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Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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To contact the Presidents Conference: click here In-Depth Issues:
Iran Plans Secret "Nuclear University" to Train Scientists
- Con Coughlin (Telegraph-UK)
The Iranian government has given approval for the establishment of a secret nuclear research center to train its scientists in all aspects of atomic technology.
One Dead in Blast at Qatar Theater Packed with Westerners
- Sean Rayment and Peter Zimonjic (Telegraph-UK)
Dutch "Chemical Ali" on Trial for Genocide -
Ian Traynor (Guardian-UK)
PLO Envoy: Arafat Killed By High Tech Laser Attack
- Feizal Samath (Malaysian News Agency)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Smugglers in Ukraine shipped 18 cruise missiles, each capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, to Iran in 2001 and China in 2000, Ukrainian prosecutors said Friday. Iran received 12 Soviet-era Kh-55 cruise missiles, which have a range of 1,860 miles. Each missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with a 200-kiloton yield at altitudes too low to be detected by radar. If the missiles were made operational, they could strike Israel if launched from Iran. The sales have been portrayed as a significant leak of Soviet-era weapons technology. (Los Angeles Times) Iranian officials have pledged they would never abandon uranium enrichment in the long-term, but some now suggest privately that Tehran's offer of "objective guarantees" as to the peaceful nature of its nuclear program could entail a limit in its number of centrifuges, the central enrichment device. "The minimum is a certain number, let's say 500 out of the 7,000-8,000, for enrichment, and then the Europeans can build up economically viable power plants [in Iran] and give us fuel," said a senior official. "It's clear Iran will be attacked if it doesn't give up the fuel cycle," said a second senior official. (Financial Times-UK) The Arab summit formally rejected on Sunday a proposal by the Jordanian king that would have revised Arab conditions for normalizing relations with Israel. The original plan by Jordan's King Abdullah II had dropped the traditional Arab call for recognizing Israel in exchange for the Jewish state's withdrawal from land it has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. (AP/Washington Post) Lebanese opposition leader Walid Jumblatt, chief of the Druze minority, said some pro-Syrian groups had received weapons and explosives recently, after a bomb explosion in the Christian Beirut suburb of New Jdeidah left 11 people wounded. "We are...opening...a new page in relations with Syria, but if some elements who are close to Syria lead us to security chaos, then this will backfire on Syria," he warned. Opposition leaders in Beirut fear that some of Syria's allies in Lebanon are seeking to provoke violent unrest to justify the need for some Syrian troops to remain in Lebanon. (Financial Times-UK) Haifa Street runs for two miles through Baghdad; American soldiers call it Purple Heart Boulevard. American officers say that on Haifa Street, insurgents are attacking in smaller numbers, and with less intensity; mortar attacks into the Green Zone have diminished sharply; major raids have uncovered large weapons caches; and some rebel leaders have been arrested or killed. Last month, an Iraqi brigade with two battalions garrisoned along Haifa Street became the first homegrown unit to take operational responsibility for any combat zone in Iraq. So far, American officers say, the Iraqis have done well, withstanding insurgent attacks and conducting aggressive patrols and raids, without deserting in large numbers. (New York Times) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Three soldiers and a border policeman were wounded by Palestinians in Ramallah Sunday. Border Police were carrying out routine operations, with IDF soldiers providing cover, when armed Palestinians opened fire at the troops. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting. (Yediot Ahronot-Ynet) Israel and the PA failed to reach agreement Sunday on the handover of security responsibility for the West Bank town of Tulkarm. The dispute centered on control of villages north of Tulkarm. IDF Col. Tamir Heyman said the Islamic Jihad cell responsible for the Feb. 25 suicide attack in Tel Aviv is based in those villages. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Sunday that, together with the handovers, the PA needs to monitor wanted individuals in the towns where it assumes responsibility, disarm the terrorist organizations, and prevent terrorist cells from attacking Israel from the towns. Mofaz said that handing over additional towns depends on how the Palestinians deal with terrorism in the towns already under their control. (Ha'aretz) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
In the post-Cold War world, the old divisions have largely disappeared, so the primary divide is now "terror and anti-terror," says Shimon Peres, 81, Israel's vice prime minister. "This forces the Palestinians and Arabs to take sides. They cannot remain neutral." Peres says the larger trend away from authoritarian rule is clear. "Even if you don't know who won in Iraq, you know that Saddam lost," he said. "He was the Stalin and Hitler of the Middle East, and you can't go back to Stalin and Hitler." Among Israelis, support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq was overwhelming. Peres views it as a catalyst, forcing countries like Syria to pay more attention. "If the Americans just make declarations, the Middle East would swallow them," he said. "But they are afraid that behind these declarations there may be a stick." (New York Times) Beginning last summer Bashar Assad purged the ranks of the military, sidelined prospective opponents, and wrested control of foreign policy, especially the "Lebanon file," from his vice president. Assad has promised to withdraw troops from Lebanon and has begun the withdrawal. Whether he will complete it and whether Syria will simply maintain its control through other means remain matters of keen debate in Damascus. It is widely felt that maintaining control is central to his long-term survival because of Lebanon's importance to Syria's economy. (New York Times) Just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Arab League chief Amr Moussa warned it would ''open the gates of hell.'' Two years later, many are asking whether the U.S. actually opened the doors of democracy in the Middle East. (AP/Chicago Sun-Times) Observations: Can Abbas Deliver? - Editorial (Washington Times)
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