Israel’s Secret Staging Ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Mark Perry - March 28, 2012 - 12:00am

In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable to the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom titled "Azerbaijan's discreet symbiosis with Israel." The memo, later released by WikiLeaks, quotes Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as describing his country's relationship with the Jewish state as an iceberg: "nine-tenths of it is below the surface."

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Israelis Fear Blame For US-Iran War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Barbara Slavin - (Opinion) March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

A thread of anxiety ran through a conference of liberal American Jews and Israelis Sunday [March 25]. The worry: that Israel would bear the blame for any military confrontation between the United States and Iran. Retired brigadier general Shlomo Brom, a former director of strategic planning for the Israeli Defense Forces General Staff, told an audience at the J-Street convention that he had participated in talks with the George W. Bush administration before it attacked Iraq in 2003.

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Officials: 2 Killed on Israeli-Egypt Border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Two people died in a clash late Tuesday in Egyptian territory near Israel's border, a Ma'an correspondent reported and an Israeli security official confirmed. Egyptian and Israeli security officials said a group of infiltrators was spotted entering Israeli territory and fled back into Egypt, where two people were killed either by smugglers or Egyptian forces. An Israeli army spokesman said soldiers identified two infiltrators inside Israeli territory and initiated arrest procedures, but they crossed into Egypt and exchanged fire with Egyptian forces.

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Beware Land Day
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

An international array of terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas, rogue states such as Iran and radical left-wing organizations such as Code Pink have joined forces to make the 36th Land Day potentially the biggest – and most violent – ever.

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Israeli defense minister says Israel and US disagree on timetable for effective Iran action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 22, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel and the US disagree on what would be a realistic timetable for stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, Israel’s defense minister said Thursday, but stopped short of threatening unilateral Israeli action. Ehud Barak reiterated concerns that Iran is trying to make its suspected nuclear weapons program immune from attack before taking a decision on assembling atomic bombs. Israel “cannot afford” to wait in such a situation, Barak told Israel Radio.

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Israel finalizes deal with Germany for sixth submarine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 22, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Wednesday finalized the deal for its sixth German-made submarine, which it believes will boost the capabilities of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), local media reported. Israel purchased the Dolphin-class submarine at 530 million U.S. dollars, while Germany announced that it will subsidize one-third of the total price. The signing of the contract took place in Berlin between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and German State Secretary at the Ministry of Defense Wolf Rudiger.

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National security or national disaster?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Uri Savir - (Opinion) March 22, 2012 - 12:00am

Security considerations have been used often by Israeli leaders throughout our existence as the ultimate justification for a policy decision or indecision. Our “security syndrome” stems for objective and subjective considerations – our history as the Jewish people, wherein we withstood every possible onslaught on our very existence and identity – from the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, to the Spanish, the tzars, the Nazis and the Arab nations. This is the backdrop to our national ethos – “never again” and “we can only trust ourselves.”

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Israel should notify its citizens before striking Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

Will Israel coordinate any attack on Iran with the United States, or at least give it advance notice? What exactly did President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to at their recent meeting in Washington, D.C.? We can at least hope that both leaders know what they signed off on, and there will not be a repeat of the awkward situation in the first Lebanon War, in 1982, when Defense Minister Ariel Sharon claimed to have obtained the nod from U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig. Both countries agree that Iran should not be allowed to posses nuclear arms.

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Atlantic's Goldberg Discusses Israel vs. Iran; Boycott Idea
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Barbara Slavin - (Interview) March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic has become a major figure in the debate over whether and when Israel might attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Author of a provocative piece in 2010 that predicted that Israel would strike Iran the following year, Goldberg has shifted since then, even suggesting recently that Israel might have been bluffing.

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Iran already started a war, a cold one between Israel, U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Who said the home front isn't protected? People who have spoken in recent years with Defense Minister Ehud Barak know he's well aware of the suggestion that he take care of two things before a war with Iran: The return of Gilad Shalit and the sale of his home in the luxury Akirov Towers.

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