In a recent, inadvertently released Canadian training manual on "Torture Awareness," Canada has linked the United States and Israel among others like China, Syria and Iran as countries that have prisoner interrogation techniques that include Torture. The manual mistakenly came to light during an investigation of abuse by Canadian soldiers against prisoners in Afghanistan.

Canada puts U.S., Guantanamo and Israel on torture 'watch list'

Canada has put the United States and Israel on a torture watch list, according to CTV. A Canadian government document cites the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and interrogation techniques that include "forced nudity, isolation, and sleep deprivation."
...

A Foreign Affairs Department training manual, titled "Torture Awareness Workshop Reference Materials," provides legal definitions of torture and instructs Canadian consular officials how to detect signs of abuse among detainees held abroad. It lists Guantanamo Bay and the United States, along with Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

The manual was inadvertently released to lawyers working on a lawsuit involving abuse of Afghanistan detainees by Canadians, the Canadian Press reported.

One Canadian prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, Omar Khadr, is due before a U.S. military commission in early February. The Pentagon has charged him with "murder by an unprivileged belligerent" for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed U.S. Delta Force soldier Christopher Speer in Afghanistan in 2002. Khadar was 15 at the time.

With their uncanny grasp of the obvious and their spending four whole DAYS in Iraq, this so called "Iraq Study Group", made up of a bunch of old, out of touch has-beens, came out with a 142 page report of nothing but bad ideas that have all been talked about, hashed over and over, than dismissed on their merits accordingly in the past two years by everyone in Washington and the world.

Their scathing report told the world and the American people that we failed miserably in Iraq and continue to due so without any chance of winning. It did not come up with any ideas on victory in Iraq, or winning for the people of Iraq, not to mention the U.S..

I think my personal favorite is the "kiss and make up with Iran and Syria" approach. This has got to be the most proof that all of these morons have had their heads far up their asses for a long time now... they still don't get it.

Maybe we should bring in Dhimmy Carter to talk with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about giving us a hand in Iraq.

Updates Below:

Jack Kelly writes: Report on Iraq underwhelming

PRESIDENT Kennedy once hosted a dinner for Nobel Prize winners. At the dinner he reportedly said, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

After reviewing the report of the Iraq Study Group, released Wednesday, New York Post editorial page editor John Podhoretz declared: “The nation’s capital hasn’t seen such concentrated wisdom in one place since Paris Hilton dined alone at the Hooters on Connecticut Avenue.”

Stratfor, a private intelligence service, said the ISG report was “underwhelming.” Retired Army intelligence officer Ralph Peters called it a “muddle of truisms and bad ideas.” The conservative National Review called it “an analytic embarrassment.” Fred Kaplan, military writer for the liberal Webzine Slate, said its recommendations were “a useless grab bag.” T. F. Boggs, an Army sergeant recently returned from his second tour in Iraq, said the recommendations were a “joke” that “could only have come from a group of old people who have been stuck in Washington for too long.”

The foremost recommendation of the ISG for a regional peace conference with Iran and Syria is surreal.

The ISG report notes (on page 46) that: “Iran has provided arms, financial support, and training for Shiite militias in Iraq. There are also reports that Iran has supplied improvised explosive devices to groups including Sunni Arab insurgents that attack U.S. forces.

“Syria also is playing a counterproductive role,” the report said. “Syrians look the other way as arms and foreign fighters flow across the border into Iraq, and former Baathist leaders find a safe haven within Syria.”

Despite these facts, the commissioners declare that Iran and Syria have an interest “in avoiding chaos in Iraq,” and that “Iran’s interest would not be served by a failure of U.S. policy in Iraq.” Iran’s leaders obviously think otherwise.

The truth, which the ISG’s aging luminaries lack more the guts than the brains to grasp, is that Iran and Syria are now our principal enemies, both in Iraq and in the broader war on terror. Without their interference, sectarian violence in Iraq would swiftly and sharply decline.

Iran is obviously listening closely because they have made an offer I'm sure the "Iraq Study Group" and many others on the left, would jump on in a minute if they could.

Iran sets conditions for Iraq talks with U.S.

Iran will only hold direct talks with the United States on Iraq if Washington announces plans to pull its troops out, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday.

Mottaki was responding to the U.S. Iraq Study Group report, which recommended Washington should directly engage with Iran and Syria over Iraq, where violence is threatening to turn into civil war.

On the question of direct talks between Iran and the United States, "the first and most essential step ... is the United States announce they have decided to withdraw from Iraq", Mottaki told reporters at a security conference in Bahrain. He said that if the United States did announce a withdrawal "Iran is ready to help the administration to withdraw its troops from Iraq".

But Iran did not "see such political will yet in the United States".

Washington blames Iran and Syria for stirring up conflict in Iraq nearly four years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has suggested Tehran would demand some payback in return for any help on Iraq, probably over its nuclear programme, which the West fears could include nuclear weapons. Iran denies the nuclear weapons accusation.

Asked if Iran would ask for concessions if it helped with Iraq, Mottaki said: "Let the United States withdraw from Iraq first and then we could talk about the details."

Most Dems and the MSM have hailed the report nothing short of genius.
James Zogby calls it: "A stunning indictment of current policy."

What is it that they don't get?

Update 12/10/06: Talabani calls Iraq report 'dangerous'

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi president said Sunday the bipartisan U.S. report calling for a new approach to the war offered dangerous recommendations that would undermine his country's sovereignty and were "an insult to the people of
Iraq."

President Jalal Talabani was the most senior government official to take a stand against the Iraq Study Group report, which has come under criticism from leaders of the governing Shiite and Kurdish parties.

He said the report "is not fair, is not just, and it contains some very dangerous articles which undermine the sovereignty of Iraq and the constitution."

He singled out the report's call for the approval of a de-Baathification law that could allow thousands of officials from
Saddam Hussein's ousted Baath party to return to their jobs.

The Kurdish leader also criticized the call for increasing the number of U.S. troops embedded to train Iraqis from 3,000 to 4,000 currently to 10,000 to 20,000.

"It is not respecting the desire of the Iraqi people to control its army and to be able to rearm and train Iraqi forces under the leadership of the Iraqi government," he said.

He said the Iraqi government planned to send a letter to
President Bush "expressing our views about the main issues" in the report, although he would not elaborate.

The US navy, air force and marines have started to assemble in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the eastern Mediterranean to start practicing the prohibition of ships carrying weapons of mass destruction and missiles. U.S. allies Bahrain, Kuwait, France, Britain, and Canada are among those planning to participate in the exercise, while expectation are that Iran will not stand by and watch.

Just days ago the Iranian supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with automatic weapon in hand, delivered a speech to students at the Tehran University, spouting with total belligerence, that Iran will not wait passively for an American attack on it's nuclear facilities, but will instead go for preemptive strikes against any and all U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf and U.S. interest in the middle east in general.

DEBKAfile Exclusive - Khamenei Brandishes a Kalashnikov at US and Israel

The powerful spectacle of Iran’s be-turbaned supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei clutching an automatic rifle, displayed exclusively by DEBKAfile, drew on the belligerent imagery of Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein. The Iranian media suppressed this particular shot in its coverage of his sermon at Tehran University Oct. 13, the third Friday of Ramadan. But the AK 47 toted by the ruler of the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism was not missed by the political and military leaders in his audience and accentuated his war message.

DEBKAfile’s Tehran sources reveal that the Iran’s leaders took three fateful steps ahead of Khamenei’s performance:

1. They pointed up the tradition initiated by the father of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of marking the last Friday of Ramadan as International al Qods Day - “Jerusalem Liberation Day.”

2. Khamenei’s aides leaked word that his decision to hold the sermon of Oct. 13 was prompted by his discovery that the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was heading for the Persian Gulf and would be deployed in operational mode opposite Iran’s shores by Oct. 21.

3. In Beirut, Iran’s surrogate Hizballah announced the cancellation of its annual military parade on al Qods day, i.e. Oct. 20.

Military circles in the United States and Israel interpret these steps as meaning that Iran will be standing by in battle positions the day before the Eisenhower reaches its destination. DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources have been reporting since late August that Iran’s political and military leaders have resolved not to wait passively for an American attack but to go instead for a pre-emptive strike against US forces in the Persian Gulf and Iraq, as well as targeting Israel.

On October 7, DEBKAfile reported: Tehran and Damascus are gearing up for a pre-emptive attack on Israel to ward off a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites – whether from Lebanon, or Golan, using Hamas to launch an offensive from Gaza, or a combination thereof. The Bush administration would then have to divide its attention and military might among three warfronts simultaneously.

DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly have exhaustively covered the Iranian Blow of Zolfaqar military exercise ongoing in the Persian Gulf from August and its military’s high war preparedness, as well the US naval, air and marine concentrations due to complete their deployment opposite Iran’s shores by the end of this month.

Khamenei devoted much of his sermon to the Lebanon war waged between Israel and Hizballah in July and August. “The war isn’t finished,” he said. “And the losers will certainly not remain idle. These evil forces are already hard at work to remedy their defeat and Islamic nations need to remain vigilant and ready to react with determination against any other potential attack.”

The supreme ruler continued: "One of the projects of the Americans, Zionists and their allies is to come to Lebanon under the United Nations, officially to defend the Lebanese from the attacks of foreign forces and then change the cards on the table and fight our Hezbollah brothers."

By smearing as fraudulent UN Resolution 1701 which expanded UNIFIL and enforced a ceasefire in Lebanon, Khamenei made a pointed attempt to discredit the world body ahead of the Security Council sanctions session called for this week to punish Iran for continuing to enrich uranium in defiance of UN resolutions.

He was also warning “the foreign forces” (UNIFlL) that “the war was not finished.” A central them of his sermon was therefore “resistance” as “the key to victory.”

The Supreme leader said the Hezbollah (armed by Iran and Syria) had achieved "a unique historic victory” for Islam over “arrogance and colonialism” (Americans and Israelis). "The Lebanon war changed the political equations in the region.”

Settling accounts with the British and the Americans, Khamenei commented, "The British are experts in pursuing that policy (of divide and rule) and they have taught the Americans how to sow the seeds of discord among Shias and Sunnis in Iraq.

Referring to the situation in Iraq, he said, "The crisis in Iraq preceded the one in Lebanon, and its intensity has aggravated today, because Iraq, Lebanon, and other events in the region are all rings of a broken American chain."

The Iranian ruler laid great stress on "International Qods Day” as the day of “resistance” for the entire Islamic Umma against “the oppression and injustice observed by the Zionists and their supporters."

DEBKAfile’s Iran and Islamic sources note that the Kalashnikov in the supreme ruler’s hand spoke louder than his bellicose rhetoric.

Also in the mix, Israeli intelligents are claiming the militant group Hamas has started taking delivery of Iranian made anti-aircraft missiles via Egypt.

Is this all mere coincidence, pure speculation or something large to be concerned about?

You can never really be sure when you're dealing with people of this ilk.

Will the rest of the Arab world stand by and allow Iran to start something that will obvious effect the entire region adversely for many years to come? I think yes.

Two Russian Chechen platoons, Vostok and Zapad, already deployed in Southern Lebanon, are setting up surveillance posts on the Lebanese border with Israel and are giving Russian, Syrian and Hezbollah intelligence agencies detailed and real time information on the movements of all military operations including the IDF in Israel.

Caroline Glick writes of the reappearance of past hostilities toward Israel by Russia and it's absolute support for Hezbollah in their recent conflict.

As the storm of war approaches

The clouds of the coming war are converging upon Israel. But our political and military leaders refuse to look up at the darkening sky.

The Russian bear has awakened after 15 years of hibernation. Under the leadership of former KGB commander President Vladimir Putin, Russia is reasserting its traditional hostility towards Israel.

On Tuesday, Russian military engineers landed in Beirut. Their arrival signaled the first time that Russian forces have openly deployed in the Middle East. In the past Soviet forces in Syria and Egypt operated under the official cover of "military advisers." Today those "advisers" are "engineers." The Russian forces, which will officially number some 550 troops, are tasked with rebuilding a number of bridges that the IDF destroyed during the recent war. They will operate outside the command of UNIFIL.

Mosnews news service reported on Wednesday that the engineers will be protected by commando platoons from Russia's 42nd motorized rifle division permanently deployed in Chechnya. According to the report, these commando platoons are part of the Vostok and Zapad Battalions, both of which are commanded by Muslim officers who report directly to the main intelligence department of the Russian Army's General Staff in Moscow. The Vostok Battalion is commanded by Maj. Sulim Yamadayev, who Mosnews refers to as a "former rebel commander."

With the deployment of former Chechen rebels as Russian military commandos in Lebanon, the report this week exposing Russia's intelligence support for Hizbullah during the recent war takes on disturbing strategic significance. According to Jane's Defense Weekly, the Russian listening post on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights provided Hizbullah with a continuous supply of intelligence throughout the conflict.

Much still remains to be reported about the impressive intelligence capabilities that Hizbullah demonstrated this summer. But from what has already been made public, we know that Hizbullah's high degree of competence in electronic intelligence caused significant damage to IDF operations. Now we learn that Moscow stood behind at least one layer of Hizbullah's intelligence prowess.

Moscow's assistance to Hizbullah was not limited to intelligence sharing. The majority of IDF casualties in the fighting were caused by Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles that made their way to Hizbullah fighters through Syria. Indeed, as we learn more about Russia's role, it appears that Russia's support for Hizbullah may well have been as significant as Syria's support for the terror organization. And now we have Chechens in Lebanon.

Russian backing of Hizbullah, like its support for Syria and Iran, has been matched by its extreme, Cold War-esque hostility towards Israel. On Tuesday, Channel 2 reported that for the past few months Putin has been obsessively demanding that the government transfer proprietary rights and control to the Russian government over the Russian Compound, which has served as a police station since the British Mandate, and other Russian historical buildings in central Jerusalem.

Putin's demand, which has no legal foundation or diplomatic precedent, exposes startling disrespect for Israeli sovereignty. According to Channel 2, Russian diplomats have been raising this obnoxious demand at the start of every meeting they have had with Israeli officials for the past several months. This most recently reported slap in the face joins a long list of diplomatic crises that Russia has fomented in the past few months.

Read the rest of her article.

Alexandra at All Things Beautiful has more with: The Russian Bear Awakes

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.

The Israeli air force today continued bombing sites inside Lebanon, targeting infrastructure like bridges, power stations, and the Beirut airport, in a punitive action toward Hezbollah for the capture of two Israeli soldiers. Reports of at least 61 people in Lebanon have been killed so far while at least 10 Israeli's have been killed by rockets fired into Israel by Hezbollah militants.

In a phone call from Lebanon's prime minister, Fuad Saniora, President Bush rejected Lebanon's call for a cease fire with Israel, saying that Israelis have the right to protect themselves.

Israel Destroys Hezbollah HQ

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Israeli warplanes Friday destroyed the building housing the headquarters of Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Beirut, the group's TV station reported.

It did not report any casualties.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and the top leadership of the group have offices and residences in the high-security area, but they were likely to have been on the move during the Israeli offensive.

Earlier Friday, Israeli warplanes renewed attacks on the southern suburbs, targeting a Hezbollah radio station and starting a fire in a building, but its broadcasts continued.

Israeli aircraft pounded the neighborhood overnight, destroying overpasses and punching large holes in an intersection.

Hezbollah's chief pledged open war on Israel after it bombed and destroyed his home on Friday.

Hezbollah leader says ready for ‘open war’ with Israel

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that his group is ready for “open war” with Israel and warned that an Israeli warship that has been firing missiles into southern Beirut will be destroyed.

Speaking defiantly in an audiotape aired on Hezbollah’s Al Manar television, Nasrallah addressed himself to Israelis, saying: “You wanted an open war and we are ready for an open war.”

“Look at the warship that has attacked Beirut, while it burns and sinks before your very eyes,” Nasrallah said. It was not clear whether he meant that the warship has already been attacked.

Israeli television reported that an Israeli naval ship off Lebanon’s coast suffered slight damage, but that there were no casualties.

Nasrallah spoke after Israeli missiles struck Hezbollah headquarters and his house in southern Beirut. His address, however, appeared to be pre-recorded, and Nasrallah did not refer to the missile attack on his offices and residence.

Nasrallah’s announcement was greeted with heavy celebratory fire that rang out across the Lebanese capital.

The Hezbollah leader repeated a threat to hit the Israeli coastal city of Haifa and other towns farther south. “We will reach Haifa, and believe me, even beyond Haifa.”

“Our homes will not be the only ones to be destroyed, our children will not be the only ones to die,” Nasrallah added.

Update: Al-Jazeera is reporting that the Israeli military was searching for four of its troops missing after their warship off Lebanon's coast was hit by a Hezbollah rocket.

Update: Israeli warship hit by Iranian built missile

While Hezbollah continues firing missiles into Israel from Lebanon, now numbering over one hundred, Israeli force have intensified their attacks against them on Thursday. Israel has imposed a naval blockade, bombed Beirut's airport twice and sent rockets into two Lebanese army air bases near the Syrian border.

Israel claims a missile was fired into the port city of Haifa, but the Shiite militant group, Hezbollah denied it had targeted the city, in a day in which two people were killed and another 120 were wounded while Katyusha rockets were falling all over northern Israel.

Some intelligents agencies think the Iranian Revolutionary guards fired this missile into Haifa.

As the tension escalate in the middle east the international community weighs in.

Arab leaders scramble to contain Mideast crisis

Arab leaders condemned Israel's deadly offensives against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as they scrambled to contain the worst crisis in the Middle East for years.

The massive Israeli onslaught against Lebanon that has killed around four dozen civilians since Wednesday followed the capture of two of its soldiers in attacks by Hezbollah guerrillas

As Arab foreign ministers prepared for an emergency meeting on the crisis on Saturday, Arab League secretary general Amr Mussa blamed Israel for the escalation and warned of "chaos" sweeping the region.

"Israel is behind all that is happening," Mussa told reporters. "Leaving matters as they are will lead to big chaos in the region."

Bush defends Israel's attacks in Lebanon

President Bush strongly defended Israel's attacks in Lebanon on Thursday but worried they could weaken or topple the fragile government in Beirut. The Mideast violence exposed divisions between the United States and allies and raised fears of a widening war.

"Israel has a right to defend herself," Bush said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Every nation must defend herself against terrorist attacks and the killing of innocent life."

Merkel appealed for restraint by all sides and said it was up to the militant group Hezbollah to defuse the situation, triggered by its cross-border raid from Lebanon into Israel and the capture of two Israeli soldiers. She called the violence a "very disturbing situation" that "fills us with concern."

U.S. vetoes U.N. condemnation of Israel

The United States cast the first U.N. Security Council veto in nearly two years Thursday, blocking an Arab-backed resolution that would have demanded Israel halt its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The draft, sponsored by Qatar, accused Israel of a "disproportionate use of force" that endangered Palestinian civilians, and it demanded Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, claims to have information that the Hezbollah guerrillas who captured two Israeli soldiers are trying to move them to Iran.

If this surprises you, then you are just not getting it. Think about it! From Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria there is one common denominator, IRAN.

IT'S ALL THE SAME WAR...

The only way we are going to win this war is to bring down those regimes in Tehran and Damascus, and they are not going to fall as a result of fighting between their terrorist proxies in Gaza and Lebanon on the one hand, and Israel on the other. Only the United States can accomplish it.

Iran: Is Bush Prepared for the Military Option?

Three IDF soldiers were killed Wednesday during a Hezbollah raid on Israel's northern border while Hezbollah guerrillas captured and kidnapped two other Israeli soldiers and made their way back to Lebanon with them.

Four other Israeli soldiers were also killed when their tank drove over a roadside bomb as Israeli ground forces crossed into Lebanon to search for the captured soldiers.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the Hezbollah raid an "act of war" by Lebanon and threatened with a "very, very, very painful" response.

Israel hits Lebanon after soldiers grabbed

Hezbollah militants crossed into Israel on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel responded in southern Lebanon with warplanes, tanks and gunboats, and said eight of its soldiers had been killed in the violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the soldiers' capture "an act of war," and his Cabinet prepared to approve more military action in Lebanon — a second front in the fight against Islamic militants by Israel, which already is waging an operation to free a captured soldier in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said three soldiers were killed in the initial raid, and four others were killed when their tank hit a land mine in southern Lebanon. An eighth soldier was killed as an Israeli force tried to get to the tank, which was part of a ground invasion aimed at rescuing the captured soldiers.

Olmert said he held the Lebanese government responsible for the two soldiers' safety, vowing that the Israeli response "will be restrained, but very, very, very painful."

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said he will not release the captives except as part of a prisoner swap. He said the two soldiers were "in a safe and very far place."

"No military operation will return them," he told a news conference in Beirut. "The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade."

The US backed Israel today and made the claim that Syria and Iran were behind the attacks and kidnappings inside Israel.

US: Syria, Iran behind kidnapping in north

The United States stood by Israel and pointed an accusing finger at Syria and Iran Wednesday night following the difficult Hizbullah attack in the north. Meanwhile, following an emergency meeting in Beirut, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the government was unaware of the attack, and therefore rejected any responsibility.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council, Frederick Jones, said, “The United States condemns in the strongest terms this unprovoked act of terrorism, which was timed to exacerbate already-high tensions in the region and sow further violence."

"We also hold Syria and Iran, which directly support Hizbullah, responsible for this attack and the ensuing violence," Jones added. He noted that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in touch with both sides, and she was bearing the message that Hizbullah is responsible for the offensive, and Syria and Iran, who directly support Hizbullah, are also responsible.

According to Jones, Hizbullah terrorism hurts Lebanese interests and only proves the organization refuses to disarm and intends to continue its aggressions. “This is a direct threat on Lebanon’s security and the sovereignty of the Lebanese government.”

Rice, meanwhile, spoke with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni regarding the grave developments in the north. Rice expressed support for Israel, condemned the Hezbollah attack, and said the US would support the demand to release the kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

Condoleezza Rice said Israel has the right to defend itself.

Israel filed a severe complaint to the United Nation Wednesday, which declared Hizbullah's attack on Israel and kidnapping of two IDF soldiers was “an act of war.” Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Gillerman, charged during a press conference that Lebanon has no less than declared war on Israel. With that, Israel has not requested the UN Security Council convene on the issue. Gillerman made the comments shortly after UN Secretary General Kofi Annancriticized Israel’s reprisal activities and demanded the kidnapped soldiers be released.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora from Paris and pressed him to act for the release of the kidnapped Israeli prisoners. The US supported Israel’s stance, and the White House was preparing to release a statement which will fully lay responsibility on the Lebanese government and Hizbullah. According to the statement, the US supports Israel’s right to defend itself.

As the Palestinian people suffer gravely while watching their cities being pummeled into dust and ashes by the Israeli army, food and water a rare commodity, their ruling party Hamas is congratulated the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on its capture of two Israeli soldiers.

While giving protection and shelter to Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and other senior Hamas members who fear for their lives and are trying to call the shots in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Syrian President Bashar Assad may be planning an invasion of his own into the Golan Heights territory.

"Enraged by Israeli aerial flight over presidential palace last week, Syrian officials threaten future provocations will not go unanswered; warn of cells willing to carry out 'liberation war' against Israel." - Roee Nahmias

Syrian officials: Golan Heights offensive possible

Syrian border heating up? Days after Israeli aircraft carried out an aerial flight over the palace of President Bashar Assad, Syrian officials began hinting that the country may open a new front in the Golan Heights if it is attacked by Israel.

According to reports, the Israeli flyover deeply embarrassed the Syrians, and officials are now seriously contemplating military action against Israel.

"If Israel carries out further stupidities inside Syria, the Golan front will not remain as it is. Many Israelis will suffer as they suffered attacks from Southern Lebanon when they conducted acts of foolishness there," Parliament Member Muhammad Habash said in a television interview this week.

"Syria's devotion to peace as a strategic option since the Madrid Conference does not mean that this will remain the only option forever. The Syrians have other options as well," he stated.

The MP did not rule out the possibility that Syrian cells will launch a "liberation war" and "resistance" in the Golan Heights territory keeping with the tradition of the Fedayeen (armed militias).

Is President Assad trying to make it known to all that he is the real power to be dealt with in the middle east?

In the mean time Israel continues Gaza assault

Israel said on Sunday it would continue air and ground assaults in the Gaza Strip indefinitely, rebuffing a proposed truce and keeping pressure on militants to free an abducted soldier and halt cross-border rocket attacks.

"This is a war that cannot be on a timetable," a senior government official quoted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as telling his cabinet, a day after Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas raised the prospect of a cease-fire.

While Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas orders envoys to Syria over Gaza crisis

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has sent two envoys to Hamas's exiled political leader and Syrian authorities to discuss the capture of an Israeli soldier and the crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas instructed members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation executive committee, Taysir Khalid and Abdullah Horani, to meet Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, the Syrian leadership and Palestinian factions in Damascus, the source said.

Talks will focus on the seizure of an Israeli soldier by three Palestinian militant groups, including the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian governing movement, in an attack on an Israeli army outpost June 25.

Khalid and Horani are expected to leave on Monday, the source said.

Israel turned up the pressure on the Palestinian militants today for the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier being held captive, by bombing an Hamas training camp in Gaza and sending warplanes over the house of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has been sheltering and protecting two Hamas leaders.
Israel’s interior minister says it was Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal who ordered the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit.

Vital Perspective continues live-blogging.

Israel Sends Ground Forces Into Gaza

Israel launched on Wednesday its first ground offensive in the Gaza Strip since leaving the territory last year, stepping up pressure on Palestinian militants to release an abducted soldier.

Tanks and infantry, backed by assault helicopters and artillery, set up an observation post at a disused airport outside the southern town of Rafah as masked gunmen waited behind barricades and in alleyways for battle to begin.

Threatening "extreme steps" if Corporal Gilad Shalit was not freed, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the operation would continue "over the coming days."

Launching the offensive three days after Shalit was captured in Israel by gunmen in a cross-border raid, Israeli aircraft struck at three bridges in what the army said was an attempt to prevent militants from moving the captive.

A helicopter attack on Gaza's only power plant sent flames shooting into the sky and cut off electricity to much of the coastal territory, where 1.4 million Palestinians live. Engineers said repairs could take six months.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the bombardment of civilian infrastructure "collective punishment and a crime against humanity."

Olmert said Israel had "no intention of recapturing" the Gaza Strip.

Israel arrests Hamas minister.

Israeli soldiers arrested a member of the Hamas-led Palestinian government early on Thursday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian security officials said.

The arrest of Labour Minister Mohammed Barghouthi came amid an Israeli army incursion into the
Gaza Strip to try to release a soldier kidnapped during a cross-border raid by Hamas and other militants on Sunday.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said troops had carried out an operation in Ramallah but declined to give details.

More @
Peretz Gives Order For Stage Two Of Gaza Incursion
Israel Stepping Up It’s Gaza Campaign

A newly released intelligence report states that the A.Q. Khan network based in Pakistan has offered their services to Syria to help it develop nuclear technology and to obtain nuclear hardware.

It also reports that China and Russia are key suppliers of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear technology to known rogue states such as Libya and North Korea.


Washington Times

U.S. intelligence agencies suspect Syria was offered and received nuclear weapons technology from the covert Pakistani supplier group headed by A.Q. Khan, according to an intelligence report.
An annual report to Congress on arms proliferation states that Pakistani investigators have confirmed reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency that the Khan network "offered nuclear technology and hardware to Syria."

Syria conducts nuclear research at three facilities located at Dayr, Al Hajar and Dubaya, the report said.

"In 2004 Syria continued to develop civilian nuclear capabilities, including uranium extraction technology and hot cell facilities, which may also be potentially applicable to a weapons program," the report said.

The report also said China is a "key supplier" of nuclear, missile and weapons of mass destruction goods to states of concern.

Chinese companies "continued to work with Pakistan and Iran on ballistic missile-related projects and firms in China provided dual-use missile-related items, raw materials, or assistance to Libya and North Korea," the report said.

Chinese language documents found in Libya revealed that the Khan network had supplied it with nuclear warhead design information. China's government has not said how its warhead information made its way from Pakistan to Libya.

China supplied most of the uranium-enrichment technology and bomb designs that allowed Pakistan in 1998 to become a declared nuclear power. The proliferation was a violation of China's obligation to the NPT but Beijing was never punished for the activities.

On missiles, the report said Syria continued to seek help in building solid-propellant rocket motors, and that North Korea supplied equipment and assistance to the missile program.

Syria is building its own liquid-fueled Scud missiles and is developing a 500-mile-range Scud D and other variants with help from North Korea and Iran, the report said.

Another key supplier is Russia, which has supplied missile technology and goods to China, Iran, India and North Korea, as well as nuclear technology and goods to Iran and India.

Khan is supposedly under house arrest in Pakistan with members of his family.