11 juni 2012
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German defense minister backs submarine sales to Israel
German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere has defended Berlin’s decision to sell subsidized nuclear-capable submarines to Israel.
Maiziere said that the submarine delivery was no more than continuity with previous German administrations. Germany has already supplied Israel with three Dolphin-class submarines and another three are to be delivered by 2017. The contract for the sixth submarine was signed only recently. Germany would subsidize about one-third of the cost of the sixth submarine. The defense minister added that Berlin’s decision to partially fund the submarines was to underline Germany’s commitment to Tel Aviv security. |
Berlin’s military assistance to Tel Aviv is largely financed by German taxpayer money.
Germany delivered the first three submarines between 1999 and 2000, two of which it paid for. In 2005, Berlin struck a deal with Tel-Aviv for another two submarines, this time paying a contribution of 333 million euros for both.
Israel is widely known to be the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, holding an arsenal of estimated 200 to 300 atomic warheads.
The Israeli regime equips the submarines with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, according to a report published by the German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel.
The Dolphins are small, diesel-powered submarines, designed for coastal patrols and are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which are dangerous for humanity.
Germany delivered the first three submarines between 1999 and 2000, two of which it paid for. In 2005, Berlin struck a deal with Tel-Aviv for another two submarines, this time paying a contribution of 333 million euros for both.
Israel is widely known to be the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, holding an arsenal of estimated 200 to 300 atomic warheads.
The Israeli regime equips the submarines with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, according to a report published by the German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel.
The Dolphins are small, diesel-powered submarines, designed for coastal patrols and are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which are dangerous for humanity.
6 juni 2012
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Netanyahu thanks Germany for nuclear-armed submarine sale
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised and thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her commitment to Israel’s security by the recent sale to Tel Aviv of a submarine that is capable of being armed with atomic warheads.
“I take her commitment to Israel very seriously,” said Netanyahu in an exclusive interview with German Bild newspaper on Tuesday. “There is a commitment to Israel’s security that is exemplified by the recent sale of another German submarine, an important adjunct to our national security.” Asked whether there could be a scenario in which German troops would fight for the Israeli regime, Netanyahu replied, “While I appreciate Germany’s concern for Israel’s security, the |
most important assistance that can be given to Israel is - to paraphrase Churchill -- to give us the tools and we will do the job of defending ourselves.”
The Israeli premiere went on to reiterate that the sale of the nuclear-capable German submarines to the regime was “very important” for defending Israel’s security.
Although the German newspaper did not mention the capability of the submarine, prominent German news magazine Der Speigel revealed in a report a couple of days earlier that the Israeli regime “is arming the submarines with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.” The magazine further noted that the German government “has known about Israel’s nuclear weapons program for decades, despite its official denials.”
According to Spiegel, a German shipyard in the northern city of Kiel has already built three Dolphin submarines for Israel, which has been largely paid for by the German government and delivered to Tel Aviv, and deliveries of three more are planned.
The Tel Aviv regime is widely believed to possess hundreds of nuclear warheads. Israel neither denies nor confirms its possession of the atomic arms under its policy of nuclear ambiguity. The regime, furthermore, has never allowed any international inspection of its nuclear sites and persistently refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The Israeli premiere went on to reiterate that the sale of the nuclear-capable German submarines to the regime was “very important” for defending Israel’s security.
Although the German newspaper did not mention the capability of the submarine, prominent German news magazine Der Speigel revealed in a report a couple of days earlier that the Israeli regime “is arming the submarines with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.” The magazine further noted that the German government “has known about Israel’s nuclear weapons program for decades, despite its official denials.”
According to Spiegel, a German shipyard in the northern city of Kiel has already built three Dolphin submarines for Israel, which has been largely paid for by the German government and delivered to Tel Aviv, and deliveries of three more are planned.
The Tel Aviv regime is widely believed to possess hundreds of nuclear warheads. Israel neither denies nor confirms its possession of the atomic arms under its policy of nuclear ambiguity. The regime, furthermore, has never allowed any international inspection of its nuclear sites and persistently refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
powers are continuing to reduce, it says, the stockpiles of nuclear weapons, however they are pursuing weapon modernization programs.
So can we conclude from this that the threat from nuclear arms has increased?
Jones: Well, it is hard to say because nuclear arms once two people had them, namely the United States and Russia, once two people had them, no one would use them again. So it might be a good thing that nuclear arms are proliferating because it prevents other people from using them.
The more people who have them, the less likely I suppose it is that anyone will ever use them. But if you go back historically, I think that the United States lost a great opportunity at the time of the fall of Communism when they could have shown good faith and they could have reduced nuclear armaments but instead they pursued their imperialistic agenda and they forced Russia into a defensive position.
But I think if you look at the recent history, the amount of insecurity has grown so much that people feel that nuclear weapons may be their only line of defense.
If you look at what happened to Libya for example, or if you look at what happened to Iraq, these countries are just plundered, maybe it is because they did not have nuclear weapons. I mean North Korea has not been plundered that way, maybe this is the message that we are getting now.
Press TV: Dr. Jones, right now we are having a revelation in US media, saying that President Obama has been pursuing, alongside of Israel, a plan for a cyber warfare, so to speak, against Iran.
Now we know that the United States is only accusing Iran of having nuclear weapons and there is still no evidence and there has not been up until now by the IAEA or other bodies that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons.
So basically we have the United States as effectively launching a war, a cyber kind of war, on another nation based on its own accusations and at the same time we are seeing that it is modernizing its own nuclear weapons, we can , even say that it is violating the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty], the NPT’s Article 6 of course, so where does that put the position of the international law?
Jones: It puts everyone in a position of opposition to law because when you have actions like this, the entire community is obsessed with fears that it is going to happen to them. I mean the United States has a leadership role to play and they can’t expect other people to go along with the rules that they do not want to follow themselves.
On the other hand, I think that the main consideration here with the Obama administration is not to attack Iran, so that Obama can win the elections. In order to not attack Iran and in order to not cave in to pressure from Netanyahu and the Likudniks, he has to take all these other measures to make sure that the American public sees him standing up and being tough to Iran.
These are acts of war but they are not the war themselves and I think that that is part of the game that he is playing now in order to get reelected and in order to give the impression that he is standing up to the Israel lobby at the same time.
Press TV: Dr. Jones in Indiana I would like to put this question to you as well. When we are speaking about those powers that do have nuclear weapons right now; Israel is among those that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, do you think that there is an effort that can be made - that has not been made - to, at least, force it to sign the NPT and allow for inspections to happen? Why has not that happened?
Jones: I think the only thing that would force Israel to the table would be a nuclear standoff which means that some other country in the Middle East would have to have nuclear weapons. I think that is the only thing that would force Israel to the table, and other than that, no, I do not think anyone can force Israel to the table; the United States certainly could not do that. No politician in the United States could demand that of Israel. It is just politically impossible, certainly now in an election year.
So can we conclude from this that the threat from nuclear arms has increased?
Jones: Well, it is hard to say because nuclear arms once two people had them, namely the United States and Russia, once two people had them, no one would use them again. So it might be a good thing that nuclear arms are proliferating because it prevents other people from using them.
The more people who have them, the less likely I suppose it is that anyone will ever use them. But if you go back historically, I think that the United States lost a great opportunity at the time of the fall of Communism when they could have shown good faith and they could have reduced nuclear armaments but instead they pursued their imperialistic agenda and they forced Russia into a defensive position.
But I think if you look at the recent history, the amount of insecurity has grown so much that people feel that nuclear weapons may be their only line of defense.
If you look at what happened to Libya for example, or if you look at what happened to Iraq, these countries are just plundered, maybe it is because they did not have nuclear weapons. I mean North Korea has not been plundered that way, maybe this is the message that we are getting now.
Press TV: Dr. Jones, right now we are having a revelation in US media, saying that President Obama has been pursuing, alongside of Israel, a plan for a cyber warfare, so to speak, against Iran.
Now we know that the United States is only accusing Iran of having nuclear weapons and there is still no evidence and there has not been up until now by the IAEA or other bodies that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons.
So basically we have the United States as effectively launching a war, a cyber kind of war, on another nation based on its own accusations and at the same time we are seeing that it is modernizing its own nuclear weapons, we can , even say that it is violating the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty], the NPT’s Article 6 of course, so where does that put the position of the international law?
Jones: It puts everyone in a position of opposition to law because when you have actions like this, the entire community is obsessed with fears that it is going to happen to them. I mean the United States has a leadership role to play and they can’t expect other people to go along with the rules that they do not want to follow themselves.
On the other hand, I think that the main consideration here with the Obama administration is not to attack Iran, so that Obama can win the elections. In order to not attack Iran and in order to not cave in to pressure from Netanyahu and the Likudniks, he has to take all these other measures to make sure that the American public sees him standing up and being tough to Iran.
These are acts of war but they are not the war themselves and I think that that is part of the game that he is playing now in order to get reelected and in order to give the impression that he is standing up to the Israel lobby at the same time.
Press TV: Dr. Jones in Indiana I would like to put this question to you as well. When we are speaking about those powers that do have nuclear weapons right now; Israel is among those that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, do you think that there is an effort that can be made - that has not been made - to, at least, force it to sign the NPT and allow for inspections to happen? Why has not that happened?
Jones: I think the only thing that would force Israel to the table would be a nuclear standoff which means that some other country in the Middle East would have to have nuclear weapons. I think that is the only thing that would force Israel to the table, and other than that, no, I do not think anyone can force Israel to the table; the United States certainly could not do that. No politician in the United States could demand that of Israel. It is just politically impossible, certainly now in an election year.
German opp. wants govt. to explain for aiding nuclear Israel
German opposition parties have questioned the country’s selling nuclear-armed submarines to Israel.
On Monday, opposition parties called for an explanation from the German government and demanded more transparency on the weapons deals.
"The German government needs to reveal the facts and make a report to the relevant parliamentary committee," German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported on its website, citing Cem Ozdemir, co-leader of the Green Party.
The country has already built three such submarines for Israel and three more are to be delivered by 2017, while Tel Aviv is considering ordering more such vessels.
The Israeli regime equips the submarines with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, according to a report published by the German weekly magazine, the weekly reported on Sunday. The German government has neither confirmed nor denied the report.
Germany has continued to supply Israel with the submarines, in spite of having been aware of Tel Aviv’s nuclear military activities “for decades,” according to the report.
Israel is widely known to be the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, holding an arsenal of estimated 200 to 300 atomic warheads.
The Sunday report also revealed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made huge concessions to Israel, while Berlin’s military assistance to Tel Aviv is largely financed by German taxpayer money.
In a poll conducted by the Berlin-based opinion survey institute, Infratest dimap on April 17 and 18, nearly 48 percent of the 1,000 participants said they regarded Israel as a serious threat to the world peace and global security.
However, Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Ehud Barak has told the weekly that the Germans should be "proud" that they have secured the existence of the Israeli regime "for many years."
On Monday, opposition parties called for an explanation from the German government and demanded more transparency on the weapons deals.
"The German government needs to reveal the facts and make a report to the relevant parliamentary committee," German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported on its website, citing Cem Ozdemir, co-leader of the Green Party.
The country has already built three such submarines for Israel and three more are to be delivered by 2017, while Tel Aviv is considering ordering more such vessels.
The Israeli regime equips the submarines with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, according to a report published by the German weekly magazine, the weekly reported on Sunday. The German government has neither confirmed nor denied the report.
Germany has continued to supply Israel with the submarines, in spite of having been aware of Tel Aviv’s nuclear military activities “for decades,” according to the report.
Israel is widely known to be the sole possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, holding an arsenal of estimated 200 to 300 atomic warheads.
The Sunday report also revealed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made huge concessions to Israel, while Berlin’s military assistance to Tel Aviv is largely financed by German taxpayer money.
In a poll conducted by the Berlin-based opinion survey institute, Infratest dimap on April 17 and 18, nearly 48 percent of the 1,000 participants said they regarded Israel as a serious threat to the world peace and global security.
However, Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Ehud Barak has told the weekly that the Germans should be "proud" that they have secured the existence of the Israeli regime "for many years."
4 juni 2012
Der Spiegel: Israel arms German submarines with nukes
The German magazine Der Spiegel said on Sunday that Israel might have outfitted German submarines delivered to it in 1991 with nuclear missiles and plans to do so with other batch of submarines.
Der Spiegel quoted former high-ranking German defense officials as saying they had always assumed Israel would fit the German-built "Dolphin-class" submarines with nuclear weapons.
The social democratic party, the largest opposition party, asked for clarifications from the government of Angela Merkel in this regard.
Spokesman for the party Rolf mutzenich told Der Spiegel that the federal government of Germany has to provide information for its people so they can know if the submarines can be armed with systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
For his part, spokesman for Merkel Stephen Siebert said the submarines are delivered unarmed and the government could not speculate if they would be armed later by Israel.
Germany had handed over three of these Dolphin submarines to Israel and intends to manufacture three others more advanced than the earlier ones and they are slated for delivery by 2017.
Germany has largely financed this submarine deal and most of the vessels are for free, according to the newspaper.
Der Spiegel quoted former high-ranking German defense officials as saying they had always assumed Israel would fit the German-built "Dolphin-class" submarines with nuclear weapons.
The social democratic party, the largest opposition party, asked for clarifications from the government of Angela Merkel in this regard.
Spokesman for the party Rolf mutzenich told Der Spiegel that the federal government of Germany has to provide information for its people so they can know if the submarines can be armed with systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
For his part, spokesman for Merkel Stephen Siebert said the submarines are delivered unarmed and the government could not speculate if they would be armed later by Israel.
Germany had handed over three of these Dolphin submarines to Israel and intends to manufacture three others more advanced than the earlier ones and they are slated for delivery by 2017.
Germany has largely financed this submarine deal and most of the vessels are for free, according to the newspaper.
31 mrt 2012
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'Israel should give up nukes along with Iran'
The US is moving towards global zero under which Israel will give up nukes, because there's no future for a crowded nuclear region. That's what Richard R. Burt, American disarmament expert told RT. |
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