Category: Israel

  • Libya and Syria: The Neocon Plan to Attack Seven Countries in Five Years

    Libya and Syria: The Neocon Plan to Attack Seven Countries in Five Years

    Kurt Nimmo

    In the video below, former four star general and NATO commander Wesley Clark talks about the neocon plan to invade seven countries in five years. Included in the plan was an attack on Libya. Clark mentions the plan at two minutes, 26 seconds into the video.

    The video was recorded on October 3, 2007, at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco.

    Clark’s revelation is nothing new, although it reminds us that the attack on Libya fits into a larger context and there are horrific conflicts to come if the globalists have their way.

    Following the election of Obama and a reshuffling of the same old deck in Congress in 2008, it was believed the bad old days of neocon wars were finally behind us. Obama said he would close down the wars and bring home the troops. Instead, he intensified the effort to spread chaos, mayhem and mass murder in the Middle East and South Asia, thus underscoring the fact there is absolutely no difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to creative destruction (it is telling that the neocon Michael Leeden has used the term – creative destruction is a Marxist concept).

    Clark has talked about the neocon plan on several occasions. He said the following during a speech at the University of Alabama in October of 2006, recounting a conversation with a general at the Pentagon:

    I said, “Are we still going to invade Iraq?” “Yes, Sir,” he said, “but it’s worse than that.” I said, “How do you mean?” He held up this piece of paper. He said, “I just got this memo today or yesterday from the office of the Secretary of Defense upstairs. It’s a… five-year plan. We’re going to take down seven countries in five years. We’re going to start with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, then Libya, Somalia, Sudan, we’re going to come back and get Iran in five years. I said, “Is that classified, that paper?” He said, “Yes Sir.” I said, “Well, don’t show it to me, because I want to be able to talk about it.”

    The neocons, of course, are merely one of a number of establishment factions, all of them reading from the same script. Obama’s attack on Libya and the impending attack on Syria under the ruse popularly known as the “Arab Spring” (pushed by elite NGOs and the CIA) is interchangeable with the Bush regime’s call to action against the Axis of Evil. The only difference between Democrat Obama and the (supposedly) Republican neocons (who have roots in Trotskyism) is that the neocons are decidedly Israeli-centric in their geopolitical stance.

    The global elite do not care about Israel or any other nation-state, but are not above using the neocons – who are highly organized and motivated (despite propaganda depicting them as inept) – in their quest to destroy Arab and Muslim nationalism that directly threatens their drive for hegemonic rule (in particular, Sharia law with its restrictions on banking poses a threat to the banksters).

    Syria is the next target followed by the big Kahuna, Iran. For the globalists, who are determined to wreck all nation-states and eradicate national sovereignty and borders, the fact this effort will precipitate the destruction of the “world’s policeman,” the United States, is an extra added bonus.

    Multiple wars in multiple and far-stretched “theaters” will ultimately bankrupt the United States, as Ron Paul and a handful of others have warned. Obama has made if perfectly clear that the U.S. will not leave Iraq and Afghanistan and plans to continue attacking Pakistan and failed states in Africa where the CIA cut-out al-Qaeda has appeared on cue.

    Wesley Clark’s warning is prescient, but nearly a decade too late. Clark is, at best,disingenuous because he himself a war criminal for the role he played in the slaughter of civilians in Yugoslavia.

    www.infowars.com, September 2, 2011

  • Turkey says it will challenge Gaza blockade

    Turkey says it will challenge Gaza blockade

    SUZAN FRASER

    Associated Press= ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey is preparing to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza at the International Court of Justice, the foreign minister said Saturday, ratcheting up tensions between the once close allies.

    Ahmet Davutoglu’s comments came a day after Turkey expelled the Israel’s ambassador and severed military ties with the country, angered over its refusal to apologize for last year’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists.

    In an interview with Turkey’s state-run TRT television, Davutoglu dismissed a U.N. report into the raid that said Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure. Davutoglu said the report — prepared by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and presented to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon — was not endorsed by the United Nations and was therefore not binding.

    “What is binding is the International Court of Justice,” Davutoglu said. “This is what we are saying: let the International Court of Justice decide.”

    “We are starting the necessary legal procedures this coming week,” he said.

    But Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said his country has nothing to apologize for and that it has done all it could to avoid a crisis with Turkey. He said the Turks apparently intended to raise tensions with Israel for its own reasons.

    “The problem here is on the Turkish side. … They were not ready for a compromise and kept raising the threshold,” Ayalon said on Israeli TV Saturday. “I think we need to say to the Turks: as far as we are concerned, this saga is behind us. Now we need to cooperate. Lack of cooperation harms not only us, but Turkey as well.”

    Davutoglu said the U.N. report released Friday contradicted an earlier report on the Gaza flotilla incident which found that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided the flotilla. That report was prepared in September by three human rights experts appointed by the U.N.’s top human rights body.

    He also warned Israel that it risks alienation among Arab nations by resisting an apology.

    “If Israel persists with its current position, the Arab spring will give rise to a strong Israel opposition as well as the debate on the authoritarian regimes,” Davutoglu said.

    On Friday, Turkey downgraded its diplomatic ties with Israel to the level of second secretary and gave the ambassador and other high-level diplomats until Wednesday to leave the country. In other measures against Israel, Turkey suspended military agreements, promised to back legal actions against Israel by the raid victims’ families, and vowed to take steps to ensure freedom to navigate in the eastern Mediterranean.

    Turkish officials refused to elaborate on their government’s latest move, but some analysts suggested Turkey could send navy vessels to escort aid ships in the future.

    Turkey’s main opposition party on Friday warned that such a step could lead to confrontation between Turkish and Israeli forces. “The probability that (Turkey’s ruling) party has carried Turkey to the brink of a hot conflict is saddening and unacceptable,” said Faruk Logoglu, a deputy chairman of the opposition Republican People’s Party.

    On Saturday, Ban urged Turkey and Israel to mend ties for the good of the Middle East peace process. “I sincerely hope that Israel and Turkey will improve their relationship,” Ban told reporters during a visit to Australia.

    “Both countries are very important countries in the region and their improved relationship — normal relationship — will be very important in addressing all the situations in the Middle East, including the Middle East peace process,” he said, referring to a negotiated Palestinian-Israeli peace pact.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman said the U.N. committee’s report concluded that Israel had acted within its rights and said he hoped it would help “put the relationship between Jerusalem and Ankara back on the right track.”

    “The U.N. commission clearly states that Israel acted legally in imposing the naval blockade to protect our people from the smuggling of rockets and weapons that are fired at our civilians,” the spokesman, Mark Regev, said.

    The U.N. report released Friday called the May 31, 2010 Israeli raid “excessive and unreasonable.” The U.N. panel also blamed Turkey and flotilla organizers for contributing to the deaths.

    Israel insists its forces acted in self-defense and says there will be no apology. Israeli officials pointed out that the report does not demand an apology. Rather, it says “an appropriate statement of regret should be made by Israel in respect of the incident in light of its consequences.”

    (This version CORRECTS Corrects the spelling of “ratcheting.”)

    www.guardian.co.uk, 3 September 2011

  • Turkish navy to strengthen presence in eastern Mediterranean

    Turkish navy to strengthen presence in eastern Mediterranean

    Report: Turkey navy to escort aid ships to Palestinians in Gaza

    Turkish officials tell Hurriyet Daily News that Turkish navy will strengthen presence in eastern Mediterranean Sea to stop Israeli ‘bullying’.

    By Barak Ravid

    The Turkish navy will significantly strengthen its presence in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as one of the steps the Turkish government has decided to take following the release of the UN Palmer report on the 2010 Gaza flotilla, Turkish officials told the Hurriyet Daily News.

    “The eastern Mediterranean will no longer be a place where Israeli naval forces can freely exercise their bullying practices against civilian vessels,” a Turkish official was quoted as saying.

    Israeli Naval Ships
    Israeli naval ships escort an intercepted aid ship, July 19, 2011. Photo by: AP

    As part of the plan, the Turkish navy will increase its patrols in the eastern Mediterranean and pursue “a more aggressive strategy”.

    According to the report, Turkish naval vessels will accompany civilian ships carrying aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

    Another goal of the plan is to ensure free navigation in the region between Cyprus and Israel. The region includes areas where Israel and Cyprus cooperate in drilling for oil and gas.

    Additionally, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed his foreign ministry to organize a trip for him to the Gaza Strip in the near future.

    “We are looking for the best timing for the visit,” a Turkish official was quoted as saying. “Our primary purpose is to draw the world’s attention to what is going on in Gaza and to push the international community to end the unfair embargo imposed by Israel.”

    www.haaretz.com, 03.09.2011

  • Turkey Reportedly Sets Deadline For Israel Apology For Deadly Attack

    Turkey Reportedly Sets Deadline For Israel Apology For Deadly Attack

    Turkey’s foreign minister has set this week’s expected release of a U.N. report on Israel’s raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla as a deadline for Israel to apologize for the deadly attack, two Turkish newspapers reported Thursday.

    The May 2010 raid by Israeli commandos killed nine pro-Palestinian activists and severely strained Israeli-Turkish relations. Turkey has warned ties could deteriorate further if Israel does not apologize, but Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ruled out the idea.

    “The date the United Nations is expected to release the report is the deadline. If there is no apology until that date we will put our Plan B into motion,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in accounts printed in Turkey’s Hurriyet and Zaman newspapers.

    At U.N. headquarters in New York, deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Thursday that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “has not yet received the report himself.”

    “We understand that the report will be submitted to the secretary-general in the next few days,” del Buey said. “We will seek confirmation.”

    Davutoglu did not elaborate on what measures Turkey would take against Israel, but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested last month that Turkey could back possible court action by victims’ families against Israel.

    Turkish newspaper reports have said Turkey also is considering downgrading diplomatic ties, cutting off economic ties and military cooperation, and giving Turkey’s full backing to the Palestinian quest for state recognition.

    In addition to an apology, Turkey also is demanding compensation for the victims’ families and an end to Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip, imposed since 2007. The nine people who died included eight Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American.

    The flotilla was trying to break the Israeli blockade. Activists charged that Israel was depriving Gaza’s Palestinians of vital supplies. Israel said the blockade was necessary to keep weapons away from Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza.

    When the Israeli commandos reached the flotilla, they clashed with activists armed with knives, clubs and iron rods. Israel says soldiers acted in self-defense after the activists assaulted them on deck, while the activists say they were defending themselves from an Israeli attack.

    The flotilla raid drew an international outcry and forced Israel to ease its blockade.

    An Israeli inquiry into the raid cleared the military and government of any wrongdoing and said the armed defense of Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza was justified under international law.

    But a Turkish committee that investigated the raid refuted Israeli claims of self-defense, and said Israeli soldiers used “excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate” force on unarmed civilians.

    via Turkey Reportedly Sets Deadline For Israel Apology For Deadly Attack | FoxNews.com.

  • Turkey-Israel Relations Reach New Low

    Turkey-Israel Relations Reach New Low

    Turkey and Israel are set for a diplomatic showdown with the scheduled publication of a United Nations report this Friday into the killing last year by Israeli security forces of nine Turkish citizens on a boat attempting to break Israel’s economic blockade of the Gaza Strip. The release of the U.N. report has been repeatedly delayed to give time to diplomatic efforts to reconcile the two formerly close allies.

    A banner depicting the faces of the nine men killed, displayed on the Mavi Marmara ship, the lead boat of a flotilla headed to the Gaza Strip which was stormed by Israeli naval commandos in a predawn confrontation in the Mediterranean May 31, 2010, on its returns, in Istanbul, Turkey, 26 Dec 2010
    A banner depicting the faces of the nine men killed, displayed on the Mavi Marmara ship, the lead boat of a flotilla headed to the Gaza Strip which was stormed by Israeli naval commandos in a predawn confrontation in the Mediterranean May 31, 2010, on its returns, in Istanbul, Turkey, 26 Dec 2010

    Since last year’s killing of nine Turkish citizens by Israeli forces, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Israel to apologize and compensate the families of those killed. Equally resolute, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there is nothing to apologize for. The impasse has severely damaged bilateral relations of the formerly close allies. But Erdogan has warned things could get a lot worse.

    He says unless Israel offers an apology, pays compensation, and removes the embargo against the Gaza Strip, it is not possible for Turkey-Israel relations to improve. Erdogan says that from now on, Turkey as well as the families will take some steps, so a new phase will be beginning.

    The expected publication this Friday of the U.N. report into the killings is the deadline set by Ankara for its demands to be met. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu earlier this month said that both Washington and Jerusalem are aware of the sanctions Turkey is prepared to impose against Israel. International relations expert Soli Ozel says Ankara has options.

    “Turkey can lower the level of its relations in Israel, pushing for the recognition of Palestinian statehood,” said Ozel. “It can try to sue [the] Israeli military and politicians in international courts. Whether they can pull this off or not, I don’t know, which is why I think the Americans are so adamant that things don’t get out of hand.”

    According to both Turkish and Israeli media reports, a proposal by the U.S. for what is described as a softened Israeli apology in exchange for normalizing relations has so far been rejected by Jerusalem. Diplomatic columnist Semih Idiz says such an intervention is an indication that Washington is aware of Turkey’s growing importance in the increasingly volatile Middle East. That importance, Idiz claims, is a key factor behind Ankara maintaining its tough stance towards Jerusalem.

    “We are dealing with a very different kind of environment now in the Middle East,” said Idiz. “Turkey has a greater presence, if not with some regimes, at least with the people in the region. And so it is not so vital for Turkey as it might have been in the past to have good relations with Israel.”

    But despite deteriorating diplomatic relations, bilateral trade has continued to flourish. International relations expert Ozel believes whatever happens, trade will be left largely untouched.

    “Trade embargo, I doubt it,” said Because the trade volume is almost $3 billion between the two countries, non-military. So it will hurt some of the constituents of Erdogan as well.”

    Trade is still a card Israel can play. The Turkish military is urgently buying sophisticated equipment in the face of a resurgence in fighting against the Kurdish rebel group, the PKK. At the top of its list are drones, of which Israel is a main supplier. As alternative provider the U.S. is tied up due to its own military demands, Ankara may have a vested interest in at least maintaining trade relations with Israel. However, political columnist Asla Aydintasbas says Erdogan has limited room to maneuver.

    “Knowing [the] prime minister’s personality and knowing the importance of this issue for Turkey, I don’t see how Turkey can accept anything short of an apology. And frankly there is not a word, which is an apology in English or an apology in Turkish, but is different in Hebrew. It is just what it is,” said the columnist.

    International diplomatic efforts are expected to intensify to find a compromise, as Turkey’s deadline for its demands to be met nears.

    via Turkey-Israel Relations Reach New Low | Europe | English.

  • Israeli army arms Jewish settlers in preparation for Palestinian unrest

    Israeli army arms Jewish settlers in preparation for Palestinian unrest

    Jewish settlers across the West Bank are being armed and trained by the Israeli military in anticipation of unrest and violence leading up to a Palestinian demand for statehood at the United Nations in three weeks.

    Settlers
    On Monday morning, a Palestinian man from Nablus drove a stolen taxi into a police blockade outside a Tel Aviv nightclub before stabbing several onlookers Photo: AP

    Phoebe Greenwood in Tel Aviv

    The Israeli Defence Force fears that demonstrations ahead of the UN debate on September 20 will bring violent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli settlers living illegally in settlements across territory occupied by Israel.

    Leaked documents have outlined Israeli plans to arm security guards working on the Jewish settlements with riot gear, including tear gas and stun grenades.

    In a statement issued on Tuesday, an Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that the military is training “community leadership and security personnel throughout Judea and Samaria” but refused to comment on whether they were also being provided with additional arms.

    An Israeli security source told the Daily Telegraph: “These security officers are employed by the Ministry of Defence and have to be able respond to any security threat, like the murders in Itamar. It would be irresponsible if we did not prepare them for every eventuality.”

    In March this year, five members of the Jewish Fogel family were killed while they slept in their home in the West Bank’s Itamar settlement by two Palestinian teenagers from a neighbouring village.

    Mata Vilnai, the Israeli home affairs minister announced on Tuesday that a terror cell based in the Sinai Peninsula is preparing to carry out a series of attacks in Israel over the coming weeks.

    On Monday morning, a Palestinian man from Nablus drove a stolen taxi into a police blockade outside a Tel Aviv nightclub before stabbing several onlookers. Eight people, including several teenagers, were injured.

    Gill Kosover, who owns a car workshop outside where the attack took place, said Israelis are braced for more violence.

    “This is nothing,” he said. “This will happen more and more as we head towards September. This is just the beginning. Things are starting to boil here.”

    But Palestinians are also victims of the growing communal violence in the West Bank.

    B’Tselem, the Israeli human rights agency, has reported 42 cases of Jewish settler violence for police investigation since the beginning of 2011, including the murder of two Palestinian teenagers.

    Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, accused Israeli soldiers of turning a blind eye to settler assaults on Palestinians: “The close relationship between the IDF and the illegal settlement project in the West Bank is confirmed by the many reports we see of the most violent settlers forcing Palestinians of their ancestral land under the noses of the IDF, sometimes with their protection if not connivance,” he said.

    www.telegraph.co.uk, 30 Aug 2011