Clinton Angers Palestinians with Kudos to Netanyahu

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ruffled more than a few Palestinian feathers when she praised Israel and its Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for exactly what the Palestinians claim he is doing to destroy the peace process. After meeting Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud ‘Abbas in Abu Dhabi where he reiterated that there will be no return to the negotiating table until there is a complete freeze in Israeli construction in Jewish communities located on land acquired in the 1967 war, Clinton flew to Jerusalem where she commended Netanyahu for making “unprecedented concessions” on that very issue. Clinton agreed with Netanyahu’s assessment that an Israeli building freeze has not been a pre-condition in previous rounds of negotiations, a position the Palestinians vehemently reject. She also praised Netanyahu for offering restrictions on settlement building that no previous Israeli leader has offered. Clinton meets with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Sunday.

Karzai Likely to Lose Run-off Opponent and Sense of Legitimacy

Afghanistani President Hamid Karzai is in jeopardy of losing the aura of legitimacy if his opponent in a run-off election refuses to participate. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah is reportedly likely to boycott the run-off-election, scheduled for next Saturday because Karzai has failed to meet his conditions. Karzai overwhelming won the first round, but the unanimity of the international community in its belief that election fraud was rampant tainted the results, placing the U.S. government in an embarrassing position as well. Under American pressure, Karzai accepted a run-off. But Abdullah is having second thoughts, saying he does not believe the second round will be any cleaner than the first after Karzai failed to dismiss the election commissioner, close 500 polling stations and take other corrective measures. Meanwhile, the world waits for President Obama to announce whether he will commit more troops to Afghanistan with some pundits expressing the belief that the outcome of the election issue weighs heavily on that decision.

NATO Missile Shield Benefits from Joint U.S.-Israel Exercise

Operation Juniper Cobra, the joint missile defense exercise underway in Israel during which Israeli and American troops are testing the anti-missile capabilities of four weapons systems – Patriot, Aegis, THAAD and Arrow 2 – is providing information that will be used in the planning of a new NATO missile shield for Europe. That assessment was confirmed by a U.S. army colonel to reporters covering the exercise near Tel Aviv. He called the exercise, “The most complete air missile defense system we've ever done anywhere in the world.” The maneuvers saw the four systems deployed on Israeli soil for the first time. The information is viewed as critical for planning the new missile shield that will replace the Bush administration’s concept that has been scrapped by the Obama White House.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister: 'Of Course We’re Gathering Intel in Lebanon'

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon told a conference in the city of Beer Seva on Saturday that Israel is, indeed, collecting intelligence information inside of Lebanon. In response to a question, Ya’alon said said, “When we are in conflict with an enemy, we gather information about them." He said that information-gathering aimed at Hizbullah is continuing and will continue until, “Hezbollah disarms itself and the border is a border of peace." The issue came up when Lebanese security officials said that two explosions that occurred near the border with Israel in October were devices intended to destroy Israeli monitoring devices that had been discovered. Until now, Israel had neither confirmed nor denied reports that it is involved in intelligence-gathering in Lebanon. In a related story, Lebanese security officials report that they have arrested a man with links to Al-Qa’ida whom they say was responsible for firing a Katyusha rocket into Israel last week. Four other rockets ready for firing were also discovered. The suspect reportedly belongs to the Sunni Muslim group Fatah Al-Islam.

Turkish Prime Minister Continues Aggressive Defense of Iranian Nuclear Program

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is continuing his aggressive defense of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian nuclear program. In his latest defense of the Iranians, and in an apparent slap at Israel, Erdogan suggested that any nation critical of the Iranian nuclear program first give up its own nukes. Erdogan said those who support “these arrogant sanctions need to first give these (weapons) up. We shared this opinion with our Iranian friends, our brothers." Western leaders are watching Erdogan closely amid concern that he is taking Turkey on a significant shift away from the west and toward Iran and hard-line Arab nations.

American Spy Suspect Said He Already Had Given Classified Info to Israel

An American spy suspect caught in an FBI sting operation may have given classified information to Israel before being caught. At a hearing in Washington at which Stewart Nozette was denied bail, prosecutors told the court that the defendant bragged to the FBI agent posing as an Israeli representative that he had already transmitted secrets to Israel. Until now, it had been asserted that the Israelis had no involvement with Nozette and that all of the defendant’s intentions were contained in the sting operation. He is accused of asking for $2 million in exchange for classified information about missile systems.

Minister Pulls Funding from Media Conference; Swedish “Body Parts” Writer to Attend

The planned attendance at a media conference by the Swedish reporter who wrote a story alleging that the Israeli army steals body parts from young Palestinians it kills will cost the host city $60,000 in government funding. Donald Bostrom refused to rescind the article he wrote for a leading Swedish newspaper even though he admitted that he had no knowledge of whether or not the accusations were true. The story caused a furor in Israel and strained relations with Sweden, especially after its prime minister defended the story and refused to criticize the writer. Now, Israeli Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee Sylvan Shalom says he will not attend a media conference being sponsored by the southern city of Dimona because Bostrom is slated to attend. Shalom has also pulled about $60,000 in funding for the conference that his ministry had promised Dimona.

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