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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:
Report: U.S. Seeks to Block Missiles for Hizballah (Ynet News/Janes' Defense Weekly)
Lebanon Security Chief Escapes Attack - Clancy Chassay (Guardian-UK)
The Clandestine Life of America's Top Al-Qaeda Source - Jane Mayer (New Yorker)
Song Praising Hizballah Catapults Band to Rock-Star Status - Matthew Schofield (San Jose Mercury News)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Iran on Thursday ended its large-scale military exercises by test-firing a 2,000-pound guided bomb. "It is a flying bomb and can be used as a guided long-range air-to-surface missile," Gen. Amir Amini, deputy commander of Iran's air force, told state TV. During maneuvers dubbed "The Blow of Zolfaghar," which began on Aug. 19, Iran has test-fired short-range surface-to-surface and sub-to-surface missiles, a new air defense system, fighter planes, and laser bombs. (AP/International Herald Tribune) Iran appears in no rush to negotiate over its controversial nuclear program, emboldened by factors which range from an ironclad belief in the rightness of its nuclear case, to record-high oil prices, and the state of conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan that Tehran believes have given Iran an advantage over U.S. and Israeli foes. "Iran does not feel the need to compromise on this; they are creating facts on the ground [by efforts to enrich uranium]," says Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "If this argument was taking place in 2002, when oil was $25 per barrel...Iran's calculations would be much, much different," he said. "The Iranian view at this moment is that they are on a winning streak," says Ali Ansari, an Iran expert at St. Andrews University in Scotland. (Christian Science Monitor) President Ahmadinejad of Iran declared that he intended to attend the UN General Assembly on Sep. 19 and debate his country's nuclear program with President Bush, who is due to address the Assembly that day. However, it was far from clear whether the Iranian president was serious in his suggestion. The Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Ahmadinejad said, "We are ready for a debate with the Americans at the UN General Assembly." (New York Sun) Ahmadinejad demanded Tuesday that students denounce liberal professors, amid growing signals that a purge of regime opponents is gathering steam. Earlier this year, scores of liberal academics were forced into retirement while the regime appointed an ayatollah to head Teheran University. (Telegraph-UK) The UN's revamped human rights body, the new Human Rights Council, created this spring to replace the ineffectual and widely disparaged Commission on Human Rights. has thus far failed to live up to reformers' expectations, with its first two special sessions devoted to slamming Israel's handling of the war in Lebanon, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Lagon told a House International Relations subcommittee Wednesday. (Washington Times) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
U.S. Secretary of State Rice and UN Secretary-General Annan have informed Prime Minister Olmert that the multinational force in Lebanon is ready to take over monitoring of the country's sea and air ports. In response, Israel decided to lift the eight-week aerial and naval blockade of Lebanon on Thursday. (Ynet News) Russian-made, state of the art weapons Israel says Hizballah used during the recent war in Lebanon will be one of the main topics of discussion during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Israel on Thursday. According to diplomatic officials, Israel wants Russia to stop supplying arms to Syria and Iran because some of these weapons ended up in Hizballah's hands. (Jerusalem Post) See also Russia Ready to Investigate Weapons Supplies to Hizballah (MosNews-Russia) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
In Beit Hanun in Gaza, Ribhi Hussein, the father of little Osama, says: "You see this one-year-old? He will grow up to a bomber in Tel Aviv....He is my boy, but he is not as priceless as Jerusalem." On a rise overlooking the Mediterranean north of Gaza City stands a palatial residence, the home of Dr. Nabil Shaath, who was foreign minister in the Fatah-led former government. Here, the swimming pool, the manicured gardens, and the Asian household staff are read by ordinary Palestinians as proof of the rampant corruption that caused voters to turn against Fatah. Dr. Ibrahim Ibrach, a political analyst at Gaza's Al Azhar University, agrees that the current crisis has eroded some of Hamas' popular support, but predicts that if an election was held tomorrow, Hamas would probably win because the Fatah factions are fighting among themselves. "If Hamas fails - or if it is made to fail - Palestinian voters will not rush back to Fatah's corruption and its failed peace efforts." (Sydney Morning Herald-Australia) Each war brings Israel a new challenge. Each time, it takes Israel time to absorb the blow, understand its nature and mechanisms, and then make elaborate corrections and improvements to its combat doctrine. In the past, Israel has learned from its mistakes and it improved its fighting capabilities the next time around. In this recent war with Hizballah, Israel's performance was no different from that in past wars. At a heavy price, it inflicted a severe, but not decisive, blow to Hizballah. It will now learn how to fight better next time around. (National Review) History records applications of military force to thwart nuclear proliferation. To beat Hitler, the U.S. and Britain not only bombed a nuclear-related heavy-water plant in German-occupied Norway, but determined to destroy or capture all elements of the atomic enterprise in the defeat of the Third Reich. Nearly four decades later, Iran's air force attacked Iraq's Osirak reactor in September 1980. The following year, Israel finished the job, setting back Baghdad's nuclear program by a decade. Washington's 2003 foray into Iraq put a stake into a nuclear cadaver that had succumbed years earlier, the result of the search-and-destroy activities of international inspectors following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The risks of thwarting Iran's nuclear ambition pale by comparison to what could occur were the revolutionary regime to get The Bomb. While Israel could inflict second-strike devastation on Iran, its survival instinct will never leave its fate in the hands of a nation that calls for its extinction and has the capacity to launch an atomic first strike. This portent leaves the U.S., the most capable country to contest Iran, with its own stark choice in the event it or others cannot resurrect effective diplomacy: destroy Tehran's nuclear capacity today with conventional air strikes, accepting the probability of significant oil market and terrorist disruption, or assume the risk of a regional nuclear holocaust resulting in far more dramatic energy and Middle East political turmoil tomorrow. The writer served in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs in the administration of George H. W. Bush. (San Francisco Chronicle) Observations: The True Price of a Prisoner Exchange Deal - Editorial (Jerusalem Post)
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