July 31, 2012

EDITOR: Who wants to attack Iran?

Maybe only Mitt Romney and Netanyahu? It seems the IDF is busy leaking reports about its opposition to the war, which puts Netanyahu in quite a ridiculous light, insisting on the necessity of such a mad and criminal project. Maybe the generals do not fancy being sought as war criminals? Netanyahu does not care, it seems – he will always be able to travel to the US, which does not believe ion prosecuting war criminals, on the whole, bearing mind some of them run the administration…

Netanyahu: I have yet to make a decision regarding an attack on Iran: Haaretz

The prime minister gives interviews to Israeli TV channels, saying reports of the top military brass opposing an Israeli strike on Iran is ‘irresponsible reporting.’

By Barak Ravid  Jul.31, 2012

Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 that he has yet to make a decision on whether or not to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Netanyahu said that “Israel cannot count on anyone else” when it comes to the Iranian threat.

During the interview, the prime minister was asked to comment on reports that Israel’s entire military top brass, headed by IDF chief Benny Gantz, oppose a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran. Netanyahu said that it was “irresponsible reporting.”

Netanyahu noted that when Former Prime Minister Menachem Begin made the decision to attack the nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, then Mossad chief Yitzhak Hofi and director of Military Intelligence Directoriate Yehoshua Saguy also opposed the attack.

“In Israel, the political ranks make the decisions and the operational ranks carry them out,” said Netanyahu.

The Prime Minister’s Office initiated the interviews and summoned representatives of the four major TV channels to hold the interview on Tuesday afternoon. Each interviewer received 15 minutes with the prime minister, and Netanyahu’s media advisers conditioned the interview on it being broadcast in full and without editing.

Palestinians attack Mitt Romney for ‘racist’ comments: BBC

Ann Romney (left) and Mitt Romney (right) in Gdansk, Poland 30 July 2012Mitt Romney has travelled to the UK, Israel and Poland – all close US allies

Mitt Romney has been accused of racism for suggesting to Jewish donors that “culture” might explain Palestinians’ income inferiority to Israel.

A senior Palestinian aide said the Republican presidential candidate had failed to note economic restrictions placed by the Israeli occupation.

But the Romney campaign said his remarks in Israel were misinterpreted.

The former Massachusetts governor is now in Poland, for the third and final leg of a week-long foreign tour.

Mr Romney is set to face Barack Obama in November’s presidential election.

‘Hand of providence’

Speaking at a breakfast of about 40 donors in Jerusalem on Monday, Mr Romney said he had thought about how Israel had achieved greater prosperity than its neighbours.

“As you come here and you see the GDP [Gross Domestic Product] per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,” Mr Romney is reported to have said.

He referred to a book called The Wealth And Poverty Of Nations, by David Landes, which examines how some societies became more prosperous than those of their neighbours.

Mr Romney said he had concluded from the book that “if you could learn anything from the economic history of the world it’s this: culture makes all the difference.

He added: “And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognise the power of at least culture and a few other things.”

Mr Romney also said he recognised “hand of providence in selecting this place [Israel]”.

The economic disparity between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is even wider than Mr Romney’s remarks suggest.

According to a World Bank report, in 2011 Israel’s GDP was $31,000 per head, compared with just over $1,500 in the West Bank and Gaza.

‘Scratching their heads’

Saeb Erekat, an aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, responded quickly to the comments.

“It is a racist statement and this man doesn’t realise that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation,” Mr Erekat said.

“It seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people.

“He also lacks knowledge about the Israelis themselves. I have not heard any Israeli official speak about cultural superiority,” he added.

Mitt Romney: It would be “foolish not to take Iranian threat seriously”

Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said his remarks had been “grossly mischaracterised”.

His campaign added that the candidate’s comments had been more general and had included examples of income disparities between the US and Mexico, and Chile and Ecuador.

Meanwhile, a White House spokesman said Mr Romney’s comments had left some people “scratching their heads a little bit”.

At the breakfast, Mr Romney sat next to casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who has given millions of dollars to Republican presidential campaigns.

The owner of the American football team New York Jets, Woody Johnson, and hedge fund manager Paul Singer were also guests at the breakfast, which is thought to have raised about $1m.

Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon came to Mr Romney’s defence.

“It is unfortunate that the Palestinians find every reason and opportunity to discomfit or to criticise or to attack Israel or anyone who pays respect to Israel and Jewish culture,” he said, reports the Associated Press.

On Sunday, Mr Romney caused controversy when he described Jerusalem as the country’s capital.

He said in an interview with CNN that he would favour moving the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, where it is currently located.

The status of Jerusalem is a key issue in peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Mr Romney’s visit to Israel followed a three-day visit to London. There, he was criticised in the British press for expressing doubt about whether Britain was ready to stage the Olympic Games.

Panetta: Sanctions have yet to compel Iran to give up nuclear ambitions: Haaretz

U.S. Defense Secretary stresses need for continued economic and diplomatic pressure on Tehran; Panetta due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday.

By The Associated Press  Jul.31, 2012

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Tunisia - AP - July 30, 2012

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, accompanied by Tunisian Defense Minister Abdelkrim Zbidi, in Tunis, Tunisia, Monday, July 30, 2012. Photo by AP

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged Monday that increasingly stiff international sanctions have yet to compel Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. But he argued that more pressure eventually would lead Iran to “do what’s right.”

Iran’s disputed nuclear program, which Tehran contends is only for peaceful purposes, is a prominent backdrop to Panetta’s five-day tour of the Middle East and North Africa. On Wednesday he’ll be in Israel, whose leaders have said they are contemplating a military attack on Iran to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a step they view as a threat to Israel’s very existence.

The Obama administration wants Israel to give sanctions and diplomacy more time to steer Iran off its nuclear course, although Panetta repeated the administration’s standard line that “all options” are on the table in the event that non-military pressure does not work.

“These sanctions are having a serious impact in terms of the economy in Iran,” he told reporters during a visit to the North Africa American Military Cemetery, where 2,841 U.S. servicemen killed in the North Africa campaign against Nazi Germany in 1942-1943 are buried.

“And while the results of that may not be obvious at the moment, the fact is that they have expressed a willingness to negotiate (with the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China) and they continue to seem interested in trying to find a diplomatic solution,” he said.

Those on-again, off-again negotiations have not come close to resolving a problem that U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has cast as one of the biggest failures of the Obama administration. Romney was in Israel this week showing support for Israel and asserting that if he were president Iran would never get the atomic bomb.

Panetta, who has declined to comment on Romney’s visit to Israel, stuck to his argument that the administration’s current approach is the right one.

“What we all need to do is to continue the pressure on Iran, economically and diplomatically … to negotiate and to ultimately do what’s right in joining the international family,” he added.

After meeting in Tunis with the country’s new Islamist leaders, Panetta was headed to Egypt for talks with its new Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, in Cairo, as well as Egyptian military leader Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi.

In his remarks at the U.S. military cemetery, Panetta said Washington plans to promote closer counterterrorism cooperation with Tunisia’s new leaders. Panetta’s press secretary, George Little, said the Pentagon chief also raised the idea of more U.S. assistance in securing Tunisia’s border with Libya and in Tunisian maritime security. Little said specifics were not discussed.

Little said the U.S. is worried about the spread of al-Qaida’s influence in North Africa, while adding that “the sense is that the threat here (in Tunisia) is not as great as elsewhere” in the region.

Tunisia was the launching pad for the wave of revolt that swept through the Arab world in 2011. It had one of the most repressive governments in the region. The uprising began in December 2010 when a fruit vendor, Mohammed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in the town of Sidi Bouzid to protest his lack of economic opportunity and the disrespect of the police.

The transition here from dictatorship to democracy has been smoother than in neighboring countries like Libya and Egypt, with no power-hungry military or armed militias to stifle the progress. But there is an increasingly bold ultraconservative Muslim minority who want to turn Tunisia into a strict Islamic state.

Panetta denies reports of plan to discuss Iran attack with Israel: Haaretz

U.S. Secretary of Defense, who will meet Netanyahu, Barak during a broader Middle East and Africa trip, says ‘various contingencies’ to be discussed.

Jul.31, 2012

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, July 30, 2012.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, July 30, 2012. Photo by Reuters

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta denied media reports on Tuesday that he would discuss possible military attack plans against Iran during a brief visit to Israel.

Speaking at a press conference in Cairo shortly before departing for Israel, Panetta said he would be talking about “various contingencies,” but said specific military plans would not be put forward.

“I think it’s the wrong characterization to say we are going to be discussing potential attack plans. What we are discussing are various contingencies and how we would respond,” he said.

Asked whether these included military options, he said: “We obviously continue to work on a number of options in that area, but the discussions that I hope to have with Israel are going to be more about what is the threat that we’re confronting and to try to share both information and intelligence on that.”

Western powers believe Iran is seeking the technology to build a nuclear bomb and Israel has repeatedly hinted it might use force to try to halt Tehran’s atomic program. Tehran says its nuclear work is for peaceful purposes.

The United States has said it is determined to prevent Iran from getting the bomb, but has called on Israel to give more time for increasingly severe economic sanctions to work.

“Both of our countries are committed to ensuring that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon and to that extent we continue to work together in the effort to ensure that Iran does not reach that point of developing a nuclear weapon,” Panetta said.

Panetta was responding to reports on Tuesday that he was intending to show Israeli leaders the plans being drawn up by the Pentagon to stop Iran if diplomacy and sanctions failed to persuade Tehran to halt its nuclear program.

The Israeli army chief, Benny Gantz, told reporters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces were ready to attack Iran if necessary.

“The IDF is ready and prepared for action and as we see it ‘all options are on the table’ is not a slogan, it is a working plan and we are doing it,” he said, referring to a line often repeated by Israeli politicians when discussing Iran.

Panetta is due to meet his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his stay in Israel, part of a broader trip to the Middle East and Africa.

A senior Israeli official on Sunday denied a separate newspaper report that U.S. President Barack Obama’s national security adviser had briefed Netanyahu on a U.S. contingency plan to attack Iran should diplomacy fail to curb its nuclear ambitions.

Arafat’s widow asks France to probe ‘murder’: Al Jazeera English

Suha Arafat asks French court to launch murder investigation into the death of the Palestinian leader over poison claim.
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2012 14:14
Yasser Arafat’s widow has asked a French court to launch a murder investigation into the

A Swiss institute found surprisingly high levels of polonium-210 on Arafat’s clothing during an Al Jazeera investigation

death of the Palestinian leader, after an Al Jazeera investigation suggested he was poisoned by a radioactive element.

After a sudden collapse in his health, Arafat was flown to France in October 2004 from his battered headquarters, where he had been effectively confined by Israel for more than two and a half years.

He died a month later. Arafat aides at the time quoted doctors as saying he had suffered a brain haemorrhage and lost the use of his vital organs one by one.

Click here for AL Jazeera’s full investigation

Allegations of foul play quickly surfaced after the doctors who treated him said they could not establish a precise cause of the illness that led to his death.

The lawsuit filed by his widow Suha and their daughter Zahwa on Tuesday, in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre, accused a person, or persons unknown, of premeditated murder.

Their complaint followed a statement by a Swiss institute that it had found surprisingly high levels of polonium-210 on Arafat’s clothing – the same substance used to kill former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

A legal source told the Reuters news agency that the Nanterre court would, in the first instance, have to determine whether it had jurisdiction to examine whether a case of alleged poisoning that took place in another country could be legally investigated in France.

“Suha and Zahwa have complete faith in the French justice system,” a statement released by Suha’s lawyer said.

“Suha and Zahwa Arafat do not, at this stage, advance any accusation against a specific party, be it a state, a group or an individual.”

Exhumation

Many Arabs see Israel as the prime suspect behind the mysterious decline of the man who led Palestinians’ bid for a state through years of war and peace.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has agreed to exhume Arafat’s body from a limestone mausoleum in Ramallah for an autopsy, and Tunisia has called for a ministerial meeting of the Arab League to discuss his death.

Earlier this month, PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat’s successor, met French President Francois Hollande and asked him to help form an international investigative group via the UN Security Council.

Arafat was confined by Israel to his Ramallah compound in the wake of a Palestinian uprising and was already in poor health when he suddenly collapsed in October 2004.

Foreign doctors flocked to his bedside from Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan amid public assurances from Arafat’s aides over the next two weeks that he was suffering from no more than the flu.

But looking weak and thin – and telling aides “God willing, I will be back” – he was airlifted to a military hospital in France, where he slipped into a coma and died on November 11.

French officials refused to state the cause of death, citing privacy laws.

Nasser al-Kidwa, Arafat’s nephew, said a 558-page medical report released by France had shown no trace of known poisons but that the cause of death remained a mystery.