Yossi Melman is co-author, with Iranian-born Middle East expert Meir Javedanfar, of the newly released book “The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran” (Carroll & Graf, 2007).

Continue »

In economic jargon Iraq is a “lose-lose” situation. In strategic and political terms it is one big mess. The question – “There are two kinds of land mines: the kind that explodes when you step on it, and the kind that explodes when you take your foot off. Which one is Iraq?” – already contains the answer. Iraq is both.

Continue »

The Question: After Benazir Bhutto's assassination on Thursday, what's next for Pakistan?

The most astounding aspect of Wednesday’s assassination of Benazir Bhutto is the negligence displayed by her security detail. According to reports, the assassin managed to approach Bhutto and position himself within a short distance of her, before proceeding to shoot her and detonate the explosives with which he was strapped. It seems that the assassin was not a classical suicide bomber. He wanted to kill her, not necessarily to cause collateral damage. By committing suicide he probably hoped that it would later be impossible to identify him and thus ascertain who was behind the plot.

What makes the security failure all the more startling is the fact that it comes just weeks after the first assassination attempt, which followed Bhutto's homecoming to Pakistan from a lengthy political exile. In that attempt, suicide bombers killed 150 people, although Bhutto escaped unharmed. Under these circumstances, it was chiefly incumbent on her security guards to do all in their power to prevent direct access to her, even during the course of an election campaign in which a candidate seeks to come into contact with the public.

Continue »

By Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv

Last week’s funeral for the founder of Hezbollah’s military wing, Imad Mughniyah, was a grand ceremony of the kind usually reserved for heads of state, not master terrorists. The display reflects the importance and respect that Mughniyah enjoyed from senior delegates from Iran, Syria and Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Middle East conflicts are not a zero sum game, but the death of one of the most wanted terrorists on earth is a net gain for Israel. So it’s no wonder that no one is taking seriously the Israeli government’s denial of any involvement in Mughniyah’s assassination last Tuesday in Damascus, the Syrian capitol. The successful operation demonstrates the professional skills of the various branches of Israeli intelligence and above all the Mossad. The operation has rehabilitated Mossad's reputation and prestige, which has been in decline over the last decade.

Continue »