From Ian:
Jennifer Rubin: White House ‘appalled’ no more by civilian casualties
Don’t get me wrong. The current U.S. practice is entirely legitimate. It is hard to argue with the assertion that “like all U.S. military operations, [airstrikes on the Islamic State] are being conducted consistently with the laws of armed conflict, proportionality and distinction.” However, this does underscore how misguided and unfair U.S. condemnation of Israel was. Perhaps Ben Rhodes, the politically minded national security official who took it upon himself to lecture Israel, should finally apologize.
There is something else to be said here about the choice of airstrikes as the main U.S. tactic. The Obama administration has been roundly criticized for pursuing an air campaign that cannot possibly destroy the Islamic State. If that is a strategy with limited efficacy, what is the moral argument for continuing to employ it when civilian casualties result? It is one thing when a strategy is well-designed to achieve a specific military objective (e.g. destroying Gaza terrorists’ tunnels and rockets), but quite another when it is not. Imagine if Israel had conducted bombing raid after bombing raid resulting in civilian casualties rather than send in ground troops at great risk to them in order to strike with precision. I’m sure the Obama administration would have been appalled.
The irony of endorsing Palestinians while bombing ISIS
Even while bombing ISIS, aka the Islamic State, Mr. Obama continues to endorse the creation of a Palestinian state, a plainly jihadist country that would inevitably be run by some adversarial combination of Hamas and the PA. Somehow, Mr. Obama doesn’t want to acknowledge that any Palestinian Arab state would promptly exhibit the very same jihadist tendencies as our own current terrorist targets in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. Why, it is time for him to inquire, should we be fighting Islamist terrorists in one part of the Middle East, and simultaneously supporting distinctly similar others, just a short distance away?
Where are we now heading? At some point, if they can finally reconcile, the PA and Hamas will declare the existence of a fully sovereign Palestinian state. Any such state, however, whatever its theoretical “self-determination” rationale, and whatever its finally agreed-upon administrative form, would enlarge the risks of terrorism and war.
Already, Palestinian orientations to aggression are very easy to decipher. Official PA maps identify Israel as merely a part of Palestine. In essence, both the PA and Hamas have agreed upon a cartographic destruction of Israel proper — not a “two-state solution,” but rather a conspicuously “final solution.”
Any Palestinian state could have a directly detrimental impact on American strategic interests and, of course, on Israel’s physical survival. After Palestine, Israel, facing an even more expressly formidable correlation of enemy forces, would require greater self-reliance. Any such enhanced self-reliance would then call for a more coherent and more openly disclosed nuclear strategy, one focusing comprehensively upon deterrence, pre-emption, and war-fighting capabilities; and a corollary and interpenetrating conventional war strategy.
Edelstein: While Islamic State slaughters, West is focused on building in Jerusalem
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein blasted the West for criticizing Israel for building homes in Jerusalem when there are more pressing security issues, in a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz in Vienna Thursday.
Edelstein slammed Western leaders' "Pavolovian reaction" to the anticipated construction of 2,700 homes in the southeastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Hamatos, which was planned two years ago, but Peace Now released a report on the topic Wednesday.
"It's too bad that while the Islamic State is slaughtering, murdering and threatening the West, everyone is interested in a few homes being built in Jerusalem," he stated. (h/t MtTB)
Abbas turns to UNSC to set 2016 deadline for Israeli withdrawal
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he had submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council in New York on the two-state solution.
According to a copy of the resolution obtained by AFP, the Palestinians call on the UNSC to set a November 2016 date for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines.
“With regards to the United Nations, I am sure you heard we have submitted a draft resolution to the Security Council, who started consultations a few days ago and will continue for three weeks, perhaps longer, until we receive an answer,” said Abbas.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman charged that Abbas was playing to internal politics at the expense of the peace process, which would not be advanced by this move.
UN Ambassador Ron Prosor said in response, “Once again, the Palestinians are shooting in all directions, missing the real target.
“Their habit of bypassing negotiations by taking unilateral action and blaming everyone but themselves will only move the region further away from stability.
“It’s time for the Palestinians to aim higher and find constructive solutions, instead of avoiding a real dialogue.
Isi Leibler: Duplicitous Abbas comes out of the closet
Even the few delusional apologists who maintain that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is a genuine partner for peace must have been stunned by his obscene and demagogic address on Rosh Hashana at the United Nations General Assembly.
Abbas, whose 1982 doctoral thesis promoted Holocaust denial, accused Israel of engaging in genocide, terrorism and apartheid. He condemned “the racist occupying state” for having “chosen to make it a year of a new war of genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people.” He stated that “the devastation caused by this recent aggression is unmatched in modern times” and that “in the name of Palestine and its people, I affirm here today: We will not forget and we will not forgive, and we will not allow war criminals to escape punishment.”
Significantly, he even reverted to the pre-Oslo Accords jargon of the radical rejectionists by referring to Israel as the “colonial occupying power” and other derogatory terms. He promised to “maintain the traditions of our national struggle established by the Palestinian fedayeen... in early 1965” – an unequivocal endorsement of terrorism.
The speech was clearly a calculated appeal to the Palestinian street to demonstrate that his hatred of Israel matched that of Hamas. He was probably also desperate to refocus attention on the Palestinian issue, which had been relegated to the sidelines because the world, including Arab countries, is obsessed with the threat of Islamic State (IS). US President Barack Obama’s address at the General Assembly even contradicted his previous rigid stance by conceding that “Iraq, Syria and Libya should cure... the illusion that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the main source of problems in the region.”
Alon Ben-Meir: Abbas’ Dismal Failure at the UN Undermines Peace and Credibility
As someone who has consistently advocated a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians based on a two-state solution, I was appalled to hear the speech delivered by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations General Assembly. Instead of using the occasion to provide constructive proposals and use reconciliatory language to advance the cause of peace, he engaged in acrimonious and discordant statements against Israel that did nothing but further embitter and alienate the Israeli public, whose support he needs the most to realize Palestinian aspirations.
I wonder if Abbas has any clue how his irresponsible public utterances reinforce the negative perceptions between the Israelis and Palestinians and perpetuate the endemic hostility that has and remains the core evil that has thwarted all peace efforts in the past.
He gave a campaign-style speech, appealing to his own public in an effort to salvage his sagging popularity, while being completely oblivious to the fact that he was addressing the international community to further cement its support of the Palestinian cause.
To be sure, as the late Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban once said, “The Arabs [Palestinians] never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” Abbas’ performance was a classic case of a missed opportunity.
Slamming the door to peace
Sorry, Shimon Peres, but despite your endorsements, Mahmoud Abbas just resigned his post as partner for peace. His vitriol-laced United Nations speech accusing Israel of “genocide,” “war crimes,” “racism,” “apartheid,” “state terrorism” and “preparing for a new Nakba [catastrophe]” are not the words of a peacemaker but of a man intent on slamming the door to peace.
His obnoxious rant aimed at demonizing and delegitimizing the Jewish state was matched by the speech by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who managed to sound even more self-righteous and less willing to compromise than usual.
Abbas’s speech was a gift to Netanyahu. It said “I’m not serious, so you don’t have to be either.” The reality is neither man was ever really ready to make the “historic compromises” Netanyahu called for but once again avoided in his speech from the same stage on Monday.
Netanyahu would prefer to hang on to the status quo and Abbas made it clear once again that he wants the rest of the world to impose his terms on Israel while making no concessions of his own.
The odd man out is US President Barack Obama who, like many of his predecessors, was left seeking a peace agreement the parties themselves didn’t want badly enough to make it happen.
Kerry said to be planning peace talks under Arab auspices
Washington may be examining a new path toward Israeli-Palestinian peace, Channel 10 reported Wednesday night, with US Secretary of State John Kerry purportedly seeking to hold direct, intensive talks between the sides under the auspices of regional Arab powers.
According to the report, which did not quote any officials on the matter and could not be independently verified, Kerry wants negotiations to last two months and involve nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
More Secret Service Failures: Obama Allowed To Meet With Terrorist (satire)
The agency charged with protecting the president continued to suffer a public relations black eye this week after it emerged that President Obama was allowed to meet with a known terrorist.
On September 24 the president held a bilateral meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a group notorious for massacres of civilians and for its violent rhetoric. Even worse, say observers, Abbas was allowed to sit next to Obama, adding to a string of recent Secret Service errors that called into question the agency’s procedures and priorities.
Obama and his staff hosted Abbas and his delegation at a “bilateral meeting” to discuss prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, regardless of Abbas’s role in decades of funding and supporting attacks on Israeli civilians as a political weapon. Abbas continues to preside over groups sworn to violent conflict with Israel, such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and various other armed factions of his Fatah party. Some of those factions enthusiastically participated in launching rockets at Israeli communities over the summer, and Abbas himself has accorded honor to Palestinians imprisoned or killed as a result of efforts to kill and maim Israelis.
IDF chief on Gaza war: We won, absolutely
The Israel Defense Forces will recommend a special campaign ribbon for the soldiers who participated in the recent military operation in Gaza, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz told Israel Hayom this week.
In the Yom Kippur interview, to appear in full on Friday, Gantz said that the campaign, dubbed Operation Protective Edge, succeeded in instilling "significant deterrence" that will ensure a long period of calm.
Gantz rejected criticism leveled against his and his army's conduct during the fighting, saying, "We won. Absolutely."
The chief of staff conceded that the fighting could have ended earlier than it did, but he insisted that it would have been a mistake launch a large-scale operation that would have included reconquering the Gaza Strip, as many of his detractors suggested.
IDF Chief: Hamas Mastermind Deif Still 'Out There Somewhere'
Was Hamas arch-terrorist Mohammed Deif killed during Operation Protective Edge? Not necessarily, said IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. In what may be one of the last interviews he gives as CoS - he is set to step down in several months - Gantz discussed with Makor Rishon his feelings on the success and failures of the IDF during the war, and the defense establishment's prospects for the future.
Gantz said he was pretty satisfied with the army's conduct during the war, with the IDF performing as needed and bravely fighting back against the Hamas terror threat. He said he was concerned about the future though; if the government does not provide the defense establishment with the money it needs to defend the country, then the country won't get defended.
Terror Attack in Samaria Thwarted by IDF
Two terrorists in their 20s were prevented from conducting a terror attack on Thursday at Tapuach Junction in Samaria, located just east of Ariel.
Upon arriving the two raised the suspicions of IDF Border Patrol officers stationed at the scene.
Upon investigating the two they were found to be in possession of three explosives, an improvised pistol and several knives. The would-be terrorists were arrested and brought in for continued investigation by the Shabak (Israel Security Agency).
Police area gearing up for additional attacks this weekend, given that Saturday marks both the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, celebrating Abraham's "sacrifice of Ishmael" in an appropriation of the original Torah story in which Abraham is commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac.
On Jerusalem’s light rail, anxiety trumps coexistence
Zemira Tahan thought twice before boarding the tram at the north Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev.
“My kids tell me, ‘It’s scary there, why go on?'” she told The Times of Israel on Tuesday afternoon, as the tram made its way southward, downtown. It had been pelted with stones three times that morning. “But I say to myself: if I don’t ride, and you don’t ride, and no one rides, the train may stop entering Pisgat Zeev. We’ve waited many years for this train and we deserve to enjoy it.”
Tahan is not the only Jerusalemite wary of boarding the light rail these days. Lauded as an oasis of coexistence in a deeply conflicted city upon its inauguration three years ago, the tram carries some 130,000 passengers a day along a 14-kilometer (8.5 mile) route from Pisgat Zeev in the northeast to Mount Herzl in the southwest, traversing the Palestinian neighborhoods of Shuafat and Beit Hanina.
ISIS, Hezbollah Threats Prompt Israel’s Northern Residents to Distribute Armory Weapons (VIDEO)
Growing tension along Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon in the last few months have prompted an uptick in requests for weapons licenses, Israel’s Walla News reported Wednesday.
“I hear more and more residents who want their weapons at home, because they fear the infiltration of terrorists and are afraid they will not know how to handle it,” according to Yossi Adoni, deputy head of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council and community leader at Moshav Zarit, which lies along the western sector of the border with Lebanon.
The community armory at Kibbutz Aloni Habashan in the Golan Heights, not far from Quneitra in Syria, which is engulfed in fighting between government forces, and ISIS and rebel fighters, nearly emptied out over the last two months, according to the report; 80 percent of the weapons that were mothballed have been consigned to members of the auxiliary volunteer security squad.
PM to US: Get your facts right on Jerusalem construction
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected U.S. government criticism of an Israeli construction plan in an east Jerusalem neighborhood.
"I think [the Obama administration] should be acquainted with the facts first," Netanyahu said in a NBC News interview with Andrea Mitchell in New York, after returning there from Washington, where he had met with U.S. President Barack Obama earlier in the day. "You know? First of all, these are not settlements. These are neighborhoods of Jerusalem. We have Arab neighborhoods and we have Jewish neighborhoods."
In response to reports on Wednesday of the publication of a plan, already approved by the Jerusalem Municipality two years ago, to construct 2,500 residential units in the capital's Givat Hamatos neighborhood, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, "The United States is deeply concerned by reports that the Israeli government has moved forward with the planning process in a sensitive area of east Jerusalem.
Jerusalem mayor defends new construction in city’s east
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat vigorously defended on Thursday an announcement of new homes in a neighborhood in the southeast of the city, hours after the US greeted news of the construction plans in unusually harsh terms and said it could “poison” Israel’s international relations.
“I say this firmly and clearly: Building in Jerusalem is not poisonous and harmful – rather, it is essential, important and will continue with full force,” Barkat said in statement. “I will not freeze construction for anyone in Israel’s capital.”
“Discrimination based on religion, race or gender is illegal in the United States and in any other civilized country,” Barkat continued. “The 2,600 apartments in Givat Hamatos, which we approved two years ago, will enable more young people from all communities and religions to live in Jerusalem and build their future here, thereby strengthening the capital of Israel. We will not apologize for that.”
"Moderate " Fatah spokesperson urges death for selling land to Jews
Today, seven Jewish families moved into homes they lawfully purchased in East Jerusalem, in a move so called "progressives" will likely characterize as ‘ethnic cleansing". The homes are in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silvan. Approximately 90 Jewish families - nearly 500 people live in Silwan.
Expect "progressives" to condemn this action, because segregated neighborhood are such a liberal value.
Expect the same "progressives" to ignore that a spokesperson for "moderate" Fatah espoused "death" as a penalty on the broker who sold the homes to Jews.
Why Are Islamists Obsessed with Jews on the Temple Mount?
As a leading figure in the campaign for equal Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount, this kind of harassment is something Rabbi Richman faces more often than most. But he says he isn't fazed; in fact, he sees he growing belligerence by Islamists as a positive sign that the Jewish people are reclaiming their holiest site after centuries of occupation.
"As someone who experiences this regularly, I do not find confrontation with these Muslim agitators to be frightening or even the least bit disturbing. On the contrary, I believe this phenomena is a sign that the Muslims themselves know that their days of domination on the Temple Mount are numbered.
"They scream when we ascend the Mount because they know that the master of the house is coming home!"
In first since 2007, 500 Gazans to visit Jerusalem for holiday
Israel has granted 500 Gazans a three-day travel permit to Jerusalem in honor of the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday, a Palestinian official told the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency Wednesday.
The official said this was the largest number of permits granted to Palestinians from Gaza since the 2007 elections, during which Hamas came into power.
The Palestinians set to visit the capital from Sunday to Tuesday are all over the age of 60.
Friday Sermon from Israel: The Crusaders Bombing in Syria Are the Enemies of Islam
In a Friday sermon delivered at the Al-Bayan Mosque in Jatt, Israel, Islamist Sheik Ahmad Badran criticized the "accursed infidel coalition under the command of America" and said: "The infidels throughout the world are the enemies of Islam." "The Islam of the next generation... will rule the entire world," he said. The sermon was delivered on September 26.
Fatah Terrorists in Shootouts In and Around Jerusalem
In parallel to the so-called "silent intifada" of rock and firebomb terror plaguing Jerusalem, incidents of gunfire in Judea and Samaria have been sharply increasing in recent months, following Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction's declared "return to terror."
That announcement, which was made by Fatah's "military wing," the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, has led not only to an outpouring of attacks on Jews but also apparently to shootings between rival members of Fatah.
Fatah activists were ambushed this Wednesday in a hail of gunfire in the Arab town of Beit Duqqu, located in Samaria just to the northwest of Jerusalem.
The Fatah members who were fired on had taken part in a meeting to discuss disagreements in the organization regarding priorities for "action" in the Jerusalem area.
One of them told the Palestinian Arab Safa news agency that additional gunfire targeted their car as it passed adjacent to the Arab town of Al Jib, also located to the northwest of Jerusalem, and that residents told them another shooting ambush was waiting for them in the village of Beit Nabala.
Attacks on Church in East Jerusalem Grow More Intense
In the latest of several attacks on a congregation in East Jerusalem, young men with ties to a Palestinian militant group wired shut a church door and sprayed a gaseous substance at those inside hours before dawn on Monday (Sept. 29), church sources said.
No one was injured as those sleeping or keeping vigil fled into a hallway before the chemical spray could impair breathing, but it was the second “gas attack” in the past two weeks, Living Bread Church leader Karen Dunham told Morning Star News. On Sept. 17, a man passing by the church’s patio area opened a plastic bag containing a small gas canister inside. Within seconds, Dunham said, people on the porch were unable to breathe and fled into the church building – only to find that someone had pumped the same chemical spray into the worship hall.
Dunham, who suffered a broken wrist in a Sept. 21 assault by young men from the same group, said the attacks aim at stopping the church ministry and forcing the congregation to abandon the property. She believes the assailants are part of a criminal group trying to seize the property.
Now a request to rebuild Hamas comes through the letter-box
Following on from my post yesterday about an anti-Israel anti-Semitic newspaper being delivered free to households in Birmingham, this leaflet was today delivered to my house in a leafy suburb of London.
It is promoting a series of events "IN AID OF REBUILDING GAZA", which of course means rebuilding Hamas's terrorist infrastructure. While we gets lots of stuff thrown through the door I do not recall ever before receiving a leaflet promoting a foreign charity, let alone one where all the funds will go directly to a terrorist organisation. With all the terrible suffering of innocents around the world, the charities and do-gooders continue to focus most of their attention on the one group of people whose suffering was brought on entirely by themselves (has anybody seen any appeal to support the Christians of Nigeria being massacred and made homeless by the Islamists of Bok Haram?). Indeed, I was amazed to see yesterday that central London tube stations are all still running the Gaza DEC appeal posters extensively.
PreOccupied Territory: Epcot Palestine Pavilion Caught Smuggling In Weapons (satire)
Bay Lake, Florida, October 1 – Disney World management displayed an array of weapons confiscated from the Palestine exhibit at Epcot Center Wednesday, saying they had been interdicted after intelligence reports that the Palestine personnel were planning attacks on neighboring pavilions.
Security staff and a representative of the local police department cordoned off the Palestine pavilion at midday Wednesday and raided the facility, a reconstruction of a refugee camp alongside a lavish mansion. They emerged 15 minutes later holding crates of ammunition, several rocket launchers, and more than thirty firearms of various sizes, including two sniper rifles.
A representative of Disney Security told reporters the weapons had been concealed in newly delivered kitchen equipment for the production and presentation of knaffeh, a traditional Palestinian sweet. Acting on an anonymous tip, the agents conducted the raid and seized the contraband before it could be dispersed and better hidden.
A representative of the Palestinian staff denied any wrongdoing. “This scandal is nothing but a slander perpetrated by Zionists seeking to discredit the resistance,” insisted Jamal Barghouti, whose duties include distributing free knaffeh when news reports indicate misfortune befalling Israelis. “Unable to suppress the righteous cause at home, they must resort to pathetic libels abroad.”
Report: Egyptian army foils plot to kidnap international soldiers
The Egyptian military managed to thwart a terrorist plot against international peacekeepers in its country, the Al-Watan Arabic-language newspaper reported on Thursday.
The group planned to kidnap and kill soldiers from countries participating in the US-led military coalition against Islamic State, in an attempt to dissuade the international force from targeting the jihadist organization in Syria and Iraq.
According to the report, the army uncovered a terror cell operating near a camp of peacekeeping troops in Egypt, killing seven of its members and arresting 15 others.
A cache of weapons and explosive devices were also uncovered in the operation.
Egypt Seizes Newspapers to Censor an Article
The Egyptian authorities on Wednesday confiscated all the copies of one of the country’s largest private newspapers in order to censor an article, just days after President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi vowed in an American television interview that there was “no limitation on freedom of expression in Egypt.”
In fact, the censorship is another example of constriction of news media freedom since the military takeover in July 2013 that brought Mr. Sisi to power. The article, in the newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, was the latest installment in a serialized interview conducted with a senior spy before he died.
Although all the printed copies containing the article were seized, it was available through PressDisplay.com, an online newsstand, which evidently archived the edition before it could be confiscated. The headline quoted the former spy, Refaat Jibril, declaring that Egypt had never executed a single Israeli spy. “We used to return them to Israel in the context of deals to bring back our prisoners,” he said, according to the article, which may have undercut the intelligence agencies’ hard-line image.
Two Iranians Sentenced For Using Fake Israeli Passports
Hesamoddin Hatami and Zahra Kolabian, two Iranian citizens arrested in mid-September for attempting to leave Kenya with forged Israeli documents, were sentenced today. A Kenyan court ordered them to serve two years in jail or pay a substantial fine after they pled guilty to being in the possession of and using fake Israeli passports. Nairobi Resident Magistrate Hannah Kaguru also ordered that the two defendants be handed over to Kenya's department of refugees once their sentences are complete.
The pair were initially caught on September 18 after attempting to board a Brussels Airlines flight from Nairobi to Brussels, authorities said, with the intention to travel from there to Tel Aviv. Kenyan anti-terrorism police arrested them on the suspicion of plotting an attack.
There has been some debate about whether the two are terrorists or illegal immigrants, which at one point Kenyan police believed them to be. Thus, it is not immediately clear if this verdict has put official's concerns of a possible attack to rest. Whether the pair will avoid jail by paying the 2 million shilling fine ($22,422) also remains unclear at this time.
Why the Mullah is Smiling
Acknowledging the new ISIS danger while ignoring Iran's role in fomenting sectarian conflict in Syria and Iraq is not only shortsighted but dangerous. ISIS is not about to acquire nuclear capability, at least yet. Iran is.
If ISIS, a 25,000-strong militia, poses a serious threat, how can one disregard the 550,000-strong military of the soon-to-be nuclear Iranian regime?
The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a confidential report, which states that "little progress is being made," and that the Iran has implemented only three out of five nuclear transparency steps to which it had committed to completing before August 25. Does the West actually no longer view a nuclear Iran as a pressing threat?
David Frum: How Iran Scammed America Out of a Nuclear Deal
You have to salute the rulers of Iran. They stand on the verge of scoring a stunning diplomatic triumph over the United States. Even more impressive: They did it all on bluff. Their adversaries possessed material advantages in terms of money, technology, military power, and more. But Iran’s rulers had clarity of purpose and the will to win. Without these qualities, the adversaries’ material advantages have seeped away.
A year ago, the rulers of Iran faced disaster. Their currency had lost three-quarters of its value, due in largest measure to the tough economic sanctions drafted by Senators Mark Kirk and Robert Menendez in 2011, and very reluctantly signed into law by President Obama at the beginning of 2012. Inflation was raging, unemployment was surging. Their most useful regional ally, the Syrian regime’s Bashar al-Assad, seemed doomed to destruction, attacked from within by a violent uprising and threatened from without by Obama’s commitment to intervene to stop Assad’s use of chemical weapons.
Today, the United States and Britain are coordinating bombing missions with Assad, not against him. Iran has obtained considerable sanctions relief. Its currency has strengthened, inflation has abated, and foreign trade and investment are reviving. The United States has progressively reduced its demands for nuclear limits on Iran. The New York Times reports that the Obama administration has retreated from the longstanding demand that Iran dismantle its nuclear centrifuges, instead merely calling for Tehran to disconnect them from each other. Iran’s nuclear-enrichment capacity would remain intact, and Iran could resume its progress toward a weapon at almost any time, at the price of only the delay necessary to reconnect the maze of tubing.
Report: Iran to Receive Significant Sanctions Relief if It Agrees to Nuke Deal
With less than two months left before the deadline for a nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran, The Wall Street Journal is reporting Tuesday that the Western nations are preparing to reward Iran for making a deal with expedited sanctions relief.
Iran has been pushing for a quick lifting of all Western and United Nations Security Council sanctions, according to Western diplomats. They have said some of Iran’s demands about the pace of easing economic pressure are unrealistic.
However the diplomat said Iran would get “substantial” economic relief early on if they complete a deal.
“In return for the implementation by Iran of verifiable nuclear-related actions which address our key concerns … we are ready to offer a substantial relief of economic and financial sanctions at an early stage,” the person said.
Chicago Tribune Editorial: No More Extensions in Nuclear Talks with Iran Past November
In a staff editorial today, The Chicago Tribune argues against granting Iran any extension in nuclear talks past the current deadline in November, which is less than two months away. The editorial states:
Time is nearly up. Painful economic sanctions brought Tehran to the bargaining table. The threat of even more painful sanctions will help the West reach a reasonable deal. That Senate bill should be on the president’s desk right now, awaiting his signature on Nov. 24, if not sooner.
If there’s no price for Tehran’s stalling, then get ready for a series of six-month extensions while the threat of a nuclear Iran grows into a dangerous reality.
Iranian Official: “Resistance” to Israel is a Religious Duty
“Islamic resistance,” a byword for attacks on Israel if not the country’s destruction, is a “religious and human duty,” according to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani.
Shamkhani made the comments during a visit to Damascus where he met leaders of Palestinian organizations.
The Iranian not only met Sunni opponents of Israel but also traveled to Lebanon where he held talks with Shia Hezbollah’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah. He reportedly praised the role Hezbollah plays in Lebanon’s “political developments.” Lebanon’s political machine has ground to a halt because of Hezbollah’s refusal to accept any compromise on presidential candidates.
Iranian Analyst: Saudi Arabia Is on the Verge of Extinction. We Are the New Sultans of the region
Turkey's relations with Hamas, ISIS and the West?
"Just as it was in the past, if a leaf trembles in the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus or Central Asia, Ankara will be the first to hear it and respond to it," Turkey's then-Foreign Minister and current Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a speech in the Turkish parliament on July 1, 2010.
He also declared his stance on Jerusalem: "Jerusalem is our issue. East Jerusalem is part of the state of Palestine, not Israeli territory, and consists of territory that was invaded in 1967."
Jerusalem, he added, was a Turkish issue because of its period of Ottoman rule.
"Even the religious sites in east Jerusalem are administered according to the Ottoman precedent. There is no other practice. There is no other law. The Ottoman precedent is still valid there," he said.
Davutoglu said Al-Aqsa Mosque also made Jerusalem Turkey's issue.
"Al-Aqsa Mosque is not Israeli territory and it will not be," he said.
Israeli Hospital Removes Bullet From Syrian Child’s Neck (VIDEO)
Surgeons at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center recently saved the life of a 5-year-old Syrian boy hit in the throat by a stray bullet during fighting in the southern part of that country, Israel’s Channel 2 News reported Wednesday.
The boy was lucky, according to his doctors, because the bullet passed very close to a cranial blood vessel, and the surgery to remove it was complex and long.
A week ago, the boy was out on the street with his father when shots were heard. While running for cover, the bullet struck the boy’s face, entered through his right cheek and then towards his neck. His father rushed him to the IDF’s field hospital set up in the Golan Heights alongside Syria, and, from there, the two were evacuated to Rambam.