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Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in association with Access/Middle East by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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To contact the Presidents Conference: [email protected]
In-Depth Issue:
Qaeda Ties to Pilgrim GIs - Niles Lathem (New York Post)
See also Has U.S. Military Been Infiltrated? - Faye Bowers (Christian Science Monitor)
Who, and What, Does al-Amoudi Know? - Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball (Newsweek)
Iranian Hackers Attack Israel Electric Corp. - Galit Yamini (Ha'aretz)
Palestinians Campaign for Lebanon Property (al Jazeera-Qatar)
Saddam "Seen" Six Days Ago
- Michael Howard (Guardian-UK)
Israel's "Bomb Squad Pigs" - David Chazan (BBC)
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News Resources - North America and Europe:
The report from the Iraqi Survey Group (ISG) Thursday made clear that Saddam Hussein had much to hide, even if David Kay and his 1,200-strong team had so far unearthed relatively little. The 13-page report detailed elaborate efforts by members of Saddam�s regime to destroy evidence, disperse material, and intimidate or even attack the searchers. Concealment continued even after the war ended. Some experts on weapons of mass destruction had fled Iraq. Facilities had been systematically looted. Files had been burnt and computer hard-drives destroyed. Another problem was the small size of the materials being sought. (London Times) See also Statement by David Kay on the Activities of the Iraq Survey Group What have we found and what have we not found in the first 3 months of our work? We have discovered dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the UN during the inspections that began in late 2002. (CIA) See also Evidence of Weapons Program Discovered ISG teams discovered clandestine laboratories and found live botulinum toxin - which could be used to make biological weapons - at an Iraqi scientist's home. Plans were discovered for missiles capable of flying up to 1,000 km (625 miles) - well beyond the 150 km range limit (93 miles) set by the UN. There were also alleged contacts with North Korea to obtain missile technology. Kay said additional information was beginning to corroborate reports of human testing activities using chemical and biological substances. Kay said Iraqi scientists and former government officials had told investigators Saddam Hussein "remained firmly committed to acquiring nuclear weapons." (BBC) The commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said Thursday that resistance to U.S.-led occupation forces has grown more deadly and that the casualty rate would continue for as long as American troops are there. Sanchez said an influx of guerrillas from Syria and Iran had changed the nature of resistance. U.S. military officials have previously said that about 220 foreign fighters from Syria and Saudi Arabia are in custody. "We believe there is, in fact, a foreign fighter element. There is a terrorist element focused on the coalition and international community in general and the Iraqi people to try to disrupt the progress being made," he said. He said there were no indications that former president Saddam Hussein or officials from his government were organizing a national resistance. (Washington Post) The American civil administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, told reporters last week that most foreign fighters are entering Iraq via "ratlines" from Syria. He added that of 248 non-Iraqi fighters being held in Iraq, 123 are Syrian. The Bush administration is now trying to determine if Syria is engaged in espionage against America following the arrests of U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi, a Syrian-born supply clerk, and Army Capt. Yousef Yee, a Muslim chaplain who learned Arabic and studied Islam in Syria a decade ago. (AP/Washington Post) See also No Syria Link Seen in Spy Case Despite U.S. charges implicating Syria in the Guantanamo Bay spy case, the State Department has no information about Syrian government involvement, senior State Department officials said Wednesday. (Los Angeles Times) Kuwaiti security authorities have foiled an attempt to smuggle $60 million worth of chemical weapons and biological warheads from Iraq to an unnamed European country, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siyassah said on Wednesday. The paper said Interior Minister Sheik Nawwaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah would hand over the smuggled weapons to an FBI agent at a news conference, but did not say when. (AP/Hindustan Times-India) A Palestinian has been jailed in Bethlehem by the Palestinian Authority over his alleged role as a middleman in the transfer of property in the town to Jewish ownership. The property in question, a row of dilapidated lock-up shops in a virtual no-man's land that abuts the Jewish shrine of Rachel's Tomb, has little intrinsic value. However, Nikola Arja may be charged with being "in touch with the enemy for illegal purposes" and "partition of property for annexation to a foreign country." (Financial Times-UK) News Resources - Israel, the Mideast, and Asia:
Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday the U.S. has "concerns" about settlement activities after Israel unveiled plans to build more homes in West Bank settlements. Powell's relatively mild comments reflected Washington's unhappiness with Israel's continued settlement building in the West Bank but its reluctance to criticize an ally in public. Israel issued tenders this week for the 600 new housing units near Jerusalem - 530 in Betar Illit (pop. 20,200) and 50 in Ma'aleh Adumim (26,500) - and 24 more in Ariel (16,300), and 100 new units in Efrat (6,800). (Ha'aretz/Central Bureau of Statistics) Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, was quick to update White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice Thursday on the details of the government decision regarding the route of the separation fence between Israel and the West Bank. The Americans did not make any comments. The plan was coordinated with them in advance. Israel is not worried about American pressure. The U.S. is stepping back from involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even the Europeans agree now with Israel and the U.S. that there is not much chance of progress as long as Arafat is still in power. (Ha'aretz) The Palestinian Authority has launched another crackdown on suspected collaborators with Israel. PA sources said security agencies have arrested dozens of suspected collaborators over the last two weeks in the wake of a series of Israeli attacks on Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives. The agencies were ordered to stop what was termed the increasing cooperation by Palestinians with Israel's military and intelligence agencies. The Palestinian detainees were accused of being in cellular and other contact with Israeli security agents and gathering information on Hamas leaders. (Middle East Newsline) Israel will deal with PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei despite his links to Arafat if Qurei demonstrates a genuine willingness to fight terrorism, a senior security official told Western diplomatic officials recently. The official said Israel learned a number of lessons from its dealings with Abbas, and that this time the PA prime minister will have to demonstrate real action against the terrorist organizations before meriting an Israeli embrace. One sign of a seriousness to tackle terrorism, the security official said, will be if Qurei takes authority for the various Palestinian security forces out of Arafat's hands and unifies them under one command. "As long as Arafat controls 80-90% of the security forces, there is no indication of any interest in rooting out terrorism," the official said. Qurei, unlike Abbas, is not viewed by the Palestinians as a U.S. or Israeli puppet, and his loyalty to Arafat may paradoxically give him greater maneuverability room than Abbas had. Qurei is considered by both Israeli and foreign diplomatic officials to be a much more seasoned politician than Abbas, with more experience in forging alliances and mobilizing a consensus around decisions. While the U.S. is not expected to publicly embrace Qurei as it did Abbas, talks between U.S. officials and Qurei are taking place, with two such meetings held this week. (Jerusalem Post) See also Qurei's Challenges - Khaled Abu Toameh Ahmed Qurei, the 66-year-old longtime associate of Yasser Arafat, has suffered a series of heart attacks in recent years and his health remains shaky. One of Qurei's top aides commented this week: "This is a high-stress job for someone who needs to relax and take it easy." Ironically, the biggest challenge Qurei faces is not from Israel or Hamas, but from the ruling Fatah organization and disgruntled officials vying for positions in the new cabinet. Yet unlike Abbas, Qurei does not have Arafat breathing down his neck, letting Arafat and the Fatah leadership decide who joins the cabinet, unlike Abbas who insisted on picking his own ministers. Qurei has made it clear he has no intention of ordering a massive crackdown on Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or other radical groups responsible for the continued violence. Even if he wanted to take such measures, it's not certain that the security forces would listen to him. (Jerusalem Post) "Completely false," is how a senior official in the Prime Minister's Office described a report that a Mossad cell had been captured in an unnamed Arab country, as reported by Hamas politburo member Muhammad Nazzal on Wednesday. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
In the end, the Palestinian leadership has only itself to blame for the fence. Had there been the necessary moves to curb terrorism and stop the infiltration of suicide bombers, the Israelis would not have undertaken such a hugely costly barrier. In that Arafat thwarted the attempt by Mahmoud Abbas to confront Hamas, he made the extension of the fence inevitable. The new Palestinian prime minister must take the initiative against terrorism if he is not to see his country irrevocably split. (London Times) On the reconstruction of Iraq, everybody knows exactly how it should have been done. One major mistake was disbanding the Iraqi army, though at the time, it seemed the right thing to do. Keeping Hussein's army risked a future Baathist return to power. For the long-run health of the new Iraq, it made eminent sense to abolish the army and start over. Yet the challenge in the short run is putting down Sunni Triangle resistance. Had we retained the old army, we might have had ready-made military units suitable at least for guarding stationary targets such as oil pipelines. Moreover, dissolution of the Baathist army released a large population of unemployed, disgruntled, and weapons-trained young men, some undoubtedly shooting at our troops. The undramatic story is that Iraq is producing more than 1.6 million barrels a day, more than three-quarters of 2002 production levels. Last week OPEC unexpectedly cut its production quotas - boosting oil prices and rattling world markets - because it sees Iraqi oil production coming on line and seriously threatening world prices. (Washington Post) This is no time for the international community to dither over which approach is most likely to persuade Iran to give up its quest for an atomic bomb. The Western powers must do all they can - together - to make it clear to the ayatollahs that they will not be permitted to build or possess nuclear weapons. And if the West cannot present a united front, then the Americans - again - will have to take the lonely lead. In a prominent national sermon in December, 2001, former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani declared that the day "the world of Islam comes to possess [nuclear] weapons" will be "the day...global arrogance will come to a dead end." He added that a bomb used against Israel "would leave nothing on the ground" and would rid the world of much "extraneous matter." The major Western nations must not be timid about following Israel's lead in destroying Iraq's Osirac reactor in 1981 before it could come on line and produce raw material for bombs. Special forces missions and surgical air strikes may be needed. Iran must be stopped, soon. (National Post-Canada) India's emerging dependence on Israel for armaments is, unlike the past, a dependence of choice, for almost all our requirements could have been met from alternative sources. However, the Israelis brought more to the table than just commerce; they perhaps also brought a commitment to our security concerns. Israel has the highest ratio of engineers to population in the world. Similarly, its investment in R&D as a percentage of its GDP is not matched by any other country. Each year its people-to-patents ratio is well above the others. Through cooperation and strategic linkages with Israel, the benefits that India can derive are considerable. Israel is a small country but it has the potential to prop us so that the hardly visible shadow of India becomes clearly discernible in the Asian region. (Asian Age-India) Weekend Features:
I served as an infantry platoon leader of 26 men during nearly 6 months of combat operations in Iraq, part of the 3rd Infantry Division, the unit that led the invasion into Iraq and captured Baghdad. While patrolling the streets of Baghdad, I often got involved in political conversations with secular, educated, and "moderate" Iraqis about the war against Iraq, Israel, the Jews, and America. To my surprise, most of them held wildly irrational beliefs about the world. For example, most would swear that Ariel Sharon pressured a reluctant President Bush to go to war against Iraq, and that the CIA put Saddam Hussein, a CIA agent, in power to allow U.S. forces to take Iraqi oil and impoverish Iraq. Finally, they were convinced that the CIA is controlled by the Mossad and that powerful Zionists dominate Washington, D.C. We are not at war against terrorism; we are at war against an ideology, one that believes that by destroying the enemy - the Jew, the State of Israel, and the "Great Satan" America - past Arab pride and glory would be restored. In the 1930s, millions of Germans believed that by obliterating the Jews and conquering non-Arian nations, Germany would attain unsurpassed glory and freedom. Every American and every Jew is under attack in some shape or form. We must fight back, and every one of us has the ability to contribute to the war effort. One does not need to join the U.S. Army. We can fight with our computers, our telephone, our money, our time, and our voice. (Mesora.org) More than 100 Jewish members of the U.S. forces stationed in Iraq attended the High Holiday services at the former Iraqi dictator's Baghdad compound. Then the group performed the customary tashlich ceremony outside the palace, casting pieces of bread representing sins into a private lake once owned by the Iraqi dictator's sons, Uday and Qusay. There are an estimated 500 Jews among the 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait. There were also services for Jewish service personnel in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, which drew some 50 people, and two services in Kuwait, where U.S. forces also are stationed. Kayitz Finley, 21, a marine corporal from Los Angeles home on 30 days' leave, is the son of ex-Marine Rabbi Mordecai Finley of Congregation Ohr HaTorah in Los Angeles. The young Finley said generally Iraqis welcomed the U.S. forces, and he made a point of telling many of them he was a Jew who "put my life on the line to free their country." Typically, he said, that declaration met a "sour" reception, with many Iraqis blanching and walking away or asking him to leave a house where he had been welcomed moments before. (JTA) Private security guards have become Israel's new army. Growing in number to about 45,000, they are now a fixture of daily life - eyeballing, scanning, and searching people at shopping centers, supermarkets, restaurants, and schools. Putting their bodies between terrorists and their targets, they have been affectionately dubbed "the bulletproof vest of the nation." But six have been killed and four seriously wounded in terrorist attacks over the past three years. (Sunday Times-UK) Observations: Fighting Anti-Semitism at Harvard - Rachel Fish (New York Jewish Week)
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