I've done this a few times lately,
and each time the situation has been a crisis. But the urgency of this
situation transcends every other situation I've written about.
There is a boy of nine here in
Israel who has been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer around his
heart. It was discovered because he had a persistent cough that would not
go away. Every major medical center -- including top flight places in the
US -- that has had its doctors review the pictures (MRI, whatever), has said
that it is inoperable. They will not touch it.
The prognosis is so grim that
the mother has made a decision to decline chemotherapy, so that he should
not be made totally miserable in his last weeks or months.
There is, then, nothing but
prayer. And I ask it of each of you, and that you put out the word as
extensively as possible. Miracles do happen, and we cannot turn our back
to that possibility.
I know of his case because his
father lives across the street from my daughter, in Beit Shemesh. I know
that Jay is a lively, active little boy who just days ago was riding his
bike. He is aware -- as much as a nine-year-old can be aware -- of his
medical problem, but he is restless and bored in his hospital bed and wants to
go back to riding that bike. He does not understand that he may never
leave his bed. He has a seven year old brother who is deeply attached
to him.
Please...
~~~~~~~~~~
And then, on to the
news...
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
declared during an interview with ABC News yesterday that the military option to
hit Iran is available and ready if needed. This echoes a statement made
recently by US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.
However, Panetta made clear, the
preference is still to go with negotiations
~~~~~~~~~~
Just a day before
Panetta provided this throw-away statement, Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani,
vice president of Iran and head of its Atomic Energy
Organization, said that Iran has "no reason" to stop enriching uranium at
20%.
Abbasi-Davani also announced that
"Iran will build a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bushehr next year,"
near Iran's sole existing nuclear power plant.
~~~~~~~~~~
And as if this were not enough,
Abbasi-Davani declared that the "reason and documents" provided by IAEA have not
convinced Iran to give the agency permission to inspect the Parchin military
complex (where it is believed that work towards development of nuclear weapons
may be going on).
Last November, the IAEA had
reported that Iran had built a large containment vessel at Parchin for tests
that were "strong indicators of possible weapon development." Now the
suspicion is that work is being done at Parchin to cleanse the site of evidence
of that testing.
~~~~~~~~~~
A day before that, on Friday, the
International Atomic Energy Agency released a report indicating that Iran’s
average monthly enrichment of uranium has accelerated drastically
since February -- actually almost doubling the stockpile of 20%
uranium in three months. What is more, the IAEA found traces of
uranium that had been enriched to 27% at the Fordo facility.
The US Institute for Science and
International Security says Iran's total production, if additionally
refined, would be enough for at least five nuclear weapons.
~~~~~~~~~~
So we see that Panetta's declared
"preference" for negotiations is in the face of this evidence that neither
negotiations nor sanctions is having the slightest effect on Iran's behavior and
nuclear intentions:
The US and its negotiating
partners are prepared to wait a month and then go into another round of
"negotiations." (Which will apparently will be in Moscow and not Geneva as
I had read.)
There is no conclusion on the part
of American decision-makers that the military option is "needed."
I might call the situation
pathetic, or contemptible, but this would not begin to describe it.
~~~~~~~~~~
I should add in passing that Iran
has now confirmed that it has sent troops to aid Assad in his crackdown on his
people in Syria. (More about Syria below.)
Spin is an amazing
phenomenon. The Iranian take on this, from General Ismail Qa'ani,
deputy-commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force:
"If the Islamic Republic was not
present in Syria, the massacre of civilians would have been twice as bad.
[Iran] physically and non-physically stopped the rebels from killing many more
among the Syrian people."
~~~~~~~~~~
Beyond supporting Assad, Iran is
also assiduously courting Lebanon in case Assad does fall:
"Iran's ardent courtship of the
Lebanese government indicates that Tehran is scrambling to find a replacement
for its closest Arab ally. It is not only financing public projects, but also
seeking to forge closer ties through cultural, military and economic
agreements.
~~~~~~~~~~
Again? Still? Fatah and
Hamas are said to be renewing efforts to form that ever elusive unity
government. Today officials from the Central Election Committee were
to meet in Gaza with an eye towards setting up the situation for
elections -- which are now anticipated to take place in about six
months.
In the interim, it is said
that there will be a temporary government established. According to the
Palestinian Arab news agency Maan, Azzam al-Ahmad, head of the Fatah
reconciliation team, says Abbas and Maashal will be meeting soon. An
organizational meeting in Cairo will establish the time for that meeting --
Egypt is brokering these negotiations.
~~~~~~~~~~
If you're dubious about whether
this deal will finally come together, you should know that, according to Khaled
Abu Toameh, so are a great many Palestinian Arabs:
"...the Cairo agreement came as a
surprise because it coincided with mounting tensions between Fatah and Hamas,
particularly in wake of the PA’s ongoing security crackdown on supporters of the
Islamist movement in the West Bank."
And then there is the fact that
Abbas has just sworn in a new cabinet for the West Bank, an act that Hamas said
was a fatal blow to the unity agreement.
~~~~~~~~~~
I should add here that in
April, Hamas held the first round of secret leadership elections in
Gaza -- with elections in Judea and Samaria and external areas to
follow. The outcome of these elections is seen as significant and
may perhaps impact the unity arrangements.
According to Intelligence and
Terrorism Information Center, the results so far indicate:
1) An increase in the power and
independence of leadership in Gaza. This is at least in part because
external leadership -- currently headed by Maashal -- left Damascus and has
dispersed to various places.
2) A rise in power of
Hamas's military-terrorist wing. This indicates a desire of those
heading this wing to be involved more broadly involved in the political sphere.
This does not indicate that there will be a shift in policy at present, for
there are restraining factors. But down the road this shift
is likely to create more instability in Gaza that makes the situation more
explosive. (Emphasis added)
For details:
~~~~~~~~~~
But speaking of Palestinian
Arabs...
A number of people have sent me
the link below, from MEMRI, and I thank them. It provides a clear
(undoubtedly inadvertent) statement, from the mouth of a Palestinian Arab, as to
where his "people" are really from. English subtitles.
This should be bookmarked and
shared broadly.
~~~~~~~~~~
Elliott Abrams writes in today's
Israel Hayom about "Disgrace in Syria":
"Headlines around the world this
weekend tell of a massacre in Syria:
"...President Barack Obama’s
announcement of a new 'Atrocities Prevention Board' a little over a month ago
defies parody, when he is in fact watching atrocities occur.
"...how is it that Assad is still
in power?”
"How indeed? In large part because Obama has
provided no leadership, apparently preferring to watch these massacres rather
than taking the risk of acting. He is, to use Clinton’s phrase,
standing idly by, making speeches from time to time..." (Emphasis
added)
~~~~~~~~~~
Aaron David
Miller, writing for CNN, weighs in on the subject of Obama's
relationship with Iran:
"The nuclear issue needs to be
seen in the context of the broader dysfunction in the relationship between
Washington and Tehran...
"There's almost no issue on which
Washington and Tehran agree. Given the level of suspicion and mistrust, the odds
of finding a sustainable modus vivendi soon are slim to none.
"We wouldn't have the
tough sanctions we do if it weren't for President Obama's and the Europeans'
fear of an Israeli strike. The Iranian regime won't stop, and will inch
closer to a breakout capacity to produce a weapon. The Israelis will then have
to decide whether to launch a military strike or bring enough pressure on the
Obama administration to do so..." (Emphasis added)
~~~~~~~~~~
It's time we had
a "good news" article:
From the
JPost:
"Haifa’s
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has registered a patent for a new
technique that improves tenfold the performance of any type of sophisticated
microscope and imaging system without making hardware changes.
"The discovery, which has just been published in the Nature Materials journal, has aroused great interest in the scientific world and industry, being described as a 'breakthrough with the potential to change' these fields.
"Their innovative method substantially improves the resolution – the ability to distinguish between details – of images seen through microscopes.
"The discovery, which has just been published in the Nature Materials journal, has aroused great interest in the scientific world and industry, being described as a 'breakthrough with the potential to change' these fields.
"Their innovative method substantially improves the resolution – the ability to distinguish between details – of images seen through microscopes.
For details: http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=271047
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be
reproduced only
with
proper attribution.
This material
is transmitted by Arlene only to persons who have requested it or agreed to
receive it. If you are on the list and wish to be removed, contact Arlene and
include your name in the text of the message.
No comments:
Post a Comment