Photo: Dover IDF

Iran & 'Global Nuclear Jungle'

Maj.Gen. Amir Eshel: 'If Iran Acquires Nuclear Weapons It Will Trigger A Global Nuclear Jungle'

'Under Iranian Nuclear Umbrella Radical State & Non - State Players Will Dare What They Do Not Today'

'Although Israel Is Threatened By 100,000 Missiles & Rockets, It Can Hit Back Very, Very Hard'

 Gen. Amir Eshel, the commander of the IDF Planning Branch has presented a spell- binding look at the current and future threats to Israel. In a lecture entitled ' Planning for the Unknown - Israel's Ever Changing Strategic Reality', he outlined the challenges he has to face in the wake of the 'Arab Spring'. Speaking at the Institute for Contemporary Affairs in Jerusalem, Gen. Eshel stressed that Iran was at the top of his priority list. Analyst David Essing sums up the major points made by the commander who has responsibility for the IDF's force build-up.

Benyamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Barack Obama - A John Wayne or Woody Allen?

Israel & US Currently On Same Iranian Page - Despite Wall Street Journal

Prime Minister Netanyahu: 'Tehran Is Wobbling... But Sanctions Will Work Only If Accompanied By Clear Statement From International Community, Led By U.S., That Military Action Could Follow If Sanctions Fail'

IsraCast Assessment: Israel, US & Iran Now Engaged In Test Of Wills; Netanyahu & Ahamedenijad Will Not Back Down But Will Obama?

What can be said about the Wall Street Journal article that the Obama administration has warned Israel against a military strike on Iran 'over U.S. objections' and has stepped up security for U.S. facilities in the region? It reflects shifting assessments by Jerusalem and Washington on Iran's going nuclear, with the stress on 'shifting'. Analyst David Essing notes the WSJ has also reported that the EU and Japan were now getting cold feet over an Iranian oil embargo.

Bashar Assad

Israel to Grant Refuge to Syria's Alewites

IDF Chief of Staff Gantz: 'IDF Is Preparing To Grant Refuge To Syrian Alewites After Fall Of Assad Regime'

'Inevitable Collapse Of President Assad Could Trigger Bloodbath Against His Alewite Community'

'Growing Concern In Turkey Over Iran's Nuclear Weapons Project'

While Syrian President Bashar Assad was talking of his certain victory in Damascus, IDF Chief Of Staff Benny Gantz was predicting his inevitable fall. In a briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, Lt.Gen. Gantz also disclosed that he is preparing to grant refuge on the Golan Heights to Assad's Alewite supporters. David Essing sums up some other key assessments of Israel's high command for the new year.

Avigdor Lieberman

Lieberman: 'Russia is No Switzerland'

Foreign Minister Lieberman: 'Twenty Years After the Fall Of Communist Regime, Don't Expect Russia To Have Democratic System Like U.S.'

'Renewal Of Israeli-Palestinian Contacts In Jordan Are Doomed To Failure; Palestinians Plan To Internationalize The Conflict At UN'

'Nothing Can Stop Iran's Nuclear Weapons Project But Stiff Sanctions On Its Central Bank & Oil Industry'

 Israel's For Minister Avigdor Lieberman, notorious for his tough talk, pulled no punches when he briefed the Knesset's Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee in Jerusalem. Lieberman commented on Russia's controversial election, new Palestinian peace contacts, Iran, Jordan and Turkey. Although Lieberman's diplomatic discourse dealt with the numerous problems, the Foreign Minister rejected any notion that Israel was facing diplomatic isolation on his watch.

EU Oil Embargo & Iran

EU Diplomat: 'EU Has Agreed In Principle To Embargo Iranian Oil'

Official Decision Expected To Be Adopted On January 30th At Foreign Ministers Session In Brussels

IsraCast Assessment: EU's Oil Embargo Could Impose Crippling Sanctions On Iran Which Has Threatened To Retaliate By Blocking Straits OF Hormuz

 Has the European Union decided to call Iran's bluff? That is the implication of an EU diplomat's dramatic disclosure: 'The principle of an oil embargo is agreed, it is not being debated any more'. The EU's foreign ministers are slated to vote for the embargo at their next meeting in Brussels on January 30th. Analyst David Essing is of the view the EU leak is aimed at exerting further pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program before a possible military confrontation in the Straits of Hormuz.

Massive US Arms Sales to Gulf States

 Why have the huge American arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states gone almost unnoticed by Israel? For the simple reason that Washington is apparently in the midst of building a new doctrine of containment - what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once called a 'defense umbrella' to meet the Iranian nuclear threat.

David Ben Gurion in Sde Boker

Ben-Gurion's Crackdown on Yeshiva Students

David Ben Gurion: 'Any 18 year-old Yeshiva Student Who Breaks the Law Should Be Immediately Recruited Into IDF'

'Rioting Of Religious Fanatics Exceeds All Limits & I Bear Responsibility Because I Exempted Them From IDF Service'

'Whole Question Of Yeshiva Students Army Exemption Should Be Examined'

 The lawlessness of some charedim ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel is not new. Over forty-eight years ago former Prime Minister David Ben Gurion sent a letter to the incumbent Levi Eshkol with proposals for coping with the lawlessness of some yeshiva students. In presenting a translation of that letter, analyst David Essing is of the view that it applies no less today, perhaps even more, than it did then.

Israel, Turkey & Armenian Dilemma

Israel Ponders Recognition Of Armenian Massacre And Her Strategic Need To Improve Strained Relations With Turkey

Issue Remains Open After Prime Minister Netanyahu & Foreign Minister Lieberman Appeal To Knesset Education Committee Not To Conduct Session

IsraCast Assessment: Israel Must Seek Balance Between Avoiding Further Deterioration With Turkey While Not Dodging Her Moral Obligation

Israel's government and her Parliament are at odds over whether the Jewish state should officially recognize Turkey's responsibility for the massacre of some one and a half million Armenians in 1915. In spite of appeals by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the Knesset's Education Committee discussed the issue but stopped short of voting on recognition. IsraCast analyst David Essing is of the view that with the Iranian nuclear crisis coming to a head in 2012, it is crucial that Israel will not cause any further deterioration in the already strained relations with Turkey.

Barack Obama

Why Obama Opted for 'Change' on Iran

Obama Administration Signals That Iranian Attempt To Break Out For Nuclear Weapons Can Be Prevented By U.S. Military Options

U.S. Reassurances Apparently Designed To Dissuade From Surprising White House By Air Strike On Iran's Nuclear Sites After IAEA Confirmed Iranians On Working On Nuclear Weapons

Iranian Naval Maneuvers A Warning To West But Iranian Navy Is No Match For U.S. Warships

 Not only are all the options on the table, including military operations but the U.S. also has the capability to knock out Iran's nuclear weapons program - that was the stunning message from U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the new Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff. It was a one-two punch to back up President Barack Obama's diplomatic efforts which have ended in abject failure according to the most recent IAEA report. What are the implications?

Havat-Gilad Settlement (Photo: Michael Yakobson)

Reaping the Whirwind on West Bank

Prime Minister Netanyahu Decides On Emergency Measures To Curb Violence By Settler Fanatics In Judea & Samaria

Teenage - Age Rioters Trying To Prevent Government From Complying With Supreme Court Ruling To Dismantle Illegal Settlements

IsraCast Assessment: Country Is Waiting To See If Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Measures Will Prevent Further Attacks Against IDF Soldiers and Innocent Palestinians

 It remains to be seen if the young settler extremists in Judea & Samaria (West Bank) have overdone it this time. On the night of December 12th, they went on the rampage injuring a senior IDF officer, vandalizing an IDF base and also destroying Palestinian vehicles in two villages. The writing had long been on the wall but the fact is the government and its instruments of law and order, including the IDF and the Israel Police as well as the legal system, did not act to curtail it. Israel is now reaping the whirlwind of her complacency to the young fanatical settlers known as 'Price Tag'.

Adnan Oktar (photo: Harun Yahya International)

Appeal For Renewal Of Israeli-Turkish Alliance

Adnan Oktar: 'Revival Of Turkish-Israeli Alliance Will Promote Peace In Middle East'

'Building Of New Missile Defense System On Turkish Soil Will Help Defend Israel From Iranian Nuclear Attack'

'Official Israeli Apology For Killing Of Turks In Mavi Marmara Incident Would Eliminate Turkish Sense Of Humiliation'

 Adnan Oktar, a prominent Muslim theologian and philosopher in Turkey, has issued a dramatic appeal for the renewal of Turkish Israeli alliance. In an IsraCast interview, that was carried live on Turkish TV, Oktar said it was in the interest of Middle East peace that the two democracies resolve their differences. Oktar rejected any idea the Turkish people have turned against Israel. On the contrary, most Turks viewed the Jews as the descendants of the prophet Abraham and the founding of Israel as evidence of divine prophecy. Speaking in his unofficial capacity, Oktar was of the opinion that Prime Minister Erdogan would agree that the new anti-missile defence system in Turkey be used to intercept any Iranian nuclear attack on Israel.

Ehud Barak

Barak Joins Dots on Mysterious Iranian Explosions

Defense Minister Ehud Barak: 'In Iran These Days Accidents Can Happen As Well As Other Things"

'Those Who Argue That We'll Know When Iran Makes Dash For Nuclear Weapons Ignore Possibility That Iranians Will Get The Bomb On The Sly & Then Become Immune From Intervention'

IsraCast Assessment: By Saying Sanctions Would Fail & Refusing To Say If Israel Was Involved In Mysterious Explosions, Barak Inferred That Israel Was Not Ready To Allow Iran To Secretly Develop The Bomb

 For the second time in two weeks, a major explosion has severely damaged another Iranian nuclear facility. Who is behind these mysterious explosions, the assassination of nuclear experts, and the bugging of computers at centrifuge centers processing enriched uranium? Interviewed on the Voice of Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak assessed various aspects of the Iranian file shortly after Iranian rioters smashed their way into th British embassy in what was an obvious show of the Tehran regime's attitude to London. Analyst David Essing reads between the lines of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's guarded assessment of Israel's current approach to Iran's nuclear weapons program and what the rest of the world is or is not doing about it.

Joe Robinson

Americas Oil Habit and US Presidential Campaign

Candidate Joe Robinson: 'Presidential Race Ignores America's Fatal Dependence On Foreign Oil'

'Coal Energy Actually Pollutes Far Less Than Oil But Oil Corporations Prevent Conversion'

'New Modification To Car Engines Achieves Substantial Savings In Gasoline Consumption'

 Inventor Joe Robinson, who is running in the Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire on January 10th, has shown that his modification to car engines can get a vast increase in miles per gallon. In a thought provoking interview with David Essing, Robinson explained how his patented invention performed in tests, but why the oil corportations and General Motors have so far turned it down. The modification achieved 49% more miles per gallon, according to the EPA's Federal Test Procedure. His invention dealt with the question of what percentage of the fuel is used to operate the engine and what is the remaining percentage of the fuel that actually pushes the car down the road. The research is purely in the field of mechanical engineering - how to reroute the air-fuel mixture of a gasoline engine to increase net horsepower while significantly improving miles per gallon. In addition to his invention achieving vast savings for American car owners, it would obviously benefit the entire economy. Moreover Robinson argues that America's dependence on foreign oil is bankrupting the country, whereas the building and operating of refineries in the U.S. to produce gasoline from domestic coal, would create jobs and eliminate the import of oil. In his opinion, the U.S. gets four times as much acid rain from oil than it does from coal.

Iranian missiles

IDF Intelligence: Iran Has Produced Nearly 100KG of Enriched Uranium for Nuclear Weapons Program

Brig. Gen. Itay Brun: 'Iran Has Nearly Half Of Enriched Uranium Required For Further Processing To Nuclear Weapons Grade'

'Targeted Killings, Sanctions & Other Pressures Have Failed To Deter Iran From Advancing Nuclear Program'

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: 'Israel Interested In Improving Relations With Turkey - I Will Reconsider Decision To Halt Tax Money To Palestinian Authority'

Iran is proceeding full steam ahead in her nuclear weapons program despite mysterious explosions at strategic sites, the killing of nuclear scientists and international sanctions. In a closed door briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, the IDF's Bri.Gen. Itay Brun disclosed latest details on Iran's nuclear project. Also appearing at the session, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said tougher sanctions could be imposed on Iran without the agreement of Russia and China.

President Mahmoud Abbas

Chaos In Cairo

In Cairo, West Bank President Abbas & Khaled Mashal, Hamas Leader Declare: 'We Agree On All Issues!'

Question: Does That Mean That Abbas Now Supports Hamas Pledge 'To Kill The Jews & Liberate Every Inch Of Palestine?'

IsraCast Assessment: Arab Spring May Sow Seeds Of Hostile Islamist Regimes Rather Than Peace Loving Democracies - Therefore Israel Must Insist On Solid Security Arrangements

The Arab Spring has focused on Cairo, where the gigantic demonstrations in Tahrir Square have signaled Gen.Tantawi and his junta that they must go, and the sooner the better. In Jerusalem, the question was whether the radical Muslim Brotherhood will now rise to power and jeopardize the Israeli- Egyptian Peace Treaty. And also in the Egyptian capital, West Bank Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Mashal, who rules Gaza from Damascus, appeared together in a public display of friendship after their blood feud. David Essing reports on what all this may mean.

Hamas Terrorists in the Gaza Strip

Israel Warns Hamas Over Gaza Rocketing

Israel Warns That More Rocketing From Gaza May Trigger Major IDF Counter-Attack

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz: 'After Fall of Gadaffi Regime, Libyan Weapons May Have Been Smuggled Into Gaza'

IsraCast Assessment: Israel Has Given Hamas Notice That She Will Not Tolerate More Missiles From Gaza That Paralyzes Life In Southern Israel

 Israel's patience is wearing thin after repeated rocket attacks from Gaza have paralyzed much of southern Israel and forced over one million Israeli civilians into their bomb shelters for days on end. This was the message from IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz in a closed door briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Later the IDF spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, told reporters that only 'an intiated and planned IDF operation' could put a stop to the Palestinian rocketing of Israeli civilians. David Essing has this assessment of the current calm that may prove to be the quiet before the storm, if the Palestinian decide to launch more missiles into Israel.

Israel, Iran & IAEA

In Israel, Mum's The Word After Latest IAEA Report Exposes Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program

Prime Minister Netanyahu Signals That Time For Words Is Over - It's Now Time For International Community To Get Serious About Iranian Nuclear Threat

IsraCast Assessment: Israel Will Wait & See If UN Security Council Will Finally Decide On Decisive Sanctions Against Iran Or Continue To Jaw-Jaw In Face Of Damning Indictment

 It now boils down to what the international community now decides to do, or not to do, after the latest IAEA report has exposed Iran's duplicitous drive for nuclear weapons. The result will affect Israel's course of action in the foreseeable future. After years of self - denial and U.S. President Barack Obama's policy of engagement and dialogue with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one undeniable fact has emerged. There is no prospect that Iran will give up her nuclear weapons program unless and until crippling sanctions are imposed. Jerusalem seems to be signaling the Western world 'It's your call' and Israel will decide on what she will or will not do according to the answer.

Iranian missiles (photo: MEHR)

Israel & Fateful Sanctions on Iran

Cabinet Minister Silvan Shalom: 'After Upcoming IAEA Exposure On Iran's Nuclear Weapons Development, Israel Should Give Another Chance For More Severe Sanctions!'

'Israel Is A Democracy - Netanyahu & Barak Could Not Decide On Their Own To Launch A Pre-Emptive Strike Against Iran'

IsraCast Assessment: Israel Anticipating That International Atomic Energy Agency Will Reveal Its Evidence That Iran Is Bent On Building Nuclear Weapons

 The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, may soon disclose that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. If so, it will mark a milestone in Israel's campaign to alert the international community of the danger. In Israel, a public debate is now raging after the Yediot Ahronot and Haaretz newspapers disclosed that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are pushing for an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. So how close could Israel be from going it alone against Iran? Analyst David Essing has this assessment.