Has the US Set a March Deadline for War on Iran?
AntiWar
December 7, 2012
Last month the US issued an ultimatum to Iran, demanding it fully cooperate with the IAEA by March or else face further action and possible measures at the UN Security Council. Micah Zenko, fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, speculates that this “could indicate that the Obama administration is moving toward the zone of immunity logic.”
Zenko is referring to the Israeli standard for deciding to go to war with Iran. Up to now, the Israeli standard to attack Iran is not when it has nuclear weapons or presents an imminent threat to Israel, but rather when Iran’s nuclear program is sufficiently advanced and redundant across the country – although not being weaponized – that Israeli military action would be inadequate to significantly retard it.
The US standard, at least as commonly understood, has been a little stricter. Washington has implied it will resort to war only if Iran is demonstrably weaponizing its nuclear program and on the verge of having a nuclear bomb.
Despite the semantic differences, the two postures are essentially the same. Both the US and Israel have ignored the legal standard for resorting to war – to block an imminent attack, i.e. self-defense – and crafted their own standard, which says they can bomb Iran to smithereens if they judge that at some point in the future Iran might be able to deter US or Israeli aggression. Iran must be kept weak and defenseless, the thinking goes, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to obliterate them at will.
This speaks to Iran’s nuclear posture, which is aimed at what is sometimes called “a breakout capability.” In an environment of constant threats of war, economic sanctions, and being surrounded by the US military, Iran has tried to abstain from developing nuclear weapons while having the know-how needed to get there; this essentially is an attempt to have a deterrent without actually having a deterrent. They don’t get in trouble for having a weapon, but they are able to ward off attack or invasion.
US intelligence corroborates this analysis. As James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, has repeatedly said, “We don’t believe they’ve actually made the decision to go ahead with a nuclear weapon.”
DND removes report on killing of Canadian soldier by Israeli forces
by David Pugliese
Ottawa Citizen
December 25, 2012
Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener and three other United Nations observers were killed in 2006 when the Israeli military targeted their small outpost with repeated artillery barrages as well as an attack by a fighter aircraft. (Photo: Courtese CTV)
The Defence Department has quietly removed from the Internet a report into the killing of a Canadian military officer by Israeli forces, a move the soldier’s widow says is linked to the Conservative government’s reluctance to criticize Israel for any wrongdoing.
Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener and three other United Nations observers were killed in 2006 when the Israeli military targeted their small outpost with repeated artillery barrages as well as an attack by a fighter aircraft.
IN early 2008, the Defence Department posted on its website a 67-page report from the Canadian Forces board of inquiry into the killing. The board found Hess-von Kruedener’s death was preventable and caused by the Israeli military.
Annual pro-Palestine vigil held in London [video]
PressTV
December 27, 2012
Dozens of pro-Palestinian supporters staged a vigil outside the Israeli embassy in London to vent their anger on the Zionist regime.
They called for an end to the crippling sanctions and the illegal blockade on Gaza that has stretched for over eight years.
The 27th of December has become a symbolic day for pro-Palestinian protesters. On this day, four years ago, Israel launched a 22-day offensive into the Gaza Strip which claimed the lives of over 1400 Palestinians. Demonstrators here say they will not stop protesting unless justice is brought to the Palestinian people.
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US preparing for “Possible Military Intervention” in Syria, Various Options Contemplated
Global Research
December 27, 2012
File photo shows Syrian rebels in the town of Halfaya, Hama province, on December 18, 2012.
A senior Israeli official says the United States is gearing up for a possible military intervention in Syria to prevent Syria’s alleged chemical weapons from being used against civilians or falling into wrong hands.
Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya’alon told Israel Radio on Thursday that Israeli officials were in close touch with their American counterparts about the latest developments in Syria. He added that at the current juncture there was no fear that Syria would use its alleged chemical weapons against Israel.
Ya’alon refused to comment on media reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had secretly met with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman to discuss Syria’s alleged stockpile of chemical weapons.
During the meeting, Netanyahu proposed a coordinated Israeli-Jordanian lightning air strike to destroy Syria’s alleged stockpile of chemical weapons.
Jordanians, however, have reportedly declined the option over concerns that it would cause chemical fallout around the target sites.
Israel then proposed a second option, a comprehensive joint military incursion into Syria. The operation would include at least 8,000 soldiers entering Syria from different directions to neutralize the alleged chemical weapons sites.
The Jordanians did not support the Israeli proposals, but they did not completely reject them either.
Foreign-backed militants, however, have reportedly formed a company which has already used chemical weapons in battle against Syrian armed forces. However, in their propaganda, they have tried to incriminate the Syrian army for using such weapons against civilians.
On December 22, Syrian rebels used chemical weapons against the Syrian Army in the town of Daraya, located eight kilometers southwest of Damascus. At least seven Syrian soldiers were killed after they were attacked by a chemical weapon which produced a toxic yellow gas.
Syrian militants have also threatened to contaminate Syria’s drinking water supply in a bid to kill all Alawite Shias and the supporters of President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil.
The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.
Articles by: Global Research News and Press TV
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Syria: Al Qaeda FSA Shell Damascus International Airport with Mortars [video included]
Real Syria Updates
December 31, 2012
Al Qaeda FSA terrorists following the ‘Zionist Handbook to Destroy Syria‘ have published another video they claim they shell Damascus International Airport with mortars in it, their first video we reported earlier (click here). Same terrorists threatened earlier to target civilian airplanes in Syrian Airports and actually targeted one (Al Qaeda FSA Terrorists Target a Civilian Aircraft Based on a Wahhabi Religious Fatwa) & they brag about it!!
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| How to justify terrorists acts, name them ‘rebels’ |
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– The above information were posted by real Syrian activists from Syria & around the world, not by western intelligent post offices duped activists.
International activists enter Gaza on solidarity mission [video]
PressTV
December 28, 2012
About one hundred solidarity activists were able to get into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing on the borders with Egypt.
The majority of the Welcome to Palestine delegation came from European countries like France, Belgium, and Ireland, along with some Egyptians.
Many of them expressed their happiness for being able to make into the Gaza Strip, especially that it comes on the 27th of December, which coincides with the fourth anniversary of the Israeli Operation Cast Lead on Gaza in 2008, which claimed over 1400 Palestinian lives.
http://youtu.be/YSebG-_kYCg
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Netanyahu Holds Secret Meeting with Jordan’s King on Syria
Friends of Syria
December 27, 2012
Zionist Entity’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a secret meeting in Jordan with King Abdullah II, the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily reported on Wednesday.
The paper, without specifying when the meeting took place, only said it was “kept a secret.”
According to the report, which has yet to be confirmed by Zionist officials, the meeting focused on the possibility that Syrian President Bashar Assad would use chemical weapons in the ongoing conflict raging in Syria.
The newspaper quoted a Jordanian official as saying that the reason for the secrecy is that “Israel’s presence in any official, regional or international meeting meant to change the balance of power in Syria, actually hinders such brainstorming.”
The report further said that the Zionist entity is trying to promote “an unpopular scenario” of a surprise offensive on Assad’s arsenal of chemical weapons, in order to destroy it.
According to the Zionist daily Haaretz, Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg reported in The Atlantic earlier this month that the entity of occupation has asked Jordan twice in the last two months for a green light to attack chemical weapons facilities in Syria, but the Jordanians responded negatively to the request and refused to grant their approval.
When contacted, the Netanyahu’s office refused to comment on the report.
Goldberg added, however, that Netanyahu has already sent representatives of the Mossad intelligence agency to Amman twice, to coordinate the matter with the Jordanians and receive their “permission” for the operation.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=78206&cid=31&fromval=1&frid=31&seccatid=269&s1=1
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