Where will this go?

After more or less non-stop rocket attacks from Hamas up through the entire "ceasefire", and then a sharp increase after that non-existent "ceasefire" ended, Israel has apparently finally had enough: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473408,00.html. Hundreds have died (the MSM won't tell you this, but most have been Hamas officials, soldiers, leaders, etc.). The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which can hardly be considered hawkish, believes that Israel had little choice and that Hamas badly miscalculated by continuing to push Israel: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050405.html.

So, the questions are, where do we go from here? Is Israel determined to really hammer Hamas this time? Is part of its goal the freeing of Gilad Shalit, who has been a prisoner for over two years? Will this spread beyond Gaza? Iran has already said that it is the "sacred duty" of every Muslim to defend Gaza. Libya's Moammar Khaddafy has screeched that the Arab response to the "Israeli aggression" has been cowardly. On the other hand, Hezbollah has said "Thanks, but no thanks" to requests that it open a northern front. Egypt has laid the blame for what is going on squarely at the feet of Hamas.

I'm not sure where this will end up, but I do know that the cowardly members of the U.N. Security Council, who have demanded that Israel call off the dogs, would never put up with a neighbour launching rockets at their cities, regardless of whether anyone died or not. But, when it comes to Israel, that seems perfectly acceptable to them. Then again, dead or injured Jews never bother anyone at the U.N., do they?

I truly hope that Israel finishes the job this time. How will we know that Israel has done so? When no more rockets fall on Sderot, Netivot, Ashdod, Ashkelon or any other Israeli town or city. We all know that Israel is going to be condemned no matter what it does, so it may as well do what it has to do to protect its own people. Nobody else is going to do it for them, and with the Obama Administration almost certain to adopt a more pro-Arab foreign policy, Israel had better get the job done now...........

Actions speak louder than words

Barack Obama claims to support Israel, but very simply, I don't trust him. Look at his foreign policy team, which originally included Samantha Power and Robert Malley, two prominent anti-Israel academics. They were forced to resign when their presence on the Obama team became a source of embarrassment to the Democratic Presidential candidate. Now, we have Zbigniew Brzezinski, a steady critic of Israel (and the former Secretary of State under President Peanut Farmer) who has recently spoken out in defense of the Walt & Mearsheimer screed claiming that those nefarious Jews were manipulating American foreign policy for their own ends: http://www.nysun.com/national/dershowitz-obama-should-repudiate-brzezinski/62439/. Funny how Brzezinski , who asserted that the Israeli military was engaging in actions that amounted to "killing hostages" in the Second Lebanon War in 2006, seems to have absolutely problem with the Saudis or other Arab states lobbying the U.S. government.

In any event, Senator Obama seems to have this unfortunate tendency of associating himself with people who don't like Israel too much (does the name Jeremiah Wright ring a bell to anyone?), so I really have to wonder how any supporter of Israel can at the same time support him?

When evil people quarrel

Al Qaeda is apparently none too happy with Iran: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hH8t6nw74rPniXuvtkzFBo1B3sfgD932N1J82. Or Hezbollah and Lebanon's Shiites, either: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/0/6658958CADEB4267C22574BF00092593?OpenDocument. No surprise there, really. Sunnis and Shiites aren't too fond of each as it is, and if one sees the other as committing the unpardonable sin of daring to cooperate with anyone in the West, the "accused" is toast, regardless of whether or not the belief is legitimate.

Frankly, I would love to see Hezbollah and Al Qaeda go at it. Let these human vermin kill each other off. The only fear I have is that the survivor would likely be a much more dangerous capable foe for us.

Redefining Chutzpah

Let's see. Lebanon's governmental partner, Hezbollah, starts a war by invading Israel and kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Israel responds militarily, as is its right. So, what is the U.N. now prepared to do? That's right; order Israel to pay Lebanon $1 billion in reparations: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1%2C7340%2CL-3592764%2C00.html.

I'm not one given to the use of profanity, but is there a legalistic way of saying "F--- you!"?

Score ANOTHER one for Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice

Her tenure as Secretary of State is looking worse and worse by the day. One of the great, underreported stories of the ongoing conflict in Iraq is that some of the attacks on U.S. and British forces in the country have come from (drum roll, please)..............Hezbollah: http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=1&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=379&PID=0&IID=2509&TTL=Hizbullah%27s_Role_in_Attacks_Against_U.S._and_British_Forces_in_Iraq. Yes, that's the same Hezbollah that Rice helped save in 2006, when it faced possible destruction by Israel.

For all of her supposed knowledge, this woman has proven to be a complete failure as a Secretary of State.

Martin Peretz gets it exactly right

He eviscerates Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice for her mealy-mouthed comments on the establishing of formal diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria, because he correctly noted that what REALLY has happened is that Lebanon has essentially capitulated completely to Syria, which is the patron of Hezbollah: http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_spine/archive/2008/08/13/condi-s-shame.aspx.

Peretz goes farther than anyone I've ever seen--he calls Rice an "idiot". I don't agree, because I think that Rice is just an Arabist of the James "F--- the Jews" Baker mold, and she thinks that cozying up to a tinpot Arab dictator like Basher Assad is perfectly fine. However, he does correctly note that her forcing Israel to accept the ceasefire implemented by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, had the dual effect of saving Hezbollah and dooming Lebanon.

Well done, Condi!

And still no one does anything

Well, who could have seen THIS coming? The Lebanese government has officially recognized Hezbollah's "right to resist" Israel by whatever means it chooses and whenever it chooses to do so: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/lebanon/2494956/Lebanon-Right-to-fight-Israel.html. So, essentially, Hezbollah-ruled Southern Lebanon is now an official state, and if anything, it will receive formal assistance from the Lebanese Army when (not if) the next war with Israel takes place.

Thank you to the world for allowing this to happen.................

The speech from Ehud Olmert that we won't hear

Ron Ben-Yishai, in Ynet's English-language news service, has a great "speech" that unfortunately will never be heard. It's the one that we wish Ehud "Tweedledumb" Olmert had delivered after the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev (either killed or allowed to die in captivity--NEVER forget that fact) were recovered: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3569019,00.html. It's hard-hitting and so, so true. In other words, it's everything Dhimmi Olmert is not.

Israel officially capitulates to Hezbollah

I think that we can now officially say that Israel lost every aspect of the 2006 war with Hezbollah, after today's "prisoner swap": http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080716/wl_nm/israel_lebanon_swap_dc. That Israel exchanged living terrrorists (and the bodies of dead Palestinian terrorist "heroes") for two dead soldiers will do nothing other than convince Hezbollah, Hamas and their vile ilk that kidnapping Israelis works. The proof is in the pudding. Not surprisingly, the returned terrorists were greeted like rock stars upon their return, with the adulation coming not just from Hezbollah but from Lebanese government officials as well.

This is as dark a day in Israeli history as I have ever personally seen.

UPDATE (4:48 p.m.): For the joyous Palestinian reaction, go here: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3568977,00.html. Note the quote in the article from the Palestinian terrrorist who talks about the precedent set by this deal.

UNIFIL is useless (at best)

Now it doesn't even take a military force to stop UNIFIL from doing its job. UNIFIL troops discovered illicit cables being buried started taking pictures of them. The troops were then surrounded by villagers who threw stones at them until the troops deleted the photos they had taken! I couldn't make this up if I tried: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998254.html.

UNIFIL may as well just pack up its bags and leave. It serves no purpose.

Even more offensive

I have already commented on how the exchange of Samir Kuntar and other terrorists for the bodies of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser is incredibly offensive. Even worse, we are now finding out that the both of the Israeli soldiers were executed by Hezbollah: http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19815120&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8.

Isn't that a violation of the Geneva Convention that Israel is constantly accused of violating? Hmm, wonder if we'll hear word one from the U.N. Security Council or the Commission on Human Rights about this? How about the Red Cross? Amnesty International? The silence is absolutely deafening.

The horrible precedent set by this Israeli decision is already being felt, as Hamas has hardened its position with respect to Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped over two years ago: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080630/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians. Why shouldn't it? This is entirely the right move given what Israel just did.

Despicable

The spineless, duplicitous Olmert government has apparently decided that it will agree to trade five Palestinian terrorists, including the unbelievably evil Samir Kuntar (just do a search on his name to find out what kind of horror he perpetrated almost 30 years ago) for the remains of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who now appear to have been confirmed as dead: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=982bd500-328a-47f1-9419-2c17fa396b18.

What does this teach us all? Terrorism works. Starting wars works. Israel will give up eventually.

Great job, Olmert.

Hezbollah on the prowl?

There is increasing "chatter" in the terrorism world that Hezbollah, which until 9/11 had killed more Americans than any other terrorist group in the world in the world, is poised for a major attack, possibly in Africa, Canada, Europe, or Latin America: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5203570&page=1. Needless to say (I'll say it anyway), the target(s) would be Jewish.

If this is true, somewhere in this world, a lot of innocent people are going to pay with their lives for Israel's not finishing the job it started in 2006............

Words of wisdom

This is the voice of moderation, Hussein Fadhlallah, the top Shiite cleric in Lebanon, talking about how it's okay to beat your wife, how the Jews use the Holocaust to extort money from Germany and how 9/11 really was an inside job: http://www.memritv.org/newsletter/fadhlallah.htm.

Isn't he one of those who we keep getting told is one of the "moderates"? Why does this type of lunacy not receive more attention in the western MSM?

Lebanon in flux

I just read an excellent analysis of the the situation in Lebanon since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war ended, and it can ben found here: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2897. The analysis is fairly accurate, I think. Israel's army performed poorly and was badly led; and while Hezbollah was pushed back from the border with Israel, it has restocked its arsenal with longer-range and more accurate missiles. As well, and though the article never mentions it, the very reason for the war was the attack into Israel and kidnapping of IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, and they are still prisoners nearly two years later. No wonder Hezbollah claimed victory...............

Israel's military situation: An Insider's take

This is a link to a fascinating interview in Haaretz with Major General Amos Yadlin, the head of the Israeli Directorate of Military Intelligence: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/984274.html. In it he talks of the many threats Israel faces, including Iran, Syria, and of course Hezbollah and Hamas. The long and the short ot if is that when the next war involving Israel begins--and it is a question if when, not if--it will be a very different war from the one Israel fought against Hezbollah in 2006. This time, Hezbollah has missiles that will reach Tel Aviv and beyond.............

The sad fate of Lebanon

Lebanon always impressed me as a country with "potential". It seemed to have all that was required, good geography, an industrious people, etc. Now, it is increasingly and rapidly becoming Hezbollahstan: http://online.wsj.com/article/global_view.html. It's really only a matter of time before the Shiites take over the country, or it is officially annexed by Syria.

As Bret Stephens wrote in the Wall Street Journal, the blame can be laid in many places; on the U.N., which has ignored the disarmament resolutions it passed in 2006; on the United States, for pursuing an inconsistent, hesitant foreign policy vis-a-vis Syria; on Israel, for not doing real damage to Hezbollah when it had the chance in 2006; and, of course, on Syria and Iran. Regardless, the end result is going to be ugly. If I were a Sunni Muslim or a Christian in Lebanon, I'd think seriously about relocating, and soon................

Lebanon's end game

That light at the end of the tunnel in Lebanon is a train speeding rapidly in the direction of the Lebanese government: http://www.nysun.com/news/who-lost-lebanon. This is an excellent summary of the impending destruction of the Lebanese state as we know it. Was just a few short years ago that the world was lauding the "Cedar Revolution"? Of course, since then the world abandoned Lebanon in 2006 when Hezbollah gave Israel the opportunity to either destroy or sharply blunt the terrorist organization's power, and Israel then blew that opportunity, aided by a West which screamed that Israel was using "disproportionate" force to deal with Hezbollah. For more on the same subject, go here: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/982879.html.

Lebanon is dying, and we in the West are to blame...............

Lebanon surrenders

I've given short shrift to the goings-0n in Lebanon, where the government attempted at least slightly to curb the power of Hezbollah, but was then stabbed in the back by the Lebanese army: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJgv8fe22QIw&refer=home. Whether out of fear or because it was compromised, or some combination of the two, the Lebanense Army refused to support the government as it attempted to oust Hezbollah from its positions of power in Beirut, and the end result was Hezbollah taking over Christian and Sunni areas of the cities.

This whole process has long-term ramifications for the world in general and the region in partiuclar. First, the Lebanese government has now been officially exposed as being completely impotent. Second, Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian masters now know that the Western backers (including the United States) of the Fouad Siniora government will do nothing of consequence to support it. Third, Hezbollah will now likely give up even the pretext of respecting the terms of the 2006 ceasefire with Israel. Fourth, Hamas will likely now attempt to follow suit and take over the West Bank. Fifth, Israel will continue to do nothing, despite the drumbeat of war getting louder from both its south and again now from the north.

The coming war

A former CIA analyst, writing in Time magazine, sees ominous signs that there will be a war between Israel and Hamas sometime soon: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1710078,00.html.

Isreal didn't fare too well the war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006. How would it do in what would amount to an urban war as it battled Hezbollah in a heavily fortified setting such as the Gaza Strip? I don't like the odds of Israel doing well in that setting, and when you factor in the possibility that Hezbollah might use the opportunity to renew hostilities in the north, Israel would be facing the most serious military threat it has faced since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.