WikiLeaks exposes Israel's plans for war

Source

OSLO: Israel's army chief told a US Congress delegation in late 2009 he was preparing for a big war in the Middle East, probably against Hamas or Hezbollah, a leaked US diplomatic cable shows.

''I am preparing the Israeli army for a large-scale war since it is easier to scale down to a smaller operation than to do the opposite,'' Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi was quoted as saying in a cable sent from the US embassy in Tel Aviv.

The document, dated November 15, was quoted on Sunday by the Oslo daily Aftenposten, which said it had obtained WikiLeaks's entire cache of 251,187 leaked US embassy cables.

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General Ashkenazi told the delegation led by a Democrat, Ike Skelton, that despite Iran having about 300 Shihab rockets that could reach Israel, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon posed the most acute threat.

In a war in 2006 between Hezbollah and Israel, the death toll was 1200 Lebanese, many of them civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Assange to write memoir for $1.5 million: report

The Nation


WikiLeaks founder Julian Asssange has told the British Sunday Times that he will write his memoirs as part of a book deal worth up to 1 million pounds (1.5 million dollars). Mr. Assange, who is currently under a form of house arrest in Britain, says he needs the money to pay his legal bills. The controversial whistleblower has been accused, though not charged, of sexual offences in Sweden. “I dont want to write this book, but I have to,” Mr. Assange said, noting that he had already spent a sizable sum of money on his defence. He denies the allegations against him.

Rao says Pakistan’s military “hypnotically obsessed”: WikiLeaks

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.

Dawn

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s military is ”hypnotically obsessed” with India’s military, officials in New Delhi told US officials in comments made public in a leaked US diplomatic cable released Friday.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told US Senator John Kerry earlier this year that Indo-Pakistani peace talks could not move ahead until Islamabad did more to dismantle the allegedly Pakistan-based terrorist infrastructure that New Delhi says supports anti-Indian militants.

The talks have been on hold since the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

The talks ”can’t just be switched on,” Rao told Kerry during a February visit to New Delhi, insisting that Islamabad had not yet done enough to prove it was serious about cracking down on terrorism.

Speaking to Kerry just before he flew to Islamabad for meetings there with top Pakistani officials, Rao also predicted he would be told there that India’s military doctrine was a continuing threat.

The Pakistani military is ”hypnotically obsessed” with India’s military, Rao said in the cable, which was marked ”confidential” and obtained by WikiLeaks. It was released by the British newspaper The Guardian.

The US has repeatedly urged the two nations to improve their ties. Better relations between India and Pakistan would help Washington in its war in Afghanistan, because it would allow Islamabad to shift troops away from the Indian border and toward its western frontier to fight militants there.

Army, Nawaz not willing to remove Zardari: WikiLeaks

KABUL: Afghan Intelligence Chief Amrullah Saleh had predicted that neither the army nor PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif would bring President Zardari's term to an abrupt end, revealed by WikiLeaks in a cable.

According to the cable, Amrullah Saleh had said this in a meeting with a delegation of US Senators, led by John McCain.

This was written by US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry ... in a secret cable dated January 10, 2010, which was released by WikiLeaks.

Afghan Intelligence Chief said in the meeting that President Asif Ali Zardari is using Baloch nationalists as his base of support. He was of the view that neither the army nor Nawaz Sharif would bring Zardari's term to an abrupt end, the Ambassador wrote.

In the meeting, Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned US that no success could be achieved in the war against terrorism without the support of Pakistan. Karzai told them that the improvement in the overall bilateral relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan was held back by the Army and ISI who continue to help the Taliban.

WikiLeaks founder in fresh bail bid

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is making a fresh appeal to be granted bail

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to make a fresh appeal to be granted bail when he returns to court.

The 39-year-old Australian was remanded in custody last week as he vowed to fight attempts to extradite him to Sweden for alleged sex offences.

He is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for a second hearing. If Assange is denied bail a second time he is expected to appeal at the High Court.

The former hacker, who is accused of sexually assaulting two women in Sweden, turned himself in to Scotland Yard detectives last week.

His legal team has claimed Swedish prosecutors have been put under political pressure to restart their inquiry to help silence and discredit Assange.

The decision to remand him in custody came despite the offer of a £180,000 surety from backers including John Pilger, Jemima Khan and Ken Loach.

The accusations against him include rape and molestation in one case and molestation and unlawful coercion in a second. Assange has denied the allegations, which he has claimed stem from a dispute over "consensual but unprotected sex".

District Judge Howard Riddle refused bail on the grounds there was a risk Assange would fail to surrender.

Meanwhile, Assange has not been handed any of his mail since he was jailed, with even his legal letters failing to reach him, his lawyer has said.

A prison source said Assange was being treated like any other inmate held in the segregation unit, which is where he had requested to be.

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