Shape-Shifting on Syria

Shoshana Bryen

To expect people in the Middle East to do what the United States demands -- without the expenditure of American political and military resources on behalf of allies and against adversaries -- is the biggest wishful thinking of all.

The United States has not made the case that the national security interest of the United States requires the use of military force in Syria. Others have made the case for regime change, punishment, and deterrence against future use of non-conventional weapons by Syria, Iran or North Korea; and some of those cases are compelling. But the Administration has articulated no outcome toward which it is willing to commit substantial military resources and political capital.
The Administration has cast its goals primarily in the negative: no regime change, no tip toward the rebels, and no boots on the ground. In the affirmative: a shot across the bow and an exercise in American credibility presumably to influence both Syria and Iran. President Obama asserted that he would decide -- with or without Great Britain (now without), with or in defiance of the UN (now in defiance of), with or without Congress (now with) -- what he thinks is best. In fact, the Administration has been clearer, more definitive and more adamant about its prerogatives as than it has been about what outcome it seeks.

Adrift: The United States and the Middle East

ANDREW E. HARROD 

John Bolton and Michael Ledeen presented a disturbing picture of Obama Administration national security policy adrift amidst a continually crisis-laden Middle East on August 28, 2013.  In particular, these two leading foreign policy experts foresaw no truly effective international policy to stop Iranian nuclear weapons proliferation, leaving Israel to confront this existential danger unilaterally.

Bolton and Ledeen appeared at the briefing "Who is the Real Rouhani?" at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. The Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), described by its founder and president Sarah Stern as "unabashedly pro-American and pro-Israeli," sponsored the event.  Stern introduced Bolton and Ledeen by discussing how Hassan Rouhani had appeared to American media as a "great moderate" following his June 14, 2003, election to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Yet Ledeen described the "big difference" between Rouhani and his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as being "exactly the same as the difference between Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola."  In contrast to Ahmadinejad, Rouhani "is more charming," his "face is prettier," and "he knows the West" due to his Western education.  Such attributes, though, simply reminded Ledeen of how some Western observers had expectantly noted Yuri Andropov as a "jazz fan" after this KGB chief succeeded Leonid Brezhnev as the Soviet Union's leader in 1982.  Rouhani's exposure to the West, rather than moderating his views, seems to have instilled anti-Western vitriol in Rouhani, just as other Islamist leaders like the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) ideologue Sayyid Qutb "learned to hate America in America."

New York Times Indicts Israel With Charges of Racism, Again

CAMERA

An article by Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren was published on the front page of The New York Times on Aug. 29. Entitled “Amid Chaos, Israelis Take a Stoic View,”the article contained no breaking news from Israel, nor was it an in-depth analysis of a current issue. It was about Israeli reaction to the turmoil in Egypt and Syria. And, it was the fifth article by Rudoren this year to include accusations of Israeli societal racism or sexism. You've got to hand it to the reporter. She certainly knows where to turn for quotes that impugn Israeli society.

In January she turned to Nadim Nashef, whom she described simply as “the director of Baladna, a Haifa-based youth organization,” to discuss the Arab vote in Israeli national elections.  In fact, Baladna is known for fostering a culture of grievance and separatism among Arab-Israeli youth. For example, it launched a campaign opposing national service by Arab citizens of Israel (who are exempt from military service, if they choose not to serve) with the argument that such service is “a branch of the occupation army, which has always acted against the Arab-Israeli population and the Palestinian people in general.” 

No John, “Allah Akbar” Does Not Mean “Thank God” and It Matters

What’s in a word?

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday for questioning members of a Syrian opposition groups’ use of the phrase “Allahu Akbar” after what Kilmeade said “looks like a fighter jet being shot out of the sky.”
“I have a problem helping those people screaming that after a hit,” Kilmeade said.
McCain criticized Kilmeade for his skepticism of the phrase, which means “God is greater” or “God is the greatest” in Arabic.
“Would you have a problem with an American person saying ‘Thank God? Thank God?’” McCain said. “That’s what they’re saying. Come on! Of course they’re Muslims, but they’re moderates and I guarantee you they are moderates.”

They’re not saying Thank God. They’re not even saying Thank Allah. If they wanted to praise Allah for surviving, they would say “Alhamdulillah”.
The difference is significant. Allah Akbar is a proclamation of Islamic superiority in line with its Koranic mission of making Islam superior over all religions.
Koran 61:9. “He it is who has sent his Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it victorious over all religions even though the infidels may resist.”
It’s not merely a praise of their deity, Allah. It’s a mission statement.

Turning Point: Obama and Israel, The Next Three Years

Barry Rubin

...the war on terrorism has been turned into the war for terrorism.

It is not every day that one can announce a shift in world history, but this day is today. And we are now in a new era in the Middle East and the world. This is not a joke--definitely not a joke--and as you will see, it is not an exaggeration. 

Let me explain. For the last seven weeks I have been in the United States, mostly in Washington D.C. I have spoken and listened to many people. As a result, I am in a position to describe for you with a high degree of accuracy what the policy will be for the next 3.5 years, and perhaps for many more.

The administration has crossed a line to, in simple terms, backing the "'bad guys."

This is literally true in Egypt, Syria, Sudan, the Palestinian Authority, Bahrain (with its support for the opposition), Qatar, and Turkey.

And in some ways, as we will see, the war on terrorism has been turned into the war for terrorism.

"Rosh Hashana"

 

Credit: mymorningmeditations

 

Tomorrow night begins the two-day holiday of Rosh Hashana, a time of repentance and renewal.  I do not expect to post again until after the Shabbat following Rosh Hashana.

 

I extend my heartfelt wishes for health and fulfillment for each of you.  And for all of Israel the blessings of peace.  May our prayers reach Heaven.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

I provide here a beautiful rendition by Israeli singer David D'Or of Avinu Malkheinu -- a prayer traditionally recited on Rosh Hashana and on Yom Kippur.

 

http://www.thejerusalemconnection.us/blog/2013/03/07/video-avinu-malchenu.html

 

Obama Vetoed Israeli Strike on Iran, Israel’s former NSC chief says

David P. Goldman (Spengler)
President Obama stopped Israel from launching an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities a year ago, according to the then head of Israel’s National Security Council, Gen. Giora Eiland. Gen. Eiland spoke with Israeli journalist Rotem Sella, a former senior writer for the daily Ma’ariv, at the Daily Capitalist blog on the “Mida” online news site. Some quickly-translated extracts from Sella’s report are below:

Exclusive: Prime – Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was about to order an attack on Iran in September 2012, but canceled the operation in response to U.S. pressure, the former head of Israel’s National Security Council said last month. Gen. Giora Eiland (retired) added that Israel “has a real ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear program,” and that it is possible that the American veto was related to the presidential election then in progress.

“At the time [September 2012] the Prime Minister thought that we had gotten to a critical point on the Iranian issue and planned to carry out attacks,” Gen. Eiland said at a closed-door conference held on August 19, adding that “Israel did not have in principle approval of U.S. military operations, unless Americans require one – cut prevented any action. ” According to Eiland, the issue was raised at a meeting between Netanyahu and the Americans, who said that the planned attack was out of the question for them, which led to its cancellation.

Reflecting

A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine that America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves.

Pause a moment, reflect back.

These events are actual events from history.

They really happened!!!

Do you remember?

1. In 1968 , Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male.

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacredby Muslim males.

3. In 1972 a Pan Am 747 was hijacked and eventually diverted to Cairowhere a fuse was lit on final approach and it was blown up shortly after landing by Muslim males.

4. In 1973 a Pan Am 707 was destroyed in Rome, with 33 people killed, when it was attacked with grenades by Muslim males.

5. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim males.

6. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanonby Muslim males.

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7. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim males .

8. In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim males.

9. In 1985, TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim males.

Time to designate Muslim Brotherhood as terror group?

Fox News

http://www.meforum.org/3597/muslim-brotherhood-terror-group

Multimedia for this item

Click Image to View Video

Cynthia Farahat appeared on Fox News earlier to discuss the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) terroristic policies and activities in Egypt. Farahat stated that the MB gatherings cannot be described as protests, comparing the MB "protestors" to the Boston bombers. The MB have publicly threatened Christians with terrorists attacks, setting improvised explosives and burning them alive.
As for the U.S. policy, Farahat pointed that the United States can still have leverage if it decided to ally with the Egyptian people in their war against terrorism, given the fact that it might get designated as a terrorist organization in Egypt.

My personal message for the New Year:

To all my family and friends ~

My prayers Heaven sent

The heart speaks with simplicity

To G-d –Omnipotent ~

Good health to those I care about

Restore it to the ill ~

May loving thoughts and peace prevail ~

I ask this be Thy will!

May those who must be comforted ~

May those who are alone ~

Find solace as we pray to You

And for our sins atone.

May  prayers from Jerusalem

The City that we love

Ascend from here directly to

The One who reigns above.

                    ~

Chana Givon

in beloved Jerusalem

Rosh HaShana -5774

Forcing Obama’s Hand in Syria

Vali Nasr

For the past two years the Obama administration has resisted entanglement in Syria, but now this grisly civil war has become an unavoidable international problem and a defining moment for American foreign policy.

Having concluded “with high confidence” that the Syrian government carried out a deadly chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus on Aug. 21, the Obama administration has no choice but to enforce the “red line” the president laid out a year ago. To maintain American credibility — and his own — President Obama has to do so quickly and decisively. He also has to explain to the American people and to the world what is at stake in Syria and how the United States will lead in ending this crisis. 

"It's Not 'Just' Attack with Gas"

The "just" is being employed advisedly, of course.  But the fact of the matter is that there is more than one horrendous way for Assad to attack civilians associated with rebel forces. 

 

This past Thursday, information came out from Syria via BBC journalists that was picked up by very few news sources. I would have thought it would have been screamed from the rafters, but either it is "ho hum" or is simply running under the radar. 

 

My betting is that you haven't heard about this:

 

It was the end of a school day in the north of Syria, and, reportedly, a fighter jet overhead flew back and forth looking for a target (i.e., place where a group of people is assembled).  The one the pilot decided upon was the yard of a high school, where groups of teenagers just dismissed from a day at school were lingering.

 

What he dropped on the kids was some sort of "napalm-like" incendiary bomb that caused horrendous burning.  Ten young people were dead and many more injured, "writhing in agony."

 

The aftermath of the attack was filmed.

 

The BBC link is here although I advise you not to look at the video portion unless you have a strong stomach. 

Obama’s bread and circuses

CAROLINE B. GLICK

Over the past week, President Barack Obama and his senior advisers have told us that the US is poised to go to war against Syria.

US President Barack Obama. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Over the past week, President Barack Obama and his senior advisers have told us that the US is poised to go to war against Syria. In the next few days, the US intends to use its airpower and guided missiles to attack Syria in response to the regime’s use of chemical weapons in the outskirts of Damascus last week.

The questions that ought to have been answered before any statements were made by the likes of Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel have barely been raised in the public arena. The most important of those questions are: What US interests are at stake in Syria? How should the US go about advancing them? What does Syria’s use of chemical weapons means for the US’s position in the region? How would the planned US military action in Syria impact US deterrent strength, national interests and credibility regionally and worldwide? Syria is not an easy case. Thirty months into the war there, it is clear that the good guys, such as they are, are not in a position to win.

Alan Dershowitz and Caroline Glick clash on two-state solution

Maxine Dovere/JNS.org 

By Maxine Dovere/JNS.org

NEW YORK—Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz and Jerusalem Post columnist and senior contributing editor Caroline Glick, following their sharp disagreement on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during a panel discussion at Sunday’s second annual Jerusalem Post Conference in New York City, continued their debate in interviews with JNS.org.

Click photo to download. Caption: Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz on stage at the second annual Jerusalem Post Conference in New York City. Dershowitz and Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick sharply disagreed on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Dershowitz's comments were laughed at by the audience.

Dershowitz had presented the audience with a plan under which peace negotiations would restart if Israel halted construction in areas where there is “reasonable disagreement” with the Palestinians, saying Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas personally gave him a signed paper that stated Abbas would agree to that condition for negotiations if Israel agreed to it.Glick, who during the panel discussion said she needed to “catch my breath for a second” after Dershowitz’s idea, told JNS.org in an interview after the panel that Israel should “apply Israeli law to Judea and Samaria, just like we did in the Golan Heights.”

Fatah: 'Without Blood Palestine Will Not Return'

Kochava Rozenbaum 

Fatah's official Facebook page pays homage to the female suicide bombers who are described as the "stars glittering in the sky"

The official Facebook page of the Fatah movement continues to encourage young children to glorify violence and terrorist activity, the Palestinian Media Watch reported on Thursday.

In one of the many controversial posts noted by PMW, young Arab children rejoice as each one clutches a gun; the caption reads: "Children of Palestine – this is how they celebrate their holidays."

In another chilling post on Fatah's official Facebook page, a masked youth holds up a rifle with chains of bullets wrapped around his neck. Next to the picture a text reads:

 Chana G.

 

I have rec'd emails from abroad asking how people in Israel feel about Obama's actions - of lack thereof.  How to answer that is not difficult; gas masks are being distributed again - even for babies. 

 

Iran, pushing ahead with its effort to create nuclear bombs, has been watching to see Washington's response to anything.  They have learned that Obama's oratory is not to be taken seriously; he rec'd the 'Peace Prize' for his talk but is leading us into war. Instead of organizing a serious response to Iran he chose useless sanctions - as though no previous administration had undertaken this. He has antagonized Muslim/Arab countries in the Middle East who are quite vociferous in their denunciation of him.  In Egypt each side claims that he is supporting the other.  Just a short time ago, Egypt was considered a friend of the U.S. 

 

Iran has cleverly been supplying proxy groups with weapons and, therefore, considered 'not culpable' when those terrorists use them.  Recently, 22 American embassies were closed because of a terror threat - a real show of strength!!   Wonder what the reaction will be when Iran does get the bomb.  Spelling it out: the whole Western world will be terrorized - paralyzed - and it will be too late to do anything. 

"Unreal"

I thought perhaps I would not post again about Syria until something actually happened, or until the whole shebang was called off.

 

But I've thrown up my hands with incredulity. And now I've decided to make a few comments.

 

What I find most incredible is how President Obama is behaving.  Since when is it proper form for a head of state to go on television and discuss a hostile military action he's thinking of taking, complete with multiple details? 

 

This may come as something of a shock to him, but a president is supposed to make decisions, not just waffle.  Those decisions should be made quietly in consultation with appropriate decision-makers within the country -- Secretary of Defense, leaders in Congress, etc.  Then, as has been decided, action should be taken, after which public explanations of what is being done and why it is being done are very much in order.

 

Methinks he has it backwards.

PA promotes religious hatred against Jews

"Those who planned the burning of Al-Aqsa

were senior Jews of high position"

PA Minister: Al-Aqsa was burnt "by criminal hands...
in collusion with the criminal occupation"

Israeli Arab MP: "Israel set fire to Al-Aqsa"
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=9627

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

In 1969 a non-Jewish Australian started a fire in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. He was arrested and tried in Israel. The Israeli court found him to be mentally ill and ordered him hospitalized. He was later sent back to Australia.

As part of its promotion of religious hatred against Jews, the Palestinian Authority disseminates the libel that Israel and Jews were behind the 1969 arson. Since the Al-Aqsa Mosque is an important holy site for Muslims, accusing "senior Jews of high position" of trying to destroy it is clearly an attempt by the PA to promote religious hatred against Jews. This particular accusation appeared in a documentary film about the arson, and was shown at an event under the auspices of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Click to view

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that this libel has been propagated by the PA for years.

Joining the PA in spreading the libel this year:

IPT Rebuts Apologist for Radical Cleric's Column in The Hill Newspaper

IPT News  
http://www.investigativeproject.org/4143/ipt-rebuts-apologist-for-radical-cleric-column-in

Earlier this month, Ufuk Gokcen, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's permanent United Nations observer, took issue with the Investigative Project on Terrorism's report exposing the radical record of Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah.
Bin Bayyah is vice president of radical, virulently anti-Semitic Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi's International Union of Muslim Scholars. But that connection, and Bin Bayyah's statements in support of terrorists, was not enough to dissuade the Obama administration from welcoming Bin Bayyah to the White House in June.
In a column published by The Hill, Gokcen argued Bin Bayyah is really a moderate, and an appropriate outreach partner for the White House. Gokcen's column can be seen here. The Hill published our reply Wednesday:

Bin Bayyah is no moderate

"No Choice?"

Dear friends, I can do no more than write in response to the moment. The situation with regard to Syria is so fluid, that by the time you receive this, it may have shifted.  Accept my apologies in advance if that occurs.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

As to choice: More and more it's looking as if there are no alternative options for Obama with regard to whether the US hits Syria.  He is being squeezed into something that he might have otherwise passed on.

 

Certainly, the climate is heating up, and the media are talking about "when, and not if."  What is more, the leaders of Britain and France are ready to go and expecting him to participate with them.  From behind the scenes, the Gulf states, most notably Saudi Arabia, are encouraging this action because of their fear of Iran.

 

I read about Obama as the head of the coalition, and I laugh.  It is not altogether clear that he has even decided definitively; Defense Secretary Hagel keeps saying the military is ready for whatever the president decides.

IDF Chief of Staff: We Are Ready to Defend Our Citizens Against Every Threat

Israel Defense Forces

At an annual ceremony honoring fallen soldiers, Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon and Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz discussed the situation in the Middle East and Syria, and the IDF’s duty to protect the State of Israel.

“The Middle East has been going through a historic upheaval these past few years where waves of armed and dangerous terror groups have come into the picture, posing many challenges,” said Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon. “However there hasn't been a better expression of the dangers of extremism, from the south to the north, than the pictures that were broadcast last week from Syria, where innocent civilians are being slaughtered without any intervention from Bashar al-Assad’s regime."

In reference to the use of chemical weapons, Ya’alon said: “I am sure that every person is shocked by these scenes of children dying in excruciating pain as a result of Assad’s forces using, and not for the first time, chemical weapons to kill. Today, the civilized world understands the power that he has. This axis of evil begins in Tehran, goes through Damascus and is based in Beirut. Crimes against humanity are its very nature.”

Intervention in Syria Is a Very Bad Idea

Victor Davis Hanson 

Syria is turning out to be a sort of Spanish Civil War of our age, with Hezbollah and Iran playing the role of fascist Italy and Germany, and the Islamic nations and jihadists that of Stalin’s Russia, as the moderates disappear and the messy conflict becomes a proxy war for greater powers, with worse to come.

There were always problems for the Obama administration intervening in Syria besides the usual bad/worse choices in the Middle East between authoritarianism and Islamic extremism and the president’s own preference for sonorous sermons rather than rapid action.

For all of 2012, Barack Obama ran on the theme that he had removed the last troops from Iraq and soon would do the same in Afghanistan. So a third intervention in Syria was not to be a campaign talking point, especially after Benghazi.

Op-Ed: I Will Stop Defending Israel if it Gives Up the Land

If Israel gives up its Biblical heartland, why should we support a Jewish state?

Giulio Meotti

The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He is at work on a book about the Vatican and Israel.

The Zionist project was based on the historical necessity, to use a Marxist phrase, of creating a safe haven for European Jews as a reaction to 19th-century anti-Semitism.

But this miraculous process of Jewish reappropriation of the military also spurred the conflict between the State of Israel and the Land of Israel. Such a state for assimilated Jews could have been actualized in Argentina, Uganda or Birobidzhan.

Syria strikes imminent, and right

Even in spite of understandable reluctance to get involved in a messy situation in Syria, the US, Britain, and the West cannot set a precedent that chemical weapons can be used with impunity 

This is not a drill...

Robin Shepherd

No, this is not a drill. The US warship presence in the Mediterranean is emphatically there and being enhanced for a reason. Syria is about to be hit. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said the following today:
"We are prepared, we have moved assets in place to be able to fulfil and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take, if he wishes to take any of the options he’s asked for. We are ready to go, like that."
This is what he added, and see below as to why this effectively guarantees military action:
"In our opinion, I think the opinion of the entire world community, Syria used chemical weapons against its own people. I think most of our allies, most of our partners, most of the international community that we’ve talked to, - and we have reached out and talked to many – have little doubt that the most base international humanitarian standard was violated in using chemical weapons against their own people."

Intelligence insider: Syria, World War III & the hidden objective

It’s about oil, energy and the global economic system
By Doug Hagmann, CFP
“Pay attention! You are seeing the opening acts to a global war, to World War III. Refer to the information I gave you right after the attacks in Benghazi, specifically to the information contained in‘Lemmings…at the precipice of WW III’ and you will see that everything I divulged to you was precisely correct.
World War III will begin in Syria, and no one on the planet (and Americans in particular) will be left untouched by what is about to take place. This has been planned for some time, and we are now seeing it happen right in front of us.” Those are the words of a trusted source with deep ties to the intelligence community, before providing more insight into what we might expect as this ‘crisis’ escalates and “Syria explodes.”

As I wrote in that article published on October 8, 2012, “All that is needed now is for a dutiful media to present one image, a video, or some other proof that Assad or someone else is using, or has their hands on, unconventional weapons. This will provide the necessary pretext for the U.S. and NATO, to intervene and ramp up the war against Assad. The UN will assist, and the red line will then have been crossed.” That will be the trigger event for U.S. involvement, and the escalation into a global conflict.

Op-Ed: First They Came for the Sunnis...

The logical next step after murdering the Sunnis is aiming for the Israelis.

By: Mark Langfan

 

Pastor Martin-Niemöller, who was arrested by Hitler in 1937, stated:
"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me."

In the end, 85,000,000 died in World War II.

Assad and Iran just mass-murdered 1,200 human beings, mostly women and little children, because they were Sunnis.  U.S. President Barack Obama does absolutely positively nothing.  The world does nothing.  Today there are 120,000 dead Sunnis; in a year or two, there will likely be 500,000 dead Sunnis. 

"THE Question of the Moment"

Is Obama going to give the word to bomb Syria? 

 

The parameters of the situation are not simple.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

An exceedingly strong case can be made for the fact that he must at this point.  For deterrence matters, and threats made must be acted upon.  It just about a year ago that the president said:

 

"...we have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.  That would change my calculus."

 

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-syria-20130823,0,7885049.story

 

Obama cannot fail to follow through on what he said without causing damage -- weakening the US position and essentially giving the Assads of the world a license to conduct themselves as they please.

Australian Islamic Cleric Incites Violence

IPT News  
http://www.investigativeproject.org/4136/australian-islamic-cleric-incites-violence

An online video of an Australian Islamic cleric calling for Hindus and Buddhists to be killed is under investigation by South Australian police.

"The YouTube clip is an edited version of a longer sermon. Police will examine the entire content of the sermon to gain the full context and determine whether any crime has been committed," a statement said.

The video, published last week by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), contains excerpts from a sermon by Australian cleric Sheikh Sharif Hussein. He attacks and curses Jews, Australian troops, former Prime Minister John Howard, and President Obama.

He calls Australian soldiers "crusader pigs" and accuses them of helping British and American troops rape women in Iraq, claiming that "The Australian participation in the Crusaders' war on Iraq is 6 per cent. This is out of approximately 365,000 Crusader pigs sent to Iraq, during the term of (Mr Howard), Allah's wrath be upon him."

atah official says PA will soon make ‘painful decisions’ against Hamas

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Azzam al-Ahmed: Hamas will not be considered partner.

Palestinian Hamas rally Photo: REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini 

 

The Palestinian Authority will soon take “painful decisions” against Hamas, senior Fatah official Azzam al- Ahmed announced on Sunday.
Ahmed did not specify the nature of the decisions.

However, he said that Hamas would no longer be considered a partner in any process after the decisions are taken by the PA leadership.

The official denied that the PA leadership in the West Bank was considering declaring the Gaza Strip a “rogue entity.”

PA President Mahmoud Abbas had already declared the Gaza Strip a “rebellious entity” back in 2007 after Hamas seized control of the area.

But Abbas’s decision then did not stop him from continuing to seek reconciliation with Hamas and from reaching three unity agreements with its leaders.
Nor did Abbas’s decision back then stop the PA from allocating about 55 percent of its annual budget to the Gaza Strip.

The "Apartheid Roads" Clip Is Back

myrightword

I was informed that a clip I had posted some two and a half years ago, showing that the claim of the existence of "apartheid roads" is patently false in that you saw Israeli-licensed cars and Palestinian Authroity-licensed vehicles travelling on the same road was gone (how, I do not know).

 

So, here's a new one from today. that I shot:

 

 

DSCN1898 from Yisrael Medad on Vimeo.

Okay, it's too shaky and a bit amateurish, but I was in the backseat and this is what one gets.

Jews and non-Jews on the same road, Highway 60, from Shiloh towards Jerusalem.

If you watch closely, or stop the clip to check, you'll notice that the three cars in front of us are PA plates and half the cars passing us going north are also PA plates.

Syria Rebels: We'll Use Chemical Weapons, Too

Rebel forces say they will retaliate for regime's chemical attack with all the means they possess, no compunctions.

By Dalit Halevy

Senior commanders in the rebel forces in Syria published a videotaped announcement Thursday in which they expressed their intent to respond to the chemical gas attack by President Bashar al-Assad's forces last week, by hitting back with all the means at their disposal and no “red lines.”

Into the Fray: Muted, myopic, and moronic

By MARTIN SHERMAN

 

It is difficult to know what would be more troubling: whether the US secretary of state believes the preposterous poppycock he presented in his “strategic assessment”; or whether he doesn’t.

Secretary of State John Kerry hold press conference with Tzipi Livni and Saeb Erekat, July 30, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

It would be so nice if something would make sense for a change. 

 

– Alice in Wonderland

Almost five months ago in this column (April 7), I warned: “With US foreign policy everywhere beleaguered by failure and paralysis, the only hope of any foreign success for the administration is by pressuring a pliant Israel on the Palestinian issue.”

Yet despite the clear signs of the gathering storm on the horizon, no discernible steps were taken to prepare for it. There was no sign of preemptive evasive action, no sign of battening the hatches in order to weather the approaching tempest; no call to US Jewry to circle the wagons until the foreseen onslaught passes.

So like a rudderless ship Israel drifted – seemingly helpless – headlong into the raging gale that is now upon it.

Why It Matters Who Wins in Egypt

Daniel Greenfield

These days and weeks of bloody struggle in Egypt have implications that go far beyond the country and the region.

The conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood and its opponents will determine whether an Islamic terrorist group will run Egypt.

Forgotten in all the Arab Spring cheerleading is the simple fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist group. And not only is it a terrorist group but it is the single most influential Sunni Islamic terrorist group in the world, spawning entire networks of terrorist organizations; including Al Qaeda.

Egypt holds great resources and great wealth, advanced weapons and even limited nuclear capability. But beyond that it is also where the modern age of terror began, where Western ideas crossbred with the ancient Jihad of Islam to create a new strategic threat.

The Arab Spring, the Islamist Winter and the Military Summer are more than just seasons for Egypt, they are also transformative phases for the country that long stood at the crossroads of terrorism.

The road to America’s modern confrontation with Islamic terrorism began in Egypt. The World Trade Center bombing was spawned by a leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Mohamed Atta, the key figure in the September 11 attacks, was an Egyptian member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Two States for Two peoples on Two Banks of the Jordan

Few have mastered the art of dissimilitude more than long time Palestinian Arab spokesman, Saeb Erakat
By Victor Sharpe  Thursday, August 22, 2013

I wrote an article once titled: Lies, Damned lies, and Palestinian Propaganda in Descending Order. That title paraphrased 19th century British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli’s aphorism: Lies, damned lies, and statistics in descending order.

Few have mastered the art of dissimilitude more than long time Palestinian Arab spokesman, Saeb Erakat, who continues to be taken seriously by the ever gullible western media.

Now, according to a report by Elad Benari in the August 21,2013 edition of Israel National News, Erakat has baldly stated that, “the U.S. had assured the PA in writing that talks would recognize the indefensible pre-1967 borders (they are in reality the armistice lines) as the basis of a Palestinian state, would deal with all core issues (Jerusalem, refugees, borders, security and water), would take place within six to nine months, and would not allow for any interim solutions before a final status agreement is signed.”

"Without End"

 

Or so it seems, with the obscenities in Syria growing ever greater.  Reports -- as yet not fully confirmed -- have surfaced that Assad used gas against people -- sleeping people including children -- in the rebel-held area of Ghouta, killing over 1,000.  This is the most horrendous charge against him yet. Previously reports were of perhaps 40 killed in any given attack.

 

And the world? The world, disinclined to be involved, will do nothing.

 

The US is concerned that the only way at this point to successfully secure Assad's chemical weapons would be via a full scale invasion, something that is not going to happen -- not the least of which because the Pentagon has estimated this would cost about $1 billion per month.  Air attacks have been ruled out because of the danger of spreading toxins in the air.

 

As an analyst put it in the JPost, "Assad may have determined that the toxicity of his war is too much for the Americans to handle."

Shut up and fade into the woodwork.

By Annika Hernroth-RothsteinThe following, written as a private letter to Michel Gurfinkiel, appears here by permission of the author.

Dear Mr. Gurfinkiel,

On April 26 of this year, I was on a train with my five-year-old son Charlie. We were on our way to spend shabbat with friends in the city. You see, our town, significant in the history of Swedish Jewry, shut its synagogue in the late 90s. All that remains now is a plaque stating that there was once Jewish life here, while we are left with an hour-long train ride every weekend to attend services.

 My son was wearing his kippah as we got on the train. He loves his kippah. He is not yet old enough to know the dangers entailed in wearing it, for this is a fact from which I have tried to protect him. But April 26 would change all that.

There was a gentleman sitting in our reserved seat. An Arab, maybe fifty years old, listening to music. Apologizing for the inconvenience, I asked him politely for our seat. He got up, inspected my son, and then leaned over me, saying: You people always take what you want. You need to learn.

He then walked straight into my son, causing him to fall over, and took the seat behind us.

We sat. Hiding my trembling hands from my son’s sight, I picked up Shabbes for Kids and started to review the week’s Torah portion with him. We hadn’t progressed as far as a page before the man stood up and screamed:  Quiet! I don’t want to hear that! You take what you want and never think of others! Shut up!

Abed Rabbo: The Americans Did Not Take Any Part in the Talks

RAMALLAH,  (WAFA) – The American team to the peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel did not so far take any part in the negotiations, secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said Thursday.

“The Americans did not participate in any negotiating session so far in spite of assurances that they will play a direct role,” he told Voice of Palestine radio.

Three rounds of peace talks have been held so far, one in Washington and two in Jerusalem, since the two sides agreed at the end of July to resume negotiations after three years of no talks.

US Secretary of State John Kerry appointed veteran diplomat Martin Indyk to be a special envoy to the peace talks. Indyk was in Jerusalem during the talks but apparently he did sit in on them.

Abed Rabbo said the Americans did not participate in the talks “due to an Israeli stance and demand,” adding that “this is one sign of how and where the talks are heading if the US is not able now to assert itself in the peace process.”

WWII Deja Vu: Pro-British Arabs vs. Pro-Nazi Muslims

Mark Langfan, the writer, often writes on security issues .

 Arutz Sheva

As Yogi Berra used to say: Its deja vu all over again. Incredibly, virtually the same Arab countries which were, in 1941, on the British side ranged against the Muslim countries on the Nazi side are today, in August 2013, fighting again for what is nothing less than the survival of the free world. And what is even more astonishing is the free world is actively rooting for the Islamo-Nazi forces to win.

There is a reason why Ehud Barak, although his views are non-official today, rightly thinks the world must support the Egyptian generals. No General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, no moderate Arabs, no Israel, no free world. It’s that simple.

But first, a little background: In World War II, May 1941, before Hitler invaded Russia (June 1941) and Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (Dec. 1941), the Eastern Mediterranean/Middle East/East-African Theater war was fought by the Nazi Italians and Germans against the British. The virtually unknown May 1941 battles were to be the heart of the entire World War, and determined the ultimate winner.

Supermodel Bar Rafaeli Puts ‘Dumb’ Roger Waters in his Place

Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/supermodel-bar-rafaeli-puts-dumb-roger-waters-in-his-place/2013/08/21/

 Roger ‘Pink Floyd’ Waters learns not to start up with Israelis, especially a woman. And especially supermodel Bar Rafaeli. She exposed his hypocrisy of boycotting Israel but using her photo for his concerts. 

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu Published: August 21st, 2013 Latest update: August 22nd

Bar Rafaeli exposed Roger Waters' hypocrisy for boycotting Israel but using her picture to promote his concerts Bar Rafaeli exposed Roger Waters' hypocrisy for boycotting Israel but using her picture to promote his concerts Israeli supermodel Bar Rafaeli is not all bad. She dodged the IDF and romanced tie with a non-Jew, but she draws the line at Roger Waters’ using her photo for his Boycott Israel campaign. Bar Rafaeli put Waters on the spot Wednesday after he once again appealed to artists to boycott Israel, even though he once used a picture of Rafaeli to promote one of his concerts. Waters’ latest letter to entertainers, part of which can be read here, asked them “to declare a cultural boycott on Israel…and support all our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Israel who are struggling to end all forms of Israeli oppression.” 

How Israel has Rebranded Amid a Volatile Geopolitical Backdrop

Three Questions with Israel's Consul General and CMO Strategy Summit Speaker Ido Aharoni

By: 

Sonya Chudgar

 Published: August 20, 2013

Israel has more than 100 embassies and diplomatic missionaries worldwide, and Ido Aharoni is head of its largest one. As consul general of Israel in New York since 2010, Mr. Aharoni's job is to cultivate ties on a grassroots level and open America's eyes to Israel's culture and industries. He oversees seven departments in the consulate, which was the first office in the world to hold a press conference on Twitter.

Mr. Aharoni launched "Brand Israel" in 2005 when he was serving as consul for media and public affairs at the IsraelConsulate in New York. The campaign is meant to "rebrand" Israel, emphasizing its relevance and modernity. Mr. Aharoni, who joined the Israel foreign service in 1991, calls his specialty "country positioning." In short, he's worked to define what makes Israel attractive for tourism, foreign investment and export, and then used those advantages to promote his country to relevant audiences.

At Ad Age's CMO Strategy Summit in San Francisco on Oct. 16, Mr. Aharoni will share how he's worked to define Israel's brand and discuss how he deals with the obstacles Israel faces, given its difficult geopolitical situation.