Netanyahu: I Opened The Door For Peace
Jeff Glor interviews Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
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June 15, 2009 4:35 PM
January 5, 2009 5:48 PM
Katie Couric's Notebook: Gaza
The New Year has brought renewed violence to the Middle East. For 10 days, Israelis and Palestinians have exchanged rocket fire. Five-hundred Palestinians are reported dead, including 100 civilians. As Israel flexes its military muscle with ground troops, Hamas continues to fire rockets deeper into Israel, making the prospect of a ceasefire nothing more than wishful thinking at this point.
President-elect Barack Obama has been silent on the conflict, stating that our nation only needs one president at a time.
It's true that weighing in on specific foreign policy could contradict President Bush and send mixed signals to the global community. But there are about a million people without electricity, food supplies are running short, and hospitals are overburdened in Gaza.
As one United Nations spokesman said, this is a humanitarian crisis.
Now is the time when protocol, and the desire not to step on toes, should take a back seat to both leaders working together before it is too late.
President-elect Barack Obama has been silent on the conflict, stating that our nation only needs one president at a time.
It's true that weighing in on specific foreign policy could contradict President Bush and send mixed signals to the global community. But there are about a million people without electricity, food supplies are running short, and hospitals are overburdened in Gaza.
As one United Nations spokesman said, this is a humanitarian crisis.
Now is the time when protocol, and the desire not to step on toes, should take a back seat to both leaders working together before it is too late.
June 25, 2008 5:23 PM 
David Martin is National Security Correspondent for CBS News.
Will there be a strike – either by the U.S., Israel or both – against Iran's nuclear complex? And will it happen before the Bush administration leaves office? I doubt leaders in either country know the answers to those questions.
Israel is putting the pressure on, telling the Bush administration in every way possible: "if you don't do it, we will." That's a threat designed to be heard not just in Washington but in every capital of the world – including Tehran. Israel wants the Iranians to know that it really will strike if uranium enrichment continues and it wants the rest of the world to know that the only way to stave off military action is with much more draconian economic and diplomatic sanctions that will persuade Teheran to change its mind.
Everyone agrees on two things: 1) Iran with a bomb would be a disaster and 2) bombing Iran would be a disaster. The only argument is over which would be the greater disaster.
One school of thought says that Iran would be like any other country that has the bomb – afraid to use it for fear of retaliation. But even those who believe that Iran would play by the same rules of deterrence that every other nuclear state plays by acknowledge that at the very least an Iranian bomb would cause other oil rich states to get a bomb of their own and nobody thinks a nuclear arms race in the Middle East can have a good outcome. It's really a moot point because Israel is certain that Iran with a bomb would be a greater disaster and Israel will do whatever it takes to prevent it.
The real question is: "what is Israel's red line? What will it take to trigger a strike?"
Tough Questions: Iran's Nuke Complex
(CBS)
Will there be a strike – either by the U.S., Israel or both – against Iran's nuclear complex? And will it happen before the Bush administration leaves office? I doubt leaders in either country know the answers to those questions.
Israel is putting the pressure on, telling the Bush administration in every way possible: "if you don't do it, we will." That's a threat designed to be heard not just in Washington but in every capital of the world – including Tehran. Israel wants the Iranians to know that it really will strike if uranium enrichment continues and it wants the rest of the world to know that the only way to stave off military action is with much more draconian economic and diplomatic sanctions that will persuade Teheran to change its mind.
Everyone agrees on two things: 1) Iran with a bomb would be a disaster and 2) bombing Iran would be a disaster. The only argument is over which would be the greater disaster.
One school of thought says that Iran would be like any other country that has the bomb – afraid to use it for fear of retaliation. But even those who believe that Iran would play by the same rules of deterrence that every other nuclear state plays by acknowledge that at the very least an Iranian bomb would cause other oil rich states to get a bomb of their own and nobody thinks a nuclear arms race in the Middle East can have a good outcome. It's really a moot point because Israel is certain that Iran with a bomb would be a greater disaster and Israel will do whatever it takes to prevent it.
The real question is: "what is Israel's red line? What will it take to trigger a strike?"
April 22, 2008 4:37 PM 
Dan Raviv is a National Correspondent for CBS News Radio and co-author of Every Spy a Prince: The Complete History of Israel’s Intelligence Community.
I’ve been covering Israel’s espionage agencies for almost 20 years, and suddenly this morning there was a blast from the past – an arrest in what FBI personnel for years had called “the hunt for Agent X.” American investigators refused to believe Israel’s official contention that the Jonathan Pollard affair – running an agent with U.S. Naval Intelligence, who delivered thousands of secret documents to the Israelis – was an isolated incident.
The long memory and long arm of the law finally grabbed Ben-Ami Kadish, whose alleged crimes apparently took place before Pollard was arrested in November 1985. According to prosecutors, Kadish and Pollard were tasked by the same “handler” – a science attaché at Israel’s Consulate-General in New York. That man vanished from the U.S. within hours of Pollard’s arrest. Pollard eventually was sentenced to life in prison.
The diplomat’s boss was Rafi Eitan, a legendary intelligence agent who took part in Israel’s capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960. Eitan, a man who pushes the envelope in many ways, is now an Israeli cabinet minister.
Breaking The "Unwritten Rule" In Israeli Espionage
(CBS)
I’ve been covering Israel’s espionage agencies for almost 20 years, and suddenly this morning there was a blast from the past – an arrest in what FBI personnel for years had called “the hunt for Agent X.” American investigators refused to believe Israel’s official contention that the Jonathan Pollard affair – running an agent with U.S. Naval Intelligence, who delivered thousands of secret documents to the Israelis – was an isolated incident.
The long memory and long arm of the law finally grabbed Ben-Ami Kadish, whose alleged crimes apparently took place before Pollard was arrested in November 1985. According to prosecutors, Kadish and Pollard were tasked by the same “handler” – a science attaché at Israel’s Consulate-General in New York. That man vanished from the U.S. within hours of Pollard’s arrest. Pollard eventually was sentenced to life in prison.
The diplomat’s boss was Rafi Eitan, a legendary intelligence agent who took part in Israel’s capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960. Eitan, a man who pushes the envelope in many ways, is now an Israeli cabinet minister.
June 13, 2007 3:01 PM
A Rare Warning To Journalists
Charles Wolfson is a CBS News reporter covering the State Department.
It is not that unusual for the State Department to caution American citizens against travel to various parts of the world.
The State Department's website currently lists 30 different official travel warnings to caution Americans about the possible dangers which await them. The list is constantly changing and travel warnings are issued because of ongoing wars, fear of violence from public demonstrations and even from weather-related events such as hurricanes and tsunamis.
However it was certainly unusual when Spokesman Sean McCormack took the time to advise members of the State Department Correspondents' Association that the State department felt the most prudent advice for journalists covering the ongoing violence in Gaza was to not go there or, if already in the area, to leave.
Reminding the Washington-based diplomatic correspondents that the BBC's Alan Johnston was kidnapped in Gaza three months ago, McCormack said there was no specific information about plans to kidnap any more journalists, but given the current security situation involving fighting between Hamas and Fatah factions of the Palestinians the Department in Washington and the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which handles American diplomatic interests in Gaza and the West Bank, advised American journalists not to travel to Gaza or, if there, to leave immediately. McCormack also asked that the cautionary reccomendation be passed on to our headquarters.
It was an interesting and an unusual step, especially since there already is an existing travel warning (Januray 17, 2007) advising all Americans "to remain mindful of security factors when considering travel to Israel and Jerusalem..." and the same warning "urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to the West Bank and to avoid travel to the Gaza Strip." It specifically states the warning applies "to all Americans, including journalists and aid workers."
Yes, Gaza is a dangerous place. But the fighting there is a story which will be covered, although many media organizations have long since turned to local stringers based in Gaza to report for them. What the latest advice from the State department boils down to is that any American who gets into trouble in Gaza will pretty much be on his/her own. U.S. officials have not been permitted to travel to gaza since an American convoy was ambushed in October, 2003.
(AFP)
The State Department's website currently lists 30 different official travel warnings to caution Americans about the possible dangers which await them. The list is constantly changing and travel warnings are issued because of ongoing wars, fear of violence from public demonstrations and even from weather-related events such as hurricanes and tsunamis.
However it was certainly unusual when Spokesman Sean McCormack took the time to advise members of the State Department Correspondents' Association that the State department felt the most prudent advice for journalists covering the ongoing violence in Gaza was to not go there or, if already in the area, to leave.
Reminding the Washington-based diplomatic correspondents that the BBC's Alan Johnston was kidnapped in Gaza three months ago, McCormack said there was no specific information about plans to kidnap any more journalists, but given the current security situation involving fighting between Hamas and Fatah factions of the Palestinians the Department in Washington and the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which handles American diplomatic interests in Gaza and the West Bank, advised American journalists not to travel to Gaza or, if there, to leave immediately. McCormack also asked that the cautionary reccomendation be passed on to our headquarters.
It was an interesting and an unusual step, especially since there already is an existing travel warning (Januray 17, 2007) advising all Americans "to remain mindful of security factors when considering travel to Israel and Jerusalem..." and the same warning "urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to the West Bank and to avoid travel to the Gaza Strip." It specifically states the warning applies "to all Americans, including journalists and aid workers."
Yes, Gaza is a dangerous place. But the fighting there is a story which will be covered, although many media organizations have long since turned to local stringers based in Gaza to report for them. What the latest advice from the State department boils down to is that any American who gets into trouble in Gaza will pretty much be on his/her own. U.S. officials have not been permitted to travel to gaza since an American convoy was ambushed in October, 2003.
