1. Dow Jones Newswires
12-16-051228ET
Copyright (c) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.Israel acquiring dozens of U.S. Warplanes w/long range fuel tanks
Israel, meanwhile, has been augmenting its arsenal with weapons that can reach Iran. The country is acquiring dozens of U.S. warplanes with long-range fuel tanks that would allow them to reach Tehran and return without refueling.
Israel, whose warplanes destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, maintains a nuclear monopoly in the Middle East. While it neither admits nor denies nuclear arms, Israel is thought to harbor about 200 nuclear warheads deployed on ballistic missiles, aircraft and submarines, according to the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Israeli leaders have said they won't allow Iran to develop a competing nuclear capability.
There are also concerns a U.S. attack on Iran is possible, since top U.S. officials have repeatedly declined to rule out such action should Tehran acquire nuclear weapons. Such a strike could have serious implications for a Middle East region already embroiled in the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the long-running Israeli- Palestinian conflict and mounting pressure against the Syrian regime, officials from which have been implicated by a U.N. investigator in the February assassination of a former Lebanese premier.
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2.
UPI - Confirms Goss Warning to TurkeyUPI Intelligence Watch
By JOHN C.K. DALY
UPI International Correspondenthttp://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20051214-122221-2318r
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The heads of both the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have recently visited Turkey, leading to intense speculation in the Turkish media about the topics discussed with Turkish officials.
On Monday CIA Director Porter Goss met with Milli Istihbarat Teskilati, or MIT, intelligence service officials for four-and-a-half hours in Ankara. Goss reportedly brought three dossiers on Iran with him. Accompanied by a large delegation Goss met with MIT Undersecretary Emre Taner and General Staff Intelligence Director Lt. Gen. Arslan Guner. Goss also visited Turkish Security Director General Gokhan Aydiner and Security Intelligence Director Sabri Uzun.
Topics discussed at the meetings included the fight against the Kurdish Worker's Party, or PKK in northern Iraq, al-Qaida and possibilities for exchanging intelligence on Iraqi insurgents. Cumhuriyet reported that Goss allegedly asked for Turkish support for the Bush administration's policies on Iran's nuclear activities, telling Turkish officials that Iran has nuclear weapons, a situation that created a huge threat to Turkey and other countries in the region.
Goss said that Iran sees Turkey as an enemy and will "export its regime," warning Ankara to be ready for a possible U.S. aerial operation against Iran and Syria.
David
www.soundanalarm.net