יום שלישי, 6 במרץ 2012

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder of Ziyon

Pop culture trivia question

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 09:42 PM PST

What is the most popular English language song in history to have a Hebrew word or phrase in the lyrics?

How about the most popular English song with an Arabic word or phrase?

I have my own guesses, what are yours?

Meanwhile, here's an overnight open thread.

Netanyahu's speech at AIPAC (plus video)

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 07:37 PM PST

This is the transcript of Binyamin Netanyahu's speech at AIPAC tonight, taken from his Facebook page and formatted to be easier to read.

Thank you for the warm reception. It could be heard as far away as Jerusalem – the eternal and united capital of Israel.

More than two thirds of the Congress is in attendance here tonight.

I deeply appreciate your being here.

Last May when I addressed the Congress, you stood up to applaud the state of Israel. Now I ask the 13,000 friends of IL here to stand up and applaud you, the representatives of the American people. Democrats and Republicans alike, we applaud your unwavering commitment to Israel.

I want to recognize Yossi Peled who is here tonight. Yossi was born in Belgium. His parents hid him with a Christian family during World War II. His father, and many other members of his family, were murdered at Auschwitz. His mother survived the Holocaust, returned to reclaim Yossi, and brought him to Israel. He became one of Israel's bravest and greatest generals. And today, Yossi Peled serves as a minister in my government.

Yossi's life is the story of the Jewish people – the story of a powerless and stateless people who became a strong and proud nation able to defend itself.

And ladies and gentlemen, Israel must always reserve the right to defend itself.

I'd like to talk to you about a subject no one has been talking about recently….Iran.

Every day, I open the papers and read about these redlines and these timelines. I read about what Israel has decided to do or what Israel might do.

Well, I'm not going to talk to you about what Israel will do or will not do. I never talk about that. But I do want to talk to you about the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. I want to explain why Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

President Obama has reiterated his commitment to prevent this from happening. He stated clearly that all options remain on the table, and that American policy is not containment. Well, Israel has the same policy. We are determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. We leave all options on the table. Ad containment is definitely not an option. The Jewish state will not allow those seeking our destruction to possess the means to achieve that goal. A nuclear armed Iran must be stopped.

Amazingly, some people refuse to acknowledge that Iran's goal is to develop nuclear weapons. You see, Iran claims that it's enriching uranium to develop medical research. Yeah, right. A country that builds underground nuclear facilities, develops intercontinental ballistic missiles, manufactures thousands of centrifuges, and absorbs crippling sanctions – is doing all that in order to advance…medical research. So you see, when that Iranian ICBM is flying through the air to a location near you, you've got nothing to worry about. It's only carrying medical isotopes.

Ladies and Gentlemen, If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then what is it? That's right, it's a duck --but this duck is a nuclear duck. And it's time the world started calling a duck a duck.

Fortunately, President Obama and most world leaders understand that the idea that Iran's goal is not to develop nuclear weapons is ridiculous. Yet incredibly, some are prepared to accept an idea only slightly less preposterous: That we should accept a world in which the Ayatollahs have atomic bombs.

Sure, they say, Iran is cruel, but it's not crazy. It's detestable but it's deterrable.

Responsible leaders should not bet the security of their countries on the belief that the world's most dangerous regime won't use the world's most dangerous weapons. And I promise you that as Prime Minister, I will never gamble with the security of Israel.

From the beginning, the Ayatollah regime has broken every international rule and flouted every norm. It has seized embassies, targeted diplomats and sent its own children through mine fields. It hangs gays and stones women. It supports Assad's brutal slaughter of the Syrian people. Iran is the world's foremost sponsor of terror. It sponsors Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and terrorists throughout the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Iran's proxies have dispatched hundreds of suicide bombers, planted thousands of roadside bombs, and fired over twenty thousand missiles at civilians. Through terror from the skies and terror on the ground, Iran is responsible for the murder of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans.

In 1983, Iran's proxy Hezbollah blew up the Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 240 American servicemen. In the last decade, its been responsible for murdering and maiming American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Just a few months ago, it tried to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in a restaurant just a few blocks from here. The assassins didn't care that several Senators and members of Congress would have been murdered in the process.

Iran accuses the American government of orchestrating 9/11, and it denies the Holocaust. Iran brazenly calls for Israel's destruction, and they work for its destruction – each day, every day. This is how Iran behaves today, without nuclear weapons. Think of how they will behave tomorrow, with nuclear weapons. Iran will be even more reckless and far more dangerous.

There's been plenty of talk recently about the costs of stopping Iran. I think it's time to talk about the costs of not stopping Iran.

A nuclear-armed Iran would dramatically increase terrorism by giving terrorists a nuclear umbrella. That means that Iran's terror proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas will be emboldened to attack America, Israel, and others because they will be backed by a power with atomic weapons.

A nuclear-armed Iran could choke off the world's oil supply and make real its threat to close the Straits of Hormouz. If you're worried about the price of oil today, imagine how high oil prices will be when a nuclear-armed Iran starts blackmailing the world.

If Iran gets nuclear weapons, this would set off a mad dash by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and others to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. The world's most volatile region would become a nuclear tinderbox waiting to go off.

And the worst nightmare of all, Iran could threaten all of us with nuclear terrorism. It could put a nuclear device in a ship heading to any port or in a truck parked in any city. Think about what it would mean to have nuclear weapons in the hands of radicals who lead millions in chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." For the sake of our prosperity, for the sake of our security, for the sake of our children, Iran must not be allowed to get nuclear weapons!

The best outcome would be if Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program peacefully. No one would be happier than me and the people of Israel if Iran actually dismantled its program. But so far, that hasn't happened.

For fifteen years, I've been warning that a nuclear-armed Iran is a grave danger to my country and to the peace and security of the world. For the last decade, the international community has tried diplomacy. It hasn't worked. For six years, the international community has applied sanctions. That hasn't worked either. I appreciate President Obama's recent efforts to impose even tougher sanctions against Iran. Those sanctions are hurting Iran's economy. But unfortunately, Iran's nuclear march goes on.

Israel has waited patiently for the international community to resolve this issue.

We've waited for diplomacy to work. We've waited for sanctions to work. None of us can afford to wait much longer.

As Prime Minister of Israel, I will never let my people live under the shadow of annihilation.

Some commentators would have you believe that stopping Iran from getting the bomb is more dangerous than letting Iran have the bomb. They say that a military confrontation with Iran would undermine the efforts already underway, that it would be ineffective, and that it would provoke even more vindictive action by Iran.

I've heard these arguments before. In fact, I've read them before.

In my desk, I have copies of an exchange of letters between the World Jewish Congress and the US War Department. The year was 1944. The World Jewish Congress implored the American government to bomb Auschwitz. The reply came five days later. I want to read it to you.

"Such an operation could be executed only by diverting considerable air support essential to the success of our forces elsewhere…..and in any case would be of such doubtful efficacy that it would not warrant the use of our resources…."

And here's the most remarkable sentence of all. And I quote:

"Such an effort might provoke even more vindictive action by the Germans."

Think about that – "even more vindictive action" -- than the Holocaust.

My Friends, 2012 is not 1944. The American government today is different. You heard it in President Obama's speech yesterday.

But here's my point.

The Jewish people are also different. Today we have a state of our own. The purpose of the Jewish state is to secure the Jewish future. That is why Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.

We deeply appreciate the great alliance between our two countries. But when it comes to Israel's survival, we must always remain the masters of our fate.

Israel's fate is to continue to be the forward position of freedom in the Middle East. The only place where minorities enjoy full civil rights; The only place where Arabs enjoy full civil rights. The only place where Christians are free to practice their faith; The only place where real judges protect the rule of law; And as Prime Minister of Israel, I will never allow anything to threaten Israel's democratic way of life. And most especially, I will never tolerate any discrimination against women.

This week, we will read how one woman changed Jewish history. In Synagogues throughout the world, the Jewish people will celebrate the festival of Purim. We will read how some 2,500 years ago, a Persian anti-Semite tried to annihilate the Jewish people. We will read how his plot was foiled by one courageous woman – Esther.

In every generation, there are those who wish to destroy the Jewish people. We are blessed to live in an age when there is a Jewish state capable of defending the Jewish people. And we are doubly blessed to have so many friends like you, Jews and non-Jews alike, who love the State of Israel and support its right to defend itself.

Thank you for your friendship, Thank you for your courage, Thank you for standing up for the one and only Jewish state.



(h/t CHA for video link)

100,000 Syrians have fled so far

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 01:35 PM PST

From AP:

More than a thousand Syrian refugees have poured across the border into Lebanon, among them families with small children carrying only plastic bags filled with their belongings as they fled a regime hunting down its opponents.

The U.N. refugee agency said Monday that as many as 2,000 Syrians had crossed into Lebanon in the last two days. Associated Press reporters in one border village saw families crossing with only a few possessions.

"We fled the shelling and the strikes," said Hassana Abu Firas in Qaa in northeast Lebanon. She came with two families who had fled government shelling of their town al-Qusair, about 14 miles (22 kilometers) away on the other side of the Syrian border.

The town is in Homs province, an opposition stronghold where the government has been waging a brutal offensive for the past month. The province borders Lebanon.

"What are we supposed to do? People are sitting in their homes and they are hitting us with tanks. Those who can flee do. Those who can't will die sitting down," she said.
Homs, the provincial capital and Syria's third-largest city with one million residents, has emerged as a central battleground in the year-old uprising to oust authoritarian President Bashar Assad.

Activists say hundreds have been killed in the month-long Homs offensive and the U.N. recently put the death toll for a year of violence in Syria at 7,500. However, activists group say the toll has already surpassed 8,000.

Violence across Syria has sent more than 100,000 people fleeing into neighboring countries. Turkey says it hosts more than 11,000 Syrians in camps along the Turkey-Syria border, including more than 1,000 who crossed in the last month. About 100 have crossed in the last two days.

Jordan has more than 80,000, according to government spokesman Rakan al-Majali.

Lebanese security officials say more than 10,000 Syrians are believed to be in the country. One official said as many as 3,000 are believed to have crossed in recent days because violence in Homs province, though it is unclear how many have returned to Syria.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under government protocol.
Some 800 Syrians are trying to enter Libya but are being blocked due to visa issues.

Arabs freak out over UNRWA map that shows Israel

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 12:23 PM PST

UNRWA began distributing a map of Gaza in schools that shows Israel as, you know, existing:


Al Jazeera reports that the map was leaked to them by an angry UNRWA employee, incensed that a map that was drawn "from the Israeli perspective" would find its way into Gaza.

The map was created by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Palestinian Arab teachers who saw the map were upset that UNRWA, by distributing it, was plunging itself into politics.

A group called UNRWA Watch said that UNRWA again and again disregards the feelings of the Palestinian Arabs, because even though Israel is a fact, it is rejected by the Palestinian people.

UNRWA refused to comment to Al Jazeera.

Israel allows Gaza exports of food to West Bank

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 11:05 AM PST

From AFP:
Israel on Monday allowed the Palestinians to export two truckloads of date bars from Gaza to the West Bank in what was the first such trade between the territories since 2007, the military and an NGO said.

The rare move was permitted as part of a World Food Programme (WFP) initiative to feed Palestinian school children, Israeli NGO Gisha said in a statement, which hailed the trade as "an important step."

But the military said it was a "one-off" trade and did not mean its nearly five-year ban on exports between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank was being lifted.

"At the request of the Palestinian Authority, we have allowed the passage from Gaza, through Israel, of two lorries carrying date bars to Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank)," said Guy Inbar, a spokesman for COGAT, the military division in charge of coordinating access to and from Gaza.

"This is a one-off pilot project, and is not a renewal of free exports from Gaza. We want to look into several tax and trade issues," he said, without elaborating.

Gisha, which campaigns for Palestinian freedom of movement and trade, said the permission was to include 19 trucks in total, in what was "the first exception to a sweeping ban, imposed by Israel in June 2007, on transferring goods from Gaza to markets in Israel and the West Bank."
Actually, some goods are regularly exported to Israel from Gaza. For example, there were two rockets fired towards Israel last night from Gaza; one of them exploded prematurely.

Israelis plan comedy film on Mabhouh hit

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 09:50 AM PST

From AFP:
Inspired by the alleged Mossad assassination of a Hamas leader in 2010, an elite team of Israelis are planning their own hit... movie, that is.

A team of Israeli and French filmmakers believe the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh, found dead in his Dubai hotel room in January 2010, will be perfect fodder for a movie, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday.

The incident caused an international uproar, with the Dubai authorities quickly pointing the finger at Israel, and releasing surveillance footage showing a team of alleged Israeli agents they say killed Mabhuh.

But the filmmakers are planning a comedy spoof of the incident, which earned Israel international rebuke following reports that those involved used fake Western passports.

The film's working title is "Kidon" or "Javelin" − the codename given to the operation in the film, the paper said.

The plot revolves around two senior Mossad agents, played by prominent Israeli actors Shlomo Bar-Abba and Sasson Gabai, who are shocked to hear about the operation, knowing the intelligence agency was not behind it.

They learn the assassination was part of a complex fraud plot involving a motley crew of criminals, among them a student, a fraud expert and a brothel owner.

Filming is expected to begin in April, Haaretz said, though no projected release date has been given yet.

The assassination of Mabhuh, a founder of Hamas's military wing, has already provided Israeli advertisers with creative inspiration.

In March 2010, an Israeli supermarket chain used actors dressed like the alleged agents seen in the Dubai surveillance footage for an advert saying they would "eliminate the prices."
Here's the commercial that made fun of the Dubai CCTV footage:

Linkdump: Reactions to Obama's AIPAC speech

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 08:35 AM PST

The Atlantic: It was all politics.

Ha'aretz: "A strong commitment to Israel? Assuredly. Capitulation to the dictates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Not a chance."

Peres: It was a "determined" speech.

Former Israeli chief of staff Naftali Bennet: "Right now we are seeing big words but a very, very small stick."


Robert Satloff makes many points, including: "One additional item noticeable by its absence was any message to the people of Iran. This was a lost opportunity."

Lenny Ben-Israel: Obama's red line seems to be only at the final building of a nuclear weapon, not any point beforehand.

Barry Rubin: War is inevitable

Yid with Lid slams the speech as "lie-filled."

Erekat: The PA is "disappointed" that the speech gave "unprecedented support" to Israel.

Dan Senor: Why Israel still has doubts about Obama (if paywalled, try looking here)

Hamas continues to pressure Egypt for fuel

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 07:20 AM PST

A Hamas spokesman said that there were Arab countries like Algeria willing to provide fuel for Gaza, but that Egypt was holding up the process.

Yousef Rizqa, political adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, said "There are Arab countries including Algeria willing to supply fuel to Gaza, but you need permission from Cairo to pass the fuel through its territory."

He said that there were two sticking points with Egypt.

One is that Egypt wants to supply fuel via the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is controlled by Israel and this has a "political risk" where Israel could turn the fuel off at any time (even though they never have except when crossings are directly attacked.)

He added that Gaza wants to have an independent crossing for trade with Egypt and the Arab States and "the introduction of oil through the Karm Abu Salem eliminates this." In other words, Gaza can get fuel today but Hamas' real aim is to pressure Egypt to build a new Rafah crossing for goods and fuel, and they are willing to sacrifice their own people's needs in the medium term to force Cairo to do what they want. Apparently they are gambling that the new Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt will not publicly tell them to drop dead and popular pressure will force Egypt to do what they are demanding.

The second point that hinders the supply of fuel to Gaza is Cairo's request of charging one dollar per liter of fuel. After taxes this would mean that the cost for Gazans would be 6 shekels a liter ($1.58) which would be "a hardship and crisis for the citizens of Gaza, especially that the sector is going through a state of unemployment and economic weakness."

He said, "we wanted a lower price, but the Egyptian government said it imports petroleum and can not reduce the price."

Of course, Hamas could reduce the tax and help out their citizens, but protecting their own profit is a big part of creating this artificial crisis.

Meanwhile, in black markets in Gaza, people are paying as much as 17 shekels (over $4) per liter for gas.

Israelis pay $2.20 per liter of gasoline. Egypt's subsidized gasoline costs Egyptians about 50 cents a liter, which is what Hamas has been relying on smuggling in for the past year.

The cynicism of Hamas in creating and using this crisis to advance their own agenda is breathtaking, but so far very few people are publicly blaming them for treating their citizens like dirt. Egypt doesn't want to make waves and the PA is officially still trying to "unify" with Hamas so they are keeping pretty quiet.

Should these Palestinian Arab companies be boycotted?

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PST

The 22nd annual International Agro-Mashov Exhibition was held in Tel Aviv last week, attracting 20,000.

Including Palestinian Arab attendees and exhibitors.
Over 300 Palestinian agriculturists came to Agro-Mashov to meet potential Israeli and international partners to develop their businesses.

Furthermore, 10 Palestinian companies presented their products to the public. A unique booth was installed to promote their presence. The Civil Administration coordinated their arrival.

Haim Allouche, the Managing Director of the Agro-Mashov said that for 22 years he has been inviting Palestinian agriculturists, and that this is the 2nd year that the Agro-Mashov hosts Palestinian companies: "What we are making here is real peace together, trough cooperation and business", he added.

We met with different dynamic Palestinian companies, developing and exporting all over the world. Here are two profiles of the participants.

CANAAN FAIR TRADE

This Jenin-based company is a fair trade organization that works with small Palestinian farmers and produces mainly olive oil, but also soaps, couscous and spices.
Created in 2005, the enterprise distributes its products all over the West Bank, particularly the big cities: Jenin, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.
On top of this, Nasser, the CEO, tells us that the company also exports to 16 other countries, mostly Europe and North America, but also South-Korea and Australia.

Canaan Fair Trade produces 500 metric tons of olive oil a year and generates 6 million dollars of revenue per year. All the products are organic and fair trade certified.
Canaan Fair Trade has also attended the Agro-Mashov Exhibition last year. Nasser hopes to find Israeli partners and start selling in the country, which represents a huge market.

TAYBEH BREWING CO.

Taybeh Brewing Co. is the only Palestinian brewery, located next to Ramallah. Madees Khoury, the Operations Manager is serving beers at her stand.
Created by her father in 1994, the Brewery has 5 different kinds of beers: Golden, Amber, Dark, Non-Alcoholic and apple flavor.

Mrs Khoudy, born in the US, studied Business Management in Boston and spent her childhood between Taybeh and America. Smiling, she claims to be the 1st Palestinian female brewer.

Taybeh Brewing Co. is a growing company. It exports to a lot of countries including Japan, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium. The brewery produces 600 000 liters of beers each year and is present in Israel as well. The Taybeh beers are available is various pubs throughout Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv.

"Our goal is to make the Taybeh Beer brand very famous in Israel", added Madees Khoury.
So these companies must be "collaborators" with the "Zionist enemy" and should, of course, be boycotted for their cooperation with Israel. They are clearly contradicting the supposedly unanimous call from "Palestinian civil society" to boycott Israel. In the interests of supporting Palestinian Arab history of non-violent resistance, they should be firebombed.

Too bad, Electronic Intifada - no more Taybeh beer for you.

UPDATE: For some reason, some people think I am advocating boycotting Palestinian Arab companies who want to do business in Israel. As I thought I made clear, I am saying that he BDSers would want to boycott these companies because they "collaborate" - just as the advocate boycotting Palestinian Arab produce that is exported by Israeli companies.





Report of Iranian nuclear test, plus Khamanei's support for nukes

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 03:20 AM PST

From Spengler at PJ Media:
The Sunday morning edition of Germany's Die Welt reports that Western intelligence agencies detected two nuclear weapons tests in North Korea in 2010, and that one or both of them might have been conducted for Iran.  Die Welt sets the reported nuclear tests in the context of new documentation showing that the Iranian regime began its drive for nuclear weapons as early as 1984, under the direct orders of the late Ayatollah Khomeini. The author is the respected German analyst Hans Rühle, whose evaluation of Israel's capacity to cripple the Iranian nuclear program created a stir last month.
The Die Welt report reads like a line-by-line refutation of the reported U.S. intelligence evaluation that there is no "hard evidence" that Iran is building nuclear weapons. That is a noteworthy reversal: the Obama administration's intelligence chiefs claim that Iran is not an imminent threat, while a former top German official warns of immediate danger to the Jewish state.  The fact is that there are some Germans who do not want to be responsible for a second Holocaust.
Rühle, who headed the German Defense Ministry's policy planning staff during the peak of the Cold War in the 1980s, deplores the "credulousness of Western experts" who accept Iran's protests that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Many Western experts still give credence to these representations. Despite numerous indications to the contrary, they give Iran the presumption of innocence, arguing that a nation's intent to weaponize nuclear power is not proven until it has carried out a nuclear test. But what if Iran had already tested a nuclear weapon, and not on Iranian territory, but in a place where nuclear tests are conducted without regard for world opinion, and where nuclear expertise and technology have long been exported in exchange for hard currency payments–in North Korea?
Evidence of the 2010 nuclear tests in North Korea was published Feb. 3 in Nature magazine, citing the work of the Swedish nuclear physicist Lars-Erik de Geer. The Swedish scientist analyzed data showing the presence of radioisotopes that betrayed a uranium bomb explosion.  De Geer took the radioisotope data and compared them with the South Korean reports, as well as meteorological records. Nature reports, "After a year of work, he has concluded that North Korea carried out two small nuclear tests in April and May 2010 that caused explosions in the range of 50–200 tonnes of TNT equivalent. The types and ratios of isotopes detected, he says, suggest that North Korea was testing materials and techniques intended to boost the yield of its weapons."
But why should North Korea keep the nuclear tests secret? asks Rühle. North Korea proudly advertised its previous nuclear tests. But the North Korean tests of 2006 and 2009 used bombs with a plutonium core. The 2010 tests, according to Lars-Erik de Geer's calculation, employed enriched uranium. North Korea might have secretly enriched uranium on a sufficient scale to produce sufficient explosive material for two test bombs. But the more likely explanation is this, Rühle concludes:
The second explanation would be that North Korea conducted a nuclear test for a foreign entity, in this case, an Iranian explosive. That would be a sensation, although not quite a surprise, to be sure. Intelligence services have observed a close degree of cooperation between North Korean and Iranian experts over a period of years for the preparation of a nuclear test, although the previous assumptions centered on the prospect of an underground nuclear test in Iranian territory.
Rühle observes:
It became known a few days ago that the International Atomic Energy Agency has a document showing that it was the religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini himself who decided in 1984 to resume the nuclear weapons program suspended by the overthrow of the Shah. As his successor Ayatollah Khamenei declared, an Iranian nuclear weapon is viewed as the only way to protect the Islamic revolution and to prepare the way for the arrival of the Imam Mahdi. In Khamenei's words, an Iranian nuclear arsenal is a deterrent in the hands of the holy warriors. With this sensational report from Tehran's inner leadership circle it becomes clear that Khomeini's often-cited fatwa that nuclear weapons are not compatible with Islam was a purely deceptive maneuver. Iran has been totally committed to becoming a nuclear power for decades.
Elements of Rühle's story can be challenged by experts, to be sure. But the German analyst is making a point that has been lost in the fog of spin in Washington: It is outrageously wrong to proceed against an opponent like Iran in the presumption that intelligence agencies can accurately assess the precise degree of progress towards a nuclear device so that the U.S. government can fine-tune a response. Yet that is precisely whatPresident Obama told Jeffrey Goldberg on March 2nd: "Our assessment, which is shared by the Israelis, is that Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon and is not yet in a position to obtain a nuclear weapon without us having a pretty long lead time in which we will know that they are making that attempt."
No intelligence professional could support that sweeping, and entirely indefensible, assertion from the president. American intelligence failures regarding nuclear weapons proliferation have been numerous and notorious. The CIA famously failed to give any advance warning of India's first nuclear test, and was raked over the coals for this lapse at the time. Jeffrey Goldberg's failure to challenge Obama's statement turned the exchange into a public relations exercise rather than a news interview. A cub reporter for a college newspaper would have known enough to ask, "How can you be sure that we will detect an Iranian nuclear bomb before it's ready? What's our track record of detecting nuclear bombs elsewhere?"
When intelligence agencies use the term "evidence," what they mean is incontrovertible proof. "Hard evidence" of Iranian nuclear intentions in intel-speak, as Rühle points out, means specifically that a nuclear test already has been conducted. When intelligence officials use this terminology, they are saying in plain English that their political masters are giving Iran the presumption of innocence, as Rühle wrote. The intelligence chiefs did not say that there was no "information" and no "reliable reports" that Iran is trying to get hold of nuclear weapons as fast as it possibly can, only that there is no "hard evidence." By definition, one obtains this kind of "hard evidence" only when it is too late.

There have been a number of reports out of Iran claiming that Ayatollah Khamenei issued a fatwa banning the development of  nuclear weapons. This is being wholeheartedly believed by many pro-Iranian analysts such as Juan Cole. 

However, as reported in this piece, the IAEA reported that current Supreme Leader of Iran pushed for nuclear weapons as early as 1984. His exact quote is  "A nuclear arsenal would serve Iran as a deterrent in the hands of God's soldiers." This contradicts the wishful thinking of those who prefer to believe his politically expedient fatwas of today.

It is especially unlikely that Khamenei's reported anti-nuclear fatwa is legitimate because it is highly unlikely that Khamenei would contradict Ayatollah Khomeini's own words urging such development. Khamenei is not considered a brilliant Islamic scholar, and his importance comes from his position - he didn't gain his position because of his credentials in Islamic jurisprudence. The source for Ayatollah Khomeini's support for Iran's development of nuclear weapons is here, where he writes that he unfortunately must agree to a cease fire with Iraq in order for Iran to move forward in coming years to develop weapons such as an atomic bomb to be able to gain military superiority.

Why is it so unbelievable that the leader of a nation would engage in deception under a religious guise?

Also, other Iranian religious leaders have issued fatwas supporting the development of nuclear weapons.

Beyond that, if you read Khamenei's  statements against nuclear weapons, you can see some hypocrisy:
Iran is not after a nuclear bomb. Why would Iran want a nuclear bomb? Moreover, when an atomic bomb is detonated, it does not just kill enemies. Rather, it kills innocent people as well, and this goes against Islamic beliefs and the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran. An atomic bomb does not discriminate between good and bad people, and it is not something that the Islamic Republic would use.
Given that Iran supported Hezbollah's shooting rockets in Haifa in 2006, killing innocent people, this is more propaganda than truth.

Or, more likely, he believes that there is no such thing as an innocent Israeli citizen.
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