Middle East on fire

More news..

Hizbullah Delegation Meets Larcher, Urges France to 'Curb Israeli Hostility'

Will Larcher's wife die in a plane ``accident`` if he says that he will do everything he can to stop Israeli from attacking Lebanon?

After Hariri meeting, Burns reiterates US support for Lebanon

Following his meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday, US Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns said US President Barack Obama strongly supports Lebanon.

And by strongly supports, he means less than Israel and everyone else but Hezbollah.

The US official said his country’s efforts to reach a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians will not be at Lebanon’s expense, and added that Washington will not support Palestinian naturalization by force in the country.

Except that would mean that Palestine would be given it's own state, which probably won't happen in the near future.

“Lebanon can count on US assistance. The size of financial aid given [by Washington] to Lebanon has reached a billion dollars since 2006.

Aka use our money to kick out and disarm Hezbollah.

We hope and expect the Lebanese state to extend its authority over Lebanon’s [territories] fully,” Burns added.

Aka use our money to kick out Hezbollah, but DO NOT, DO NOT, use that money to kick out the Israeli from the tiny Lebanese territory they still occupy.

More news...

20:04 Three Israelis share names with Dubai assassination suspects (Ch. 2)

Maybe just a coincidence... but three?

20:53 Nasrallah threatens Israel over future conflict (Haaretz)

``Threatens``... yeah he said he would defend Lebanon and strike back... basically what any creature on this earth does when face with a threat...defend itself. Hell Israel use this reason 110% of the time!

21:28 White House refuses to rule out military option on Iran (Reuters)

Yeah and what troops? If it happens, it's gonna be a draft. And the only way people will support a draft is if a big terrorist attack happens. Air strikes wouldn't do it. What the White House means by military option is regime change by force.

Don't you just hate it, when they start using the "coalition" word????







english.people.com.cn...

More news...

Iran Installing Advanced Enrichment Centrifuges as Clinton Warns of Nuclear Arms Race

Iran's president announced Tuesday that his country is installing more advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment facility

Race to the finish!

Britons had passport details stolen by ‘Mossad death squad’

British authorities are investigating how six British nationals apparently had their identities stolen by suspected Mossad agents on a mission to assassinate a Hamas leader in Dubai.

The Iranian president telling the truth...

Iran's president: West's ultimate goal are India and China

The West's ultimate goal is not Iran, but India and China, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by Irinn.[...]
Presently, the West experiences a rapid downturn in the economy and the leaders of the Western countries have decided to conceal reality from their peoples, he said at today's news conference.

Ahmadinejad said that NATO almost completely surrounded Russia and once Russia will understand this.

"Russia should respond to the deployment of NATO forces along its borders," he said.

One star for him!

A very pale shade of green in Iran

Iran's "democrats" were deafeningly silent as Iran celebrated the 31st anniversary of its revolution last week. Those actually in Tehran for the occasion saw hardly any sign of them, unlike those "expert commentators" who weren't there but saw nothing but brutal suppression by a regime they say is morphing into a military dictatorship

Indeed.

Biden the retard going to the middle-east...

WASHINGTON — US Vice President Joe Biden will tour the Middle East in early March with stops in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt and Jordan, the White House said Monday.

05:52 Israel UN envoy: There won`t be Iran sanctions in the next month (Army Radio)

Oh boy...And that is if they pass..and if they have teeth... Will Israel wait this long?

More news..

06:44 Dubai source says team of 17, not 11 assassins killed Al-Mabhouh (Army Radio)

09:12 Russia says technical issues delay Iran arms deal (Reuters)
16:39 S-300 missile designer: Delayed delivery to Iran political, not technical (AP)

Duh.

11:34 Austria FM to Peres: Austria will act to advance sanctions against Iran (Haaretz)

13:43 U.S. official William Burns heads to Syria in sign of improving ties (Haaretz)
15:43 U.S. official Burns: Meeting with Syrian President Assad was open and productive (AP)

The US is betraying Syria... it's saying two things at once...

In public they say they support peace and Israel returning to pre-1967 borders, that means giving back the Golan to Syria.

In private, they just don't apply any real pressure on Israel to accomplish it, even give them more money and more arms.

Syria is a fool if they think they can trust the US.

19:13 Interior Min. Yishai: Israel should accept only Jewish immigrants (Israel Radio)

I won't even comment that...

20:07 Thousands march in Gaza to demand revenge on Israel for Dubai killing (Ch. 10)

And they think an attack on Iran would make people overthrow the regime! AH!

20:15 UN: Cluster bomb ban to come into force on August 1 (DPA)

Time for Israel to start a war before august 1 otherwise their favorite bomb will be illegal.

21:22 Iran says will not give up nuclear work at any price (Reuters)

Well duh.

22:25 Report: Clinton says U.S. not planning to attack Iran (Army Radio)

Yeah sure. When a Clinton talks, there's so much lies, your head just explodes.

23:04 Meshal: Mabhouh assassination only strengthens Hamas (Ch. 10)

Well duh.

Britain summons Israeli envoy over Dubai passports row
Finally some action...

Iran will not suspend enrichment in return for radioisotopes

"We will not examine offers which lead to the shutting down of Tehran reactor," Mehmanparast added.

Yeah it cost so much time and money building it... and it's a national pride issue.

Larcher Wants Paris to Support Lebanese Army to Safeguard Lebanon

French Senate President Gerard Larcher on Wednesday reiterated support for a united and independent Lebanon and said Paris will back the Lebanese army to protect Lebanon.
During a press conference at the end of his visit to Beirut, Larcher said: "We want Lebanon independent and united. We don't interfere in Lebanese internal affairs but we back Lebanon."

Oh boy. His wife better watch out.

More news...

08:39 Beilin: Lieberman, Ayalon causing grave damage to Israel`s foreign relations (Haaretz)

+1

09:36 Report: Ex-Lebanon army officer says Hezbollah ill-suited to face Israel (Israel Radio)

No you think? No air defense... and the new tank anti-RPG protection (Iron Fist + Trophy system) will render Hezbollah RPGs useless.

15:49 Ahmadinejad to Nasrallah: If Israel attacks Hezbollah, it should be destroyed (AP)

More BS from Ahmadinejad.

UN weapons inspectors have officially accused Iran of carrying out work to build a nuclear bomb for the first time.

21:03 U.S. State Dept.: IAEA report raises concerns over Iran`s nuclear program (Reuters)

Iraq 2 : Electric Bungaloo?

All these remarks and reports dance around the real issue politicians and media don't want to address head on. Iran has spent enormous resources funding, supplying and training Hamas as well as Hezbollah. And then there's the use of Syria as a client state installing their nuclear facility there. Provocation of Israel is clearly the agenda.

Iran does not want to confront either Israel or the US directly, of course. They'd be wiped out in a week. So the gamesmanship in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, etc. Even the nuclear program is pat of the same game.

But the strategy has attracted no one serious and if fact alienates them further. Their current thrashings are frustration and attempt to elevate their already dwindling credibility - especially with their own people.

Destruction of Tel Aviv will generate little and cause them terrible backlash. But they keep on to save face.

The world has tired of the game.




[edit on 18-2-2010 by mmiichael]

Totally right mmiichael...

Iran can't do squat, nor Hezbollah can defeat Israel, nor Syria which seems to be on the fence... Iran is posturing like that because they are afraid.

More news...

Israel tightens vice on Gaza Strip, UN reports

The ability to bring essential commodities into Gaza, already under an Israeli blockade that is undermining health care, the economy and rehabilitation after last year’s devastating Israeli offensive, was further cut in January by more crossing closures, according to the latest United Nations update.

More freedom and democracy loving goodies from Israel. Seriously, this is freaking Warsaw Ghetto 2.

U.A.E. Authorities Probe U.S. Credit-Card Accounts in Hamas Killing

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates are probing five U.S.-issued credit-card accounts, which officials say were used by five of the 11 suspects in last month's killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai, according to a person familiar with the situation.

More news...

Dubai points finger at Mossad over Hamas assassination

US could attack Iran – Russia’s General Staff

“The aftermath of a strike against Iran will be terrible not only for Asia but for us and the whole global community also,” said Chief of Russia’s General Staff General Nikolay Makarov at a news conference.

Yeah except oil prices will rise to 150$ a barrel and more and Russia will be making tons of money.

Originally posted by Vitchilo

More freedom and democracy loving goodies from Israel. Seriously, this is freaking Warsaw Ghetto 2.

This is the usual line of Gaza - how much they're suffering. In fact statistically Palestinians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the entire Middle East in terms of GDP per capita, health, population growth, life expectency, education, etc.

Unfortunately the economy is entirely geared to being in a constant state of siege and at war with Israel. For this the Saudis, UAE, and affiliate Sunni regimes give them billions. EU countries like Norway and Sweden also give them hundreds of millions. In actual fact the PLO was rejected because so much of the money somehow ended up in the bank accounts of Arafat and cronies.

Now Hamas has developed a new profile as an Iranian client state. And again the constant suffering and hardship image is the marketing tool.

Sad for the ordinary Palestinians who have been pawns in a regional political game for so many decades. No country wants them as citizens - just image enhancers. Palestinians as a defection from the real problems - endemic corruption and asset mismanagement throughout the region. Blame Israel and the US, not the crooked regime heads.

The Palestinian product line is dead bodies - more photo ops for media. Misery as a franchise.

What a world.


[edit on 18-2-2010 by mmiichael]

Originally posted by mmiichael

Originally posted by Vitchilo

More freedom and democracy loving goodies from Israel. Seriously, this is freaking Warsaw Ghetto 2.

This is the usual line of Gaza - how much they're suffering. In fact statistically Palestinians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the entire Middle East in terms of GDP per capita, health, population growth, life expectency, education, etc.

If I remember correctly I exposed this lie in another thread where you posted a similar statement

The Gaza Strip has been the setting of a protracted political and socio-economic crisis. Recent events have resulted in a severe deterioration of the already precarious living conditions of the people in Gaza and have further eroded a weakened health system.

The closure of Gaza since mid-2007 and the last Israeli military strike between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009 have led to on-going deterioration in the social, economic and environmental determinants of health.

Source: World Health Organisation| Gaza Health Fact Fact Sheet - 20 Januray 2010

More ref:

UN Humanitarian Coordinator and Association of International Development
Agencies (AIDA): “The closure of the Gaza Strip puts at risk the health of
people in Gaza and undermines the functioning of the health care system."

Source: unispal.un.org...

Now Hamas has developed a new profile as an Iranian client state. And again the constant suffering and hardship image is the marketing tool.

If the Iranian Republic truly believed that wiping Israel off the face of the Earth were "righteous and beautiful", that Israel's destruction was a goal of ultimate primacy before even the lives of the Iranian people, then the Ayatollahs would have made a peace with Saddam Hussein in the 80's and 90's, when he was the most influential supporter of militant Palestinian groups, and marched their combined armies through the contiguous bridge of the Iran-Iraq-Syria alliance to crush the hated Jewish enemy. Instead, the Iranians spent the 80's and 90's vying with Mr. Hussein for regional supremacy, attempting to play Iran's historical role (a role they have played off and on since before monotheism existed) as arbiter of politics and culture in the Fertile Crescent.

If the leaders of Hamas were only concerned with killing Israelis, with training suicide-bombers and sending them out to destroy shopping centers, then they'd dedicate the majority of their funding to that purpose. Instead, they build and operate hospitals, schools, soup kitchens, car pools, cell services, and all the other goods, public and private, that organizations without an explicit military arm would provide for the Palestinians if any building was allowed to stay standing long enough to house them. All those doctors and teachers and cooks and bureaucrats who are part of Hamas must be pretty poor members, failing to murder Israelis everyday as they do; one wonders how some of them ever managed to rise to positions of authority without ever having killed an Israeli at all in an organization only dedicated to military objectives.

Extreme? Yes. Intransigent? Yes. Far too violent and stubborn for their own good, or their people's good? Yes. But willing to watch the Palestinian people destroyed utterly to achieve the destruction of Israel? Indifferent to Palestinian suffering? Hardly. If that were the case, why negotiate cease-fire agreements? Why capture Israeli soldiers explicitly to extract concessions and revenues that they cannot extract from the Israelis at the negotiating table? That organization exists precisely because of Palestinian suffering; it fights specifically to alleviate that suffering, as wrong-headed as that is, but desperation and rage are not known for instilling logic.

And as for the "right to live" line, one could just as easily say that Israel could have peace tomorrow if they recognized a Palestinian right to return. That position is not more politically viable than it would be for Hamas, as the duly elected government of the Palestinian authority, to lay down the gun without a settlement freeze or the territorial concessions needed to make a Palestinian state viable. If Israel cannot even bring itself to give these concessions to the generally peaceful Palestinians of the West Bank; if Israel cannot even bring itself to stop settlements from being built in the West Bank, then what reason could Hamas possibly have for thinking that unilaterally forsaking the fight would lead to a real, respected sovereignty in Gaza?

This claim that Israel's enemies are irrational, blood-thirsty, slavering man-beasts, unable to contain their lust for spilling Jewish blood in the name of Allah is, quite simply, not supported by the behavior of either regime, or of Syria, for that matter, which has always coolly and calmly steered for that course most likely to insure its continued existence and indispensability. If either were indifferent to destruction, so long as Israel were destroyed, then they would have risked global wrath and war striking at Israel and illegal Israeli settlements long ago. Instead of spending decades jockeying for internal or regional supremacy they would have made the deals necessary to press genocide with heedless fanaticism, and would be throwing themselves on the walls of Jerusalem, right this very minute, with hatred in their eyes and paradise on their lips.

Of course this never has, and never will, happen. Israel's enemies aren't monsters anymore than they are caricatures; they are men, despicable men largely, but still men, and with all the concerns and desire to live that comes with that.

And Israel, it should be pointed out, has its own fair share of despicable men, just as intractable, just as hateful of peace as any Hamas bomber or Revolutionary Guard thug. Perhaps it would be easier for Israel if they WERE beasts and the IDF could simply sit atop their walls with flame-throwers and machine guns slaughtering them as they threw themselves at the interloper in a blind rage. But men are patient, and men plan, and in the end, you have to sit down and deal with them or they'll never go away. The longer Israel and the defenders of her most fanatical citizens put that off, the heavier the toll of that final squaring will be.

Sad for the ordinary Palestinians who have been pawns in a regional political game for so many decades. No country wants them as citizens - just image enhancers. Their main product line is dead bodies as photo ops for foreign media. Palestinian misery as a franchise.

Really photo OP's? Care to provide some proofs like this:

EXPOSED: Leaked Document Exposes Israel Manipulation Of US Public In Aftermath Of Iraq War

Or like this latest Israeli propaganda manual
The Israel Project's 2009 Global Language Dictionary

Or even like this:
Twitterers paid to spread Israeli propaganda Internet warfare team unveiled
‘CAMERA pro israel propaganda’

or propaganda organisations like this:
www.jidf.com

Unfortunately for you I can list dozen of more Israeli propaganda.

[edit on 18-2-2010 by December_Rain]

Originally posted by Vitchilo
Totally right mmiichael...

Iran can't do squat, nor Hezbollah can defeat Israel, nor Syria which seems to be on the fence... Iran is posturing like that because they are afraid./quote]

That what bothers me you can only scare someone for so long until they come out swinging. If they have nothing to loose so what would they be loosing. Sooner or later one will make the wrong move and then its on

[edit on 18-2-2010 by hillbilly4rent]

Originally posted by December_Rain
If I remember correctly I exposed this lie in another thread where you posted a similar statement

Originally posted by December_Rain
If I remember correctly I exposed this lie in another thread where you posted a similar statement

I think all that exposed was the ability to cherry pick articles and sources that reinforce a certain propaganda.

The amounts of money that pours into Gaza is a matter of public record. The GDP per capita is exceptional for the Middle East considering there is virtually nothing produced for export from the territory.

I also note the ability to come up with a dozen links within minutes all pushing the same anti-Israel agenda pretty much says it all.

The position of the Middle East regimes on the Palestinians as people is unambiguous. Jordan, the British designated Palestinian state expelled them for trying to bring down the monarchy, Kuwait, a second home, threw out 450,000 when they sided with Saddam Hussein. Lebanon will not allow them citizenship. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and every other Sunni regime will not even allow them in as guest workers. Even Iran will not accept them. Support comes almost exclusively in the form of weapons purchasing budget and incitement.

The perpetual withholding of funds for improved infrastructure is also documented. The Palestinians are the victims of manipulation by their own and neighbouring state leaders.

There have been endless efforts to reconcile differences between Israel and the Palestinians. Today 15-20% of the Israeli population is Arab. These 1.5 Million Muslims have learned the advantage of co-operation.

The Palestinians have chosen a different path. A destructive welfare state as opposed to a productive one trying to live in peace. Self-promotion of victimhood is the means.

An interesting perspective on who has suffered in the Middle East and how it is exploited for by some for self-gain:

townhall.com...

What gives Palestinian victims their special status—a standing that brings with it a wildly disproportionate share of the world's concern and attention?

The United Nations General Assembly, as well as the Security Council, blithely ignored the more numerous and sadistic civilian casualties in the Congo, and paid no heed to the climax of an unspeakably bloody 16 year war in Sri Lanka, while investing virtually all their time in obsessive debates over the defensive Israeli incursion into Gaza.

What makes residents of Gaza so uniquely worthy of compassion, concern and publicity from western journalists and even policy makers?

None of the most straightforward or convenient answers to these questions begin to account for the unbalanced focus on Palestinian woe.

No, the struggle between Israel and Hamas hardly counts as "the world's most dangerous conflict." The rag-tag jihadists of the Gaza strip, with their largely home-made rockets and twisted, suicidal impulses, may well be a menace to the peace of the region but hardly constitute an existential threat to civilization itself. In India, on the other hand, Islamic terror has claimed 4,000 deaths since 2004 (a far higher level of blood-letting than anywhere in the Palestinian territories or Israel proper) and the core conflict in south Asia involves two well-armed nuclear powers (Pakistan and India) who have fought several devastating wars in the recent past.

Strategic or financial considerations also fail to explain the ridiculously overwrought concentration on Israel and its enemies. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians control any oil resources, yet a titanic struggle between two of the world's three leading petro-powers (the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88) killed 1.3 million soldiers and civilians and drew distinctly limited attention from global media.

The history of displacement among Palestinians hardly makes them unique among the peoples of the world, though they've seized on the term "refugee" as the very essence of their identity. At most 750,000 Palestinian Arabs became refugees after five Arab states simultaneously attacked Israel in 1948, but within the next ten years an even greater number of Jews (800,000) became refugees from persecution in Islamic nations in North Africa in the Middle East and resettled in the Jewish state. At precisely the same moment that Israel won world recognition in 1948, the partition of India and Pakistan led to 14.5 million refugees (and at least 500,000 deaths in the "Independence Riots"). The Lebanon Civil War of 1975-1990 produced 900,000 refugees (according to that tormented nation's own government) and an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 deaths in horrific clashes between Arab Muslims and Arab Christians.

[edit on 18-2-2010 by mmiichael]

Sorry mmiichael, but the IDF disagrees with you.

Female soldiers break their silence

Six years after first collection of Breaking the Silence testimonies, organization releases booklet of testimonies from female soldiers who served in territories. Stories include systematic humiliation of Palestinians, reckless and cruel violence, theft, killing of innocent people and cover-up. Here are only some of testimonies

Rest at the link.

And yes, lots of other population are in big trouble, but the fact is that our government support Israel. If ``we`` support them, they shouldn't be doing stuff like that.

[edit on 18-2-2010 by Vitchilo]

I'm sure this falls on deaf ears. Being able to Google up a page to support a view is not research. Somewhere someone makes a claim about something.

Finding consistencies in policy and behaviour leads to understanding.
What people on the inside say tells us what they think better than outside interpretation.

An example:

www.peacewithrealism.org...

To enlighten those who may have harbored any doubts, Fathi Ahmad Hammad, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said it loud and said it proud: Palestinians deliberately use women and children as human shields.

This is the transcript of his remarks (but it is worth watching the clip just to hear the hatred in his voice):

"[The enemies of Allah] do not know that the Palestinian people has developed its [methods] of death and death-seeking. For the Palestinian people, death has become an industry, at which women excel, and so do all the people living on this land. The elderly excel at this, and so do the mujahideen and the children. This is why they have formed human shields of the women, the children, the elderly, and the mujahideen, in order to challenge the Zionist bombing machine. It is as if they were saying to the Zionist enemy: "We desire death like you desire life."

Hammad is a leader of the Izzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and in 2006 was elected to the Palestinian Parliament as a Hamas representative. He is also director of Al-Aqsa TV

[...]

Hammad discloses the Hamas strategy, which some have suspected but few have actually believed: use people, especially women and children, as human shields. If you won't believe me, will you believe a member of Hamas?

This strategy has been immensely successful. Fire at Israeli cities from schoolyards, and make Israel choose between allowing its own children to be targets or risking harm to others. Now we know beyond a doubt that Hamas knows what it is doing, and is doing it intentionally.

But people still will not believe. The prevailing attitude is typified in the words of Javier Solana, head of foreign policy for the European Union:

"I cannot imagine that the religious imperative, the real religious imperative, can make anybody destroy another country.... Therefore that is an abuse of religion.... I don't think the essence of Hamas is the destruction of Israel. The essence of Hamas is the liberation of the Palestinians, the liberation of their people, not the destruction of Israel."

This is the mistake Westerners, profoundly ignorant of history, make over and over again: to assume that all cultures everywhere hold the same values they do. This is a dangerous form of ethnocentrism.
Perhaps if Solana had been listening, he would have heard how Hamas repeatedly proclaims its intention to destroy Israel. He might have seen the following on the Hamas web site:

He might have read the following from the Hamas Charter:

Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it.

Our struggle against the Jews is extremely wide-ranging and grave.

The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!

Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims.

Solana's dangerous naïveté is a luxury the world cannot afford.
So what does all of this add up to?

The Palestinians have successfully sold the idea that they are resisting an occupation. Israel is the occupier, the Palestinians are resisting, so the problem can be solved by pressuring Israel politically, economically, and militarily. This is the big lie of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

For when we examine both Palestinian words and actions, we see that this is really something much different from what it seems. The rhetoric of hatred, the indoctrination of children, the Palestinians' willingness to use their own people as martyrs for the sake of blackening Israel's image, the constant threats to destroy Israel and to liberate "all" of Palestine, are all signs that this is no revolutionary movement in the Western mold. This is a jihad in the most traditional and most extreme sense of the word. This is a war for Israel's extermination.

The Palestinians say they want Israel to withdraw, but they punish Israel when it does. The most extreme factions have taken over Gaza and are threatening the same in the West Bank. And the influence of outside parties, particularly Iran, is growing.

The most disruptive force in this conflict is Iran, yet international attention is focused on Israel. The pressure on Iran to contain its nuclear program is totally ineffectual, but it is at least visible. There is no international pressure at all on Iran to withdraw its tentacles from the Palestinian territories, and to stop using Hamas and Hezbollah to torpedo any movement towards peace barely as soon as it begins. Meanwhile all the pressure in the world on Israel is not going to halt the forces trying to destroy it and push the world towards a global catastrophe whose reach will far exceed the Middle East.

More news... AND BIG ONES.

"The decision to avenge the martyr Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has been taken, and it will be equal to the crime," Abu Obeida, a masked spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, told the crowd.
Hopefully it's just empty rhetoric... if it isn't IMO, if some big higher up Israeli have his head blown off, Israel will go to war with Hezbollah, no questions asked, no diplomacy. It will be mobilization, then war within days.

"The time for promises and talk of revenge is done. Now is the time for action," he said.

Time for action... me thinks within 6 months it's gonna happen.

Nasrallah throws down the gauntlet

Israel's nightmare is that if hostilities do break out once more, most likely if it launches pre-emptive strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, the Jewish state's cities will come under an unprecedented bombardment from Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in the south, Syria in the east, as well as Iran.

That would be the first time that Israel had to fight an all-out war, in which its long-held military superiority would be of little value because the conflict would be fought at long range, not with tanks and infantry.

Its air force and Jericho ballistic missiles would go into action and would undoubtedly do much damage. But Israeli civilian casualties would likely be extremely heavy.

Israel would have its nuclear option. But dropping nuclear bombs or unleashing nuclear-tipped Jerichos would leave Israel open to a maelstrom of global condemnation and international isolation.

Like they care about global condemnation and isolation... they are losing the propaganda war as per their government report.

08:53 Report: U.K. knew Mossad was using fake passports for Dubai hit (Haaretz)

I'm not really shocked by that...

02:08 U.S.: Iran facing significant technical problems in nuclear program (Reuters)

Yeah but let's tell everyone how Iran is making nuclear warheads... So much doublespeak...

Because it's always fun to compare what's going on to what people like to think is going on:

Start with a comparison of the time after Mugniyah was offed. Same hyperbolic promises of extreme prejudice of revenge. Same absolute certainty it was Mossad - who else.

The real story that evolved was something different. Some one in Syria let it happen. Questions of internal rivalry and some concern Mugniyah was getting too powerful.

Nothing conclusive. Ironically it was Mossad style - a car bomb, no evidence. Current thinking a collaborative effort. Contrary to conclusions too many make - countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon may hate Israel's guts, but it doesn't mean they don't talk to each other and collaborate on occasion.

On Iran's progress atomic. Iran apparently has had at least two known 'accidents'. They're rushing things and lack precision equipment. Uranium enrichment is only part of a fully developed program. A reliable delivery system and precision instrumentation and are critical. Otherwise you just have a big unwieldy dirty bomb to play with.

Check STRATFOR archives for details. STRATFOR is the one reliable source for deep international intelligence analysis in the vast online world of uniformed amateur speculation.

You know that Israel cannot just watch the US bombing Muslims in that part of the world. They must get in on the action also. It is sort of a double standard for the US to say no you cannot bomb Muslims, only we can do that.

Every second Israel waits the power is shifting away form them. Look how much more Israel is hated then 10 years ago in the world if they wait another 10 years they are toast. At Least now they have some protection and if they do not strike the enemy will only grow stronger at the gates.

I think they are both very inclusive crazy people but if I had to choose one I would choose Israel at least they are a democracy and they have helped us before. If Israel even thinks for a second that if they wait they will still face war in the future they should strike and strike hard now. They are only loosing ground in the political world. Timing is everything and there time is almost up.

Originally posted by mmiichael
I think all that exposed was the ability to cherry pick articles and sources that reinforce a certain propaganda.

Cherry pick huh'! Do you want me to go back and post your link, how you put up a 2003/05 year report just few weeks ago trying to show UN report that standard living for Israel has risen? Updating the latest 2010 report is not cherry picking. Cherry picking is posting a 2003/05 year report in 2010.

I also note the ability to come up with a dozen links within minutes all pushing the same anti-Israel agenda pretty much says it all.

Afraid we are just common citizens who can't match the ability of paid JIDF minions to spread lies. But as any common citizen would do, always expose JIDF minion. When one deals with them a couple of times you get an idea how much they lie on every thread.

The position of the Middle East regimes on the Palestinians as people is unambiguous. Jordan, the British designated Palestinian state expelled them for trying to bring down the monarchy, Kuwait, a second home, threw out 450,000 when they sided with Saddam Hussein. Lebanon will not allow them citizenship. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and every other Sunni regime will not even allow them in as guest workers. Even Iran will not accept them. Support comes almost exclusively in the form of weapons purchasing budget and incitement.

And the point is? Why would Palestinians go anywhere else when their home is in Palestine? They are refugees on their own land due to apartheid.

The perpetual withholding of funds for improved infrastructure is also documented. The Palestinians are the victims of manipulation by their own and neighbouring state leaders.

This thing I agree with..Israel, Egypt, Turkey are the front runners.

There have been endless efforts to reconcile differences between Israel and the Palestinians. Today 15-20% of the Israeli population is Arab. These 1.5 Million Muslims have learned the advantage of co-operation.

How exactly? Let me correct you it's not co-operation but discrimination based on race & ethnicity. For eg. the latest news from Israel where Israel FM wanted to make Jews only housing block.

The Palestinians have chosen a different path. A destructive welfare state as opposed to a productive one trying to live in peace. Self-promotion of victimhood is the means.

They have not chosen any path they they have been forced on that path.

An interesting perspective on who has suffered in the Middle East and how it is exploited for by some for self-gain:

Good thing you brought this up, it's really disgusting to know how people gain profit from suffering:

International Private Corporations Profiting from the Occupation of Palestine

What gives Palestinian victims their special status—a standing that brings with it a wildly disproportionate share of the world's concern and attention?

So you mean to say they should not get any attention so genocide can be carried on as usual.

The United Nations General Assembly, as well as the Security Council, blithely ignored the more numerous and sadistic civilian casualties in the Congo, and paid no heed to the climax of an unspeakably bloody 16 year war in Sri Lanka, while investing virtually all their time in obsessive debates over the defensive Israeli incursion into Gaza.

What makes residents of Gaza so uniquely worthy of compassion, concern and publicity from western journalists and even policy makers?None of the most straightforward or convenient answers to these questions begin to account for the unbalanced focus on Palestinian woe.

The unique part is how a Victim who on every public meeting does not shy away from shoving Holocaust on people's face are now themselves perpetrating these crimes. That's what is unique in this situation. Never before we have seen such a mass genocide being carried out by someone who claims to be a victim themselves.

No, the struggle between Israel and Hamas hardly counts as "the world's most dangerous conflict." The rag-tag jihadists of the Gaza strip, with their largely home-made rockets and twisted, suicidal impulses, may well be a menace to the peace of the region but hardly constitute an existential threat to civilization itself. In India, on the other hand, Islamic terror has claimed 4,000 deaths since 2004 (a far higher level of blood-letting than anywhere in the Palestinian territories or Israel proper) and the core conflict in south Asia involves two well-armed nuclear powers (Pakistan and India) who have fought several devastating wars in the recent past.

Don't talk about India, India is morally and ethically superior to Israel actions.

Strategic or financial considerations also fail to explain the ridiculously overwrought concentration on Israel and its enemies. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians control any oil resources, yet a titanic struggle between two of the world's three leading petro-powers (the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88) killed 1.3 million soldiers and civilians and drew distinctly limited attention from global media.

Indeed why does Israel keep on asking USA/ UK/ Germany for millions of fund. Mind boggling question? And on top of that even steal wages from Palestinians who are working for them and restrict any aid.

The history of displacement among Palestinians hardly makes them unique among the peoples of the world, though they've seized on the term "refugee" as the very essence of their identity. At most 750,000 Palestinian Arabs became refugees after five Arab states simultaneously attacked

Correction: Not attacked but were attacked!

Israel in 1948, but within the next ten years an even greater number of Jews (800,000) became refugees from persecution in Islamic nations in North Africa in the Middle East and resettled in the Jewish state. At precisely the same moment that Israel won world recognition in 1948, the partition of India and Pakistan led to 14.5 million refugees (and at least 500,000 deaths in the "Independence Riots"). The Lebanon Civil War of 1975-1990 produced 900,000 refugees (according to that tormented nation's own government) and an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 deaths in horrific clashes between Arab Muslims and Arab Christians.

And how exactly is this situation related to Israel and Palestine?

[edit on 19-2-2010 by December_Rain]