Israelis divided over fallout from Syrian attack.

Israelis divided over fallout from Syrian attack.

Slight plurality think Assad will hit Israel if US intervenes militarily, despite official assessment that odds of retaliation are low

Israelis wait to collect gas mask boxes at a distribution center
 in Tel Aviv on August 28, 2013. (photo credit: Gili Yaari/Flash90)

01 Sep 2013 :: Israelis are mostly split on whether they think Syria will try to hit Israel in the aftermath of a possible US-led attack, a poll partially released Sunday found.

The survey, conducted for the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University as part of the monthly Peace Index, also found that most Israeli Jews think Washington’s position in the region will be strengthened by such a move.

According to the poll, 46 percent of Jewish Israelis think Assad will carry out his threat to hit Israel, while 42% think he will not.

Among Arab Israelis, 40% believe Assad will attack Israel, and 47% believe he will not.

Israeli officials have said there is only a small probability Israel will take on rocket attacks as a result of US action, as Syria and Iran have threatened. However, masses of Israelis swarmed gas mask distribution centers last week over fears of a possible attack, and the IDF slightly raised its alertness level.

On Saturday, US President Barack Obama announced that he would seek Congressional approval for military action against Syria, an apparent about-face after Washington seemed poised to hit Damascus in retaliation for a chemical attack that the US says killed over 1,400 people on August 21.(Courtesy:Times of Israel)

U.S. soldier gets life in deaths of 16 Afghan civilians.

U.S. soldier gets life in deaths of 16 Afghan civilians.

Afghanistan | 26 Aug 2013 :: Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who pleaded guilty to slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians inside their homes, will spend the rest of his life in prison, a military jury decided on Friday.

The decision came after three days of wrenching testimony that painted a moment-by-moment, bullet-by-bullet account of one of the worst atrocities of the U.S.’ long war in Afghanistan.

The six-member military jury considering Bales’ fate had two options: sentence him to life in prison with no possibility of parole, or allow him a chance at freedom after about 20 years behind bars. His guilty plea in June removed the death penalty from the table.

In pressing for mercy, the defence team said Bales had been a good soldier, a loving father and a stand-up friend before snapping after four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. But prosecutors said he was a man frustrated with his career and family, easy to anger, whose rage erupted at the end of his M-4 rifle.(Courtesy:The Hindu)Read More>>>

American al-Qaeda militant urges attacks on U.S. diplomats.

American al-Qaeda militant urges attacks on U.S. diplomats.

American al Qaeda militant Adam Gadahn has called for more
 attacks on Western diplomats in the Arab world. (File Photo: Reuters)

Dubai | Reuters | 18 Aug 2013 ::  An American al-Qaeda militant has called for more attacks on Western diplomats in the Arab world, praising the killers of the U.S. ambassador to Libya on September 11 last year, a U.S.-based monitoring group said on Sunday.

Western nations shut embassies across the Middle East and North Africa early this month, after a warning of a possible militant attack. Many have reopened, and Britain said its Yemen embassy would open on Sunday after being closed for 12 days.

Adam Gadahn, a California-born convert to Islam with a $1 million U.S. price on his head, appealed to wealthy Muslims to offer militants rewards to kill ambassadors in the region, citing bounty set for killing the U.S. ambassador to Yemen, Washington-based SITE monitoring group said.

“These prizes have a great effect in instilling fear in the hearts of our cowardly enemies,” Gadahn said in the 39-minute video recording in Arabic posted on websites used by Islamist militants, according to SITE.

“They also encourage hesitant individuals to carry out important and great deeds in the path of Allah,” he said, in an English transcript on SITE.

The Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda last year offered 3 kg (106 ounces) of gold for the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa or 5 million rials ($23,350) for an American soldier in the impoverished Arab state.

U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in Libya’s Benghazi in 2012 when Islamist gunmen attacked the U.S. consulate during a protest by a mob angry over a film they said insulted the Prophet Mohammad.

Gadahn has called for attacks on U.S. diplomats before. In August 2007, he said al-Qaeda would target diplomats and embassies in retaliation for U.S.-led military action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The FBI has been trying to question Gadahn - believed to be in Pakistan - since 2004 and the U.S. government has offered up to $1 million in cash for information leading to his arrest.(Courtesy:Al Arabia)

US jets drop unarmed bombs on Great Barrier Reef.

US jets drop unarmed bombs on Great Barrier Reef.

SYDNEY | AFP | 22 Jul 2013 :: US fighter jets dropped four unarmed bombs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef in an "emergency jettison" during a training exercise, officials said on Sunday, ruling out any risk to the public or environment.

The US 7th Fleet said two Harrier aircraft dropped the ordnance on the iconic reef's marine park off the Queensland coast on Tuesday.

"The selected emergency jettison area was in a deep channel away from the reef to minimize the possibility of reef damage," the US 7th Fleet said in a statement.

"It is approximately 50 to 60 metres deep and does not pose a hazard to shipping or navigation."

An Australian Defence Force spokesman told Australian Associated Press that the bombs posed "minimal risk or threat to the public, the marine environment or civilian shipping transiting the reef area".

"Defence is working closely with the US military, the Australian government and environmental organisations to ensure there is no danger... now or in the future," he said.

US and Australian officials are seeking to issue an appropriate navigation notice until charts can be updated showing the location of the unexploded ordnance, the 7th Fleet said.

The two AV-8B Harrier planes had intended to drop the bombs on a range on a nearby island but were unsuccessful despite several attempts.

"After being unable to expend their ordnance during a planning training mission, and having insufficient fuel to reach their pre-designated jettison area, the pilots jettisoned the ordnance in an unarmed condition on July 16," the 7th fleet said.

The fleet said each Harrier jettisoned one BDU 45, which are inert ordnance, and one GBU 12, which were dropped in an unarmed state.

About 28,000 Australian and US military are involved in training exercise Talisman Saber in Queensland, which began on July 15 and ends on August 5.(Courtesy:Google News)