Monday, March 15, 2010

Video: Vice Premier Ya'alon on the Changing Nature of Terrorism

Yoni Kempinski

(IsraelNN.com) MK Moshe Ya'alon, former IDF Chief of Staff and now Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Affairs spoke to a group of international counterterrorism officers hosted by the International Institute for Counterterrorism. In his speech titled "The Changing Nature of the Terror Threat against Israel And How Should We Cope With It?" Ya'alon defined that "the terror threat against the free world in general and Israel in particular comes today mainly from two groups of radical Islamists who have a lot in common and occasionally cooperate with each other but at the same time have many differences and sometimes even confront each other bitterly.
Terror is not a spontaneous act rather is a product of a political decision

"The Al-Qaeda group on the one hand and the Iran group on the other hand are both interested in changing the existing world order so that Islam and its values will have a dominant role in the new order." explained Ya'alon "Both believe that terrorism is a legitimate and recommended way to promote this end and do not rule out the possibility of using unconventional weapons as a terror tool. Both regard Israel as illegal entity and are committed to its annihilation but consider the United States as the arch enemy that has to be defeated for their vision to come true."

"But while Al-Qaeda and its affiliates and mutations focus their terror activities against western targets, especially Americans, and against the pragmatic pro-western regimes, the Iranian led group focuses its terror against Israel.

"As a matter of fact, the Zionist movement has been a target of terrorism for a long time." he continued. "This was the catalyst of its self defense buildup beginning with the establishment of 'Hashomer' in 1908, and thereafter the Hagana and the Irgun. The IDF, The Israeli security Agency (Shabak), the Mossad and the Israeli Police also had to spend much of their efforts through the years on fighting terror, on top of defending Israel against conventional military threats."

Ya'alon determined that terror is not a spontaneous act rather is a product of a political decision at the highest levels and a systematic indoctrination. "Usually its implementation is made possible through well-organized systems that enjoy the support of states sponsors like Iran and Syria," he said. "Such a system and such indoctrination enabled the terror against Israel reach new peaks."

To view video go to: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136442

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