This article was published in Geostrategy-Direct, an open source intelligence (OSINT) newsletter that has a good track record.
The report would probably seem preposterous if it weren't for the fact that Team Obama already waived sanctions on Syria and is considering opening travel to Cuba.
DOSSIER: Ehud Barak
'Change' the mullahs can believe in: Obama to drop sanctions on Iran
TEL AVIV -- Israelis may have gone to the polls hoping for "Change" but the status quo is all any of the candidates could look forward to whatever the outcome. Defense Minister Ehud Barack, has already glimpsed the future and has warned about what it holds.
Meanwhile, the status quo means continued rocket and missile attacks while international aid pours into the Gaza Strip and bolsters a regime run by Hamas, which is still considered by the United States to be a terrorist organization.
But "Change" is taking place, Barak has intimated, originating not in the Mideast but in Washington, D.C. in the form of a U.S. reconciliation with Iran.
Such a process could result in U.S. acceptance of Teheran's nuclear weapons program and the downplaying of its threats against Israel.
Just as Barack Obama entered office facing a massive economic crisis beyond the scope of his experience, likewise the new Israeli leader will have to make or delay making difficult strategic decisions from the minute he or she enters office.
Barak has already signaled what the new government can expect, officials here said.
The United States has abandoned its policy of sanctioning companies that aid Iran's nuclear and missile program, they said.
The officials said the new Obama administration of has decided to end sanctions against Iranian government agencies or companies that aid Teheran's missile and nuclear program. The officials said Israel has been informed of the new U.S. policy.
"We were told that sanctions do not help the new U.S. policy of dialogue with Iran," an official said.
Barak confirmed the new U.S. policy. In an address to the Herzliya Conference on Feb. 3, Barak said Washington did not say whether it would resume sanctions against Iran.
"We must arrive at a strategic understanding with the United States over Iran's military nuclear program and ensure that even if at this time they opt for the diplomatic option, it will only last a short time before harsh and necessary sanctions are imposed," Barak said.
Obama decided to end sanctions against Iran after determining that the U.S. measures had failed to block Teheran's missile or nuclear weapons program, officials said. Under the administration of former President George Bush, the United States accelerated sanctions on Iran in 2008.
In his address, the Israeli defense minister indicated that Obama had forged an entirely new approach toward Iran. He said the Israeli government has sought a briefing from the new U.S. administration.
A U.S. defense source said the White House would no longer enforce sanctions imposed by the Bush administration. The source said the decision has already been relayed to Iran.
"The administration has abandoned sanctions entirely," the U.S. source said. "It is a completely new ballgame."
Similarly, Obama has decided on a new U.S. ambassador to Syria and is expected to lift sanctions against a nation charged with aiding Al Qaida in Iraq and secretly building a nuclear reactor with North Korean assistance.
Diplomatic sources said Obama, in consultation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has asked Frederic Hof to become the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus since 2005. The sources said Hof, a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Middle East Policy Council, agreed to take the post.
The sources said the Obama administration was expected to suspend U.S. sanctions on Syria's military and energy programs. They said Hof would be authorized to facilitate an expansion of U.S. relations with Syria, which deteriorated under President George Bush.
In 2005, the United States withdrew its ambassador to Damascus in wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria was blamed for the car bombing in Beirut in which Hariri and many of his bodyguards were killed.
The sources said Obama sent emissaries to Syria in September 2008 and pledged that if elected he would reconcile with the regime of President Bashar Assad. After his election victory, they said, Obama sent another message that promised to appoint an ambassador within the first weeks of his administration.
The United States signaled a willingness on Friday to slow plans for a missile defense shield in eastern Europe if Russia agreed to help stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Plans for the shield have contributed to a deterioration in U.S.-Russian ties over the past few years, but the new administration of President Barack Obama has said it wants to press the "reset button" and build good relations with Moscow.
"If we are able to work together to dissuade Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, we would be able to moderate the pace of development of missile defenses in Europe," a senior U.S. administration official told Reuters.
It was the most explicit statement yet by an administration official linking the missile shield to Russia's willingness to help resolve the international stand-off over Iran's nuclear program.
He spoke as Undersecretary of State William Burns held talks in Moscow, the most senior U.S. official to do so since U.S. President Barack Obama took office last month.
Burns signaled the United States was ready to look at remodeling its missile defense plans to include Moscow.
"(Washington is) open to the possibility of cooperation, both with Russia and NATO partners, in relation to a new configuration for missile defense which would use the resources that each of us have," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. Burns gave no details.
In another sign that strained relations may be thawing, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would meet Russia's foreign minister in Geneva next month.
The more flexible U.S. position on its missile shield addressed one of Russia's chief complaints against Washington. Moscow viewed the plan to site missiles in Poland and a radar tracking station in the Czech Republic as a threat to its security in its traditional backyard.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a security conference in Munich, Germany, last week that the United States would press ahead with the missile defense shield, but only if it was proven to work and was cost-effective.
TACKLING IRAN
The Kremlin has been pressing Washington to give ground on the missile shield in exchange for Russia helping supply the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan.
But the U.S. official in Washington focused on Iran.
"The impetus for the deployment of the missile defense systems is the threat from Iran. If it is possible to address that, then that needs to be taken into consideration as you look at the deployment of the system," the U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.
The United States has led a drive to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, which the West fears is a cover to develop atomic weapons and Tehran insists is for the peaceful generation of electricity. Continued...
Continued on Page 47
A ship suspected of carrying arms from Iran to Gaza had no weaponry aboard but carried material for making munitions, Cyprus said Friday. Cypriot-flagged container ship Monchegorsk suspected by US of carrying an Iranian arms shipment bound for Hamas in Gaza anchors off the Cypriot port of Limassol last month.
Defense Minister Costas Papacostas said more than 90 containers loaded with "raw material that could be used in the manufacture of munitions" would be stored at a naval base.
The Cypriot-flagged Monchegorsk has anchored off the port of Limassol since it arrived Jan. 29 under suspicion from US officials of ferrying weapons from Iran to Hamas in Gaza.
The US military said it found artillery shells and other arms aboard the ship after stopping it last month in the Red Sea. But it could not legally detain the ship, which continued on to Cyprus.
On Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman denied reports that the ship was carrying Iranian weapons destined for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said that Cypriot authorities had inquired about the ship's cargo but accusations that weapons were on board were baseless.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2009 00:00 ||
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