War in The Middle East

[Otto3]

Re: War in The Middle East

Back to the topic:

Some what does everyone think, was the killing of 4 UN workers due to Israeli bombings intentional or "an accident"?

i think it looks like intentional to me... because UN guys have big signs over them and it is hard to miss.. also they harrased a turkish navy ship transporting turks back to turkey from lebanon... there seems to be a message here but i dont know what it is... maybe simply saying "stay away"

[Anonymouse]

Re: War in The Middle East

Israel can do what Israel wants to do seems to be the trend.

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

i think it looks like intentional to me... because UN guys have big signs over them and it is hard to miss.. also they harrased a turkish navy ship transporting turks back to turkey from lebanon... there seems to be a message here but i dont know what it is... maybe simply saying "stay away"

Only an absolute idiot would believe that the strike was unintentional. The highly visible, well marked, UN post is on a hill top has been there for many years. And there were no Hizbollah forces near by. Israel shelled the UN post for many hours non-stop. The poor souls within the post sent out many calls to Israel via their central command to stop the shelling. However, Israel finished it off with a guided bomb dropped from an aircraft. This was Israel's message to ther UN - You are not welcome anymore in Lebanon, they next 'peace force' will be one that we can directly control.

[Anonymouse]

Re: War in The Middle East

Only an absolute idiot would believe that the strike was unintentional. The highly visible, well marked, UN post is on a hill top has been there for many years. And there were no Hizbollah forces near by. Israel shelled the UN post for many hours non-stop. The poor souls within the post sent out many calls to Israel via their central command to stop the shelling. However, Israel finished it off with a guided bomb dropped from an aircraft. This was Israel's message to ther UN - You are not welcome anymore in Lebanon, they next 'peace force' will be one that we can directly control.

Israel's arrogance is only rivaled by Israel's hubris.

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Just found a Hizbollah affiliated media source: http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/N...px?language=en

Advice. This is how you figue out what is truly happening on the ground in Lebanon: You read pro-Hizbollah news media and then you read western/Zionist news media - more often than not, the truth is some where in between.

Note: From what I have noticed, the pro-Hizbollah news source Al Manar has been quite accurate in their reporting. I have read about certain important tactical events in their website about a day or two before I saw them in Israeli and western media.

[HayotzAmrotz]

Re: War in The Middle East

Russia has announced its latest, updated list of the terrorist organizations worldwide and Hizballah and Hamas are not in it. This shows once again that Russia is a very wise player in the world politics and of course she is a force to be reckoned with!

Russia might be actually asked by the west to be the go between in the Hizballah-Israel negotiations, which no matter how badly Israel wants to avoid will eventually happen and that will cement Hizballah’s already won moral and to a degree even a military victory over Israel.

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Russia has announced its latest, updated list of the terrorist organizations worldwide and Hizballah and Hamas are not in it. This shows once again that Russia is a very wise player in the world politics and of course she is a force to be reckoned with! Russia might be actually asked by the west to be the go between in the Hizballah-Israel negotiations, which no matter how badly Israel wants to avoid will eventually happen and that will cement Hizballah’s already won moral and to a degree even a military victory over Israel.

Russian interests within the region are my hope as well. I know for sure that Russia does not want to see Syria harmed. However, how far it will go to ensure Syria's safety is another story. It is quite obvious now that Israel and America have been planning the occupation of Lebanon ever since Syria was forced out.

I believe that American and Israel want to use Lebanon and Iraq as platforms to launch attacks on Syria. If Damascus falls victim to American Zionist aggression, the entire face of the Middle East will change drastically. The only obstacle to Zionist and American agendas are Syria and Iran, now that Iraq is out of the way. In essence, the entire region will be at the mercy of Tel Aviv and Washington DC. If and when Syria falls, the destruction of Iran will be the next long term plan. With Syria and Iran out of the equation, the west (namely USA) and Israel will be able to control politics and economy of the region from north Africa to central Asia. I know Russia and China fear this prospect. It will be interesting to see how Russia will react, if an when Syria is endangered.

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Russia Assists Syria in Upgrading its Scud Missiles

Allister Maunk

The New York Times reported last week that Syria launched one Scud B missile with a range of 300 kilometers, and two Scud D missiles with a range of 700 kilometers as part of its missile development project, using North Korean technology and designed to deliver air-burst chemical weapons. It was the first test firing since 2001 and one of the missiles, presumably a Scud D, broke up over Turkish territory. Israeli military officials called the tests "a gesture of defiance to the U.S. and UN by Syrian President Assad"; but there is more to this event then it seems.

Security sources in the West note that Russia was involved in this testing as part of its efforts to promote its own Middle-Eastern policy. The sources claim that one of the bases where Scud launchers (Transporter-Elevator-Launcher vehicles) are placed is situated in the city of Tartus (Tartous) - 90 km from Homs, 250 km from Damascus. In 1996 the base had several tens of mid range SSC-1c (Scud B) missiles with a range of 300 kilometers. Later after the year 2000, additional SSC-1e (Scud D) of North-Korean origin were based there. By 2000, unsubstantiated reports suggested that North Korea delivered 50 Scud-D (No-Dong) missiles to Syria.

Although it is possible that at least some of these missiles were procured by Syria on behalf of other countries in the region to the Aleppo missile production facility, also constructed with the help of the North-Korean specialists. The Israeli sources claimed that at the end of September 2000 and in the middle of 2001 these missiles were being test fired from the Aleppo area hitting a target 600 km away . The US CIA estimated that in 2002 Syria started to produce Scuds mainly using domestically produced parts. The CIA also estimated that Syria would likely continue its efforts to pursue even longer-range missile capabilities due to its regional concerns. One of the projects, sources claim, was to upgrade old Scuds B and C to the Scud D level, jointly with the Iranians.

And that is where Russia comes into the picture. Russia’s only foreign naval outpost in the world is situated not on the territory of the ex-Soviet Union, but is a military-technical support base in the Syrian port of… Tartus. Once a year Russian ships come to visit this base and the small city where technicians and their families live. It is also considered one of the biggest Russian military intelligence outposts, but this is irrelevant for this issue. Russia has paid almost half a billion dollars since the collapse of the USSR to continue renting this base on Syrian soil. At the same time, Moscow always tried to avoid or "forgot" to pay for its other bases abroad. And it must be noted that Syria had a gigantic debt of $13 billon accumulated throughout the Soviet era . During Bashar Assad's last visit to Russia in January, 2005 two thirds of this debt was written off as a sign of the good will of the Russian government, which continues to pay Tartus' base rent…

Foreign security sources note that this was not the only a gesture of good will. They claim that in November, 2004, two Russian military ships of the Black See fleet, acting in the framework of a joint exercise with NATO on the "prevention of WMD distribution" came for a "routine checkout" to the Tartus base, carrying on board details and parts needed for the Syrian Scud upgrading program. From there some of the parts were transported to the Aleppo production site and some, with the help of the Russian technicians, were mounted on the Scuds at the Syrian Tartus missile base. On March 9, 2005 yet another Russian Black See fleet big landing vessel "Azov" carrying onboard machinery for "rebuilding of the moorage" at the Tartus technical base and "new equipment to replace obsolete items at the base's storage" left for Syria. When it arrived at the port, several meetings between local authorities and officers of the Russian navy took place.

Less than two months later Syria conducted the abovementioned missile firing tests. Western security sources are checking information from Syrian and other regional sources, according to which additional equipment for the Damascus missile program arrived on this ship, as well as a group of Russian specialists to oversee the test launching of the Scuds at the end of May. If this information turns out to be true, the western secret services would also have a motive to examine rumors, previously thought of as groundless, about the transfer of Saddam's unconventional Russian-made weapons from Iraq back to Russia or Belarus through the Syrian port of Tartus at the beginning of 2004 on board Russian ships.

Link: http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=152

[Armenian]

Re: War in The Middle East

Shahab-3 Ballistic Missile: http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/wo...n/shahab-3.htm


Russia and the Development of the Iranian Missile Program

Military-technological cooperation between Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran constitutes a qualitative leap from the previous occasional military liaisons between the USSR and Iran during the era of the Shah, which started at the end of 1967.

Shortly after the Islamic revolution in Iran (February 1979), the USSR tried to arrange military cooperation between the countries. However Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini undermined these attempts in every possible way, as they opposed his concept of an Islamic regime in the country, which affirmed the necessity of struggling against "the Big Satan" (the USA) and "the Small Satan" (the USSR).

In the 1980s and 1990s, the imposition of an embargo on deliveries of arms for the Iranian army by Europe and America compelled Teheran to intensively pursue military purchases from the Soviet Union, and later from Russia.
In 1988 – 1992, Iran procured $2.2 billion worth of Russian weapons and combat equipment. Iran is the only state in the Middle East today whose cooperation in the military sphere allows Russia both to satisfy its economic interests and to strengthen its influence in the region. As for Iran's interests - military cooperation with Russia gives it access to modern arms, outflanking the Western embargo.

Russian Secrets from Pyongyang

Interaction in the spheres of the design, creation and delivery of equipment related to rocket technology is one of the priorities of the military-technological cooperation between Russia and Iran. The military doctrine of the Islamic republic is based on usage of precision missiles such as the "Shahab" and "Fateh" as vehicles for the delivery of chemical, biological and - prospectively - nuclear strikes.

Experts from North Korea, Libya and Russia have cooperated from time to time with Iranian missile scientists on the creation of warhead parts. Creation of the Iranian ballistic missiles began after the start of batch production of artillery rockets such as the "Ogab" and "Mushak" (having a small radius - from 50 to 160 km respectively). With assistance of North Korean experts, in 1988 Iranians started to modernize "Scud" missiles according to the engineering specifications provided to Pyongyang by Russia. However, in 1993 Teheran stopped manufacturing "Scuds" and started creation of its own "Shahab," the main components of which are based on the Russian analogues.

In Spite of Washington

In parallel with establishing its own ability to manufacture missiles, Iran attempted to import missile equipment from Russia. The first contract for delivery of such Russian equipment to Tehran was signed in November 1989 (a half year after Khomeini`s death). Iran received two anti-aircraft S-200VE "Vega" missile systems. The following military agreements signed in the nineties, which included various kinds of missile technologies and equipment, were not fulfilled because of Tehran`s financial difficulties. The next roadblock to the promotion of the Iran-Russia military cooperation was the signing of the Russian-American Memorandum of Gore – Chernomirdin in June 1995. Moscow committed to cease all military deliveries to Teheran by the end of 1999 and also to curtail any cooperation with Islamic Republic in this sphere. However, it took Russia less than a year to go back on its word and to abandon the Memorandum unilaterally. "Common Russian and Iranian geopolitical interests" – such was the thesis explaining the Kremlin's reasoning for the decision. Contracts and agreements on military deliveries, including missile technologies, totaling more than $4 billion, were signed during Russian Minister of Defense Igor Sergeev`s visit to Iran in December 2000.

Missiles for Ayatollas

Russia is considered to be the main partner in the modernization program of the Iranian armed forces. Consequently, the Islamic republic is the world's third largest client of the Russian arms industry, after China and India. Recently, Iran purchased Russian-made anti-aircraft missile complexes of a large radius, S-300PMY and S-300PMY-2 (SA-10 Grumble), and anti-aircraft complexes of a small radius, Tor - ̀1 (SA-15 Gauntlet). Iran has declared readiness to purchase both anti-aircraft complexes Buk- ̀1 (SA-11 Gadfly) and tactical short-range ballistic missiles Iskander-E. Representatives of the Islamic Republic have shown interest also in the surface-to-air gun/missile systems Tunguska-M and Pantsyr (modifications of SA-19 Grison) produced by the Russian military-industrial complex.

The "Shahab" Project

According to the Tehran newspaper "Aftabe Yazd," in May, 2002 Iran began batch production of the "Shahab -3" missile. This missile is capable of reaching any target in Israel and in most countries of the Middle East, having a range of 1500 km and carrying a warhead of up to one ton. Since its completion, Iranians have been modernizing it to increase its range. The " Shahab -3" was publicly shown for the first time during the military parade in honor of the Day of the Iranian Army on April 18, 2003. The fourth generation of "Shahab" entered the final testing stage in 2000, having a range of 2000-2200 km. This missile already constitutes a threat to European targets.

In 2001, the Western military periodical press noted that Iranian missile developers had received an order for the fifth - intercontinental – "Shahab" model, with a range of up to 10 thousand km., capable of hitting the American East Coast.

The sudden unexplained death in July 2003 of the leading Iranian engineer behind the "Shahab" missiles, A. M. Mehmand, hampered the development of the project. The same year Tehran officially announced its suspension of this missile program to demonstrate its "defensive character". However, in April, 2005 the chief of Israeli military intelligence, Aharon Zeevi Farkash, claimed that Iran continues development of the fourth and fifth generations of the "Shahab" ("Ediot Ahronot", 29.04.05).

The CIA has repeatedly produced reports on the full-scale Russian assistance in all stages of the Iranian missile program. Under US pressure, Russia has promised more than once to minimize its involvement. Nevertheless, western and Israeli sources claim that such statements are just empty promises.

Targeting Washington?

The Iranian missile program is considered, first and foremost, to be threatening Israel. This opinion is based on Tehran's proclaimed strategic goal - destruction of the xxxish state. It was literally confirmed most recently by one of the closet colleagues of the religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenai - his personal representative at the "Shahids Fund" – Mohammad Hassan Rahimiyan. He declared that Iranian Shahids are ready to continue the struggle for destruction of Israel and America (Iranian news agency " Fars ", April 20, 2005).

At the same time, the head of Israeli military intelligence is convinced that the USA is the main target of the Iranian missiles., This is obvious, in his opinion, because to attack Israel Iran does not need to develop missiles with a range of 10 thousand km. since the distance between the two countries is hardly more than 1000 km.

Thus, participation of Moscow in the Iranian missile program poses the greatest threat not to Israel, but to Russia's traditional geopolitical opponent - the United States of America.

The Russian Shield of Tehran

Iran recently purchased modern anti-aircraft defense complexes in Russia, which are intended for protection of the major Iranian nuclear objects from the American or Israeli attack. Islamic Republic has received several upgraded S-300 complexes and that became a reason for serious American diplomatic demarches. To soften the disagreements, Moscow refused to sell a large batch of portable anti-aircraft missiles "Igla - 1̀" (SA-18 Grouse) to Tehran. Iran had to buy Chinese "Tzianvay" - made by the Russian license on the basis of the "Igla".

Iranian Future Purchase List

Tehran mulls the procurement in 2005-2006 of several Russian military products:

- anti-ship missiles "Mosquito" of ground and air basing,
- anti-ship missile complexes "Yahont-E" (according to the Russian laws the export variant of both missiles it is not capable to carry nuclear warheads),
- Cruise missiles "Club",
- anti-radar missiles with extended range,
- Guided missiles to increase the efficiency of the Russian-made Sy-24 ̀Ê bombers constituting the basis of the Iranian Air Forces,
- Modern air-to-air missiles for Russian-made MiG-29 delivered to the Iranian Army.

Link: http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=150

[friend]

Re: War in The Middle East

look there is only one person you can blame and that's george bush. He is doing all of this but he's making sure he doesent leave and trace mark's.