Worldwide Mischief Report

Israel can no longer deter Iran, because Iran’s leaders “don’t care about their own citizens,” former Israel Defense Minister Dr. Ephraim Sneh told a gathering of pro-Israel supporters in Washington on Tuesday. Drawing an analogy from the second Lebanon war in the summer of 2006, Sneh reminded his audience that “half the civilian Israeli casualties were Arabs, Israeli Arabs.”

Iran believes the US is impotent because of political changes without the will to oppose it. Even if McCain is elected the US Congress will force America into irrelevance.

Western intelligence sources said Iranian and Syrian military commanders have been meeting in Teheran to discuss proposals to jointly procure air defense, rockets and other systems from Moscow. The sources said both Damascus and Teheran, which signed a defense cooperation agreement in 2006, have examined such systems as the S-300PMU-2 air defense system and the Iskander-E long-range rocket by Russia. “Iran has already decided on purchasing new air defense systems from Moscow,” an intelligence source said. “The question appears to be whether Syria wants these weapons as well.”

The International Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) reports that an Iranian nuclear weapon would prompt Teheran’s neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, to acquire similar systems. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has briefed its members on Iran’s blueprint of a nuclear warhead admitting Iran is building a nuke.

Sophisticated Chinese- and Russian-origin weapons are showing up with Middle East insurgency groups – like Hamas The weapons include the (Rocket Propelled Grenade) RPG-29N, a portable anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher that could be mounted on an aircraft.

The U.S. intelligence community has not detected a specific threat by Al Qaida in Libya. But a State Department report said the community has assessed that the Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb was seeking to form operational and sleeper cells in Libya. “The potential for an attack against U.S. interests by the newly-merged AQIM-LIFG entity constitutes the most serious terrorist threat to U.S. interests and personnel in Libya,” the report said.

The report, titled “Libya 2008 Crime & Safety Report,” asserted that Al Qaida has merged with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which was classified as a foreign terrorist organization in 1995. The newly-merged group, announced in September 2007, was believed to have been preparing to target the Western presence in Libya, particularly crude oil fields.

“U.S. Embassy Tripoli reminds all Americans to maintain a high level of vigilance with regard to their personal security and to remain aware of local developments,” the report said.

Over the last few years, Libya expanded its police and security presence in an effort to prevent Al Qaida strikes. At the same time, the police remain ill-equipped to respond to or investigate the sharp rise in street crime.

“The Libyan police and security services do not maintain crime statistics for individual neighborhoods,” the report said. “It is very difficult to obtain an accurate assessment of the overall level of crime occurring within Tripoli. While precise statistics are unavailable, residential burglary is the most common crime reported to the Regional Security Office by expatriates.”

The State Department has urged Americans in Libya to “maintain a strong security posture; be aware of their surroundings; avoid crowds and demonstrations; maintain a low profile; and vary times and routes for all required travel.”

“The embassy is unaware of any acts of violence perpetrated against American interests, public or private, in Libya; however, because of its historical experience, there is a lingering xenophobia in Libya that periodically manifests itself in violent ways,” the report said. “The government of Libya has demonstrated a willingness to condone demonstrations against foreign entities.”