November 2, 2011 – ISRAEL – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to rally support in his cabinet for an attack on Iran, according to government sources. The country’s defense minister Ehud Barak and the foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman are said to be among those backing a pre-emptive strike to neutralize Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But a narrow majority of ministers currently oppose the move, which could trigger a wave of regional retaliation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to report on the state of Iran’s nuclear capabilities on November 8, and that assessment is likely to influence Israel’s decision. Western intelligence officials estimate that Iran is still at least two to three years away from obtaining a nuclear bomb. Israel has long made it clear that it will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear capability that could threaten the Jewish State. Publicly it is pushing for a diplomatic offensive against Iran – including the imposition of sanctions – rather than a military strike. But Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that all options are on the table. Israel’s former defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told Haraatez newspaper that he feared a “horror scenario” if Israel attacked Iran. Washington is also strongly opposed to Israel taking unilateral action. Any strike on Iran could trigger retaliation from Iran and across the region. Syria, a close ally of Tehran, could also launch attacks, along with the Iranian-backed Hizbollah militia in Lebanon. –Sky News
Middle East moving closer to war: A report by the UN’s nuclear watchdog due to be circulated around the world next week will provide fresh evidence of a possible Iranian nuclear weapons program, bringing the Middle East a step closer to a devastating new conflict, say diplomats. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the latest of a series of quarterly bulletins on Iran’s activities, but this one will contain an unprecedented level of detail on research and experiments carried out in Iran in recent years, which western officials allege could only be for the design and development of a nuclear warhead. “This will be a game-changer in the Iranian nuclear dossier,” a western official predicted. “It is going to be hard for even Moscow or Beijing to downplay its significance.” The key passage of the “safeguards report” will be a summary of all the evidence collected over the years by UN weapons inspectors, including a substantial amount of hitherto unpublished data pointing to work in the past seven years. –Guardian UK
November 2, 2011 – New Delhi, INDIA - Against the backdrop of Chinese military build-up along its boundary with India, the Army has proposed an increase in its strength by around one lakh and raising a new mountain strike corps along with other new formations in the Northeast. “We have proposed to increase our strength by another 90,000 to one lakh troops and that has been cleared by the Defence Ministry. The proposal is at present awaiting clearance from the Finance Ministry,” army sources said here. Army`s present strength is more than 11 lakh troops including over 35,000 officers. They said the increase in the number of troops will be done in a phased manner over a period of more than five to six years. Asked about the expansion plan, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said, “We are keen on securing borders and we will take steps to do so. Wherever we feel there is a threat, adequate measures will be taken.” Asked about reports that China could do a Kargil on India, he said, “There is nothing to be particularly alarmed about the Chinese border.” He was talking to reporters at a function in Manekshaw Centre here. Under the Army proposal, which is likely to cost over Rs 60,000 crore, the Army has sought Government`s sanction for raising a mountain strike corps and four mountain divisions. The Army is also planning to deploy two independent armoured brigades in Uttarakhand and Ladakh. Once cleared, the proposal would be put up before the Cabinet Committee on Security for approval and financial sanction. –News24
