Tag Archives: $6 billion

Israel At War

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Today, John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line Blog about Hamas’ attack on Israel this morning. The article makes a connection between the six billion dollars we recently gave Iran access to in a prisoner swap and the attack. That connection is real.

The article quotes The London Times:

The British government believes that Iran is linked to the Hamas attack on Israel and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is likely to have played a role in training and the supply of weapons (Dipesh Gadher writes).

A Whitehall source said: “The Revolutionary Guards have their fingerprints all over this multifaceted attack. Hamas is just another tool in Iran’s campaign against the West.”
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Members of the Iranian parliament were shown on state television today chanting: “Palestine will be victorious, Israel will be destroyed.”

The article at Power Line Blog notes:

Where would Iran get the money to finance the Palestinians’ war? Oh, that’s right. We just gave them $6 billion.

It should also be noted that there is a strong possibility that some of the weapons used against Israel were weapons America left behind in Afghanistan.

Fox News is reporting today:

At least 250 people have been killed since Hamas terrorists started firing rockets and slaughtering Israelis near the Gaza Strip over the weekend, officials say.

Israeli officials say that at least 250 people were killed, making the conflict one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history. At least 1,500 people were also wounded.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that at least 232 people in the Gaza Strip were killed, with 1,700 others wounded.

Hamas soldiers surprised the Israeli military with their attacks on Saturday, which coincided with a major Jewish holiday called Simchat Torah. October also marks the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.

The amount of Israeli civilians and soldiers that Hamas militants have taken captive is unknown. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the violence by vowing to retaliate. 

The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) calls for the removal of Israel. As long as that is part of their charter, a two-state solution is not possible. Right now, Israel has an armed enemy camp on its border. It’s very hard to make peace with people who want to drive you into the sea. There will not be peace in the Middle East until the Arab terrorists accept the existence of Israel as fact and stop trying to destroy the nation.

Further Information On The COLA Cuts To Military Pensions

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As someone with a family member in the military, the cuts to the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) on military pensions hit close to home. Not only are they the ONLY cuts made in the budget agreement, they also represent a broken promise to our military troops. One of the best articles I have seen on the subject is posted at Allen West’s website.

The article reminds us that the four retired senior officers — three generals and one admiral–who supported the cut would not be impacted by the change in the rules. However, there are some retired senior enlisted men who are impacted who are speaking out.

One of those senior enlisted men shares the story of a friend who landed a high-paying job with a defense contractor in the same field he worked in on active duty:

But several years later, the company went bankrupt, and Hoynes, a former chief operations specialist, found himself jobless. Now Hoynes and his wife must rely on his $1,600-a-month military retirement pay (after taxes, health care and insurance payments) and her small retail salary to pay the bills.

If the cost-of-living adjustment reduction to military retired pay included in the Bipartisan Budget Act goes into effect in December 2015, the retired chief, now 50, stands to lose as much as $55,000 in retirement pay over his lifetime.

This is obscene simply on the facts, but it is even more obscene that it represents a broken promise to our military.

Allen West also points out:

There are close to 350,000,000 Americans and 840,000 have to be sacrificed to support the legislative budgetary process? That’s two-tenths of a percent. All over $6 billion? You mean to tell me that lawmakers in Washington DC — Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray specifically — could not find $6 billion dollars elsewhere? Hmm, will one of them explain to retired Chief Chip Hoynes and his wife that a Member of Congress only needs to serve 5 years to earn 70 percent retirement, for life (since it goes to the spouse upon death of the Member)?

This needs to be corrected as soon as Congress resumes. Otherwise the Republicans who signed on to this deal should be quickly voted out of office.

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