Photo: GPO

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Israel for a series of meetings with top Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Two major issues on the agenda include Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and putting an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “Progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there’s simply no space between the United States and Israel,” stated Biden. “There is no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel’s security and for that reason and many others addressing Iran’s nuclear program has been one of our Administration’s priorities. We’re determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and we’re working with many countries around the world to convince Tehran to meet its international obligations and cease and desist.  Iran must also curb its other destabilizing actions in the region, well beyond their desire to acquire nuclear weapons and that is their continued support for terrorist groups that threaten Israel and I might add our interest as well. President Obama and I strongly believe that the best long-term guarantee for Israel’s security is a comprehensive Middle East peace with the Palestinians, with the Syrians, with Lebanon, and leading eventually to full and normalized relationships with the entire Arab world. It’s overwhelming in the interest of Israel, but it’s also overwhelming interest to the Arab world and it’s in our interest as well.  The goal is obviously to resolve the final status issues to achieve a two-state solution with Israel and a Palestine living side by side in peace and security. A historic peace is going to require both parties to make some historically bold commitments. You have done it before and I’m confident for real peace you would do it again”.

During his visit to Israel, Biden commended the Israeli moratorium on new building in the West Bank, and stated that on the Palestinian end there is a real commitment to reach an agreement.

In the coming weeks, Israeli and Palestinian officials will resume proxy talks that will eventually reignite official dialogue between the two administrations: “I appreciate the Administration’s effort to advance peace in the region,” added Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I know that this has been difficult and has required a great deal of patience, but I’m pleased that these efforts are beginning to bear fruit and we have to be persistent and purposeful in making sure that we get to those direct negotiations that will enable us to resolve this conflict.

“I look forward to working with President Obama, and with you and your entire Administration to forge a historic peace agreement in which the permanence and legitimacy of the Jewish State of Israel is recognized by our Palestinian neighbors and in which Israel’s security is guaranteed for generations to come.”

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Maximum range of Iranian medium-range missiles. Image Credit: Der Spiegel

In an article published in Der Speigel on January 25th, the intelligence community has discovered that Iran has conducted secret tests and leadership structures that proves Western concern regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“According to the classified document, there is a secret military branch of Iran’s nuclear research program that answers to the Defense Ministry and has clandestine structures. The officials who have read the dossier conclude that the government in Tehran is serious about developing a bomb, and that its plans are well advanced. There are two names that appear again and again in the documents, particularly in connection with the secret weapons program: Kamran Daneshjoo and Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.”

Click here to read the Der Spiegel article.

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Iran’s recent withdrawal from a deal to export its uranium has caused many to question what course of action will produce results. Sanctions? Another treaty? According to an editorial featured in the New York Times by Alan J. Kuperman, the answer is a targeted military strike. Kuperman cites Israel’s successful 1981 airstrike on the Osirak reactor in Iraq as an example of the use of military action to sever the legs of a nation’s nuclear program.

As the director of the National Proliferation Program at the University of Texas at Austin, Kuperman is a highly respected figure on the subject.

You can find his full piece, entitled “There’s Only One Way to Stop Iran,” by clicking here.

Photo provided by Wikipedia Commons.

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Reuters Image

During the week of November 10th,  President Shimon Peres took the fight against Iran’s growing nuclear program across seas and continents to Brazil. A modest friend of Ahmadinejad’s regime, Brazil is scheduled to host the Iranian President in late November. As South America’s largest country, Brazil can play a crucial part in deciding how far Iranian presence reaches in the Americas. What was once America’s proverbial backyard has become a coalition of extreme left-wing states whose leaders, such as Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, have all too much in common with the anti-American and anti-Semitic leadership in Iran. continue reading…

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On Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Israeli commandos seized a shipment of rockets, small arms, grenades, mortar shells, and missiles believe to be Hezbollah bound from Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the IDF and the Navy for their successful operation to foil an attempt to “harm Israel’s cities.”

To take a look at the massive weapons cache discovered, click here.

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