Caroline Glick ,
The Olmert-Livni-Barak-Yishai government's liquidation sale of Israel's strategic assets opened officially this week. Iran's proxies have pounced on the merchandise.
The first asset sold was the security of southern Israel. The Olmert-Livni-Barak-Yishai government's "cease-fire" with Hamas transferred all power to determine the fate of the residents of southern Israel to Iran's Palestinian proxy.
Under the "agreement," Hamas will refrain from attacking Sderot, Ashkelon, Netivot and surrounding kibbutzim for as long as it serves its interests. Since temporarily halting its attacks on southern Israel is the only thing that Hamas has agreed to do, it will use the lull in fighting to build up its arsenal and its military infrastructures in Gaza. When it has built up its forces sufficiently, or when its Iranian overlords give it the order, Hamas will again attack southern Israel. And when it reengages, it can be assumed that it will do so with a vastly expanded missile range. So under the guise of the "cease-fire," Hamas will place hundreds of thousands more Israelis at its mercy.
The Olmert-Livni-Barak-Yishai government's agreement with Hamas does more than sell out the security of the South. The agreement also divests Israel of its former ability to ...   more »

Gil Hoffman
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed confidence Thursday that a miracle will save his premiership.
Asked in an interview published in the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel how confident he was that he would survive politically until the end of his term, Olmert said, "Look, miracles in the Middle East are a reality."
He added: "Ben-Gurion once said, 'Only those who believe in miracles are realists in the Middle East.' So anything can happen. My predecessors were all investigated, all were accused, all were prosecuted - in an atmosphere that was sometimes intolerable. And they are all still alive and kicking - except for Ariel Sharon, whom I wish the best for a complete recovery."
Olmert recalled that when he took over for Sharon following his stroke in January 2006, there were very few Israelis who believed he would still be prime minister at the end of June 2008. "But here I am," Olmert said. "I am sitting here and I have no intention of pulling out."
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Olmert said he was "going nowhere" and he did not rule out running again for the leadership of Kadima. To demonstrate his faith in his ...   more »

Yaakov Katz
With three planes still grounded, the Israel Air Force will hold a joint experiment next month in the United States in an effort to discover what is causing high levels of carcinogenic material found in the advanced F-16I fighter jet, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The test on the plane will be held in conjunction with the US Air Force, the plane's manufacturer Lockheed Martin and the manufacturer of the engine Pratt & Whitney. The four have already set up a joint team that has met regularly since the crisis erupted. Earlier this month, a team of IAF officers were in the US for meetings with Pratt & Whitney, whose F100-PW-229 is installed in the aircraft.
In March, then-OC IAF Maj.-Gen. Elazar Shkedy decided to ground all F-16I training flights after a high level of formaldehyde was found in the cockpit of one of the aircraft. Shkedy suspended training flights after a number of pilots complained of a bad smell coming from the cockpit of one of the planes.
The IDF Medical Branch discovered that the smell was caused by a type of formaldehyde known to be carcinogenic in high concentration.
Last month, Shkedy decided to approve the ...   more »

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief warns of dangers of military strike on Iran
Attack may lead Iran to a more-aggressive nuclear stance, he says
Iran official reportedly criticized the Israeli exercises
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief warned in comments aired Saturday that any military strike on Iran could turn the Mideast to a "ball of fire" and lead Iran to a more aggressive stance on its controversial nuclear program.
Mohamed ElBaradei made the remarks in an interview aired on Saturday by Al Arabiya TV. The interview comes a day after reports emerged that Israel conducted an large-scale military exercise that the United States believes is in part a message to Iran that Israel has the capability to attack its nuclear program.
"In my opinion, a military strike will be the worst. ... It will turn the Middle East to a ball of fire," ElBaradei said on Al-Arabiya television. It also could prompt Iran to press even harder to seek a nuclear program and force him to resign, he said.
Iran also criticized the Israeli exercises Saturday. The official IRNA news agency quoted a government spokesman as saying the exercises demonstrate that Israel "jeopardizes global peace ...   more »

Following IAF drill said to be preparation for attack on Iran if it continues its nuclear program, Iranian government spokesman says 'Israel impediment to peace, calm in world'
ReutersIran called Israel a "dangerous regime" on Saturday after a US paper reported that the Air Force (IAF) had carried out a large military exercise, apparently a rehearsal for a potential bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. 
Threatening to Quit   
IAEA Chief ElBaradei: Military strike on Iran's nuke sites would turn region into a 'fireball'; US: We told Israel we want diplomatic solution    
The comments by Iran's government spokesman came a day after the UN nuclear watchdog chief said a military strike on Iran would turn the Middle East into a fireball and prompt Tehran to launch a crash course to build nuclear weapons.  
When asked about the reported exercises, Iranian government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said: "It demonstrates the Islamic Republic of Iran's view that this (Israel ) is a dangerous regime and an impediment to peace and calm in the region and world."  
Elham added that the exercises prove Israel's leadership ''jeopardizes global peace and security.'' He also said in the Saturday comments that Iran believes Israel has ...   more »

Pressure is building on Iran. This week Europe agreed to new sanctions and President Bush again suggested something more serious – possible military strikes – if the Islamic Republic doesn't bend to the will of the international community on its nuclear program.
But increasingly military analysts are warning of severe consequences if the US begins a shooting war with Iran. While Iranian forces are no match for American technology on a conventional battlefield, Iran has shown that it can bite back in unconventional ways.
Iranian networks in Iraq and Afghanistan could imperil US interests there; American forces throughout the Gulf region could be targeted by asymmetric methods and lethal rocket barrages; and Iranian partners across the region – such as Hezbollah in Lebanon – could be mobilized to engage in an anti-US fight.
Iran's response could also be global, analysts say, but the scale would depend on the scale of the US attack. "One very important issue from a US intelligence perspective, [the Iranian reaction] is probably more unpredictable than the Al Qaeda threat," says Magnus Ranstorp at the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defense College in Stockholm.
"I doubt very much our ability to manage ...   more »

(CBS) America has been struggling with its image in the Middle East for decades but, after Iraq, Arab opinion plummeted. The Bush administration felt it had to act fast to explain America to the Arab world. So it began spending about $100 million a year on a U.S. government news channel in Arabic. It's called "Al Hurra," meaning "The Free One."
As correspondent Scott Pelley reports, Al Hurra's symbol is a herd of unbridled horses, and for American taxpayers it's been a wild ride.
60 Minutes has been looking into Al Hurra in a project with ProPublica, a new, non-profit news organization dedicated to investigative journalism. With so much at stake at Al Hurra, we were surprised to find what it's putting on the air. Some of it has supported terrorism and denied the Holocaust; insiders say Al Hurra has been undermined by loose financial and editorial controls, while its executives try to manage 24-hour news in a language most of them don't understand.
In 2004, as the president prepared to make his State of the Union Address, any Arabs who were watching were probably tuned in to popular Arabic news channels like Al Jazeera, which tend to devote airtime ...   more »