In this issue:

Timeline Reveals Sharon Maneuvers To Kill The Road Map

After Terror Attack, France Rips into Anglo-American Occupation of Iraq

Israeli Law on Inter-Marriage Reminiscent of Nazis

Will Sharon Be Indicted for Bribes by Financier Appel?

Mahathir in Syria Discusses Ending U.S. and Israeli Occupations

Von Sponeck Speaks on Iraq Resistance

Iranian President Calls for 'Coalition for Peace'

Congressmen Pushing for Syria Sanctions

From Volume 2, Issue Number 34 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published Aug. 26, 2003
Mideast News Digest

Timeline Reveals Sharon Maneuvers To Kill The Road Map

As of Aug. 21, a review of crucial events over the past three weeks reveals a systematic campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to kill the Road Map, just as he earlier killed Oslo, the Mitchell Plan, the Tenet Plan, and every other Israel-Palestine peace initiative. The modus operandi employed by Sharon: Violate the Road Map with a series of targetted assassinations of Palestinian activists, to incite a terror retaliation, then use those attacks to justify freezing Road Map implementation and launching a new round of even more brutal invasions and assassinations, while denouncing the Palestinian Authority for failing to crack down on the terrorists. The following summary time line tells the tale:

*July 29: Sharon met briefly with President Bush at the White House, and presented a dossier on the threat to Israel posed by Iranian and Syrian WMD programs.

The Sharon-Bush meeting lasted only 30 minutes, and reportedly, after a heated exchange between Sharon and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on the night of July 28 over the Israeli wall, Sharon decided not even to give Bush a petition signed by 112 Knesset members, demanding the freeing of Israeli spy Jonathan Jay Pollard. Of course, as Sharon was carrying around the Pollard petition, Pollard's spymaster, Dirty Rafi Eytan, was covertly travelling around the U.S.A. and Mexico, on false passports, most likely organizing a new 9/11 terrorist attack.

*July 30: Sharon met with Vice President Dick Cheney. Although details of the meeting are scant, there was clearly a much closer "meeting of the minds" in this session than there had been the previous day with President Bush—even though Bush "wimped out" during his press conference with Sharon after their meeting.

*August 2: In a clear indication of Israel's intent to provoke a confrontation with Syria and Lebanon, a powerful car bomb killed Hezbollah leader Ali Hussein Saleh in Beirut. Hezbollah is a legitimate political self-defense organization, operating in southern Lebanon, which has not been involved in attacks on Israel—except in response to Israeli provocations. Following the Beirut assassination, Hezbollah units shelled northern Israel, and, in return, Israel staged a series of bombing raids into Lebanese territory, targetting Hezbollah (see below).

*August 4: The Washington Post ran the front-page story claiming that Secretary of State Colin Powell and his Deputy, Richard Armitage, were going to leave the Bush Administration immediately after the January 2005 inauguration, assuming Bush is reelected to a second term. This leak was widely read as indicating that Powell was delivering an ultimatum to the President: Either dump Cheney and the Chickenhawks or he leaves, virtually assuring Bush's reelection defeat. Bush subsequently gave Powell the green light to cut back U.S. loan guarantees to Israel if it continue to build settlements and the wall, in defiance of the Road Map.

*Also that day, a scheduled meeting between Sharon and Abu Mazen was cancelled.

*August 9: Israeli Defense Forces assassinate Hamas leaders Abu Salam and Faizal Sadar at the Askar refugee camp.

*August 9: Lebanese report Israeli air-raids into southern Lebanon.

*August 10: Hezbollah retaliates by shelling into northern Israel, killing a young Israeli boy.

*August 10: At a Cabinet meeting, the Sharon government decides to freeze implementation of the Road Map. But, the justification they will use for this action will not occur until Aug. 12, when two suicide bombings occur in the West Bank and in an Israeli town; however, the New York Post reported Aug. 11 on the Cabinet decision. When the bombings occur and the Israelis announce the freeze on the Road Map implementation, in response to the two bombing incidents, the Israelis are caught in an embarrassing situation.

*August 15: Hamas activist Mohammed Sidr is assassinated by the IDF.

*August 18: Palestinian-born Reuters camera man Mazen Dana is killed in Baghdad by U.S. military tank fire.

*August 19: Huge suicide bombings occur in Baghdad and Jerusalem. Up until this point, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade have all maintained that they are adhering to the ceasefire agreement, which specifies that they can retaliate for specific Israeli attacks.

*August 21: Hamas moderate leader Abu Shanab is assassinated by the IDF. He is known as one of the more important moderate Hamas leaders, who worked closely with the Egyptian government to secure the ceasefire agreement on the part of Hamas. Following Abu Shanab's assassination, the three Palestinian groups announce that the ceasefire is over.

The ceasefire was holding, and Sharon was coming under mounting pressure at home, over the resurfacing of the election financial fraud charges. At that point, Sharon ordered the assassinations of a Hezbollah leader, and two leading Palestinian militants, thus breaking the ceasefire, which had also included a ban on Israeli targetted assassinations.

After Terror Attack, France Rips into Anglo-American Occupation of Iraq

Two days after a terrorist bombing destroyed the UN headquarters in occupied Iraq, France ripped into the Anglo-American occupiers in remarks at an open meeting of the UN Security Council, Aug. 21. Council members heard briefings by the U.S. and U.K. Ambassadors, after which representatives from 13 countries responded.

France's Deputy UN Ambassador Michel Duclos led off. This is not a time for "simplistic and Manichean explanations," he cautioned. And we must remember our objective remains that of ensuring "a speedy political transition, leading to an end to the occupation" of Iraq, a country and people with "a lofty and age-old civilization."

It is the responsibility of the occupying powers, under international law, to provide security, he said, asking a series of questions of the U.S. and U.K. governments, as to their security plans for the country.

But, terrorism and violence require more than security and a military response. "In order to emerge from the trap laid by the terrorists, which is a strategy of chaos and of a vacuum ... we must give back to the Iraqis their responsibility and their sovereignty within the framework of an accelerated timetable and a clearly defined sequence of events.... It is France's conviction that this political transition will have greater chances of success if it is guided by the Iraqis themselves, with the assistance not of occupation forces, but of the international community as a whole, incarnated by the United Nations."

Amb. Duclos made clear that there will be no French troops without the UN being put in charge. He demanded transparency by the Coalition Authority on "political, economic and financial" matters, in particular, and specified that the Provisional Coalition Authority needs to provide a full accounting of Iraq's financial and oil resources. The "International Advisory Council to Monitor Development Funds for Iraq," mandated under UN Resolution 1430, has yet to be created, he pointed out.

Israeli Law on Inter-Marriage Reminiscent of Nazis

A law introduced into the Israeli Knesset, or Parliament, by Israeli Interior Minister Avraham Poraz, a leader of the "liberal" Shinui Party, the second largest party in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition, passed two weeks ago. The law would force Arab Israelis to obtain written permission from the Interior Ministry before they could marry non-Arab Israelis; or, if already married to a non-Arab Israeli, to obtain permission to reside with their spouse in Israel. The law will be applied retroactively to couples who may have been married and resident in Israel for upwards of a generation. The couples would either have to split up and the non-Arab Israeli leave the country alone or with his family; the question of the children's citizenship, should a couple decide to split up, is unclear from the coverage.

Ostensibly, the purpose of the law is security. And, the chiefs of Israel's Shin Beth welcomed it. Cited is the case of the son of a mixed couple who carried out a suicide bombing of a Haifa resident. However, the real reason for this law seems to be that Arabs living in Israel now comprise 20% of the Israeli population and with their large families, they might soon become a majority in the nation, writes Abraham Tal in Ha'aretz. "This reasoning is extremely pertinent to those who do not want to live in a binational state in which a Palestinian majority can be anticipated in the not too-distant future," Tal reasoned. Jafar Farah, director of the Israeli Arab civil rights group Mosawa, denounced the new law as "racism."

Will Sharon Be Indicted for Bribes by Financier Appel?

According to Israeli press reports, prosecutors are preparing an indictment of David Appel, a well-known businessman and financial backer of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, for bribing him and Industry Minister Ehud Olmert, the former Jerusalem Mayor, who was a channel for Sharon to mega-funds in the U.S. from Christian fundamentalists.

The indictment of Appel involves the "Greek Island Affair," which took place while Sharon was Foreign Minister. Appel is accused of bribing Sharon through signing a contract with Sharon's son, Gilad, to whom Appel transferred thousands of dollars as "consultancy fees." This could be a prelude to indicting Sharon. Under Israeli law, an indictment of someone accused of bribing an official, does not necessarily lead to indicting the official in question.

Israeli commentator Amir Oren wrote in Ha'aretz on Aug. 11: "It is intolerable in the public sense, if not in the legal sense, for a prime minister to serve in office while a citizen is being prosecuted for bribing him... Legally, Sharon has the right to claim innocence until proven guilty. Politically, his ability to function as Prime Minister is over.... The Likud already regards him as a millstone around its neck and is afraid that if the legal procedures continue to the next elections, it will bring down the ruling party. In the eyes of low and mid-ranking party activists, as distinct from a minister eyeing his chair, Sharon has to go right now."

Mahathir in Syria Discusses Ending U.S. and Israeli Occupations

On Aug. 19, Malaysia's New Straits Times reported that Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohammad, wrapping up a visit to Syria, where he met with President Bashir Assad and Prime Minister Mustapha Mero, told a press conference that Malaysia would not send peacekeepers to Iraq or take part in any official activity there without the sanction of the UN. He stated that the U.S. road to peace in Iraq should allow Iraqis to set up a government of their own choosing.

About the Middle East, he added that "We are very unhappy about the situation in this part of the world," adding that peace could only be achieved if Israel withdrew completely from occupied areas and allowed Palestinian refugees to return home (by which he means the Palestinians' claimed "right of return" to Israel). He said the Road Map was incomplete, because it concerned Palestine in isolation; to work, it must involve Syria and Lebanon.

Syrian Prime Minister Mero responded to a question on Malaysia's role in uniting the Muslim world, pointing out that in October, Malaysia will assume the chairmanship of the Organization of Islamic Conference for a three-year term, which will assist the OIC in standing for the common interest of the whole Islamic world.

In a press conference on Aug. 17, Dr. Mahathir discussed assisting Syria in developing its economy and society. In the course of his three-day visit, 12 Memoranda of Understanding were signed.

Von Sponeck Speaks on Iraq Resistance

In an interview with the national German radio station DLR Aug. 20, former UN envoy to Iraq Hans von Sponeck called the "temptation to blame foreigners, fanatic Arabs from neighboring countries" and "Saddam loyalists" for terror attacks in Iraq, a "product of fantasy."

For full coverage, see the EUROPE NEWS DIGEST.

Iranian President Calls for 'Coalition for Peace'

Speaking at a conference of Iranian diplomats stationed abroad, President Khatami said that Iranian diplomacy focuses on detente, confidence-building, dialogue, and making efforts to turn threats to opportunity, reported the Iranian press service, IRNA, on Aug. 17. He said that Iran calls for the "coalition for peace," as the way to deal with the destruction caused by terrorism, on the one hand, and the war-mongering approach of certain countries, on the other. He pledged to safeguard the achievements of the Iranian Revolution, and "encourage a positive approach to foreign policy."

Khatami charged that the theory of a "dialogue of civilizations" had given way to the "clash of civilizations" in the wake of 9/11, adding that the current U.S. Administration called for a "coalition of war," through which it imposed the clash of civilizations on the international community, thus ruining the hope of mankind for initiating a relatively peaceful century. He said that terrorism and weapons of mass destruction are the major threats to human beings, but the United States, the most powerful military, economic, and technological power, instead of taking constructive measures to deal with such threats, has done the reverse: "The U.S. action benefitted two groups, the terrorists who only think about killing others, and the war-mongers who only think about forging tyrant dominance," he said.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi called on the U.S. to shut down the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq fighters in Iraq, where they are under American control. While Kharrazi welcomed the U.S. action on Aug. 15 that shut down the MEK's Washington offices, and seized the bank accounts of organizations linked to the MEK, he emphasized that the MEK real danger is in Iraq. See this week's INDEPTH for the story of how the terrorist MEK has been protected by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Congressmen Pushing for Syria Sanctions

With Congressmen like these, who needs Ariel Sharon? Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) was recently in Israel, where he said he received strong support from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for legislation he is sponsoring, calling for sanctions against Syria if it does not end its support for the Hezbollah and Hamas. The legislation is being co-sponsored by rightwinger Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla), who wants the U.S. to overthrow Fidel Castro, and who is the strongest supporter in the Congress of the Iranian terrorist group the Mujahedin-e-Khalq.

The anti-Syria bill would allow President Bush to waive penalties, but it is a propaganda device by the neo-conservative warmongers to set the stage for U.S. strikes against Syria.

All rights reserved © 2003 EIRNS