JERUSALEM, Sept. 17, 2007
Israel Silent On Alleged Syria Attack
Top Government Official Given Gag Order; Bolton: Could Have Targeted Syrian Nuke Plant
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An Israeli woman walks at an observation point on Mt. Bental in the Golan Heights, close to the border with Syria, in a Friday Sept. 7, 2007 photo. It's been a quarter-century since Syria and Israel turned their guns on each other in outright war. But tensions are high since an alleged Israeli airstrike on Syrian territory. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
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A Palestinian man crosses through the Kalandia checkpoint near the West Bank town of Ramallah, as an Israeli soldier stands guard, Friday, Sept. 14, 2007. (AP)
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The Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Sept. 14, 2007. (AFP/Getty)
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An Israeli soldier stands near Palestinian worshipers who wait to cross through the checkpoint near Bethlehem on their way to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Friday, Sept. 14, 2007. (AP)
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Muslims pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, Sept. 14, 2007. (AFP/Getty)
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Interactive Mideast Conflict Events, key players and a history of the world's most unstable region.
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Fast Facts Syria Learn about the people, economy and history.
With Israel's usually talkative government maintaining an uncharacteristic silence, information on the mysterious incident has come almost exclusively from abroad.
Discussing the incident on an Israeli TV station Sunday, an outspoken former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said he thought Israel might have been attacking a nuclear installation, "a message not only to Syria, but to Iran."
Tzachi Hanegbi, chairman of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, told reporters he instructed military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin to avoid any mention of Syria at a committee meeting on Sunday. Panel members regularly report to journalists during and after committee meetings.
In a statement some participants took to be an oblique reference to the success of the alleged Syria raid, Yadlin told the meeting, "Israel's deterrence has been rehabilitated since the Lebanon war, and it affects the entire regional system, including Iran and Syria," according to a lawmaker who was present. Yadlin was referring to the inconclusive results of Israel's campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon last summer.
The lawmaker spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the meeting's contents to the media.
Foreign news reports have suggested that Israel struck a Syrian site designed to make non-conventional weapons, possibly a nuclear installation built with North Korean help. (More on N. Korean angle).
"I think it would be unusual for Israel to conduct a military operation inside Syria other than for a very high value target, and certainly a Syrian effort in the nuclear weapons area would qualify," the former U.N. ambassador, John Bolton, told Israeli Channel 10 TV in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"I think this is a clear message not only to Syria, I think it's a clear message to Iran as well, that its continued efforts to acquire nuclear weapons are not going to go unanswered," Bolton said.
CBS News correspondent Robert Berger reports that if Bolton's assessment turns out to be true, then Israel risked going to war to send a clear message - that nuclear weapons in Syria will not be tolerated.
In other developments:
Bolton, who has long called for a hard line against the Syrian and Iranian regimes, did not indicate that he had first-hand information about the incident.
Other hypotheses have posited that Israel was on an intelligence-gathering mission, testing Syria's air defenses, scouting an air corridor for a future strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, or hitting a shipment of arms destined for the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, a close ally of both Syria and Iran.
In the past, Israel often has been swift to announce such operations. This time, Syria cryptically announced the incident, announcing its air space had been entered and that Israel had "dropped munitions." Syria has offered no evidence of any Israeli attack.
Syria and Israel fought each other during both the 1967 and 1973 Mideast wars. Their last direct military confrontation was in neighboring Lebanon in 1982, when Israel's air force shot down dozens of Syrian warplanes and Israel destroyed Syrian tanks.
Israel has dismissed recent calls by Syria to restart peace talks, citing the Damascus regime's continued support for Palestinian militant groups and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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- What an uninteresting and idiotic blog. You people must be really bored.
- Reply to this comment
- Oh and the reason Christ said that blindman patriotic9 is because people DO INDEED turn against each other because not all accept Christ as the Truth, and people are self-centered and don''''t want to accept Christ as the Truth (like you!)
One of those people who didn''t accept CHRIST as a truth are those CHOSEN by your GOD (ACCORDING to you and have been promised a land for which AMERICANS should sacrifise their GOD-NEGLECTED MONEY, GOD-NEGLECTED LIVES and UNHOLY LAND UNITED STATES).
According to what you quoted from BIBLE previously as
, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law---a man''''s enemies will be the members of his own household%u2019" (Matthew 10:34-36). "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it" (Matthew 11:12).
JESUS was not only a TERRORIST but a RACIST and UNJUST INDIVIDUAL who brought sword not against some body who deosn''t accept him but for some body who is either not from his RACE or FAMILY or against hsiRACE or FAMILY you call ISRAELITES. - Reply to this comment
- patriotic9, to put it bluntly, you sir are a deranged lunatic if you think Christianity is a threat.
Posted by singinrick at 12:08 PM : Sep 18, 2007
I am not saying that CHRISTIANTY is a threat but again proved it with an undeniable reasons. If CHRISTIANS believe in occupying the land of ARABS from EUPHRATE in IRAQ to NILE in EGYPT, eventhough people living between those two rivers had done nothing against Americans except giving us OIL in CHEAPER PRICES which is the BACK BONE of our ECONOMY, hence giving ARABS legitimate right of attacking AMERICANS to defend their land from foreign occupation like their land of PALESTINE was occupied by the EUROPEAN INVADERS after the WWII, which only caused MISERIES, HATRED, TERRORISM and 9/11 against our nation (most frustratiing thing is that this LAND you claim has been promised for NON-AMERICAN CHOSEN PEOPLE, is neither one of the fifty states of United States nor one of the four territories, nor it gives UNITED STATES OIL in cheaper prices, so it''s none of American business). CHRISTIANITY is the worst threat for UNITED STATES. I am not saying this but 9/11 said that. - Reply to this comment
- Do the math folks! "Allah" is a false god created by satan himself to deceive the gullible!
Get a grip on reality folks!
Posted by singinrick at 09:56 AM : Sep 18, 2007
It deosn''t matter for normal hardworking American whether you god is true god or muslims'' god is a fake god. We were attacked on 9/11 because of people like you who claim that United States is a CHRISTIAN COUNTRY founded on the PSYCHOTIC BELIEF of JESUS LOVERS being GOD-NEGLECTED and JESUS-HATERS being god-CHOSEN, founded on the idea of sacrifising herself for a land not even close to any of the states or territories of United States, founded on the belief of occupying the land of Arabs who had done nothing against Americans, so that your " TERRORIST LORD JESUS", whose return requies deaths of millions of innocents before returning back, would return to impose his TALIBAN rules in the world. - Reply to this comment
- You don''t care about United States and her people at all nor you care about American interests. You support the occupation of land of Arabs from Euphrate in Iraq to Nile in Egypt as you were told in Bible in Mathew and Joshua, which gives Arabs full right to defend themselves against your RACISM, INJSUTCIE, AGRESSION and ILLEGAL OCCUPATION of their land. Unfortunately when they attack against you, AMERICANS like me who are not CHRISTIAN but they hate the RACISM, INJSUTICE and and all the BACK WARD , ANTI-AMERICAN IDEAS (like asking GOD-NEGLECTED AMERICANS to sacrifise their GOD-NEGLECTED MONEY, LIVES and UNHOLY LAND UNITED STATES for a NON-AMERICAN CAUSE, NON-AMERICAN LAND, and NON-AMERICAN PEOPLE), get killed in their process of attacking you to defend themselves.
Arabs'' action of attacking you and killing you is wrong if you deny the RACIST and UNJUST IDEOLOGY according to which god-NEGLECTED AMERICANS are not promised a SINGLE PENNY while god-CHOSEN NON-AMERICANS have been promised a land in the MIDDLE EAST since they believe that your LORD JESUS was a B-A-S-T-A-R-D and his mother committed FORNICATION which resulted in JESUS'' BIRTH. - Reply to this comment
- I''''m so tired of the old apologist phrase "Islam is not understood". The fact is, when one truly investigates, it''''s simple to see that the true Muslims are Osama Bin Laden and other terrorist leaders. They are follow the Quran word for word.
Posted by singinrick at 09:38 AM : Sep 18, 2007
Singinrick,
If you are a true face of CHRISTIANITY, you are a lot worse enemy of United States and HUMANITY then OSAMA BEEN-FORGOTTEN. Like always, I am not just making statement but will prove my statement with valid reasons and points. You follow a terrorist named "JESUS" who according to you said
, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law---a man''''s enemies will be the members of his own household%u2019" (Matthew 10:34-36). "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it" (Matthew 11:12). - Reply to this comment
- It''s not Sunday, and this about a "alleged" attack on Syria not the Bible.
- Reply to this comment
- Posted by hamiltongrad at 12:23 AM : Sep 18, 2007
Tolerance of CHRISTIANITY:
Jesus Himself said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law---a man''''s enemies will be the members of his own household%u2019" (Matthew 10:34-36). "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it" (Matthew 11:12).
We are commanded to hate what is evil and cling to what is good (Romans 12:9). In doing so we must take a stand against what is evil in this world and pursue righteousness (2 Timothy 2:22). Jesus did this, and in so doing, spoke openly against the religious and political rulers of His time because they were not seeking a righteousness from God, but rather of their own making (Luke 20:1-2, Romans 9:31-33). Zeal for God%u2019s righteousness consumed Jesus and He was not afraid to stand up against those who opposed and dishonored His Father (John 2:15-17, see also Numbers 25:11). "Those who hate Him He will repay to their face by destruction; He will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate Him." (Deuteronomy 7:10). "While people are saying, "Peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:3). - Reply to this comment
- We need a clear statement from CAIR (less) showing the rest of us that they care about America, more than having their feelings hurt.
The si len ce is defining.
Posted by hamiltongrad at 12:23 AM : Sep 18, 2007
We neeed a clear statement from those enemies of United States who want to take OIL in cheaper prices from ARABS and in return want to support and protect their those enemies who were brought into PALESTINE after WWII to occupy the land of those PALESTINIANS by force who had nothing to do with the actions of HITLER, who live in United States, enjoy every thing in United States and then consider a NON-AMERICAN LAND a HOLY LAND, who want GOD-NEGLECTED AMERICANS to work day and night to pay TAX to the government and NON-AMERICAN GOD-CHOSEN ENEMIES of their GOD''S ONLY SON to snatch $3 a year from the US TAX MONEY to buy HATRED, TERRORSIM and 9/11 against our nation.
Who want involvement of that ANTI-AMERICAN, RACIST and UNJUST GOD in our politics who RACIALLY DISCRIMINATED against AMERICANS by not promising them a SINGLE PENNY while promising NON-AMERICANS a land in the MIDDLE EAST. - Reply to this comment
- God and the Constitution
On Sept. 17, 1787, after a long summer of argument and compromise, the Founders completed and signed what would become the U.S. Constitution. And despite popular misconception, it didn''t include a word about the USA being a "Christian nation."
In fact, the Constitution doesn''t mention Christianity, or God, at all. It is a secular document outlining the structure of what would become the new government of this nation.
Likewise, the First Amendment to the Constitution, which protects every individual''s right to practice his or her own religion %u2014 bans government "establishment" or direct support of religion %u2014 makes no mention of Christianity.
Source: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/index.html#entry-39032319 - Reply to this comment
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