I’m guessing there was no nuclear site. If there had been, don’t you think Bush would have been beating his chest and telling the world how big bad Syria, friend to big bad Iran, had set up a nuclear site but he saved the world? He absolutely refused to comment about this at his press conference yesterday. On the other hand, Syria isn’t talking about it either…..so who knows.

Israel’s decision to attack Syria on Sept. 6, bombing a suspected nuclear site set up in apparent collaboration with North Korea, came after Israel shared intelligence with President Bush this summer indicating that North Korean nuclear personnel were in Syria, U.S. government sources said.

The Bush administration has not commented on the Israeli raid or the underlying intelligence. Although the administration was deeply troubled by Israel’s assertion that North Korea was assisting the nuclear ambitions of a country closely linked with Iran, sources said, the White House opted against an immediate response because of concerns it would undermine long-running negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.

Ultimately, however, the United States is believed to have provided Israel with some corroboration of the original intelligence before Israel proceeded with the raid, which hit the Syrian facility in the dead of night to minimize possible casualties, the sources said.

More at the Washington Post

Who to believe………?

IT was just after midnight when the 69th Squadron of Israeli F15Is crossed the Syrian coast-line. On the ground, Syria’s formidable air defences went dead. An audacious raid on a Syrian target 50 miles from the Iraqi border was under way.

At a rendezvous point on the ground, a Shaldag air force commando team was waiting to direct their laser beams at the target for the approaching jets. The team had arrived a day earlier, taking up position near a large underground depot. Soon the bunkers were in flames.

Ten days after the jets reached home, their mission was the focus of intense speculation this weekend amid claims that Israel believed it had destroyed a cache of nuclear materials from North Korea.

The Israeli government was not saying. “The security sources and IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] soldiers are demonstrating unusual courage,” said Ehud Olmert, the prime minister. “We naturally cannot always show the public our cards.”

Full article at the Times Online

No politician should take a single cent from any lobbying group who is pimping for Israel. This is NOT ok.

Syria said Thursday that its air defenses opened fire at Israeli warplanes that had entered its airspace at dawn and forced them to leave, but Israel said they are unaware of any such an incident.

Syria’s official SANA news agency quoted an army spokesman as saying that the Israeli planes penetrated Syrian airspace from the Mediterranean Sea heading towards the northeast.

According to the report, Syrian air defenses fired at the incoming Israeli planes after the warplanes “dropped ammunition”, but no damage or casualty was caused in the incident.

“The Syrian Arab Republic warns the government of the Israeli enemy against this aggressive action and reserves the right to respond in a way it deems appropriate,” SANA said.

The report, however, did not say the Israelis struck targets in Syria as some media reported, but only said the Israelis dropped ammunition.

Israel Radio reported that an unidentified Israeli military spokesman had denied Israeli warplanes attacked targets in Syria.

A spokesperson of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Xinhua that they are unaware of any incident that Damascus had claimed that it fired on Israeli warplane that violated Syrian airspace.

The IDF is not available for comments at the moment and would look into the report, said the spokesperson.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office also said it was looking into the report.

More at Xinhuanet.com

With Jewish campaign money more critical than ever and Jewish votes potentially important in a handful of key states, most of the 2008 presidential candidates are trying to carve out pro-Israel positions they can call their own.

Sen. Barak Obama (D-Ill.) has latched on to the burgeoning effort to increase the economic pressure on Iran through divestment. But Obama’s strong effort on behalf of a major divestment bill is being thwarted by an unnamed Republican senator - and Obama forces say the real culprit is the Bush White House.

The controversy involves the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2007, which would require companies with more than $20 million invested in Iran’s energy industry to divest those funds. The measure would also make it easier for state and local governments to purge their own portfolios of Iran investments.

Obama introduced the House-passed measure earlier this summer and called for quick Senate passage; with congressional sentiment running strong on the Iran issue, that seemed a good bet.

But the legislation has been stalled - according to Senate staffers, by a secret hold by a single Republican senator, probably Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Those same sources say Shelby got the green light for the hold from the Bush White House, which has quietly expressed concerns about various divestment proposals because of objections from the business community and concerns about their impact on U.S. efforts to toughen European Union Iran policy.

More at the Jewish Week

Oh the compassion…….

From the AP:

Israel said Sunday it would turn away refugees from the wartorn Darfur region of Sudan in an effort to stop the flow of Africans across Israel’s southern border with Egypt.

Overnight, Israel expelled to Egypt about 50 Africans who had entered Israel through Egypt’s Sinai desert, Israeli government spokesman David Baker said. It was not immediately clear if any of those sent back were from Darfur, he said.

“The policy of returning back anyone who enters Israel illegally will pertain to everyone, including those from Darfur,” Baker said.

Israel has until now accepted about 400 refugees from the Darfur region, according to Eytan Schwartz, an advocate for Darfur refugees in Israel. Fighting between ethnic African rebels and pro-government militias in the Western Sudanese region has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million since February 2003.

The refugees are among 1,160 Sudanese and a total of 2,800 Africans who have entered Israel in recent years.

Why are we giving these evil bastards more weaponry when they can’t be trusted. EVER. To do what’s right……..to tell the truth. Why is the U.S. congress in their pocket? AIPAC needs to be disbanded and sent packing. And so do all the congress people who have their heads up Israel’s ass.

The UN mine clearance agency on Tuesday slammed Israel for failing to cooperate in providing data on the location of areas where it dropped cluster bombs during its war with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

“In spite of repeated requests for information, Israel has not provided the required Strike Data — location of intended target, quantity and type of ordnance dropped or fired — that is required to quantify the problem,” the UN Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC) said.

“Without this Strike Data, detailed parameters of the size and scope of the problem remain elusive and operational planning is constantly being adjusted to meet the newly found reality on the ground,” the statement added.

MACC said that one year after the ceasefire that ended the blistering month-long war between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, 126,000 unexploded sub-munitions, or bomblets, had been located and destroyed.

More at Yahoo News

Israeli media reported Monday that Syria has acquired an array of advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles as part of a military build-up ahead of a possible war with the Jewish state. Syria currently has “the densest anti-aircraft deployment in the world,” Israel’s mass’selling Yediot Aharonot daily quoted a military source as saying. “Syria has purchased from the Russians the world’s most advanced surface-to-air missiles. This is the last word in plane interception technology. According to one estimate, the Syrians hold about 200 anti-aircraft batteries of different models … in an attempt to provide a response to the absolute superiority of the Israeli air force,” it said.

Army radio has also reported that Syria has acquired advanced weapons, including chemical warheads for surface-to’surface missiles.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has nevertheless refused to order the distribution of gas masks to civilians, fearing such a step would further escalate the heightened tensions between Israel and its northern neighbor, the report said, quoting sources in the military intelligence.

More at the Daily Star

“bonus” the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in Iraq

What support? Has Israel got troops in Iraq? Have they provided any aid to Iraq?

The United States has asked Israel to check the possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa. The request came in a telegram last week from a senior Pentagon official to a top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem.

The Prime Minister’s Office, which views the pipeline to Haifa as a “bonus” the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in Iraq, had asked the Americans for the official telegram.

The new pipeline would take oil from the Kirkuk area, where some 40 percent of Iraqi oil is produced, and transport it via Mosul, and then across Jordan to Israel. The U.S. telegram included a request for a cost estimate for repairing the Mosul-Haifa pipeline that was in use prior to 1948. During the War of Independence, the Iraqis stopped the flow of oil to Haifa and the pipeline fell into disrepair over the years.

More at Haaretz

Gee, the guy steps down a month early and the rape charges are dropped. Such a deal……. I can’t imagine the victims thoughts on this one. Well…..yes, I can.

JERUSALEM - Israeli President Moshe Katzav agreed to resign Thursday under an unexpected plea bargain that included no jail time for sex crimes, ending a year-long investigation.

Katzav admitted to charges of sexual harassment and obstruction of justice, but rape charges were dropped.

The plea deal was widely seen as a victory for the Israeli president, who holds a largely ceremonial post but is expected to set moral standards and help unify the country in times of trouble.

His accusers and women’s rights activists condemned the deal.

The announcement by Attorney General Meni Mazuz abruptly ended a case that captured the public’s attention, painting Katsav as a boss who repeatedly took advantage of his female employees.

In the space of a year, Katsav sank from being “Israel’s No. 1 citizen to a convicted sex offender,” Mazuz told a news conference.

Katsav is one of several high-level officials - including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - who recently have been implicated in scandals.

The president, whose seven-year term was due to end next month, planned to formally resign later Thursday, said his spokesman, Ronen Tzur. Katsav suspended himself in January to fight the charges.

More at Yahoo News

Sound familiar? Gee, did Cheney take his cue from them? And isn’t it ironic that a country with many citizens who were tortured by Nazis would now think it’s ok to torture Palestinians? What’s wrong with that picture???

By Aviram Zino

More at YNetNews

Sending #3. Gee, where’s Condi? I guess she doesn’t need to go because the deal is already sealed. More money for the military-industrial complex. How much will it be this time?

From Breitbart:

US President George W. Bush said Tuesday he will send a top diplomat to Israel next month to continue negotiations on a new, 10-year military aid deal with the Jewish state.

“I am strongly committed to Israel’s security and viability as a Jewish state, and to the maintenance of its qualitative military edge,” Bush said in a statement after White House talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

“During our meeting today, I told prime minister Olmert that I am committed to reaching a new 10-year agreement that will give Israel the increased assistance it requires to meet the new threats and challenges it faces,” he said.

Bush said he will send Under Secretary of State Nicolas Burns, the State Department’s number-three official, and an interagency team to Israel in July “to lead discussions aimed at concluding an agreement soon.”

This CAN’T be good………

CRAWFORD, Tex., June 16 — As he prepared for a visit this week from Israel’s prime minister, President Bush held an unannounced meeting with the top leadership of the United States’ Jewish community to discuss the dramatic events in the Middle East and other foreign policy issues.

Bush meets with smaller groups of Jewish leaders from time to time, but the gathering Thursday was the first time he had met with the entire leadership community, about 50 heads of Jewish advocacy, service and religious organizations of different political orientations.

The White House did not disclose the private session on the president’s schedule, and officials asked participants to treat Bush’s remarks as off the record. Present for the session were the president’s most senior aides, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and political adviser Karl Rove.

Several people present provided a general outline of the session, which included Bush giving an opening statement for 10 to 15 minutes and answering questions for more than an hour. The conversation touched largely on foreign policy issues, including the situation with Iran and Syria, the fight against Islamic extremists and — especially — the situation in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas’s seizure of power this past week has further complicated Bush’s faltering efforts to help settle the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

Continue reading at the Washington Post

H/T Bur$atil for this post!

from the B.B.C.

Fighting between Lebanese troops and Islamist gunmen from a Palestinian refugee camp has killed at least 40 people in Tripoli, northern Lebanon.

Some 15 fighters from the radical Fatah Islam group and 23 Lebanese soldiers died in intense battles, reports said.

At least two civilians were also killed and a further 40 reportedly hurt in the worst internal fighting Lebanon has seen since the civil war ended in 1990.

Later on Sunday, a large explosion sent a plume of black smoke above Beirut.

A woman is reported to have died in the blast in the largely Christian eastern district of Ashrafieh. At least 10 people are said to have been hurt. The cause of the blast is not yet known.

‘Unprovoked aggression’

Fighting erupted on Sunday morning after security forces raided a building in the northern city of Tripoli to arrest suspects in a bank robbery. After resisting arrest, militants said to belong to Fatah Islam attacked army posts at the entrances to the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp, which is home to some 30,000 displaced Palestinians.

Emergency workers evacuated the injured from the blast in Beirut

Several hours later, a large force of Lebanese troops hit back at Fatah Islam, bombarding the camp and storming a building on the outskirts of Tripoli.

Two civilians were killed and 40 were injured, AFP news agency reported. A Lebanese army spokesman said another 27 soldiers were injured.

The Nahr el-Bared camp has been under scrutiny since two bus bombings in a Christian area of Beirut in February, blamed on Fatah Islam militants based in the camp.

read more at the BBC WEBSITE

Why can’t they fund their own defense???? They are not a poor nation. Oh wait, I forgot. 75% of the military aid to Israel has to be spent in the United States. More war profiteering on the part of this administration.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives has adopted a measure aimed at weaving closer U.S. and Israeli defenses against ballistic missiles of the type that could be fired by Iran.

Part of a $504 billion defense spending bill passed Thursday, the measure would redirect $205 million in Defense Department funds toward projects already underway in Israel.

It would provide $25 million more for Arrow missile co-production and integration, $45 million for a U.S.-Israeli short-range missile defense system dubbed “David’s Sling” and $135 million to buy a Theater High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, fire unit.

All three projects involve interceptors designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in the terminal phase of their flight paths.

The move was spearheaded by Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, the senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee and a candidate for his party’s 2008 presidential nomination.

It was a last-minute addition to the Democratic-controlled House’s version of the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill, which still awaits action in the Senate and reconciliation of any differences between the bills.

More at Reuters

To get an idea of the aid we’ve given Israel since 1949, go here.

By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writers

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft launched missiles at Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least five people, after Hamas fired rocket barrages into Israel in an apparent attempt to draw Israel into increasingly violent Palestinian infighting.

Hamas gunmen fatally shot six guards from the rival Fatah movement and mistakenly ambushed a jeep carrying their own fighters, killing five. In all, 16 Palestinians were killed in Palestinian infighting Wednesday - the bloodiest day since violence broke out in the Gaza Strip four days ago.

The streets of central Gaza City echoed with gunfire and were empty except for gunmen in black ski masks. Terrified residents stayed home from school and work, huddling in dark homes after electricity to some neighborhoods was cut off by a downed power line.

At nightfall, Hamas announced its intention to begin observing a unilateral cease-fire, and President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah also called on the warring parties to hold their fire. However, similar truces the two previous evenings did not hold.

In four days of fighting, 41 people have been killed and dozens more have been injured - not including the dead from the Israeli airstrikes. Most of the dead have been from Fatah. The violence threatened to bring down the Palestinians’ two-month-old unity government - and brought the Palestinians dangerously close to all-out civil war.

Despite Israel’s vow to stay out of the fray, its missile strikes added another layer of complexity to Gaza’s mayhem, and raised the specter of a large’scale Israeli invasion.

“What is happening in Gaza endangers not only the unity government, but the Palestinian social fabric, the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian strategy as a whole,” said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Abbas was expected to meet with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Gaza on Thursday to discuss the situation, Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said. One option was declaring a state of emergency, he said. Abbas also spoke by phone with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Syria on Wednesday, and the two agreed to work to end the violence.

Hamas officials said the organization’s men launched eight rockets at Israel, following a barrage of around 20 rockets Tuesday. That salvo at the Israeli town of Sderot, just outside Gaza, wounded five Israelis, one seriously, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

read more at YAHOO! NEWS