Opposition arrests in Kuwait Political standoff deepens

 

Kuwaiti MP Msallam al-Barrak (C) speaks to the press during a protest outside the national assembly in Kuwait City. (AFP Photo / Yasser Al-Zayyat)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/political-emir-opposition-country-792/

Three former opposition Kuwaiti MPs were ordered to be detained for three days on Friday. They were accused of politically undermining the emir by criticizing him publicly at an opposition rally, an illegal act in the US-backed oil nation.

­The three, Falah al-Sawwagh, Bader al-Dahum and Khaled al-Tahus, criticized Emir Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah at an opposition rally on October 10, protesting alleged government plans to manipulate election results.

“Two former [Islamist] MPs, Falah al-Sawwagh and Bader al-Dahum, have just been arrested by the state security police," former deputy Mussallam al-Barrak, told AFP reporters.

The three MPs were questioned for nine hours by authorities before finally being taken into custody on Friday.

More arrests are expected in the wake of repeated demonstrations, some of which have turned violent. Four were wounded and six arrested as police used batons to disperse some 5,000 protestors on Tuesday, October 16, angry over the political deadlock that has gripped the country for months.

Sheik Sabah dissolved the Kuwaiti parliament on October 7 to prevent opposition Islamist groups from gaining more power in the government. A parliamentary election in February gave Islamists control of the 50-seat parliament. The dissolution started a 60-day deadline to hold new elections.

Al-Barrak also broke the law by directly addressing the emir at the October 16 protest, saying, "We won't let you rule this country on your own."

“We are not scared of your new batons nor the jails you have built … violence will only lead to counter-violence…Kuwaiti people will not allow the country to be governed through an autocratic rule," he told the crowd.

It is illegal under Kuwait’s constitution to criticize the emir, who by law must be from the Al-Sabah family, a clan that has been in power for over 250 years.

Kuwait is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nation and its plentiful oil-based economy make it the fifth-richest nation in the world. It is also a major non-NATO US ally, and the main hub for all US military operations in the area.

The movement for government reforms have placed united several groups with greatly differing beliefs on how the country should proceed. There is however, a sense of caution expressed by liberals at the agenda of the Islamists.

Bassam Al-Asoussi, a member of the liberal Democratic Forum political bloc, said “Yes, the government has many shortcomings indeed, but [the opposition leaders] aren't the people who will save the country," he said, AP reports. "They are regressive, not progressive.”

The emir has until December to hold new elections in the hopes that he can counter the upswing in reform sentiments.

Read More

Iraq signs contract for 18 F-16 fighter jets

 

An F-16 fighter jet (file photo)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/19/267545/iraq-signs-deal-for-usmade-f16-jets/

Iraq has signed a contract to purchase 18 F-16 multirole fighter jets in line with plans to beef up its air force.

Acting Iraqi Defense Minister Sadun Farhan al-Dulaymi said on Thursday that the deal is part of an initial agreement to purchase 36 of the US-made jets to revamp Iraq’s aerial capabilities.

“The United States is still arms supplier number one to Iraq and the Ministry of Defense. We also agreed to buy another 18 F-16 fighter jets and they (the Americans) will speed up the delivery of the first 18 (F-16) fighters as soon as possible. There will also be a demand for the purchase of air defense systems and Apache helicopters,” Dulaymi told reporters.

He also stated that the contract is “no different from the first contract in terms of the technical and financial details. This handover will be finished in 2018.”

Iraq has also concluded military contracts with Russia and the Czech Republic this month as it seeks to build up its air force.

Read More

China ‘sharpens response’, starts military exercises near disputed islands

 

Chinese marine surveillance ship. (AFP Photo / Japan Coast Guard)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/china-islands-chinese-vessels-771/

The Chinese navy is set to begin joint military exercises on Friday in the East China Sea. The exercises will take place on the doorstep of the islands at the heart of the recent tensions between Japan and the mainland.

­The exercises were announced on Thursday, and will include vessels from the Chinese fishing agency and maritime surveillance. China’s Xinhua news agency reported that a total of 11 navy vessels and eight naval aircraft will participate in the maneuvers, “improving coordination between the navy and administrative patrol vessels and sharpening their response to emergencies in missions to safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime interests,” according to a Chinese navy statement.

The latest round of saber-rattling comes amid high tensions in the East China Sea following the Japanese acquisition of several disputed islands in September. The islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, have long been administered by the Japanese, but are claimed by China, as well as Taiwan.

After the Japanese government purchased the islands from a private owner on September 5, tensions in the region escalated dramatically. Chinese and Taiwanese flotillas immediately set sail for the islands, only to be pummeled by Japanese water cannons.

Xinhua also quoted the Chinese fleet statement as saying that fishing patrol vessels in the area had been “stalked, harassed and even intentionally interfered with by foreign vessels, greatly challenging their duties.”

Chinese fishing boats have repeatedly claimed territorial fishing rights in the region.

Adding weight to the conflict over the uninhabited islands are the suspected large natural gas reserves in the surrounding waters.

 

A Japan Coast Guard vessel (R) sprays water against Taiwanese fishing boats, while a Taiwanese coast guard ship (L) also sprays water in the East China Sea near Senkaku islands as known in Japanese or Diaoyu Islands in Chinese on September 25, 2012. (AFP Photo / AFP Photo / Yomiuri Shimbun)

Exercises ‘legitimate’, economics in play

Japanese TV channel Fuji TV first reported that Chinese vessels were maneuvering towards the disputed islands on Tuesday, and that Japanese military surveillance aircraft had been dispatched to monitor them, citing government sources. In response, China’s Ministry of Defense issued a statement stating the "Chinese navy vessels' routine training and navigation in the waters in question is justified and legitimate."

If the Chinese ships attempt to breach Japanese-controlled waters, it would inflame a situation which is unstable at best. The past month has seen violent anti-Japan demonstrations across China, while several Japanese companies and manufacturers have hoisted anchor, closing their stores and factories on the mainland in response.

Dr. Joseph Gerson, an expert in Asia-Pacific affairs and programs director at the American Friends Service Committee, told RT that although the islands remain a dangerous flashpoint for the two nations, the importance of China-Japan economic ties may outweigh the consequences of full-scale war.

“They’re both competitors and partners in trade,” he said. “During the last crisis over these islands, the Chinese, at least for a period of time, embargoed the sale and trade of rare earth, which is essential to Japan’s high-tech economy. At the same time, China needs Japanese investment, so a war would cost both, and I think that’s one reason why it didn’t happen,”Gerson said.

Gerson added that while the situation had calmed somewhat after a short period on the brink of crisis, it could still “flare up at any time that it meets the interest of political leaders seeking to manipulate the situation.”

Read More

EU set to impose new anti-Iran bans despite UN warning

 

The EU sanctions against Iran come despite a UN warning against the humanitarian upshots of the bans.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/13/266418/eu-to-impose-new-embargoes-on-iran/

The European Union has provisionally approved new embargoes against Iran over its nuclear energy program, despite a UN warning against the humanitarian repercussions of the sanctions already in place.

The Friday motion will have to be formally ratified on Monday at an EU foreign ministers' session in Luxembourg before coming to effect.

According to EU diplomats, the new measures target Tehran’s banking sector, industry and shipping.

The new embargoes will oblige European traders to obtain the authorizations of their respective governments prior to financing any permitted business transaction with Iran.

The bloc will also ban its member states from selling metals and graphites, a steel component, to Iran and providing the country with ship manufacturing know-how, oil-storage technology as well as flagging and classification services to Iranian tankers.

Based on the new motion, the EU will also freeze the assets of 34 Iranian companies.

The bloc’s new move comes in defiance of the UN chief’s recent remarks about the humanitarian ramifications of the previously-imposed embargoes. Ban Ki-moon warned on October 5 that the West’s sanctions have mainly targeted the livelihood of the ordinary Iranian population.

On Wednesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei described the West’s embargoes as “illogical” and “barbaric.”

This is while the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee awarded its 2012 Peace Prize to the EU on Friday.

Following the West’s embargoes on Iran’s banking, the imports of more than fifty kinds of badly needed medicine for people who suffer from certain diseases such as children’s cancer, thalassemia, multiple sclerosis (MS), and respiratory and heart diseases, have declined drastically.

 

Read More

Millions of Indians protest foreign competition to mom-and-pop shops

 

Demonstrators from the Samajwadi Party, a regional political party, shout slogans after they stopped a passenger train during a protest against price hikes in fuel and foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, near Allahabad railway station September 20, 2012 (Reuters / Jitendra Prakash)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/india-strike-retail-reform-550/

India is going through a nationwide strike on Thursday, as shopkeepers, traders and workers protest a governmental reform allowing foreign retail giants into the domestic market. Activists fear the move would leave millions bankrupt.

­The day-long strike and protests were called by opposition parties and trade unions after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the planned reform last week.

Protesters blocked railroads in Kolkata in West Bengal state, squatting on the tracks, a regional official told AFP. Thousands of police were deployed to prevent possible violence. Bihar state in north India saw train and bus stations occupied by activists, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Bangalore, the capital of the southern state of Karnataka, was completely shut down. The state has strong support of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is one of the major backers of the strike. India’s largest cities, including New Delhi, are bracing for large protest rallies.

According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) forecast, some 50 million people may participate in the action in some way. The protest was triggered by government’s plan to allow international companies like Walmart and Tesco trade directly with customers. Currently they can only own shares in retail businesses jointly with domestic companies and sell only to smaller retailers.

The move is aimed to bring foreign investment into the slowing Indian economy, but critics say it will expose small stores, called kiranas, and other retail-related small businesses to crushing international competition.

Kiranas are an important part of Indian culture, with some dubbing the country spurring world-highest shop density “a nation of shopkeepers”. There are an estimated 50 million such shops across the country, and 220 million people depend on them for their livelihoods, CAIT says.

There are fears that exposure of the market to better-organized internationals would drive kiranas out of business, as they would not be able to offer competitive prices.

"If these big guys storm in and wreck what I've fostered for decades, then my family and I will have to resort to a different business," kirana owner Goel, told Reuters.

People skeptical about the protest say opposition politicians are trying to capitalize on people’s fears and the real impact of the reform would not be as bad as they picture it. The shops would have the strength of advantageous placement in residential areas and customer loyalty won over decades.

"The traditional kirana stores and outlets in India have been able to compete very successfully with modern retail for a very long time," said a study released by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Their presence in the midst of a residential area is a big advantage."

The Indian government so far remained steadfast in proceeding with the reform.

 

Demonstrators from the Samajwadi Party, a regional political party, shout slogans as they gather around an effigy on a railway track during a protest against price hikes in fuel and foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, near Allahabad railway station September 20, 2012 (Reuters / Jitendra Prakash)

Read More

Major Japanese firms suspend operations in China

 

Chinese protesters hold placards and flags as they march past the Japanese embassy during a protest over disputed islands, in Beijing on September 16, 2012

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/17/262049/japanese-firms-halt-business-in-china/

Japanese companies have temporarily suspended their operations in China as Chinese protesters hold fresh rallies to defy Japan’s move to purchase a chain of disputed islands, claimed by the two economic heavyweights and Taiwan.

Major car-makers Toyota and Honda, as well as electronics-maker Panasonic were on Monday obliged to shut their businesses in China after some of their factories were attacked by Chinese protesters across the country. Toyota and Honda also reported arson attacks on their stores in Qingdao.

Meanwhile, several Japanese schools across China, including in Beijing and Shanghai, cancelled classes due to the escalation of the crisis.

Anti-Japan protesters marched past the Japanese embassy in the capital Beijing after Japan announced its decision on Tuesday to purchase a chain of the disputed islands in East China Sea from their private Japanese owner.

Following the announcement, Beijing sent six surveillance ships to the islands “to start patrol and law enforcement.”

In the southern city of Shenzhen, police fired tear gas at the angry protesters who were calling for “bloodbath” in Tokyo.

In addition, over 1,000 protesters held a demonstration in the southern city of Guangzhou, burning Japanese flags. They also attacked a hotel next to the Japanese consulate.

The disputed territories, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, have been the topic of a long-running row between Tokyo and Beijing. The islands are uninhabited but resource-rich.

The islands are located near a crucial shipping lane and would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.

 

Read More

US wades into China Japan island dispute with missile defense deal

 

(AFP Photo / Mark Ralston)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/china-japan-war-panetta-290/

A territorial dispute between China and Japan could spark a “violent conflict,” US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. The US also inked a missile defense deal with Tokyo likely to anger Beijing, while mass anti-Japanese protests grip China.

"I am concerned that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands, that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence, and could result in conflict,"Panetta said.

He also warned that Beijing and Tokyo should put an end to provocations or risk a “potentially expanding” conflict.

Following the diplomatic meeting with Panetta, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said that Washington had agreed that the Senkaku islands, claimed by both Japan and China, are covered by a US-Japan security treaty.

In the 1960 treaty, the US committed to aid the Japanese in the event of an attack on the nation’s territory.

"I did not bring up the topic today, but it is mutually understood between Japan and the United States that [the islands] are covered by the treaty," Gemba said after the meeting on Monday. Washington previously claimed that the US would not take sides in the territorial dispute over the archipelago in the East China Sea.

The US also signed an agreement with Japan on Monday to build a second missile defense radar installation on Japanese territory, aimed at countering North Korea. China may view the move as a provocation.

The Senkaku islands – known as Diaoyu to the Chinese – are uninhabited, but are believed to contain rich mineral deposits and are located on important shipping lanes.

Violent protests rocked China after Japan announced last week that it had purchased three of the islands from a private owner. In the latest bout of demonstrations, anti-Japanese activists attacked Panasonic factories in the eastern city of Quingdao. Protesters burned Japanese flags and targeted Japanese-made cars.

In response to the wave of unrest, Panasonic temporarily ceased operations in China. In addition, Canon announced that it would suspend operations for employees’ safety. Toyota Motor Corp also said that it was affected by the anti-Japanese unrest, citing a suspected arson attack on one of its factories in the eastern Shandong province.

­

‘A decade of stagnation’

On Monday, the Chinese government threatened that Japan could suffer from another “lost decade” if relations between the two countries deteriorate further.

"How could be it be that Japan wants another lost decade, and could even be prepared to go back by two decades," state newspaper the People's Daily said in a front-page article. China "has always been extremely cautious about playing the economic card," it said.

The paper claimed that China was prepared to “take up the battle,” should tensions persist.

 

Read More

East Asia disputes may draw in others - Panetta

 

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/17/262055/east-asia-disputes-may-expand-panetta/

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has expressed concern over territorial disputes between Japan and China, saying the spats may lead to conflicts involving other countries.

"I am concerned that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence and could result in conflict and that conflict would then, you know, have the potential of expanding," Panetta told reporters on Sunday onboard his plane en route to Tokyo, Japan.

Tokyo is the first stop of Panetta’s weeklong trip to the East Asia region, which will include visits to China and New Zealand.

The trip is reportedly the third tour of the American military chief to Asia Pacific in the past 11 months, echoing Pentagon’s shifting efforts to place further military emphasis on the region.

Panetta said he will urge countries of the region, especially China, to find ways to peacefully resolve their disputes.

Protests against Japan have erupted across China over the past days over a long-running dispute on a group of uninhabited islands in East China Sea.

During his visit to Japan, the American defense secretary plans to discuss with officials in Tokyo the controversial deployment of 12 V-22 Osprey aircraft to the country.

Thousands of Japanese have protested the hybrid aircraft’s planned deployment in their nation, questioning its safety record.

 

Read More

US to flex naval might in Persian Gulf war games

 

US warships.(AFP Photo / Paul J. Perkins)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/naval-training-persian-gulf-258/

The US Navy is leading its largest-ever war games in the Persian Gulf, with warships from 25 countries being deployed in the region. Tehran, in return, is preparing for its biggest air defense war game in the history of Islamic Republic next month.

The countries that deployed the largest number of warships for the 12-day training mission are the US, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The exact number of aircraft carriers, battleships and submarines taking part is unclear. Three American aircraft carriers out of the four currently in commission are reportedly gathering in the Persian Gulf for the training. USS Enterprise, USS John C. Stennis, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower have reportedly arrived.

The USS George Washington is believed to be on patrol in the Pacific Ocean but its exact whereabouts are a mystery. It was sighted near the island of Guam one week ago, and the air carrier’s Facebook page claims that it is still in the Pacific. But since the ship can travel at over 30 knots, it could be on its way to the Persian Gulf.

The aircraft carriers are supported by at least a dozen warships: Ballistic missile cruisers, destroyers, frigates and assault ships carrying thousand of US Marines and spec ops ships.

Britain dispatched six vessels to the Persian Gulf war games: the HMS Diamond, a brand-new £1 billion worth destroyer, four minesweepers and a logistics vessel.

The joint fleet is expected to simulate destroying Iranian fighter jets, battleships and coastal military defenses like missile batteries.

Attacking Iran cuts both ways for US

­Tensions between Iran and Israel over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program have been on the uptick. Iran has blamed the US for Israel’s possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, and promised to retaliate against American interests in the event of such an attack.

On Sunday, Iranian General Mohammad Ali Jafari confirmed that in a conflict with Israel, Iran considers the entrance of the Persian Gulf – the Strait of Hormuz – a legitimate target.

"The US has many vulnerable targets around Iran, and its bases are within the range of the Guards' missiles. We have other capabilities as well, particularly when it comes to the support of Muslims for the Islamic republic," the general said during a press conference in Tehran.

Jafari revealed that Tehran is aware of Israel’s unsuccessful attempts to push the US towards military action against Iran, but claimed it was unlikely that an Israeli strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities “would be carried out without US permission.”

If Israel attacked Iran,"nothing of Israel will be left, considering its size," he said.

In response, the US, which maintains a heavy military presence in the region, and its allies are increasing military patrols to protect the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for 40 percent of the world oil shipped by sea.

Hawkish US rhetoric towards the Islamic Republic has lessened in the face of the coming presidential election in November. The Obama administration indicated that domestic matters have taken precedenceover Tel Aviv's hawkish stance towards Iran.

Israeli decision-making is greatly affected by various factors, including Barack Obama himself. If GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney defeats Obama in the election and becomes president, it would take him months to set a new foreign policy towards Iran, giving Tehran more time to prepare for war.

A second Obama term is also an unappealing option for the current Israeli cabinet, for different reasons.

In the wake of Obama’s refusal to meet him later this month, Israeli PM Bejamin Netanyahu addressed the US through NBC's "Meet the Press," urging American officials once again to set a “red line” for Iran “before it's too late.” Repeating the theory that Tehan is developing a nuclear weapon, he implied that if the US follows Israel's demands, the chances of a military attack on Iran would be reduced.

Netanyahu despises American President Barack Obama “personally and politically,” researcher and author F. William Engdahl told RT. The pair could be hard-pressed to find common ground on Iran, leading Israel to calculate that a unilateral strike is an option, since America would be forced protect its bases and assets in the event of a regional war.

In Armenia, a country in the Caucasus bordering Iran, a large war game by the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization has been launched

 

Read More

Chinese ships breach Japan’s naval border

 

Chinese patrol ship Haijian (AFP Photo / Handout)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/chinese-ships-breach-japan-naval-border-101/

Six Chinese ships entered Japanese waters near a group of disputed islets claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo early on Friday, ignoring the Japanese coast guard's orders to vacate its territorial waters.

­The first two ships in the battalion entered the disputed waters at around 21:20 GMT on Thursday. After a few hours of “patrolling,” three of the ships have left the disputed waters, while another three stayed, local media reported.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that six of its surveillance ships had entered the waters near the islands.

So far, Japanese border patrol ships have not taken any active measures against the Chinese vessels.

“The patrol activity is intended to demonstrate the jurisdiction of the Chinese government over the Diaoyu Islands and the adjacent islands, and also to protect the country’s naval interests,” the statement reads.

Japan has created a crisis headquarters in response to the incident. The country's officials urgently summoned the Chinese Ambassador to a meeting with the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

This is the latest in a series of diplomatic rows between China and Japan centered on control of the Senkaku, or Diaoyu in Mandarin, islands.

On Tuesday, Japan announced it had purchased the islands from a private owner, ignoring Chinese territorial claims. Following the announcement, two ships from the China Marine Surveillance were dispatched to the tiny archipelago in the South China Sea “to assert the country’s sovereignty.”

At that time, however, the vessels did not come within 12 nautical miles of the islands, an area Japan considers its territorial waters.

Chinese smash Japanese cars in protest

­Meanwhile, the nationalistic spirit has taken a hold in China. Blogs and forums have been throbbing with discussion over various protests against the Japanese repatriation of the disputed islands.

In Shanghai, an angry man was said to have driven his Honda Civic to a local dealership and set the vehicle ablaze. In Shenzhen, several Japanese-made cars have been smashed.

The tourist industry is reacting as well by canceling plans to visit Japan in early October, when China celebrates its National Day. A couple in Kunming told the state-run Xinhua news agency that they had canceled a wedding photo shoot because the studio couldn’t meet their demand to take their pictures with cameras not made by Japanese companies, reports the Los Angeles Times. Many Chinese celebrities and politicians are refusing to travel to Japan.

On Wednesday, a crowd of people demonstrated outside the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai; and about 60 people rallied outside Japan's Interchange Association, Japan's de facto embassy in Taipei, to protest the nationalization move, as Taiwan also lays claim to the islands.

Recently, Chinese state media began broadcasting weather reports for the islands for the first time

 

Read More

Moscow to react to US Asian missile defense

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/politics/missile-defense-asia-concerns-577/

Russia has expressed its concern over American plans to deploy a new missile defense shield in Southeast Asia.

"The continuing growth of the US potential in what we call the Far East – the Asia-Pacific region – does not go unnoticed in Russia," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a nonproliferation conference in Moscow. “We are closely following what is happening between the USA and its allies in Asia.”

According to the diplomat, “important events” are unfolding in the region and “a lot has already been achieved,” cites Interfax.

Moscow’s concerns about the situation arise from the technology involved, as well as the “geography and the US capability to deploy these assets in different locations.”

It is important that Washington eases these concerns. Otherwise, “there is a set of measures worked out by the Russian leadership,” Ryabkov noted.

Earlier, it was reported that Washington was planning to expand its missile defense in Asia in response to threats from North Korea and to counter China’s growing missile capabilities.

The buildup could include an early-warning radar system on a southern Japanese island and possibly another one in Southeast Asia. These two new radars would supplement the one already installed in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan in 2006.

The US global missile defense shield – in particular its European sector – has long been a stumbling block in the relations between Moscow and Washington. Russia worries that the planned system may pose a threat to its national security. The US has so far refused to provide legally-binding guarantees that the European missile defense assets would not be targeted against Russia.

“The US missile defense system – is surely one of the key issues on today’s agenda because it involves Russia’s vital interests,” President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with RT.

The differences on the issue can only be solved if both sides accept as an axiom that they are “reliable partners and allies for each other.” That would mean the parties “jointly do missile threat assessments and control this defense system together,” Putin said.

The president stressed that Russia had done what it could and offered to work on the system together. However, the American partners are “refusing to go along.” Moscow is set to continue the dialogue on the matter, he stressed.

“But naturally, as our American partners proceed with developing their own missile defense we shall have to think of how we can defend ourselves and preserve the strategic balance,” Putin added.

In November last year, then-President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia could place offensive weaponry on its borders with Europe as one possible measure against the deployment of American elements of missile defense shield in the region.

Read More

Netanyahu's Secret War Plan: Leaked Document Outlines Israel's "Shock and Awe" Plan to Attack Iran

By: Richard Silverstein

Source: Global Research

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=32380

In the past few days, I received an Israeli briefing document outlining Israel’s war plans against Iran. The document was passed to me by a high-level Israeli source who received it from an IDF officer. My source, in fact, wrote to me that normally he would not leak this sort of document, but:

“These are not normal times. I’m afraid Bibi and Barak are dead serious.”

The reason they leaked it is to expose the arguments and plans advanced by the Bibi-Barak two-headed warrior. Neither the IDF leaker, my source, nor virtually any senior military or intelligence officer wants this war. While whoever wrote this briefing paper had use of IDF and intelligence data, I don’t believe the IDF wrote it. It feels more likely it came from the shop of national security advisor Yaakov Amidror, a former general, settler true-believer and Bibi confidant. It could also have been produced by Defense Minister Barak, another pro-war booster.

I’ve translated the document from Hebrew with the help of Dena Shunra.

Before laying out the document, I wanted to place it in context. If you’ve been reading this blog you’ll know that after Bibi’s IDF service he became the marketing director for a furniture company. Recent revelations have suggested that he may have also served in some capacity either formally or informally in the Mossad during that period.

This document is a more sophisticated version of selling bedroom sets and three-piece sectionals. The only difference is that this marketing effort could lead to the death of thousands.

This is Bibi’s sales pitch for war. Its purpose is to be used in meetings with members of the Shminiya , the eight-member security cabinet which currently finds a 4-3 majority opposed to an Iran strike. Bibi uses this sales pitch to persuade the recalcitrant ministers of the cool, clean, refreshing taste of war. My source informs me that it has also been shared in confidence with selected journalists who are in the trusted inner media circle (who, oh who, might they be?).

This is Shock and Awe, Israel-style. It is Bibi’s effort to persuade high-level Israeli officials that Israel can prosecute a pure technology war that involves relatively few human beings (Israeli, that is) who may be put in harm’s way, and will certainly cost few lives of IDF personnel.

Bibi’s sleight of hand here involves no mention whatsoever of an Iranian counter-attack against Israel. The presumption must be that the bells and whistles of all those marvelous new weapons systems will decapitate Iran’s war-making ability and render it paralyzed. The likelihood of this actually happening is nearly nil.

There will be those who will dispute the authenticity of this document. I’m convinced it is what my source claims, based on his prior track record and the level of specificity offered in the document. It references cities by name and the facilities they contain. It names new weapons systems including one Israel supposedly hasn’t even shared with the U.S.

No, it’s real. Or I should say that while it’s real, it is the product of the Israeli dream factory which manufactures threats and then creates fabulist military strategies to address them. The dream factory always breaks the hearts of the families of those whose members fall victim to it. It never produces the result it promises, nor will it do so here.

Remember Bush-era Shock and Awe? Remember those promises of precision-guided cruise missiles raining death upon Saddam Hussein’s Iraq? Remember Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” ceremony on the deck of the USS Lincoln, only six or seven years premature? Remember the promises of decisive victory? Remember 4,000 U.S. dead, not to mention hundreds of thousands of Iraqis?

Now, think of what an Israeli war against Iran could turn into. Think about how this sanitized version of 21st century war could turn into a protracted, bloody conflict closer to the nine-year Iran-Iraq War:

The Israeli attack will open with a coordinated strike, including an unprecedented cyber-attack which will totally paralyze the Iranian regime and its ability to know what is happening within its borders. The internet, telephones, radio and television, communications satellites, and fiber optic cables leading to and from critical installations—including underground missile bases at Khorramabad and Isfahan—will be taken out of action. The electrical grid throughout Iran will be paralyzed and transformer stations will absorb severe damage from carbon fiber munitions which are finer than a human hair, causing electrical short circuits whose repair requires their complete removal. This would be a Sisyphean task in light of cluster munitions which would be dropped, some time-delayed and some remote-activated through the use of a satellite signal.

A barrage of tens of ballistic missiles would be launched from Israel toward Iran. 300km ballistic missiles would be launched from Israeli submarines in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf. The missiles would not be armed with unconventional warheads [WMD], but rather with high-explosive ordnance equipped with reinforced tips designed specially to penetrate hardened targets.

The missiles will strike their targets—some exploding above ground like those striking the nuclear reactor at Arak–which is intended to produce plutonium and tritium—and the nearby heavy water production facility; the nuclear fuel production facilities at Isfahan and facilities for enriching uranium-hexaflouride. Others would explode under-ground, as at the Fordo facility.

A barrage of hundreds of cruise missiles will pound command and control systems, research and development facilities, and the residences of senior personnel in the nuclear and missile development apparatus. Intelligence gathered over years will be utilized to completely decapitate Iran’s professional and command ranks in these fields.

After the first wave of attacks, which will be timed to the second, the “Blue and White” radar satellite, whose systems enable us to perform an evaluation of the level of damage done to the various targets, will pass over Iran. Only after rapidly decrypting the satellite’s data, will the information be transferred directly to war planes making their way covertly toward Iran. These IAF planes will be armed with electronic warfare gear previously unknown to the wider public, not even revealed to our U.S. ally. This equipment will render Israeli aircraft invisible. Those Israeli war planes which participate in the attack will damage a short-list of targets which require further assault.

Among the targets approved for attack—Shihab 3 and Sejil ballistic missile silos, storage tanks for chemical components of rocket fuel, industrial facilities for producing missile control systems, centrifuge production plants and more.

While the level of specificity in this document is, in some senses, impressive, in one critical aspect it is deficient. Muhammad Sahimi points out that the current chief of the Revolutionary Guards, when he assumed his position in 2007, deliberately addressed the issue of over-centralization of command and control by dividing the nation into 31 districts. Each of these has its own independent command and control facilities and mechanisms. So Israel wouldn’t be able to knock out a single facility and paralyze the IRG. They’d need to knock out 31 separate sets of facilities–a much harder task.

There seems also to be an assumption that Iran’s leaders and nuclear specialists live nice domestic lives and that Israeli intelligence knows where they all live and can easily target them. In truth, the most senior Iranian military and scientific figures live clandestine lives and it’s hard for me to believe even the Mossad knows where they are and how to target them.

So it appears that Netanyahu believes he’s fighting Saddam circa 2003. During that war, the Iraqi Revolutionary Guards were centralized and knocking out one C&C center could decapitate the entire military apparatus. But Iran has learned from Saddam’s mistakes. It isn’t fighting the last war as Bibi appears to be. It is preparing for the next one. While Israel may have new tricks up its sleeve that no one in the world has yet seen, if it doesn’t understand the nature of the enemy, its defenses, its structure, etc. then it can’t win.

Read More

Turkey Threatens Syria and Iran

Prime Minister Erdogan Slams Assad

By: Mohammad Noureddine

Source: Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=32290

By: Mohammad Noureddine posted on Thursday, Aug 9, 2012

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unleashed all kinds of condemnations of Syria and Iran. He questioned whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was really a Muslim, which will likely provoke Alawites inside Turkey and abroad. Erdogan also accused Iran of disloyalty, vowing to fight “the enemies of Turkey” until the end.

Following an iftar (Ramadan feast) held the day before yesterday [August 7], Erdogan sent very strong messages to Iran and “the enemies of Turkey.” He said that “the terrorist organization [The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)] is currently in the midst of a battle orchestrated by the enemies of Turkey. However, we will fight the battle against anti-Turkish circles with the highest severity and determination. We will not take a single step back.” Erdogan added that Turkey’s “enemies want to change our priorities.”

Erdogan strongly criticized Iran, saying: “We stood by Iran when no one was at its side. Is it consistent with our beliefs to defend a regime that has killed 25,000 people? The Iranian leadership must first take responsibility for its actions.”

He added: “250,000 Syrians have left the country [Syria]. Is this not the responsibility of Iran? Yet, before Iran takes responsibility for the situation in Syria, it must first hold itself accountable [for its own]. We always take responsibility for our actions.”

Erdogan criticized Assad, asking: “Can we even say that he is a Muslim?”

Erdogan denied interfering in Syria’s internal affairs. He launched an attack on Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, describing him as part of an anti-Turkey campaign. He said that “just like there is the Baath Party in Syria, there is the Republican People's Party in Turkey.”

Kilicdaroglu said in response that the current state of Turkey is depriving him of sleep.

“I am deeply saddened and concerned. I cannot sleep because of the situation in the country, while the prime minister is happy about it,” he said. “The prime minister is blind if he cannot see the dire situation facing the country. He is extremely detached from the current reality.”

In an article written in Hurriyet, Cengiz Candar slammed the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for its Kurdish policy. He said that the countdown to the fall of Erdogan and the AKP has begun, and whether it will be a soft landing is yet to be seen.

Candar notes that “two conclusions can be made regarding what is happening. First and foremost, Turkish leadership in the region cannot be achieved through the government’s current policy toward the Kurds. Secondly, Turkey cannot hinder the emergence of a new reality in the region involving Kurds and Syrians, and its possible implications in Turkey."

He continues, “We have always stressed that a change in Turkey’s Kurdish policy, as well as its Middle Eastern policy, would positively affect the internal situation. I will say it frankly for the first time: the hopes pinned on the desire and ability of the government to achieve such a change are running out. The new reality will not change the fact that Turkey is facing a dilemma. It is trying to operate in a swamp from which it cannot emerge to build a regional leadership.” Candar adds that “the Kurdish problem cannot be solved through the current policy. On the contrary, the opposite could happen, meaning that the AKP’s authority may gradually disintegrate.”

Candar states that “Mount Erciyes in Turkey is 3,916 meters high. Today, it appears that Erdogan is still at the top of the mountain, but no longer at an altitude of 3,916 meters, he is now at 3,900 meters. His descent has begun and will continue until 2014 [when Erdogan runs for reelection]. But given its pace, which is unprecedented in the history of the Middle East, a smooth landing cannot be guaranteed.

“Turkish authorities have an obligation to change their policy adopted more than a year ago, and must stop using the PKK and terrorism as excuses for their actions. As long as the authorities insist on this policy, we will continue to criticize it,” Candar writes.

In Turkish daily Milliyet, Metin Munir criticized Turkey's sectarian policy toward Syria and the region.

“The government is seeking to gain points through its pro-Sunni and anti-Jewish policies. We have started to pay the price for that. Shortly after the start of the events in Syria, Assad became Turkey’s primary enemy,” he said. “Turkey, along with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, started to arm and fund Assad's opponents. Turkey did all it could to bring Assad down. It tried to persuade Washington to support intervention in Syria, as it had in Libya. It also maintained that the departure of Assad would be in the interest of Turkey. However, Turkey was not able to achieve this goal. In fact, Assad’s departure is not in the interest of Turkey, but to the contrary. Syria, just like Turkey, is a country with diverse sects and ethnicities. Its population consists of Arabs, Kurds, Christians, Alawites and Sunnis. Under the authoritarian regime of Assad and his father, the unity of the country was preserved.”

Munir added: “Today, however, Syria is being divided, which poses an extreme threat to Turkey. Assad has begun to use the PKK against Turkey. He has handed the north of the country to the Kurds, and furnished them with heavy weaponry. Fighters have come from the Qandil Mountains [in Iraq] to Syria. Assad has transformed the area that extends from the Iranian border to the Mediterranean Sea into a battlefield against Turkey.”

Munir continues, saying: “Turkey must provide humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, but it should maintain neutrality regarding the Syrian conflict. Although this would be in the interests of Turkey, it has not happened. We have earned the enmity of Assad for no specific reason. He is now hitting us in a painful spot, that is, the Kurdish question. Why should we help Assad’s enemies inflict harm upon us? Do not cry out against the bloodshed of the Syrian people, as we should first work to prevent the bloodshed of our own. As the English proverb goes, charity begins at home.”

For the first time, the Turkish Ministry of the Interior issued a statement on the clashes that have been taking place in the Semdinli and Hakkari regions since July 23. The statement included expressions such as “intensify military readiness,” “ensure full sovereignty” and “continue the fight until the area is cleansed of ​​terrorists."

According to Turkish newspaper Radikal, “these are indications that the PKK seeks to establish an [independent] zone and will not leave it, and that the violent clashes there will escalate in the coming days.”

Read More

Will NATO and Turkey become Actively Involved in Syria War? - Interview

By: Rick Rozoff and John Robles

Source: Global Research:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=32279

As the Syrian crisis escalates, Turkey, Syria and Poland are all under NATO's constraint these days. Was a bilateral arrangement of Poland with the US a mistake? Should Poland develop its own missiles interception system integrated into or with NATO?

Interview with Mr. Rick Rozoff, manager of Stop NATO website .

Can you give our listeners an update on what’s going on with NATO?

NATO’s been keeping a very low profile for several weeks. Their website, for example, has not updated for at least three weeks, perhaps a month. I’m not sure what to attribute that to. It may be a conscious decision to keep a low profile as the Syrian crisis escalates. So that should they become involved - a likely scenario, of course, is in alleged defense of Turkey - if border skirmishes develop that they will not have tipped their hand or signaled what they want to do...In terms of a new commander at NATO’s Norfolk command, which is called Allied Command Transformation, it was the first major NATO headquarters – and the only one to date – in the United States...

You talked about defending Turkey. Now Turkey recently made some statements regarding the fact that they’re against a military intervention in Syria.

I believe Turkish officials said that to Russian officials. And I would imagine that’s what Ankara thinks Moscow wants to hear. We should recall that last week Turkey moved 25 tanks as well as missile batteries and armored personnel carriers along with troops to within two kilometers of the Syrian border, allegedly engaging in a military exercise aimed at the Kurdistan Workers' Party, but in fact claiming that a political party on the other side of the border, in Syria, is linked with the Kurdistan Workers' Party and intimating if not stating quite openly that Turkey reserves the right to intervene militarily against supporters of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, inside Syria.

So a scenario could come into existence whereby Turkey stages a provocation. You probably saw today's news, John, that Turkey is claiming they’ve killed something like 117 Kurdistan Workers Party fighters in southeastern Turkey near the Iraqi border. So things are heating up there. And if it's the intent, not only of Turkey, but if it's the intent of the West as a whole to stage a direct military intervention into Syria, then the most likely pretext for doing so would be a clash between Turkish and Syrian forces near the border, on either side of the border, and then Turkey once again returning to NATO and asking for assistance from its fellow NATO members.

Do you have any information on what’s going on in Aleppo? Several high officials, I believe, were captured when the Syrian Army took Aleppo back under its control.

An English-language Iranian website mentioned that a Turkish general had been captured by Syrian forces in Aleppo. And I personally spoke with a Syrian émigré whose brother is in pretty influential circles in Damascus and he mentioned that six or seven foreign officers were captured in Aleppo within the last 24-48 hours. And he mentioned them being not only Turkish, but Arabic-speaking, presumably Saudi, Qatari or other Persian Gulf Arab States. This shouldn’t surprise us that, trying to throw together an organized insurgency, funded certainly and based abroad, would also entail having probably special operations officers, maybe of fairly high rank, from Turkey and from Arab Gulf states involved in the fighting in Aleppo and earlier in Damascus.

You’re saying six or seven generals were captured in Aleppo.

The term that was used in my conversation was generals, but I think we're probably safe in assuming they were officers of some ranking, perhaps not generals.

They were commanding officers, but were they from different countries?

That’s correct.

Have you heard anything about training camps that have been set up on borders of Syria?

That’s an established fact. That Saudi Arabia supplied the funding for a training camp for fighters. Roughly, I believe, 40 kilometers from the Syrian border, if I'm not mistaken, inside Turkey. But this has been going on for quite a while. As long ago as, say, last November or October as I recollect even the Daily Telegraph in Britain was quoting an official of so-called Free Syrian Army stating there were 15,000 fighters – he didn’t specify their nationality, incidentally - but 15,000 fighters inside Turkey receiving material support and training. That’s probably a hyperbolical figure. He was probably exaggerating for propaganda purposes. But it’s an indication this has been going on for some time. The Saudis funding the creation of a special training camp inside Turkey that close to the Syrian border is an escalation of the conflict.

Can you tell us about the problems that NATO has had supplying the troops in Afghanistan?

For five days now what was to be the resumption of NATO supplies from Pakistan into Afghanistan has been held up, supposedly because of security concerns, as I understand it, but as recently as yesterday two NATO vehicles were torched in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. So what we're seeing, in fact, is a resumption of attempted supplying of NATO forces in Afghanistan and we're seeing exactly the same situation that obtained at the time they were occurring before the attack on the Pakistani border outpost in Salala last November that killed 25 Pakistani troops. What we’re seeing is that NATO supply vehicles are being attacked and set afire.

What can you say about Polish President’s announcement a couple of days ago? He said that it had been a mistake to agree with NATO on building ABM infrastructure in Poland.

That is a fascinating question. I’ve been trying to make sense of that since the story broke. I’m not quite sure if he was alluding to the earlier George W. Bush administration plan to put Ground-based Midcourse, longer-range, interceptor missiles or if it’s an allusion to what’s called the European Phased Adaptive Approach of the Obama administration, which is planning to put 24 Standard Missile-3, advanced Standard Missile-3, interceptors in Poland by 2018. It’s unclear whether he's talking about the Bush program that's already been superseded or the Obama program that's still in the works. But in any event, the paraphrase of his comments that I’ve read suggested that a bilateral arrangement with the United States was a mistake and that Poland should develop its own missile interception system and integrate it into or with NATO.

He was repeatedly asked who they would be defending themselves against. He refused to answer the question.

Of course he refused to answer because the answer is not one that the United States wants him to provide. That country is Russia. The argument that the original Ground-based Midcourse interceptors were meant to hit Iranian missiles...one has to in one’s imagination conjure up a map of the world and try to imagine, first of all, how Iran would have the capability of launching basically intercontinental ballistic missiles over Poland, presumably over the Arctic Circle to hit the United States. That's an impossibility, fallacious from the very beginning.

Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/stopnato/ messages

Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff. wordpress. com

Read More

US fabricates lies on Iran to sell arms to Persian Gulf states: US Daily

A US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf (file photo)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/09/255348/us-fabricates-iran-threat-to-sell-arms/

The United States uses the pretext of the ‘Iran threat’ to sell massive amounts of arms to Persian Gulf kingdoms in a failed effort to establish a united alliance among the dictatorships in the oil-rich region.

The US and its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf are attempting to knit together a “missile shield” system through billions of dollars worth of American arms purchases by the US-backed Persian Gulf states in a supposed bid to bring added pressure on the Islamic Republic besides the US-led sanctions scheme, the New York Times reports on Thursday.

That would include, according to the report, the deployment of radars to boost the range of early warning coverage across the Persian Gulf, as well as launching command, control and communications systems that could exchange that information with missile interceptors whose triggers are controlled by individual countries.

To meet the objective, Pentagon announced late last year the sale of two advanced missile defense radars to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, a similar high-resolution, X-band missile defense radar was sold to Qatar earlier this year.

Moreover, three weeks ago, the US Defense Department revealed the newest addition to its Persian Gulf missile system, notifying the US Congress of a plan to sell Kuwait $4.2 billion worth of weaponry that would include 60 Patriot Advanced Capability missiles, 20 launching pads and 4 radars. All this would come in addition to Kuwait’s existing arsenal of 350 Patriot missiles purchased between 2007 and 2010.

Citing Pentagon documents, the report also reveals that the UAE has purchased over $12 billion worth of missile systems in the past four years.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, notorious for its persistent purchase of massive weapon systems from the US and Europe, has also acquired a significant arsenal of Patriot systems, the most recent being $1.7 billion worth of upgrades last year.

Despite the purchase of such massive amounts of weapon systems, the report says, it is the US military forces that provide a core capability for ballistic missile systems in the Persian Gulf.

Yet, the US is facing major technological and political challenges in establishing what it boasts as being an “integrated regional missile defense system.”

Technologically, they admit, no missile defense system can promise 100 percent effectiveness. Additionally, the Americans argue, Iran is increasing both the type and number of its own missiles in the field.

Political challenges for the Americans, says the report, stem from historic rivalries that prompt its Persian Gulf allies to enhance their respective security through bilateral ties with the US, resisting multilateral security arrangements among themselves.

Iranian officials have repeatedly announced that the Persian Gulf security can best be preserved through a regional collaboration rather than the interference of foreign powers.

Read More

Security breakdown in Sinai: Army battles it out with militants

Egyptian security forces stand by their Armoured Personell Carriers ahead of a military operation in the northern Sinai peninsula on August 08, 2012 (AFP Photo / Stringer)

Source: Russia Today

http://www.rt.com/news/sinai-egypt-troop-deployment-274/

Clashes in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula are raging for the second day as the military attempts to combat militants who have taken a foothold in the region since Mubarak’s ouster.

The violence has spurred the largest military deployment in the Sinai Peninsula since 1979. Around 60 tanks, 15 armored personnel carriers, missile batteries and hundreds of soldiers have been sent into the main Northern Sinai town of Al-Arish on Thursday as Egyptian security forces continue to battle with Islamic militants.

The deployment is believed to be the largest since Egypt signed the 1979 Camp David Accords with Israel. As a result of the accords, prior approval is needed before deploying troops on either side of the border, a condition which served to virtually demilitarize the Sinai Peninsula.
Militants ramped up their attacks by attacking five joint military-police checkpoints on Wednesday, prompting the Egyptian military to launch airstrikes from Apache helicopters. Nile TV reported the airstrikes killed at least 20. It was the first time Egypt had deployed its air force in Sinai since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

The military also began sealing off some of the 1,200 illegal tunnels that currently permeate the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip.
The security operation was launched in response to a weekend attack when masked gunmen killed 16 Egyptian border guards before slipping across the border into Israel.

On Thursday Egyptian Intelligence asked Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to hand over three members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades- Hamas paramilitary wing for providing indirect help to militants in Sinai, al-Quds newspaper reports.

Mossad reportedly transferred a list of nine alleged militants connected with Sunday’s attack to Egyptian Intelligence on the same day. The nine suspected militants are said to be affiliated with "The Armies of Monotheism and Jihad in Palestine," reports Haaretz, citing Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau.

Marzook maintained that Mossad was responsible for the attack, backing a claim that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood made earlier this week. The Muslim Brotherhood accused Mossad of “seeking to abort the [Egyptian] revolution since its inception.” Israel maintains Hammas are behind the attacks, an accusation they have denied.

Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi, who took the oath of office on June 30 to become the country’s first freely elected president, said those behind Sunday’s “cowardly” attack would pay dearly. Morsi, who is a longstanding member of the Muslim Brotherhood, has not publicly blamed Mossad for the assault.

In a move to assert his authority, on Wednesday Morsi said he had forced his director of General Intelligence Services to resign and had dismissed the governor of Northern Sinai. As the military is constitutionally out of Morsi’s reach, Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Ruling Military Council, fired Hamdy Badeen, the head of Egypt’s Military Police.

Egypt’s armed forces further called on locals and Bedouin tribes in Sinai to help security forces restore order in the region.

The resolute response from both Morsi and the country’s military rulers shows Egypt’s authorities are taking the deteriorating security situation in the region seriously.

Many analysts have attributed the growing Islamist presence in Sinai to the security vacuum resulting from former president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster last year.

Despite the recent flare-up in the violence, the Egyptian military actually launched “Operation Eagle” in August 2011 to re-establish control in Sinai, a move which saw 2,500 Egyptian troops and 250 armored personnel carriers deployed to Sinai.
With Mubarak’s security apparatus virtually disintegrating in January of last year, a tacit understanding between Israel and Egypt was reached regarding the need to bolster the latter’s military presence in the region, Ahram online reports.

An Egypt-Israel gas pipeline was sabotaged almost a dozen times in under a year, while militants believed to be connected with Islamist groups carried out a series of attacks on Egyptian police stations and checkpoints.

Egypt’s decision to send in reinforcements and intensify its clampdown follows a claim by Israel that Sunday’s brazen attack was a “wake-up call” for Egypt to get a grip on the threat of growing lawlessness on what is, in effect, a bridge between Asia and Africa.

Read More