Palestinians

Well, if you won’t listen to me, maybe you’ll listen to him. No disrespect intended, but it seems that Israel is in for another border invasion, and this one reportedly has between 300 and 500 busloads of Lebanese and Palestinians being moved to the borders… to say nothing of large numbers of others heading in the direction of the borders, as well. Not being one to say ‘I told you so’… I did note at the time of the article I wrote on Friday May 20, that it had all the hallmarks of a rehearsal.

"We are preparing on all possible fronts and we will position both command and troops at forward positions," IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said ahead of upcoming Naksa Day border protests.

Now the Iranians, in the guise of the Muslim Brotherhood, are going to test the IDF to the max. The so-called ‘Nakba Day’ protests were something only an Arab could dream up. Commemorating a battle in which the collective armies of the Arab nations got the horse pucky kicked out of them by a tiny, almost insignificant, country would seem to the western mind to be a waste of time.

To the Arab mind, steeped in seventh century barbarity and fostered in a cult-like religion where fanaticism, sadism and brutality are everyday occurrences, the constant reminder serves to foster their rage, which is never far from the surface at the best of times.

They are going to attempt to cross in overwhelming numbers on four fronts. Sounds very much like an invasion, doesn’t it? The IDF had better hope there’s not a couple of regiments of tanks behind them.

I don’t mean to sound alarmist, and some of my Israeli friends will probably scoff at me, but I know at least one who doesn’t think it’s so crazy. Wars have been launched with less pretext.

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2011

The chatter among the bad guys, Syria, Hizballah in Lebanon, Hamas and the Palestinians and the Islamic Jihad, is all about the high state of preparedness for war.

Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant and Ehud Barak

Israel moved quickly to solve command issues, with Ehud Barak’s nomination of OC Southern Command Major General Yoav Galant to serve as the country’s Chief of Staff in February, when Lt.General Gaby Ashkenazi steps down. A wise and timely move by the Israeli government.

Iran has its surrogates threatening war, as it continues its insane race for more and more weapons and its relentless pursuit of nuclear arms. Iran may be goading its puppets into attacking Israel to bleed the Israelis as much as they can, before Israel launches an assault aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

When you stop and consider that Hizballah has some forty thousand rockets and missiles hidden just over the border and the length of time they’ve had to fortify strong points inside Lebanon, it makes the prospect of combat there worth serious consideration.

I don’t know how brave the Syrians are. They talk up a great game but they don’t seem particularly eager to go mano a mano with the Israelis. As I recall, the last time the two armies met, the Syrians got fed their lunch. What is more worrisome are the missile batteries that she has concentrated in the border area.

Hamas and the West Bank… there won’t be much change here… Israel will still have to go in and dig them out, only this time the Palestinians will bring out all their toys. It’s a monumental undertaking that Israel has known was coming for years.

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2010

RAHM EMANUEL has been running off with his Chicago tough guy mouth again. This time making Israel and the Palestinians quiver with trepidation over his threats on behalf of his boss, Ineptitude the First. I’m sure that a properly chastened Israel will immediately drop all concerns over security and little items like  survival and accede to the Anointed One’s command, “Peace now at any cost”.

MEANWHILE, in the world the rest of us have to inhabit, Israel may well have placed the final game piece on the board. It’s called the Iron Dome Short Range antimissile defense system. It has passed its advanced testing and will be deployed to combat units soon. Capable of shooting down Qassam rockets, Grad rockets, Hezbollah Katayusha rockets, Iranian short range Fajr missiles and even high trajectory mortar shells. Not only that, but the system’s computers and telemetry can differentiate between a target that will hit an unoccupied area and not fire on it, in favor of taking out one that threatens to destroy property or strike an occupied area.

Critics say it has not yet been tested in a combat situation and will not fulfill the role of destroying incoming medium and long range missiles. The system is designed primarily for distances of between four and seventy miles. A single missile battery will protect a medium sized city. The longer ranged defense system called magic wand is slated to be on line in 2012.

As the COWARDLY OBAMA drops any pretense of sanctions against the fanatical Mad Mullahs of Iran, even as their people riot in the streets dying for the freedoms OBAMA WOULD STEAL FROM US, the Israelis are finally no longer dependent on Washington’s vagaries for protection from it’s enemies. With the missile defense system in place the final game piece is also. Having penetrated both Syrian and Iranian airspace and tested the effectiveness of both countries’ air defense systems, time has just about run out for both. Israel has stated as a matter of national policy they WILL NOT permit Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. It’s about time somebody started to pay attention….

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2010

Out of the Box idea.Since 1967, Israel has been grossly incompetent at "Occupation".  Compare theirs with the US / Bush occupation and democratization of Iraq. Israelis, whose side I mostly support, have nevertheless been racistly uncaring about helping the Palestinians enjoy Human Rights and other Civilization benefits. Now, Israel should slice off about 10% of Gaza, near the border, and re-occupy it. Put up cement car stops and fence in a new border, and send the Palestinians into re-education work and food camps, where they are taught how to be productive capitalist workers from the carrot - no carrot approach. Do work and get paid; or don't and don't. But no free food. Enforce free speech and free religion and thorough house searches of every house in the 10% re-occupied. Promise to return that part to a Palestinian state that agrees to borders with Israel in a Peace Agreement. Claim that a Peace Agreement, not a ceasefire, is the goal. Israel should be drafting Israeli Arabs for a big part of occupation force. They should also be setting up soccer and other sports for the boys, especially, along with English language schools for both boys and girls....

Is this TheNextRight a good place for Out Of the Box speculative ideas?  Or should I use another blog?

Over the past few weeks, i have been trying to get a handle on the current conflict between Israel and Gaza.  In researching the current military escalation as well as the area's historical context, i have come across many questions.  Specifically, why do a larger number of folks on the left blame Israel compared to the right?  Also, why does most of the world not support Israel or even recognize Hamas as a terrorist threat?

Depending on where you look and who you talk to, the opinions on this matter have a very wide range.  I have personally received opinions such as, Hamas is a Terrorist group and they all should be killed to, Israel is an imperialist country committing genocide on Gaza's peaceful civilians.  I live in an area with large populations of Jews and Muslims, but personally i have no vested interest either way, i am only looking for rational opinions in trying to understand where the truth lies and whether or not we should support Israel or share the view of most of the world

Much of the anti-Israeli sentiment comes from the left, which is unique in and of itself since the overwhelming majority of Jews align themselves with democrats politically.   I even watched an interview that posed this question to Benjamin Netanyahu the former Israeli PM, and he dodged the question.  Of course, this question can only be asked to the American Media and Citizens, since nearly all of Congress gives our ally Israel its undivided support.  But, i cant help trying to understand where and why people fall either in support of or against Israel.

Here are a few reports and opinions on the matter that i found interesting.

Opinion from the left, http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/  See, "Both parties cheerlead still more loudly for Israel's war"

Opinion from the right, http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2009/01/02/the_necessity_of_israel

One final note, earlier today i was reading a Townhall column by David Horowitz entitled "The War Against the Jews."  http://townhall.com/columnists/DavidHorowitz/2009/01/09/the_war_against_the_jews  In it he gives some quotes from a liberal professor from Wisconsin named Jennifer Lowenstein, herself a Jew.  After reading her shocking quotes, i googled her and found this link to the Yemen times.  The opinion from the Yemen times, though a few years old, praised this professor and charged Israel with torture, maimings, and called them "cold blooded murderers who have lost all sense of humanity."

So far on this topic, it seems that the rational people fall on the right side of the spectrum.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama delivered a speech on Wednesday, June 4, before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) where he stated that: Let me be clear. Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper — but any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided. (Text of Obama's Speech to AIPAC June 4, 2008) Now more change, President-elect Barack Obama has decided to base his diplomatic approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the 2002 Saudi Peace Plan, the Times of London reports today. A “senior Obama adviser” tells the Times that Obama will back the plan that divides Jerusalem into two capitals and pulls Israel back to pre-1967 borders: "Barack Obama is to pursue an ambitious peace plan in the Middle East involving the recognition of Israel by the Arab world in exchange for its withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, according to sources close to America’s president-elect. Obama intends to throw his support behind a 2002 Saudi peace initiative endorsed by the Arab League and backed by Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister and leader of the ruling Kadima party. The proposal gives Israel an effective veto on the return of Arab refugees expelled in 1948 while requiring it to restore the Golan Heights to Syria and allow the Palestinians to establish a state capital in east Jerusalem." Apparently, Obama has changed his position from his speech at AIPAC. "Jerusalem must remain undivided,” is no longer Obama's plan which drew thunderous applause and roars of criticism later from Palestinian groups. Within hours after the speech, Obama retreated to the Bush administration position — that Jerusalem should be left to the two sides to negotiate in the final settlement. Now he has switched sides to the exact opposite of what he argued at AIPAC. One has to wonder what the 70% of Jewish voters that supported Obama will think of this new position on Israel’s borders and security, but AIPAC will not be applauding. Is Israel's security really "sacrosanct" to Mr. Obama? Or are these just words and statements to satisfy the would be voters? Is Obama a true friend of Israel? These are all questions that will be answered during the Obama presidency rather sooner than later, because I have my doubts as to Israel's place in Mr. Obama's heart and foreign-policy, the only true friends of Israel are the Jews themselves and the Evangelicals. The reason Evangelicals are friends of Israel is because of their belief in God's Word (Bible, Tanakh) as inerrant. The Jew and the land of Israel go hand and hand. Evangelicals believe that the Jewish people own a divine deed from God to that land, as God promised Abraham through Isaac that Israel as a great nation will inhabit the Land (Genesis 12:7). Evangelicals believe all of Jerusalem belongs to Israel, in 1004 BCE King David conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites. Makes Jerusalem the capital. Not only that David buys the Threshing- floor from Ornan the Jebusite, the Temple Mount (II Samuel 24:18-24; I Chronicles 21:18-25). The Evangelicals know that there were two Temples, the first one built by Solomon and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans and the People of Israel were dispersed, but with a promise that God would bring them back to the land (Ezekiel 36:24-26,34). In 1948 Israel became a sovereign Nation and survivied the War for Independence, many Jews have returned to the Land and are still coming to this day. In 1967 during the Six Day War Israel conquered the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Evangelical's believe a Third Temple will be built in the future. Evangelical's believe that those who bless Israel shall be blessed and those that curse Israel shall be cursed. Evangelical's are the true friends of Israel. The United States of America has long been a true friend of Israel and we as a nation have been blessed by God because of our support of Israel. Now will Obama abandon his words that "Jerusalem must remain undivided." My prayer and hope is that the USA will continue to support Israel and that Mr. Obama will be a true friend to Israel, but the key is that Jerusalem must remain UNDIVIDED in the hands of Israel, this is NON-NEGOTIABLE Mr. Obama. -Lex Rex http://theinvisiblehand.typepad.com