Post by Watchman on Oct 15, 2005 22:58:50 GMT -5
Even as Yom Kippur passed without Arabs attacking Israel, war signs continue to build in the region. Egypt will probably be a key figure in this coming war against Israel, so it is most interesting to see her role grow in and around Israel.
NEWS BRIEF: "Gaza reverting to Egyptian control", By Ryan Jones, Jerusalem NewsWire, October 11th, 2005
"While Israel's withdrawal from Gaza was hailed as a 'Palestinian' victory, it appears Egypt is taking home spoils from the current terrorist war. Egypt lost control of the Gaza Strip to Israel during its wars against the Jewish state in 1948 and 1956, though Israel promptly left the territory in hopes of peace. When Gaza fell to Israeli forces following yet more Egyptian belligerency in 1967, Jerusalem decided to hold on to the volatile coastal strip. Cairo failed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War to retake the former launch-pad for aggression against the Jews."
"But what it could not gain through strength of arms, Egypt seems to have obtained by virtue of its dominance over the Palestinian Authority and its terrorist proxies. The Egyptians are now involved 'in every facet of the [PA] in Gaza', a PA source told Middle East Newsline. “It is correct to say that major decisions are not taken without Egypt's approval'.”
During the past year, as the Sharon government was meticulously laying the groundwork for her Unilateral Withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, I found it amazing that the Prime Minister would even contemplate dealing with the Egyptians as a "honest broker" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. That scenario is just like asking the fox to guard your chicken coop!
After all, Egypt has taken the lead in every attack on Israel since 1948. Even today, Egypt is committed to Israel's destruction, as her war gaming perfectly illustrates; did you know that every annual Egyptian war games simulates an invasion of Israel? President Mubarak of Egypt is pro-Western in name only; in his inner heart of hearts, he fervently desires the destruction of Israel.
And, old war horse, General Sharon, knows this fact right well. Yet, he continued to "negotiate" with the Egyptians about playing the role of controlling the Palestinians long enough for Israel to clear out of the Gaza. Incredibly, Sharon granted Egyptian forces the right to control the Rafah border crossing on the Gaza - Sinai border; surely enough, starting the very first day that Egypt had control of that border crossing, unknown tons of advanced war materiel and probably soldiers in civilian dress began to pour through -- completely unchecked by Egyptian border guards. Today, the Gaza Strip is literally "bursting" with stocks of advanced war supplies -- from anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery shells, mortar rounds, advanced short-range missiles and close to a half-million rounds of gun ammunition of various calibers.
In other words, Egypt has quickly turned The Gaza Strip into a "forward deployment base", just a few miles away from the choicest of Israeli targets. Building a "forward deployment base" is a very strong sign of impending attack.
And, just as Sharon expected, Egypt is taking such control over The Gaza Strip that no major decision -- even by PA Chairman Abbas -- is made without Egypt's explicit approval. This fact is verified by the next article.
NEWS BRIEF: "Egypt taking charge of Palestinian Authority", World Tribune.com, October 13, 2005
"GAZA CITY — Egypt is taking effective control of the Palestinian Authority, according to PA officials. The sources said that over the last few months leading up to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Egypt has dominated several key areas of Palestinian government, particularly those affected by the pullout. They said Egypt approves PA decisions regarding the deployment and training of Palestinian security forces, security operations and policy, development projects and senior appointments ... PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the sources said, consults with Egypt on virtually every issue.
"They said Egypt now controls both sides of the 14-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip. Egypt has been given control of both the PA airport and sea port, the sources said. They said Egyptian personnel would supervise and operate the PA airport at Dahaniya in the southern Gaza Strip as well as the sea port south of Gaza City ... Cairo has also sent government personnel to man critical facilities in the Gaza Strip. Egyptian officers have been directing PA security operations."
DEBKAfile Intelligence is also reporting that Egyptian helicopter surveillance along the Gaza - Sinai border is also spying on Israeli troop and air force movements inside tiny Israel in a way they could not do from within Egypt.
These are preparations for an Egyptian attack on Israel. DEBKAfile is also reporting that "Al-Qaeda" has established a very strong presence in the Sinai, and that Egyptian efforts to dislodge them have so far proven ineffective. Therefore, are we going to see reports one day that Egypt is having to move massive numbers of troops into the upper Sinai in order to "deal with" these terrorist bases? If that does occur, such Egyptian forces would be able to move up to within miles of the Gaza Strip.
And, remember reports of last week that Syria is moving armed forces close to her border with Israel, while Hizbullah is armed and dangerous already, having been continuously supplied with advanced weaponry for the pas three years by Syria and Iran. This DEBKAfile article concerning the Russian sale of very deadly theater missiles is ominous.
NEWS BRIEF: "Moscow Arms Assad with a Top-Flight Surface Missile", DEBKAfile Intelligence, October 10, 2005
"The Syrian general came out of his meeting (with the Russian Chief of Staff) with a brilliant contract for the sale of the advanced Iskander SS-26 surface missile ... The value of the transaction is unknown but it certainly runs into hundreds of million dollars, given that Syria has purchased 26 of the most advanced missile of its kind in use anywhere in the world. The United States and NATO have code-named the Iskander SS-26 'Stone'. They have nothing in their missile arsenal to match its unique attributes ... (This missile is ) too fast and flexible for known electronic defenses to stop ... With a 400-km range and a 480-kilo warhead composed of 54 elements, the missile hits a target within a 20-meter radius ... It is almost impossible for existing electronic weapons systems to prevent the Iskander’s launch because of its speed and high flexibility. Its targets are found in mid-flight by satellites, accompanying airplanes, conventional intelligence centers or a lone soldier directing artillery fire. Targets may also be found by feeding photos into the missile’s computer by means of a scanner. The self-direction device functions even in fog, darkness or storms."
This DEBKAfile article continues to state that Syria purchased only 26 of these missiles and that they paid cash so they could take delivery in the first quarter of 2006. These two details smack of disinformation for several reasons:
A) 26 missiles are a very small quantity when you are talking about an all-out war. Such an inventory would be rapidly depleted. If Russia and Syria are committed to this battle weapon, it would be foolish in the highest degree to commit the hardware to launch these missiles, including the trucks, the computers, and the satellites if you were going to only have a measly 26 missiles on hand.
B) Russia is said to be preparing delivery in the First, Quarter, 2006. However, in US Army Intelligence, I learned a very valuable lesson: whenever a government admits to new weaponry some time in the future, the reality is that they have already had the weapon for some time. In some instances, a new military capability has been secretly in our arsenal for 10 years before our government even admitted the weapon existed!
Therefore, I believe the Russians have probably already delivered this new missile and in much larger quantity than the 26 reported.
These are all war signs. Strong military build-up in preparation for an assault against Israel.
NEWS BRIEF: "Gaza reverting to Egyptian control", By Ryan Jones, Jerusalem NewsWire, October 11th, 2005
"While Israel's withdrawal from Gaza was hailed as a 'Palestinian' victory, it appears Egypt is taking home spoils from the current terrorist war. Egypt lost control of the Gaza Strip to Israel during its wars against the Jewish state in 1948 and 1956, though Israel promptly left the territory in hopes of peace. When Gaza fell to Israeli forces following yet more Egyptian belligerency in 1967, Jerusalem decided to hold on to the volatile coastal strip. Cairo failed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War to retake the former launch-pad for aggression against the Jews."
"But what it could not gain through strength of arms, Egypt seems to have obtained by virtue of its dominance over the Palestinian Authority and its terrorist proxies. The Egyptians are now involved 'in every facet of the [PA] in Gaza', a PA source told Middle East Newsline. “It is correct to say that major decisions are not taken without Egypt's approval'.”
During the past year, as the Sharon government was meticulously laying the groundwork for her Unilateral Withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, I found it amazing that the Prime Minister would even contemplate dealing with the Egyptians as a "honest broker" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. That scenario is just like asking the fox to guard your chicken coop!
After all, Egypt has taken the lead in every attack on Israel since 1948. Even today, Egypt is committed to Israel's destruction, as her war gaming perfectly illustrates; did you know that every annual Egyptian war games simulates an invasion of Israel? President Mubarak of Egypt is pro-Western in name only; in his inner heart of hearts, he fervently desires the destruction of Israel.
And, old war horse, General Sharon, knows this fact right well. Yet, he continued to "negotiate" with the Egyptians about playing the role of controlling the Palestinians long enough for Israel to clear out of the Gaza. Incredibly, Sharon granted Egyptian forces the right to control the Rafah border crossing on the Gaza - Sinai border; surely enough, starting the very first day that Egypt had control of that border crossing, unknown tons of advanced war materiel and probably soldiers in civilian dress began to pour through -- completely unchecked by Egyptian border guards. Today, the Gaza Strip is literally "bursting" with stocks of advanced war supplies -- from anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery shells, mortar rounds, advanced short-range missiles and close to a half-million rounds of gun ammunition of various calibers.
In other words, Egypt has quickly turned The Gaza Strip into a "forward deployment base", just a few miles away from the choicest of Israeli targets. Building a "forward deployment base" is a very strong sign of impending attack.
And, just as Sharon expected, Egypt is taking such control over The Gaza Strip that no major decision -- even by PA Chairman Abbas -- is made without Egypt's explicit approval. This fact is verified by the next article.
NEWS BRIEF: "Egypt taking charge of Palestinian Authority", World Tribune.com, October 13, 2005
"GAZA CITY — Egypt is taking effective control of the Palestinian Authority, according to PA officials. The sources said that over the last few months leading up to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Egypt has dominated several key areas of Palestinian government, particularly those affected by the pullout. They said Egypt approves PA decisions regarding the deployment and training of Palestinian security forces, security operations and policy, development projects and senior appointments ... PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the sources said, consults with Egypt on virtually every issue.
"They said Egypt now controls both sides of the 14-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip. Egypt has been given control of both the PA airport and sea port, the sources said. They said Egyptian personnel would supervise and operate the PA airport at Dahaniya in the southern Gaza Strip as well as the sea port south of Gaza City ... Cairo has also sent government personnel to man critical facilities in the Gaza Strip. Egyptian officers have been directing PA security operations."
DEBKAfile Intelligence is also reporting that Egyptian helicopter surveillance along the Gaza - Sinai border is also spying on Israeli troop and air force movements inside tiny Israel in a way they could not do from within Egypt.
These are preparations for an Egyptian attack on Israel. DEBKAfile is also reporting that "Al-Qaeda" has established a very strong presence in the Sinai, and that Egyptian efforts to dislodge them have so far proven ineffective. Therefore, are we going to see reports one day that Egypt is having to move massive numbers of troops into the upper Sinai in order to "deal with" these terrorist bases? If that does occur, such Egyptian forces would be able to move up to within miles of the Gaza Strip.
And, remember reports of last week that Syria is moving armed forces close to her border with Israel, while Hizbullah is armed and dangerous already, having been continuously supplied with advanced weaponry for the pas three years by Syria and Iran. This DEBKAfile article concerning the Russian sale of very deadly theater missiles is ominous.
NEWS BRIEF: "Moscow Arms Assad with a Top-Flight Surface Missile", DEBKAfile Intelligence, October 10, 2005
"The Syrian general came out of his meeting (with the Russian Chief of Staff) with a brilliant contract for the sale of the advanced Iskander SS-26 surface missile ... The value of the transaction is unknown but it certainly runs into hundreds of million dollars, given that Syria has purchased 26 of the most advanced missile of its kind in use anywhere in the world. The United States and NATO have code-named the Iskander SS-26 'Stone'. They have nothing in their missile arsenal to match its unique attributes ... (This missile is ) too fast and flexible for known electronic defenses to stop ... With a 400-km range and a 480-kilo warhead composed of 54 elements, the missile hits a target within a 20-meter radius ... It is almost impossible for existing electronic weapons systems to prevent the Iskander’s launch because of its speed and high flexibility. Its targets are found in mid-flight by satellites, accompanying airplanes, conventional intelligence centers or a lone soldier directing artillery fire. Targets may also be found by feeding photos into the missile’s computer by means of a scanner. The self-direction device functions even in fog, darkness or storms."
This DEBKAfile article continues to state that Syria purchased only 26 of these missiles and that they paid cash so they could take delivery in the first quarter of 2006. These two details smack of disinformation for several reasons:
A) 26 missiles are a very small quantity when you are talking about an all-out war. Such an inventory would be rapidly depleted. If Russia and Syria are committed to this battle weapon, it would be foolish in the highest degree to commit the hardware to launch these missiles, including the trucks, the computers, and the satellites if you were going to only have a measly 26 missiles on hand.
B) Russia is said to be preparing delivery in the First, Quarter, 2006. However, in US Army Intelligence, I learned a very valuable lesson: whenever a government admits to new weaponry some time in the future, the reality is that they have already had the weapon for some time. In some instances, a new military capability has been secretly in our arsenal for 10 years before our government even admitted the weapon existed!
Therefore, I believe the Russians have probably already delivered this new missile and in much larger quantity than the 26 reported.
These are all war signs. Strong military build-up in preparation for an assault against Israel.