By israelinsider staff and partners  August 19, 2006  
Iran on Saturday launched a series of large-scale military exercises aimed at introducing the country's new defensive doctrine, state-run television reported.
The television report said the military exercise would occur in 14 of the country's 30 provinces and could last as long as five weeks.
The first stage of the maneuvers began with air strikes in the southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchistan, the report said.
The military exercises come as Iran faces heightened international scrutiny because of its contentious nuclear program and for supporting the guerrilla group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iranian President Ahmadinejad singled out Tuesday, August 22 -- originally the date when Iran was expected to respond to UN demands for accountability regarding its nuclear plans -- as the date when Iran would respond, hinting that the response would not necessarily be diplomatic.
Bernard Lewish speculated about the significance of the date in the Wall Street Journal: "What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight ...   more »

Only around forty Jews remain in the Lebanese capital. The once thriving community had sixteen synagogues; today, there is only one, with a broken roof
Sefi Hendler  
Paris: After speaking for over an hour, Moshe wanted to stop the conversation. “Let’s talk slowly. It hurts me,” he sighed. Moshe soon recovered. “It’s okay. You can continue asking, but it brings up harsh memories. I have to organize my thoughts.”  These thoughts have been bouncing around his head for several long weeks now. Raised in Lebanon, he remembers Beirut from its glory days.  
Even during the terrible times, however, Moshe, a Jew, stubbornly remained in the accursed land.  
Fearful for his life, he requested that his real name and several personal details be changed. Moshe is almost seventy years old, and three years ago, he finally left Beirut after spending most of his life as a businessman and well-known figure within the embattled Jewish community.  
Familiar with the Lebanese power struggles, Moshe counted all the major players among his friends, or at least his acquaintances, including Jumblatt, the late Hariri, the Shiites, the Christians, and, of course, the Syrians.  
Today, from the safety of his new ...   more »

Iran holds large exercise with participation of all arms of military. During training General Salkhi says his country's armed forces need to be prepared for operation undertaken by 'insane' enemy Israel
Dudi Cohen
Comander-in-chief of Iran's army, Ataollah Salehi, said Saturday that the armed forces of his country are prepared for any operation Israel may launch against Iran. He spoke in a press conference during the largest, most extensive exercise the Iranian army has ever held
According to him, "What we know about this enemy up until now is that it is insane. Therefore we must always be prepared in the face of this insane enemy."  
General Salehi added that Israel was taken by surprise by Hizbullah's response: "The enemy went mad, made erroneous calculations and attacked Lebanon. Of course, it received a decisive blow from Hizbullah when it was surprised by Hizbullah's capabilities. There are two options: either this revolting enemy learned a lesson, or it didn't."  
The Iranian general detailed the objectives of the exercise, which is not limited time wise: "This exercise is part of an extensive exercise being held throughout Iran with the objective of evaluating the professional capability of the army in all ...   more »

By Salah Nasrawi
ASSOCIATED PRESS
12:50 p.m. August 19, 2006
CAIRO, Egypt – Worried the Lebanon war has given a boost to Iran and militants in the region, three U.S. allies in the Mideast are spearheading an Arab effort to present a plan for reviving the stalled peace process and talks with Israel.
Details remain sketchy, and already Israel has expressed skepticism, saying it doubts any plan the trio put forward will take its security needs into account. But the effort by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan is a clear sign of their worries about tensions and Iran's influence.
So far, the United States has not talked about a wider peace effort in the wake of the Lebanon fighting, instead focusing on ensuring the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah is reined in.
Leaders of the three moderate Arab governments, however, want to seize the opportunity in the war's ashes to restart negotiations with Israel for peace on the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese fronts.
They fear letting the situation stagnate could increase the appeal of radical Islamic groups and allow Iran and Syria to keep using Hezbollah in proxy wars, breeding more resentments and more militancy.
Hesham Youseef, top aide to Arab ...   more »

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
TEL AVIV – Hezbollah's "victory" over the Jewish state will likely bring down Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government and lead to a second round of confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said in a WorldNetDaily interview yesterday.
"I see investigations inside Israel about the Israeli military's terrible performance. I see Olmert failing and [former Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu coming to power. There will be a second round of confrontations with Hezbollah and with other regional elements," said Jumblatt, who is head of Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party and is largely considered the most prominent anti-Syrian Lebanese politician.
Jumblatt said in his opinion there is "no question" Hezbollah won the month-long military conflict with Israel that started July 12 after the Lebanese militia ambushed an Israeli patrol unit, kidnapping two soldiers and killing eight others.
"Of course Hezbollah won," said Jumblatt. "We saw after 33 days in spite of the infliction of massive destruction on Lebanon, the Israelis were not able to advance a single inch in the south. Hezbollah still has its capabilities. They have their advanced weaponry and rockets." Attempting to fulfill obligations of a cease-fire agreement imposed Monday, a ...   more »

By Doug Struck and Tal Zipper
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, August 19, 2006; A10
JERUSALEM, Aug. 18 -- Sgt. Lior Rahamin's Israeli reserve unit had not trained in two years. When its members were called up for the Lebanon war, they didn't have straps for their guns, spare ammunition, flak jackets or more than one good radio. There were other shortages: Twice their operations were canceled because they had no water to take; once they went two days without food.
"Hezbollah didn't surprise us. We were surprised by the Israel Defense Forces," said Rahamin, 30, a paratrooper who was wounded fighting in Lebanon in 1997 and who volunteered to go with his unit again. The next time they call, he said, "we will not show up."
From the failure to get food and water to the troops, to complaints of an uncertain war plan and overconfident generals, the Lebanon war is fast being viewed within Israel as a major stumble. Military and political leaders already are trading blame; some are expected to lose their posts. Officers say the mistakes show weakness in the military, the Israel Defense Forces, known as the IDF. Many Israelis worry that the failure of ...   more »

Thousands of Israeli tourists flood attraction sites, hotels in north as quiet returns to area after over a month of fighting
Sharon Roffe-Ofir
After five weeks of absence, thousands of Israeli tourists returned to northern Israel on Saturday.
Some tourists asked to be photographed near Israel Defense Forces soldiers and tanks positioned along the border.  
Among the visitors were family members of soldiers serving in Lebanon.
 On average, a rise of 30 percent in business was registered in attraction sites and hotels across the north but some water attraction resorts on the Sea of Galilee and in the Golan Heights registered a 90 percent improvement.
Zamir Gasser, the owner of the Gai Sea Resort said: "The minute the mess ended reservation didn't stop coming in. People are not scared and by next week we will be fully reserved. People want to assist us and they know the north is a magical place. I call on all Israeli to come and enjoy themselves with us here in the north
A large part of visitors were residents of the north who had spent five weeks in shelters to escape rocket attacks from Lebanon.  
The Hamat Gader recreation park said 500 ...   more »