West Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion. Possible 100 Dead.

2.1 Seismic Event Recorded from this explosion...

'Like a nuclear bomb': Fertilizer plant blast levels homes, kills 2 in Texas town

By Lateef Mungin, CNN

A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in the small Texas town of West left at least two people dead, leveled several homes and prompted a wide scale evacuation in the community of 2,600 people.

"It was a like a nuclear bomb went off," Mayor Tommy Muska said. "Big old mushroom cloud. There are a lot of people that got hurt. There are a lot of people that will not be here tomorrow."

Fire officials fear that the number of casualties could rise as high as 60 to 70 dead, said Dr. George Smith, the emergency management system director of the city.

"That's a really rough number, I'm getting that figure from firefighters, we don't know yet," he said.

"We have two EMS personnel that are dead for sure, and there may be three firefighters that are dead."

Fireball in the sky

The blast took place at the West Fertilizer Plant, about 18 miles north of Waco, about 8:50 p.m. ET.

The explosion: What we know so far

It sent a massive fireball into the sky. Flames leaped over the roof of a structure and a plume of smoke rose high into the air.

"There are lots of houses that are leveled within a two-block radius," Smith said. "A lot of other homes are damaged as well outside that radius."

He estimated that between 10 to 15 buildings were demolished and about 50 damaged.

And the danger may not be over.

Risk remains

Residents are being evacuated because officials are worried that another tank at the facility might explode.

"What we are hearing is that there is one fertilizer tank that is still intact at the plant, and there are evacuations in place to make sure everyone gets away from the area safely in case of another explosion," said Ben Stratmann, a spokesman for Texas State Sen. Brian Birdwell.

Firefighters at the scene said they were concerned aboutanhydrous ammonia, a pungent gas with suffocating fumes that is used as a fertilizer.

When exposed to humans, it can cause severe burns if it combines with water in the body.

And exposure to high concentrations can lead to death.

What is anhydrous ammonia

The scene

State troopers in gas masks set up roadblocks, waving away cars coming off the highway.

The Federal Aviation Administration instituted a flight restriction over the town. Schools will be closed for the rest of the week, and officials urged everyone to stay away from school property.

Shortly after the explosion, more than 60 patients streamed intoHillcrest Hospital in Waco, suffering from "blast injuries, orthopedic injuries (and) a lot of lacerations," said hospital CEO Glenn Robinson.

While some of the injuries are minor, others are "quite serious," he said.

The West Fertilizer Plant is just north of Waco. A nursing home with 133 residents was near the plant.

Smith, the EMS director, said he didn't know whether there were casualties reported in the nursing home.

'It was intense'

Tommy Alford, who works in a convenience store about three miles from the plant, told CNN that several volunteer firefighters were at the store when they spotted smoke.

Alford said the firefighters headed toward the scene and then between five and 10 minutes later, he heard a massive explosion.

"It was massive; it was intense," Alford said.

Cheryl Marak, who sits on West's city council, said the impact of the blast knocked her to the ground.

"It demolished both the houses there, mine and my mom's and it killed my dog," she said.

Other residents had similar stories.

read more at http://www.cnn.com/

Live Updates: West Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Injures More Than 100

Apr 18, 2013 1:02am

1:43 a.m. ET: Mayor of West Tommy Muska said in a news conference said they are concerned about the wind – which they expect to change direction about 3 a.m.

Muska told residents to stay in inside because of the hydrous gas that is still in the air.

1:25 a.m. ET: The explosion registered as 2.1 magnitude quake according theUSGS. Residents about 30 miles away in the town of Buffford told ABC News that they felt the quake.

AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Rod Aydelotte

1:21 a.m. ET: VIDEO: Homes and business were completely destroyed around the West, Texas, fertilizer plant.

1:09 a.m. ET:  Texas Department of Public Safety trooper D.L. Wilson said in a short news conference that there are more than 100 injuries with fatalities confirmed but did not specify how many deaths. Officials are searching for more people and are doing a house by house search.  About 133 people were evacuated from a nursing home.  About half the town has been evacuated.  Between 50-75 buildings were destroyed or damaged.

“Massive. Just like Iraq. Just like the Murray Building in Oklahoma City… So you can imagine what kind of damage we’re looking at,” Wilson said in describing the blast.

12:53 a.m. ET: Blood drives are planned for Thursday in Texas. Linda Goelzer of Carter Blood Care, the primary blood support service supporting more 58 counties, largest blood provider in Texas told ABC News the people in the community of West are “heart of gold people, like a Norman Rockwell painting.”

“The whole town is being evacuated. We had our blood supply pretty well stocked in Waco as of today but now we are sending more than 300 units of blood from Dallas Fort Worth down to Waco, that’s where patients are going. Many are being care-flighted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas for treatment at their burn center,” Goelzer said.

“Tonight our message to our donors is don’t everybody come at once, we will have patients for who knows how long who will be needing blood. Especially O-negative are needed, universal donor, will likely be expended tonight. What we tell people is that the blood helping people tonight is what’s already on the shelves. What we’ll need most is for consistency. We have blood drives everyday and we will have them tomorrow, we just don’t want people flooding in, in droves, like they did after 9/11. We’re asking our regular donors to keep coming throughout the week because we expect there will be many survivors.”

12:33 a.m. ET: At least 124 people hospitalized, with one hospital telling us that 20 more are on the way.  Of those, 38 considered serious.

AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth/The Dallas Morning News

12:19 a.m. ET: According to the CEO of Baptist Hillcrest Medical Center, Brett Esrock (in Waco) officials are triaging the wounded. Baptist has treated, or is treating 29 wounded, mostly minor to moderate injuries: cuts abrasions, broken bones, respiratory distress, and one critical injury. Hospital officials are being told they are about to receive an additional 20 patients “they are coming in ambulances cars vans, pretty much anything.” Other wounded people are also being sent to Hillsboro Regional Hospital, which has apparently received another 60 patients.  -  Matt Gutman

11:48 p.m. ET: West City Hall suffered significant damage according to Gail Scarborough with Texas Department of Public Safety. The middle school also caught on fire due to a gas leak in the building.

11:00 p.m. ET: Texas Gov. Rick Perry released the following statement on the explosion in West, Texas:  “We are monitoring developments and gathering information as details continue to emerge about this incident. We have also mobilized state resources to help local authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene.”

ABC

9:33 p.m. ET: According to a dispatcher at Texas Department of Public Safety, there were two explosions and a fire reported at a Fertilizer Plant in the town of West, Texas.

source: http://abcnews.go.com

Israel Likely To Strike Iran Prior To American Elections. Details Leaked.

In Israel, speculation rises of pending attack on Iran's nuclear facilities

Public statements and anonymous quotes to Israeli media in the past week have raised speculation that an Israeli attack on Iran could come before the U.S. presidential election in November.

By Anne Gearan

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Preparations in Israel for a possible war are focusing new attention on whether Israel will attack Iran's nuclear facilities and force an unwelcome debate in the thick of a U.S. presidential campaign about the U.S. role in stopping an Iranian bomb.

Public statements and anonymous quotes to Israeli media in the past week have raised speculation an Israeli attack could come before the U.S. presidential election in November.

The government appears to be readying the country for war by issuing gas masks, building underground bomb shelters and testing an early-warning system for missiles. The departing Israeli homefront defense minister said he had worked to ensure the nation was ready for a monthlong war "on multiple fronts."

The atmosphere grew more heated Friday with comments from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called Israel's existence an "insult to all humanity."

He was addressing worshippers at Tehran University after nationwide pro-Palestinian rallies, an annual event marking Quds Day on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

Israel considers Iran a threat because of its nuclear and missile programs, support for radical anti-Israel groups on its borders and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel's destruction.

Iran has denied it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at producing electricity and radioisotopes used to treat cancer patients.

Analysts in the United States and Israel are divided on whether the escalating war of words foreshadows an imminent attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Some say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is bluffing in hopes of forcing President Obama to issue an ultimatum to Iran that America would do the job itself later. Although Obama has said the United States will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, analysts suggest Netanyahu is looking for a deadline on abandoning talks and resorting to military action.

Others argue the Israeli leader appears to be laying the case for unilateral Israeli action over the objections of the U.S. and the majority of Israeli public opinion. This view holds that Netanyahu thinks he cannot rely on Obama for help now or later, and that he cannot afford to wait for a friendlier Romney administration to back him up or do the bombing itself.

A new war in the Middle East would be deeply unpopular among U.S. voters. Even talk of an imminent conflict with Iran could increase gas prices and unsettle the financial markets, possibly worsening the stagnant economy weeks before the November election.

The Obama administration has tried to say as little as possible about the prospect of an Israeli strike or what it might do if talks over Iran's disputed nuclear program — now at an impasse — completely fall apart.

Even if the timing is hazy, it's clear some in the Israeli government do not think they can delay.

"We can't wait to find out one morning that we relied on the Americans but were fooled because the Americans didn't act in the end," an unnamed Israeli official told the newspaper Haaretz last week. The official is widely believed to be Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.

read more at http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2018941810_israeliran18.html

Iran commander 'welcomes' Israel strike as reason to 'rid of' state

Published August 18, 2012

Associated Press

TEHRAN –  A senior Iranian commander says a possible Israeli airstrike against his country's nuclear facilities is "welcome" because it would give Iran a reason to retaliate and "get rid of" the Jewish state "forever."

The remarks by Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guard's air force, were reported Saturday by the official IRNA news agency.

Hajizadeh says in the event of an Israeli strike, Iran's response would be "swift, decisive and destructive." But he also claims Israeli threats of a strike are just part of a psychological war against Iran.

His comments are the latest in a war of words between the archenemies.

Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its suspect nuclear program. Iran denies seeking atomic weapons, saying its uranium enrichment is for peaceful purposes only.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/18/iran-commander-welcomes-israel-strike-as-reason-to-rid-state/?test=latestnews#ixzz23vv4sj3P

Iran calls Israel's existence an 'insult,' as prominent rabbi warns it's more than rhetoric

Published August 17, 2012

FoxNews.com

Aug. 17, 2012: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the conclusion of an annual pro-Palestinian rally in Tehran. (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran –  Israel's existence is an "insult to all humanity," Iran's president said Friday in one of his sharpest attacks yet against the Jewish state, as Israel openly debates whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said confronting Israel is an effort to "protect the dignity of all human beings."

"The existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to all humanity," Ahmadinejad said. He was addressing worshippers at Tehran University after nationwide pro-Palestinian rallies, an annual event marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

The comments are "reminiscent" of a letter written about the Jews and signed by Adolf Hitler in 1919, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Simon Wisenthal Center, says.

"Even though Ahmadinejad is attacking the state of Israel, we know what he means," Rabbi Hier said.

Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs, support for radical anti-Israel groups on its borders and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel's destruction. 

Ahmadinejad himself has repeatedly made such calls, as has Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Rabbi Hier compares Ahmadinejad's comments to the notion found in Hitler’s letter referencing the "removal of Jews all together." "Twenty-two years later he implemented everything, and the same is true about Ahmadinejad," Rabbi Hier said.

"We assume it's only rhetoric, but we once paid a very high price for assuming Hitler was talking rhetoric," he said.

The leader of the Lebanese Shiite militant Hezbollah, which has ties to Iran, says his group will transform the lives of millions of Israelis to "hell" if Israel attacks Lebanon.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says the group has a list of Israeli targets that it can hit with few rockets.

"We can transform the lives of millions of Zionists in occupied Palestine to a real hell," he said.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a deadly, inconclusive monthlong war in 2006, when Hezbollah fired about 4,000 rockets at Israel.

Iran has denied allegations that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at producing electricity and radioisotopes used to treat cancer patients.

Israel has been carrying on an increasingly public debate about whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel's official position is to favor diplomatic and economic measures to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, but Israel insists that Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. Israeli leaders say "all options are on the table," a clear reference to a military strike, if they determine that other measures have failed.

"You are not going to make a deal with the Iranians, not under their current leadership," Rabbi Hier said.

Iran has warned it would hit back at Israel if it is attacked, also threatening to strike at American interests in the region.

Ahmadinejad called Israel "a corrupt, anti-human organized minority group standing up to all divine values."

 "Today, confronting the existence of the fabricated Zionist regime is in fact protecting the rights and dignity of all human beings," said Ahmadinejad, with a black and white scarf many Palestinians wear around his neck.

Remember the Holocaust?

Iran and Israel have been bitter enemies for decades. Khamenei has called Israel a "cancerous tumor" that must be wiped out.

"This is a threat to wipe out the state of Israel," Rabbi Hier said. "We should take these people at their word."

Tensions between Iran and Israel have intensified since 2005, when Ahmadinejad said in a speech that Israel will one day be "wiped off the map." 

But Rabbi Hier said he does not "subscribe at all with those who say this is a legitimate form of rhetoric."

"The only way to stop what's happening in Iran is for at least the United States and her allies to say, 'How long are we going to sit by and take this threat?'" he said.

The Iranian president has also described the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were killed by German Nazis and their collaborators during World War II, as a "myth."

"Most intellectuals in 1939 and 1938 did not think Hitler was serious, they thought they knew better, but they didn't know better, and we paid a dear price that we were not on the right side of history," he said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/17/iran-calls-israel-existence-insult-to-all-humanity/#ixzz23vua0fgc

Blogger: Israeli attack in Iran will include, missiles, assassinations

US blogger Richard Silverstein says Israeli source leaked attack plan Bibi, Barak pitching to ministers. According to document, campaign will open with cyber-attack that will paralyze electrical grid

Ynet

Published:  08.15.12, 21:56 / Israel News

Any Israeli attack on Iran will open with a "coordinated strike, including an unprecedented cyber-attack which will totally paralyze the Iranian regime and its ability to know what is happening within its borders," American blogger Richard Silverstein wrote Wednesday.

Silverstein claims to have obtained an Israeli briefing document outlining the Jewish state's war plans against Iran, which, according to him, include the launching of dozens of missiles, an aerial attack, a sophisticated cyber attack and even the assassination of senior Iranian military and intelligence officials.

In the blog, Tikkun Olam, Silverstein said the document was leaked to him by a high-level Israeli source who had obtained it from an IDF officer. According to Silverstein, the source told him that normally he would not leak this sort of document, but that "these are not normal times. I’m afraid Bibi (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) and (Defense Minister Ehud) Barak are dead serious."

The blogger estimates that the document was leaked to him in order to "expose the arguments and plans advanced by the Bibi-Barak two-headed warrior. Neither the IDF leaker, my source, nor virtually any senior military or intelligence officer wants this war."

According to Silverstein, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using this "sales pitch" to persuade the eight-member security cabinet to support a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"This is Shock and Awe, Israel-style. It is Bibi’s effort to persuade high-level Israeli officials that Israel can prosecute a pure technology war that involves relatively few human beings (Israeli, that is) who may be put in harm’s way, and will certainly cost few lives of IDF personnel," the blogger wrote.

'Two-headed warrior.' Barak (L) and Bibi (Photo: Eliad Levy)

"Bibi’s sleight of hand here involves no mention whatsoever of an Iranian counter-attack against Israel. The presumption must be that the bells and whistles of all those marvelous new weapons systems will decapitate Iran’s war-making ability and render it paralyzed. The likelihood of this actually happening is nearly nil."

According to Silverstein, an Israeli strike on Iran will include a "barrage of tens of ballistic missiles" launched from Israeli territory towards Iran, as well as a barrage of "hundreds of cruise missiles" which will "pound command and control systems, research and development facilities, and the residences of senior personnel in the nuclear and missile development apparatus.

Hungarian Jews at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp on
 May 24th, 1944.
This was one of the hundreds of concentration camps
where Jews were killed, tortured, starved, beaten,
shot, or worked in forced labor.

"Intelligence gathered over years will be utilized to completely decapitate Iran’s professional and command ranks in these fields," according to the blogger.

Silverstein says the attack will open with an unprecedented cyber-attack which will take the internet, telephones, radio and television, communications satellites, and fiber optic cables leading to and from critical installations—including underground missile bases at Khorramabad and Isfahan - out of action.

"The electrical grid throughout Iran will be paralyzed and transformer stations will absorb severe damage from carbon fiber munitions which are finer than a human hair, causing electrical short circuits whose repair requires their complete removal. This would be a Sisyphean task in light of cluster munitions which would be dropped, some time-delayed and some remote-activated through the use of a satellite signal," the blogger claims.

According to the document, the missiles will strike their targets—some exploding above ground like those striking the nuclear reactor at Arak–which is intended to produce plutonium and tritium—and the nearby heavy water production facility; the nuclear fuel production facilities at Isfahan and facilities for enriching uranium-hexaflouride. Others would explode under-ground, as at the Fordo facility.

Following the first wave of attacks, Silverstein says, an Israeli radar satellite will pass over Iran and transfer information directly to war planes making their way covertly toward Iran.

"These IAF planes will be armed with electronic warfare gear previously unknown to the wider public, not even revealed to our US ally. This equipment will render Israeli aircraft invisible. Those Israeli war planes which participate in the attack will damage a short-list of targets which require further assault," the blogger writes.

According to Silverstein, among the targets approved for attack are Shahab 3 and Sejil ballistic missile silos, storage tanks for chemical components of rocket fuel, industrial facilities for producing missile control systems, centrifuge production plants and more.


Silverstein mentions that Iran is divided into 31 districts, each with its own independent command and control facilities and mechanisms. "So Israel wouldn’t be able to knock out a single facility and paralyze the IRG. They’d need to knock out 31 separate sets of facilities–a much harder task," he writes.

read more at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4269110,00.html

Breaking: Israelis not safe in Sinai Peninsula. Various implications and applications of Chemical Weapons. The Syrian Files. Egypt vs Israel.

update: 8-2-2012

Israel says terror groups are planning to abduct Israelis from the Sinai peninsula

Counter-Terrorism Bureau issues warning received new intelligence that Gaza-based Palestinian terror groups, organizations linked to Al-Qaida in Sinai planning imminent attacks on Israeli tourists there.

By Barak Ravid | Aug.02, 2012 | 10:12 PM

A view of Sharm el Sheik in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. 

Israeli tourists in Sinai should return to Israel immediately because terrorists are planning to abduct Israelis from the peninsula, the government's Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned on Thursday.

The agency said it issued the warning because it has received new intelligence indicating that Gaza-based Palestinian terror groups and organizations linked to Al-Qaida in Sinai are planning imminent attacks on Israeli tourists there. The terrorists' primary goal is to kidnap Israelis, the agency added.

While it has issued similar warnings several times in the past, many Israelis ignore them, pressing forward with plans to enjoy a relatively cheap beach vacation.
"The Counter-Terrorism Bureau once again urges all Israelis in Sinai to leave the region immediately and return to Israel," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Thursday.

"The Counterterrorism Bureau asks the families of Israelis in Sinai to make contact with them and inform them of this warning. In addition, the bureau strongly recommends that all those planning to go to Sinai refrain from doing so."

The agency has had a travel advisory in place for Sinai for several years now, but the security situation there deteriorated drastically after last year's Egyptian revolution. Over the past year, two serious cross-border terror attacks have been launched at Israel from Sinai, both by terrorist groups affiliated with Al-Qaida.

source: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-says-terror-groups-are-planning-to-abduct-israelis-from-the-sinai-peninsula-1.455635

The Specter of Syrian Chemical Weapons

August 2, 2012 | 0901 GMT

By Scott Stewart

The unraveling of the al Assad regime in Syria will produce many geopolitical consequences. One potential consequence has garnered a great deal of media attention in recent days: the possibility of the regime losing control of its chemical weapons stockpile. In an interview aired July 30 on CNN, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said it would be a "disaster to have those chemical weapons fall into the wrong hands -- hands of Hezbollah or other extremists in that area." When he mentioned other extremists, Panetta was referring to local and transnational jihadists, such as members of the group Jabhat al-Nusra, which has been fighting with other opposition forces against the Syrian regime. He was also referring to the many Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, which have long had a presence in Syria and until recently have been supported by the al Assad regime.

The fear is that the jihadists will obtain chemical weapons to use in terrorist attacks against the West. Israel is also concerned that Palestinian groups could use them in terrorist attacks inside Israel or that Hezbollah could use such weapons against the Israelis in a conventional military battle. However, while the security of these weapons is a legitimate concern, it is important to recognize that there are a number of technical and practical considerations that will limit the impact of these weapons even if a militant group were able to obtain them.

Militant Use of Chemical Weapons

Militant groups have long had a fascination with chemical weapons. One of the largest non-state chemical and biological weapons programs in history belonged to the Aum Shinrikyo organization in Japan. The group had large production facilities located in an industrial park that it used to produce thousands of gallons of ineffective biological agents. After the failure of its biological program, it shifted its focus to chemical weapons production and conducted a number of attacks using chemical agents such as hydrogen cyanide gas, phosgene and VX and sarin nerve agents....

Difficult to Employ

Using chemical munitions on the battlefield presents a number of challenges. The first of these is sufficiently concentrating the chemical agent to affect the targeted troops. In order to achieve heavy concentrations of the agent, chemical weapon attacks were usually delivered by a massive artillery bombardment using chemical weapons shells. Soviet military chemical weapons doctrine relied heavily on weapons systems such as batteries of BM-21 multiple rocket launchers, which can be used to deliver a massive amount of ordnance to a targeted area. Additionally, it is very difficult to control the gas cloud created by the massive barrage. There were instances in World War I and in the Iran-Iraq War in which troops were affected by chemical weapon clouds that had been created by their own artillery but had blown back upon them.

Delivering a lethal dose is also a problem in employing chemical weapons in terrorist attacks, as seen by the attacks outlined above. For example, in the March 20, 1995, attack on the Tokyo subway system, Aum Shinrikyo members punctured 11 plastic bags filled with sarin on five different subway trains. Despite the typically very heavy crowds on the trains and in the Tokyo subway stations that morning, the attacks resulted in only 12 deaths -- although thousands of other commuters were sickened by the attack, some severely.

The Syrian regime is thought to have mustard gas as well as tabun, sarin and VX nerve agents in its chemical weapons inventory. Mustard gas, a blistering agent, is the least dangerous of these compounds. In World War I, less than 5 percent of the troops who were exposed to mustard gas died. Tabun and sarin tend to be deployed in a volatile liquid form that evaporates to form a gas. Once in gas form, these agents tend to dissipate somewhat quickly. VX, on the other hand, a viscous nerve agent, was developed to persist in an area after it is delivered in order to prevent an enemy force from massing in or passing through that area. While VX is more persistent, it is more difficult to cause a mass casualty attack with it since droplets of the liquid agent must come into contact with the victim, unlike other agents that evaporate to form a large cloud...

...

Another option for jihadists or Palestinian militants could be to attempt to smuggle the chemical agent into Israel for use in an attack. However, in recent years, increased security measures following past suicide bombing attacks in Israel have caused problems for militant groups smuggling weapons into Israel. The same problems would apply to chemical agents -- especially since border security has already been stepped up again due to the increased flow of weapons from Libya to Gaza.

Militants could attempt to solve this logistical challenge by launching a warhead or a barrage of warheads into Israel using rockets, but such militant rocket fire tends to be very inaccurate and, like conventional rocket warheads, these chemical warheads would be unlikely to hit any target of value. Even if a rocket landed in a populated area, it would be unlikely to produce many casualties due to the problem of creating a lethal concentration of the agent -- although it would certainly cause a mass panic.

The use of chemical weapons would also undoubtedly spur Israel to retaliate heavily in order to deter additional attacks. This threat of massive retaliation has kept Syria from using chemical weapons against Israel or allowing its militant proxies to use them.

Hezbollah may be the militant organization in the region that could most effectively utilize Syrian chemical munitions. The group possesses a large inventory of artillery rockets, which could be used to deliver the type of barrage attack required for a successful chemical weapon attack. Rumors have been swirling around the region for many months that Libyan rebels sold some chemical munitions to Hezbollah and Hamas. While we have seen confirmed reports that man-portable air-defense systems and other Libyan weapons are being smuggled into Sinai en route to Gaza, there has been no confirmation that chemical rounds are being smuggled out of Libya.

Read more: http://www.stratfor.com

Thursday 5 July 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing the Syria Files – more than two million emails from Syrian political figures, ministries and associated companies, dating from August 2006 to March 2012. This extraordinary data set derives from 680 Syria-related entities or domain names, including those of the Ministries of Presidential Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Information, Transport and Culture. At this time Syria is undergoing a violent internal conflict that has killed between 6,000 and 15,000 people in the last 18 months. The Syria Files shine a light on the inner workings of the Syrian government and economy, but they also reveal how the West and Western companies say one thing and do another.

source: http://wl.wikileaks-press.org/syria-files/

The Oddly Cordial Letter That the Muslim Brotherhood Sent to Israel

AUG 2 2012, 10:40 AM ET 
What we can learn from Egyptian President and Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi's note to Israeli President Shimon Peres -- assuming it's real.

Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi (left) and his Israeli counterpart, Shimon Peres (right). (Reuters)

...The letter states, "I am looking forward to exerting our best efforts to get the Middle east peace process back to its right track in order to achieve security and stability for all peoples of the region, including that Israeli people." This seems like routine and mundane for a correspondence between the heads of state of Egypt and Israel, but we are talking not about Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and Shimon Peres, but the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and Peres...

... The same Muslim Brotherhood, which has vowed not to normalize relations with the Israelis until Israel fulfills the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, which from the Brotherhood's perspective demands the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

...several seemingly technical problems with the actual letter has left its authenticity open to question:

• Whoever wrote the letter, which was in English, spelled the Israeli leader's last name "Perez" instead of "Peres." ...
• President Morsi's signature does not appear on the letter and there is no presidential seal or stamp on it. ...
•  The Egyptians are denying that Morsi sent the letter.  Presidential spokesman, Yasser Ali,told al Ahram Gateway that "President Morsi has not sent any letter to the Israeli president."

So what is going on here?...Conspiratorial? Without a doubt, but one can actually understand the logic train in this one, unlike most conspiracy theories.

...The whole episode speaks to the ambiguous nature of Egypt-Israel relations at this moment in Egypt's transition. The letter comes after three Israeli messages to Morsi (two from Peres and one from Prime Minister Netanyahu) that went unanswered. If the note from Morsi is authentic, it is a good sign because it seems to defy predictions (including my own) that relations between the Egyptians and Israelis were going to get tough. Still, Yasser Ali's denial is curious.  ...

source: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/the-oddly-cordial-letter-that-the-muslim-brotherhood-sent-to-israel/260637/#

---------------end update------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sadly, but not surprisingly, President Vladimir Putin decided that he should support Assad because it would be to Russia's advantage.  Russia hasn't had to do anything except veto the U.N. Security Council resolutions.  They also babbled about negotiations being a better bet in creating a peaceful solution...as if that was even logical.

So, while the Kremlin was continuing to deliver weapons to Assad, masked as old contracts, including attack helicopters, Russian leaders were warning that the West had a plan to bomb Syria and that Russia would protect them.

During this really ignorant process, Syria "leaked" that it actually had a stock pile of chemical weapons, which was something it had been denying.  Assad showed, through it's response to questions by the U.N. and others, that he and his dictatorial regime are not the most intelligent group on this planet.

Image 1 of 2

Bashar al-Assad celebrating the second birthday of one of their children with wife Asma Assad Photo: CAMERA PRESS

Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad remains in hiding, with only theories of where he is and how he is directing his troops and keeping his regime together.

The main fighting is now in Aleppo and the attack helicopters are being used here in force ...yes, the same attack helicopters provided by the Kremlin.  Evidently, the rebels are taking over one of Assad's main centers of power.  

It's interesting that Assad is doing what Bin Laden did until he was found and killed.  Instead of speaking live, Assad is appearing in recorded clips on television and some of his remarks are appearing in the military's magazine.  

"The fate of our people and our nation, past, present and future, depends on this battle," said Assad, whose low public profile suggests acute concern over his personal safety since the bombing in which his brother-in-law was among the dead.

In confronting "terrorist criminal gangs" - the government's usual term for the rebels - the army had proved it had "the steely resolve and conscience and that you are the trustees of the people's values," the 46-year-old president declared. 

reuters

Aleppo is Syria's biggest city.  At times, the volleys of shells wind up drowning out the Islamic call to prayer.  This does not stop the rebels.  The civil war has continued to intensify with fears that Assad will use the mass stockpile of chemical weapons on his own people, prompting even children in classrooms to try on gas masks.

Children trying on gas masks at a junior high school in Holon. iPhoto by Uriel Sinai

The civil war is now so horrifying that it has spurred a growing humanitarian crisis.  There is dire need for safe distribution of food and water to the people of Syria. Thousands have fled, but the need is still monumental.  

"The humanitarian situation is deteriorating in Aleppo and food needs are growing rapidly," the World Food Programme said.

Right now, the fighting is engulfing Damascus and Aleppo, both of which are prized power holds.

Unfortunately, there is footage that shows that rebels are carrying out summary executions, such as Assad's forces have been accused of taking part in.  Of course, these are videos that are floating around the Internet, so that information may not completely be correct, however, this may be something they have decided was good for their cause, as unfortunate the actions are. I won't go into the details.

It is reported from my sources that neither side has full control of Aleppo or Damascus.  There are many areas that are like ghost towns that have closed shops and empty streets. 

It's been reported that some foreign fighters, militant Islamists, have joined the battle.  These who have joined, have joined against Assad.  Additionally, sources say that the rebels now possess almost two dozen surface-to-air missiles that were delivered to them by Turkey.  These missiles will help them fight back against the air fighters that Assad has been using. 

Rebels have been battling Assad's regime that obviously has more to use against them.  However, the rebels have been capturing some of Assad's power by capturing some tanks and heavy weapons.  This is confirmed by a reputable source.


Meanwhile, Israel is concerned about the advanced weaponry that may be used against them, that may be transferred to Hezbollah.  The weaponry does include chemical weapons.

As Haaretz reported last month, only 53 percent of Israelis have gas masks. The government has not set a final target date for handing out gas masks, but the issue will be resolved in the discussions on funding the program, Tessler said. 

The initial target was to have 4.5 million gas masks distributed by next year, but this goal would probably be met this year, Tessler said. 

With the threat of an attack on Iran's nuclear installations and the uncertainty about Syria's chemical weapons, civil defense planners are also concerned about possible missile attacks against civilian targets in a future war. 

Still, only 30 percent of Israelis have a reinforced room in their homes and a  quarter have no such shelter either at home or nearby. Home Front Command says Israelis lacking a protected space against chemical or biological weapons should head for the most secure space in their homes and seal it on their own. 

"People need to know that they don't have protection, and the solution is the sealed room and the mask," Tessler said. "There are those who view brown adhesive tape cynically, but it saves lives. In many cases, it's the difference between life and death. 

Several months ago, the Israel Defense Forces' planning division projected that the number of missiles falling on Israel would be 10 times higher than the number during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. The IDF said several hundred civilians would be killed, and thousands of houses and apartments would be made uninhabitable. 

200,000 missiles 

Eisenberg has said that at any given moment 200,000 missiles are aimed at Israel.

source:  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-unlikely-to-be-hit-by-unconventional-weapons-says-home-front-command-chief-1.455065

In conclusion, the outlook is terrifying because Israel may be in planning for a strike against Iran, Iran may be in planning for a strike against Israel, Syria may be in the middle of a power grab that would include Iran and Russia, Russia cannot be trusted by America, Turkey fits in there somewhere, and so forth.


More to come.