Obama admin just doesn’t like fences
But notice there is a rather large fence around the White House.
Debka reports that U.S. Army engineers have been recalled from a $500 million project constructing anti-smuggling fencing between Egypt and Gaza.
After eight months of back-breaking work, the American military engineers helping Egypt build a steel anti-smuggling wall along the strategic Philadelphi Route dividing Gaza from Sinai were suddenly recalled, debkafile’s military sources report – signaling the collapse of Egypt’s blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Washington thus abandoned its half-a-billion dollar investment in the joint Egyptian-Israeli siege project.
Of note: While our nation is going bankrupt, Obama gave a $400 million “down payment” to Gaza and West Bank.
In: Geopolitics · Tagged with: Egypt, Gaza, Israel
Video may prove that Gaza flotilla was carrying weapons for Hamas
http://www.flix.co.il/tapuz/showVideo.asp?m=3423928
In: Geopolitics · Tagged with: Gaza, Israel
Admiral Mullen won’t rule out U.S. attack on Israeli planes
I understand that Adm. Mullen likely will not answer questions regarding potential what-ifs. But my concern is that we live in a time that ROTC cadets ask whether or not we will attack our allies.
From Wired.com:
In a town hall on the campus of the University of West Virginia, a young Air Force ROTC cadet asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen to respond to a “rumor.” If Israel decided to attack Iran, the speculation went, those jet would need to fly through Iraqi airspace to reach their targets. That airspace is considered a “no-fly” zone by the American military. So might U.S. troops shoot down the Israeli jets, the airmen asked the chairman, if they breached that airspace?
Mullen tried to sidestep the question. “We have an exceptionally strong relationship with Israel. I’ve spent a lot of time with my counterpart in Israel. So we also have a very clear understanding of where we are. And beyond that, I just wouldn’t get into the speculation of what might happen and who might do what. I don’t think it serves a purpose, frankly,” he said. “I am hopeful that this will be resolved in a way where we never have to answer a question like that.”
The cadet followed-up: “Would an airmen like me ever be ordered to fire on an Israeli – aircraft or personnel?”
Mullen’s second answer was much the same as his first. “Again, I wouldn’t move out into the future very far from here. They’re an extraordinarily close ally, have been for a long time, and will be in the future,” the admiral said.
Just keep in mind that Mullen’s Commander-in-Chief is on record stating terrorist groups that seek to eradicate Israel have “legitimate claims.”
In: Military · Tagged with: Israel
Terrorism Roundup
Egypt: According to Ynet, Egyptian security forces captured 100 anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons believed destined for Gaza on Wednesday according to the Egyptian newspaper al-Youm al-Sabe’. Egyptian forces also discovered three tunnels linking Rafah to the Gaza Strip, and confiscated dozens of vehicles used for smuggling.
Gaza: The Kuwait News Agency reports that Palestinians fired two more rockets into Israel on Wednesday. Local radio stations said the Ali Mustafa Brigade – the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – claimed responsibility.
And just hours after Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov urged Hamas to stop militants from firing rockets into Israel, a Qassam rocket was fired into Ashkelon.
Israeli warplanes responded by launching at least five attacks on various targets.
Lebanon: Tribunal investigators have summoned 12 Hizballah members and close supporters for questioning for the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Hizballah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah referred to the 12 as “witnesses and not as suspects,” and told al Manar – the jihadist group’s television station – that “We have nothing to fear and we will co-operate.”
Nasrallah stated that six additional members would appear for questioning.
Hizballah, Israel, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Syrian intelligence, and even al Qaeda have been speculated to be involved in the Hariri killing. But in May of last year, Der Spiegel reported the tribunal had evidence showing that Hizballah was behind the massacre.
Russia: Chechen terrorist leader Doku Umarov has claimed responsibility for the “Black Widow” suicide attacks on the Moscow Metro, which killed 39 Russians on Monday. Another double attack in Dagestan killed 12, including nine policemen on Wednesday. A second Dagestan bombing killed two more on Thursday. President Dimitri Medvedev said in a Security Council meeting that the attacks are “links in the same chain,” and called for a “brutal” response.
Monday’s blasts were the first terrorist attacks against Russia in six years.
In: National Security · Tagged with: Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon, Rafik Hariri tribunal, Russia
Military Roundup
Photo of the Day: The USS Independence sailed from Mobile Bay on her maiden voyage on 26 Mar 2010. This Independence is the seventh so-named vessel in America’s history.
Record-breaking participation for the Bataan Memorial Death March (If you want an example of REAL atrocities, look no further than the Imperial Japanese)
Afghanistan: Gen. Stanley McChrystal has ordered the closure of morale, welfare, and recreation facilities to pay for the troop level increase.
U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan for the last three months are roughly double that of the same period last year according to the Associated Press. Honor the Fallen.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops will march in Russia’s Red Square in May.
Guantanamo Bay: A recently released GTMO inmate has joined the Taliban according to a U.S. counterterrrorism official.
A federal judge released GTMO detainee Mohamedou Slahi - core member of the 9/11 attacks, recruiter of Muhammad Atta, and the man who activated the Canadian cell responsible for the Millenium Plot. Andrew McCarthy’s analysis at National Review
Israel/Gaza: Two Israeli soldiers were killed and one remains in serious condition after fighting with Palestinian militants in Gaza on Friday. IDF forces witnessed armed men planting explosives along the border fence. Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees, Islamic Jihad, and the al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades claim to have engaged in the fighting. Over the last few days, Israel has conducted air strikes in retaliation for multiple rocket attacks from Gaza. Friday’s clashes are the fiercest fighting since January 2009.
In: Military Roundup · Tagged with: Guantanamo Bay, Hamas, Israel, USS Independence
Military Roundup
Photo of the Day: Marines in Norway
Military history: ‘Flaming Joe’ returns to Iwo Jima (now called Iwo To).
The House of Representatives has voted to exempt TRICARE from the health reform bill. But if Obamacare is such a great thing, then why keep veterans out?
Haditha: Wuterich seeks to dismiss charges
Hillary Clinton tells audience that the U.S. will not “compromise on its commitment” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. What exactly is our “commitment,” and what will it do to prevent Iran from nuking up? She also stated that U.S. support for Israeli security is “rock solid, unwavering, enduring and forever.” Talk about a “willing suspension of disbelief.” Judging by our foreign policy, one would think that Israel is the genocidal country that also happens to be killing our troops in two theaters – not Iran, who we seem to be placating at every opportunity.
In case you missed it, the American Civil Liberties Union (more accurately – the American Communist Lawyers Union) has filed a lawsuit demanding the basis for conducting targeted killings with armed drones.
In: Military Roundup · Tagged with: ACLU, Afghanistan, Foreign Policy, Haditha, healthcare, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Israel, Iwo Jima
Military Roundup
Iran: While our leadership appears willing to move mountains to work with the Iranians, Iran is busy teaching the Taliban how to murder our troops more effectively. It is important to note that the Sunni Taliban and the Shi’ite Iranians have little problem working together to kill our men and women. Meanwhile, Iranians are killing U.S. troops in Iraq.
Vets for Congress: Lt. Col. Bill Connor (U.S. Army Res.), who is running for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, has earned a recent endorsement from retired Army Major General Paul Vallely. With leadership principles like “Mission first, men always,” and “leaders eat last,” it appears that the Palmetto State will be in good hands. Scores of other military members have endorsed Connor including 12 generals and all five of South Carolina’s living Medal of Honor recipients.
Lt. Col. Allen West (U.S. Army, retired) is running for U.S. Congress in Florida. Mike Thornton – one of the S.C. Medal recipients supporting Connor – has also endorsed Lt. Col. West, and will appear in two campaign events on Thursday, March 25.
This week in U.S. military history: Military Milestones from Guilford Courthouse to Iraq
65 years ago, the Battle of Iwo Jima was drawing to a close. The Medal of Honor citations for the battle can be viewed at Unto the Breach.
The first episode of HBO’s miniseries The Pacific is available for online viewing at HBO.com.
Israel has declassified materials that display multiple instances of Hamas terrorists using children as human shields during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza Strip, despite a U.N. report stating the exact opposite. Meanwhile, five Gaza rockets have hit Israel in the past 24 hours.
Following its first-ever vertical takeoff the day before, the F-35 Lightning II made its first-ever vertical landing on Thursday.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell update: In the military, male-on-male rapes reportedly occur more often than male-on-female rapes.
Afghanistan: Two Russian veterans of the Soviet campaign in Afghanistan seem to think that the Taliban can be bribed not to fight.
In: Military Roundup · Tagged with: Afghanistan, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gaza, Hamas, human shields, Iran, Israel, Mike Thornton, Taliban
Defeating Moral Equivalence
Robert Spencer brings up several great points in an article from 2005.
What violence is Israel fomenting in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Bosnia, and elsewhere around the globe? Where are Israelis spreading an ideology that demands that its adherents subvert the states in which they live and replace their societies with a radically different social model that denies equality of rights to women and certain religious groups? Where are Israelis teaching their children that the noblest thing they can do with their lives would be to strap bombs on themselves and blow themselves up in a large crowd of unsuspecting civilians?
Spencer also adds that there is “no global terrorist network comprised of Jews or Christians acting on theological imperatives from the mainstream of their traditions” and that “Muslims and non-Muslims must face the reality that jihadists are using the Qur’an and Sunnah to recruit and motivate terrorists.”
All true. In closing:
Is it intolerant to speak about the intolerance of others? Is it intolerant not to tolerate evil? Is it intolerant to set out facts that are uncomfortable and that most people don’t want to face?
In: Religion · Tagged with: Islam, Israel, jihad, Qu'ran, Robert Spencer
Iranian situation in a nutshell
Dore Gold, John Bolton, and Walid Phares discuss the situation in Iran from nuclear proliferation, sanctions, missile defense, and international pressure on the FOX Business Channel.
In: Geopolitics · Tagged with: Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, nuclear weapons
Misreading the Iranian Situation
[From STRATFOR's Geopolitical Weekly]
The Iranians have now agreed to talks with the P-5+1, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China) plus Germany. These six countries decided in late April to enter into negotiations with Iran over the suspected Iranian nuclear weapons program by Sept. 24, the date of the next U.N. General Assembly meeting. If Iran refused to engage in negotiations by that date, the Western powers in the P-5+1 made clear that they would seriously consider imposing much tougher sanctions on Iran than those that were currently in place. The term “crippling” was mentioned several times.
Obviously, negotiations are not to begin prior to the U.N. General Assembly meeting as previously had been stipulated. The talks are now expected to begin Oct. 1, a week later. This gives the Iranians their first (symbolic) victory: They have defied the P-5+1 on the demand that talks be under way by the time the General Assembly meets. Inevitably, the Iranians would delay, and the P-5+1 would not make a big deal of it.
Talks About Talks and the Sanctions Challenge
Now, we get down to the heart of the matter: The Iranians have officially indicated that they are prepared to discuss a range of strategic and economic issues but are not prepared to discuss the nuclear program — which, of course, is the reason for the talks in the first place. On Sept. 14, they hinted that they might consider talking about the nuclear program if progress were made on other issues, but made no guarantees.
In: Geopolitics · Tagged with: Cuban Missile Crisis, Iran, Israel, nuclear weapons, Russia, sanctions, Stratfor, UN
