ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="24"> <td width="624" height="24" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#149; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#149; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#149; <a href="teflon.html">THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#149; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">REACTIONS</a> &#149; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">Israel&#39;s Collision Course</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>(310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright September 2, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style3">F</span>rustrated by the United Nation s inability to stop Iran s nuclear enrichment program, Israel reportedly decided that it will take any means necessary to prevent the Persian nation from going nuclear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran s firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stubbornly opposed U.S., U.N. and NATO efforts to reason with Tehran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Ahmadinejad and Iran Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Kamenei believe Iran has an inalienable right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to complete the  nuclear fuel cycle, including making weapons grade uranium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Where the West and Iran depart is over the definition of  peaceful purposes, where Iran insists it only intends to use fissile material to generate electric power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Pakistan secretly got the bomb in 1998, the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her successor Malik Meraj Khalid, talked only of Paikisntan s  peaceful interest in atomic power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <![endif]>Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials insist that the West can t stop Iran from going nuclear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran has warned that any attempt by any Western power including Israel would be met with massive retaliation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran possesses long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable to hitting anywhere in Israel or U.S. installations in the Persian Gulf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Should Israel attack Iran s nuclear facilities, Iran promised a massive strike on Israel s top-secret Dimona nuclear facility, 10 kilometers south of Dimona in the Negev desert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Dimona went online in 1962-63 and has been making plutonium and enriched uranium ever since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Israel is not a signer on any nuclear treaty, nor do they officially acknowledge possessing any A-bombs, rumored at around 200.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If Israel or the U.S. bombs Iran s nuclear sites and Iran hits Dimona, it could trigger an environmental catastrophe of epic proportions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Iran continues to publicly boast of its growing numbers of centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment facility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Despite calls for Iran to back down, Ahmadinejad has pushed ahead with Iran s enrichment program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Right now, nearly 4,000 centrifuges are operating at Natanz, Deputy Foreign Minister Al Reza Sheikh Attar told the Iran s IRNA s state news agency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Currently, 3,000 other centrifuges are being installed, causing panic inside Israel and real preparations for a bombing campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Pan-Arabic  Al Kuds al-Arabia newspaper reported Aug. 29 that Iran supplied Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon with long-range missiles, in preparation for an Israeli attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>  There is no government in Jerusalem that would ever reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran, said Ephraim Sneh, a former Labor-MK leader, sending both U.S. presidential candidates, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.), the confidential memo.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; New Dutch intel indicates that the U.S. might strike Iran s nuclear sites first,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>before Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>An AIVD Dutch intelligence service report in the Netherland s  De Telegraaf reports that an impeding attack could be carried out by unmanned U.S. aircraft within weeks, raising the diplomacy states.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran shows no evidence of backing down, realizing U.S. elections hang in the balance .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Most experts agree that a U.S. or Israeli attack would favor McCain, since he has the most national security experience<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>His naming of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to the ticket, could give voters second thoughts, given the fragile state of U.S. foreign relations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> When it is clear Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons, an Israeli military strike to prevent this will be seriously considered, Sneh told Israel s  Ma ariv newspaper, trying to push Tehran into making concessions on its enrichment program.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Shortly after Russia invaded Georgia Aug. 8, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Tehran about attacking Israel. Iran s recent missile tests, though some were bogus, attempt to intimidate the U.S. and Israel into backing down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We take very very strongly our obligations to help our allies defend themselves and no one should be confused about that, said Rice both warning Iran and Russian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While floating humanitarian-supplied ships in the Black Sean, the U.S. offered no military assistance to Georgia, despite President Mikhail Saakashvili s desperate pleas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Rice watched helplessly while Russian tanked rolled over Georgia, liberating South Ossetia and Abkhazia, continuing to occupy the tiny Caucasus nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Rice used recent Iranian missile tests to sell missile defense to Poland and the Czech Republic,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>a growing flashpoint with Russia.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Complicating the international picture, U.S. and Israeli threats against Tehran pose dangerous riptides with Russia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia s overreaction in South Ossetia and Abkhazia was linked to the U.S. decision to plow ahead with missile defense in Eastern Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia doesn t like getting lectured by the U.S. about what it does around its border when the U.S. occupies Iraq and Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. of delivering weapons to Georgia from its ships in the Black sea, not simply humanitarian aid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With Israel putting pressure on Tehran, the U.S. must recalculate its decision to move ahead with missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russian President Andrei Medvedev has warned the U.S. that such installations would be bombed., forecasting an ominous confrontation somewhere in the not too distant future.</p> <p><b><u>About the Author</u></b><br> </p> <p><b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.<br> </p> <p></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>