scene and arrested some of the men responsible for the attack,’ the NNA added.
Monsters and Critics | April 2, 2011
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Hizbullah Fortifying South Lebanon
According the the Israel Defense Forces, Hizbullah has built bunkers and underground weapons depots in most southern Lebanese villages as it continues building its army, the Associated Press reports.
A memo from the IDF brass to Israeli embassies on Thursday to Israel details the acceleration of Hizbullah’s fortification of the volatile border region since the end of the 2006 Lebanon war.
The memo says, “Hezbollah has built as many as 550 bunkers in the southern Lebanon region, holding various weapons. In addition, the organization has built 300 underground facilities and 100 storage units for munitions including rockets, missiles and other weapons.”
Continue Reading >> Israel National News | April 1, 2011
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Lebanese Threat “Real” Washington Says
The potential for an uptick in violence in Lebanon that threatens U.S. citizens is very real, the U.S. State Department said in a travel warning.
The State Department said it was urging U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to Lebanon and said all U.S. employees in the country should keep a low profile.
“The potential in Lebanon for a spontaneous upsurge in violence is real,” the warning read. “Lebanese government authorities are not able to guarantee protection for citizens or visitors to the country should violence erupt suddenly.”
The warning said that anti-Western groups like Hezbollah remain a persistent threat and sporadic violence in Hezbollah strongholds in the south of the country makes travel risky.
Last month, seven Estonian bicyclists were kidnapped from the area in what the State Department says was a planned attack. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
Continue Reading >> UPI | April 5, 2011
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Emboldened Gulf Arabs Speak Out Against Iran
Sectarian strife has emboldened Sunni Arabs to defy Tehran, experts say
Kuwait recalled its ambassador to Iran, making the second Gulf Arab country to do so in less than two weeks, amid signs that the region’s Sunni governments are growing concerned about alleged Iranian influence in their domestic affairs and acting promptly and publicly to squelch it.
The Kuwaiti action, taken on Wednesday, came less than 24 hours after the country’s criminal court condemned two Iranians and a Kuwaiti to death following their conviction of spying for Iran. Two weeks ago, Bahrain ordered back its ambassador to Tehran and not long afterwards entered into a war of words with the leader of Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shiite movement allied with Iran,, and cut off air links with Lebanon.
“There is much fear of Iranian expansionism,” Ali Al-Saffar, an Iraq expert at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told The Media Line. “Whether this fear is true or perceived is debatable.”
Continue Reading >> The Media Line | March 31, 2011
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U.S. Forces Germany to Stop Indian Oil Payments to Iran
India is exploring paying for crude oil it buys from Iran in rupee after the US forced Germany to stop routing payments through a Hamburg-based bank.
India in February had begun clearing past dues to Iran by making euro payments through German-based Europisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG ( EIH Bank). But EIH, which is owned by Iran, is a banned entity in the US and Washington used its influence on Germany to stop payments.
Continue Reading >> The Economic Times | April 4, 2011
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Egypt Extends Olive Branch to Iran, Seeks to Normalize Ties
Egypt extends olive branch to Iran; seeks to normalize ties Egypt’s new foreign minister Nabil Al-Arabi has said that his country also would like to turn over a new leaf with respect to Hezbollah in Lebanon. “Iran is a state in the region, and we have had long-term historical ties with it over the different periods,” al-Arabi told a press conference. “We will turn over a new leaf with all states, including Iran.”
Al-Arabi cautioned that restoring diplomatic ties will depend on the Iranian side.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has welcomed Egypt’s statements and said that better relations would improve security in the Middle East. He added that he hopes there will be “an expansion of relations” between Cairo and Tehran.
[...] Iran and Egypt have not had formal diplomatic relations since the 1979 Iranian Revolution when the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was given exile in Cairo by his friend Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.
A year before that, Iran ended diplomatic ties with Egypt when Sadat signed the Camp David peace treaty with Israel.
Continue Reading >> The International Business Times | March 30, 2011
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Iran’s FM Invites Egyptian Counterpart to Visit Tehran
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi officially invited Egypt’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi to pay a visit to Tehran.
Continue Reading >> Fars News Agency | April 5, 2011
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“Iran Lawmakers to Visit Egypt”
Following encouraging signals between Iran and Egypt to restore diplomatic relations, a senior member of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) says a number of Iranian lawmakers are likely to pay a visit to Cairo.
Continue Reading >> Press TV | April 4, 2011
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US Embassy in Baghdad to Double Staff: This is NUTS! 16,000! Sixteen THOUSAND staff!
“We’ll be doubling our size if all of our plans go through and if we receive the money from Congress in 2011 and then again in 2012,” James Jeffrey, the US ambassador in Iraq, said.
He said the staff would increase “from 8,000 plus personnel that we have now to roughly double that by 2012,” adding that US forces would make up only a very small part of that number.
Continue Reading >> Global Research | April 4, 2011
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NATO Chief Holds Talks in Turkey
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen met with Turkish officials on Monday as an envoy of Moamer Kadhafi arrived in Ankara for talks on a possible ceasefire in conflict-torn Libya.
Continue Reading >> Cumhuriyet | April 4, 2011
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Turkey Bolsters Security on Syria, Iraq Borders
Turkish sources said the military has sent reinforcements along key points of the nation’s 600-kilometer border with Syria.
They said the reinforcements were sent after fighters and operatives of the Kurdish Workers Party were believed to have infiltrated Turkey from Syria.
Turkey has also reinforced troops along the border with Iraq, which harbors an estimated 3,000 PKK fighters in the Kandil mountains, Middle East Newsline reported.
Continue Reading >> World Tribune | April 4, 2011
CIA Operating Inside Libya, U.S. Agents are Helping Guide Air Strikes and Determining the Allegiances of Rebel Forces, Egypt Supplies Libyan Insurgents With Weapons at Washington’s Instigation, Egyptian Special Forces Secretly Pouring into Libya to Back the Rebellion, Cairo Keen to Cozy up to Iran and Hezbollah, Stalls Reopening of Natural Gas Pipeline to Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia Cold War Entering a New Era, Saudi Arabia Virtually Annexes Bahrain, Willing to Swap Gesture Favoring Coalition Operation in Libya for Recognition of its Takeover of Bahrain, Will Build a Missile-Naval Base Opposite Iran, Israeli and Saudi Leaders in a Discreet Meeting in Moscow, Israel Holding Secret Talks With Russia in Bid to Thwart Recognition of Palestinian State, Facebook Drops Palestinian Uprising Page after Israel Protest, Israel’s Military Intelligence Monitoring Foreign Left-Wing Organizations “Aiming to Delegitimize Israel”, Saudi Foreign Minister in Ankara, Visit Linked to Bahrain Events, Bahrain Foreign Minister in Turkey to Discuss Turmoil, Turkey Seizes Rifles on Grounded Iranian Plane, Turkey to UN: We Seized illegal Iran Arms Shipment en Route to Syria, Turkey to Dispatch a Naval Force to Libyan Waters, Will Assume Control of Benghazi Airport, Turkish Prime Minister Cancels Brussels Trip, Visits Iraq and Kurdish Autonomous Region, Turkey Hosts Joint “Urban Warfare” Exercises With Troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan, Trust in Turkey’s Ruling Party Diminishing among European Circles, Unprecedented Wave of Popular Protest Hits Syria, Damascus Deploys Troops, Accuses “Armed Groups” of Seeking to Incite Sectarian Strife, Israeli Army: Syria May Provoke Israel to Distract from Domestic Unrest, Bomb Rocks Jerusalem Bus Stop, Seven Estonian Tourists Kidnapped Hours after Entering Lebanon through Syria, Church Blast in the Same Lebanese Region, Israel Discloses Map Detailing Hezbollah Tunnel Network in Lebanon, Syria Releases Egyptian-American Accused of Espionage
CIA Operating Inside Libya
U.S. agents are helping guide air strikes and determining the allegiances of rebel forces
Since the conflict in Libya began, Barack Obama has promised not to put U.S. “boots on the ground” in the country. CIA agents presumably sport some other kind of footwear, then, because there are dozens of U.S. spies already in Libya, working with rebel forces and attempting to learn more about them, with the ultimate aim of determining whether the U.S. should arm the rebellion. Weeks ago, Obama signed a secret “presidential finding” that authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to provide weapons to the anti-Gadhafi forces, but so far no weapons have been shipped, and officials in Washington continue to weigh the consequences of such a move. British Special Forces and agents with the MI6 intelligence agency are also operating inside Libya.
The Mark News | March 31, 2011
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Egypt Supplies Libyan Insurgents With Weapons, Reports American Newspaper
Egypt has began, at Washington’s instigation, sending arms shipments to insurgents fighting against Gaddafi’s forces in Libya, said on Friday the Wall Street Journal.
This information was obtained from a member of the National Transitional Council which represents the insurgents and US officials, indicated the American newspaper.
The newspaper further noted that this is the first time a confirmation is obtained on sending arms including light rifles and ammunition from a foreign country to Libyan revolutionaries who have recently been defeated by government forces, much better equipped.
The US had expressed its disappointment at the unavailability of Arab countries to solve regional problems and critics against Western countries engaged to help settle these issues.
According to a US official quoted by the Wall Street Journal, the dispatch of Egyptian arms shipments started a few days ago. However, he stressed that Washington has not put in place a clear official policy on this score, even if it knows.
The official considered that the quantity of weapons as too small and too late to have influenced the balance of power in favor of the insurgents.
Afrique Avenir | March 19, 2011
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Egyptian Special Forces Secretly Storm Libya
Crack special forces troops have been secretly pouring into Libya to back the rebellion against Colonel Gaddafi.
The elite troops moved in as the defiant tyrant vowed to “fight to the last man and woman” – and warned that “thousands will die” if the West intervenes.
[...] Intelligence sources have told us that post-Mubarak Egyptian troops have been allowed into Libya by Tunisian soldiers – showing increasing Arab-backing for the anti-Gaddafi revolt.
Continue Reading >> The Daily Mirror | March 3, 2011
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Egypt Keen to Cozy up to Iran, Hizballah
[...] Egypt’s new foreign minister, Nabil al-Arabi, told reporters in Cairo on Tuesday that he intends to reestablish ties with the regime of Iranian strongman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Islamic overseers.
“We will turn over a new leaf with all states, including Iran,” said al-Arabi.
The minister said he was not yet sure if Egypt would be opening an embassy in Tehran anytime soon, but was keen to begin promoting friendly relations with the Islamic Republic.
Asked about Lebanon’s Hizballah terrorist militia, which more or less runs that country, al-Arabi indicated he had no problem with the group, and would not oppose official ties between Hizballah and Egypt.
“Hezbollah is part of Lebanon’s composition, and we see this as an internal matter,” he said. “If any party wishes to have ties with Egypt there will be nothing preventing us from talking.”
Continue Reading >> Israel Today | March 30, 2011
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Egypt Stalls Reopening of Natural Gas Pipeline to Israel, Once again
Egyptian company Eastern Mediterranean Gas hints closure is political, asks U.S. government for help
Egyptian authorities refused to allow the reopening of the natural gas pipeline to Israel yesterday, which was closed a month ago after a terrorist bomb damaged part of the pipeline. Sources at the Egyptian company Eastern Mediterranean Gas, which supplies Israel with the Egyptian gas, hinted the issue is not actually technical − but political.
Some of the owners of EMG, which sells gas to Israel, asked the American and Thai governments to push the Egyptian government to resume the flow of gas to Israel. The reopening was scheduled for today, after three previous postponements.
Continue Reading >> Haaretz | March 4, 2011
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Iran and Saudi Arabia Cold War Has Entered a New Era
Saudi Arabia fears Iranian influence – its Bahrain intervention has echoes of the Soviet reaction to the 1956 Hungary uprising.
Democracy is arriving in the Middle East, albeit slowly. But what is making progress at a much faster pace is the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Some described the fall of the Mubarak government, preceded by the fall of the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia, as the Middle East’s Berlin Wall moment. The parallels with the cold war in Europe do not end there. There are also similarities between the entry of Soviet forces into Budapest in November 1956 to put down a popular uprising and the Saudi decision to send forces into Bahrain on 14 March this year.
The Soviets were worried that communist Hungary might fall into the hands of their western cold war adversaries, and thus felt it necessary to send their forces to put down any such initiative. The new Saudi strategy is based on similar calculations. They sent their forces into Bahrain because they felt that if the Shia uprising succeeded, it could turn the country from a Saudi friend into an ally of Iran.
The Saudi decision to risk the lives of its own soldiers in Bahrain is a sign of how seriously they view the situation. It is a departure from the old strategy, where the Saudis paid others to do their fighting for them – as with the Saudi financing of Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran between 1980 and 1988.
As far as the Saudis are concerned, the gloves are off and this means that the Middle East’s version of the cold war is intensifying.
The Iranian government is furious as well. Publications such as the pro-Ahmadinejad Raja News have accused the Saudis of creating a “bloodbath” in Bahrain. Others, such as the Tehran-based Asr Iran, have called for the creation of a Hezbollah movement in Bahrain. Meanwhile, the Association of Independent Student Unions in Iran has declared its readiness to go to Bahrain in order to confront government and Saudi forces there.
This fury is now turning into warnings. President Ahmadinejad has already cautioned the Saudi royal family that they should “learn from Saddam’s fate”.
The Saudis should now start preparing themselves for Iran’s response, because the Iranian government is not going to let this pass quietly.
Continue Reading >> The Guardian | March 24, 2011
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Saudi Arabia Virtually Annexes Bahrain, Will Build a Missile-Naval Base Opposite Iran
Saudi Arabia ranges defenses against Iran, is willing to swap gesture favoring coalition operation in Libya for recognition of its takeover of Bahrain.
Continue Reading >> DEBKAfile | April 1, 2011
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Israeli and Saudi Leaders in Moscow as Palestinians Ramp up Missile Strikes
[...] In Moscow, DEBKAfile’s exclusive sources report that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was working to set up a discreet meeting between two visitors – Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, failing which he will try and bring the Saudi Intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, who arrived with the foreign minister, together with the Israeli leader.
Muqrin has met Israeli leaders in secret before, including the former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
[...] DEBKAfile’s Jerusalem and Moscow sources note that this is the point at which Israel’s declining security situation becomes relevant to a possible Israeli-Saudi dialogue.
Neither Jerusalem nor Riyadh is at ease with the US role in favor of the popular uprisings against veteran Arab regimes – and most particularly the US-UK-French military intervention in Libya. Both find this policy detrimental to the national and security interests of America’s foremost Middle East allies.
They also share resentment for the benefits accrued from this wave of unrest by Tehran and the effect it has had to turn world attention away from its progress toward manufacturing a nuclear bomb.
The Saudi king and Israeli prime minster are apprehensive, on the strength of their intelligence input, that Iran will eventually seize control of the popular uprisings in Arab lands, especially Egypt.
Riyadh alone took a substantial precautionary step against this menace by sending military units into the Bahrain on Feb. 14 to pre-empt the Iranian-backed Shiite threat to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the tiny kingdom’s financial and oil assets at the back door of the rich eastern Saudi oil center.
Continue Reading >> DEBKAfile | April 1, 2011
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Israel Holds Secret Talks With Russia in Bid to Thwart Recognition of Palestinian State
Isaac Molho, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior adviser and top negotiator on the Palestinian channel, made a secret trip to Moscow on Wednesday and met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The purpose of the visit was to dissuade Russia from supporting the European Union’s intention to present in two weeks’ time a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
Continue Reading >> Haaretz | April 1, 2011
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Facebook Drops Uprising Page after Israel Protest
Facebook on Tuesday removed a page calling on Palestinians to take up arms against Israel, following a high-profile Israeli appeal to the popular social-networking site.
The page, titled “Third Palestinian Intifada,” had more than 350,000 fans before it was taken down. It called on Palestinians to take to the streets after Friday prayers on May 15 and begin an uprising. “Judgment Day will be brought upon us only once the Muslims have killed all of the Jews,” a quote from the page reads.
Facebook said the page began as a call for peaceful protest, even though it used the term “intifada,” which has been associated with violence in the past.
“However, after the publicity of the page, more comments deteriorated to direct calls for violence,” said Andrew Noyes, Facebook’s public policy communications manager. He said the creators of the page eventually made calls for violence as well.
“We monitor pages that are reported to us and when they degrade to direct calls for violence or expressions of hate — as occurred in this case — we have and will continue to take them down.”
In a letter last week to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Israeli Cabinet Minister Yuli Edelstein said the page included “wild incitement.” Edelstein applauded Facebook for removing the page, saying he hoped the action would be an example to others and deter similar postings in the future.
Continue Reading >> The Associated Press | March 28, 2011
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Military Intelligence Monitoring Foreign Left-Wing Organizations
Military Intelligence is collecting information about left-wing organizations abroad that the army sees as aiming to delegitimize Israel, according to senior Israeli officials and Israel Defense Forces officers.
Continue Reading >> Haaretz | March 21, 2011
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Saudi Foreign Minister to Visit Turkey
Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud al-Faisal on Thursday will arrive in Ankara, reported the website of CNN Turk TV channel, which links the visit to Bahrain events.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet al-Faisal after returning from Russia. According to the report, the foreign minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu will also attend the meeting.
On Wednesday, Davutoglu spoke with foreign ministers of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain by phone, Anadolu Agency reported.
Officials said that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called Davutoglu, stating that Davutoglu and Salehi discussed “developments in the region”.
Davutoglu called foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and phone conversations mainly focused on developments in Bahrain, officials said.
Anti-government protests began in Manama, Bahrain in February. Demonstrators have been demanding the ouster of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as well as constitutional reforms, with hundreds camping out peacefully in the capital’s Pearl Square since February 14th.
Bahraini forces imposed a curfew and started to intervene in the protesting group on Wednesday. At least six people were reported to have been killed in Manama during attacks by Bahraini forces against the anti-government protesters in the capital. In response to this, Iran recalled its ambassador from Bahrain.
Troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states were dispatched to Bahrain at the country’s government’s request to help quell the uprising by majority Shiite Muslims against the Sunni leadership.
Trend News Agency | March 17, 2011
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Bahrain FM to Visit Turkey to Discuss Turmoil
Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa will visit Turkey on Tuesday to discuss unrest in his country sparked by a Shiite-led opposition movement, Turkey’s foreign minister said, AFP reports.
Turmoil in the Gulf kingdom “could produce a potential to create an international conflict… and spread Shiite-Sunni tensions across the region,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview with CNN Turk television Monday.
Turkey is in contact also with Saudi Arabia and Iran to ease tensions, he said.
“On the one side, we are advising Bahrain to put in practice democratisation reforms as soon as possible, and on the other side we are advising Iran, Saudi Arabia and the other related parties to show restraint,” he added.
Tension has escalated between Gulf states and Iran as Tehran condemned the deployment of Saudi-led Gulf troops in Bahrain last week, followed by a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in the Shiite-majority country.
Focus Information Agency | March 22, 2011
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Turkey Seizes Rifles on Grounded Iranian Plane
The Turkish authorities have seized rifles on a Syria-bound Iranian plane, grounded since the weekend, and questioned its seven-man crew, police and judicial sources said Tuesday.
The cargo plane, a civilian Ilyushin, was ordered to land in Diyarbakir, in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast, on Saturday night on suspicion that it had military or illicit cargo on board.
The plane had declared a cargo of spare car parts, but the inspection resulted also in the discovery of a box containing automatic rifles, a police source told AFP, without providing further details on the guns.
The crew was taken to a police station for questioning and argued that the weapons were on board as part of routine security measures, declining to give additional information.
Continue Reading >> AFP | March 22, 2011
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Turkey to UN: We Seized illegal Iran Arms Shipment en Route to Syria
Turkey has informed a UN Security Council panel that it seized a cache of weapons Iran was attempting to export in breach of a UN arms embargo, according to a document obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
Security Council diplomats said the report of the seizure from an Iranian cargo plane reflected positively on Turkey, which some U.S. and European officials say has taken a lax approach to implementing international sanctions against Iranian financial institutions.
The report to the council’s Iran sanctions committee, which oversees compliance with the four rounds of punitive steps the 15-nation body has imposed on Iran over its nuclear program, said a March 21 inspection turned up the weapons, which were listed as “auto spare parts” on the plane’s documents.
The plane was bound for Aleppo, Syria, and was given permission to pass through Turkish airspace provided it made a “technical stop” at Diyarbakir airport.
Continue Reading >> Haaretz | March 31, 2011
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Turkey to Take Over Benghazi Airport
Turkey has said it will help with distributing humanitarian aid to Libya and has suggested it could play a part in mediating between rebels and the government of Muammar Gaddafi.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country’s prime minister, said Turkey would take over the running of Benghazi airport to take responsibility for distributing humanitarian aid from the rebel-held eastern city.
The AFP news agency also quoted an official as saying Turkey was responding to a request from fighters in Libya, saying civilian and technical personnel would be sent out.
Ankara has already sent a ferry carrying a medical team, two ambulances and two tonnes of medical supplies to Libya in an attempt to help treat wounded people.
Cemil Cicek, the deputy prime minister, said Turkey was planning to take around 450 injured people from the rebel-held port of Misurata to Turkey for treatment.
Last week, the Turkish parliament also approved the dispatch of a naval force to Libyan waters as the government moved reluctantly to join the military campaign in the north African country.
Continue Reading >> AlJazeera | March 28, 2011
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Turkish PM Cancels Brussels Trip amid Criticisms Over Press Freedom
The Turkish prime minister has canceled his April 1 trip to Brussels to avoid criticisms from EU officials over the deterioration of press freedom, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review has learned from diplomatic sources.
[...] Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was scheduled to meet with top EU officials, including Herman van Rompuy, president of the EU Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. A joint press conference was also expected during the Brussels talks.
Continue Reading >> Hurriyet Daily News | March 28, 2011
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Turkey’s Erdogan in First Visit to Iraq Kurd Region
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was welcomed on Tuesday as the first Turkish leader to visit Iraq’s Kurdish region, on a trip laden with significance born of Turkey’s own history of conflict with its Kurdish minority.
Continue Reading >> Reuters | March 29, 2011
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Turkey Hosts Military Exercise with Pakistani, Afghan Troops
Turkey has hosted joint “urban warfare” exercises with troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan, comprising sniper and anti-tank units from the three countries.
The number of troops was small — apparently 128 — but the meaning of the exercise was more political than operational. Turkey has long been NATO’s point of contact for relations with Pakistan, and Washington and Brussels have been trying to get Turkey to help build relations between the militaries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. So this exercise — agreed upon at a summit between the three countries in December — is a step in that direction.
Continue Reading >> Eurasianet | March 30, 2011
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Signs of an Axis Shift in EU’s Trust in Turkey’s Ruling Party
Trust in Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, appears to be diminishing among European circles due to growing concerns about fundamental freedoms.
[...] The views of EU institutions vis-a-vis Turkey have seen a clear shift, according to Demir Murat Seyrek, a senior policy adviser for the European Foundation for Democracy.
Continue Reading >> Hurriyet Daily News | March 31, 2011
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Unprecedented Wave of Popular Protest Hits Syria
After Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, a wave of unprecedented anti-regime protests has now hit Syria, a country known for its iron grip on security matters.
[...] Daraa, a southern town that is home to large tribal families, has been the focal point of the rallies, the latest in a string of uprisings against long-running autocratic regimes across the Arab world.
Continue Reading >> Ahram Online | March 23, 2011
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Syria Deploys Troops after Clashes
Syria has deployed security forces to the northern city of Latakia after violent protests left at least 12 people dead and more than 150 injured amid calls for reform.
[...] Syrian authorities have accused “armed groups” of seeking to incite sectarian strife in the city, which has seen violent clashes between pro-reform protesters, security forces and government supporters.
Continue Reading >> AlJazeera | March 28, 2011
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IDF: Syria May Provoke Israel to Distract from Domestic Unrest
[...] The IDF is also preparing for the possibility that Damascus might use Hezbollah or other militant organizations in Lebanon to heat up that front to divert attention from events in Syria.
Continue Reading >> Haaretz | March 23, 2011
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Bomb Rocks Jerusalem Bus Stop
A bomb struck a crowded bus stop in central Jerusalem Wednesday, killing one woman and wounding more than 20 other people in what authorities said was the first major Palestinian militant attack in the city in several years.
The bombing brought back memories of the second Palestinian uprising last decade, a period in which hundreds of Israelis were killed by suicide bombings in Jerusalem and other major cities.
The Denver Post | March 23, 2011
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Lebanon: Estonian Tourists Kidnapped in Bekaa Valley
Seven Estonian tourists have been kidnapped while cycling in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
The army has now begun searching for the group, who had entered Lebanon legally from Syria earlier in the day.
They were in the town of Zahle when they were seized by men in a car and two vans.
It is not clear whether the kidnapping is politically motivated. The Bekaa Valley is a stronghold of the Islamist Hezbollah movement.
During Lebanon’s civil war, at least 88 foreigners were taken hostage between 1984 and 1990, including the journalist John McCarthy and peace envoy Terry Waite.
The Bekaa Valley is known for lawlessness, drug trafficking and feuds between the powerful clans which control the region’s hashish plantations.
The tourists’ abandoned bicycles were found near the industrial complex in Zahle where they were abducted.
BBC News | March 23, 2011
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Bomb Explodes at Zahle Church, None Hurt
A bomb exploded Sunday at a church in the eastern town of Zahle, causing severe damage but injuring no one, in an act denounced by politicians and religious leaders as an attack on Lebanon’s stability.
A security source told The Daily Star that a device containing 2 kilograms of TNT exploded inside Saidat al-Najat church at 4.15 a.m. Sunday morning, in a detonation performed via cellphone.
“This is the first time this kind of bomb has been used [in Lebanon], whereby the individual can detonate the bomb from anywhere,” the source said.
Continue Reading >> The Daily Star | March 28, 2011
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Israel Releases Map of Hezbollah Bunkers in Lebanon
Washington Post obtains map detailing bunkers, arms caches, surveillance sites in south Lebanon. IDF official: We want to show world that Shiite group has turned villages into fighting zones.
Continue Reading >> Ynetnews | March 30, 2011
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Syria Releases Egyptian-American Accused of Espionage
Syrian authorities have released an Egyptian-American man one week after detaining him on espionage concerns and showing him in what was billed as a televised confession on state TV.
Muhammad Radwan was released to the Egyptian Embassy in Damascus on Friday.
Continue Reading >> CNN | April 1, 2011
Iraq’s Largest Gas Field Discovered in Kurdistan, Syria and Turkey Agree on Cooperation Against Kurdish Separatist PKK, Turkish Intelligence Warns Against Attacks Ahead of Elections, Turkish Intelligence Chief in Azerbaijan, Turkish Interior Minister in Moscow, Iran to Tighten Security Along Eastern and Northwestern Borders
Iraq’s Largest Gas Field Discovered in Kurdistan
[...] The UK-based Heritage Oil Company announced that it has made a huge discovery of natural gas in the Miran area west of Suleimaniya. The statement reads that the field has between 6.8- and 9.1-trillion cubic feet (approximately between 192- and 257-billion cubic meters) of natural gas.
[...] Those could see the company bringing gas into Turkey and Europe through the planned U.S. and EU-backed Nabucco pipeline, which aims to bring gas from the Middle East and Caspian Sea region to Europe via Turkey and Bulgaria.
“The discovery of a major gas field of up to 12.3-trillion cubic feet (348-billion cubic meters) in place with exceptional flow rates makes this one of the largest gas fields to be discovered in Iraq,” the statement said.
[...] However, the ‘never-ending’ dispute between the KRG and the central government of Iraq regarding the region’s oil and gas production sharing contracts signed with international oil and gas companies since mid 2007 is still an obstacle to future prospects from which the region would benefit and the destiny of the oil companies working in the region.
Iraqi government’s ex-Oil Minister was firmly against any oil activities done in Kurdistan without his control, and labeled all its oil deals illegal. Moreover, refusing the KRGs request from Baghdad to pay the international oil companies’ fees led to a stoppage of Kurdistan’s oil exports in 2009.
Nevertheless, hopes are back on again with the new government’s promises to solve these disagreements, especially the new Iraqi Oil Minister’s statement that his new government will recognize the KRG’s PSCs and that the region’s 150- to 200-barrel-per-day exports would resume shortly.
Continue Reading >> Kurdish Globe | January 30, 2011
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Syrian-Turkish Agreement to Collaborate Against PKK
The Turkish daily Milliyet reports that a comprehensive Turkish-Syrian agreement for counterterrorism cooperation, aimed especially at coordinating efforts against the Kurdish organization PKK, is being considered by the Turkish parliament. According to the agreement, both countries will undertake to prevent all military, cultural, economic and propaganda activity by the PKK in their territory; a direct communications system (hot line) will be installed between the Syrian and Turkish chiefs of staff; joint military operations will be conducted, as needed, and procedures will be established for the rapid extradition of PKK members between the two countries.
The MEMRI Blog | February 12, 2011
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Turkish Intelligence Warns Against Attacks Ahead of Elections
[...] Intelligence units from the National Police Department and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) have this past week issued warnings against a possible increase in attacks intending to create unrest ahead of the June 12 national elections.
The National Police Department says that potential provocative attacks seeking to influence voter opinion ahead of the national election will target Turkey’s metropolitan areas. They say that even the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
[...] Attacks on security forces are also expected, particularly in the spring months.
[...] There is also intelligence signaling the possibility of mass anti-government rallies, not unlike the ones led by the Atatürkist Thought Association (ADD) and the Support for Contemporary Life Association (ÇYDD), where hundreds of thousands marched on the streets of İzmir, İstanbul and Ankara.
[...] The police department also emphasizes a threat based on intelligence indicating that there are groups planning to assassinate Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli and MHP parliamentary group chairman Oktay Vural.
Continue Reading >> World Bulletin | February 12, 2011
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Turkish Intelligence Chief in Azerbaijan for Talks
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today met head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Hakan Fidan.
[...] President Ilham Aliyev stressed the necessity of strengthening security issues in the region, adding development of Azerbaijan-Turkey relations in this field has positive impact on the whole region.
Continue Reading >> News.az | February 7, 2011
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Turkish Interior Minister in Moscow
[...] Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay arrived in Moscow on Thursday upon an invitation by Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev.
During meetings between Turkish and Russian delegations, cooperation in security and fight against illicit drug trafficking as well as deepening the cooperation between Turkish and Russian interior ministries were discussed.
The officials also took up fight against terrorism, prevention of extremism, exchange of intelligence, training of police officers and student exchange in police academies.
Continue Reading >> Turkish Daily Mail | February 11, 2011
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Iran to Tighten Border Security
Iran’s interior minister says the government has devised a new comprehensive plan for enhancing control and security along the country’s borders.
Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar told IRNA late on Sunday that the new plan has been implemented along the eastern and northwestern borders of the country, and will be put in practice along the entire borders of the Islamic Republic in the near future.
Continue Reading >> Press TV | February 14, 2011
George Friedman on the Iranian Problem
George Friedman claims that absent the United States, Iran will be the dominant force in the Middle East. This Carnegie Council event took place on January 26, 2011.
The Carnegie Council | February 11, 2011
“Baseless Rumors” About King Abdullah After US-Saudi Disagreement Over Egypt, French Prime Minister Received By Pro-US Rival Clan in Saudi Arabia, Calls for Stronger Sanctions on Iran, French Aircraft Carrier Docks in Jeddah on Route to Military Base in the Persian Gulf, Suicide Bombing Hits Shiite Pilgrims in Iraq, Turkish President to Visit Tehran : “Talks Only Solution to Iran Nuclear Issue”
Embassy: Reports that Saudi King Died are ‘Baseless Rumors’
Saudi Arabia on Thursday strongly denied “baseless rumors” that Saudi King Abdullah had passed away earlier in the day, AFP reported.
According to the kingdom’s embassy in Rabat, the king of the House of Saud was recovering in Morocco after undergoing back surgery in the United States late last year. A senior embassy official told the AFP, “I can assure that the health of King Abdullah is excellent and gives no cause for any concern.”
The embassy source reportedly said that the king has “held several audiences” since he spoke with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday about the unrest in Egypt.
The Jerusalem Post | February 10, 2011
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Riyadh, Paris Aim to Expand Defense Ties
French Prime Minister François Fillon said Saturday that he had discussed with Saudi officials prospects of expanding defense and security cooperation as well as promoting education and trade development programs.
Speaking to reporters after holding talks with Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, he said his discussions in Riyadh focused mainly on bilateral ties and major regional and international developments.
[...] “We have plans to upgrade the navy and cooperate in the area of air defense with the Kingdom,” the prime minister said.
[...] The premier, who arrived in Jeddah on Friday evening, visited the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle off the Red Sea city on Saturday.
The aircraft carrier is currently taking part in a joint Saudi-French navy and air force exercise.
Continue Reading >> Arab News | February 13, 2011
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French PM Calls for Stronger Sanctions on Iran
On board the Charles de Gaulle, Saudi Arabia – French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for stronger sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.
“In Istanbul, in January, Iran opposed our renewed proposal for serious dialogue over its nuclear programme,” Fillon said aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle off the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
“To convince Iran to return to the negotiating table, we’ll have to strengthen sanctions,” he told military personnel on the French navy’s flagship which is holding joint exercises with the Saudi military.
On Friday, a Western diplomat said in Washington that the world’s major powers would consider tougher, non-UN measures against Iran to include financial as well as oil and gas sanctions.
[...] After holding talks in Riyadh, the French prime minister was on Sunday to travel on the United Arab Emirates, where he will visit France’s military base in Abu Dhabi.
Inaugurated in 2009, the base where 650 French soldiers will be stationed by the end of 2011, is located less than 250 kilometres (155 miles) from the Iranian coast.
Continue Reading >> AFP | February 12, 2011
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Suicide Bombing Hits Shiite Pilgrims in Iraq, Killing 28
Up to 28 people were killed and 22 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack on Shiite pilgrims outside the city of Samarra in Salahudin province in Iraq on Saturday, a provincial police source said.
[...] The attack took place in the afternoon when a suicide bomber struck a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims while crossing a checkpoint outside Samarra, some 110 km north of Baghdad, the source said.
[...] Two days ago, a car bomb hit a procession of Shiite pilgrims heading to Samarra on the main road near the town of Dujail, some 60 km north of Baghdad, killing six and wounding some 40 others.
Continue Reading >> XinhuaNet | February 12, 2011
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Talks Only Solution to Iran Nuclear Issue: Gul
President Abdullah Gul said Turkey backs a negotiated settlement of the Iran nuclear issue by dialogue, as he prepared to travel to Tehran on his maiden official visit, state media reported.
“Turkey wants a solution for Iran’s nuclear issue through negotiations and dialogue,” Gul told Iran’s official news agency IRNA in what it said was an exclusive interview ahead of the scheduled trip.
Gul begins a three-day visit on Monday which will see him meeting top Iranian officials, including his counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He will also visit the cities of Tabriz and Isfahan.
“Iran is signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Thus, Iran’s nuclear issue should be solved through negotiation and Turkey will continue to facilitate this,” Gul said.
Turkey’s ties with its eastern neighbour have markedly improved since Ankara’s current Islamist-rooted government came to power in 2002.
Last month, Turkey hosted talks between Iran and six world powers aimed at allaying Western suspicions that Tehran is secretly developing nuclear weapons, but no progress was achieved.
In June, Turkey — then a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council — irked the United States when it voted against fresh sanctions the body approved against Iran, arguing that a nuclear fuel swap deal it had negotiated together with Brazil the previous month should be given a chance.
Continue Reading >> AFP | February 12, 2011
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Turkey Tells France EU Stance Bars Nuclear Deal
Multiculturalism Has Failed, Says French President
Iran Offers Small Oil Fields to Turkey
France’s Government Monsieur Fillon’s Holiday
Mock Urban Warfare Training City in Southern California
A mock city roughly the size of downtown San Diego has risen in a remote Southern California desert to train military forces to fight in urban environments.
The $170 million urban training center was unveiled Tuesday at the Twentynine Palms military base, 170 miles northeast of San Diego. The 1,560-building facility will allow troops to practice and refine skills that can be used around the world, the Marine Corps said.
The military has been opening a slew of mock Afghan villages at bases across the country to prepare troops for battle before they are deployed. The new training center is one of the largest and most elaborate.
The Washington Post | January 25, 2011
Iran, Syria Reach Deal On Natural Gas Pipeline
Iran and Syria have signed an energy pipeline accord.
The Middle East allies have approved a project to construct a pipeline between Iran and Syria. Officials said the pipeline would pump Iranian natural gas to Syria over the next few years.
“The strategic gas pipeline will transfer gas from Iran to Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea and this is connected to the Arab gas pipeline,” Syrian Oil Minister Sufian Alaw said.
Alaw, during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Massoud Mir Kazemi, said Iran, Iraq and Syria would examine the pipeline project later in 2011.
He said Syria has sought to acquire three million cubic meters of Iranian gas per day.
World Tribune | January 24, 2011
The Middle East’s Turko-Persian Future
The center of gravity in the Middle East has shifted dramatically in the past few decades from the Arab heartland comprising Egypt and the Fertile Crescent to what was once considered the non-Arab periphery — Turkey and Iran. The exciting era of Arab nationalism in the 1950s and 1960s, especially Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal and the all too brief union of Egypt with Syria, had made the Arab heartland the symbol par excellence of the reassertion of the Third World’s dignity and its aspirations for autonomy from the great powers. Since the 1970s, that air of excitement and hope has given way to the moribund nature of Arab politics and the perpetuation of autocratic and kleptocratic rule, which have contributed in large measure to the diminution in the regional role of major Arab states such as Egypt. Regimes that were once considered “liberalizing autocracies”, such as Egypt with its controlled elections and Jordan with an increasingly vocal parliamentary opposition, have now reverted to an unalloyed autocratic model.
This shift in terms of power and influence from the Arab heartland to Turkey and Iran began with the Arab defeat in the Six Day War of 1967 and gained momentum with the Iranian revolution of 1979. One began to see, however, hazily, the contours of the emerging Turko-Persian future of the Middle East in 1991 with the decimation of Iraqi power in the First Gulf War that provided both Iran and Turkey political space to increase their influence in the Persian Gulf and Iraqi Kurdistan respectively. It became a full-blown reality following the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by the United States and its allies between 2001 and 2003.
Foreign Policy | January 11, 2011
George Friedman : The Republic and The Empire
Stratfor founder George Friedman discusses the theme of his forthcoming book, “The Next Decade,” and explains why the United States has to change the way it deals with today’s world.
Stratfor | January 7, 2011
Anti-US Cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr Returns to Iraq from Iran
His militia was called the ‘most dangerous’ proponent of sectarian violence in Iraq. Now the powerful anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr has returned to Iraq — to cheers from his followers and jeers from U.S. forces.
Newsy | January 7, 2011
Iraq Opens Door to Nabucco Pipeline
Developments following the recent formation of a new Iraqi government have put the German energy company RWE in an interesting situation. Last August, RWE signed a gas cooperation contract (which is not a binding agreement) with the KRG, which the then-Baghdad government denounced.
Industry observers believe that the Nabucco partners are targeting Iraq’s Khor Mor and Chemchemal gas fields, not far from Kirkuk, as sources for export into the Nabucco pipeline. This belief arises from the fact that in May 2009 two Nabucco participating companies, OMV and MOL, each acquired a one-tenth share in Pearl Petroleum and its license to explore and develop those two fields, which together have estimated recoverable reserves of 100 billion cubic meters (bcm), with a speculative upper-bound estimate of 150 bcm.
Asia Times | January 6, 2011
Kurdish Militia Forces Deployed to Thwart Possible Military Coup in Iraq
Ten thousand members of the Kurdish peshmerga forces have been sent to Baghdad to protect Jalal Talabani – the Kurdish president of Iraq – and all other Kurdish officials there from the possibility of a military coup, says a senior official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of Iraqi Kurdistan’s two ruling parties.
Rudaw | December 28, 2010
Another Iraqi Nuclear Scientist Assassinated in Baghdad
Iraq’s young nuclear scientist, Mohammad al-Fouz, was gunned down in the country’s capital city of Baghdad by Israeli spy agency (Mossad).
Fouz, a genius university student, had discovered a new formula for producing peaceful nuclear energy and had been awarded by several international scientific festivals.
He had released his new uranium enrichment formula in a number of western journals.
A member of Fouz’s family told FNA reporter in Baghdad that the young scientist was targeted by unknown gunmen in New Baghdad neighborhood when he was on his way back home.
Earlier reports had shown Mossad’s involvement in the assassination of more than 350 Iraqi nuclear scientists as well as more than 300 university professors, and the attack on Mohammad al-Fouz was the most recent case in a chain of attacks carried out in recent years.
Fars News | December 29, 2010
Jordan Winds Down Military Intelligence Ties with Israel
Hard-pressed by Syrian President Bashar Assad and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyep Erdogan, Jordan’s King Abdulllah II has sharply reduced the kingdom’s military and intelligence collaboration with Israel after 60 years in which the partnership buttressed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s often shaky survival, secured Israel’s eastern frontier and helped safeguard both against terrorism.
DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources disclose that Jordan has reduced cooperation to the narrow border strip cutting down the middle of the Jordan River, keeping it in place only because it is an essential barrier against the flooding of the kingdom with hundreds of thousands of West Bank Palestinians. All other forms of the intelligence-sharing which kept both abreast of Middle East threats and undercurrents have been discontinued.
DEBKAfile | December 22, 2010
Chinese Military Advisors in Afghanistan?
Chinese advisers are believed to be working with Afghan Taliban groups who are now in combat with NATO forces, prompting concerns that China might become the conduit for shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, improved communications and additional small arms to the fundamentalist Muslim fighters.
A British military official contends that Chinese specialists have been seen training Taliban fighters in the use of infrared-guided surface-to-air missiles. This is supported by a May 13, 2008, classified U.S. State Department document released by WikiLeaks telling U.S. officials to confront Chinese officials about missile proliferation.
Aviation Week | December 13, 2010
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