US Welcomes Israel Weapons of Mass Destruction

Sunday June 16, 2002 21:45

by By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer

Israel has acquired three diesel submarines that it is arming with newly designed cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, according to former Pentagon and State Department officials, potentially giving Israel a triad of land-, sea- and air-based nuclear weapons for the first time

Israel has acquired three diesel submarines that it is arming with newly designed cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, according to former Pentagon and State Department officials, potentially giving Israel a triad of land-, sea- and air-based nuclear weapons for the first time.

The U.S. Navy monitored Israeli testing of a new cruise missile from a submarine two years ago off Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, according to former Pentagon officials.

One former senior American official said U.S. analysts have studied the nuclear capability of the cruise missile. But, according to a former Pentagon official, "It is above top secret knowing whether the sub-launched cruise missiles are nuclear-armed." Another former official added, "We often don't ask."

The possible move to arm submarines with nuclear weapons suggests that the Israeli government might be increasingly concerned about efforts by Iraq and Iran to develop more accurate long-range missiles capable of knocking out Israel's existing nuclear arsenal, which is primarily land-based.

Although developing a sea-based leg would preserve the deterrent value of Israel's nuclear force, according to analysts, it would complicate U.S. efforts to keep other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere from seeking to acquire nuclear arms. It also could spur a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

Israel has long refused to confirm or deny it has nuclear weapons. U.S. analysts say it has a modest arsenal of short- and medium-range nuclear-capable missiles, nuclear bombs that could be delivered from jet fighters and Harpoon missiles that could be launched from planes or ships.

Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, confirmed that his country had recently acquired three submarines from Germany but would not comment on whether they were being outfitted with nuclear weapons. "There has been no change in Israel's long-standing position not to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East," Regev said.

A book published this week by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace reported that Israel was attempting to arm its diesel submarines with nuclear cruise missiles.

"Probably the most important nuclear-related development in Israel is the formation of its sea-based nuclear arm," wrote Joseph Cirincione, director of the Carnegie Endowment's nonproliferation project and a former staff member of the House Armed Services Committee who served as chief author of the book.

The U.S. government "favors" Israel's preserving the ambiguity surrounding its nuclear force, just as it has since the late 1960s, a former senior U.S. diplomat said. "It gives it a strategic deterrence," he said, adding, "If [Israel] were being explicit, that would create problems with its neighbors like Egypt and Syria . . . whose leaders years ago agreed that [ambiguity] did not pose an offensive threat to them."

Iraq and Iran, he added, are different because "they are destabilizing" countries and could launch a first strike against Israel or U.S. forces in the region if they succeed in developing and deploying nuclear weapons.

There have been published reports going back to 1998 that describe Israel's acquisition of the diesel submarines and its testing of a cruise missile.

In an article two years ago in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Reuven Pedatzur, a former Israeli fighter pilot and director of the Galili Center for Strategy and National Security, wrote that Israel was motivated by "the need to find deterrence solutions . . . from the probability that during the next decade Iran, and maybe even Iraq, will acquire the nuclear ballistic capability to hit Israeli targets."

Pedatzur said that faced with that threat, a submarine force armed with missiles is a reliable deterrent because Israel's enemies would not be able to locate and destroy them and thus "that it is impossible to avoid their lethal counterstrike."

The Carnegie Endowment book said Israel "is believed to have deployed" 100 Jericho short-range and medium-range missiles that are nuclear-capable. In addition, it has nuclear bombs that could be delivered from U.S.-made F-16 jet fighters and U.S.-built Harpoon missiles that could be launched from planes or ships.

Israel's nuclear-capable, sea-launched cruise missiles were tested in May 2000, the book said, and might have a range of more than 900 miles. With three submarines, Israel could "have a deployment at sea of one nuclear-armed submarine at all times," the book said.

"Such a survivable deterrent is perceived as essential because of Israel's unique geopolitical and demographical vulnerability to nuclear attack, and one that no potential enemy of Israel could ignore," it said.

Cirincione said Israel's possession of nuclear weapons and modernization of its systems creates an "extremely difficult situation" not just for the United States, but also for preventing other countries that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty from breaking away. Israel's possession of weapons remains officially ambiguous, but Israel, along with Pakistan and India, did not sign the treaty.

Israel is only one of 15 countries discussed in the book, which describes the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their missile delivery systems. It updates a similar volume produced by the Carnegie Endowment four years ago.

Cirincione said at least eight countries have nuclear weapons -- the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, Israel, India and Pakistan -- and three more are apparently seeking them -- Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Four countries, he said, have in recent years given up their weapons -- South Africa and the former Soviet republics Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The book attributed Iran's decision to seek nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to its experience during its war with Iraq in the 1980s, when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against Iranian forces. Iran is influenced by its "extended neighborhood [where] it sees Israel, India and Pakistan with advanced nuclear weapons" and Iraq's weapons program no longer subject to inspection by the United Nations, the book said.

The authors said U.S. sanctions against Iran, which have hurt its ability to build conventional military forces, "have likely worked toward reaffirming belief in the utility of unconventional weapons."

Iraq's search for nuclear and biological weapons rests on Hussein's desire to be the "dominant power in the Middle East" and his belief that "a nuclear bomb would provide him with the ultimate symbol of military power," the book said. It said "Iraq may have a workable design for a nuclear weapon" and that if Baghdad "were to acquire material from another country, it is possible that it could assemble a nuclear weapon in months."

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HAMAS THREATENS CHEMICAL ATTACK

by Concerned

Sun Jun 16, 2002 23:17

Hamas is threatening to use chemical weapons in future attacks against Israeli targets, claiming "slaughter will bring slaughter," Channel 2 reported last night.

According to the report, Hamas issued a statement after conducting a strategic debate which generated the decision to use chemical weapons in addition to conventional bombs.

"When we reach that stage [using chemical weapons], the gates will be opened to develop suicide attacks with Allah's help," the report said, quoting from the statement issued by the movement yesterday.

The statement claimed that the aim is to further harm those hit by shrapnel in a bomb blast and "create a massacre."

The movement claimed that while the idea is not new, attempts to use chemicals in bombs have so far met with failure, as the chemicals used are usually inexpensive and crude agents that lose their effectiveness in the heat created by a bomb blast.

Hamas spokesman Abdel Aziz Rantissi denied the meetings took place and referred to the reports as "lies."

Hamas yesterday claimed responsibility for the attack near Dugit on Saturday night in which St.-Sgt. Yehezkel (Hezki) Gutman, 22, of Beit El, and Sgt. Alexei Gladkov, 20, of Beersheba, were killed and four others wounded.

The soldiers had succeeded in thwarting a terrorist attack near Dugit earlier in the day after blowing up a car rigged with 180 kilograms of explosives.

Hours later, after receiving reports of terrorists between Dugit and Elei Sinai, the soldiers returned to the area and were ambushed by one of four terrorists using the foliage for cover. Three other terrorists fled back to Palestinian Authority-controlled territory when the soldiers returned fire.

The dead terrorist was identified as Mahmoud el-Abed, 19, from Gaza City.

Security officials believe that there is a direct connection between the two incidents on Saturday, saying there has recently been a sharp increase in the number of attacks in the area.

Yesterday afternoon, IDF bulldozers began clearing the dense foliage in the area to allow soldiers a clearer view.

Yesterday morning, soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian who carried a large bag and ignored their calls to stop, after he and two others attempted to bypass a roadblock at the Bekaot junction in the northern Jordan Valley. The IDF Spokesman said the soldiers set off in pursuit and managed to arrest two of the fleeing men. The third, who was carrying a large bag, continued to flee, and the soldiers in accordance with regulations opened fire.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, police revealed the recent arrests of five Hamas members from Askar and Rumana, near Jenin. The five, who belonged to the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, are suspected of planting bombs near IDF troops, arresting and torturing Palestinians suspected of collaborating, organizing demonstrations and confrontations with security forces, and planning shooting attacks. Additional arrests are expected, the police said.

Early yesterday morning, security forces arrested a fugitive wanted by the Shin Bet near the Kuchin junction, west of Nablus.

Shots were fired at an IDF post near Silwad, north of Ramallah. In the Gaza Strip, soldiers arrested a fugitive at the Gush Katif junction, and shots were fired at an IDF post near Kfar Darom.

Delivery

by Steve

Sun Jun 16, 2002 23:53

It's not exactly a secret that the Zionists have a nuclear capacity. Though other states in the region also have the desire to join the nuclear club. The submarines are simply another delivery method.

Re "concerned" comments or rather the relaying of Zionist press releases, who helped to set up Hamas in the first place??

Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya

by Soft Mutation

Mon Jun 17, 2002 00:17

The Hamas (a word meaning courage and bravery) is a radical Islamic organization which became active in the early stages of the Intifada, operating primarily in the Gaza Strip but also in the West Bank. The Hamas has played a major role in violent fundamentalist subversion and radical terrorist operations against both Israelis and Arabs. In its initial period, the movement was headed primarily by people identified with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in the Territories.

In the course of the Intifada, Hamas gained momentum, expanding its activity also in the West Bank, to become the dominant Islamic fundamentalist organization in the Territories. It defined its highest priority as Jihad (Holy War) for the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of an Islamic Palestine "from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River". By its participation in street violence and murder, it boosted its appeal in the eyes of the Palestinians, further enhancing its growth potential and enabling it to play a central role in the Intifada. As a result of its subversive and terrorist activity, Hamas was outlawed in September 1989.

After the Gulf War, Hamas has become the leading perpetrator of terrorist activity throughout the Territories as well as inside Israel. Today it is the second most powerful group, after Fatah, and is sometimes viewed as threatening the hegemony of the secular nationalists. It is currently the strongest opposition group to the peace process and the escalation of its terrorist activity through the murderous suicide bombings against civil targets in Israel in February-March 1996 has slowed down the political process and threatens to stop it altogether.

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History
Hamas is the Arabic acronym for "The Islamic Resistance Movement" (Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyya). The organizational and ideological sources of Hamas can be found in the movement of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) which was set up in the 1920s in Egypt and renewed and strengthened its activity in the 1960s and 1970s in the Arab world, mainly in Jordan and Egypt.
The Muslim Brothers were also active in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The cornerstone of the Muslim Brotherhood is the system of essentially social activity which they call Da'wah. In the twenty years preceding the Intifada, they built an impressive social, religious, educational and cultural infrastructure, which gave them a political stronghold, both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It was successful despite their lack of support for the nationalist policy of armed struggle.

The Hamas movement was legally registered in Israel in 1978 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the movementís spiritual leader, as an Islamic Association by the name Al-Mujamma Al Islami, which widened its base of supporters and sympathizers by religious propaganda and social work.
A great part of the success of Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood is due to their influence in the Gaza Strip. The large numbers of refugees, the socio-economic hardships of the population in the refugee camps and the relatively low status of the nationalist elements there until recently, enabled Hamas to deepen its roots among the refugees. Its emphasis on a solution that would include the liberation of all Palestine is more attractive to the Gazans, beyond the social factors that nourish the Islamic influence in that area.

Another factor, which served the popularity of the Islamic phenomena, was that the Palestinian nationalist movement and the PLO moved the center of their political power away from Palestine, by consolidating an external leadership at the expense of the internal one in the Territories. In contrast, the Islamic camp and its leadership developed entirely within Palestine (al-dakhil) and could thus better serve the interests of the Palestinians.

The Islamic infrastructure in the Territories was separate but parallel to the nationalist institutions built by the PLO in the 1980s. Hamas was successful in forming a social system which has provided an alternative to the social-political structure of the PLO. Hamasís prestige is based on both its ideological and practical capabilities, as a movement whose contribution to the daily life of the Palestinians is not less than its contribution to the struggle against Israel and the occupation.
The significant change in the Muslim Brotherhood movement was the transition from passivity towards the Israeli rule to militancy and large-scale violent activity, especially in and from the Gaza Strip. The movement changed its name to the Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas, and emphasized its Palestinian character and patriotism. It professed to be not just a parallel force but an alternative to the almost absolute control of the PLO and its factions over the Palestinians in the Territories.

In August 1988 Hamas published the Islamic Covenant - its ideological credo, which presented its policy on all levels of the struggle, both against Israel and the national movement of the PLO. The Hamas Covenant challenged the PLO and its claim to be the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, but it did not call for its elimination.
The means used by the Hamas to increase their influence in the street were the mosques. The mosque was the first stop on the road to civil rebellion. At the same time the Hamas leaders worked at setting up the various apparatuses of the movement. In the tradition of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Yassin built the Hamas as an underground movement. He decided to separate the different apparatuses and the area activists and use only encoded messages in the internal communications.

The military apparatus was called Mujahidin. At first, the leadership did not strive to large numbers of activists in the organization. The aim of the founders was to set up instruments of activity that will rely on a small number of central activists. But a new generation of street leaders emerged out of the complex structural system built by the MB over the years. This generation, obedient and full of religious fervor has become the spearhead of the Islamic struggle.

The Setting Up of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions

At the beginning of 1991 Zaccaria Walid Akel, the head of the terrorist section of the Hamas in Gaza, set up the first squads of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions. In its first stages the terrorist squads kidnapped and executed people suspected of cooperation with Israel. The murder of the Kfar Darom resident, Doron Shorshan in December 1991, was the first murder of an Israeli citizen done by a Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam squads, and marked the change in Hamasís modus operandi.

Ideology and Strategy
The basic ideology of Hamas is founded primarily on the mainstream of the Muslim Brotherhood. In the Islamic Covenant published by Hamas in August 1988, it defined itself as the "Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood".
However, there is a clear distinction in the order of priorities set forth by Hamas, as opposed to those of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Territories prior to the Intifada, particularly as regards the question of Jihad. The Muslim Brotherhood viewed Jihad as a general duty and principle and it maintained that Islam would be established first throughout the Muslim world, only later to be followed by violent Jihad against Israel, in which Palestine, too, would be liberated. Hamas stresses Jihad as the sole and immediate means to solve the problem of Palestine.

Hamas defines the transition to the stage of Jihad "for the liberation of all of Palestine" as a personal religious duty incumbent upon every Muslim. At the same time, it utterly rejects any political arrangement that would entail the relinquishment of any part of Palestine, which for it is tantamount to a surrender of part of Islam. These positions are reflected in the Covenant, and of course in its activities.

The central goal of Hamas is the establishment of an Islamic state in all of Palestine. The immediate means to achieve this goal is the escalation of the armed struggle, and ultimately all-out Jihad, with the participation not only of Palestinian Muslims but of the entire Islamic world. Financing
Hamas enjoys strong financial backing. In fact, its rivals claim that this is major reason for its strength. Hamas receives financial support from unofficial bodies in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and recently also from Iran. These funds are distributed among the various groups and associations identified with the movement, and from them filter down to the operatives in the field.
A broad network of charity associations (Jamayath Hiriya) and committees (Lejan Zekath) operates in the Territories, on the basis of two Jordanian statutes: the Charity Association and Social Institutions Law, and the Charity Fund-Raising Regulations. Hamas makes extensive use of many of these charity associations and committees, which (together with the mosques, unions, etc.) also serve as the overt facade of the organization's activity, operating parallel to and serving its covert operations. The movement's ideology attributes great importance to the giving of charity (zekath, which is also one of the five basic principles of Islam). Giving charity can serve to bring the people closer to Islam and, as a result, to broaden the ranks of Hamas.

The network of charity associations serves as a screen for its covert activities, including liaison with the movement's leadership abroad, the transfer of funds to field operatives, and the identification of potential recruits. The great importance which Hamas attaches to the overt aspect of its operations - charity and welfare - has been particularly evident since the extensive arrest and exclusion of many of its operatives.

An important aspect of the charity associations and committees is their role as a means for the channeling of funds into the region. While part of these funds is in fact used for charity, it is not always possible to distinguish between the 'innocent' activity of the charity associations and the funding of covert, subversive and terrorist activity. Thus, for example, the associations pay fines and assist the families of operatives who are arrested, or the operatives themselves. Such donations are defined as charity, but are in fact given to the hard and active core of Hamas. The charity associations can also help in transfering funds to Hamas through their financial-administrative infrastructure.

The methods commonly used to transfer funds are through moneychangers, checks drawn on accounts of operatives and firms abroad, foreign business accounts of economic concerns in the Territories, and direct cash transfers from abroad, usually through Western banks (in Britain, the U.S. and Germany). The Islamic Movement in Israel also serves as a channel for the transfer of funds.

Sources of funding.
Estimating the amount of money reaching Hamas is complex task, but a modest estimate is several tens of millions of dollars per year.
Sources of funding abroad:

a. Official sources: the government of Iran contributes approximately 3 million dollars per year for all Hamas activities.
b. There are four central Hamas charity funds in the West: Great Britain - The Palestine Relief and Development Fund (Interpal); U.S.A. - the Holy Land Foundation; Germany - the Al Aqsa Foundation, with branches in Belgium and Holland; France - Comite de Bienfaisance et Solidarite avec la Palestine.

Funding from other Islamic organizations: (not Hamas):
a. Non-governmental charitable organizations in the Gulf states - generally, they collect charity for needy Muslims throughout the world, and as part of this effort they support Hamas and its social and welfare institutions.
b. Islamic aid agencies in the West - these rely on the Islamic community in the West, numbering about 15 million. Among these: Muslim Aid, and the Islamic Relief Agency - ISRA.

c. The Muslim Brotherhood - In the late 1980s the Brotherhood established the Muslim Aid Committee to the Palestinian Nation in order to aid Hamas.

Independent sources of funding in the Territories:
a. A small portion of Hamas funds come from a limited number of profitable economic projects: sewing and weaving centers, cattle farms, and symbolic payment for services.
b. Fund-raising campaigns throughout the Territories - heightened supervision by the U.S. and Egypt of the fund-raising in the Gulf states has encouraged this internal independent fund-raising method.

Israel:
a. The Islamic Movement in Israel has served as a channel for transferring money from foundations in the West. Since Israel closed two central bodies - the Committee for Aid to Orphans and Prisoners (November 1996) and Islamic Aid (in 1995) - use of this channel has decreased considerably.
b. Most of these foundations have representatives in the Territories and operate under an umbrella organization established in 1995.

The battle against financing:
Terrorist attacks and the uncovering of Hamas' financial apparatus have led Western intelligence operatives to begin monitoring its funding activity. Several countries (principally the U.S. and Great Britain) have announced their intent to frustrate Hamas fundraising efforts.
a. U.S. - a legislation package intended to hinder fundraising for terrorist organizations within U.S. territory. The governement has yet to exercise its power to act against these organizations.
b. Britain - Records of the Interpal relief foundation were examined, but "no concrete information was found linking it to terror organizations." It must be noted that the only material examined was that which the foundation itself submitted to the authorities.

c. Israel - illegalization: In May of this year, the Minister of Defense declared the four major foundations operating in the West to be illegal associations, as part of the Hamas activity outlawed in Israel. The movement's organ, Falestin al-Muslima, was outlawed as well.

Hamas

Mon Jun 17, 2002 19:59

Re the comment of "Soft Mutation", my question as to Hamas, was just a little sarcastic. I already knew the answer. The Zionists played a major role in the building of Hamas in order to build a source of opposition to the PLO and Yasser Arafat.
From their point of view, (with the benefit of hindsight) it was not a very good move was it?

One sided

by Y

Mon Jun 17, 2002 20:56

This is a hell of a one sided website. Independant media, my ass

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US Welcomes Israel Weapons of Mass Destruction

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