The fact that Hezbollah lost all their primo, top of the line Iranian built, Zelzal-2 missiles in the first half hour of the war with Israel, has really gotten their panties in a wad.

They had no idea that Israel knew exactly where they were, and they were devastated when Israel wiped them out first thing.

They are now out looking for and arresting people they suspect of collaborating with Israel against the guerilla group.

First wave of arrests inside Hizballah of suspected informers to Israeli intelligence

No commissions of inquiry for Hassan Nasrallah. Our exclusive sources learn that Hizballah’ special security service has begun rounding up suspects in the northern Beqaa Valley, Baalbek and South Lebanon of members and others suspected of tipping off Israel intelligence on the location of the storehouse holding the heavy Zelzal missiles.

Those missiles, no more than three or four, were held in reserve as Hizballah’s most devastating strategic weapon against Israel, capable of hitting Tel Aviv.

Monday, Aug. 28, prime minister Ehud Olmert revealed for the first time that the Israeli air force destroyed those missiles in the first 34 minutes of the Lebanon war on July 12. Nasrallah needs urgently to find the leak through which the missiles’ place of storage and very existence, one of Hizballah’s most tightly kept secrets known only to very few top leaders of the organization, reached Israel.

The first arrests were made among people living in the vicinity of the missile cache.

More arrests have been carried out in the Shiite communities who live near or are connected with the Hizballah intelligence and secret command centers in Baalbek, which were targeted by Israeli air strikes and commando forays.

DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources reveal that Hizballah’s special security apparatus is focusing on two lines of inquiry:

1. Israel’s Aug. 1 commando raid on the Deir al Hikhma hospital in Baalbek.

2. The series of Israeli incursions in the course of the war in the hills northwest of Baalbek, where Hizballah’s main command center, including its intelligence headquarters, are hidden underground in well fortified quarters – and are still in place.

Some have claimed that Hezbollah did not fire these missiles into Israel during the war because of Tehran's opposition, but I think the real truth may lie right here.

If they had them, they would have used them. No doubt in my mind.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah mis-calculated the Israeli response to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah which started a war beyond his belief.

He said in a TV interview on Sunday that if he had known it would lead to a war, he would never have ordered the capture of the two Israeli soldiers.

"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he said.

Nasrallah, who went into hiding on the first day of the war, also said he did not believe a second bout of fighting would break out with Israel, even though he said more than half his group's rocket arsenal was left intact.

"The current Israeli situation, and the available information tells us that we are not heading to another round," he said.

Although Nasrallah claimed victory over Israel as the cease fire took hold, he did apologized in the interview for the suffering of the Lebanese people, caused by the war.

A senior Iranian official, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the Iranian Parliament Vice Speaker warned that Iran may develop nuclear weapons and pull out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty if international pressure against its nuclear program continues.

At the same time the U.S. has said it may go it only if the UN Security Council does not vote for sanctions against Iran. And in response to that statement several anonymous experts warned that a win by proponents of immediate sanctions carried grave risks. "Doing so would put the U.S. on the slippery slope towards military action, because none of America's allies believe that U.N. sanctions will be effective."

***Scroll down for Updates***

Iran may pull out of NPT; U.S. weighing sanctions without UN

By Yossi Melman and Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies

Iran may develop nuclear weapons and pull out from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if international pressure against its nuclear program continues, a senior Iranian official warned yesterday.

The statements made by Iranian Parliament Vice Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar mark the first time a senior Iranian official specifically mentioned the development of nuclear weapons as part of the country's nuclear program, which to date Tehran had insisted was for peaceful purposes.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday that his country poses no threat to Israel, and that no one can deprive Iran of its right to nuclear technology.

"No one can deprive a nation of its rights based on its capabilities," he said in a speech to inaugurate a new phase of a heavy-water reactor project southwest of Tehran.

"Iran is not a threat to anybody, not even to the Zionist regime," he said.

"They may impose some restrictions on us under pressure. But will they be able to prevent the thoughts of a nation? Will they be able to prevent the progress and technology of a nation? They have to accept the reality of a powerful, peace-loving and developed Iran. This is in the interest of all governments and all nations, whether they like it or not," he said.

Ahmadinejad inaugurated the project and toured the site at Khondab, near Arak, 190 kilometers southwest of the capital Tehran. The plant's plutonium by-product could be used to make atomic warheads.

The pressure Iran is concerned with includes plans by the U.S. administration to bypass the Security Council and impose economic sanctions on Iran because of Tehran's refusal to abide by the United Nations resolution ordering it to cease its uranium enrichment program, sources at UN headquarters in New York said on Friday.

According to the sources at the UN, American officials are convinced the chances of passing a Security Council resolution imposing economic sanctions on Iran are flimsy because Russia and China have decided not to support the proposal.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov said yesterday that it is too early to discuss economic sanctions against Iran and went as far as to say that Moscow opposed any form of sanctions.

Update:
Iran Test-Fires Sub-to-Surface Missile

Iran on Sunday test-fired a sub-to-surface missile in the Persian Gulf during large-scale military exercises, state-run television reported.

"The army successfully test-fired a top speed long-range sub-to-surface missile off the Persian Gulf," the Army's Navy commander, Gen. Sajjad Kouchaki, said on state television.

A brief video clip showed the missile, fired from a submarine, hitting a target on the surface of the water within less than a mile.

The test came as part of large-scale military exercises under way throughout the country. Iran has routinely held war games over the past two decades to improve its combat readiness and to test equipment including missiles, tanks and armored personnel carriers.

Sounds like it was a dud. I can't imagine the target was less than a mile away. That's just where it landed.

Two Fox News journalists, Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig of New Zealand were released Sunday, almost two weeks after being seized by militants, ending the longest-running drama involving foreign hostages in the Gaza Strip.

They were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel, several hours after appearing in a video released by their captors.

With only days left before the August 31 U.N. deadline which demands Iran stop it's uranium enrichment or face economic and political sanctions, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated a new heavy-water production plant in Khondab Iran.

Ahmadinejad said, after the inauguration of the plant, that Iran's controversial nuclear program poses no threat to any other country, not even the Zionist "which is a definite enemy."

Tehran called the U.N. Security Council resolution "illegal" and said it won't stop it's enrichment program.

Iran Opens Plant That Can Produce Plutonium

Just days before it is supposed to suspend enrichment of uranium or face the prospect of sanctions, Iran continues to project an image of defiance and confidence. Its position regarding the demand it suspend enrichment remains a determined "No."

On Saturday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made a provocative, if symbolic, gesture by formally inaugurating a heavy-water plant. The plant, which Iranians say is intended for peaceful purposes, would also produce plutonium, which in turn could be used in the building of nuclear warheads.

"There are no talks of nuclear weapons in Iran," President Ahmadinejad said as he announced the opening of the plant. "And we are not a threat for any country, even the Zionist regime that is the enemy of the countries in the region."

But, he added: "We tell the Western countries not to cause trouble for themselves because Iranian people are determined to take big steps."

The action was the latest in a series of not-too-veiled threats against the West if Iran is saddled with sanctions.

But Iran's public posture has all but guaranteed that the members of the United Nation's Security Council will have to at least address Iran's violations of the resolution setting August 31 as the deadline for suspending enrichment.

Iranian's public confidence is based on three primary factors, political analysts here said: There is a strong belief that two of the council's permanent members, Russia and China, will support Iran's call for talks and oppose moving toward sanctions; that the United States is far too bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan to be willing to spark another conflict in the region; and the perceived victory of Hezbollah in its war with Israel has strengthened Iran's political capital in the region.

"After the defeat of Israel by Hezbollah forces, China and Russia should not want to leave the side that won the war, which is the Islamic world," said Hossein Shariatmadari, who is the editor of the conservative daily newspaper Kayhan.

Update: Bush: B-2 Flights Over Tehran for ‘Peaceful Purposes’

More @
Morning Coffee with: Iran takes next nuclear production step
Captain's Quarters with: Surprise!
Wizbang! with: Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Opens a Nuclear Power Plant

Japanese police arrested five men after evidence of advanced measuring devices which have the potential for use in making nuclear bombs, were found shipped to an unknown recipient in Malaysia.

Some in Japan suspect the shipments may have links to the Pakistani nuclear scientist, A.Q. Khan.

Five Executives Are Arrested in Japan

Five executives of the Mitutoyo Corporation, a precision instruments maker, were arrested today on suspicion of illegally exporting equipment to Malaysia that could be used in making nuclear weapons.

Japanese television broadcast video images of police raiding the company’s headquarters in the city of Kawasaki. A spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police said the president of the company, Kazusaku Tezuka, 67, and four other executives were taken into custody.

The case turns on what the police said were shipments of advanced measuring devices that were sent to an unspecified recipient in Malaysia in late 2001 without government permission. In Japan as in most advanced nations, exports of advanced technology with potential uses in nuclear bomb-making are tightly regulated and licenses are required.

While police provided few further details, reports by the Kyodo News Agency and many leading Japanese newspapers suggested that the devices may have been shipped to Scomi Precision Engineering, a company that has since been linked to Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani nuclear scientist who organized the sale of nuclear technology to Libya.

The newspaper and agency reports said that at least one of Mitutoyo’s devices later found its way to Libya by way of Dubai on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship.

The reports said police were also investigating whether other similar measuring devices may have been sent to Iran through a Tokyo-based trading company.

Five years later...

DC Roe and others have put together this great project and are inviting bloggers world wide to help memorialize those innocent victims murdered on September 11, 2001.

On September 11, 2006, 2,996 volunteer bloggers will join together for a tribute to the victims of 9/11. Each person will pay tribute to a single victim.

We will honor them by remembering their lives, and not by remembering their murderers.

This is such a wonderful and moving idea! I'm honored to be part of it.

As of the time of this post, there are still 558 bloggers needed to help in this memorial.

If you're interested you can sign up here.

As annual war games between the U.S. and South Korea commence this week, North Korea claims it reserves the right to pre-emptive actions against the U.S. and/or South Korea, acting in a defensive mode in order to protect itself and it's people.

This latest rhetoric from Pyongyang comes on the heels of a newly released report that a U.S. intelligence agency had observed suspicious vehicle movements at a suspected North Korean nuclear test site, which caused the Bush administration last week to put out a strong warning against any underground nuclear test.

North Korea threatens attack due to war drills

North Korea said it had the right to launch a pre-emptive attack to counter a U.S.-South Korean joint military training drill, its official media reported on Tuesday.

U.S. and South Korean troops began military exercises on Monday dubbed Ulchi Focus Lens that are aimed at testing command structures and communications.

The annual exercises have been held without incident since they began in 1975 and the North usually brands them as a prelude to invasion and nuclear war.

But the drills this year are being held with tensions high on the peninsula after North Korea test-fired a barrage of missiles on July 5 and reports last week it may preparing to test a nuclear weapon.

In its KCNA news agency, North Korea said the drills were "an undisguised military threat and blackmail against the DPRK (North Korea) and a war action."

"The Korean Peoples' Army side, therefore, reserves the right to undertake a pre-emptive action for self-defense against the enemy at a crucial time it deems necessary to defend itself," the agency cited an army spokesman as saying.

South Korea has more than 650,000 soldiers in its armed forces, who are supported by about 30,000 U.S. troops on the peninsula. North Korea has a 1.2-million-strong army, mostly stationed near the heavily fortified border with the South.

They are just itchin' for a fight.

Iran and Syria were caught trying to get missiles and weapons to Lebanon via Syria for use by Hezbollah militants. US spy satellites spotted the weapons being loaded and the Turkish authorities forced the planes down on a Turkish military airport where they were detained.

Turkey forces one Syrian, 5 Iranian arms planes to land at Diyarbakir military base.

Six Iranian ILDT type 4-cargo planes and a Syrian aircraft were forced to land at the southeast Turkish military airport last Thursday after US spy satellites spotted they were loaded with missiles, missile launchers and eight boxes of Chinese made C-802 missiles, dubbed by Iran “Nur.”

DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose: The flights were bound for Damascus and Syrian military air bases just across the Turkish border. The C-802 is the advanced ground-ship missile which crippled the Israeli Navy’s gunship off Beirut, and killed three of its crew on July 14, two days after the outbreak of the Lebanon war.

Searches by the Turkish authorities disclosed that one of the planes was carrying crates of Fajer rockets which Hizballah fired at Israeli towns. Two of the Iranian cargo planes have not been permitted to take off from Turkey unless they fly back to Iran.

Four flights, carrying light ammunition including anti-tank weapons, were allowed to complete their journey to Syria after their pilots presented documents proving they were purchased in Iran for the Syrian army.

DEBKAfile adds: This is the first time American military satellites have been openly revealed to have aided in the UN embargo against arms transfers from Syria and Iran to the Hizballah.

DEBKAfile’s military sources also disclose that the Iranian and Syrian cargo flights were bound for three Syrian military airfields, two of which were transferred at the end of July to the control and supervision of the air wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The flight carrying the C-802 missile was destined for the military section of Damascus’ Mezze international airport.

The launchers and Fajer rockets would have been unloaded at Syria’s Nasiriya air base, 40 km from the Lebanese border. The anti-tank rockets and ammunition were bound for al Qusayr, north of Damascus and only 25 km from Lebanon’s northern Beqaa Valley.

They sure didn't waste any time trying to get more weapons to Lebanon. So much for this so called cease fire.

Israel better be on high alert.

Who really won the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict?

It is a temptation among most international pundits, in the midst of a cease-fire in the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, to proclaim the Israeli government, specifically their Prime Minister Ehud Olmert the loser and Hezbollah the winner.

There may be some truth to this premise. I mean, it is a fact that Israel did not do a very good job waging this war right from the start. They never really committed themselves to winning at all cost. With an air campaign which appeared restrained at best and not having enough boots on the ground to take the war right to the militants, they were not able to prosecute this war against Hezbollah effectively enough to disarm it.

So now what? They end up with this extremely weak, poorly supported, UN sponsored truce, which only a moron would believe will actually result in anything positive, like Hezbollah being disarmed, putting a halt to the resupplying of weapons by Iran and Syria, or Lebanon getting it's country back from the terrorist grip of Hezbollah.

Not to mention Israel's main objective was never accomplished. The return of the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah that started the whole thing.

But is Hezbollah a winner?

I don't think so, once reality sets in.

Casualties among the Lebanese people were very high, and were mostly civilian, due to the cowardly manner in which Hezbollah used the Lebanese people as human shields while firing off their missiles and rockets into Israel. The infrastructure of the entire country of Lebanon has been destroyed by the IDF and will cost billions of dollars to reconstruct.

And yes, Hezbollah is out front showing the world that they are the true keepers of Lebanon by giving citizens money to rebuild their lives. I don't know how much life building you can do with $12,000, but it's better than nothing and the Lebanese people are happy with it none-the-less. But how long is this going to last before the money runs out and Lebanon, with it's people, are left with a country in ruins for years to come.

How about Syria?

Well it looks like Syria is no more than a puppet of Iran, being used as a gateway to Lebanon so Iran can get it's weapons into the hands of Hezbollah where they need them. And, well, Syria has it's own problems politically speaking. It seems that President Bashar Assad lashed out at the moderate Arab countries because of their lack of support for Hezbollah in the beginning of the conflict, calling them in essence, "half men." This, needless to say, did not go over very well in the Arab world.

So the way I see it, the winner is Iran.

It used Hezbollah as it's proxy to start a war with it's arch-enemy Israel at a time when the pressure was on them by the UN and the world over it's nuclear activity and while Israel was bogged down in Gaza with Hamas and the Palestinians.

Iran also wins in the arena of public opinion, because of the damage done to America's image in the Muslim world, as they were seen as supporting and directing the "deliberate destruction of Lebanon" using Israel as their proxy. Obviously an inaccurate image, but a real opinion held by many Muslims around the world anyway.

The conflict also effected the oil markets, driving prices to all time highs, while filling the pockets of the Iranian government at the same time. You got to love it, if you're the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

And while all this is happening the Middle East peace process between Israel and the Palestinians is put on the back burner, at best, or maybe deemed completely unobtainable now. The latter has been a goal of the Iranian mullahs for a long time. It appears they won this one also.

So, as I see it, it's was a win-win situation for Iran, and a lose-lose situation for America and Israel.

And we still have Aug. 22nd to look forward to.

Let's just hope it's not radioactive...

President Bush on Friday warned that North Korea would pose a serious threat to the world if it continued with a suspected underground test of a nuclear bomb, following reports that the North Korea government was considering such a move.

Quoting an unidentified State Department official, ABC News is reporting that U.S. intelligence observed suspicious vehicle movement at a suspected North Korean nuclear test site and that an underground nuclear test was a "real possibility."

North Korea warned on N-test

AUSTRALIA last night warned that any move by North Korea to test a nuclear bomb would be extremely dangerous and provocative and would pose a serious threat to regional stability.

US State Department officials were yesterday quoted as saying there were signs that North Korea may be preparing for a historic underground test of a nuclear bomb.

"It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility," a senior official of the State Department told ABC News in the US.

One US intelligence agency was said to have recently observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site.

The activity included the unloading of large reels of cable outside an underground facility in northeast North Korea which could be used to connect an underground nuclear test site to outside observation equipment.

Although North Korea is believed to have enough nuclear material to build up to a dozen bombs, it has never tested one.

An Australian government official last night described the US media reports as "extremely concerning". "A nuclear test would be an extremely dangerous and provocative step and a direct threat to regional security and stability,' the official told The Weekend Australian.

"Australia would support very strong action by the international community in response to any tests."

The White House did not confirm or deny the reports, but said any nuclear test by the reclusive Stalinist state would be an "extremely provocative" act that would be denounced around the globe.

It appears that the tidal wave of nuclear proliferation is truly upon us and the one sole individual most responsible for it is Abdul Qadeer Khan. Aka, the “father of Pakistan's bomb.” It is a know fact that AQ Khan sold Pakistani nuclear secrets to North Korea, Iran and Libya and may have sold them to other countries we don't know about.

"Thanks to the Khan network, much of the equipment and knowledge for developing nuclear technology is no longer controlled by states - it is back in the marketplace," writes Gordon Corera. "Putting this genie back in the bottle may be impossible."

Gordon Corera is the author of "Shopping for Bombs: Nuclear Proliferation, Global Insecurity and the Rise and Fall of the A.Q. Khan Network."

A suspect has been arrested in Bangkok, Thailand this morning in connection with the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. He apparently made a confession to authorities that contained certain elements of the crime that were mostly unknown to the general public.

He is expected to be brought back to the United States, within a couple of days, and handed over to the Boulder, Colorado DA's office.

Man held in death of JonBenet Ramsey

A man arrested in Thailand is being held in connection with the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, U.S. law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Federal officials familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the man was being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges.

The girl was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996.

Law enforcement officials from Boulder were flying to Bangkok to present Thai authorities with documents in the slaying of the 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant, officials in Washington said. They asked to remain anonymous pending an announcement in Colorado.

The girl's parents, Patsy and John Ramsey, had been under an "umbrella of suspicion" in JonBenet's death. The Ramseys said an intruder killed their daughter. A grand jury investigation in Boulder ended with no indictments, and no arrests had been made in the case.

I have to admit that this is a big shock to me. I, like many others, believed her father did it and her mother was protecting him.

The BS ransom note still gets me. We'll see how it pans out.

Update: - The 41 year old suspect, John Karr, apparently was a second-grade school teacher.
I honestly can't say I'm shock at this revelation.

Hot Air has more.
Michelle Malkin has this.

*****************************
Update: Aug. 17 - Confession in JonBenet case questioned

For a moment, it seemed the decade-old mystery surrounding the slaying of a child beauty queen had been solved. But authorities Thursday cautioned against rushing to judge the schoolteacher who made a stunning confession that he killed JonBenet Ramsey.

For now, the only public evidence against John Mark Karr are his own words. And questions have already been raised about the details of his story, including whether he drugged the girl, sexually assaulted her or was even in Colorado at the time of the slaying.

Those questions led some to wonder whether Karr was the answer to the long-unsolved slaying or a disturbed wannabe trying to insert himself into a high-profile case.

Or maybe he was thinking jail in the states would be better than jail in Thailand, where he is currently under investigation for sex crimes.

Allahpundit, over at Hot Air, says JonBenet case falling apart again. And again... I'm not surprised!

Well it certainly appears that Iran's return on it's investment in Hezbollah, was not quite what they expected.

After two decades and billions of dollars spent in Lebanon, on a massive cache of weapons, training of personnel and the construction of a high tech military infrastructure designed to be a formidable deterrent to the Israeli military, Tehran could do nothing but sit back and watch the rout.

It's becoming obvious that Iran had plans for Hezbollah, but it was not to start a war prematurely with Israel and lose most of the weapons it spent years stockpiling for their own mission. It appears Hezbollah prematurely ejaculated.

Perhaps they were suppose to be part of something much larger planned by Iran for August 22, the date Iran says it will give the world it's final answer to the UN Security Council resolution to halt uranium enrichment.

The writer of this report is furious over the waste of Iran’s most important military investment in Lebanon merely for the sake of a conflict with Israeli over two kidnapped soldiers.

Tehran Takes Gloomy View of the Lebanon War and Truce

While the damage caused Israel’s military reputation tops Western assessments of the Lebanon war, DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources report an entirely different perception taking hold in ruling circles in Tehran.

After UN Security Council resolution 1701 calling for a truce was carried Friday, Aug. 11, the heads of the regime received two separate evaluations of the situation in Lebanon – one from Iran’s foreign ministry and one from its supreme national security council. Both were bleak: their compilers were concerned that Iran had been manipulatively robbed of its primary deterrent asset ahead of a probable nuclear confrontation with the United States and Israel.

While the foreign ministry report highlighted the negative aspects of the UN resolution, the council’s document complained that Hizballah squandered thousands of rockets – either by firing them into Israel or having them destroyed by the Israeli air force.

It took Iran two decades to build up Hizballah’s rocket inventory.

DEBKAfile’s sources estimate that Hizballah’s adventure wiped out most of the vast sum of $4-6 bn the Iranian treasury sunk into building its military strength. The organization was meant to be strong and effective enough to provide Iran with a formidable deterrent to Israel embarking on a military operation to destroy the Islamic regime’s nuclear infrastructure.

To this end, Tehran bought the Israeli military doctrine of preferring to fight its wars on enemy soil. In the mid-1980s, Iran decided to act on this doctrine by coupling its nuclear development program with Israel’s encirclement and the weakening its deterrence strength. The Jewish state was identified at the time as the only country likely to take vigorous action to spike Iran’s nuclear aspirations.

The ayatollahs accordingly promoted Hizballah’s rise as a socio-political force in Lebanon, at the same time building up its military might and capabilities for inflicting damage of strategic dimensions to Israel’s infrastructure.

That effort was accelerated after Israeli forces withdrew from the Lebanese security zone in May 2000. A bunker network and chain of fortified positions were constructed, containing war rooms equipped with the finest western hi-tech gadgetry, including night vision gear, computers and electronics, as well as protective devices against bacteriological and chemical warfare.

This fortified network was designed for assault and defense alike.

Short- medium- and long-range rockets gave the hard edge to Hizballah’s ablity to conduct a destructive war against Israel and its civilians – when the time was right for Tehran.

Therefore, Iran’s rulers are hopping mad and deeply anxious over news of the huge damage sustained by Hizballah’s rocket inventory, which was proudly touted before the war as numbering 13,000 pieces.

Hizballah fighters, they are informed, managed to fire only a small number of Khaibar-1 rockets, most of which hit Haifa and Afula, while nearly 100 were destroyed or disabled by Israeli air strikes.

The long-range Zelzal-1 and Zelzal-2, designed for hitting Tel Aviv and the nuclear reactor at Dimona have been degraded even more. Iran sent over to Lebanon 50 of those missiles. The keys to the Zelzal stores stayed in the hands of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers who were in command of Hizballah. Nasrallah and his officers had no access to these stores.

But Tehran has learned that Israel was able to destroy most of the 22 Zelzal launchers provided.

What will Iran do now? I think we'll see sooner than later.

Speaking on a visit to Green Bay in Wisconsin on Thursday, U.S. President George Bush said the foiled plane plot to blow up transatlantic flights from the United Kingdom to America is "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation".

"The American people need to know we live in a dangerous world, but our government will do everything we can to protect our people from those dangers," he said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), criticized Bush, saying his choice of the words "Islamic fascists," could inflame anti-Muslim tensions.

I don't think it's Bush's choice of words that's inflaming anti-Muslim tensions in the world, it may, however, have something to do with the fact that Muslims world wide are trying to KILL us.

If CAIR wants to do something to help, maybe they should be denouncing the terrorist instead of whining about being insulted.

In an attempt to protect the image of Islam, I believe many Americans, including George Bush, are doing their very best to keep the distinction clear between Islam and Islamic Fascists. But these distinctions seem academic in the face of the increasingly vocal and violent Muslim uprisings that are occurring frequently worldwide.

The extremists themselves see no distinction, and the so-called moderate Muslims at the same time, keep quite. In their silence, they show either true weakness or true support. I'm inclined to believe the latter is true.

Reinvigoration and Resolve in the War on Terror
"Watching international law enforcement and intelligence officers thwart a plot this week to destroy several passenger planes over the Atlantic, many Americans undoubtedly wonder when this war will ever end. This is the time when we must all resist the easy answers and quick solutions, for they hold only temporary peace and long-term defeat for the United States."

In order to win this war on terror, we must first identify the enemy and then eliminate it.

It has become painfully obvious to me that it is time to stop the politics and to face the facts. We must start acknowledging the fact that our "War on Terror" is in fact, a "War against Radical Islam." When this happens, and only when this happens, will we be on a solid path to defeating the enemy.

Breaking News - Brits arrest 18 terrorist involved with plot to take down commercial airlines. All arrested were British nationals.

The U.S. terror alert has been mored to red, the highest level.

British police thwart aircraft bomb plot

LONDON - British authorities said Thursday they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage, averting what police described as "mass murder on an unimaginable scale."

Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain — suggesting a terrorist attack might be imminent — and banned hand-carried luggage on all trans-Atlantic flights. Huge crowds formed at security barriers at London's Heathrow airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula.

The extreme measures at one of the major international aviation hubs sent ripple effects throughout the world. Heathrow airport was closed to most flights from Europe.

Update: Scotland Yard: Plot to commit mass murder, nets 24 terrorist.

Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch, said the network involved was "large and global".

While US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the plot was "in some respects suggestive of al-Qaeda".

With the ever growing threat to the U.S. and it's allies worldwide the U.S. is planning to build missile defense sites in Europe. These additional missile interceptor and radar bases would help defend Europe as well as the U.S. from rouge states and terrorist which may obtain a long range missile.

According to a Radio Prague report, Czech officials believe the United States plans to ask their country to host elements of a new U.S. missile defense system.

U.S. Team Finishes Survey of Potential Czech Republic Missile Defense Interceptor Sites

A 22-person team of U.S. military experts yesterday finished their survey of three sites in the Czech Republic that could house U.S. missile interceptors, the Xinhua News Agency reported July 13.

The experts confirmed that the three military locations were appropriate for such sites, Czech Defense Ministry spokesman Jan Pejsek said in a statement.

Several European nations have reportedly been considered as the site for the first U.S. strategic missile defense site outside U.S. territory.

The base would be intended to defend Europe against long-range missiles, particularly from launches from the Middle East, analysts say.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski, whose country is also believed to be under consideration, yesterday expressed reservations about the plan.

“I would not like to decide unambiguously here, at this moment. I approach the issue of extra-territoriality with reserve, I do not hide that. … We will see how the issue develops,” Kaczynski said, according to the Polish news agency PAP. “The missile defense shield is a problem that is to be the subject of deliberation by the National Security Council. It will be the subject of talks between the president, prime minister and government.”

The Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, reported that Washington has offered several conditions for locating the base in Poland. The United States wants sole authority to decide when to fire the interceptors. Polish authorities would have no authority to inspect equipment at the site. U.S. personnel would be subject only to U.S. laws and courts even for crimes committed outside the base, the newspaper reported.

The terms of construction “are negotiable with the Americans,” said senior National Defense Ministry official Janusz Onyszkiewicz.

“Polish law must be in force on our territory, which can only be limited in situations where the interests of Poland or Poles are under threat. In this case, Polish jurisdiction must be maintained,” Onyszkiewicz said.

U.S. missile defense surveyors do not plan to visit Hungary as they look for interceptor sites, Xinhua reported today. Foreign Ministry spokesman Viktor Polgar said that U.S. experts are not expected to visit in August.

“The Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic believes that the likelihood that we will be asked by the U.S. government about the possibility of placement of the missile defense base on Czech territory is pretty high,” Richard Krpac, a spokesman for the Czech Foreign Ministry, said Sunday.

“According to our knowledge there are now only two countries being examined by the group of experts from the Pentagon: the Czech Republic and Poland,” Krpac said.

A large shipment of Uranium 238 bound for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas was intercepted by customs officials in Tanzania, on October 22, 2005. Iran has been trying to import uranium for its nuclear program for years in spite of it's denials that it is attempting to build a nuclear weapon.

The uranium was found hidden among barrels of coltan, a rare mineral used to make small electronic components, which was destined to Kazakhstan after being transported through Bander Abbas.

Iran's plot to mine uranium in Africa

IRAN is seeking to import large consignments of bomb-making uranium from the African mining area that produced the Hiroshima bomb, an investigation has revealed.

A United Nations report, dated July 18, said there was “no doubt” that a huge shipment of smuggled uranium 238, uncovered by customs officials in Tanzania, was transported from the Lubumbashi mines in the Congo.

Tanzanian customs officials told The Sunday Times it was destined for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, and was stopped on October 22 last year during a routine check.

The disclosure will heighten western fears about the extent of Iran’s presumed nuclear weapons programme and the strategic implications of Iran’s continuing support for Hezbollah during the war with Israel.

It has also emerged that terror cells backed by Iran may be prepared to mount attacks against nuclear power plants in Britain. Intelligence circulating in Whitehall suggests that sleeper cells linked to Tehran have been conducting reconnaissance at some nuclear sites in preparation for a possible attack.

The parliamentary intelligence and security committee has reported that Iran represented one of the three biggest security threats to Britain. The UN security council has given Iran until the end of this month to halt its uranium enrichment activities. The UN has threatened sanctions if Tehran fails to do so.

A senior Tanzanian customs official said the illicit uranium shipment was found hidden in a consignment of coltan, a rare mineral used to make chips in mobile telephones. The shipment was destined for smelting in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, delivered via Bandar Abbas, Iran’s biggest port.

“There were several containers due to be shipped and they were all routinely scanned with a Geiger counter,” the official said.

“This one was very radioactive. When we opened the container it was full of drums of coltan. Each drum contains about 50kg of ore. When the first and second rows were removed,the ones after that were found to be drums of uranium.”

In a nuclear reactor, uranium 238 can be used to breed plutonium used in nuclear weapons.

The customs officer, who spoke to The Sunday Times on condition he was not named, added: “The container was put in a secure part of the port and it was later taken away, by the Americans, I think, or at least with their help. We have all been told not to talk to anyone about this.”

The Tanzanian government left "no doubt" that this uranium was definitely transported from Lubumbashi by road through Zambia to the united republic of Tanzania.”

Is Iran really intent on building a Nuclear Weapon?
Here is a timeline of Iranian nuclear imports for the past five decades, by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

1987 - Iran receives a centrifuge design, starter kit for uranium enrichment program from Pakistan.

1988-1989 Iran receives large quantities of uranium concentrate from South Africa.

1989 - China supplies them with an unspecified number of calutrons, used in the uranium isotope separation process.

In 1991 Iran imports a 27kw research reactor and uranium enrichment equipment from China.

1991 - Iran imports from Kazakhstan at least two nuclear warheads.

In 1993 a claim is made by the British Broadcasting Cooperation that Iran imported Beryllium, a key component in nuclear weapons production, and 100 tons of Uranium from Kazakhstan.

In 1994 Iran imports Uranium hexafluoride, commonly known as UF6, from China.

In 1995 China installs a calutron system for enriching uranium at a nuclear research facility at Karaj, about 100 miles northwest of Tehran.

1998 - Russia increases the number of it's nuclear experts to Iran, for the Bushehr nuclear power plant to 1,100.

1999 - 38 Iranian nuclear specialists get trained at the Russian facility Atomtekhenergo.

In 2001 the National Council of Resistance of Iran claims Iran received Highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Pakistan.

2002 - According to Russian intelligence, Iranian scientists being trained at the NIKIET institute of Russia and acquiring knowledge that can be used for Iran's nuclear weapons program.

2003 - Iran was supplied with Uranium enrichment equipment, by the Western European company, Urenco.

In 2005 France supplied Iran with 300 units of Nickel 63 tritium targets, a dual use material that could be used to build a nuclear bomb.

Update: Iran plans to expand nuclear activities

Iran's top nuclear negotiator said Sunday that Iran will expand uranium enrichment, in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution giving the Islamic Republic until Aug. 31 to halt the activity or face the threat of political and economic sanctions.

Ali Larijani called the U.N. Security Council resolution issued last week illegal and said Iran won't respect the deadline. "We reject this resolution," he told reporters.

"We will expand nuclear activities where required. It includes all nuclear technology including the string of centrifuges," Larijani said, referring to the centrifuges Iran uses to enrich uranium.

Prairie Pundit says Send Joe Wilson to Tanzania

Britain's outgoing ambassador in Baghdad, William Patey, predicts Iraq will slide into a civil war due to ethnic differences that are breaking the country apart.

This comes just days after General John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, warned that Iraq will most likely collapse into civil war if sectarian violence does not end soon.

"I think the most important thing ahead of us throughout the remainder of the year is ensuring that the Baghdad security situation be brought under control," Abizaid said. "I think it's possible that in the period ahead of us in Baghdad that we'll take increased casualties."

Iraq civil war warning for Blair

Civil war is a more likely outcome in Iraq than democracy, Britain's outgoing ambassador in Baghdad has warned Tony Blair in a confidential memo.

William Patey, who left the Iraqi capital last week, also predicted the break-up of Iraq along ethnic lines.

He did also say that "the position is not hopeless" - but said it would be "messy" for five to 10 years.

Mr Blair said the violence was designed to put extremists in charge rather than leaders committed to democracy.

"What should our response be? However difficult it is, stay the course, stand up for those people who want democracy, stand up for those people who are fighting sectarianism, stand up for a different vision of the Middle East based on democracy, liberty, the rule of law," he told reporters.

The Foreign Office said it did not comment on leaked documents but added that Iraqi security forces were getting more capable every day.

BBC correspondent Paul Wood said although the document does not contradict government denials that civil war is imminent, "it is a devastating official assessment of the prospects for a peaceful Iraq, and stands in stark contrast to the public rhetoric".

The bleak assessment of the country's future was contained in Mr Patey's final e-cable, or diplomatic telegram, from Baghdad.

The distribution list included the UK's prime minister, foreign secretary, defence secretary and House of Commons leader, as well as senior military commanders in both Iraq and the UK.

Mr Patey wrote: "The prospect of a low intensity civil war and a de facto division of Iraq is probably more likely at this stage than a successful and substantial transition to a stable democracy.

"Even the lowered expectation of President Bush for Iraq - a government that can sustain itself, defend itself and govern itself and is an ally in the war on terror - must remain in doubt."

Patey's assessment of the situation echo's that of the former ambassador to Iraq Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Britain's ambassador until 2004.

"If people are determined to kill one another because of a Sunni/Shia divide there is not a lot that can be done." - Phil Dee, Wales

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issues a communiqué to the Islamic nation, which was published by the conservative Iranian news agency Fars.

He calls on the entire Islamic world, and the Muslim youth in all the Islamic countries to fight through Martyrdom the evil Americans and their partners the British government, side by side in Lebanon, the "Front Line of Defense for the Muslim Nations."

The following are translated excerpts - Aug. 200