Netanyahu vs Obama II - Coming Attractions

This article from the Jerusalem Post is very interesting and worth reading. It reveals what we can expect to see in the coming days as preparations are being made for Mr Netanyahu's visit to Canada and the U.S.:

PM expected To "Break New Ground" In AIPAC Speech

On eve of US trip, gov't sources say Netanyahu spending considerable time working on speech to annual policy conference expected to address Iran's nuclear march and the stymied diplomatic process with the Palestinians.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to leave for Canada and the US late Thursday night for a visit that – unlike previous trips to Washington and meetings with US President Barack Obama that focused on the Palestinians –is expected this time to center on Iran.

Government sources said Netanyahu is spending considerable time working on his speech to the annual AIPAC policy conference Monday evening. The sources said this speech will not just be one of platitudes, but rather a "policy speech" that will "break new ground".

OK, that gets my attention. Iran is the focus, and PM Netanyahu will be giving a speech which will "break new ground". This may prove interesting.

Netanyahu is expected to address both Iran's nuclear march, and the stymied diplomatic process with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu is scheduled to land in Ottawa early Friday morning and hold a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has turned Canada into one of Israel's staunchest supporters and closest friends in the world.

Netanyahu is not scheduled to leave for Washington from Ottawa until Sunday afternoon, listening to Obama's speech to AIPAC Sunday morning before travelling to the US. President Shimon Peres is scheduled to address the parley just before Obama.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Obama is considering using his AIPAC speech to more clearly define US policy on military action against Iran before his meeting with Netanyahu the next day. The report said Obama's staff was considering the possibility of outlining the "red lines" that Washington believes Iran should not be allowed to cross. Other administration officials, however, believe that if Obama does want to set out those red lines publicly, he was likely to do so in private with the prime minister.

These meetings and speeches may prove to be quite revealing. PM Netanyahu could use these forums to give clarity on his intentions regarding Iran. What President Obama says, to be completely honest, has little meaning, as one simply cannot count on what he says. Mr Netanyahu, however, in the process of breaking new ground may give us some invaluable information regarding his intentions for the Iranian nuclear situation.

Stay tuned - this one may get very interesting and is certainly worth following closely.

"Fears Grow Of Israel-Iran Missile Shootout"

Once again, Iran dominates the news cycle. One has to wonder just how much longer this war rhetoric can continue without full-scale war breaking out. One thing seems certain - once the first domino (aka "tipping point") falls, the rest will begin falling in rapid succession.

This first article is somewhat long and detailed, but it outlines exactly what Israel is expected to do with the planned attack against Iranian nuclear facilities and it is a very good read:

Fears Grow Of Israel-Iran Missile Shootout

With tensions between Israel and Iran running sky high over the latter’s nuclear program, U.S. officials and military analysts are growing increasingly concerned that Israel will launch a multi-phase air and missile attack that could trigger waves of retaliatory missile strikes from Tehran.

Such a shootout could quickly spiral into a regional conflict that would potentially force the U.S. to intervene to protect its interests.

The emerging consensus among current and former U.S. officials and other experts interviewed by NBC News is that that an Israeli attack would be a multi-faceted assault on key Iranian nuclear installations, involving strikes by both warplanes and missiles. It could also include targeted attacks by Israeli special operations forces and possibly even the use of massive explosives-laden drones, they say.

The Iranian response to such an attack is uncertain, but many experts and officials believe it is likely to include retaliatory missile strikes. Iran has more missiles in its arsenal than Israel, according to some estimates, and has the capability of striking targets in most Israeli population centers.

He also said Iran would likely attack major cities with its Shahab 3 missiles, which he said are not as accurate as the Israeli missiles, but would be an effective “instrument of terror … that could certainly cause significant damage to heavily populated suburban and urban areas.”

Additionally, U.S. intelligence estimates say Iran has supplied Hezbollah with more than 40,000 short-range rockets and missiles since 2006.

Top Iran Official: Enemies Will Face 'Rainy Day' Weapons In Case Of Attack

Earlier Tuesday, a U.S. intelligence official familiar with the discussions between top Israeli officials and Pentagon counterparts said that Israel indicated it would not warn the U.S. if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The pronouncement, delivered in a series of private, top-level conversations, sets a tense tone ahead of meetings in the coming days at the White House and Capitol Hill.

Referring to the possibility of an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, the country's defense minister warned possible perpetrators of Iran's secret weapons capabilities, saying that the "Islamic Republic of Iran has many hidden capabilities which are kept for rainy days."

U.S. Fears Terror Attacks By Iran If Israel Strikes

An Israeli strike on Iran would probably prompt Iranian-backed terrorist attacks

Blockading the Strait of Hormuz where oil and gas tankers pass is probable, and he said that the United States and soldiers overseas would be targeted by terrorists, most likely with car bombs, if the Israeli government decides on a pre-emptive strike to harm Iran's nuclear development program that is widely perceived as aiming for a nuclear weapon.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that Israel can defend itself against an Iranian counter-attack. “Is 40 missiles on Tel Aviv nice? “No. But it’s better than a nuclear Iran,” a former Israeli official told the Times. ” A worst-case scenario for Israel would be simultaneous attacks by Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas on Israel.

He added, “The balance the Iranians will try to strike is doing damage that is sufficiently significant, but just short of what it would take for America to invade.”

U.S. Thinks Iranian Retaliation Would Be Calculated

While the Times cited US and Israeli officials saying the last thing Iran would want is a war on its home front, the officials admitted that it would be impossible to predict the thinking of Iran's leadership in wartime.

Meanwhile, a security official in Jerusalem told The Jerusalem Post that Israel can defend itself against barrages of Iranian long-range missiles.

“The Iranians have the ability to launch barrages and that is an important part of their capabilities,” he said.

“But we are prepared and have the ability to intercept those barrages if they are launched.”

Also in the news:

E-Passports Spread To Half The Globe

Nearly half of all United Nations (U.N.) member states are now issuing biometric e-passports, according to the newest data from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the U.N. agency that oversees international air travel.

ICAO, which held its 20th TAG/MRTD meeting in September, reports that 93 out of 193 U.N. member states now issue e-passports, with 21 additional countries ready to deploy the technology in the next 12 to 48 months.

ICAO estimates that as of July 2011, these 93 states have issued more than 345 million e-passports, of which almost 340 million are in circulation.

As per ICAO specifications, each of these documents contains a contactless integrated circuit chip that stores biometric data–i.e. facial, fingerprint or iris–of the passport holder as well as other encrypted identification data.

Should We Be Worried About The Bird Flu?

The emergence of bird flu fifteen years ago conjured up visions of a viral Armageddon. It was previously unknown and it was dangerous. It gave rise to the archetypal health scare, that is to say a panic about a remote possibility that was much more frightening than more real, constant but everyday dangers with which we are so familiar that we ignore them.

Bird flu was frightening because the case-fatality rate (the proportion of people who died having contracted the disease) was high and there was no treatment for it. Fortunately, though, its communicability from bird to man was low, and from person to person virtually unknown. According to a recent paper in The Lancet, 344 of 583 people known to have contracted it in the last 15 years died of it, a very tiny absolute number by comparison with the total numbers of deaths in the world during that period.

According to The Lancet, researchers have now genetically-engineered strains of bird flu that can pass easily from ferret to ferret (the animal model often used in flu research) by means of aerosol, that is to say by air exhaled from the lungs. This demonstrates the possibility that a bird flu virus could emerge that would threaten the health of mankind.

Contraception Rule Could Lead To $100 Fines, Hill Report Says

So what, exactly, is the “or else” in the Obama administration’s contraception coverage mandate?

House Republicans asked the Congressional Research Service to look into it, and now they’re blasting out the answer they got. According to the research service, insurers and employers that do not comply with the contraception coverage rule could face federal fines of $100 per day per employee.

“Implementing a federal mandate that violates the conscience of an individual or organization, regardless of their religious affiliation or organizational purpose, is in direct violation with the First Amendment,” the committee said in a release announcing the report. “Imposing a fine on these individuals pours salt in the wound.”

If the federal government were to take action against noncompliant employers or insurers, the memo details how enforcement powers are divided between the Department of Labor, the IRS and HHS.

Netanyahu vs Obama: March 15, 2012

Below is an interesting article on the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu:

Netanyahu Will Urge Obama To Publicly Back Attack On Iran, Sources Say

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to publicly harden his line against Iran during a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on March 5, according to a senior Israeli official.

Israel wants Obama to make further-reaching declarations than the vague assertion that "all options are on the table," the official said. In particular, Netanyahu wants Obama to state unequivocally that the United States is preparing for a military operation in the event that Iran crosses certain "red lines," said the official; Israel feels this will increase pressure on Iran by making clear that there exists a real U.S. threat.

Officials in both Jerusalem and Washington acknowledge a serious lack of trust between Israel and the United States with regard to the issue of a possible strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

According to sources, the lack of trust between Israeli and U.S. officials appears to stem from, among other things, a mutual feeling that the other country is interfering in its own internal political affairs. Netanyahu suspects that the U.S. administration is attempting to turn Israeli public opinion against an attack on Iran, say sources.

The issue of strengthening U.S. rhetoric against Iran was raised last week by Israeli officials who met with Tom Donilon, the U.S. national security adviser who visited Israel last week. It was also raised by Defense Minister Ehud Barak during his Washington visit, which included a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden yesterday. Other senior Israeli officials - such as Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud ) and Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor (Likud) - have made similar comments to senior U.S. officials recently.

Netanyahu apparently complained bitterly about certain officials in the Obama administration who spoke out against an Israeli strike on Iran. But between the lines, some suggest that Netanyahu was speaking about Obama himself, as well as the other very senior officials in the administration. He reportedly told the senators that this kind of public discourse serves the Iranians.

In Netanyahu's view, this is all part of a goal to enlist both Israeli and U.S. public support against such a strike, sources say, and is part of what he considers to be U.S. interference in internal Israeli affairs.

The Obama administration's suspicions concerning Netanyahu were further fueled after Netanyahu and his advisers briefed a group of senators and senior congressmen during the past two weeks on the Iranian issue, and asked them to pressure Obama on the matter. Last week, Netanyahu met a group of five senior senators over lunch, headed by Sen. John McCain, who ran four years ago against Obama for president.

The White House was furious after McCain spoke out after the meeting with Netanyahu, said one source. The Obama administration viewed this as Israeli intervention in U.S. internal political affairs, with Netanyahu briefing McCain and McCain repeating his statements like a parrot, according to a senior U.S. official.

Netanyahu also believes that Obama's scheduled meeting with President Shimon Peres during the upcoming AIPAC conference constitutes an attempt by the United States to interfere in Israel's internal affairs, say sources.

This isn't going well at all so far. We'll have to see what the March 5th meeting brings, and it may take a few weeks for the truth to leak out, once the standard rhetoric is given in the standard, expected speeches. But sooner or later the truth will leak out and that will be the interesting part of these meetings.

Evening Update

A few interesting stories have been published this afternoon.

The first one is in the "food for thought" category:

Defense Minister Warns About Iran's "Secret Weapons"

In an interview with Fars News Agency today,Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi claimed that Iran is in possession of secret weapons along with top secret capabilities that could be used to confront the United States.

Vahidi is wanted by Interpol for the 1994 Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that killed more than 80 people and injured 100.

Vahidi also, as the chief commander of the Guards’ intelligence unit,directed the Marine barracks bombing killing 241 U.S. servicemen. He has been involved in many other terror attacks collaborating with Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and al-Qaida.

Today, Vahidi oversees the Islamic regime’s missile and nuclear program along with proliferation of arms to al-Qaida, Taliban, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups.

As revealed recently, Iran’s supreme leader has issued an order to activate all terror cells under its command, including the Quds forces and Hezbollah, to attack U.S. and Israeli interests in America and around the world, as well as for the Guards to prepare for missile attacks against U.S. military bases in the region, targets in Israel and in closing down the Strait of Hormuz.

The secret weapon Vahidi cites could be that Iran already has the bomb.

As revealed back in October, the Iranians actively approached the former Soviet republics after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and managed to get the bomb, something even sources within the U.S. State Department have confirmed, though it is unknown if they got the code.

One thing is clear, the radical leaders of the Islamic regime in Iran have crossed every red line in their pursuit of the nuclear bomb and currently have enough enriched uranium for six nuclear bombs.

'Israel Can Defend Itself Against Barrages From Iran"

Israel’s Arrow missile defense system could intercept barrages of Iranian long-range missiles, Arieh Herzog, who recently stepped down as head of the Defense Ministry’s Homa Missile Defense Agency, has told The Jerusalem Post.

He spoke as there is an increasing chance that Israel is planning to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

While there “is no such thing as 100 percent defense,” the Arrow was fully operational and capable of providing an adequate defense against Iran’s Shahab and Sajil ballistic missiles, Herzog said, in an interview marking his retirement several weeks ago after a 12- year term that will appear in full in Friday’s paper.

NDAA Nullification Passes Virginia Senate By A Veto-Proof 39-1 Vote

Today, the Virginia Senate took a firm stand in support of liberty, the Constitution for the United States, and the Constitution of Virginia by voting in favor of House Bill 1160 (HB1160), the “NDAA Nullification Act.”

The final vote was 39-1.

The bill’s primary sponsor, Delegate Bob Marshall, had this to say in support:

“During World War II, the federal government incarcerated tens of thousands of loyal Japanese Americans in the name of national security. By this bill, Virginia declares that it will not participate in similar modern-day efforts.

There are moments in our history when our liberties hang in the balance. This is one of those moments. I urge the Senate…to lead the way in the nation to ensure that Virginia will not cooperate when the Federal Government strays off the reservation with laws that take away the civil liberties of our citizens.”

...this is part and parcel of a larger NDAA nullification campaign around the country. Currently 7 local governments have passed resolutions ranging from a denouncement of the federal act in three Colorado counties to requiring noncompliance with it in places like Fairfax, CA and Northampton, MA. And, 7 states are currently considering legislation like Virginia’s – all based off the model legislation provided by the Tenth Amendment Center, the Liberty Preservation Act.

Israel Will Not Warn U.S. Of Attack On Iran's Nuclear Facilities

The articles below reveal the further deterioration in U.S.-Israeli relations and the complete lack of trust at this point. Truly, Israel now stands alone in this world:

Israelis Reportedly Don't Plan To Notify U.S. If Decision Made To Strike Iran

Israeli officials say they won't warn the U.S. if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the discussions told the Associated Press. The pronouncement, delivered in a series of private, top-level conversations, sets a tense tone ahead of meetings in the coming days at theWhite House and Capitol Hill.

Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the likelihood that the U.S. would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel's potential attack.

The U.S. has been working with the Israelis for months to persuade them that an attack would be only a temporary setback to Iran's nuclear program.

So, in other words, just let Iran go ahead an annihilate Israel now because they may be able to in a few years...What kind of logic is that? Additionally, in this "argument" against an Israeli strike now, it conveniently ignores the fact that Iran could have a regime change in the coming years - with a regime who may not be obsessed with the destruction of Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak delivered the message to a series of top-level U.S. visitors to the country, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the White House national security adviser and the director of national intelligence, and top U.S. lawmakers, all trying to close the trust gap between Israel and the U.S. over how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Netanyahu delivered the same message to all the Americans who have traveled to Israel for talks, the U.S. official said.

But the apparent decision to keep the U.S. in the dark also stems from Israel's frustration with the White House.

After a visit by National Security Adviser Tom Donilon in particular, they became convinced the Americans would neither take military action, nor go along with unilateral action by Israel against Iran. The Israelis concluded they would have to conduct a strike unilaterally -- a point they are likely to hammer home in a series of meetings over the next two weeks in Washington, the official said.

U.S. Official: Israel Won't Warn U.S. Before Attack On Iran

Israeli officials have made it clear they won’t warn the U.S. if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, a U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press on Monday.

The official said the pronouncement was delivered in a series of private, top-level conversations.

Netanyahu is widely believed to back Barak, who believes a pre-emptive military strike on Iran's nuclear program must be made before Tehran enters "the immunity zone."

Barak's so-called "immunity zone" is a theoretical point of no return after which Iran's nuclear program would be so diffuse and well protected that an Israeli strike could not sufficiently delay Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The remarks seem to back recent reports, according to which Israeli officials told Dempsey that Israel would give President Barack Obama no more than 12 hours notice if and when it attacks Iran.

The report said that the Netanyahu government also will not coordinate with the United States an attack on the Islamic Republic.

Israel Won't Warn U.S.

The secret warning is likely to worry US officials and begin the high level meetings with Israel and the US far apart on how to handle Iran.

“I got the sense that Israel is incredibly serious about a strike on their nuclear weapons program,” Rogers told CNN on Monday. “It’s their calculus that the administration … is not serious about a real military consequence to Iran moving forward.

In other news around the world:

Dershowitz Declares War Against Anti-Israel Media Watchdog

Harvard law professor, Alan Dershowitz, a staunch Democrat and ardent supporter of Israel, said on Monday that he has declared a personal war on the liberal media watchdog, Media Matters, for its harsh and biased coverage of Israel.

Dershowitz’s campaign comes as a result of presidential officials holding regular meetings and weekly conference calls with Media Matters on campaign strategy.

“I will speak to every Jewish group that invites me, and I think it’s fair to say I speak to more Jewish groups than probably any other person in the world. I spoke to over a million Jews over the years,” Dershowitz said. “You know, just last Thursday I spoke to 1,200; just in the next weeks alone I’ll be speaking — and in the past weeks — to thousands of American Jews. And believe me, I will not let them ignore this issue.”

“I don’t know whether President Obama has any idea that Media Matters has turned the corner against Israel in this way,” Dershowitz told the “Aaron Klein InvestigativeRadio” program on New York’s WABC Radio, on Sunday.

“I can tell you this: He will know very shortly, because I am beginning a serious campaign on this issue and I will not let it drop until and unless Rosenberg is fired from Media Matters, or Media Matters changes its policy or the White House disassociates itself from Media Matters,” he asserted.

Lebanon Rattles Its Saber At Israel

Lebanon's Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn on Monday warned Israel against “any foolishness in attacking Lebanon.”

Ghosn, who is currently on an official visit to Tehran, met Sunday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who told him that Lebanon and Iran "should work toward unity to confront the West and Israel."

Military analysts say an Israeli strike on Tehran's nuclear program could result in Iran pushing Hizbullah to use its vast arsenal of rockets against the Jewish state.

Hizbullah denies its actions are dictated by Tehran, but the group is deeply beholden to Iran and would likely find itself with little choice but to spark a new war with Israel.

That has left regional observers – and Lebanese officials – wondering if Israel will launch a pre-emptive strike on Hizbullah even as IAF pilots striking in Iran radioed "bombs away."

Iran's Christian Pastor Alive, Execution Looming

Remember the very words of Jesus:

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death and you will be hated by all nations because of me." (Matthew 24:9)

The Christian pastor sentenced to death in Iran last week for leaving Islamand converting to Christianity was confirmed alive as of early Sunday, sources close to his attorneys told Fox News.

Supporters fear Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested more than two years ago on charges of apostasy, fear he may be executed at any time, as death sentences in Iran can be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.

Others fear Nadarkhani will be used in broader political negotiations as Iran endures crippling sanctions and international pressure in response to its nuclear agenda and rogue discourse. The number of executions in Iran has increased significantly in the last month.

“If a human being becomes a bargaining chip for the ayatollah, that’s not a situation that will lead to anything positive,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a human rights advocacy group that has led international campaigns to free Nadarkhani.

Also see:

FEMA Puts Out Contract For Emergency Camps To House "Displaced Citizens

Is The IRS Attempting To Intimidate Local Tea Parties?

Van Rompuy: National Parliaments Are EU Institutions (no more national sovereignty)

What Does Law Say About Obama's Eligibility?

In the news:

There are a lot of interesting stories in circulation so I'll keep the intro to each brief:

Barak Heads To DC For Iran Talks

Defense Minister Ehud Barak is scheduled to leave for Washington on Monday for talks expected to center on Iran, as the frequency of senior- level US-Israeli meetings is at a pace not seen in years.Barak will be followed to Washington later in the week by President Shimon Peres, who will address the annual AIPAC policy conference next Sunday, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who will speak to the conference the next day.Both Peres and Netanyahu will meet President Barack Obama, with Peres doing so on Sunday, and Netanyahu on Monday.

A New Morning, Same Rockets Attack Southern Israel

A new day, a new week, and Gaza terrorists began their near-daily routine of firing short-range Qassam rockets at southern Israel on scheduleas usual Sunday morning.

Palestinian Authority terrorists in Hamas-ruled Gaza have been firing them at southern Israel at random times all weekend long, just as they have done thousands times since Israel's unilateral "disengagement" from the Gush Katif region of Gaza and northern Samaria in August 2005 in which over 8000 Jews were expelled from their homes..

Iran Prepares For Kamikaze Attacks

Even as it continued to talk with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iran continued to prepare for war over its nuclear weapons program, training for kamikaze attacks in the Persian Gulf with both planes and speedboats, sources within the Iranian armed forces report.

Tuesday the International Atomic Energy Agency called its recent talks with Iran a failure. And just days before, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the Revolutionary Guards, along with the army, on high alert, ready with conventional and unconventional means to respond to any aggression by the U.S. or Israel over its nuclear weapons program, the sources say.

Iran Strike Would Be 'Catastrophic": Putin

Russia is troubled by the growing threat of a military strike on Iran, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday, adding that fear of foreign intervention pushes other “nuclear threshold” states to acquire nuclear weapons, rather than dissuading them.

“Russia is alarmed by the growing threat of a military strike” against Iran, Putin said in alengthy campaign article focusing on Russia’s foreign policy, published in the daily Moskovskiye Novosti newspaper ahead of presidential elections on March 4, which he is widely expected to win.

“If this happens, the consequences will be truly catastrophic, their real scope impossible to imagine,” Putin wrote.

Iran Warns Israel Not To Attack Its Nuclear Facilities

Iran has warned Israel against mounting an attack on its nuclear facilities amid rising international tension over its uranium enrichment programme.

Iran's warning follows increasingly tough rhetoric from Israel about the need to halt Iran's nuclear development.

General Ahmad Vahidi issued a statement warning Israel that an attack would lead to the collapse of the Jewish state.

Israeli officials believe a pre-emptive strike must happen before the summer because Tehran is moving more of its nuclear installations underground.

U.S. Strengthening Defenses Around Hormuz

In an attempt to counter any attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon is strengthening US defenses in the Persian Gulf, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

According to defense officials, the US military has notified Congress of plans to beef up sea and land bases in the area,The Wall Street Journal reported.

U.S. Planning To Boost Sea And Land defenses In Gulf As Iran War Fears Grow

The Pentagon has begun to take tangible steps to prepare for a possible conflict with Iran by making formal plans to boost US sea and land defences in the Persian Gulf, it has been claimed.

Military planners have asked for emergency funding from Congress to address a perceived shortfall in defence capabilities that could undermine the ability of US forces to respond to an Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal quoted American officials as saying.

Here Comes Obama's 3 AM Phone Call

But this administration has chosen its Secretary of Defense to publicly leak the most closely guarded secret of Israel's back-against-the-wall defense against Iranian nuclear weapons.

Such public leaks amount to near treason in time of war. Imagine if someone leaked General Eisenhower's plans for the D-Day invasion in June of 1944. FDR would have fired them instantly, or if they were foreigners he would have felt justified to have them killed. Hundreds of thousands of American and Allied lives were at stake on D Day. In Israel today, hundreds of thousands of Jewish lives are at stake. Don't expect countries fighting for their national survival to act any differently.

The Israelis have now publicly retaliated against the Panetta leak. They have accused General Dempsey, our top general, of publicly taking the Iranian side in the confrontation. But General Dempsey is not the target. The General knows better. The real target is his boss in the White House.

Obama's string puppets at J Street and other Soros fronts are bound to start anti-Israel propaganda again, aided by the New York Times and its ilk. But the Iranians just said (again!) that they are bound and determined to "wipe Israel off the map."

The conventional wisdom is that Israel must attack Iranian nuclear sites soon, because Ahmadinejad is moving his nuclear industry into deep mountain tunnels on an emergency basis. Once his nuke industry is deeply bunkered it is essentially invulnerable to conventional weapons. It is the point of no return.

But the coming crisis cannot be evaded. Obama and his propaganda media will spin and spin -- before, during, and after the coming crisis between Israel and Iran. Obama wanted above all to force Israel to retreat back to 1948 or face a nuclear Iran. It was a choice between slow genocide and fast genocide.

Israel will act as in defense of its right to live.

Russia Upgrades Syria-Based Electronic Station To Warn Iran Of U.S./Israeli Attack

The Russians have upgraded their Jabal Al Harrah electronic and surveillance station south of Damascus opposite Israel’s Sea of Galilee, adding resources especially tailored to give Tehran early warning of an oncoming US or Israeli attack

Also see:

Moderate (4.8) Quake In France

Very Strong Quake In Siberia (updated)

U.S. Deficit "Accident Waiting To Happen" Institute Warns

No One Is Safe Under Islamist Regimes