Now That They Know The Truth, Will It Matter?

One of the lessons supposedly learned from the Holocaust was that it is easier to ignore the unthinkable than to deal with it. Unfortunately, the attack on Israel and the world’s response to that attack illustrate the fact that we have not learned that lesson.

On March 5th, CBN reported the following:

For the first time in nearly five months, a United Nations mission is recognizing Israel’s claims of Hamas brutality toward Israeli women and men on October 7th. Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah unleashed more rockets on northern Israel from southern Lebanon.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the U.N. report issued by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, acknowledging that Hamas and other terrorist organizations committed sexual crimes in the attack last October.

Posting on X, the mission stated, “The UN also recognizes that the crimes were committed simultaneously in different locations and point to a pattern of rape, torture and sexual abuse. The report also acknowledges the existence of ongoing sexual crimes against the Israeli women and men being held hostage by Hamas and calls for the immediate release of the hostages.”

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called on the Secretary-General and Security Council to join the mission in condemning Hamas.

He had earlier challenged the international body, saying, “In the future, you won’t be able to claim that you didn’t know, just as the world claimed after the Holocaust that you were not exposed to the suffering and horrors. Those who remain indifferent are complicit in the crimes themselves.”

Erdan held up a tablet and played testimonies of women brutalized by Hamas, charging the U.N. with apathy and indifference.

A spokesperson for one freed hostage on the tablet was telling of her ordeal, saying, “And she went into the shower and while she was there one of the terrorists went inside, took his clothes off, with a gun towards her head told her to do everything he wanted.”

The IDF also declassified a call it intercepted from a Hamas terrorist, who is also a UNWRA-employee, and U.N. elementary school teacher.

The article also notes:

In the U.S., the State Department defended its meeting with war cabinet minister Benny Gantz who was invited to Washington without the authorization of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Spokesman Matthew Miller stated, “He (Gantz) has a critical voice in the delivery of humanitarian assistance. He’s an important figure in the sitting government of Israel. And so that’s why we engage with him.”

Miller added, “Our goal is clear to establish a comprehensive aid strategy that includes air, land, and sea routes to maximize the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and ensure that aid is distributed to everyone in Gaza who needs it.”

This is an effort to undermine Israel’s war effort. The world has seen the horrors of Hamas and Hezbollah and their war on innocent civilians, yet it choses to criticize Israel for wanting to live in peace and safety.

Israel Lives In A Really Bad Neighborhood

On October 7th, Israel was attacked by Hamas. As a result of that attack, Israel has attempted to eliminate Hamas because it is an organization that foments terrorism against Israel. Israel seems to be doing a pretty good job despite opposition from people who are either unaware of the history and goals of Hamas or choose to ignore them. Unfortunately Hamas is not Israel’s only bad neighbor.

On Monday, The Daily Wire reported the following:

The Israel Defense Forces destroyed what it said were two large weapon depots belonging to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization inside Lebanon.

The strikes reportedly occurred near the coastal city of Sidon, which is roughly thirty miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border.

“IDF fighter jets struck two Hezbollah weapons storage facilities adjacent to the city of Sidon in Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement. “The strike was carried out in response to the launch of a UAV toward the Lower Galilee in northern Israel.”

“An examination of the incident suggests that the UAV was most likely launched from Lebanon by the Hezbollah terrorist organization earlier today,” the statement continued. “The incident is under review. Furthermore, over the last few hours, IDF fighter jets struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the areas of Meiss El Jabal and al-Adisa in Lebanon.”

I sincerely believe that we should celebrate the elimination of terrorists regardless of what country they choose to abide in. The article includes video of the IDF blowing up the storage facilities.

The article concludes:

Hezbollah is considered to be the most powerful and well armed terrorist group in the world thanks to receiving roughly $1 billion a year from Iran.

The group has 20,000 to 25,000 full-time fighters with tens of thousands more in reserves, according to the IDF.

How much of that $1 billion comes from American taxpayers?

The Action And The Location Are BOTH Important

On January 2nd, Yahoo News reported that Israel has killed Saleh Arouri, a top official with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and three others.

The article reports:

An explosion in Beirut on Tuesday killed Saleh Arouri, a top official with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and three others, officials with Hamas and the Lebanese group Hezbollah said.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the blast killed four people and was carried out by an Israeli drone. Israeli officials declined to comment.

If Israel is behind the attack it could mark a major escalation in the Middle East conflict. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to retaliate against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in Lebanon.

Hamas official Bassem Naim confirmed to The Associated Press that Arouri was killed in the blast. A Hezbollah official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations also said Arouri was killed.

The explosion took place in Lebanon and killed officials in both Hamas and Hezbollah. This should be a warning to Hezbollah to avoid attacking Israel while Israel is engaged in the Gaza Strip.

The article concludes:

The explosion shook Musharafieh, one of the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs, which are a stronghold of the militant Hezbollah group, which is an ally of Hamas. The explosion caused fire in Hadi Nasrallah street south of Beirut.

The explosion came during more than two months of heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and members of Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border.

Since the fighting began on Oct. 8, the fighting has been concentrated a few miles (kilometers) from the border but on several occasions Israel’s air force hit Hezbollah targets deeper in Lebanon.

Earlier in the day, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out several attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border targeting Israeli military posts.

At some point we are going to have to admit that generally speaking, terrorists cannot be rehabilitated and need to be eliminated.

The History Explains A Lot

Obviously there will be a lot of refugees from the war in the Gaza Strip. The infrastructure has been destroyed and peoples’ homes have been destroyed. So why are the other Arab nations in the area unwilling to take in the Palestinian refugees?  The history of the refugees explains a lot. Understand that the refugee problem began in 1948 when Arabs who were living peacefully in Israel were told that if they left their homes to fight Israel they would get their land back plus land owned by the Jews who would be ‘driven into the sea.’ Well, it didn’t work out that way. The refugee problem was further exacerbated in 1967 when Israel reclaimed more of the land it had been promised in agreements with the League of Nations.

On Sunday, Townhall posted an article that explains some of the reasons the neighboring Arab countries are unwilling to take in the refugees from the Gaza Strip.

The article notes:

As the Left rages against Israel, hurling antisemitic slurs and chanting for more Jews to die, some might want to consider why the civilians have nowhere to go. Okay, maybe these folks do know but don’t care, but liberals are historically illiterate, so who knows? It goes beyond geography. The Palestinians bring trouble and have a long, sordid history of fomenting mayhem and terrorism in other Arab nations. 

…Egypt is the logical destination for these Palestinians, but Cairo doesn’t want them, and for good reason: terrorism. The border crossing at Rafah remains closed, with tanks now deployed to ensure their border is secure. Egypt’s prime minister even said his country is willing to sacrifice millions to ensure no Palestinians ever enter Egypt en masse (via WSJ):

The article concludes:

If Hamas and the Palestinians aren’t freely moving into Egypt, they’ll be okay with it. Also, Israel has resisted ceasefires and has continued to chip away at the terror group’s infrastructure in Gaza, but a humanitarian crisis could still emerge. 

As the tweet above mentioned, the Palestinians tried to take over Jordan in the 1970s, leading to the late King Hussein declaring war on them and driving them out. They were booted from Kuwait after collaborating with Saddam Hussein’s forces before the Gulf War. They set off a powder keg in Lebanon, a nation that has yet to recover from its brutal civil war that lasted 15 years. No Arab country wants these people because they bring instability and trouble. They’re not importing terrorism; that’s what we’re doing wholesale.

What country wants to import a bunch of dedicated terrorists?

The Difference Between The Israeli And Arab Cultures

Brigitte Gabriel posted this on Twitter. I think it paints a clear picture of the difference between the Israeli and Arab cultures.

My mother was injured towards the end of the war in Lebanon, and we were left with no choice but to bring her to Israel to be treated for her injuries. I remember my father handing me $60 from the mattress in our bomb shelter, the war had nearly bankrupted my family. We did not have much left and a trip across the border to Israel for medical treatment seemed out of reach. I took my mother to the local “hospital” in town which was now bombed out and left with just 1 large room for treating basic injuries. The volunteer Israeli doctor and nurses were treating everyone who entered but had limited resources. My mother needed to visit a real hospital. We put my mother in an Israeli donated ambulance and drove to the Israeli border, it was about a 10 minute drive to the border. Once we arrived at the border the Lebanese driver who knew my parents asked me, “Do you have any money for the ambulance ride to the border?” As an innocent child at the time with no experience around money, I pulled out all $60 and said, “This is all I have, how much do you need?” He took $30 and I thanked him for his kindness and service and proceeded to be with my mother as she was loaded into another ambulance to transport us to an Israeli hospital across the border, this time we were driven by an IDF reservist called up for the war. The drive to the Israeli hospital was long and when we finally arrived, I knew the $30 left was not going to be enough money. If it had cost $30 for a 10 minute drive to the border, there is no way it could be enough for this long journey. As they were loading my mother off the ambulance and into the hospital, I pulled out the remaining money I had and offered it to the Israeli ambulance driver for the trip. He looked down at my money and then back at me and said, “What is this for? We are offering this service to you and your mother for free. Keep the money for the rest of your trip and I wish your mother a speedy recovery.” He then went on his way to help others in need. I felt so touched. I could not believe his kindness. I then became enraged as I realized the Lebanese driver who was friends with my parents took advantage of me and stole $30 from me for a free service. It was that moment that I realized everything I was told about Israel from the Arabs in Lebanon was a lie. It was that moment that I learned the difference between the Arab culture and the Israeli culture.

The War For The Survival Of Israel

This is the link to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) website. It is a reliable source of what is going on in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon. Notice that Lebanon has been added,

Today’s summary includes the following:

08:50
Over the past day the IDF struck over 320 military targets in the Gaza Strip

 The terror targets were struck based on IDF and ISA intelligence, and included tunnels containing Hamas terrorists, dozens of operational command centers (some of which concealed Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists) and more. The IDF struck targets that posed a threat to forces in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip who are preparing for ground operations, including dozens of mortar shell and anti-tank missile launch posts.

Overnight, an IDF tank thwarted a number of terrorist cells, including an anti-tank missile cell.

06:15
Overnight, the IDF struck the terrorist cell in Lebanese territory, along with an anti-tank missile launch post. The terrorist cell was planning to carry out an anti-tank missile launch towards the town of Shlomi.

02:07
A short while ago, the IDF struck Hezbollah terrorist targets, including a military compound and an observation post. Furthermore, an IDF aircraft struck a terrorist cell operating near the border along with the weapons in terrorists’ possession.

23:22
The IDF identified two Hezbollah terrorist cells in Lebanese territory. One cell was adjacent to the area of Mattat, and planned to launch anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory. The other, located in Har Dov, planned to launch rockets. The IDF thwarted the attacks, striking the Hezbollah terrorist cells before they fired.

The article includes the following video:

At some point you have to ask yourself, “What kind of people would do this?”

Please follow the link to the IDF website. Updates are posted on a regular basis.

Something To Watch

The Times of Israel posted the following headline yesterday:

Hezbollah denies border attack, says response to fighter’s death yet to come

Yesterday The Jerusalem Post reported:

Tensions remain high in the North after the IDF thwarted a Hezbollah terrorist attack Monday afternoon near Mount Dov along the border with Lebanon. The defense establishment is concerned Hezbollah might still carry out an attack against the military.

A Hezbollah cell, which numbered between three and five operatives, crossed the border, also known as the Blue Line, several meters into sovereign Israeli territory and was identified by the IDF, which opened fire on them with machine guns and tank shells.

The cell fled back into Lebanon without firing at the soldiers, IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman said, denying reports that anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) were fired during the incident.
“We have some tense days ahead,” he said.

While the condition of the Hezbollah cell members was unclear, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen news outlet reported that no Hezbollah fighters were killed during the failed attack. The soldiers were unharmed, the IDF said.

Hezbollah later released a statement saying there had been no clash along the border, and soldiers had fired on empty fields, making up the entire incident due to their “extreme fear” over a Hezbollah retaliation.

News from the Middle East generally resembles propaganda more than news, but the important thing to remember here is that both of these articles indicate that tensions are rising on the Israeli and Lebanon border. Please follow the links to read both stories for more information.

James Bond, Eat Your Heart Out!

Scott Johnson at Power Line Blog posted an article today about the escape of former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn from house arrest in Japan. It’s an amazing story. Mr. Ghosn, who is 5 feet 6 inches tall escaped in a box used to transport musical instruments.

The article quotes The New York Post:

In a bizarre scheme allegedly orchestrated by his wife in the US, a group of ex-special forces soldiers posing as musicians specializing in a Gregorian band and toting music equipment strolled past Japanese security guards and entered the pad, according to the Lebanese news channel MTV.

Ghosn, who stands at just under 5-foot-6, climbed into “one of the boxes intended for the transfer of musical instruments,’’ the news station said — possibly a roughly 6-foot-tall double-base case.

He was then carted out in the case when the group left, after a “logical time for a concert had passed,” MTV said.

Japanese authorities had the door to his home under 24-hour video surveillance — but, per an April court agreement, Ghosn’s camp didn’t have to turn over each month’s recordings until the 15th of the following month, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ghosn is believed to have been spirited out of the country on a chartered Bombardier jet from Kansai International Airport in Osaka — a six-hour drive from Toyko — around 11:10 p.m. Sunday, the Journal said.

The plane landed at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul early Monday, reports said. Ghosn then boarded a smaller plane belonging to the Turkish company MNG Jet Havacilik AS that departed about 30 minutes later for Rafic Hariri Airport in Beirut, Lebanon.

Japanese authorities apparently had no idea that their most high-profile detainee had fled until hours later — and only then, from an MTV reporter.

The station worker approached Matahiro Yamaguchi, the Japanese ambassador to Lebanon, at a party in Beirut around 6 p.m. Monday and asked about Ghosn’s fleeing, The Guardian reported.

The stunned ambassador said his administration knew nothing about it — and spent the next few minutes furiously texting before abruptly leaving the event.

The article in The New York Post continues:

Lebanon authorities claimed Ghosn entered the country legally via the use of a French passport — although it’s unclear how.

Lawyer Hironaka said he still has Ghosn’s three passports, for Lebanon, France and Brazil, that his client had to turn over as a condition of bail.

“It would have been difficult for him to do this without the assistance of some large organization,” Hironaka told reporters.

The article at Power Line Blog reminds us that nothing happens in Lebanon without the approval of Hezbollah. Interesting.

 

 

Israel Continues To Fight For Its Existence

The Israeli Defense Forces released the following photo today:

The Washington Post posted an article today about the Israeli effort to destroy these tunnels.

The article reports:

Israel on Tuesday began to destroy Hezbollah tunnels dug under its northern border, an operation launched with much fanfare at a time when embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a corruption investigation and accusations of being soft on security. 

The military said it had exposed one of the Lebanese militant group’s tunnels that crossed into Israeli territory in what it dubbed “Operation Northern Shield.” A military spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said that “several” tunnels had been monitored for “quite a long period of time” and that the operation had been planned for a year and a half. 

…Iran’s regional hegemony has also been a driving foreign policy concern of the Trump administration. U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said the United States “strongly supports” Israel’s efforts to stop tunneling into its territory. “More broadly, we call on Iran and all of its agents to stop their regional aggression and provocation, which pose an unacceptable threat to Israeli and regional security,” Bolton said.  

Israel has been using what it says is new technology to detect and destroy tunnels built by Hamas in the south, under the fence with Gaza. However, the tunnel destroyed on Tuesday was the first on the northern border. 

These tunnels are another reason why sanctions on Iran are a good idea. Hezbollah is funded by Iran.

The Mess In The Middle East

Yesterday the BBC posted an article about the ongoing war in the Middle East. I generally don’t trust the BBC as a source on the Middle East because I feel that they are biased against Israel, but in this case, the article provides a lot of good information.

The article included a map showing where things currently stand:

MiddleEastAs you can see, the situation is a mess. The article was not about the map; however, the article was about a shift in the execution of the war by the pro-Bashar al-Assad forces in Russia and Iran.

The article states:

Russia’s defence ministry says it has used a base in western Iran to carry out air strikes in Syria.

Tupolev-22M3 long-range bombers and Sukhoi-34 strike fighters took off from Hamedan on Tuesday, a statement said.

Targets were hit in Aleppo, Idlib and Deir al-Zour provinces, it added. Local groups said 27 civilians had died.

It is reportedly the first time Russia has struck targets inside Syria from a third country since it began a campaign to prop up Syria’s president last year.

Iran is Bashar al-Assad’s main regional ally and has provided significant military and financial support since an uprising against him erupted in 2011.

…Russia has been operating jets and helicopters from bases in Syria for the past year, but this is the first time that Moscow has deployed aircraft to a third country in the region.

Reports indicate that up to six Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers – known by the Nato codename of “Backfire” – are now operating from an air base in western Iran.

These planes – originally designed as a long-range strategic bomber – have already been engaged in the Syrian air campaign but operating from bases in southern Russia. Placing them in Iran dramatically reduces the duration of their missions. The Russian defence ministry says that an unspecified number of Sukhoi-34 strike aircraft have also been sent to Iran.

Their deployment marks an intensification of the Russian air campaign – perhaps a reflection of the scale of the fighting in and around Aleppo – and it is a demonstration of the growing warmth in ties between Moscow and Tehran, the Syrian government’s two closest allies.

This is not good news.

The article concludes:

Also on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch alleged that Russian and Syrian government aircraft had been using incendiary weapons in civilian areas in violation of international law – something Moscow has denied.

A review of photographs and videos indicated there were at least 18 incendiary weapon attacks on rebel-held areas in Aleppo and Idlib between 5 June and 10 August, the US-based group said. Witnesses and emergency workers reported at least 12 civilians wounded in five of the attacks.

President Obama is in the process of forming an alliance with Russia to fight ISIS. That is a serious mistake. The only reason Russia is involved in this is to prop up Bashar al-Assad, to cement its relationship with Iran, and to regain the status it had as a world power before the Soviet Union dissolved. Vladimir Putin is not our friend and should be handled as carefully as a scorpion.

The Blood of Lambs

Occasionally I do I book review on this site. This is one. The book is The Blood of Lambs by Kamal Saleem. It is the autobiography of a former terrorist. Mr. Saleem now speaks out about what he learned as a child at his mother’s knee.

The story reveals the linkage between the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Fatah, and other groups that practice terrorism. The book was published in 2009, and Mr. Saleem’s exit from terrorism took place long before that, so ISIS is not a significant player in the book.

In reading the book, I learned that the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon during the 1960’s and 1970’s functioned very much like the Mafia in some American cities during that time. They protected people they found useful and trained their young as ruthless fighters (not revealing to them that although their leaders talked of martyrdom, the leaders were not particularly interested in practicing it). It becomes very clear as you read this book that the young children (approximately ages 7 to 15) were expendable in the cause of advancing Islam.

The book provides tremendous insight into how a young man becomes a ruthless killer. It is not accidental. In the past on this blog I have posted articles (here and here) about the indoctrination of young children into terrorism. Mr. Saleem’s book is an amazing chronicle of how this process works.

The good news in this book is that Mr. Saleem has had a life-changing experience that brought him out of terrorism, and he now speaks openly about the danger to America terrorism represents. I strongly encourage anyone who has any interest in terrorism to read this book. It is a first-hand account of how terrorists are created.

Who’s Who In The Middle East

CBN News posted a story today that provides a little bit of background about the continuing conflict in the Middle East. It seems rather ironic that ISIS and Iran, (Shia vs. Sunni) Islam agree on “death to America” and “death to Israel,” but are fighting each other to the death. So what is going on?

The article explains:

“The Sunni and the Shia now are very much at loggerheads,” he (Matthew Levitt, with the Washington Institute) explained. “And while they may share hatred of Israel, they may share hatred of the West — certainly, suspicion of the West, this sectarianism is the dominant issue right now.”

The main battleground right now for this intra-Islam conflict is Syria.

On the Sunni side, there are ISIS, al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups. These groups, who’ve also been known to battle each other, have been supported to various degrees by Sunni governments in the region, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

On the Shia side are Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, both of whom are propping up the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

This Sunni-Shia conflict is also raging in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen.

Mr. Levitt explained that Sunni Muslims make up about 85 percent of the world’s Muslim population, while Shia make up about 15 percent.

Although the Islamic governments in the Middle East all tend to be repressive, not all of these governments support terrorism. One of the interesting consequences of the ongoing conflict between Sunni and Shia and of Iran’s continuing push to obtain nuclear weapons is the alliance that is growing between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Egypt has dealt with the Muslim Brotherhood, and Jordan and Saudi Arabia are in the sights of the Brotherhood. The plan the Brotherhood voiced a few years ago was to take down the dictatorships in the Middle East, then take down the governments ruled by royal families. That was to be the basis of the new caliphate which both the Sunni and Shia Muslims would like to establish. The debate is not about establishing the caliphate–the debate is over who will control it once it is established. All things considered, ISIS is no more brutal than the government of Iran–they are simply more pubic about it. It won’t matter whether the Sunnis or the Shia control the caliphate–the caliphate will be brutal.

An Experienced View On Syria

Ryan Crocker is currently the first Kissinger Senior Fellow at Yale University 2012-2013. He also holds an appointment as the James Schlesinger Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia. In August 2013 he will return to his position as Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. He retired from the Foreign Service in April 2009 after a career of over 37 years but was recalled to active duty by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. He has served as U.S. Ambassador six times: Afghanistan (2011-2012), Iraq (2007-2009), Pakistan (2004-2007), Syria (1998-2001), Kuwait (1994-1997), and Lebanon (1990-1993). He posted at article in July at YaleGlobal Online stating his views on military intervention in Syria.

Please follow the link to read the entire article–it details the history of the reason and makes the case for no American military involvement at this time.

The article concludes:

I was in Lebanon recently, where the outgoing prime minister gloomily predicted a renewed civil war of which there are already signs with clashes between Sunnis and Alawites in the northern city of Tripoli, in the northeast and attacks on Hezbollah-controlled areas in Beirut. If the violence spreads, the Palestinians will join forces with the Lebanese Sunnis against the Shia, and that in turn will radicalize Palestinians in Jordan’s already fragile monarchy. Both countries need our security and economic support, for the refugee influx and their security forces.

This will be a long war. There is little the United States can do to positively influence events in Syria. Our focus must be on preventing further spillover beyond its borders. There may come a point where exhaustion on both sides makes a political solution possible. We are nowhere near that point. And my fear is that at the end of the day, the Assad regime prevails. We must be ready for that too.

We need to listen to the voice of experience.

 

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America Is On The Wrong Side Of This

Yesterday the Washington Times reported that American soldiers will be taking part in a Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping force in Egypt. Ultimately about 400 American troops will take part in the 9-month mission aimed at curbing riots. The troops will be stationed at checkpoints along the Sinai Peninsula. They’re also tasked with reporting violations to the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. My first question here is “Who will be commanding these American troops?”

The United Nations is probably one of the most anti-Israel organizations in the world. Last year the United Nations Human Rights Council called for a boycott on all companies doing business in Israel (rightwinggranny.com). How can anyone expect the United Nations to report honestly on peace treaty violations? The United Nations observers in Lebanon has been silent as Hezbollah has built up its weapons (Reuters). Why would their actions in the Sinai be any different?

In April the Reuters article linked above reported:

“Under pressure, a multi-national force is like an umbrella that gets folded up on a rainy day,” Yaakov Amidror, Netanyahu’s national security adviser, said in a Tel Aviv University speech.

Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah, Amidror said, has been building its arsenal despite the 35-year presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in its heartland.

“Has Hezbollah avoided bringing any kind of rocket, missile or other arms into southern Lebanon because UNIFIL is there?” he said. Israel believes Hezbollah has amassed 60,000 rockets, including 5,000 with heavy warheads capable of hitting Tel Aviv.

“Under their (UNIFIL) mandate, they cannot stop Hezbollah and confiscate its arms, but they can write a report. There has been no UNIFIL report about any weapon of any Hezbollah person since UNIFIL has existed,” Amidror said.

As part of the U.N. ceasefire that ended Israel’s inconclusive 2006 war with Hezbollah, UNIFIL’s mandate was enhanced to include “assisting” the Lebanese army with keeping guerrilla “personnel, assets and weapons” out of south Lebanon.

Israel is America’s only true ally in the Middle East. We need to protect them–not aid and abet their enemies. The countries surrounding Israel train their children to hate Israel and to grow up to be soldiers or suicide bombers to destroy Israel. This is a picture of a kindergarten graduation in Gaza that I posted last June (rightwinggranny.com)::

Israel lives with this threat every day. We need to be sure that we are helping combat the threat–not becoming part of it. Our future as America depends on it.

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There Are No Good Guys In The Syrian Civil War

Reuters reported today that Israel notified the United States after it carried out two air strikes in Syria–not before.

The article reports:

Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday for the second time in 48 hours. Israel does not confirm such missions explicitly – a policy it says is intended to avoid provoking reprisals. But an Israeli official acknowledged that the strikes were carried out by its forces.

“It would not be unusual for them to take aggressive steps when there was some chance that some sophisticated weapons system would fall into the hands of people like Hezbollah,” the U.S. intelligence official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Israel is much closer to the war in Syria than America and has a much more vital interest. Bashar al-Assad is aligned with Hezbollah, a terrorist organization sponsored by Iran which frequently fires rockets at Israel from various locations. It is suspected that the rockets Israel stopped might eventually wind up in Lebanon aimed at Israel.

The article further reports:

Rather than an attempt to tip the scales against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Israel’s action is seen more as part of its own conflict with Iran, which it fears is sending missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon through Syria. Those missiles might hit Tel Aviv if Israel makes good on threats to attack Tehran’s nuclear program.

Another Western intelligence source told Reuters the latest attack, like the previous one, was directed against stores of Fateh-110 missiles in transit from Iran to Hezbollah.

Israel has made it clear that it will take action to prevent Iran from going nuclear. It is in the interest of Israel to make sure that if it attacks Iran the allies of Iran that surround Israel have a few rockets as possible.

The war in Syria is a civil war, but it is also a war between terrorists. Hezbollah supports Bashar al-Assad, a Shiite, and many of the rebels have ties to Al Qaeda, which tends Sunni (the majority population of Saudi Arabia). The problem with the war is that if America gets involved, both sides will unite and turn against the ‘infidels.’ At the present time the Obama Administration is said to be negotiating with some of the ‘moderate’ rebels, but there are some serious questions as to how much power the moderates have with the rebels. If America chooses to arm the rebels, we could be shipping arms to Syria that will be used against American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in the very near future. Our best bet is to do anything we can to get innocent civilians out of Syria and let the terrorists fight it out among themselves. Israel has more of a reason to get involved because Hezbollah is already sending rockets against her, and because Israel will be directly involved regardless of who wins. It is in Israel’s best interests to limit the number of rockets going from Iran to Syria so as to limit the number of rockets that will be coming in their direction when both sides stop fighting each other.

This attack on the rockets heading for Syria could be seen as a backdoor attack on Iran or as a warning to Iran. I suspect there will be retaliation against Israel and further action by Israel. By making it public that America was not notified until after the attack, it is quite possible that Hezbollah terrorist cells in America will not be activated in response.

 

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One Of Many Reasons We Need A New Policy Regarding Iran

Iran‘s nuclear program has nothing to do with generating energy. Iran has openly stated that it is working toward the destruction of Israel. This is not a country that is interested in being part of a peaceful family of nations. Recently, they were caught again engaging in activities that undermine peace in the Middle East.

On Friday World Net Daily reported that a Revolutionary Guard spokesman, Ramadan Sherif, confirmed that Iranian General Hassan Shateri was killed when Israeli aircraft bombed a convoy in Syria that had been on its way to Lebanon.

The article reports that Iran described Shateri’s mission in Lebanon as rebuilding public schools, hospitals and mosques that had been impacted by the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War.

The article at World Net Daily (WND) reports:

However, informed Middle Eastern security officials speaking to WND identified Shateri as the Quds Force commander responsible for coordinating the arming of Hezbollah in Lebanon, including restocking the terrorist group with advanced missiles.

The Quds Force is a special unit of the Revolutionary Guard responsible for what the Guard calls its “extraterritorial operations.”

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A Major Question About The Hagel Nomination

There has been some reluctance on the part of Senator Hagel to reveal his financial supporters. There have been two recent articles at Breitbart.com regarding those supporters–one on Thursday by Ben Shapiro and one on Thursday by Joel B. Pollak.

The article by Mr. Pollak states that some of the financial supporters of Senator Hagel are very friendly to Hamas. One of Senator Hagel’s supporters is former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri.

Mr. Pollak reports:

Hariri, whose father Rafik Hariri was assassinated (likely by the Hezbollah terror group) in 2005, inherited his family fortune and emerged as a Sunni Muslim leader in Lebanon’s fractured ethnic-religious mosaic. He served as prime minister from late 2009 until early 2011, when Hezbollah’s political wing withdrew from his government amid controversy over its involvement in his father’s death. He now lives outside Lebanon in self-imposed exile.

The Hariri family has supported the Atlantic Council, a think tank Hagel chairs, and provided the funding for the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, which was launched in 2011 with Vice President Joe Biden in attendance. The Hariri Center’s stated purpose is to “promote innovative policies to advance economic and political liberalization, sustainable conflict resolution, and greater regional and international integration.”

Hariri is thought to be connected to Syrian opposition groups, even though as prime minister he attempted to improve relations with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. He is well-regarded by Western supporters–a fact that his local opponents sometimes use against him. Accusations–likely false, and probably planted by opponents–have even circulated that he is working with the Israel Defense Force to train anti-Hezbollah soldiers in Jordan.

Yet even the liberal-minded Hariri has expressed open hostility towards Israel, and has been at pains to show his support for Hamas, the predominantly Sunni Palestinian terror group that controls the Gaza Strip.

Ben Shapiro reports:

On Thursday, Senate sources told Breitbart News exclusively that they have been informed that one of the reasons that President Barack Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, has not turned over requested documents on his sources of foreign funding is that one of the names listed is a group purportedly called “Friends of Hamas.”

Yesterday, 25 senators sent a letter to Hagel demanding information on his foreign funding. Hagel has refused all such requests, prompting the senators to state, “in the judgment of the undersigned, a Committee vote on your nomination should not occur unless and until you provide the requested information.”

Generally I believe that a President should be allowed to choose his own cabinet, but until the questions regarding Senator Hagel’s overseas friends are answered, I think this nomination should be put on hold.

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Representative Nancy Pelosi And Reality

When reality does not picture the truth as she sees it, Representative Pelosi obviously has no problem changing the truth. Yesterday the Washington Post posted a story about a recent picture of all of the women in the House Democratic Caucus. Sounds fine, right? Well, not so fast. Some of the women in the Caucus missed the photo shoot, so they were photo-shopped in.

The article reports Representative Pelosi’s response when asked about the picture:

“It’s an accurate historical record of who the Democratic women of Congress are. It also is an accurate record that it was freezing cold and our members had been waiting a long time for everyone to arrive and that they had to get back into the building to greet constituents, family members, to get ready to go to the floor,” she said.

It’s a photo-shopped picture. A photo-shopped picture is not an accurate record–it’s an altered record. Does this woman not know the difference between reality and fantasy? Was it also okay when Hezbollah photo-shopped pictures of damage done to Lebanon by the Israeli Defense forces? Was it also okay when Iran photo-shopped pictures of test firing missiles? Photo-shopping is a propaganda tool, why is it being used by a Congresswomen to create something that did not happen?

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What Happens To The Money We Spend Importing Foreign Oil

Al Arabiya News reported yesterday that Hezbollah’s CFO has fled to Israel taking with him large sum of stolen money, classified documents and maps.

The article reports:

The news website, Now Lebanon, cited Hezbollah officials saying that the 29-year old telecommunication engineer, Hussein Fahs, has crossed to Israel carrying with him $5 million in embezzled money from the group. Fahs is also head of Hezbollah’s operational communications network.

In September, Fahs, who is native of southern Lebanon, was arrested along with other four Hezbollah members over the suspicion of embezzling the group’s funds and collaborating with Israel, Yoni Alpert’s Terror Watch.

Think about this for a minute, if he embezzled $5 million, he was probably handling considerably more money than that. Where did that money come from? That is the questions I would love to see the answer to. My guess is that it came from Iranian oil sales.

 

 

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Now For Something Completely Different

The civil war in Syria continues despite the fact that the news doesn’t seem to be paying a lot of attention to it. I have no suggestions for a course of action–I am not convinced anyone involved is the ‘good guys.’ My only concern is for the civilians caught in the middle. We need to find a way to get the civilians out of the way and let the people who are determined to fight with each other slug it out. However, the human cost of this civil war is a major concern.

Gary Lane at CBN News posted a story today about the refugees that are fleeing the Syrian civil war.

Please follow the link above to CBN News to see the video showing what is going on in Syria.

The article reports:

The United Nations estimates the number of registered Syrian refugees at more than 170,000. They have scattered across the region, ending up in Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan.

These refugees are being met by Christian relief groups who are helping move from border camps to apartments. I was touched by a quote from a woman who was helped by the Christian groups:

The article reports:

Doyle (Tom Doyle, with the Dallas-based ministry E3 Partners) witnessed how the effort affected the life of one refugee.

“Some of the people were pushing them around and it was mass chaos and this woman looked at me and she said, ‘but it was the Bible people that came to us and gave us food and clothes and loved us and played with our children. It was the Bible people who were there for us,'” Doyle recalled.

“When she got done sharing her story she looked at me and said, ‘And I want you to know, I love Jesus now!'” he said.

Out of wartime tragedy, “The Bible People” are having an impact on the lives of the refugees by sharing the love of Christ, meeting material needs and shining light into the lives of Syrians fleeing chronic darkness.

Obviously, this is an awful situation, but it is encouraging to know that Tom Doyle and others like him are helping the refugees find a new life after fleeing such horrendous violence.

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November 3rd in Stoughton Massachusetts

AN EVENING WITH KENNETH TIMMERMAN
“The 12th Imam, Iran and the Bomb”
November 3, 2011 @ 7:30 PM
Ahavath Torah Congregation
1179 Central Street
Stoughton, MA 02072
Admission: $10
Ken Timmerman is one of the half-dozen true experts on the Islamic Republic of Iran in the U.S. today. Prominently featured in the recent documentary, “Iranium,” he heads the Foundation for Democracy in Iran. FDI is the only group among all those with Iran-related programs that works actively and closely with the pro-freedom movement inside Iran. Ken has spent much of this summer (2011) meeting with Iranian dissidents in Europe, and regularly briefs the U.S. intelligence community on their activities and beliefs. Amongst his experiences, Ken spent 5 months in a PLO jail in Lebanon.
Ken has also been the lead investigator for the “Iran links” lawsuit by families of 9/11 victims. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize along with John Bolton for his work on Iran in 2006, and won the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media award for investigative reporting in February 2011.

More information on Ken can be found at: www.kentimmerman.com, or at his foundation’s website: www.iran.org.

For information email office@atorah.org
Cosponsored by Americans for Peace and Tolerance, ACT Boston

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November 3rd In Stoughton Massachusetts

AN EVENING WITH KENNETH TIMMERMAN
“The 12th Imam, Iran and the Bomb”
November 3, 2011 @ 7:30 PM
Ahavath Torah Congregation
1179 Central Street
Stoughton, MA 02072
Admission: $10
Ken Timmerman is one of the half-dozen true experts on the Islamic Republic of Iran in the U.S. today. Prominently featured in the recent documentary, “Iranium,” he heads the Foundation for Democracy in Iran. FDI is the only group among all those with Iran-related programs that works actively and closely with the pro-freedom movement inside Iran. Ken has spent much of this summer (2011) meeting with Iranian dissidents in Europe, and regularly briefs the U.S. intelligence community on their activities and beliefs. Amongst his experiences, Ken spent 5 months in a PLO jail in Lebanon.
Ken has also been the lead investigator for the “Iran links” lawsuit by families of 9/11 victims. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize along with John Bolton for his work on Iran in 2006, and won the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media award for investigative reporting in February 2011.

More information on Ken can be found at: www.kentimmerman.com, or at his foundation’s website: www.iran.org.

For information email office@atorah.org
Cosponsored by Americans for Peace and Tolerance, ACT Boston



 

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The Arab Spring Is Looking A Little Stormy

The Global Post reported today on the elections being held in Tunisia.

The article reports:

Despite deep divisions among the various political parties over Tunisia’s future — the most contentious being the debate between secularists and Islamists — the election itself was a source of both national and regional pride for many Tunisians today.

…“If Ennahda wins, I would like to see sharia [Islamic] law,” said Tawfiq bin Mohammed bin Abdullah, a 62-year-old Ennahda supporter.“There are many women in Tunisia who do not know true Islam. Ennahda will not impose, but it will explain what it is in the Koran. And hopefully they will come to the true Islam.”

Others are drawn to Ennahda not only for its religious message, but for its longer history as a serious opposition group.

“Ennahda, they want to preserve our civil rights,”said 22-year-old Khalil Elalmi, a medical student who was arrested and beaten during the revolution.“They want to preserve our rights and take into consideration the law of Islam.”

“Their objective is to help people get a better life.”

Sharia Law and democracy are not compatible. We need to remember that. One of the most amazing aspects of Brigitte Gabriel’s story (see rightwinggranny.com) was her account of what happened to Lebanon (formerly the garden spot of the Middle East):

Lebanon was 67 percent Christian and was a truly multi-cultural country—there was freedom of religion for all religions. Gradually Muslims immigrated to Lebanon and became the majority of the country. The Muslims formed the Arab Lebanese Army, attacked Christians in a church, and started a civil war. The Muslims killed Christians, burned churches, and committed other atrocities. None of the western democracies came to the aid of Lebanon.

Unfortunately, unless the people involved in the Arab Spring protests wake up quickly, they will see their freedom disappear as quickly as they thought they had obtained it. When the Muslim Brotherhood takes over a country, there is no freedom of religion and no freedom for women.

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Brigitte Gabriel In New England

I went to an event tonight sponsored by the Boston Chapter of Act for America. The guest speaker was Brigitte Gabriel, a frequent commentator on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC news programs.  Ms. Gabriel is the founder, president, and CEO of Act for America, a group formed to combat the growing threat to America that Islamist terrorism represents.

Ms. Gabriel began speaking by telling her personal story of life in Lebanon before the radical Muslim takeover of the country. Lebanon used to be the only Christian majority country in the Middle East. It was the garden spot of the region. Lebanon was 67 percent Christian and was a truly multi-cultural country—there was freedom of religion for all religions. Gradually Muslims immigrated to Lebanon and became the majority of the country. The Muslims formed the Arab Lebanese Army, attacked Christians in a church, and started a civil war. The Muslims killed Christians, burned churches, and committed other atrocities. None of the western democracies came to the aid of Lebanon. Finally Israel began to help the Lebanese Christians fight back. They provided food, weapons, and bomb shelters.  Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, setting up a security zone to protect Christians. Ms. Gabriel shared the story of her mother being wounded in one of the Muslim attacks and taking her mother to Israel for treatment. The Lebanese ambulance driver who knew her family and was her fellow countryman charged her half of all the money she had to drive her to the Israeli border. The Israeli ambulance driver, who was a total stranger, who drove her and her mother to the Israeli hospital, charged her nothing. Ms. Gabriel points to this event as one that demonstrated to her the difference between the Israeli culture and the Arab culture. At the Israeli hospital, people of all races and religions were treated with equal care. It did not matter that the Arab soldier, given the opportunity, would gladly have slit the throat of the doctor treating his wounds—the Israeli doctor still treated those wounds with care.

Ms. Gabriel pointed out that the majority of Muslims are moderate and are not terrorists. Radical Muslims represent only about 15 to 25 percent of the Muslim population. Unfortunately, that minority is about 180 to 300 million people. It is that minority that is driving the agenda and forcing the nations of the free world to defend themselves. She rightfully pointed out that the peaceful majority was irrelevant in Germany during the reign of Adolph Hitler. The peaceful majority was irrelevant in pre-World War II Japan, and the peaceful majority was irrelevant in China and Russia.

As someone who is from the Middle East, Ms. Gabriel has a different perspective on terrorism than most Americans born and raised in America. She stated that September 11, 2001, turned her world upside down. She stated, “The terrorists I thought I had left behind had come to America.”

Ms. Gabriel talked about the systematic infiltration of America by groups under the umbrella of the Muslim Brotherhood. “The Project,” introduced as evidence in the Holy Land Foundation Trial details the Muslim Brotherhood’s plan for North America, written in 1991. The plan outlines tactics and proposals detailing how to maintain the appearance of moderation while infiltrating clubs, and offices of government. There were 29 front groups under the Muslim Brotherhood operating in America named in the trial as co-conspirators. CAIR is still trying to get itself taken off that list.

The Muslim infiltration has impacted American education at the college level. Many of the political science departments and Middle East studies departments in our major universities and community colleges are underwritten by Saudi Arabian petrodollars. Pro-Israel speakers are no longer welcome at American universities. We now have Islamic consultants working with children’s textbook publishers. Our sixth and seventh grade textbooks have an Islam course that encourages children to become Muslims for three weeks. Our children are being taught that jihad is a struggle against oppression, invasion, or injustice. Muslim children are taught that jihad is making war against infidels. The Muslim course is indoctrinating our children with the talking points of those who want to destroy our freedom and our country.

Ms. Gabriel set up ACT for American as an action group to fight this sort of indoctrination of American children and the continuing creep of Sharia Law.  ACT has over 175,000 members today, over 600 chapters nationwide, and a full-time lobbyist on Capitol Hill. The organization uses grass roots networks to protect American freedoms and national security. Their website is actforamerica.org. Their purpose is to build a grassroots network to stop the creep of Sharia Law and stop the infiltration of the American schools. They have been effective enough for CAIR to begin to use their name in its fund raising efforts. That is one definition of success!

Please follow the link to their website to learn more about this organization. They are deserving of the support of all Americans. There are ways that all of us can help—big or small. In addition to what they do, they are also making more Americans aware of the threat that we currently face.

I would like to thank Ms. Gabriel for having the courage to speak up. I would also like to note that it was refreshing to hear her appreciation of America and the people in the audience who had served in the American military. I have said before on this blog that I am the daughter of a World War II veteran who landed on Utah beach on D-Day, the wife of a Vietnam-era veteran, and the mother-in-law of someone currently serving in the military. I appreciated her thank you. She is lady of courage doing what she can to preserve her adopted country. Thank you.

Brigitte Gabriel will be speaking again in New England:

October 17, 2011 at 7:00pm-9:00pm

Word of Life Christian Fellowship Church
95 Old Loudon Rd.
Concord, New Hampshire

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