Vital Perspective

Companies doing business with sponsors of terror

Thanks to Judith for pointing this out.  The SEC publishes a list of companies that do business with state sponsors of terror .Of course, our so-called friends the Saudis, oil tick sponsors of Wahhabi Islam and Islamist terror, aren't considered a state sponsor of terror by our government, so companies that do business with them aren't listed.  But this list is useful anyway. You can make a difference with your investment decisions and purchase choices - for maximum impact let the companies know why you are taking your business elsewhere.

Companies that do business with Iran

Companies that do business with Sudan

Companies that do business with Syria

Companies that do business with North Korea

UPDATE: Well, look at our spineless political class: Congressional pressure forced SEC to remove the above lists. SEC withdraws list linking companies to terrorism

Within the last week, both the chairman and the ranking Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee had written to the SEC criticizing the list. The chairman, Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, called the list "unfair and perhaps counterproductive." He said some companies "apparently have investments that are so negligible they could not be considered material either to investors or the economy of the terrorist financing state." The ranking Republican of the committee, Spencer Bachus of Alabama, said "this initiative appears to have been ill-conceived and poorly implemented."

Report: Zelikow Resigned Out of Frustration Over Middle East, Iran Efforts

There has been significant media reaction to the resignation of Philip Zelikow. State Department officials said yesterday that "this is one of those rare cases in Washington where someone is leaving on their own terms." However, it appears that he has not decided to leave public service for personal reasons, but for professional frustration.

The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler writes that Philip Zelikow's departure deprives Secretary Rice "of a key sounding board at a time when she is still searching for a new deputy and faces difficult challenges in the Middle East." Helene Cooper of the New York Times writes that Zelikow resigned because of what one official described as "frustration with the pace of the administration's diplomatic efforts on the Middle East, Iran and North Korea."

New Polls Show American Attitudes Towards Mideast Following War in Lebanon

Polling juggernaut Quinnipiac University has released an interesting new poll. QU asked 1,080 American voters to rate each of these countries on a scale of 0 -100 according to "how friendly or unfriendly do you think" each nation or group is to the U.S. These are the mean scores:

"The changes since our last poll show that the recent fighting in the Middle East has strengthened Americans' view that Israel is a friend to the U.S. and that Iran, Syria and the Palestinians are not," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The biggest change toward Israel has been among political independents."

Israel's support in the U.S. is stronger among Republicans (70.9) and independents (68.1) than among Democrats (60) and among men (71.9) than women (60.5).

In other findings, approval of the Palestinian Authority dropped from 25.0 to 22.8; Iran fell from 16.9 to 13.9; Syria, which was not previously polled on, scored third worst overall at 21.7. In each case, Democrats and women view those countries marginally more favorably than Republicans, independents or men. Additionally, Saudi Arabia, which condemned the original Hezbollah attack, dropped from 39.5 in June to 38.2.

"Although the changes in each case are modest, together it is reasonable to assume that they show the recent fighting increased Americans' sympathies toward Israel and increased the animosity in the United States toward Israel's enemies," said Brown.

There was also a new Harris Interactive poll released today that shows Americans view Israel and a friendly country and Iran as an enemy. The online poll of 3,685 adults measured American attitudes towards Turkey, Afghanistan and 11 others countries in the Middle East as well as attitudes toward eight leaders and organizations in the region.

Three-quarters of U.S. adults identify Israel as either a close ally or "a friend, but not an ally," compared with 16% who see the nation as "not friendly, but not an enemy" and 8% who see it as "unfriendly and an enemy."

By comparison, 76% of those polled view Iran as an enemy, while 21% see the country as not friendly, and only 4% view it as a close ally or friend. The region's other governments least likely to be seen as either an ally or friend were Syria (8%), Libya (12%), Lebanon (15%) and Iraq (18%).

As far as views of leaders in the region go, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert is viewed most positively by Americans (49%). Olmert was followed by King Abdallah of Jordan (44%), Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (37%), Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora (31%), Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (25%), the Palestinian Authority (23%), Hamas (17%) and Hezbollah (14%).

Military Briefing on Hezbollah's Missile Capabilities: Examining the Fajr, Zelzal

In the past several days, Hezbollah has fired over 700 rockets on Israel. Below is an all you ever wanted to know description of both the Fajr and Zelzal missile capabilities of Hezbollah. Thanks to all who assisted in this research:

Fajr
The Fajr ("dawn") program appears to be centered around foreign-designed artillery rocket systems that have been modified slightly for production within Iran. Although the program appears to have begun in the later part of the Iran-Iraq War it may, in fact, trace its origins to the war's early years. Reliable information is available for only two of the Fajr systems: Fajr-3 and Fajr-5.

In the late 1980s, the North Korean-produced 240mm M-1985 multiple rocket launcher (MRL) was exported to Iran and subsequently produced under license (with minor changes) by Shahid Bagheri Industries as the Fajr-3 (a.k.a., Fadjr-3). Iran has reportedly supplied Hezbollah forces operating in Lebanon -- via Damascus -- with as many as 36 Fajr-3 systems. To date these are not known to have been employed against Israel, but are of significant concern to the IDF. It is presently unclear as to whether the North Korean-produced 240mm M-1991 MRL system has been supplied to Iran. In March 1990, Iranian Defense Minister Akbar Torkan announced that mass production had begun of the Fajr-3 artillery rocket with a range of 45km.

The Fajr-3 is a 5.2m long, solid-fueled rocket with a diameter of .24m and a weight of 407kg. It carries a 45kg warhead to a distance of 43km.

In the late 1980s or early 1990s, Chinese-produced 302mm WS-1 MRL was exported to Iran. Here it underwent significant changes and was subsequently produced as the Fajr-5 (a.k.a., Fadjr-5). The most significant modification was the changing of the diameter of the rocket from 302mm to 333mm. This is believed to have been undertaken to take advantage of existing Iranian factory tooling. This and other changes resulted in a decrease in maximum range from 80km to 75km. Like the Fajr-3, Iran has reportedly supplied Hezbollah forces operating in Lebanon -- via Damascus -- with the Fajr-5 systems. To date these are not known to have been employed against Israel, but due to their greater range, they are of even greater concern to the IDF.

The Fajr-5 is a 6.6m long solid fuel rocket with a diameter of .33m and a weight of 915kg. It carries a 90kg warhead to a distance of 75km. Both the Fajr-3 and -5 are produced under the auspices of the Aerospace Industries Organization. Little is known concerning other systems within the Fajr family.

No information is available concerning possible inventory levels for the Fajr-3 or -5. These systems are capable of being armed with conventional high explosive, chemical, biological, and radiological dispersion warheads.

Zelzal
Although the Zelzal ("earthquake") program can trace its ancestry back to date to the mid-1980s as part of the project to develop a FROG-7 equivalent, it appears that the program that developed the current Zelzal-1 and -2 began in the early 1990s. In September 1999 Brig. Gen. Gholamhossein Gheibparvar stated, "We have developed the Zelzal missile in the past four and a half years without any outside help and by the grace of God it is now in mass production..." thus suggesting the program began in late 1994 or early 1995. It is unclear whether the general was referring to the program as a whole or to just the Zelzal-2. If his references were to the Zelzal-2 alone, it is likely that the Zelzal-1 began development several years earlier.

Reports in the mid-1990s suggest that work on a Zelzal-3 (a.k.a., Zalzal 3 or Zalzal 300) system, with a range of 1,000-1,500km, was underway and that a first flight-test could be expected in 1998. These reports, however, are incorrect and confused the Shahab-3 program with that of the Zelzal.

In October 2002 Israeli sources indicated that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps units operating in support of Hezbollah in Lebanon's Beka'a Valley had received the Zelzal-2. These reports remain unconfirmed and have likely confused the deliver of Fajr-3 or -5 systems with that of the Zelzal-2. If correct, the Zelzal-2's 210km range would threaten most of Israel. To date these are not known to have been employed against Israel.

In mid-2001, Iran is reported to have initiated a comprehensive review and reorganization of its diverse rocket and missile development programs. In this effort, reports suggest that the Zelzal program budget was reduced so resources could be concentrated on less costly systems. This, however, remains to be confirmed.

Currently, two versions of the Zelzal are known to be available -- the Zelzal-1 and Zelzal-2. The Zelzal-1 is a 8.3m long solid-fueled rocket with a diameter of .6m and a weight of 2,950kg. It carries a 600kg warhead to a distance of 125km. The Zelzal-2 is also 8.3m long solid-fueled rocket with a diameter of .6m. It, however, weighs of 3,450kg and can carry a 600kg warhead to a distance of 210km. The Zelzal family is produced by Shahid Bagheri Industries under the auspices of the Aerospace Industries Organization.

No information is available concerning possible inventory levels for either the Zelzal-1 or -2. These systems are capable of being armed with conventional high explosive, submunition, chemical, biological, and radiological dispersion warheads.

Israeli Military Intel Warns Europe Now Within Range of Iran's BM-25 Missiles

Iran has received its first batch of North Korean-made surface-to-surface missiles that put European countries within firing range, Israel's military intelligence chief said in an interview published Thursday. The BM-25 missiles, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, have a range of 1,550 miles - a significant jump from Iran's current Shahab-3, with an original range of 745 miles and a recently improved range of range of 1,300 miles.

The BM-25s are a significant upgrade over its existing top-of-the-line missiles - the Shahab-4 and Shahab-3. Those missiles spurred Israel to develop its Arrow-2 anti-ballistic missile system, which is can intercept the Iranian missiles.

The graphic below shows Iran's old missile range with the Shahab-3, able strike throughout the Middle East and part of Europe. Imagine Iran's new missile range with the BM-25 - an additional 250 miles puts their reach deeper into central Europe.

Iran in recent weeks, tested the Fajr-3, a missile it said can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads. U.S. intelligence officials have said that Iran is at an advanced stage of developing a missile that can carry a nuclear warhead.