'Israel seriously considering Iran military op'

Israel is seriously considering taking unilateral military action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, according to a report by top US political figures and experts released Wednesday. The report also says Israel's time frame for action is growing shorter, not only because of Iranian advances, but because Teheran might soon acquire upgraded air defenses and disperse its nuclear program to additional locations.
The report, "Preventing a Cascade of Instability," was put out by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). It also argues that international sanctions against Iran need to be intensified urgently for the engagement the Obama administration is planning with Teheran to be effective. More

Bomb Attacks in India Kill at Least 67

NEW DELHI — A series of apparently synchronized explosions tore through four towns in the troubled state of Assam in northeastern India on Thursday, killing at least 67 people and leaving more than 210 wounded, according to witnesses and police.
The bombs took aim at crowded markets and government buildings like courts and police stations, witnesses said. The attacks, among the bloodiest in recent months, left streets littered with bodies and the wreckage of cars and motorcycles, according to witnesses and photographers at the scene.More

Time is running out for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

In her first foreign policy speech since winning the leadership of the governing party, she said extremists were gaining ground as talks faltered.
But she stressed her commitment to the US-backed talks that began last year.
Ms Livni was asked to form a coalition after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert quit last month amid corruption allegations.
She replaced Mr Olmert as leader of Kadima, the largest party in the Israeli Knesset, and has until 3 November to build a coalition. More

BRITAIN AND 8 ALLIED NATIONS PREPARE FOR WORLD WAR 3 WAR GAMES OCT 6-16

FIGHTER jets, infantry troops, destroyers and submarines will converge on Wales next month for one of the largest military exercises of all time.
The two-week exercise – codenamed Joint Warrior – is designed to recreate a scenario in which Britain and other sovereign nations go to war against a “state-sponsored terrorist movement” – using a vast array of lethal modern weapons.
Taking place between October 6 and October 16, it will provide coordinated training for all three UK Armed Services, plus forces from EIGHT allied nations.
The whole of Wales has been designated as a flying area for the exercise, while so-called “managed danger area” ranges at Castlemartin and Manorbier in Pembrokeshire and Pembrey near Llanelli will be used for ground strafing, bombing and missile practice using live ammunition.
An area of the West Wales coast has also been earmarked as a maritime “warfighting” area for Joint Warrior.
The exercise is aimed at giving pilots, ships’ crews and ground troops vital training before they deploy to war zones like Iraq or Afghanistan.
According to the RAF, Joint Warrior will be particularly useful for Forward Air Controllers (troops directing airborne missile strikes), the role made famous by Prince Harry who became known by his call sign Widow Six Seven while directing fire against the Taliban.More

Russia's strategic bombers to drill with full combat payloads.

MOSCOW, October 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russian strategic bombers will conduct training flights with full combat payloads and live fire all cruise missiles on board for the first time in over two decades, an Air Force spokesman said.
The live firing exercises in Russia's northern latitudes on October 6-12 are part of the Stability-2008 strategic maneuvers in various regions of Russia and Belarus with the goal of practicing strategic deployment of the Armed Forces, including the nuclear triad, to counter potential threats near the Russian border.
"During these exercises, for the first time in many years, the crews of Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic bombers will fly missions carrying the maximum combat payload and fire all the cruise missiles on board," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said.
Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft can carry six and 12 Kh-55 (AS-15 Kent) long-range cruise missiles respectively.
Drik said that the scope of the exercises would be unprecedented and involve, apart from the Tu-160s and Tu-95s, the Tu-22M3 Backfire strategic bombers, air superiority fighters, interceptors and aerial tankers.
"The number and variety of aircraft involved in the drills shows the wide range of tasks that will be accomplished during the week-long exercise," the spokesman said.
Former Air Force commander, General of the Army Pyotr Deynekin, said Russian Tu-95 bombers had conducted live firing of all their cruise missiles only once before, in 1984. More.

Israel accuses NKorea of Mideast proliferation.

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Israel accused North Korea on Saturday of covertly supplying at least half a dozen Mideast countries with nuclear technology or conventional arms.
The allegation was made at an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna where world powers urged the North to stop reactivating its nuclear weapons program.
"The Middle East remans on the receiving end of the DPRK's reckless activities," Israeli delegate David Danieli told the meeting, referring to North Korea by its acronym.
"At least half a dozen countries in the region ... have become eager recipients" of the North's black market supplies of conventional arms or nuclear technology, he said - mostly "through black market and covert network channels."
While he did not name any of the suspected countries, he appeared to be referring in part to Iran and Syria, which are both under IAEA investigation, and Libya, which scrapped its rudimentary weapons program after revealing it in 2003.More.

US radar in Israel is aimed at Iran.

THE United States has deployed a sophisticated long-range radar system in Israel capable of providing crucial early warning in case of a missile attack.
There is growing anxiety in Israel and the US that Iran, which makes no secret of its long-range ballistic missiles or its uranium enrichment program, could launch an offensive against Israel.
According to the US newspaper Defense News , published by The Army Times , the radar system was flown to Israel in parts over the past week and will be installed at a military base in the Negev desert in the south of the country.
An unnamed Israeli official told The New York Times that the radar would serve not only Israel, but the US, and would be operated by 120 US staff.
Ephraim Kam, the deputy director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, called the radar system an "important addition" to Israel's defences and said he believed the US was sending a message that "they are against any attack by Israel on Iran's nuclear facilities at this time but cannot leave us without protection". More.

House approves nuclear pact with India .

Critics say this will lead to South Asia arms race; deal goes to Senate.

WASHINGTON - The House voted overwhelmingly Saturday to approve a landmark pact that would allow the U.S. to provide nuclear materials to India.
The deal still faces major obstacles in the Senate, making prospects uncertain for passage before President Bush leaves office in January. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate would vote on the accord in the week ahead, possibly Monday.
The House approved the measure by 298-117 without debate in an unusual Saturday session. The accord reverses three decades of U.S. policy by shipping atomic fuel to India in return for international inspections of India's civilian reactors .Supporters say it would bring India's atomic program under closer scrutiny. Critics say it would boost India's nuclear arsenal and spark an arms race in South Asia.More.

Russia to upgrade nuclear systems

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to build a "guaranteed nuclear deterrent system", to be in place by 2020.
He said he wanted military chiefs to submit plans by December.
He called for a programme to build new nuclear submarines as well as "a system of aerospace defence".
The announcement comes just weeks after Russia accused the US of starting a new arms race by siting part of its missile defence shield in Poland.
"We must guarantee nuclear deterrence under various political and military conditions by 2020," Mr Medvedev told military commanders.
He said it was necessary to build "new types of armaments" and to "achieve dominance in airspace", according to quotes carried by the Itar-Tass news agency.
"We plan to start serial production of warships, primarily nuclear-powered submarines carrying cruise missiles and multifunctional submarines," Mr Medvedev said. More.

MASSIVE U.S. NAVEL ARMADA HEADS FOR IRAN

Operation Brimstone ended only one week ago. This was the joint US/UK/French naval war games in the Atlantic Ocean preparing for a naval blockade of Iran and the likely resulting war in the Persian Gulf area. The massive war games included a US Navy supercarrier battle group, an US Navy expeditionary carrier battle group, a Royal Navy carrier battle group, a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine plus a large number of US Navy cruisers, destroyers and frigates playing the "enemy force".The lead American ship in these war games, the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN71) and its Carrier Strike Group Two (CCSG-2) are now headed towards Iran along with the USS Ronald Reagon (CVN76) and its Carrier Strike Group Seven (CCSG-7) coming from Japan.They are joining two existing USN battle groups in the Gulf area: the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN72) with its Carrier Strike Group Nine (CCSG-9); and the USS Peleliu (LHA-5) with its expeditionary strike group.Likely also under way towards the Persian Gulf is the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) and its expeditionary strike group, the UK Royal Navy HMS Ark Royal (R07) carrier battle group, assorted French naval assets including the nuclear hunter-killer submarine Amethyste and French Naval Rafale fighter jets on-board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. These ships took part in the just completed Operation Brimstone.The build up of naval forces in the Gulf will be one of the largest multi-national naval armadas since the First and Second Gulf Wars. The intent is to create a US/EU naval blockade (which is an Act of War under international law) around Iran (with supporting air and land elements) to prevent the shipment of benzene and certain other refined oil products headed to Iranian ports. Iran has limited domestic oil refining capacity and imports 40% of its benzene. Cutting off benzene and other key products would cripple the Iranian economy. The neo-cons are counting on such a blockade launching a war with Iran.More

Top Iranian general: Any attack against us will lead to world war.

Any attack on Iran will lead to a world war, the Mehr news agency quoted a top Iranian general as saying Saturday.

"The unbridled greediness of the American and Zionist leadership is pushing the world to the edge of the cliff," Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri said in relation to the crises in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and Georgia, "should such a (conflict) erupt, the phony and artificial regimes will be annihilated."
Brigadier General Jazayeri, the deputy head of Iran’s Armed Forces Headquarters, did not specifically mention Israel, but the Jewish state is often referred to by Iranian officials as a "phony regime".
Jazayeri's comments came amid the ongoing dispute between Iran and the international community over its nuclear program. Tehran fears an attack on its nuclear facilities and has repeatedly warned Israel and the US against launching such a strike.
Earlier this week the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Israel would not dare launch an attack on Iran for fear of the Islamic Republic's missile array and the support of its Islamic allies in the region.
"In the event of an attack against Iran, the Israelis know that with the capabilities that the Islamic world and the Shiite world have in the region, they will suffer deadly strikes," the Mehr news agency quoted Jafari as saying, in an apparent reference to Hizbullah.

'World must stand firm against Iran' Bush

Tyranny presents as great a threat to world peace and stability as terrorism, US President George Bush told the members of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Speaking on the opening day of the annual UN gathering in New York, Bush laid out a moral case to world leaders for supporting "brave young democracies" to prevent the spread of terrorism and the popular discontent that fuels it.
Bush called for the stricter enforcement of sanctions against Iran and North Korea, and again drew the link between tyranny and terror, saying the world must "continue working to deny terrorists refuge anywhere in the world."
"We must not relent until our people are safe against this threat to our civilization," he said. "Instead of treating all forms of government as equally tolerable, we must actively challenge the conditions of tyranny and despair that allow terror and extremists to thrive." More.

Sarkozy has stern words at U.N. for Russia, Iran

By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Russia after its war with Georgia that force cannot be used to settle disputes and made plain to Iran he would push hard for a new round of sanctions over its nuclear program. "What Europe is telling Russia is that we want links with Russia, that we want to build a shared future with Russia, we wanted to be Russia's partner," Sarkozy said in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. "Europe is also telling Russia ... it cannot compromise on the principle of states' sovereignty and independence, their territorial integrity, or respect for international law," said Sarkozy, who presides over France's European Union presidency. Russia invaded Georgia last month to thwart an attempt by the Georgian military to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Sarkozy brokered a ceasefire to end the conflict, although the United States and EU countries have sharply criticized Russia for what they described as its excessive use of force. "Europe's message to all states is that it cannot accept the use of force to settle a dispute," he said. Sarkozy also said the EU would never tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran, "which would endanger the peace and stability of an entire region, nor can it tolerate Iran calling for the destruction of ... Israel." He told reporters that Paris fully supported a fourth round of sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend its nuclear enrichment program, but acknowledged that Western powers would need Russia's support to pass a new U.N. sanctions resolution. Tehran denies Western charges that it wants nuclear arms. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said Israel should be wiped off the map, will speak later on Tuesday. Sarkozy also vowed not to abandon Afghanistan and allow "the Taliban allied with al Qaeda again to take a people hostage and turn an entire country into a terrorist base." WAR CRIMES IN DARFUR The French leader also confirmed that France could support a suspension of any International Criminal Court indictment of Sudan`s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for possible war crimes in Darfur, although he made clear that his support would have some tough conditions attached.
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Report confirms Israel's nuclear arsenal .

The Sunday Times has revealed that an Israeli factory beneath the Negev desert is manufacturing thermo-nuclear weapons for atomic bombs. The secrets of the subterranean factory have been uncovered by The Sunday Times Insight team. Hidden beneath the Negev desert, the factory has been producing atomic warheads for the past 20 years. Now it has almost certainly begun manufacturing thermo-nuclear weapons, with yields big enough to destroy entire cities, the report says. Information about Israel's capacity to manufacture the bomb comes from the testimony of a former Dimona employee, nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu. Vanunu's testimony and pictures, confirm that Israel has the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, including hundreds of nuclear warheads. Israel has possessed its secret weapons factory for more than two decades, and its nuclear facility is equipped with French plutonium extracting technology, which transformed Dimona from a research establishment to a bomb production facility. The nuclear scientists consulted by The Sunday Times calculate that at least 100 and as many as 200 nuclear weapons of varying destructive power have been assembled - 10 times the previously estimated strength of Israel's nuclear arsenal. The scientists include Theodore Taylor, who was taught by Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, and who went on to head the Pentagon's atomic weapons test program. Taylor studied the photographs taken by Vanunu inside Dimona and a transcript of his evidence near Washington last week. "There should no longer be any doubt that Israel is, and for at least a decade has been, a fully-fledged nuclear weapons state. The Israeli nuclear weapons program is considerably more advanced than indicated by any previous report or conjectures of which I am aware," Taylor said. Taylor's assessments have been confirmed by other top nuclear scientists who were shown the pictures and evidence provided by Vanunu.