Reflections on The 9-11 Anti-American Tornado

Muslim Rage & The Last Gasp of Islamic Hate -Ayaan Hirsi Ali

For a homicidal few in the Muslim world, life itself has less value than religious icons, such as the prophet or the Quran. The riots in Muslim countries—and the so-called demonstrations by some Muslims in Western countries—that invariably accompany such provocations have the appearance of spontaneity. But they are often carefully planned in advance.

Utopian ideologies have a short lifespan.

After the disillusion and bitterness will come a painful lesson: that it is foolish to derive laws for human affairs from gods and prophets. Just like the Iranian people have begun to, the Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans, and perhaps Syrians and others will come to this realization. In one or two or three decades we will see the masses in these countries take to the streets—and perhaps call for American help—to liberate them from the governments they elected. This process will be faster in some places than others, but in all of them it will be bloody and painful. If we take the long view, America and other Western countries can help make this happen in the same way we helped bring about the demise of the former Soviet Union.

We must be patient. America needs to empower those individuals and groups who are already disenchanted with political Islam by helping find and develop an alternative. At the heart of that alternative are the ideals of the rule of law and freedom of thought, worship, and expression. For these values there can and should be no apologies, no groveling, no hesitation.

It was Voltaire who once said: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” As Salman Rushdie discovered, as we are reminded again as the Arab street burns, that sentiment is seldom heard in our time. Once I was ready to burn The Satanic Verses. Now I know that his right to publish it was a more sacred thing than any religion.
[Newsweek]


The Video Didn't Do It -Lee Smith

White House spokesman Jay Carney told the world that the violent protests in Cairo and Benghazi and elsewhere were "not a case of protests directed at the United States at large or at U.S. policy, but in response to a video that is offensive to Muslims."

Carney's comments send the message to America's enemies that if you kill our diplomats and lay siege to our embassies, the first move the American government will make is to tell other Americans to shut up.
   
Virtually every description in our media of the movie was attended by various aesthetic qualifiers - laughable, crude, amateurish - as if the mobs and their organizers were motivated by considerations of artistic craft. To debate the right of an American to criticize religion does not indicate sophisticated sensitivity to the feelings of others but a willingness to turn tail and abandon our principles at the first sign of a fight.
(Weekly Standard)


Can A Trailer Really Be that Potent? -Jonah Goldberg

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney insists the attacks in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere were a "response not to United States policy, and not to, obviously, the administration," but were rather a spontaneous "response to a video, a film we have judged to be reprehensible and disgusting."
   
It is simply a fact that Islamist radicals, the Arab street and the Muslim world have been angry at America for decades, under Republican and Democratic administrations alike. It's also true that demagogues and other opportunists have used things like this video as an excuse to attack America and the West for generations. But our public officials now treat attacks on Islam as especially offensive - more offensive than unremarked-upon near-daily attacks on Christianity, Judaism, Mormonism, atheism and just about every other faith and creed.
     
Muslim rioters get special treatment. And that's nuts. If these people are going to hate us, maybe we should just accept that fact and stand up for what we believe, without apology.
(Los Angeles Times)


Arabs Sense Weakness -Ron Ben-Yishai

• The wave of anti-West riots sweeping through the Muslim world will gradually subside, mostly because the regimes realize that this wave threatens them more than it does the West. When the riots erupted after the anti-Islam film was posted on YouTube with Arabic subtitles, the regimes in the Muslim countries displayed sympathy and understanding with the rage and violence of the masses. The street sensed that it had the government's support and went wild.
• Muslims have been experiencing a frustrating "cognitive dissonance" for the past 200 years. They are taught that Islam is a source of greatness and achievements in all fields - as was the case during the religion's golden age. The frustrating reality, however, is that despite their oil reserves, the Muslims cannot integrate into the modern world and succeed in it, while the heretics in the West boast unimaginable achievements in every field.
• Suddenly, the street became a dominant factor that imposes its will on the new Arab regimes, which are cautious not to anger it for fear they will meet a fate similar to Mubarak's. This is apparent in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Jordan and even in the PA. In the aftermath of the revolutions, the Arab street imposes its will on the regimes.
• The White House and State Department condemned the insult to the Muslim religion's values, which in the Muslim world was interpreted as an admission of guilt by the U.S. which, from the Muslims' perspective, legitimizes violence.

(Ynet News)

UPDATES:

Insulted, Muslims Spread Hatred -Shaul Rosenfeld

The same Muslim society that turns violent whenever its holy figures are disparaged, revels in the horrific portrayals of Jews and Judaism in Arab media. Iranian movies and Egyptian television shows contain hateful anti-Semitic motifs, endorsed by respected Muslim academics, that the Muslim viewer "eats up" enthusiastically.

The people of the Levant can view an esoteric film as an excuse to launch a pogrom against the infidels from the West and at the same time accept fatwas describing Jews as the descendants of apes and pigs.
(Ynet News)


Redefining Freedom of Speech? -Alan M. Dershowitz
 
Religious fanatics who are easily offended by those outside of their religion who violate the rules of their religion cannot serve as censors in democratic societies. The threat or fear of violence should not become an excuse or justification for restricting freedom of speech.
    
People who have come of age in repressive regimes which do not permit any expressions disfavored by the government may not understand that by not censoring such speech, the American government does not place its imprimatur upon it. For example, when Iranian newspapers publish anti-Semitic diatribes, the views expressed in those diatribes are the views of the government. Not so with democratic states. It is probably true that more anti-Semitic material is published in the U.S. than in Iran, simply because so much is published and almost none of it is subject to any kind of censorship.
(Gatestone Institute)
*

The 9-11 Anti-American Tornado [with updates]

This bare-budget, poorly done trailer was used as a pretext by Islamists to attack American assets in Libya and Egypt on the anniversary of 9-11.  However, the video has been posted since 2011.  Rumors that the film was made by an Israeli were proven false. 

An American flag is torn from the Cairo's US Embassy...Egyptian police were suspiciously absent

Protesters Scale U.S. Embassy Walls in Cairo over Prophet "Insult"
-Kristen Chick

Protesters scaled the wall of the heavily-fortified U.S. embassy in Cairo, angry over a film that Egyptian media reported was produced in the U.S.
     
Some climbed over the wall and tore down the American flag, raising instead a black flag with an Islamic inscription that is often associated with Islamic extremists.
(Christian Science Monitor)


US. Embassy in Cairo Condemns Mohammed Video -Byron Tau 

"The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions," the embassy said in a statement published online.
(Politico)

Obama Administration Disavows Cairo Apology -Byron Tau

The Obama administration is disavowing a statement from its own Cairo embassy that seemed to apologize for anti-Muslim activity in the United States.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the film depicts the Muslim prophet Muhammed as a "womanizer, pedophile and fraud" — a depiction bound to offend many Muslims.
The embassy came under widespread criticism for failing to defend free speech in the face of threats of violence. Egyptian protesters rioted anyway, breaching the embassy walls and tearing down the American flag.
(Politico)
*

Diplomat Killed in Attack on Consulate in Libya
   
A large mob firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades burned down the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, killing an American diplomat, the State Department said.
    
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement:
"The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others."
(AP-Fox News)
*

UPDATES:

Embassy Attacks: Days in the Making -Sara Lynch and Oren Dorell

Days of planning and online promotion by hard-line Islamist leaders helped whip up the mobs that stormed the U.S. Embassy in Egypt and launched a deadly attack on the U.S. Embassy in Libya. The protest was planned by Salafists well before news circulated of an objectionable video ridiculing Islam's prophet, Muhammad, said Eric Trager, an expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
    
The protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo was announced Aug. 30 by Jamaa Islamiya, a State Department-designated terrorist group, to protest the ongoing imprisonment of its spiritual leader, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. 
(USA Today)
*
Manipulated Outrage and Misplaced Fury -Husain Haqqani

The attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions this week should be seen for what they really are: an effort by Islamists to garner support and mobilize their base by exacerbating anti-Western sentiments. When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to calm Muslims Thursday by denouncing the video, she was unwittingly playing along with the ruse the radicals set up. The U.S. would have been better off focusing on the only outrage that was of legitimate interest to the American government: the lack of respect for U.S. diplomatic missions.
   
Protests orchestrated on the pretext of slights and offenses against Islam have been part of Islamist strategy for decades. Iran's ayatollahs built an entire revolution around anti-Americanism. Islamists have a vested interest in continuously fanning the flames of Muslim victimhood.
(Wall Street Journal)


The Politics of Outrage -Issandr El Amrani

Protests and incitement about books, films or statements deemed insulting to Islam have for decades been a staple tool of Islamists.

The 2005 Danish cartoon crisis, when thousands took to the streets months after they had been published, was fomented in good part by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In Syria and Gaza, governments apparently allowed several European embassies to be raided. The Danish embassy in Pakistan was also bombed.
(The National-Abu Dhabi)
*

 

The New Egypt to Host Hamas Office

Egyptian Dictator Mohammed Morsi meets Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh in Cairo, July 26th

Report: Cairo Agrees to Host Hamas Headquarters -Elhanan Miller

Less than one year after closing its headquarters in Damascus, Hamas' "outside" leadership has found a new home in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, Al-Hayat reported.

Al-Hayat also reported that Hamas agreed to hand over a number of suspects to Egypt in the August 5 border attack which killed 16 Egyptian soldiers.
(Times of Israel)
*

Netanyahu Spits Fire

Netanyahu: U.S. has no right to block Israel on Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that if world powers refused to set a red line for Tehran's nuclear program, they could not demand that Israel hold its fire.

"The world tells Israel 'wait, there's still time.' And I say, 'Wait for what? Wait until when?' Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel," he said.

"Now if Iran knows that there is no red line, if Iran knows that there is no deadline, what will it do? Exactly what it's doing. It's continuing, without any interference, towards obtaining nuclear weapons capability and from there, nuclear bombs."
(Reuters)


Sen. Lieberman: Obama Should Define How to Stop Iran -Hilary Leila Krieger

U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) encouraged President Obama to clearly define America's red lines on Iran's nuclear program. Lieberman told the Jerusalem Post that "the more the president can define what it means to support a policy of preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons, the more he will raise the confidence level of the government of Israel that it doesn't have to be forced to take action unilaterally."
(Jerusalem Post)
*

UPDATES:

Israeli official cites Syrian raid to justify attack on Iran

An Israeli official has cited a 2007 airstrike on a Syrian nuclear reactor — which Israel has never publicly acknowledged — to justify the Jewish state’s right to launch a unilateral attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities if the U.S. refrains from action.
[Washington Times]
*



In the clip above, Netanyahu appeared on television in the United States, continuing his efforts to put the Iran issue front and center. 

Holiday Message from Latma TV

An enjoyable High Holiday message from our friends at Latma TV
*
[Hat tip: Linda F]

Contrast: Canada Slams Iran, US Won't Set Red Lines

Clinton and Netanyahu

Clinton: US "Not Setting Deadlines" for Iran -Indira A.R. Lakshmanan 

The U.S. is "not setting deadlines" for Iran and still considers negotiations as "by far the best approach" to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview.

Asked if the Obama administration will lay out sharper "red lines" for Iran or state explicitly the consequences of failing to negotiate a deal with world powers by a certain date, Clinton said, "We're not setting deadlines."

While the U.S. and Israel share the goal that Iran not acquire a nuclear weapon, Clinton said there is a difference in perspective over the time horizon for talks. "They're more anxious about a quick response because they feel that they're right in the bull's-eye, so to speak," Clinton said.
(Bloomberg)
*

Canada Closes Iran Embassy, Expels Iranian Diplomats -Bruce Campion-Smith

In a surprise move, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced that Canada was closing its embassy in Tehran and expelling Iranian diplomats from Canada as it formally declared Iran a state sponsor of terrorism. Baird branded Iran as the "most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today."

He cited a list of long-standing beefs with the regime in Tehran, including Iranian military assistance to Syria and its refusal to comply with UN resolutions on its nuclear program. "It routinely threatens the existence of Israel and engages in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide; it is among the world's worst violators of human rights," Baird said. He said the main motivation was an attack on the British embassy in Tehran nine months ago and worries that Canadian diplomats were in danger.
(Toronto Star-Canada)
*

Bridging the U.S.-Israeli Gap on Iran -Editorial

The disagreement conveys to Iran that there is no need to worry about a war; certainly, the country's leaders have been behaving as if they feel no pressure to compromise. It also creates the bizarre spectacle of senior U.S. military and diplomatic officials focusing their time and attention on trying to prevent an Israeli attack rather than an Iranian bomb.

If Mr. Obama really is determined to take military action if Iran takes decisive steps toward producing a bomb, such as enriching uranium to bomb-grade levels or expelling inspectors, he would be wise to say so publicly. Doing so would improve relations with Mr. Netanyahu and deter unilateral Israeli action - and it might well convince Iran that the time has come to compromise.
(Washington Post)
*

VideoBite: The Iranian Threat

A poignant video on the Iranian threat
*

Blood Money: Palestinian Authority Pays Terrorists

PA Paying Millions to Jailed Terrorists, Families of Suicide Bombers -Ilan Ben Zion

As of May 2011, the Palestinian Authority spent $4.5 million per month on compensating Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons and a further $6.5 million on payments to families of suicide bombers, Israel's Channel 2 TV reported.

Last year Prime Minister Salam Fayyad tripled their monthly pay. The PA-funded salaries equally benefit members of Fatah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, as well as Israeli Arabs jailed for security offenses.

Hamas terrorist Abbas al-Sayyeed, convicted of planning the 2002 Park Hotel massacre in which 30 Israeli civilians were killed, is paid $3,000 per month by the PA.
(Times of Israel)
*

US Rachets Up Tension with Israel over Iran

Report: U.S. Won't Back Israeli Strike If Iran Doesn't Attack American Assets in Gulf
-Shimon Shiffer     

The U.S. has indirectly informed Iran, via two European nations, that it would not back an Israeli strike against the country's nuclear facilities, as long as Tehran refrains from attacking American assets in the Persian Gulf, such as military bases and aircraft carriers, Yediot Ahronot reported. 
(Ynet News)


Israeli Leader Calls for "Clear Red Line" on Iran -Josef Federman

Israel's prime minister urged the international community to get tougher against Iran, saying that without a "clear red line," Tehran will not halt its nuclear program. Israel has warned that the Iranians are quickly approaching weapons capability and that the threat of force must be seriously considered. The U.S. says sanctions and international diplomacy must be given more time to work.

Netanyahu told his Cabinet that a new report issued by the UN nuclear agency showing progress in the Iranian nuclear program "confirms what I have been saying for a long time - the international sanctions are burdening Iran's economy, but they are not delaying the development of the Iranian nuclear program." "The international community is not drawing a clear red line for Iran, and Iran does not see international determination to stop its nuclear program," Netanyahu said.
(AP-Washington Post)


Official: Israel Increasingly Feels It Has No One to Rely on But Itself -Ilan Ben Zion

A senior Israeli official said the combination of Iran's progress toward the bomb, the failure of the U.S. to "set red lines" for Iran, and the increasingly critical comments by the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff have left Israel with "a sharpened sense that it has no one to rely upon but itself," Israel's Channel 2 TV reported.

Gen. Martin Dempsey said that he did not want "to be complicit" if Israel were to strike at Iran's nuclear facilities. A source in Jerusalem called Dempsey's comments "strange" and said they characterized the failure of the U.S. to take a determined position against Iran's nuclear drive.

"It is strange that next to the oaths and blood libels of [Iran's Ayatollah] Khamenei...and the IAEA report - which states that Iran is speeding up uranium enrichment under its nose - the American chief of staff decides to talk about [an Israeli strike] rather than giving a determined message to the Iranians," the source said.
(Times of Israel)


To Calm Israel -David E. Sanger & Eric Schmitt

Even if Mr. Obama set a clear “red line” now, its credibility may be questionable. According to a tally by Graham Allison, the Harvard expert on nuclear conflict, the United States and its allies have allowed Iran to cross seven previous “red lines” over 18 years with few consequences.
[New York Times]
*

UPDATE: 

U.S. Denies Report of Secret Iran Contacts -Mark Felsenthal

The White House denied an Israeli newspaper report that accused Washington of secretly negotiating with Tehran to keep the U.S. out of a future Israel-Iran war.
(Reuters)
*

Iran/Hizbullah's Training Base in Nicaragua -Philip Podolsky 

    Iran has established a training base in northern Nicaragua near the border with Honduras that is used by Hizbullah, Israel Radio reported.

     Sources estimate that the trainees, supplied from Tehran, are preparing for retaliatory attacks against U.S. and Israeli targets in the event of a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
(Times of Israel)
*

Modern Miracle: Israeli Tech Helps Blind See

The video above illustrates a high tech modern miracle made in Israel
*

Heavy Metal Band Gives History Lesson

Sabaton Sings Israel's Praises

Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton is in Israel, singing the praises of the Israel Defense Forces. The band members visited soldiers at an IDF base.

One of their songs, [Counterstrike], is a [powerful] tribute to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Six Day War.
[JerusalemOnline.com]

[See "Counterstrike"video above]

Lyrics:

Kickstart fighter launch
Throttle set to full
Speed king race to win
Afterburners roaring
Ghostlike counterstrike
Takes them by surprise
Score 307
Israelis rule the heaven
Jordan attacks Israel crush that
Futile attempt
Control Jerusalem
Drive back surprise attack
Take the western wall
Next day make them pay
Over river Jordan
Syria last in line
Head for golan heights
Strike without a warning
See the Syria forces falling
Syria attacked Israel crushed their
Lines of defence
Ruling golan heights

Chorus:
6 days of fire 1 day of rest
June 67 taught them respect
Control Jerusalem

3 nations fallen in 6 days of war
Traitorous neighbours
Received as deserved
Under the sun in the dust of the war
1 nation standing stronger than before
First into Egypt and
Sent them to hell
Then returned their forces to Jordan
Climb up the mountains
Where Syria awaits
Break them in hours
Protect holy land

Chorus

If Jesus came to Bethlehem Today

Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity

If Jesus Entered Bethlehem Today

Identifying Jesus as “a Palestinian living under an occupation” has become normative for Churches in the current anti-Israel crusade.

[T]wo thousand years ago, a Jew named Jesus, Yeshu in Hebrew, short for Yehoshua, was born in Bethlehem. The child was circumcised, he lived as a Jew, prayed as a Jew, performed Jewish rituals and spoke in Aramaic to his fellow Jews. It occurred 600 years before Islam raised its head for the first time.

If Jesus were to enter Bethlehem in 2012, he would be lynched as a Jew, the massacre would be excused [and] the “anger” fully justified in international eyes, while his “settler parents” would be demonized in the Western newspapers for provoking the native population.

If Jesus “the occupier” were to live today in Judea or Samaria, he would not be allowed to walk in the wadi under his town, he would not enter the surrounding villages because he would not come out alive, his movement would be limited, he would not leave his community at certain hours, he would not hike except in groups and only when someone is carrying a weapon, he would lock his door at night, his road would be closed for hours because of shooting, he would go to school by armored buses, he would drive with a ceramic vest, he would build a fence, he would install cameras, he would constantly face firing and possible lynching.

While there are thousands of Palestinian Arabs in Israeli hospitals, what would happen to a bleeding Jesus if he entered a hospital in Bethlehem today?

Shame on these anti-Semitic bishops, hypocritical journalists and self-righteous intellectuals...
[Arutz Sheva]
[Hat tip: Linda F]

"Islamist Tidal Wave...World's Greatest Threat"

Why Islamism is the World’s Greatest Threat -Barry Rubin

No, it sure isn’t the age of Aquarius or of Multicultural, Politically Correct love-ins. It’s the age of revolutionary Islamism, especially Sunni Islamism.

And you better learn to understand what this is all about real fast.Focusing on the Sunni revolutionary Islamist tidal wave, the foundation of knowledge is that there are three types and they are all bad, very bad. A lot of people are going to be misinforming you about this and getting others—never themselves, of course—killed.

These are the people who are coming to power. They hate their Shia counterparts generally and will kill them also at times. They will drag down their countries’ economies. Ironically, they will succeed in making Israel relatively stronger as they beat and burn and tear down; as they set back their countries economic advancement; as they kick half the population (the female) down the stairs.

They will lose. Just as the Communists did; just as the Nazis did; just as the Fascists and Japanese militarists did. But how many decades will it take? How many millions of people dead and injured? How much human potential and natural resources wasted?

And will Western policy make easier the ultimate triumph of moderation, moderation that includes millions of anti-Islamist Muslims and also includes lots of Middle Eastern Berbers, Kurds, Turks, Iranians, Druze, Christians and—yes—Israel. Or will the West make things harder, longer, and worse?

Of victory, I have no doubt. Of Western good sense, all too much uncertainty.
[Gloria Center]
*

Israel Prepares for War...Muppet Style

Muppet Urges Israelis to Prepare for Possible Emergency -Jeffrey Heller

The Israeli muppet version of Oscar the Grouch - Moishe Oofnik [pictured] - appears on the cover of a new, emergency pamphlet being distributed nationwide in a country preparing for possible war with Iran.
   
The pamphlet instructs Israelis how to prepare a safe room or shelter for emergency situations, and reminds people that they have between 30 seconds and three minutes to find cover between the time air raid sirens sound and rockets slam into their area.
     
The pamphlet urges Israelis to have a "family talk" about getting ready for any national emergency.
(Reuters)
*

The Syrian Mess

Stay Out of Syria: Intervention Is a Trap -Daniel Pipes, PhD

As Syria's civil war intensifies, Western states are increasingly helping the rebels overthrow Assad and his henchmen. In doing so, the West hopes to save lives and facilitate a democratic transition. Many Western voices call for more than the non-lethal aid now being offered, wanting to arm the rebels, set up safe zones, and even join their war against the government.

Helping the rebels, however, neglects a fundamental question: does intervention in Syria against Assad promote our own interests? This obvious question gets missed because many Westerners feel so confident about their own well-being that they forget their security and instead focus on the concerns of those they perceive as weak and exploited...

For those of us not so confident, however, fending off threats to our security and our civilization remains a top priority. In this light, helping the rebels entails multiple drawbacks for the West.

[T]he rebels are Islamist and intend to build an ideological government even more hostile to the West than Assad's. Their breaking relations with Tehran will be balanced by their helping to forward the barbaric force of Islamism's Sunni forces.

Syria's rebels do not need Western help to bring down the regime (and wouldn't be grateful for it if they did receive it, if Iraq is any guide).

[T]he Assad regime is doomed. Assad cannot subdue the ever-widening rebellion against his rule; indeed, the more his troops butcher and maim, the more defections occur and his support shrinks to its Alawi core.

[H]astening the Assad regime's collapse will not save lives. It will mark not the end of the conflict, but merely the close of its opening chapter with yet worse violence likely to follow. As Sunnis finally avenge their nearly fifty years of subjugation by Alawis, a victory by the rebels portends potential genocide. The Syrian conflict will likely get so extreme and violent that Westerners will be glad to have kept a distance from both sides.

Also, as Sunni Islamists fight Shiite Islamists, both sides are weakened and their lethal rivalry lessens their capabilities to trouble the outside world. By inspiring restive minorities (Sunnis in Iran, Kurds and Shiites in Turkey), continued fighting in Syria could also weaken Islamist governments.

When the regime falls, the Alawi leadership, with or without Assad, might retreat to ancestral redoubts in Latakia province in northwestern Syria; the Iranians could well supply it by sea with money and arms, permitting it to hold out for years, further exacerbating the confrontation between Sunni and Shiite Islamists, further distracting them from assaulting others.

The one exception to the policy of non-intervention would be to secure Syria's vast chemical weapon arsenal, both to prevent terrorist groups seizing it and Assad from deploying it...

Nothing in the constitutions of Western states requires them to get involved in every foreign conflict; sitting this one out will prove to be a smart move. In addition to the moral benefit of not being accountable for horrors yet to come, staying away permits the West eventually to help its only true friends in Syria, the country's liberals.
[The Washington Times]
*


Obama Threatens Force in Syria over Chemical Weapons -Mark Landler

President Obama warned Syria that it would face American military intervention if there were signs that its arsenal of unconventional weapons was being moved or prepared for use. The warning brings Mr. Obama a step closer to direct American engagement.

The specter of unconventional weapons being loosed in the heart of the Arab world, he said, would upend his calculation that military intervention would only worsen the situation. "We cannot have a situation in which chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people," he said.
(New York Times)
*

The Total Transformation of Egypt

Barry Rubin, one of the brightest MidEast experts, provides this incisive analysis and makes a few predictions

A short history of democracy in Egypt -Barry Rubin

In February 2011 the Mubarak regime fell. There was going to be a parliament elected in Egypt. The parliament was elected. Its election was invalidated. Today there is no parliament in Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood said it would want to run one-third of the candidates for seats. Then they ran one-half. Then they ran all. Then they said they would not run a president. Then they did and elected a president. And they and the Salafists elected 70 percent of the parliament. But now there is no parliament.

The Parliament was going to...write a Constitution. But now there is no Constitution. There are no restrictions on presidential powers.

And then there was a Supreme Council of the Armed Forces but that was supposed to restrain the Muslim Brotherhood president. And it was supposed to be restrained by the Egypt-Israel peace treaty and by the hope of getting U.S. military aid. But the president got rid of it and fired the two top people and put in his own generals. And there is no restraint.

The Egyptian regime did more economic damage to Israel by violating its contract on natural gas shipments than any other Arab regime in the history of the country because Israel had to spend billions of dollars replacing that lost fuel. That is why Israeli taxes are going up and social spending must decline. The U.S. government did not lift a finger to help.

The entire Israeli strategic plan has had to be altered to add an entire new defensive front along the border with Egypt. New units will be organized; new fences built; new equipment ordered and paid for.

Saaed Eddin Ibrahim, arguably the Arab world’s leading sociologist [is] warning that the Islamists want to hijack power and establish [a] dictatorship. He pleads for Westerners to wake up.

Egyptian President al-Mursi has now named the heads of the main Egyptian newspapers, radio stations, and television networks. The first round-ups have begun of reporters who are to bold and honest in their investigations. The walls are closing in.

Soon the generals will be replaced; soon the judges will be replaced, and so too will the diplomats. In other words, the internal and external bureaucracy of Egypt’s government will become transformed.

The next stop is the court system where plans are being made already to eliminate judges.

An upcoming conference of pro-Islamist judges will recommend massive retirements; the new constitution, written by Islamists, will weaken the courts against Sharia as interpreted by Islamic clerics.

The Brotherhood will take over al-Azhar University and appoint one of its men as chief qadi, Muslim judicial official. They will get into control of the wealth religious endowments.

Within a year, Egypt will be fundamentally transformed. Irretrievably transformed.
[The Rubin Report]
*

A Call for Obama to Visit Israel on Iran Threat

5 ways to avert an Israeli strike on Iran
-Amos Yadlin [pictured]

This fall, all the boxes will be checked for an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The U.S. president should visit Israel and tell its leadership -- and, more important, its people -- that preventing a nuclear Iran is a U.S. interest, and if we have to resort to military action, we will.

This message, delivered by the president of the United States to the Israeli Knesset, would be far more effective than U.S. officials' attempts to convey the same sentiment behind closed doors.

The administration should also take five immediate steps to convince allies and adversaries alike that military action is real, imminent and doable - which are key to making it less likely.

First, Obama should notify the U.S. Congress in writing that he reserves the right to use military force to prevent Iran's acquisition of a military nuclear capability.

Second, Washington should signal its intentions via a heightened U.S. military presence in the gulf, military exercises with Middle East allies and missile defense deployment in the region.

Third, Washington should provide advanced military technology and intelligence to strengthen Israel's military capabilities and extend the window in which Israel can mortally wound Iran's program.

Fourth, U.S. officials should speak publicly about the dangers of possible Iranian nuclear reconstitution in the wake of a military strike.

Fifth, Obama should publicly commit to the security of U.S. allies in the gulf. This would reassure jittery friends in the region and credibly anchor the U.S. last-resort military option to three powerful interests: U.S. national security, Israeli security and the security of allied states.

[T]ime is running out to make this commitment credible to the people of the United States, Israel and Iran. As the adage goes, if you want peace, prepare (credibly) for war.
Amos Yadlin, a former chief of Israeli military intelligence, is director of Israel's Institute for National Security Studies
[The Washington Post]
*

The Unsung Hero in the Bin Laden Hit

Dr. Shakil Afridi, has been in a Pakistani jail since the bin Laden hit

Go straight to jail in Pakistan -Senator Rand Paul

In the weeks leading up to th[e] attack on Osama bin Laden’s compound by SEAL Team 6, there was a doctor in Pakistan who helped us determine bin Laden’s exact location. Doctors are not soldiers. We’re taught to heal and to help.

Dr. Shakil Afridi [pictured] helped the only way he knew how — through the use of his medical practice.

Dr. Afridi is a Pakistani doctor who risked his life to provide us with information that confirmed the location of the compound that housed bin Laden and his family. Dr. Afridi set up what ostensibly was a vaccination clinic near the bin Laden home and urged the children of the house to come and be vaccinated. While they were there, he took DNA swabs from their mouths and was able to confirm that they were direct relatives of Osama bin Laden.

This was what our military and civilian leaders needed to order the raid. The information provided by Dr. Afridi directly led to bin Laden’s death. He should be rewarded or, at the very least, congratulated. Instead, Dr. Afridi is in prison in Pakistan for the alleged crime of treason for his cooperation with American intelligence agencies.

This man, who is a hero and should be praised, congratulated and rewarded, has been put in prison for 33 years for helping America catch the mass murderer Osama bin Laden. This is shameful. It is not what we should expect or tolerate from a supposed ally of the United States. I think this is a tragedy and Congress should take decisive action.

Reports from the information minister in the province where Dr. Afridi is being held claim the doctor’s life has been threatened. My concern is that Dr. Afridi may well be killed before he comes to trial.
[Washington Times]
*

Egypt Becomes An Islamic State

This man has a reason to be smiling...he just outflanked the entire military brass of Egypt, becoming a more powerful dictator than Mubarek

Egyptian fiasco -Caroline Glick

Egypt is now an Islamic state.

Its leaders drink from the same well as al Qaida, Hamas and all the rest.
Egypt, with its US armed military has reemerged after 30 years as the greatest military threat that Israel has ever faced.
[CarolineGlick.com]
*

UPDATE:

Global Jihadi Networks in Sinai -Lt. Col. Jonathan D. Halevi 

Egypt's supreme interest is to alter the terms of the Camp David agreement and enable full Egyptian sovereignty over all of Sinai, including in the military domain. In the government's view, terror activity from the Egyptian border that does not stamp Egypt as directly responsible, helps exert pressure in Sinai, compelling Israel to agree to a permanent military deployment in the territory and making the demand for a change in the agreement an Israeli interest without Egypt paying any political price for it.
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
*

Brotherhood coup d'état in Egypt

In a brilliant coup, Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi [right] fired head of the Egyptian military Tantawi [left]

The Israel Border Attack's Unintended Consequences -Zvi Mazel

President Morsi capitalized on the massacre of 16 Egyptian soldiers near the Kerem Shalom border crossing, by firing a number of high-ranking defense personalities from the old regime. Newcomers will be chosen for their sympathy to the Brotherhood, the first step toward doing away with the old army guard by pensioning them off and appointing officers closer to the new regime in their stead.

The Muslim Brothers have no wish to go on sharing power with the army. 
(Jerusalem Post)

Egypt's Morsi Replaces Military, Consolidates Power -Ernesto Londono

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi forced out Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi - the defense minister and top military chief - and his deputy, army chief of staff Sami Anan, suggesting that the Muslim Brotherhood is willing to act more quickly and assertively in taking control of key institutions than analysts had predicted.

The president also announced that he had suspended a constitutional amendment the generals passed on the eve of Morsi's election giving themselves vast powers and weakening the presidency.

"Now, officially, it is a Brotherhood state," said Zeinab Abul-Magd, a history professor at the American University in Cairo. "Now it is official they are in full control of state institutions."

Tantawi's removal sidelines a longtime U.S. interlocutor in a country that has received tens of billions of dollars in military aid in exchange for maintaining peace with Israel.
(Washington Post)

New Egyptian Defense Minister -David Ignatius

What's indisputable is that the Muslim Brotherhood has now tightened its grip on Egypt, controlling the military as well as the presidency and the parliament.
(Washington Post)
*

UPDATE:

Morsi's Velvet Revolution -Zvi Mazel

Without firing a single shot, President Mohamed Morsi managed to neutralize the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and complete his takeover of Egypt.

Morsi now holds dictatorial powers surpassing by far those of President Hosni Mubarak.

Though Egypt will strive to maintain good relations with the U.S. in order to continue receiving impressive sums in military and other aid, it is turning more and more to Arab countries for help.
The writer is a former ambassador to Egypt. 
(Jerusalem Post)
*

Will Israel Strike Iran in October?

Will Israel Help Re-Elect Obama? -Lauri B. Regan

Obama may actually be handed a gift in October, and depending upon what he does with that opportunity, it may provide him with a guaranteed win on November 6.

The Washington Free Beacon is reporting that according to U.S. intelligence experts, Israel is gearing up for an October attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. And while Obama has done everything in his power to prevent Israel from conducting a military strike, including leaking various national security secrets pertaining to such an attack, affording Iran time to further its goals through prolonged and ineffectual diplomatic games, and withholding sophisticated weaponry that would increase the chances of a successful Israeli strike, Israel may not have a choice but to proceed without a nod or assistance from Washington. But why October?

And as the clock ticks, Obama is calculating that the faux promises and behind-the-scenes pressure from the leader of the free world, and only proven friend of the tiny country that causes him angst, will ultimately result in the Israelis tabling a strike and working on his timetable. And to that end, Obama has likely miscalculated. For Israelis no longer trust the United States under the present administration. If they believe that come October, Obama has a solid chance of a second term, it is probable that they will endeavor upon a military intervention to prevent Iran's nuclear capability.

Israel cannot take a chance that Obama wins, for if that occurs, Israel knows that Obama will most assuredly not provide humanitarian aid in the face of retaliatory strikes, military aid to help resupply the IDF with equipment and arms it may need to complete what it was forced to start on its own, and diplomatic cover at the U.N. as the world condemns the attack, as it most certainly will. The world may breathe a sigh of relief that once again the Israelis accomplished what no other country had the nerve to do, but those thoughts will remain the stuff of off-mike whispers never intended as a defense of the Jewish state.

Barack Obama is no fool, either. He also wants to win a second term. If Israel is forced to strike, Obama and his advisers understand that the majority of Americans support Israel and will expect the administration to do everything in its power to ensure Israel's success. In such a case, even if Obama does the bare minimum to help Israel -- vetoing a resolution against her at the U.N., ensuring safe airspace over Iraq and perhaps refueling at U.S. military bases in the region, ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remain open and safe for oil tanker passage, and otherwise publicly supporting her in the face of international condemnation -- he will likely claim full credit for the success of the mission, claim that he gave the green light and was always in favor of the plan, and lie once again to the American people in a speech full of "I"s and "me"s.

And therein lies the irony of Obama forcing Israel to put its citizens and soldiers at risk to do something that he should be authorizing the U.S. military to do. Israel may clinch Obama's second term while ensuring its own short-term survival. 
[American Thinker]
*

Report: Israel Will Have to Tackle Iran Alone -Michal Shmulovich

A day after White House spokesman Jay Carney claimed the U.S. would know if Tehran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, Israel's Channel 2 news quoted "sources in Jerusalem" saying the Americans "didn't see 9/11 coming."
    
Channel 2 News' diplomatic correspondent Udi Segal said Israel does not believe the U.S. will take military action as Iran closes in on the bomb. The U.S. has not provided Israel with details of an attack plan. President Obama has not promised to attack Iran if all else fails. Conditions cited by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for an American attack do not calm Israeli concerns. And Obama has a record of seeking UN and Arab League approval before action. All these factors underline the growing conviction that Israel will have to tackle Iran alone, the TV report said.
    
Netanyahu "is convinced that thwarting Iran amounts to thwarting a plan to destroy the Jewish people," Segal said. 
(Times of Israel)
*

Hummus Ice Cream? Oh my!

The video above features some unusual Israeli flavors...I'm not sure if hummus ice cream would be any good, but i'm willing to try it.

The Failure of the Palestinian Endeavor

The West has pumped billions into the Palestinian economy

Palestine's Biggest Obstacle -Lee Smith

Palestinians in the diaspora are thriving, so what exactly is preventing success in the West Bank and Gaza? Instead of building a bustling economy, the Palestinians have devoted their energies to waging war against Israel for more than 60 years.

The absence of a Palestinian state is proof that this war has been unsuccessful, wasting almost three generations of Palestinian talent.
(Tablet)
*

Sinai Attack Brings Egypt - Israel Cooperation

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi (C) shakes hand with an Egyptian soldier, whom was injured when gunmen attacked a border station between Egypt and Israel, at a hospital in Cairo

The Short-Lived Morsi-Hamas Honeymoon -Khaled Abu Toameh

Sunday's terror attack in Sinai which killed 16 Egyptian border guards took place just when it seemed that Hamas and Egypt were about to embark on a honeymoon. Just last week, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi received Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in his palace in Cairo and agreed to ease restrictions on residents of Gaza, despite opposition from Egypt's Supreme Military Council. In interviews with Arab TV stations and comments on social media sites, many Egyptians blamed their president for the "massacre" in Sinai and demanded the closure of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.

Apart from the political damage, the terror attack has also dealt a severe economic blow to Hamas. Immediately after the attack, the Egyptians forced the Hamas government to close down all underground tunnels that are used to smuggle not only weapons but also various goods and fuel.
(Jerusalem Post)

Egyptian Air Strike Kills 20 Militants in Sinai -Yusri Mohamed

Egypt launched air strikes around the town of Sheikh Zuwaid, 10 km. from Gaza, following clashes overnight between armed men and security forces at several checkpoints in northern Sinai. More than 20 suspected Islamic militants were killed in the crackdown on jihadists blamed for a deadly attack on Egyptian border police.
   
Israel says it has agreed in the past to Egyptian requests to bring more troops into Sinai and the terms of the peace treaty are no obstacle to combating militants threatening both countries. "What we see in Egypt is a strong fury, a determination of the regime and the army to take care of it and impose order in Sinai," senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad told Israel Radio. 
(Reuters)

Egypt: We Have Detailed Information on Sinai Attack -Manar Ammar    

Morad Mowafi, head of Egypt's intelligence agency, told Turkey's Anadulo news agency that they had information about the deadly attack in Rafah and those who were involved in it. He said that the "terrorist group" behind the attack is spread between Egypt's Sinai and Gaza.
   
Mowafi said, "Yes, we had detailed information about the attack, but we never imagined that a Muslim would kill a Muslim on the hour of breaking the fasting in Ramadan."
    
Moussa Abu Hamed of Hamas said that Israeli intelligence handed its Egyptian counterpart a list of 9 terrorists who are suspects in the attack.
(Bikya Masr-Egypt)

Egyptian Officials Fired Over Soldiers' Killings in Sinai -Kareem Fahim

President Mohamed Morsi fired his intelligence chief, the head of the military police, the governor of North Sinai, and the head of the presidential guard in a sweeping response to the killing of 16 soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula.
(New York Times)

Israel-Egypt Security Cooperation Strong -Amos Harel & Avi Issacharoff 

The current security coordination between Israel and Egypt has undergone a significant upgrade.
     
The evidence includes passing along warnings of possible attacks, talks between senior officers in the field, and the continuous discussions between the Egyptian Ministry of Defense and General Intelligence Service and the Israeli security establishment.
    
The appointment of a new Egyptian intelligence minister should only strengthen ties. 
(Ha'aretz)
*

Top Hamas Relative Gets Medical Care in Israel

Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' Prime Minister, doesn't seem to mind his brother-in-law receiving medical treatment in Israel

Hamas PM's Brother-in-Law Treated at Israeli Hospital -Elior Levy

Four months ago the husband of Suhila Abd el-Salam Ahmed Haniyeh - the sister of Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh [pictured] - suffered a serious cardiac episode which could not be treated at any hospital in Gaza. He and his wife were taken to the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva where he received urgent treatment. After being hospitalized in Israel for a week, his condition stabilized and the couple returned to Gaza.

Ismail Haniyeh attacks Israel at every opportunity, and the terror group he heads does not recognize Israel's right to exist.
(Ynet News)
*

Matisyahu's Robo Rabbi

Rabbi Zalman Schachter's voice appears on Matisyahu's latest CD "Spark Seeker."
He appears on two tracks and is credited on the CD as "Robo Rabbi"

Matisyahu in Israel, newly beardless

 



The Mysterious Voice of Matisyahu's "Robo Rabbi" -Bruce

Imagine my surprise to be listening to Matisyahu's newly released CD and, behold, the absolutely unmistakable voice of my dear Rabbi Zalman Schachter. And a few tracks later, his voice appears again, this time lecturing on the Bal Shem Tov.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. Both Rebbe Zalman and Matisyahu are "graduates" of Chabad and both are exceedingly talented at their respective crafts.  I have no idea if Rabbi Schachter and Matisyahu have met, but his voice appearing on two tracks would seem to indicate admiration of Rebbe Zalman's wisdom.  I can attest to the same. 

Reb Zalman's voice appears on Track 3 [Searchin] and Track 6 [Bal Shem Tov].  His voice is clearly discernable on both tracks [click on track links in the prior sentence to listen]. 
[Bruce's MidEast Soundbites]

Note: This post has absolutely nothing to do with the MidEast.  It is only the second time I have posted on another topic. 
*