DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: U.S. Drones Flying Over Syria To Monitor Crackdown - Report

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST: U.S. Drones Flying Over Syria To Monitor Crackdown - Report
*Pentagon officials say drones used to gather evidence to make case for international response; 40 Turkish intelligence officials captured in Syria, Assad regime claims Israel's Mossad trained them.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Zvi Bar'el and DPA - Haaretz
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 19, 2012: The United States is flying unmanned reconnaissance planes over Syria to monitor the regime's escalating crackdown on dissent, U.S. defense officials told NBC television on Saturday.

The drones are being used to gather evidence on the Syrian security forces' violence against pro-democracy protesters that can be used to "make a case for a widespread international response," the U.S.-based broadcaster quoted the unnamed officials as saying.

The Pentagon officials stressed that the U.S. is not preparing the ground for a military intervention, but is simply collecting evidence of President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protesters.

There was no official comment from Syria on the report.

The West has ruled out a Libya-style military intervention in Syria to stop 11 months of bloodshed.

Meanwhile, there have been disagreements regarding what action must be taken against Syria. Turkey refuses to set up buffer zones for civilians on its border with Syria, and demands that the transfer of equipment and medicine be done via the sea and not through its territory.

France, on the other hand, maintains that such buffer zones must be on land and will anyhow spill over the Turkish border.

While the Syrian army continued to attack Daraa and Homs with tanks and heavy artillery, large protests also took place in Damascus, as well as Aleppo, a city which hasn't taken part in anti-regime protests regularly thus far.

The resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly condemning Syria, supported by 137 countries, has not impressed the Syrian regime which is only escalating its war against the opposition and widening its war zones. Russia continues to come to aid of the Assad regime with weapon shipments, and on Friday two Iranian warships passed through the Suez Canal on the way to Tartus port in Syria.

Western officials fear that Iranian military presence along with Russian aid could turn Syria into a center of international friction much worse than the struggle inside Syria. They fear that the control over actions in Syria will be taken over by a Russian-Iranian "partnership" which would exclude the European Union and Turkey and that U.S. involvement could be too late and inefficient.

Turkey fears this development after a diplomatic crisis erupted with Syria when more than 40 Turkish intelligence officers were captured by the Syrian army. Over the past week, Turkey has been conducting intensive negotiations with Syria in order to secure their freedom, and Syria insists that their release will be conditioned on the extradition of Syrian officers and soldiers that defected and are currently in Turkey.

Syria also conditioned the continuation of the negotiations on Turkey's blockade of weapon transfers and passage of soldiers from the rebels' Free Syria Army through its territory. It also demanded that Iran sponsor the negotiations of releasing the Turkish officers.

Turkey, who mediated several weeks ago between the Free Syria Army and Iran to secure the release of several Iranian citizens who were captured by the rebels, rejects Syria's demands, and for this reason Turkish sources believe that Turkey will soon decide on hardening its stance on Syria.

Syria, on the other hand, has recently published "confessions" that it allegedly gathered from the Turkish officers that they were trained by Israel's Mossad, and were given instructions to carry out bombings to undermine the country's security. According to the Syrians, one of the Turkish officers said that the Mossad also trains soldiers from the Free Syria Army, and that Mossad agents came to Jordan in order to train al-Qaida officials to send to Syria to carry out attacks.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Zvi Bar'el and DPA - Haaretz
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DTN News: Former Israeli Top Spy Calls For Strike On Iran

DTN News: Former Israeli Top Spy Calls For Strike On Iran

Source: DTN News / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM, Israel - June 22, 2010: Israel should launch a pre-emptive strike to prevent arch-foe Iran from going nuclear, a former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency said on Monday. "I am of the opinion that, since there is an ongoing war, since the threat is permanent, since the intention of the enemy in this case is to annihilate you, the right doctrine is one of pre-emption and not of retaliation," Shabtai Shavit told a conference. Shavit, who served as chief of Israel's foreign spy agency from 1989 to 1996, was speaking at a conference held at the hawkish Bar Ilan University outside Tel Aviv. "To use retaliation as the main strategy means to sit idly and wait until the enemy comes to attack you," a university statement quoted Shavit as saying. "But we are dealing with an enemy that plans all the time and waits for the opportunity to arise in order to attack, so what is the point, even morally, to wait and do something only when we are attacked," he said. Israel, which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, regards Iran as its principal threat after repeated predictions by the Islamic republic's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Jewish state's demise. Along with the West, it suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of its nuclear programme, a claim Tehran denies. Israel has backed US-led efforts to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapons capability through sanctions, but has also refused to rule out military force. In 1981 Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor and reportedly also attacked a suspected Syrian nuclear facility in 2007. Iran insists that its nuclear programme is aimed solely at power generation and medical research and says that the international community should focus its attention on Israel, which, unlike Iran, is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

DTN News: Dubai Killers Used Diplomatic Passports Says Police / Israel PM 's Signed Off' On Dubai Hit

DTN News: Dubai Killers Used Diplomatic Passports Says Police / Israel PM 's Signed Off' On Dubai Hit

* Al Jazeera reports ~ Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, is alleged to have given the green light for last month's assassination of a senior Hamas figure, according to a British newspaper. *Source: DTN News / By W.G. Dunlop (AFP) ~ Some information for this report was provided by other media (NSI News Source Info) - February 21, 2010: The assassins of a senior Hamas militant in Dubai made use of diplomatic passports, the Gulf emirate's police chief said on Sunday, as he warned of a mole within the ranks of the Palestinian group. Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, meanwhile, said the killing was carried out by Israel's spy agency Mossad with the green light and blessing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "There is information that Dubai police will not make public for the moment, especially regarding diplomatic passports" used by some of Mahmud al-Mabhuh's killers to enter Dubai, police chief Dahi Khalfan said in Al-Bayan newspaper. Mabhuh, a founder of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, was found dead in his hotel room in Dubai on January 20. Last week, Khalfan released the names and photos of 11 murder suspects with European passports -- six from Britain, three from Ireland, one from Germany and one from France. The use of European passports has sparked a diplomatic furor in which Israeli envoys in the four countries have been summoned for talks. But on Saturday, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon insisted there would be no diplomatic crisis with Europe over the use of foreign passports in the Mabhuh murder "as Israel had nothing to do with what happened." Khalfan, however, has said he is "99, if not 100 percent" sure that Mossad was behind the assassination, and added on Saturday that Dubai had evidence, including wiretaps, of the agency's role. The Sunday Times said the killing was personally approved by Netanyahu, citing sources with knowledge of Mossad. The premier met members of the hit squad at Mossad headquarters shortly before they travelled to Dubai, according to the Sunday Times, and authorised the mission, which was not seen as complicated or risky. "Typically on such occasions, the prime minister intones: 'The people of Israel trust you. Good luck,'" the paper added. Khalfan said that Mabhuh's killing was "no longer a local issue, but a security issue for European countries," quoted on Sunday in another Emirati daily, the Abu Dhabi-owned Al-Ittihad. Al-Ittihad said Khalfan has called for Hamas to conduct an internal investigation "about the person who leaked information on Mabhuh's movements" and arrival in Dubai to his killers. The source of the leak was the "real killer," Khalfan was quoted as saying. He said last week in a Dubai TV interview that there were others implicated in the killing whose names have not yet been made public. And two Palestinians have been arrested in Jordan and extradited to Dubai, where they are being held in connection with Mabhuh's death, according to Khalfan. A Palestinian Authority security official in the West Bank identified the two as Anwar Shaheiber and Ahmed Hassanein, members of the PA security forces which Hamas ousted from Gaza in deadly clashes in 2007. A senior Hamas member, Nehru Massud, was also suspected of involvement in the killing, the official said. Massud, however, has denied any involvement in the murder, while Hamas has denied reports that he has been detained in Syria in connection with the killing. Hamas has blamed the killing entirely on Israel and vowed revenge.

DTN News: Riyadh 'Offers Airspace' For Israel Attack On Iran

DTN News: Riyadh 'Offers Airspace' For Israel Attack On Iran *Source: DTN News / PressTV (NSI News Source Info) LONDON, UK - September 29, 2009: Israeli fighter jets have been allowed to use Saudi airspace to launch go-it-alone air strikes on Iranian nuclear installations, says a recent report. The issue ahs been discussed in a closed-door meeting in London, where British Intelligence Chief Sir John Scarlett his Israeli counterpart, Meir Dagan, and Saudi official have been present Daily Express. According to the report Scarlett has been told that Saudi airspace would be at Israel's disposal should Tel Aviv decide to move forward with his military plans against Iran. The British daily added the likelihood of an Israeli attack against Iran has increased significantly after the country announced plans to launch its second enrichment facility in the central city of Qom. In line with its policy of nuclear transparency, Iran announced the construction of a second enrichment plant in a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog on September 21. The new plant is due to produce enriched uranium up to 5 percent. The letter was sent 12 months before the agency's regulations oblige its members states to inform of new developments. With eyes firmly fixed on Iran's nuclear progressions, the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to bomb the country's enrichment facilities out of existence. Tel Aviv accuses Tehran of nuclear weapons development - a charge rejected by both Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog, which has so far made "21 unannounced inspections" of the country's nuclear facilities. The UN nuclear watchdog in its previous reports has confirmed that Iran only enriches uranium-235 to a level of "less than 5 percent." Uranium, which fuels a nuclear power plant, can be used for military purposes only if enriched to high levels of above 90 percent. Details of the controversial Israeli plans to attack Iran emerged after John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, recently told a group of intelligence analysts that “Riyadh certainly approves” of Israel's use of Saudi airspace in the event of war with Iran. Bolton, had previously said he had discussed the possibility with Saudi officials in closed-door meetings. “None of them would say anything about it publicly but they would certainly acquiesce in an overflight if the Israelis didn't trumpet it as a big success.” The recent revelations follow a flurry of media reports in July, which suggested the Saudi government had approved the use of its airspace for an attack. While Saudi officials deny having diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, an Israeli defense source has confirmed that the Mossad spy agency maintained “working relations” with the kingdom. According to a study published bythe Center for Strategic and International Studies, a military exchange between Iran and Israel could result in the death of as many as 6 million people.

DTN News: Russia Denies Arctic Sea Carried Missiles To Iran

DTN News: Russia Denies Arctic Sea Carried Missiles To Iran

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - September 10, 2009: Russia on Tuesday strongly denied that a cargo ship whose supposed seizure by pirates sparked an international mystery was secretly carrying sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles bound for Iran. Arctic Sea Russian-crewed freighter is seen in Kotka, Finland. Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, rejected speculation that the hijacked Arctic Sea was carrying S-300 missiles possibly destined for Iran. The freighter Arctic Sea was allegedly seized by pirates in the Baltic Sea in late July after leaving a Finnish port. Russian naval vessels intercepted the ship weeks later off Cape Verde, thousands of kilometers from the Algerian port where it was purportedly supposed to deliver a load of timber. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed reports that the Arctic Sea was carrying a batch of the Russian-made S-300 missiles when it was hijacked. "Regarding the S-300s on board the Arctic Sea, this is absolutely untrue," Lavrov told reporters when asked about the report. Separately, Russian investigators announced they had inspected the ship and found only its official cargo of timber. "The cargo aboard the ship, wood and sawn timber, is being thoroughly inspected by investigators, as well as the ship itself," a spokesman for the investigative committee of Russian prosecutors told AFP. "Nothing besides the stated cargo has yet been found by investigators and forensic experts," he said, adding the ship was still at sea and the investigation would continue several more days. The Arctic Sea, a Maltese-flagged vessel with a Russian crew, was hijacked near Sweden in late July before being recovered by the Russian navy in the Atlantic Ocean several weeks later. The hijacking in a busy European shipping lane, the huge international effort to recover the ship, and the detention of its crewmen after they returned to Russia have all fuelled speculation about a secret cargo. Officially the ship was carrying a load of timber worth 1.7 million dollars (1.16 million euros) from Finland to Algeria, but speculation has raged that it was carrying weapons or even nuclear materials. The ship is due to arrive within days at Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. Lavrov said representatives of Malta, the flag government of the Arctic Sea, would be invited to take part in the investigation. "Everything will be done transparently. I hope everyone will be convinced that the rumours you are referring to are absolutely groundless," Lavrov said in response to a reporter's question. Meanwhile a Kremlin spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, told reporters that any theories about what the Arctic Sea was carrying before the investigation was complete were "speculation." This weekend the Sunday Times of London, citing Russian and Israeli sources, reported that Israel's Mossad intelligence service had learned the ship was carrying S-300s to Iran and worked with Moscow to stop the shipment. According to the Sunday Times report, Israel learned that the ship had been loaded with weapons in Russia's Baltic Sea port of Kaliningrad by former military officers with links to criminal groups. The newspaper said that Mossad, acting with the Moscow government's backing, may have set up the hijacking in a bid to stop the shipment without causing Russia embarrassment. Independent Russian defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer dismissed the report, noting that S-300 batteries were large, heavy and complex systems that would be impossible to conceal in a cargo hold. "Hypothetically, such a cargo ship could transport grenade launchers for Hezbollah or Hamas, Igla portable anti-aircraft missiles, something more compact than the S-300," Felgenhauer told AFP. "At least this would not violate the laws of physics," added Felgenhauer, the defence columnist for Novaya Gazeta newspaper. Time magazine has also quoted experts suggesting the vessel was carrying missiles destined for the Middle East. Israeli President Shimon Peres visited Russia and held talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on August 18, the day after Russia announced it had recaptured the Arctic Sea from pirates. Following the talks, Peres said he had secured a promise from Medvedev that Russia would review its decision to sell S-300s to Iran. Russia reportedly agreed to sell Iran the missiles several years ago, but Western countries and Israel fiercely opposed the deal as S-300s would greatly enhance Tehran's ability to protect against an air strike. Eight suspects -- including Russians, Estonians and Latvians -- have been accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea and are now awaiting trial in Moscow on piracy and kidnapping charges.

DTN News: Missing Channel Pirate Ship Carried Russian Arms For Iran

DTN News: Missing Channel Pirate Ship Carried Russian Arms For Iran *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) TEL AVIV, Israel - September 8, 2009: A cargo ship that vanished in the Channel was carrying arms to Iran and was being tracked by Mossad, the Israeli security service, according to sources in both Russia and Israel. The Arctic Sea, officially carrying a cargo of timber worth £1.3m, disappeared en route from Finland to Algeria on July 24. It was recovered off west Africa on August 17 when eight alleged hijackers were arrested. The Kremlin has consistently denied that the vessel was carrying a secret cargo. It claims the ship was hijacked by criminals who demanded a £1m ransom. The official version was challenged by sources in Tel Aviv and Moscow who claimed the ship had been loaded with S-300 missiles, Russia's most advanced anti-aircraft weapon, while undergoing repairs in the Russian port of Kaliningrad. "Mossad, which closely monitors arms supplies to Iran, is said to have tipped off the Russian government that the shipment had been sold by former military officers linked to the underworld. The Kremlin then ordered a naval rescue mission which involved destroyers and submarines. Any evidence that the Kremlin had let advanced weaponry fall into the hands of criminals or be sold to Iran would be highly embarrassing, so military officials believe a "cover story" was concocted. "The official version is ridiculous and was given to allow the Kremlin to save face," said a Russian military source. "I've spoken to people close to the investigation and they've pretty much confirmed Mossad's involvement. It's laughable to believe all this fuss was over a load of timber. I'm not alone in believing that it was carrying weapons to Iran." The alleged hijackers, four Estonians, two Russians and two Latvians, will go on trial in Moscow. According to the Kremlin's account, they boarded the Arctic Sea in the Baltic by claiming their inflatable craft was in trouble and then took over the ship at gunpoint. Sources in Moscow suggested Mossad may have played a part in the alleged hijacking by setting up a criminal gang, who were unlikely to have known anything about a secret cargo. "The best way for the Israelis to block the cargo from reaching Iran would have been to create a lot of noise around the ship," said a former army officer. "Once the news of the hijack broke, the game was up for the arms dealers. The Russians had to act. That's why I don't rule out Mossad being behind the hijacking. It stopped the shipment and gave the Kremlin a way out so that it can now claim it mounted a brilliant rescue mission." According to Israeli military sources, Israel received intelligence that weapons bound for Iran were being loaded in Kaliningrad, a port notorious for gun runners. "A decision was then taken to inform the Kremlin," said the source. Had the S-300 missiles been delivered, Iran would have significantly strengthened its air defences. An Israeli air force source said that in the event of an attack on Iranian nuclear installations, such missiles could increase Israeli casualties by 50%. Since the Arctic Sea was retaken, Russia has imposed a security blackout. The hijackers, the crew and two investigative teams were flown back to Moscow in three Il-76 air freight planes. For more than a week after being freed the crew were not allowed to talk to their families. The captain and three crew are still on board the ship, which has resumed its voyage to Algeria, but they have not been able to call home. Last week Mikhail Voitenko, an outspoken piracy expert who disputed the Kremlin's original version of events, fled Russia, claiming he had received threats from an official angered by his statements. Admiral Tarmo Kouts, former commander of Estonia's armed forces and the European Union's rapporteur on piracy, has infuriated Moscow by saying the only plausible explanation of the mystery is that the ship was transporting weapons. A spokesman for the Finnish owners denied that missiles could have been secretly loaded onto the ship. Sources who suspect Mossad's involvement point to a visit to Moscow by Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, the day after the Arctic Sea was rescued. Peres held four hours of private talks with Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president. Although the Israeli foreign ministry would not be drawn on the Arctic Sea, it confirmed that the two leaders had discussed the sale of Russian weapons to countries hostile to Israel. According to Israeli officials, Peres received verbal guarantees from the Russians that they would not sell advanced weapons systems to Iran or Syria. "Clearly the Israelis played a role in the whole Arctic Sea saga," said a Russian military source. "Peres used the incident as a bargaining chip over the issue of arms sales to Arab states, while Israel allowed the Kremlin a way out with its claims to have successfully foiled a piracy incident."

DTN News: Israel Denies Saudis Gave IDF Airspace Clearance For Iran Strike

DTN News: Israel Denies Saudis Gave IDF Airspace Clearance For Iran Strike

*Source: DTN News / By Haaretz Service (NSI News Source Info) TEL AVIV, Israel - July 6, 2009: Saudi Arabia has indicated to Israel that it would not protest use of its airspace by Israeli fighter jets in the event the government resolves to launch a military assault against Iran, according to a report which appeared in the British newspaper The Sunday Times.

The Israeli Air Force is considered as the strongest air forces in the Middle East, and one of the best and most sophisticated in the world. Over the past few decades Israel has purchased sophisticated American fighters and installed on them its locally developed and produced avionics and weapons. Perhaps the greatest strength of the IAF is the skill of its pilots. The IAF relies on its Air Intelligence Directorate for intelligence, including analysis of aerial photography. Many of the IAF's electronics and weapons systems are developed and built in Israel by Israel Military Industries, Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit and others. The IAF holds world records respective to the amounts of enemy warplanes shoot-downs, air combat performance, special operations, and air to ground operations from the jet era onward.The process for delivering F-16Is to Israel began in earnest in February, 2004. Israel expects to receive 102 F-16Is in total. The Prime Minister's office issued a statement in response Sunday morning, saying that "the Sunday Times report is fundamentally false and completely baseless." According to The Sunday Times, Mossad chief Meir Dagan held secret meetings with Saudi officials, who gave their tacit approval to Israel's use of the kingdom's airspace. "The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israeli air force flying through their airspace on a mission which is supposed to be in the common interests of both Israel and Saudi Arabia," The Sunday Times quoted a diplomatic source as saying last week. The report also quoted John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as saying that it would be "entirely logical" for Israeli warplanes to fly over Saudi Arabia en route to bombing nuclear targets in Iran. Though any Israeli attack would be roundly condemned by Mideast leaders at the UN, Bolton said Arab leaders have privately expressed trepidation at the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran. "None of them would say anything about it publicly but they would certainly acquiesce in an overflight if the Israelis didn't trumpet it as a big success," Bolton told The Sunday Times.