Yossi Melman

It is an enormous temptation for defense establishment officials to trade in their know-how and experience and make easy, handsome profits - but this is precisely an area in which Defense Minister Peretz's unique approach could make a difference.

Morally and legally, and from a democratic perspective, it is intolerable that someone like Mordechai Vanunu, who has been punished, should be punished over and over again for the same sin for which he served such a heavy sentence.

Arab MKs are not allowed to do what arms dealers are allowed to do - maintain contact with "an enemy country."

The latest upper-rank Mossad appointments show that the man who heads the group finally understood that he is running an intelligence organization three years too late.

Wanted: Russian-speaker (male or female) with experience in administering official organizations to run the Immigrant Liaison Bureau.

Not only did Israel recruit and operate Pollard, and later abandon him, it also was responsible for his conviction.

A special probe into the Elhanan Tennenbaum affair - whether conducted by the State Comptroller or independent investigators - is necessary to find out what really happened, which prima facie is one of the most illogical and strangest ever to have taken place here. If not, harsh feelings will remain that the heads of the defense establishment worked hand in hand with the political echelon to bury some dark secret, or to cover up their own negligence.

What lies behind Vladimir Putin's visit over and above its symbolism and "history" remains unclear, and it is shrouded in a lack of coordination and confusion.

It is true Vanunu is not an easy client. He is provocative, stubborn and opinionated. Nonetheless, the defense and legal establishment should ignore his provocations and show that even if the law is on their side, it must not only be just, but wise.

It is no surprise that thousands retiring from the IDF, the General Security Service and the Mossad have become arms dealers in recent years, or security consultants. Naturally, this situation is fertile ground for diplomatic crises and embarrassments, like those of the past month.

In spite of the arrogant boasting of IDF officers and hints by 'hawks' in the American administration, the West, including Israel, has no real ability to use military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program.

Retired major general Zeira, head of Military Intelligence during the Yom Kippur War, is fixed in the national memory as the man responsible for the intelligence debacle that is embodied by his own famous statement at the time, regarding the "low probability" of an outbreak of war.

In the absence of any clear evidence - a smoking gun - it is extremely doubtful particularly given the Iraqi precedent that the U.S. would be able to justify a military assault on Iran's nuclear sites

There are more than a few difference between the terrorist attacks in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. three years ago, and the attack on school No. 1 in north Ossetia in southern Russia.

The disparaging attitude to the appearances of the Israeli delegation in the Athens stadiums also contains more than a little of the volatility and fickleness of Israeli society.

The thrill reached a climax when George Dalaras broke into "Ton Athanaton," ("The Immortals"), a melancholy song that praises those who sacrificed their lives, and declares that all the grateful living can do is raise a glass of wine.

After committing himself to 50 years of silence, the man who was once the Israel Defense Forces' head of Military Intelligence opened his mouth, in three interviews, offering his version of events surrounding 'the affair.'

Despite the easygoing treatment Tannenbaum received after he got off the plane that brought him back from Lebanon as part of the prisoner exchange, his investigators felt that Tannenbaum was not cooperating with them.

Both the IAEC and the small circle of people privy to Israel's nuclear program secrets know that holding back the pressures is becoming harder and harder. The erroneous decision to place harsh restrictions on Vanunu upon his release only attracted world attention to the issue.

Israeli triathletes and cyclists have for years known that they provide an easy target for the frustrations and aggressions of drivers. They are also aware that riding on Israeli roads is tantamount to playing Russian roulette or gambling in a casino.

During the first few days following the Northern Alliance's conquest of the capital of Afghanistan, most of those who came to the old diplomatic quarter of Kabul were members of the Western media, seeking "journalistic reality." It was in this quarter that many of the Qaida lived with their families.

The sentence handed down by a Netanya Magistrate's Court judge to a driver who fatally injured a cyclist with her car, is one of the most severe verdicts that has ever been meted out in such cases.

Bicycle riders continue to fall victim to the megalomania of the Israeli driver

If the Defense Ministry strictly complied with proper management norms, Colonel (res.) Oren Chiko would currently be on suspension from his post with the ministry.