US, German intel: Al Qaeda plots multiple attacks on US-, Israel-bound airliners
DEBKAfile Special Report
July 7, 2009, 9:54 PM (GMT+02:00)
Target of new al Qaeda hijack plot
Western anti-terror agencies have warned that a large group of 15-20 al Qaeda terrorists, trained in Pakistan and Algeria to hijack and blow up airliners, deployed secretly in at least six European and Middle East countries in early July. They are standing ready to carry out multiple terrorist attacks.
DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources report the first specific red alert on Saturday, July 4, referred to the possible hijack of Turkish Airways planes taking of from Turkish airports for US destinations or Tel Aviv.
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Obama "absolutely" denies US go-ahead for Israel to bomb Iran. Administration divided
DEBKAfile Special Report
July 7, 2009, 5:02 PM (GMT+02:00)
President Obama contradicts VP Biden
Talking to CNN from Moscow Tuesday, July 7, US President Barack Obama "absolutely" denied a Washington green light for Israel to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.
This was a direct contradiction of the words of US vice president Joseph Biden, who two days earlier told ABC television that the US would not stand in the way of such Israeli military action.
While Biden's remarks are sometimes off-the-cuff and subject to "further clarification," this time a genuine difference opinion appears to have developed between him and the president.
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Biden: If Israel wants to bomb Iran, we can't stop them
DEBKAfile Special Report
July 5, 2009, 5:51 PM (GMT+02:00)
US Vice President Joseph Biden: Israel must determine for itself.
In an interview with ABC's George Stephanoupolos taped Saturday, vice president Joseph Biden said: "Israel can determine for itself — it's a sovereign nation — what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else." Whether we agree or not? The interviewer asked. "Whether we agree or not," said the vice president.
This was the first time a senior Obama administration official left Israel the military option against Iran's nuclear sites.
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Obama, Medvedev at odds on US missile shield, Iran's nuclear drive, Middle East
DEBKAfile Special Analysis
July 6, 2009, 3:42 PM (GMT+02:00)
Obama and Medvedev sign nuclear warhead cut memorandum
US president Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were of one mind in one key sphere, the need to continue the war on al Qaeda and the Taliban. This concurrence produced on Day One of Obama's first official visit to Moscow an accord allowing the United States to fly troops and weapons to Afghanistan through Russian skies.
Most other key issues were either left in dispute or as unfinished business for joint teams to fill in the gaps, such as the preliminary memorandum under which the US and Russia aim to cut their nuclear warhead arsenals.
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Show trials, possible execution, hang over "US agent" Mousavi
DEBKAfile Exclusive report
July 4, 2009, 4:40 PM (GMT+02:00)
Has the supreme leader turned against opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi?
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, driven by a thirst for revenge, is preparing a wave of show trials, public confessions and executions to crush the opposition which dared to refute the legitimacy of his election. The West, especially the Obama administration, hoping the bloody crackdown was over, can forget about re-engaging Tehran in talks on the nuclear controversy any time soon, when Mir Hossein Mousavi and the reformist ex-president Mohammed Khatami are denounced for "acting as America's fifth column."
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