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The Alpha-Omega Report

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Mideast War Watch

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For 2-11-10

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Editor's Note: Today was the day when Iran would "Punch" and "Stun" the West. Today is the 31st anniversary of the Iranian Islamic Revolution and Iran's President as well as the Supreme Leader warned that today Iran would "Punch" and "Stun" the west and The Supreme Ayatollah prayed that Israel would soon be obliterated. During the regime's celebratory speeches marking their anniversary, President Ahmadinejad announced Iran was now a "Nuclear State" because they had just finished completion of the first batch of highly enriched uranium to the 20% level.

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This appears to be the "BIG" news that would "punch and stun" the world. IF that announcement was supposed to be the "punch and stun - it did neither. In fact, such an achievement does not make a nation a nuclear power, as Ahmadinjad implies. Experts instantly questioned that Iran could even have completed a first batch when the process hadn't even reached 48 hours.

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Even so, this is apparently what both Iranian leaders were referencing when making their warning statements. We see no further indication that an outbreak of hostilities is imminent today. Things have quieted down on Israel's northern border although things have popped a bit on the southern border as Israel recently bombed rocket launching areas. 

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This week turns out to have been more or less what we had expected but with the extreme rhetoric being bandied about in the past few weeks and reaching a fever pitch over the weekend, we instituted a daily war watch coverage, just in case an "incident" sparked something into an escalation for war. So far, nothing has developed. We've stated from the beginning that our "intelligence' sources and reports from the region noted that neither the Israelis nor the Arabs and Iran are quite ready to launch a military clash. Both sides want more preparation time of at least a few more weeks, if not months. We do note however, that the situation remains fluid and that any little incident could spark a war. Consequently, we'll be ending our daily war watch after today.  We'll monitor events today and update as needed during the day or evening as needed. And now, today's war watch news.

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Iranian President Ahmadinjad has declared that Iran is now a "Nuclear State" after having made its first batch of highly enriched uraniaum (at 20% level). The news comes two days after the process began and it comes amid reports of mechanical problems with the enrichment process.

In announcing the first batch of production, the Iranian President proclaimed that Iran was now a "nuclear state." and indicated that the Natanz facility could produce much higher percentage levels. Details, LINK HERE More details, LINK HERE.

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel "must be resisted" and finished off "once and for all" if it launches a military operation in the Middle East, Reuters cited an Iranian report on Thursday.

"We have reliable information ... that the Zionist regime is after finding a way to compensate for its ridiculous defeats from the people of Gaza and Lebanon's Hizbullah," Ahmadinejad told his Syrian counterpart in a phone conversation on Wednesday evening, according to IRIB, Iran's state broadcaster.

"If the Zionist regime should repeat its mistakes and initiate a military operation, then it must be resisted with full force to put an end to it once and for all," Ahmadinejad reportedly asserted.  LINK

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Israel's Haaretz News has published a story stating that UN officials have told the newspaper that a Security Council resolution for tightening sanctions against Iran has become more likely and that the resolution will likely be approved.

The news comes as Russia quietly acquiesced to Western demands that new sanctions be imposed against Iran. Russia's capitulation on sanctions left China out standing on limb. China experts beleive that Chinese leaders have decided that they have more to lose by standing alone in isolation against new Iranian sanctions than they had to gain from standing alone.

Even as a new UN round of sanctions seemed more likely, the U.S. imposed its own set of new sanctions on elements of Iranian corporations controlled or operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Do not expect new sanctions to be enacted anytime soon. It appears that the soonest that new sanctions will be approved will be in March. US Defense Secretary Bob Gates stated just days ago that very harsh sanctions must be enacted immediately within days if Iran was to be prevented from building a nuclear bomb by peaceful means. Gates hinted that without immediate, harsh sanctions, the only other option for halting Iran was military action.

For more on this story, LINK HERE.

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Iran's state television showed live footage of crowds carrying Iranian flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei making their way to Azadi (freedom) Square in central Tehran, where the main gathering is held. Security forces are everywhere as a precaution against anti-government protests which were planned for the day.

Clashes were reported to have developed by mid-day as pro-government rallies got underway. An Iranian website said that government security forces had attacked political opposition leaders who had been presidential candidates in last year's elections. Both are now considered to be 'enemies of the state.'

More details, LINK HERE.

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A warning earlier this week from Iran's supreme ruler that his country will deliver a "punch" February 11th that will "stun" the West is being taken seriously at the highest levels of the U-S government, according to Missouri's two Senators.

Democratic Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill described the concern about Iran today in Washington as a matter of "almost hyper focus."

"I know the military is monitoring it carefully.  I know the intelligence community is monitoring it carefully.   I can't share many of the details of that.   But I will say that I think our government is very, very, very concerned."

Earlier this week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech that: "The Iranian nation, with its unity and God's grace, will punch the arrogance (Western Powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned."

Republican Missouri Senator Kit Bond was asked by KMOX how seriously he takes the warning and what "the punch" could be.

"We've seen what kind of punches they can throw," Bond said, "They have delivered deadly, explosive projectiles to the terrorists attacking our troops in Iraq.  They are developing more weapons, nuclear weapons.   They're launching missiles."

When pressed whether the "punch" could be Iran testing a nuclear device,  Bond did not rule that out.    "You never can tell.  But we know a fair amount about what's going on.   There are a number of things he can do.  We'll do the best we can to counter it.   We'll see what happens.  There are certain ways we can respond if he takes drastic action, and we would be ready to do those."

For the full story and more details, LINK HERE.

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Israel has developed another, new Air Defense System designed to combat small to medium range 'rockets' used by Hamas and Hezbollah. The system is called "Stunner."

It is part of the new Israeli "Python" and "Spider" systems that is part of the overall air defense umbrella called "Iron Dome." For more on this new weapon, LINK HERE.

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