NEW YORK (JTA) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said it would take Iran approximately one year to build a nuclear bomb.

"The consensus is that if they decided to do it, it would probably take them about a year to be able to produce a bomb and then possibly another one to two years in order to put it on a deliverable vehicle of some sort in order to deliver that weapon,” Panetta said in an interview that aired Sunday on the CBS show “60 Minutes.”

Panetta said the U.S. would take “whatever steps are necessary” to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, calling it a “red line” for both Israelis and the United States. Asked about the possibility of U.S. military action, Panetta responded that “there are no options that are off the table.”

Meanwhile, Iran offered to extend a visit by nuclear inspectors.

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http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/01/30/3091413/panetta-it-would-take-iran-one-year-to-make-nuclear-bomb

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 16:08 EST

WASHINGTON — The head of Israel’s intelligence service paid a secret visit to Washington last week to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, the CIA director and a top US lawmaker said Tuesday.

Mossad chief Tamir Pardo flew to the US capital to consult with his American counterparts amid speculation over a possible Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, CIA director David Petraeus and Senator Dianne Feinstein revealed at a congressional hearing.

Sensitive trips by intelligence chiefs are usually kept secret but Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, mentioned Pardo’s visit at a televised hearing as she discussed how Israel views Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Well, the vice chairman and I have just met this past week with the director of Mossad, so that is a classified meeting,” Feinstein said at the hearing.

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/31/mossad-chief-held-talks-on-iran-in-u-s-visit-cia/

By Greg Miller,

U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Iran is prepared to launch terrorist attacks inside the United States in response to perceived threats from America and its allies, the U.S. spy chief said Tuesday.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in prepared testimony that an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington that was uncovered last year reflects an aggressive new willingness within the upper ranks of the Islamist republic to authorize attacks against the United States.

That plot “shows that some Iranian officials — probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime,” Clapper said in the testimony, which was submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee in advance of a threat assessment hearing Tuesday. “We are also concerned about Iranian plotting against U.S. or allied interests overseas.”

The assessment signals a potentially dire new direction in the adversarial relationship between the United States and Iran, at a time when there are indications that a covert campaign is already underway to thwart Iran’s alleged ambition to develop a nuclear weapons.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iran-is-prepared-to-launch-terrorist-attacks-in-us-intelligence-report-finds/2012/01/30/gIQACwGweQ_story.html

By Leah Schnurr

NEW YORK | Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:16am EST

(Reuters) - Home prices fell more steeply than expected in November, and consumer confidence soured in January, highlighting the hurdles still facing the economic recovery.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of single-family home prices in 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, a survey showed on Tuesday, a bigger drop than the 0.5 percent economists expected.

The decrease added on to the 0.7 percent decline seen in October from September.

Separately, a report from The Conference Board said an index of consumer attitudes fell to 61.1 in January from a revised 64.8 the month before, as Americans turned gloomy about the job market and their income prospects.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/31/us-usa-economy-idUSTRE7BM0AB20120131

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House is criticizing comments by the Republican National Committee chairman comparing President Barack Obama to the Italian cruise ship captain who allegedly abandoned his sinking ship.

--CLIP
Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele told MSNBC the analogy was "unfortunate."

In response, White House press secretary Jay Carney said: "If you are so desperate for attention that you make an analogy that Michael Steele deems inappropriate, you know you've probably gone too far."

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_REPUBLICANS_SHIP_AGROUND?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-01-30-13-23-18

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House says it's concerned and disappointed about the situation in Egypt, where a handful of U.S. citizens who are being prevented from leaving the country have taken shelter at the American embassy in Cairo.

White House press secretary Jay Carney says the administration has made its concerns clear in discussions with Egypt's military authorities. He said U.S. officials are working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WHITE_HOUSE_EGYPT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-01-30-13-11-35

WASHINGTON -- A liberal super PAC is set Monday to launch what it is billing as a multimillion dollar campaign to "Take Down the Tea Party Ten."

The effort by the progressive outfit CREDO aims to use the new big-spending super PAC model, which can accept unlimited donations, to back extensive local organizing and "education" aimed at defeating 10 members of Congress seen by the left as the worst of the worst.

"We're talking about some of the most odious members of Congress. Even for Republicans these guys are low," said Campaign Manager Matthew "Mudcat" Arnold in a statement.

"We're going to empower local activists to organize their friends and neighbors to lay out the truth about their representatives in the most basic terms," Arnold added. "They are anti-woman. They are anti-science. They are hypocritical, bigoted, and have said and done things that are downright crazy. They've done more to embarrass their constituents than they have to govern or work toward solutions. They are unfit for Congress, and we're going to help their constituents hold them accountable."

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/tea-party-ten-targeted-in_n_1241084.html

CAIRO (AP) -- A U.S. State Department spokeswoman says a number of Americans whom Egyptian authorities have been barred from leaving the country have sought refuge at the American Embassy in Cairo.

Kate Starr told reporters in Washington Monday that a "handful" of Americans are at the embassy waiting for permission to leave Egypt.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EGYPT_US?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-01-30-11-06-23

Imagine that a man who said there should be no freedom of religion for Muslims, that there should be no Mosques in America, and that America is in a religious war that pits America, a "Christian Nation," against Islam was invited to address our men and women in uniform? Well, it's happening.

On Feb 8, retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin has been invited to speak at a prayer breakfast at the Military Academy at West Point. He has said everything I wrote above. Here's a small selection:

"We need to recognize that Islam itself is not just a religion - it is a totalitarian way of life. It's a legal system, sharia law; it's a financial system; it's a moral code; it's a political system; it's a military system. It should not be protected under the First Amendment."

"No mosques in America. Islam is a totalitarian way of life; it's not just a religion."

Americans should "claim empty lots in Jesus' name," so the Muslim community cannot build Mosques there.

"There is no greater threat to America than Islam."

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/army-must-reject-antiisla_b_1241489.html

By Associated Press,

MOSCOW — Russia’s defiance of international efforts to end Syrian President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on protests is rooted in a calculation that it can keep a Mideast presence by propping up its last remaining ally in the region — and has nothing to lose if it fails.

The Kremlin has put itself in conflict with the West as it shields Assad’s regime from United Nations sanctions and continues to provide it with weapons even as others impose arms embargoes.

But Moscow’s relations with Washington are already strained amid controversy over U.S. missile defense plans and other disputes. And Prime Minister Vladimir Putin seems eager to defy the U.S. as he campaigns to reclaim the presidency in March elections.

“It would make no sense for Russia to drop its support for Assad,” said Ruslan Pukhov, head of the independent Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. “He is Russia’s last remaining ally in the Middle East, allowing it to preserve some influence in the region.”

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/russia-backing-of-syrias-assad-seen-as-way-to-maintain-foothold-in-arab-world/2012/01/29/gIQAYzNeZQ_story.html?sub=AR