Obama starts massive US Air-Sea-Marine build-up opposite Iran!

[Christians4LessGvt]

Obama starts massive
US Air-Sea-Marine build-up opposite Iran

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

May 20, 2010



debkafile's military sources report a decision by the Obama administration to boost US military
strength in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf regions in the short term with an extra air and
naval strike forces and 6,000 Marine and sea combatants. Carrier Strike Group 10, headed by
the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, sails out of the US Navy base at Norfolk, Virginia
Friday, May 21. On arrival, it will raise the number of US carriers off Iranian shores to two.
Up until now, President Barack Obama kept just one aircraft carrier stationed off the coast
of Iran, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Sea, in pursuit of his policy of
diplomatic engagement with Tehran.

For the first time, too, the US force opposite Iran will be joined by a German warship,
the frigate FGS Hessen, operating under American command.

It is also the first time that Obama, since taking office 14 months ago, is sending military
reinforcements to the Persian Gulf. Our military sources have learned that the USS Truman
is just the first element of the new buildup of US resources around Iran. It will take place
over the next three months, reaching peak level in late July and early August. By then,
the Pentagon plans to have at least 4 or 5 US aircraft carriers visible from Iranian shores.

The USS Truman's accompanying Strike Group includes Carrier Air Wing Three (Battle Axe) -
which has 7 squadrons - 4 of F/A-18 Super Hornet and F/A-18 Hornet bomber jets, as well
as spy planes and early warning E-2 Hawkeyes that can operate in all weather conditions;
the Electronic Attack Squadron 130 for disrupting enemy radar systems; and Squadron 7
of helicopters for anti-submarine combat (In its big naval exercise last week, Iran exhibited
the Velayat 89 long-range missile for striking US aircraft carriers and Israel warships from
Iranian submarines.)

Another four US warships will be making their way to the region to join the USS Truman
and its Strike Group. They are the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy and guided missile
destroyers USS Winston S. Churchill, USS Oscar Austin and USS Ross.

debkafile's military sources disclose that the 6,000 Marines and sailors aboard the Truman
Strike Group come from four months of extensive and thorough training to prepare them
for anticipated missions in the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean.

[Christians4LessGvt]

Barak, Suleiman meet in Tel Aviv:
Our friendship must push for peace

May  24, 2010 

Israeli Defense Minister and Egyptian intelligence chief hold meeting:

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said to Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman,
"Egypt is the biggest and the most important of the Arab states to make peace with
Israel and is a central pillar in the reality of the Middle East and Africa."

At the beginning of his meeting with Suleiman in Tel Aviv, Barak added, "We look forward
to practical and fruitful talks, both on the political front and on the agreements and
challenges in the region." Suleiman said, "Our friendship must push peace forward."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3893387,00.html

[Christians4LessGvt]

Syrian ballistic missiles on standby with new target updates

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

May 27, 2010, 1:44 PM (GMT+02:00)  


Syrian missiles on the move.

The night before Israel's exercise for defending the home front against missile attack entered its fifth and last day on Thursday, May 27, the Syrian Chief of Staff placed all Syrian military units on standby, followed in the morning by a second directive for missile units to go on a war footing and take up firing positions. Reporting this, debkafile's military sources disclose that missile battery commanders were given "target updates," meaning new Israeli targets for attack.

Western intelligence sources report that Wednesday night, long military convoys carrying mobile missiles were sighted rolling down Syrian highways - especial in the North.

In Athens, Greek military sources announced a joint Israeli-Greek naval and air force two-day exercise beginning next Tuesday, June 1, over the mainland and the Aegean and Ionian Seas. Exercise Minoas 2010 would serve Israeli Air Force F16s and F15s (five each) for drilling long-range flights covering roughly the same distance as between Israel and Iran and new in-flight refueling methods using Israeli KC-807 flying fuel tankers. Greece will deploy 15 F16s.

With all parties on the move, including the boosting of Lebanese army units on the Israeli border, the war tensions swirling around Israel's northern borders show no signs of early dissipation.

Two years ago, 100 Israeli Air Force bombers of different types covered the distance between Israel and Greece and back to demonstrate that Iran and its nuclear sites were within reach. Then, Athens permitted Israeli jets to practice strikes against the Greek Army's sophisticated S-300 interceptor missiles of the type Iran expects to procure from Russia. The same drill may be repeated in the coming joint maneuver.

debkafile's military sources have learned that across the border the just-boosted Lebanese army units Wednesday afternoon practiced firing anti-air missiles and other weapons against Israeli warplanes near the village of Kuzah in southern Lebanon.

They also report that, back in March, Iran, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas prepared for the current war escalation by setting up a joint staff center for coordinating their missile and rocket attacks on Israeli military and civilian locations. The center which is staffed with liaison officers of the four participants was installed at Syrian Military General Headquarters in Damascus.

As debkafile reported May 26, a colossal Iran-funded and directed armament program has permitted Syria to field 1,000 ballistic missiles and Hizballah 1,000 rockets - all pointed at specific Israeli military and civilian locations, including the densely populated conurbation around Tel Aviv

[Christians4LessGvt]

A US nuclear submarine crosses into Strait of Hormuz

DEBKAfile Special Report

May 27, 2010, 7:45 PM (GMT+02:00)  


US nuclear-submarine in Persian Gulf waters

Tehran reports that an Iranian naval patrol Thursday, May 27, detected a US nuclear submarine sailing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which most of the oil produced by Persian Gulf states passes on its way to world markets. debkafile's Iranian sources report Tehran has placed its navy and army on high alert.

Western intelligence and naval sources confirm that a nuclear-armed American submarine has in fact entered the Persian Gulf. This confirms debkafile's report of May 20 that the Obama administration had decided to boost US military strength in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf regions in the short term with an extra air and naval strike forces and 6,000 Marine and sea combatants. Carrier Strike Group 10, headed by the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, was due to sail out of the US Navy base at Norfolk, Virginia Friday, May 21.

On arrival, it was to raise the number of US carriers off Iranian shores to two.

Thursday's arrival of a US nuclear submarine also ties in with the currently rising military tensions along Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon.

Up until now, President Barack Obama kept just one aircraft carrier stationed off the coast of Iran, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Sea, in pursuit of his policy of diplomatic engagement with Tehran.

[Christians4LessGvt]

Iranian Guards general assassinated in Damascus - French sources

DEBKAfile Special Report

May 30, 2010, 8:37 PM (GMT+02:00) 


Exclusive Al Mezzeh district, Damascus

The death of Khalil Sultan, a high-ranking general of the IRGC's al Qods external terror branch,
at his home in the exclusive Damascus district of Al Mezzeh Sunday, May 16 is now revealed by
French intelligence and Syrian exile sources in Paris to have been assassination by an unknown hand.

The authorities in Damascus said at the time that the general, whom they described as a rich Syrian
businessman, sales agent for the Iranian Kordo automobile manufacturers, was killed in the course of a robbery.

In fact, according to debkafile's intelligence sources, Sultan ran Iranian Revolutionary Guards' covert operations in
Damascus and Beirut under deep cover. The gang which burst into his luxury villa and gunned him down with automatic
rifles removed only documents and laptops, but did not touch valuables, cash or gold.

As Tehran's top operative for disposing of anti-Iranian elements in Syria and Lebanon, he worked in conjunction with
Bashar Assad's intelligence branches. Their most recent joint project was the roundup of Iranian-Arab exiles from Ahwaz
who live in Syria. Western sources disclose that his death caused deep shock in top Syrian and Iranian government and
security circles. His assassins' success in reaching this top secret agent in the most closely-guarded neighborhood of the
capital, seat of Syrian government institutions and domicile of senior officials, has caused Syrian intelligence and the regime
as a whole deep embarrassment - particularly after a long series of hits against high-profile Hizballah and Hamas operatives
in the Syrian capital's most secure districts - like the case of Hizballah commander Imad Mughniyeh.

The victim was close to the al Qods Brigades chief Gen. Qassem Suleimeni, who is entrusted with the Islamic Republic's
most hush-hush clandestine operations. French sources stress, on the other hand, that he was also a personal friend
of the Iranian general who recently defected to the West. They name him as Gen. Reza Baba Hossein, the first time,
debkafile's sources note, that an Iranian general has been publicly named as a defector to the West.
Sultan's duties and diverse connections suggest three possible parties may have wanted him dead:

1. More than one foreign element had an interest in sabotaging Iran's covert activities in Syria and Lebanon
and the intelligence partnership between Tehran and Damascus.

2. Syrian opposition exiles in Paris point the finger at their Sunni compatriots who are involved in activities
for weakening Iranian and Shiite influence in their country.

3. Sultan's friendship with the defecting general may have aroused Tehran's suspicion that he abetted his
friend's escape - or even had contacts in Western intelligence himself - in which case, Iranian intelligence would
have no qualms about signing his death warrant.