As The World Races Towards Nuclear Armageddon...

Israel has declared War!

Israel has incurred well into Lebanon with attacks from land, sea, and air in an attempt to strike a severe blow against Hezbollah.
In the past few weeks, Israel and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have called the Hezbollah's bluff and have pursued the guerilla cowards into the rat holes they've dug for themselves.

Newsflash!! U.S. says: Israel, have at em!


N. Korea Nuclear Threat has Large Footprint

The Pentagon announced today that it has in place an operational missle defense system and considers any launch from N. Korea as a “provocative act”.

11 missles in US ‘interceptor’ program: 9 at Ft.Greeley, Ak., 2 at Vandenberg in SoCal. while 2 Aegis warships patrol off the coast of N.Korea to give early warning.
N. Korea is apparently days away from being able to launch the Taepodong missle, a multi stage ballistic millile some experts say could reach U.S. targets, much less Asia and the S. Pacific.

Japan PM Koizumi says, “ …if they ignore our views and launch a missle, then the Japanese govt, consulting with the U.S., would have to respond harshly”.
Australia to N. Korea: any launch would bring “serious consequences”


Update:
N. Korea has subsequently launched that missile, 7, actually, and although none landed beyond the Sea of Japan, the Southeast Asia community and Japan in particular is exploring it's International options.



Mainichi Daily News
7-13
Japan govt to introduce satellite system for early warnings of missle launches, earthquakes
Fire and Disaster Management Agency to send faxes which will warn public substantially sooner; worries about public
Japanese Foreign Min Taro Aso asks French for help with UN resolution to sanction N. Korea.
Senior Japanese Official Yamasaki on attack-capacity: "Caution". Such an act “would be against Japan’s defense-only policy and amount to a serious violation of it’s pacifist constitution”.

Japan Times Online
7-13
South Korea blasts Tokyo for floating “pre-emptive attacks” issue, saying it revealed Japan’s “expansionist nature” as a former colonial power.
According to the government’s interpretation of the Constitution, Japan is allowed to use military force for self-defense only when attacked. Pre-emptive attacks are not allowed.
The Govt. has three criteria for invoking the right to strike a foreign missile base: An attack must be imminent, there are no other means of defense, and use of force should be limited to the minimum needed.
Under the Japanese-US security alliance, Japan is allowed to have only defensive weapons but can ask the US to use long range weapons for overseas strikes in emergencies, the Defense Agency said.

Ramzy Baroud’s article for Japan Times is the kind of trash we expect from Palestinian and Arab spin-weavers. He criticizes and brands coverage of the recent violence in Lebanon as ‘wholly racist’.
Baroud revives familiar themes in his article which takes the media’s coverage of the Palestinians’ self-imposed predicament as ‘utterly racist’.
Baroud’s first argument, that the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier is actually a ‘capture’ and an act of self-defense is the same argument all Palestinian gangs and thugs give to justify their brutal inhuman acts. ‘ It is in response to Israeli acts of aggression’, they say, and the line is strategically blurred to their advantage.
Israel, however, does not seem blinded and bound by fear of action. Far from it, they have incurred into Lebanese territory in search of Hezbollah fighters, as reported today.
Syria, in stunningly typical fashion, is voicing the loudest complaints and leveling the harshest criticism. Syria controls the interior government in Lebanon and regularly targets opposition politicians for assassination, including high profile newspaper editors and writers who publish anti-Islamic and ProLebanese/AntiSyria rhetoric.
The people of Lebanon have elected their own leaders after Syrian-backed terrorists killed their President Harriri in 2004. Yet, Syria continues to exert control over Lebanese affairs.

Once again, Israel is pressing it’s defense program, which is to aggressively persue terrorists and those who help them achieve operations against the civilian population. Israel shall no longer allow those who aid in their destruction to continue, regardless of the opinion of the outside world.
My guess is anti-Semite Mr. Baroud’s attempt at striking at the conscience of the Japanese population (along with other National newspapers to be sure), will not be successful, in as much as change the Israeli’s actions. I would rather it galvanize the world to reject violence as a way of life, and reject the destruction of a people, with any means possible, for as long as it takes, no matter what the price.


From the Tehran Times
July 17, 2006

Tehran: UN involvement may block agreement

Hamida-Reza Asefi, whose name is among the most difficult to type, much less pronounce, is the Foreign Ministry spokesman for the government of Iran. On Sunday Asefi stated (UN) negotiations would be blocked if Iran’s nuclear dossier is referred back to the Security Council.

The United States and its allies in the UN believe Iran has not and does not intend to comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is outside popular opinion regarding its pursuit of Uranium enrichment and Nuclear Infrastructure which could be used for weapons production as well as civilian energy.
In a reversal, Iran is apparently quite happy with the so-called ‘5+1’ proposal it sniffed at earlier this summer.
The Tehran Times quotes Asefi further, “All parties involved in Iran’s nuclear standoff must clarify whether they are willing to conduct long-term and strategic cooperation with each other”. Boy, does that sound like typical rhetoric.

The 5 Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: The US, France, Russia, Great Britain and China, along with Germany have had enough of Iran’s stalling and obfuscation. They intend to refer Iran’s case to the Security Council for a vote on sanctions which could bear teeth to Iran’s economy and future bargaining power, although Saddam Hussain proved sanctions can be subverted and circumvented with the help of greedy, morally-bankrupt dogs of war, namely sitting members of Russian and French parliament.
Though they are far from the only government involved in arms sales, war-technology shipments and new-age improvements such as hardened infrastructure, global security and asset maneuvering, Russia has been duplicitous in it’s dealings with the United States and other nations. While soothing US fear’s that it’s not selling technology to rougue nation-states, we find that it had sold weapons to our battlefield enemy, and was selling it at the same time as Putin denied involvement. Imagine that.

Update:

Ahmadenijad is once again considering the package of incentives to return to the terms of the non-proliferation treaty. Hmmm, must be sizing up the opposition and sniffing the wind.

Much speculation has been swirling about the timing of a concerted multi-nation strike against rogue nuclear installations. Although those installations aren't "imminent threat", it would repay North Korea and Iran for aiding Hezbollah and destabilizing their prospective regions.

-Katykarter