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NEW BOOK BY EX-SEAL CHIEF CLAIMS BIN LADEN KILLED IN 90 SECONDS
Yahoo!7 and Agencies
November 6, 2011, 3:03 pm
•'Bin Laden was killed instantly'
For the first time after his death, Navy Seals have offered a startling insight into the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Six months after his death, US Navy Seals have revealed for the first time that they killed Osama bin Laden within 90 seconds of entering his fortress-like home in Pakistan.
The details of the raid, codenamed Operation Neptune's Spear, are revealed in a book by the Seals' former commander, Chuck Pfarrer.
Pfarrer claims the terror mastermind was killed “almost instantly” and not after a 45-minute firefight as widely believed, challenging the official version of how the al-Qaeda founder died.
"Bin Laden was dead within 90 seconds of the beginning of the raid, not after an extended firefight. Four suppressed rounds were fired," Pfarrer said.
Claiming to have interviewed several men involved in the raid, the author also contradicted the official account of how the US Navy Seal team landed and how one of their Black Hawk helicopters crashed, The Daily Telegraph has reported.
Pfarrer's books also reveals that the Seals' nickname for Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri were Bert and Ernie, after the two Muppets in Sesame Street (Bin laden was tall and skinny like Bert and al-Zawahiri was short like Ernie).
"The Seals entered the building after being deposited on the roof by the lead helicopter, not from the ground. Only minutes after bin Laden was dead did the lead helicopter, heading for a landing spot, lose altitude and sink, tail- first, into the large walled enclosure east of the main house," Pfarrer said in a statement about his book.
The author explains that if the naval commandos had been forced to climb stairs to reach bin Laden, as has been officially claimed, he would have had enough warning to arm and effectively defend himself.
Instead he says that the Seals landed on the roof and proceeded to Bin Laden’s bedroom that was along a short hall. The door opened, he popped out, saw the Americans and then slammed the door shut.
"Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo," radioed one Seal, meaning "eyes on target".
Two Seals kicked in the door that led to a room they later recalled, "smelt like old clothing, like a guest bedroom in a grandmother's house".
Inside was the al-Qaeda leader and his youngest wife, Amal, who was screaming as he shoved her in front of him.
Pfarrer adds that Amal was wounded in the calf during the second round of fire.
The book also argues that bin Laden's long-time deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, may have been responsible for leading the US to his boss as he repeatedly sent a courier in and out of the compound in Abbottabad.
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Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
06112011
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
GOVERNMENT PLANS PUBLIC SEX OFFENDER REGISTER
ABC Updated November 6, 2011, 12:13 pm
•Face off
A state is planning to start a register of sex offenders so public can inform police about criminals in their area.
The Western Australian Government has announced plans to establish an online register to allow members of the public to identify, report and seek information about serious sex offenders.
Western Australian authorities already monitor the movements of such offenders, but the new legislation would allow the public to track the names and images of serious or repeat offenders in their suburb through a police website.
Police Minister Rob Johnson says parents or guardians would also be able to lodge an online inquiry with police if they suspect a person in contact with their child is a reportable sex offender.
"They will be furnished with a photograph of that sex offender that lives within those postcode areas and that means that the parents can then keep a watchout for that person and make sure that their children make no contact with them," he said.
The Minister says the legislation, to be introduced into the State Parliament on Tuesday, is unique in Australia.
Law Society of WA president Hylton Quai, has described the proposal as a "retrograde and dangerous step" that could encourage vigilante behaviour.
But Mr Johnson has dismissed the suggestions.
"We believe that the public will act responsibly and appreciate the fact that there will be some information available that is purely designed to protect the safety and sexual safety of children in the community," he said.
He says the register does not represent an admission that sex offenders are not being adequately monitored by the relevant authorities.
"Where those offenders that do not report as they should do under their orders, we want the public to be able to identify them and where they are," he said.
The State Opposition says it is unlikely to support the Government's plans.
Labor's Police spokeswoman, Margaret Quirk, says she has serious doubts about its merits.
"It is a very dangerous and populous move to more broadly publicise the whereabouts of these people," she said.
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Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
06112011
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
November 05, 2011
Syria Releases Hundreds of Prisoners But Violence Continues
Edward Yeranian Cairo
Demonstrators protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad gather in Hula, near Homs in this undated handout photo released November 4, 2011
Syrian officials announced Saturday that they are releasing more than 500 prisoners as part of an amnesty for Eid al-Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice. At the same time, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby is warning Damascus that its failure to abide by an Arab peace plan would be a catastrophe for both Syria and the region. Violence continued on Saturday in the Homs region, with activists saying at least 10 people were killed.
The Syrian government announcement that it would release 553 prisoners came as its security forces continued to pound the Baba Amr district of Homs for the fourth consecutive day.
Hadi Abdallah, an opposition activist in Baba Amr, told al Jazeera TV that the government was “deceiving the world by claiming to seek peace, while continuing to shell Baba Amr.” He also implored the world community to stop the violence.
In the Deir Balbah district of Homs, mourners chanted slogans against the government Saturday as they laid to rest a protester killed in violence a day earlier. Arab satellite channels reported that more than a dozen people were killed during protests across Syria, Friday.
Meanwhile, in Cairo, Arab League head Nabil Elaraby deplored the ongoing violence and warned Damascus that its failure to abide by an Arab peace plan would be a “catastrophe for both Syria and the region.” He added that Arab states are opposed to “foreign intervention.”
In neighboring Turkey, the head of the Free Syrian Army, Riyadh al Asad, told the Arab daily Asharq Alawsat that it was an “illusion to think that the Syrian opposition could bring down the government peacefully.” He claimed that 15,000 soldiers have defected from the regular army.
Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, said the Syrian government was using the release of 500 prisoners as a smokescreen for its ongoing crackdown. "The Syrian regime may release 500 people from prison, but since they signed the agreement with the Arab League in Cairo, they arrested more than 2000 people. So, releasing prisoners means nothing. They can apprehend far more people than those whom they release in no time. This is another ploy by the Syrian regime," he said.
Khashan said the Arab League is not just calling for the release of 500 prisoners. “The main issue,” he said,” is stopping all military action and allowing Syrians to express their views freely.”
The Syrian interior minister announced on state TV Friday that the government would grant amnesty to those guilty of bearing arms, but not responsible for killing anyone, if they turned themselves in. The U.S. State Department urged Syrians not to accept the offer.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Related Articles
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Government says under amnesty, citizens, who have not committed murder, will be released soon after they turn themselves in to police
.Syria Continues Crackdown Despite Pledges to Arab League
.US Skeptical of Assad Peace Commitments.
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
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Nguyễn Hoài Trang
06112011
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CSVN là TỘI ÁC
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South African intelligence investigates role of British company in Col Gaddafi's attempt to flee Sirte
The South African intelligence services are investigating the role of a British company in a mission to help Colonel Gaddafi flee from Libya which ended in his capture and death.
A British company may have been involved in a mission to help Colonel Gaddafi flee from Libya Photo: EPA
By Aislinn Laing, Peta Thornycroft in Johannesburg and Damien McElroy
9:30PM GMT 03 Nov 2011
According to a senior intelligence source, both the British firm and a woman in Kenya who is thought to have recruited South African mercenaries on its behalf are "of interest" in their investigation.
It has been alleged that one of the security firms who provided mercenaries for the mission may have acted as a “double agent”, helping Nato to pinpoint Gaddafi’s convoy for attack, and that the dictator’s escape was “meant to fail”.
The affair risks further straining relations between London and Pretoria. President Jacob Zuma repeatedly clashed with the West over its involvement in Libya, at one stage accusing it of pursuing “illegal regime change”.
A total of 50 private soldiers, including 19 South Africans, are reported to have travelled to Libya on instructions to smuggle the former dictator from his birthplace of Sirte over the border to Niger.
Among them were said to be members of the team led by former SAS officer Simon Mann on the “Wonga coup” to unseat Equatorial Guinea’s dictator.
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As the convoy left Sirte, they were targeted by Nato drones and Col Gaddafi was captured. He was later killed by soldiers fighting for the National Transitional Council now in control of Libya.
Danie Odendaal, a former policeman in the South African security services who claims he was involved in the Libya mission, said he arrived in the city days before, believing that he would escort the dictator into exile with the tacit permission of Nato.
“We all believed they wanted him out of Libya,” he told the Afrikaans newspaper Rapport.
He alleges he saw correspondence between his recruiters and Col Gaddafi, in which the Colonel said he wanted to settle in a warm, desert-like region of South Africa, preferably in a tent.
Instead, Mr Odendaal said, the mission was “a huge failure” and two South Africans were killed along with Col Gaddafi while others were injured.
“It was a disgusting, disgusting orgy,” Mr Odendaal said, adding of Col Gaddafi’s last moments: “The poor thing screamed like a pig.”
Mr Odendaal and other security experts have suggested a firm who took the Gaddafi contract “sold us out” to Nato.
A source in the private security sector said it was “highly likely” that one of those involved deliberately recruited mercenaries who were ill-equipped to handle the mission.
“These guys did not have the experience to be successful,” he said. “The formation of the convoy, the way they tried to leave Sirte, it’s clear they were meant to fail.
“Someone got paid to protect him and at the same time to deliver him.”
He said his firm was approached by a South African firm to provide support and insurance to the Libyan group but refused.
“These guys were going against UN sanctions and there is no way we would support that,” he said.
Chris Greyling, of the of the Pan-African Security Association, said the consequences for anyone found to have been involved would be dire.
“If it turns out that a major, established firm was involved in mercenary activities, supporting an outlawed government in defiance of Nato then it could be devastating for them,” he said.
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
06112011
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
Fowler joins the fray
Vietnamese Community in NSW vice-president Than Nguyen, Vietnamese Community in Australia vice-president Tri Vo,Cuong Vo, federal Fowler MP Chris Hayes, Bass Hill RSL sub-branch committeemember Van Tran anh the president of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Veterans Association, Hoa Mai
Picture: NICK ANDREAN
PLAN FOR VETS TO MARCH WITH THE “ENEMY”
Brian Karlovsky
FEDERAL Fowler MP Chris Hayes has joined members of the Vietnamsese community in Fairfield and Cabramatta to condemn a proposal under which a parade of Australian Vietnam War veterans would march with their former enemies from the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong fighters.
In a letter to the Primer Minister, Julia Gillard, Mr Hayes wrote “ Whilst I support and encourage all efforts to build harmonious relations, I believe such a parade of Australian veterans marching alongside former Vietcong fighters will send the wrong message to dictatorial regims, namely, that they can continue to deny their people basic freedom whilst continuing to enjoy the support of our country”.
Mr Hayes, who has also voiced his concerns in parliament, said he questioned the appropriateness of such a parade .
Vietnamese Community in Australia vice-president Tri Vo said the community was horrified at the RSL’ s plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese Veterans Association in Hanoi.
“It’s important for myself and the other members of the community to object to the RSL signing this agreement with the communist authority because they are still a brutal regime, “ Mr Vo said.
“They are still imprisoning and discriminating against the familiesof soldiers who fought for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.”
Mr Vo called on the PM to scrap the agreement.
(còn tiếp ... )
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
05112011
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
Libyan chemical weapons stockpiles intact, say inspectors
Chemicals declared under 2004 convention are in depot in south-east Libya, and further stocks may have been found
Reuters
guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 November 2011 15.12 GMT
Article history
Chemical containers in the Libyan desert. There are concerns unguarded weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist militants. Photograph: David Sperry/AP
Libya's stockpiles of mustard gas and chemicals used to make weapons are intact and were not stolen during the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, weapons inspectors have said.
The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said destruction of the materials would resume as soon as possible. However, it said the Libyan authorities had advised it on 1 November that further stocks of what are believed to be chemical weapons had been found, and that Libya would make a new declaration of its stocks soon.
An OPCW inspection team found that the full stockpile of mustard gas and ingredients for making chemical weapons were intact at the Ruwagha depot in south-east Libya.
After Libya joined the chemical weapons convention in 2004, it had to declare all of its chemical warfare materials and agree to destroy them. The former Libyan government declared 25 metric tonnes of bulk mustard agent and 1,400 metric tonnes of precursor chemicals used to make chemical weapons, the OPCW said.
It also declared more than 3,500 unfilled aerial bombs designed for use with chemical warfare agents such as mustard gas, and three chemical weapons production facilities. The destruction programme was halted in February because of a malfunction at the facility, after only part of the stocks had been destroyed, the OPCW said.
"The inspectors returned at the invitation of the new Libyan government and with its full co-operation," it said. "The OPCW will continue to work with the Libyan authorities to verify and destroy any newly declared stocks."
The abandonment or disappearance of some Gaddafi-era weapons has prompted concerns that such firepower could erode regional security if it falls into the hands of Islamist militants or rebels active in north Africa. Some fear they could be used by Gaddafi loyalists to spread instability in Libya.
Last month Human Rights Watch urged Libya's ruling national transitional council to take action over large numbers of heavy weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, it said were lying unguarded more than two months after Gaddafi was overthrown.
On Wednesday the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said the UN would send experts to Libya to help ensure nuclear material and chemical weapons did not fall into the wrong hands.
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
05112011
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
Fairfield Advance
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thân Nguyễn, Trí Võ, Cương Võ, MP Chris Hayes, Van Trần and Hoa Mai are calling on the government to stop the proposed memorandum of undestanding with the Vietnamese Veterans Association in Hanoi.
Picture: NICK ANDREAN
(còn tiếp ...)
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
05112011
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
RSL plan outrages Vietnam veterans
The Sydney Morning Herald
October 18, 2011
Sean Nicholls
Sydney Morning Herald state political editor
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/rsl-plan-outrages-vietnam-veterans-20111017-1ltee.html#ixzz1clZCU8J1
"We owe it to the future to do all we can to bring former enemies together" ... Rear-Admiral Ken Doolan. Photo: Andrew Sheargold
A PROPOSAL by the RSL to foster rapprochement between Australian and Vietnamese veterans of the Vietnam War has caused outrage, prompting the national president, Rear-Admiral Ken Doolan, to apologise for the way it has been handled.
But he has vowed to press on with debate over a proposed memorandum of understanding, which he says has the support of the federal government, arguing that ''we owe it to the future to do all we can to bring former enemies together''.
But the national president of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia, Ron Coxon, said his organisation did not support it. ''We haven't signed an MOU with the Japanese or the Germans. Why would we want one with the North Vietnamese? There are people this is going to upset and we're not going to get anything out of it.''
Advertisement: Story continues below Last year Mr Doolan wrote to the then foreign minister, Stephen Smith, seeking the government's views on a memorandum of understanding between the president of the RSL and his Vietnamese counterpart.
In January the office of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd, said the government ''had no objections''.
But Mr Doolan said a group opposed to the proposal was running a campaign of ''misinformation'', including that it contained a plan for Australian veterans to march with former Vietcong, which was ''absolutely wrong''.
In an email to members, Mr Doolan apologised that the proposal had ''not been properly or clearly explained''.
He says the RSL took up the proposal at the request of some veterans who had been going to Vietnam for many years and had ''built friendly and positive relationships with former foes''.
He said the proposal ''may or may not go ahead'' but the idea of a ''rapprochement'' had been ''going on for some time''.
The state member for Baulkham Hills, David Elliott, who served with the army's peacekeeping force in Bougainville in 2000, said he was ''horrified'' by the idea when veterans in his electorate raised it with him. He would write to Mr Rudd to express their concern. ''Forgiveness and reconciliation is a very personal act,'' he said. ''It's not something that governments can force on returned servicemen.''
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/rsl-plan-outrages-vietnam-veterans-20111017-1ltee.html#ixzz1clHBW7KT
_____________
Trên đây là 1 bài đăng trên báo The Sydney Morning Herald, về vấn đề RSL, tổ chức của những Cựu quân nhân Úc đã từng tham chiến ở VN trước năm 1975, với chương trình mang tính cách "xóa bỏ hận thù" để có những cuộc "duyệt binh", "diễn binh" hay "diễn hành chung" ... với bộ đội Bắc Việt tức là bộ đội của bè lũ phản quốc CƯỚP NƯỚC DIỆT CHỦNG BÁN NƯỚC cộng sản Việt Nam, tức Việt cộng .
Chương trình này của RSL đã được SMH gọi là "plan outrages Vietnam veterans"
Vấn đề này đã xảy ra cách đây khỏang 2 tuần, hôm nay conbenho có dịp tìm hiểu thêm và đưa vào đây cho các anh chị cùng đọc để có thể hiểu thêm phần nào sự việc .
Thiển nghĩ đây không chỉ là vấn đề của những người Cựu Quân Nhân Úc đã từng tham chiến tại VN trước năm 1975 mà còn là vấn đề của những Quân Nhân trong QL VNCH đã và đang định cư tại Úc, cũng là vấn đề của Cộng Đồng Người Việt Tỵ Nạn cộng sản tại Úc cũng như trên tòan thế giới .
conbenho lấy tựa của bài viết trên của báo The Sydney Morning Herald đặt tên cho đề tài này trong các bài liên quan kế tiếp .
(còn tiếp .. )
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
05112011
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
Is the US heading for war with Iran?
With an election coming and the economy struggling, conflict may not appeal to Obama, but the drumbeat is getting louder
Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 2 November 2011 17.52 GMT
Article history
It would be difficult for Barack Obama to sell conflict with Iran to a war-weary US public. Photograph: Win Mcnamee/Getty Images
War with Iran is the last thing Barack Obama needs with the American economy in dire trouble and a tough White House election campaign looming next year, according to officials in Washington as well as political analysts.
But while the Obama administration is desperate to avoid another conflict – it would be America's fourth in a decade – the drumbeat from Israel has been growing louder.
The Israeli cabinet was reported on Wednesday to be debating whether to launch air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in the coming weeks. The prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the defence minister, Ehud Barak, are lobbying in favour of action, but other senior ministers are urging caution.
In response, Iran has warned, as it has in the past, that any attack by Israel would result in retaliation against the US. The Iranian news agency ISNA quoted Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran's military chief, as saying: "The Zionist regime's military attack against Iran will inflict heavy damages to the US as well as the Zionist regime."
The rhetoric from Tel Aviv and Tehran is making some within the Obama administration nervous.
A Washington official familiar with the issue acknowledged the temperature has been rising and that Israel introduced an unpredictable element. He reiterated, however, that the policy of the Obama administration was to pursue all diplomatic channels, backed by tougher sanctions, and avoid military action.
"I do not think the US has the stomach for it," Sam Gardiner, a retired air force colonel who taught strategy at the National War College and who has specialised in carrying out war games targeting Iran, said. But if Israel went ahead, it would be difficult for the US to stay out. "The US would have to be involved and finish it," he said.
A congressional hearing on Iran last week was told that the Pentagon has a series of contingency plans for military action, ranging from all-out war to limited operations. Obama had signed off on these, the hearing was told.
Retired general Jack Keane was hawkish, urging escalation. "We've got to put our hand around their throat now," he said. The hearing was told options included increased covert action, more cyberwarfare and sanctions that would target the Iranian central bank, a serious move that Iran might regard as tantamount to a declaration of war.
But Keane and other military colleagues giving evidence on Capitol Hill all stopped short of advocating an air strike against Iran. That has been line for years from the Pentagon, which sees all-out war against Iran as the worst of options.
The issue of a possible military attack on Iran was reignited in Israel by influential columnist Nahum Barnea last Friday. "Rumours are increasing about an Israeli offensive that would change the face of the Middle East and perhaps seal the fate of the Jewish state for the coming generations," he wrote.
Members of the inner cabinet swiftly tried to put a lid on conjecture. The intelligence affairs minister and deputy prime minister, Dan Meridor, said the issue should not be a matter of public debate. "A public debate about this is nothing less than a scandal … The public elected a government to make decisions about things like this in secret. The public's right to know does not include the debate about classified matters like this," he said.
Israel test-fired a "rocket propulsion system" capable of striking Iran on Wednesday, adding to speculation over its intentions regarding military action. However, defence officials said the exercise had been planned for a long time.
With the next White House election 13 months away, an Israeli attack on Iran is Obama's nightmare. It would be hard for a president to sell another conflict to a war-weary American public on top of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
There might be a temporary rallying round the flag but Obama would lose the Democratic left, the base he needs to get out and campaign for him.
That would be problematic for a president facing a tight election. But there is an even bigger problem: the impact of rising oil prices – an almost certain consequence of conflict – on the faltering US recovery.
Karim Sadjadpour, one of the leading analysts in the US on relations with Iran, based at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is sceptical about the chances of war with Iran.
"A US military attack on Iran is not going to happen during Obama's presidency. If you're Obama, and your priority is to resuscitate the American economy and decrease the US footprint in the Middle East, bombing Iran would defeat those two objectives. Oil prices would skyrocket."
Larry Sabato, a widely-respected political analyst and professor of politics at the University of Virginia, shared the scepticism, though he noted that Obama was more bellicose than people had expected. "He has not been hesistant to use force. And that has surprised not just the left but people round the world. I am not sure he would get the Nobel peace prize now. Just as well he got it early," he said.
If there was to be a conflict, it would be better late next year, close to the election, rather than during the remainder of this year or early next. "We always talk about October surprises and we would have people rallying round the flag if there was sufficient justification. October means the election would be held before the US becomes mired down in conflict or faces a boomerang effect," Sabato said.
Israel is not alone in talking about military action against Iran. Among the state department documents disclosed by WikiLeaks was one in Saudi Arabia called for action to chop what it called "the head of the snake".
The attitude of the Obama adminstration towards Iran is well illustrated by the episode in which allegations surfaced of an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington with the help of a Mexican drug cartel.
If the US was finally bowing to pressure from not just Israel but Saudi Arabia, the alleged Iranian plot would have been a useful casus belli or at least the start of a softening up process in preparation for war.
Instead, Obama administration staff briefed privately almost immediately that a military response was not being contemplated, not even sending more naval vessels to the Gulf or announcing new military manoeuvres in the region.
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'15,000 strong' army gathers to take on Syria
An insurgent army which claims to be up to 15,000 strong is being coordinated from Turkey to take on President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, which risks plunging the region into open warfare.
Anti-government protesters shout slogans against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad during the funeral of villagers killed on Wednesday, in Hula, near Homs Photo: REUTERS
By Ruth Sherlock, Antakya, Turkey
9:00PM GMT 03 Nov 2011
The national "Syrian Free Army" aims to be the "military wing of the Syrian people's opposition to the regime", its leader told The Daily Telegraph from a heavily guarded camp in eastern Turkey.
Confirmation of an armed force operating with the covert approval of the Turkish authorities follows evidence that attacks inside Syria are causing high levels of casualties in the security forces. It also shows the anger of Recep Tayipp Erdogan, the Turkish premier, with Mr Assad, a former ally whose failed promises of reform have caused a deep rift.
"We are the future army of the new Syria. We are not in league with any particular sect, religion or political party. We believe in protecting all elements of Syrian society," the Army's leader, Col Riad al-Assad, said.
Made up of defectors from the regime's army, SFA fighters are conducting "high quality operations against government soldiers and security agents," Col Assad said.
Last week the SFA claimed responsibility for the killing of nine Syrian soldiers in battles in a town in central Syria. On Friday a further 17 regime soldiers were reported killed in violent clashes with defected former comrades in the city of Homs, a hotbed of resistance.
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The violence has continued this week. There have been unconfirmed reports that nine members of the minority Alawite sect to which Mr Assad belongs were dragged off a bus and killed, while 15 members of the security forces were killed by deserters on Wednesday in two attacks, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The escalation has given new urgency to Wednesday's fragile agreement between the regime and the Arab League to withdraw the army from the streets. The Observatory said 20 more people died in Homs on Thursday from gunfire and shelling despite the supposed agreement, while today will see an even bigger test as activists challenge Mr Assad with street protests after Friday prayers.
Col Assad has an extensive Turkish personal security entourage, and access to him is controlled directly by the Turkish foreign ministry.
Turkey's formal position that it has only a humanitarian role in Syria and Col Assad was coy on whether the SFA was conducting cross border operations.
But he said his men were operating across Syria. "Our fighters protect the borders of dissident towns and villages, and attack soldiers who gun down peaceful demonstrators," he said. "We are armed with guns and ammunition stolen from the regime".
The size of the movement is unclear, with estimates ranging from 5,000 to 15,000. Many defectors have fled across the border and are being hosted in guarded camps in Turkey.
Col Assad appealed to the international community to impose a 'no fly zone' and a 'no sea zone'.
"We don't have the ability to buy weapons, but we need to protect civilians inside Syria," he said. "We want to make a 'safe zone' in the north of Syria, a buffer zone in which the SFA can get organised." With a small weapons supply, his movement is not yet in a position to pose a serious threat to the regime, but its presence marks a definitive change to the original unified opposition policy of peaceful protest.
Col Assad said he wanted his force to be recognised as the military wing of the Syrian National Council – the umbrella political opposition announced at a conference in Istanbul.
"We are waiting for them to appoint a high delegation and send a representative to speak to us about how we can support their aims militarily," he said.
A council member speaking anonymously confirmed that 'off the table discussions' were taking place. "Our commitment is, and has always been, peaceful resolution, but our patience has a limit," the source said. "It depends on the political developments among the Arab League, the Middle East and the International Community.
"In 10 days we will present a new plan that is to include a military and political strategy. Here the issue of the SFA may well be put on the table."
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
04112011
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
