Rouhani Launches His ‘Charm Offensive’

by P. David Hornik

 

It doesn’t take a genius to game the West. The West—and particularly its elite people who make or influence policy—wants to be gamed, to be convinced that there is never a need for military operations and one’s easy, luxurious life can continue undisturbed.

So the Rouhani charm offensive has begun. Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president since August 3, on the way to address the UN General Assembly in a few days, coos to the West and, especially, President Barack Obama:

We have time and again said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, nor will we ever….
This government enters with full power and has complete authority. I have given the nuclear negotiations portfolio to the Foreign Ministry. The problem won’t be from our side. We have sufficient political latitude to solve this problem….
We do not seek war with any country. We seek peace and friendship among the nations of the region….

And his recent exchange of letters with Obama, says Rouhani, was “positive and constructive….It could be subtle and tiny steps for a very important future….”

The charm offensive comes at a time when Iran is hurting economically from the West’s sanctions, its monthly revenues from oil sales having dropped 58 percent while the rial plummets and inflation and unemployment soar. Could the charm offensive have something to do with a desire to ease the sanctions while making creaky promises to the West that it would be all too eager to accept?

No, it couldn’t be that. It must be that—after investing well over $100 billion in a nuclear program that provides less than 2 percent of its energy needs, voluminously proclaiming its intention to destroy Israel, sponsoring worldwide terrorism at a level unseen in decades according to the U.S. State Department, and installing at least 7000 new centrifuges since Rouhani was elected—Iran has changed!

To believe that it has changed one has to, of course, tune out some less pleasing notes than those Rouhani has been singing. For instance, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—who, as anyone with minimal Iran knowledge knows, is in charge of things no matter what nonsense Rouhani speaks about “complete authority”—told members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday:

Heroic flexibility is very useful and necessary sometimes but with adherence to one main condition…. A wrestler sometimes shows flexibility for technical reasons. But he does not forget about his opponent nor about his main objective.

For those who say Iran is gaming the West and hasn’t changed, those words about an “opponent” and a “main objective” appear to be a smoking gun—that is, unless one is determined to ignore the odor of gun smoke. And there were also these words from the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Ali Jafari:

the arrogant enemy [America] suffered defeat in Syria in all things related to military intervention as well as with the rest of its plans. They did not succeed with anything concerning Syria. We have nothing to fear from them here in Iran….

Not much charm there either, and again, it seems to bear out those who say Obama’s acquiescence to a transparently flawed deal on Syria’s chemical weapons has only boosted Tehran’s confidence and contempt for the West.

Unless, of course, one is determined that the words of those who say such things will not be borne out no matter what.

For that matter, to be sweet-talked by Rouhani one has to ignore some things about him, too.

Such as his being a dyed-in-the-wool, lifelong follower of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini;  the fact that he chaired Iran’s National Security Council during the years of the Jewish Community Center bombing in Buenos Aires and the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia; the fact that he boasts of having already gamed the West as Iran’s nuclear negotiator in 2003; and the fact that Iran’s June presidential elections were transparently manipulated by the regime to give Rouhani—the faux “reformer”—the win.

Obama, for his part, says:

There are indications that Rouhani, the new president, is somebody who is looking to open dialogue with the West and with the United States, in a way that we haven’t seen in the past. And so we should test it.

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, too, will be addressing the UN on Iran, and on September 30 will be meeting with Obama in Washington. On the Iranian issue Netanyahu has acted as Obama’s better angel, trying to apprise him of the reality of a deeply ideological, anti-Western regime that is working hard to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the U.S.

It is, though, no secret that Israeli officialdom’s belief—or hopes—in Obama were hardly encouraged by his bungling of the Syrian issue. Situated where it is, Israel lacks the West’s latitude for being beguiled by Tehran. As Israeli Middle East expert Martin Kramer told the Wall Street Journal: “The chance that Israel may need to act first against Iran has gone up.”

P. David Hornik

Source: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/davidhornik/rouhani-launches-charm-offensive/

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Motivation to Abduct Israelis Remains High

by Yoav Limor

The investigation into the abduction and murder of Israel Air Force Sgt. Tomer Hazan over the weekend is still ongoing, but the initial inquiry has already yielded two clear conclusions: the first is that the motivation to abduct Israelis, especially soldiers, is very high, as terrorists know that Israel is willing to pay a hefty price for their release; and the second is that in the absence of advanced intelligence, it is virtually impossible to thwart a terror attack, especially if the soldier is perhaps not as vigilant as he should be.

The defense establishment is well aware of the issue of motivation, which has only increased since the 2011 Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange deal. In the first nine months of 2013 security forces have gathered solid intelligence indicating that dozens of West Bank terror cells were plotting to abduct Israelis with the intent of using them as bargaining chips. The majority of these plots were thwarted in the planning stages and a few in their early execution stages. In one case, a terror cell was already on Israeli soil and it was a pure stroke of luck that it was exposed before executing its plan.

What makes Saturday's case different than the others is the motive. Past abductions were planned by terror organizations, which, apart from the attack's shock value, sought to use its execution to score political points. This attack stemmed from personal motives: abductor Nidal Amar's desire to see his brother -- Nur al-Din Amar, who was convicted of a shooting attack and jailed until 2030 -- freed from Israeli prison.

This motive was probably what made preventing this terror attack difficult. Planning such an attack within the framework of a group creates interactions between partners, which in turn leads to intelligence opportunities to thwart it. A lone terrorist, on the other hand, can only be stopped if he makes a mistake.

The investigation into Hazan's murder will have to determine whether Amar was operating alone or whether he had accomplices; whether his brother was aware of the plot or involved in it, in which case the Israel Prison Service and the Shin Bet would have to account for why they did not know about it; and whether Amar was involved in criminal activity in Israel, in which case the police would have to check why no warning bells went off.

The fact that Amar was in Israel illegally is also very disturbing: There are tens of thousands of Palestinians who are staying in Israel illegally -- and the authorities are aware of it -- but while most of them are honest, hardworking people, the loophole itself is dangerous and should be dealt with more rigorously.

The issue of intelligence is also a well known one, and the IDF invests considerable efforts in its public relations deterrence campaign [meant to make soldiers aware of the dangers of hitchhiking], but despite numerous past cases, Hazan agreed to join Amar on a ride to the West Bank, thus sealing his own fate.

The lesson is clear and written in blood: Do not be tempted by such offers, alluring as they may be. The immediate reason is the clear threat to the soldier's (or civilian's) life, but in a broader context -- such events have the potential to become a national crisis and could therefore pose a strategic problem for Israel.

Had Amar's scheme been realized in full this would have been the case. He murdered Hazan knowing that Israel's intelligence network in the West Bank was solid and that it would be much easier to hide a body than an abducted soldier. His initial interrogation has yet to derive how exactly he meant to hold the negotiations he hoped would lead to his brother's release, but it is not hard to imagine the tailspin Israel would have found itself in had Hazan simply disappeared without a trace.

In that respect it is good that this case was solved immediately and that the killer was caught, but the lessons have to be learned, both by the establishment -- to foil future kidnapping attempts, and on an individual level -- with the aim of every soldier and civilian helping to prevent his or her own abduction.

Yoav Limor

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=5755

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Lebanese Government takes Control of Security in Dahieh

by Caroline Akoum

Government security forces to take over responsibility for security of the Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut on Monday, a response to growing complaints about "self security."

Lebanese Army investigators inspect the site of a car bomb explosion in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Friday, August 16, 2013. 

(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Lebanese government has decided to take over responsibility for security in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh, in southern Beirut. Hundreds of security officers will be deployed in the area, which has become a major security issue following the Ruwais bombing last month that killed 30 and injured dozens more. 

Lebanese interior minister Marwan Charbel said on Friday that he “signed an order to call up 2,000 internal security reservists to bolster the forces’ ability to enforce security and order.”

“The security branches, including the army, internal security forces and public security, will start deploying in the Dahieh area on Monday to enforce security and allay people’s fears,” he said, adding that the concept of self-security “has been rejected.”

The decision follows public complaints about security provisions put in place by Hezbollah’s members in the Dahieh district, particularly at the entry checkpoints, which have at times led to confrontations.

Charbel told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the deployment of Lebanese security forces should end any civilian presence on the checkpoints.” 

“As soon as the security forces start their operations, all members of other parties will move out,” he said, referring to members of Hezbollah.

He added that “there will be no presence of ‘self-security’ after tomorrow,” also adding that “Hezbollah was carrying out that task when the state was incapable of it, but today, following the decision, security forces will do their duty.” 

Charbel described “self-security” as a “danger to Lebanon” that would lead to a sectarian strife if it continued in Dahieh or in any other area of Lebanon.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Charbel denied that there was any coordination with Hezbollah regarding the security operation in the southern suburb of Beirut, saying, “There is no need to discuss [security operations] with any parties.”

Meanwhile, a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, Kamil Al-Rifa’i, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “meetings were held between the interim government’s ministers of the interior and defense, Marwan Charbel and Fayez Ghosn, on one side, and Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination official, Wafiq Safa, on the other. This resulted in an agreement to hand over security responsibilities at checkpoints on entrances to the Dahieh district to the security forces, in order to organize entry to the area and to search cars.” 

Rifa’i added that “the movement has asked the security forces on a number of occasions to help with security issues.”

He said that “there are 1,200 to 1,800 security officers ready for this task,” and that “they should help Hezbollah relax and relieve the security pressure, especially following the criticisms directed against it from various sources.”

He added that he hoped the security measures “would relieve the tension between the Lebanese people and reduce the tense political discourse, which would only lead to conflict and confrontation.” He stressed that Hezbollah was “fully prepared to cooperate and provide assistance if needed.”

Rifa’i said: “There will no longer be any presence for Hezbollah members on the ground after tomorrow. They will only monitor from distance, and the equipment used by Hezbollah to search the cars will be taken away and stored.”

He added that the cameras in the Dahieh area “do not harm the public and their presence is limited to buildings where security officers and Hezbollah officials are present, and they can provide assistance to the security forces if any security issue took place.” 

“Self security,” which involves Hezbollah relying on its own forces for security rather than the state’s, became a contested issue last month. Hezbollah has received strong criticism from many quarters over “self security,” in particular from the March 14 group, which has accused Hezbollah of establishing a mini-state within a state.


Caroline Akoum

Source: http://www.aawsat.net/2013/09/article55317653

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

'Failure to Condemn Soldier's Murder Proves PA not Seeking Peace'

by Israel Hayom Staff

MK Avigdor Lieberman says PA leaders encourage murders of Israelis • Deputy Defense Minister Danon says murder was a result of incitement on behalf of Palestinian leadership • Housing Minister Ariel: Release of Palestinian prisoners results in bloodshed.

 

 

Demonstration outside the Bat Yam restaurant where Hazan and Amar worked, Saturday night | Photo credit: Gideon Markowicz

Hazan

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beytenu) said Sunday that absence of a Palestinian Authority condemnation of the murder of an IDF soldier at the hand of a Palestinian man over the weekend proves that the Palestinian leadership has no intention of making peace with Israel. 

Three days after 20-year-old Tomer Hazan was lured to the West Bank by a Palestinian co-worker and subsequently murdered, Lieberman condemned the Palestinian Authority on his Facebook page, saying "the fact that the Palestinian Authority hasn't issued a clear condemnation of the murder proves once again that the current negotiations the Palestinians are conducting with Israel is, for them, merely a tactical move solely aimed at improving their international standing." 

"The killer, Nidal Amar, comes from a family that has long been affiliated with Fatah, and several months ago, Palestinian television even aired a favorable segment about his terrorist brother, whom Amar had hoped to free from Israeli jail in exchange for the soldier he abducted. There were photos of [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas and Yasser Arafat hanging at the entrance to the family home," Lieberman wrote.

"They continue to encourage and support the murder of Israelis," Lieberman stated. 

Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon also accused the Palestinian Authority, saying that "this cruel murder is a result of ongoing incitement on behalf of the Palestinian leadership." 

"Abbas provides a tailwind for these horrendous acts, when, after making festive declarations at negotiations currently underway, he continues to pay grants to killers in prisons. Twenty years after Oslo, the Palestinians have yet to abandon the path of terror," Danon remarked. 

Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) also issued a response, telling Army Radio on Sunday that the incident proves that the Palestinians are not a partner for peace.

"Twenty years after the Oslo Accords, our partner has not changed. The murder, which was supposed to [serve as a bargaining chip to secure the] release of a Fatah terrorist -- a soldier loyal to Abbas -- demonstrates to us once again who our partner is. You don't make peace with terrorists who throw soldiers' bodies into wells. You fight them mercilessly," Bennett said. 

Housing Minister Uri Ariel echoed Bennett's sentiments, saying that "the State of Israel's absurd dance of releasing terrorists continues to harm the security of Israel, now that terrorists have learned that we no longer have any red lines. I demand an immediate halt to all planned prisoner releases, which don't bring us closer to peace but rather perpetuate the unnecessary bloodshed that we witnessed today." 

On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a condolence letter to the Hazan family, in which he wrote: "the anguish of losing a son is terrible. The people of Israel share your pain." 

In his letter, Netanyahu noted that Hazan's murder serves as a testimony to the terror Israel still faces. "The heinous incident proves yet again that the battle against terrorism is unrelenting and the war against it will continue, with all the available means." 

Overnight, U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry also condemned the murder. 

He urged calm on both sides, describing it as "all the more important at this critical moment in the political process."

In a suspected response to the Hazan's murder, right-wing activists slashed tires and spray painted vehicles in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem on Sunday morning. 

The words "price tag" were sprayed on one of the vehicles, signifying that the vandalism was meant as a form of revenge. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12133

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Video Evidence: Iran Fighting in Syria

by Majid Rafizadeh

 

While the Obama administration has been struggling to articulate a precise foreign policy agenda towards Syria, another country, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and a non-state actor, Hezbollah, have become emboldened and empowered in their clear support for the Assad regime militarily, financially, through intelligence, and in an advisory role to garner a victory for Islam against those they call “the Pagans.”

It goes without saying that Iran— with the help of Hezbollah— has been operating militarily in the region for in recent years, supporting the Assad regime financially and sending military advisers to the country to train Syrian officers, Mukhabarat (the Syrian intelligence agency), and army ever since the popular uprising first began.  For example, Iranian leaders have reportedly made the forceful military decision to send 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Damascus. This support is intended to threaten Tel Aviv, suppress the uprising and rebellion, as well as to strengthen Assad’s Alawite-based police state.

In addition, the Islamic Republic of Iran— with the help of Russia and China—signed an agreement with Assad to supply Damascus with $3.6 billion in oil in exchange for Tehran to have the right to invest in Syrian cities. Syria’s state news agency (SANA) reported on Tuesday that “[a]n agreement (on Monday) was signed in Tehran by the Iranian and Syrian central banks, granting Syria a credit line worth $3.6 billion.” The agreement stipulates that the Syrian government will have to pay back the cost of the Iranian oil loan ”through Iranian investments of various kinds in Syria,” as SANA stated. However, Syrian and Iranian authorities have not clarified what specific type of “investments” will be implemented.

This $3.6 billion in oil is part of a package to extend Iranian aid to President Bashar al-Assad’s government – Iran’s major regional political and strategic ally. In addition to the $3.6 billion aid in oil, another $1 billion credit line to Damascus has already been extended. Moreover, Iran has previously signed a free trade deal that granted Syrian exports as low as 4 percent in customs tariffs. These moves have been taken in an attempt to allow Syrian authorities to buy Iranian power-generating products and other goods in a framework of barter arrangements.

Although Iran has been implicitly and covertly delivering assistance to Assad and his apparatuses since the eruption of the Syrian uprising, there has been no concrete or tangible proof of these military, advisory and financial moves.  Iranian leaders have continued to deny all these claims, maintaining the stance that they are not engaged with any side in Syria.

Nevertheless, all this changed, when just this week a cameraman— who lost his life because he filmed the truth on the ground in Syria— released the following video showing how Syrian troops and militia are being trained by Persian-speaking advisers. The cameraman was able to capture footage of the Iranians with their fighting unit, showing the ideology of the Islamist clerics of Iran.



The Iranian officer publicly announces that he is fighting Western countries, Tel Aviv, the United States, and pagans. Through the interview, it is evident that he is implying that the uprising in Syria did not erupt as a protest against the dictator, but as a battle between Islam and the bad, a battle between good and evil. The evil here being the West: Israel and the United States.

The war in Syria, he explained, “is that of Islam versus the nonbelievers. Good versus evil.”

The officer believes that he represents good, while his opponents are the evil, because he believes that he is on the side of God due to the fact that he is on the side of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khameini. The Iranian officer believes that he is with the right and the good, the Islamist party fighting evil and atheism because that is what the Supreme Leader has instructed.

There are many people who become brainwashed, blindly and truly believing in whatever their Imam and Supreme Leader has said. These are the types of people who will kill, slaughter, commit suicide, torture men, women, and children, while still believing that they are doing the right thing.

These believers act because their Supreme Leader and Imams not only support them in this world, but also promise them support in the next world, including (most infamously) 72 virgins.

When I lived in Iran, I came to realize that there is a specific group of militia, extremely loyal to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamist value system. They believe that the twelfth Imam, called Mehdi, would one day resurrect and would come to kill all of the pagans on Earth with his sword while riding a horse, resulting in only a few (less than 1,000) loyal Islamists left alive from the billions alive today. The devout followers deeply believe that they will indeed be the few survivors because they support the Iranian leader Khamenei.

Those who believe in this to a fanatic extent become dangerous, as they would go to extreme lengths to please their Imam and Supreme Leader. Some would even argue that they would self-harm and self-sacrifice if the Imam ordered it, as a sign of loyalty and as supporters of what they see as true Islam.

While the Obama administration has yet to articulate a clear foreign policy goal for Syria, Iranian loyalists and Islamists, Hezbollah, and other groups are dominating the country, the region, and threatening the existence of Christians and Jewish minorities, Israelis, and other non-Muslim groups.


Majid Rafizadeh

Source: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/majid-rafizadeh/video-evidence-iran-fighting-in-syria/

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Barry Rubin: The "Iran is Now Moderate" Joke

by Barry Rubin

I have never understood why anyone expected any U.S. action on Iran’s nuclear program. Basically there was never any chance the U.S. would undertake any armed action or allow Israel to do so. That may be a good idea and it may have been inevitable.

But there was no chance in anything else, even if Barack Obama might never have been president. Here’s what was going to happen:

–The U.S. would put on economic sanctions.

Yet there was never a chance these would fully succeed. There was too much cheating and China, Russia, and Turkey were among there was exempt.

–Negotiations would fail because Iran would stall, play games, and try to use trickery.

–So Iran would eventually get nuclear weapons.

–The U.S. would then use containment. That would not necessarily be bad but the point was containment as in the Cold War  or merely a narrow containment to try to prevent  use of nuclear weapons?

Yet now something very weird has happened:

Hassan Rouhani won the election.

Let’s review. Rouhani is a veteran national security official. He was backed by the regime. The voters would not be allowed a choice of a reformer so they could only vote for a phony one.

Now what then happened?

“President Rouhani says Iran will never develop nuclear weapons.” But that is what Iranian leaders have always claimed!

The Los Angeles Times applauded that ten dissidents were released. But they weren’t even though the newaspaper said, ”It’s Rouhani’s strongest signal yet that he aims to keep a pledge to improve ties with the West”. But he didn’t do it!

“Rouhani said I have full authority to make a deal with the West. But that’s what they said too!

He then implied that he reversed Iran’s denial that the Nazis committed a Holocaust of Jews. But even that turned out to be a lie here and here. They also had a phony New Year’s greeting to the Jews.Rouhani added a Jew to the UN delegation of Iran, no doubt to tell how  well they were treated. So Rouhan loves the Jews and wants to make peace.

Obama swallowed the bait, eagerly.

But note that Rouhani does not have a moderate record and meanwhile Iran now has troops in Syria. What suckers Americans are. They’ll still talking about Iranian nukes on the ay they get them and probably about Syria giving up chemical weapons, too

But no it is Israel that wants to plunge the world into war. The New York Times writes:

“Netanyahu Scoffs at Iranian Overtures, Setting Stage for Showdown With U.S.”

It is Israel that “scoffs” and that scoffing is setting up a U.S.-Israel “showdown” because America would understandably rather have a nice peace than a war with Iran. Yet there is no indication that experiences shows Israel might be right.

The Times writes:

“Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, moved quickly to block even tentative steps by Iran and the United States to ease tensions and move toward negotiations to end the nuclear crisis, signaling what is likely to be a sustained campaign by Israel to head off any deal.”

But this is a lie. Netanyahu cannot “block” an initiative and if Obama wants talks he will have them. And it is assumed that the initiative will succeed “toward negotiations to end the nuclear crisis.” Peace in our time!

Yet there is one more piece of poison. The reader is warned that there will be “a sustained campaign by Israel to head off any deal. Israel will frantically try to head off an attempt to make peace. Bad Israel!

In fact it is obviously  others who want to claim a deal is certain and Iran wants one.

Like Vladimir Putin on the Syria deal it is Rouhani that gets an op-ed, in the Washington Post instead of the Times, to make his claim and be cheered.

Already there has been a pay-off for Iran in a series of European Union court decisions  which recommended the removal of unilateral sanctions against dozens of Iranian firms, including crucial shipping lines. The European states show they ar eager to drop sanction because of the money  to be made.

Rami G. Khouri writes: “The positive possibilities that could emanate from the escalating signs of a direct Iranian-American engagement are dazzling in their intensity and historic in their scope. Rarely in modern history has the Middle East region experienced such a hopeful moment as this, when one major diplomatic shift towards productive American-Iranian relations could positively impact half a dozen conflicts in the region.”

On what evidence?

“Will Iran trade Al-Assad?, says al-Ahram. when it looks like Iran is actually escalating the civil war  ”Syria deal holds a lesson for Barack Obama – talk to Iran,” says an op-ed in the Financial Times. Reuters”calls the regime a ”centrist government.”

The Guardian tells us: “After years of seeing their personal freedoms and political demands quashed, young Iranians hope the efforts of the new government led by President Hassan Rouhani will create open up Iranian society and restore the country’s standing on the world stage.” On what evidence?

About the only article reminding us that Tehran is an ideological and sworn enemy of America that wants to deceive it was Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert who has worked at the National Security Council. Speaking of an article in an Iranian newspaper he said:

“The article stressed that former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad‘s confrontational policies and reckless rhetoric had caused the international community to perceive Iran as threatening and dangerous. In that context, Iran’s quest for nuclear empowerment was bound to be resisted by the great powers. And cleverly manipulated by the United States and Israel, the United Nations censured Iran and imposed debilitating sanctions on its fledgling economy.

“The editorial went on to say that to escape this predicament, Iran had to change its image. A state that is considered ‘trustworthy and ‘accountable’ is bound to be provided with some leeway. Iran can best achieve its nuclear aspirations not by making systematic concessions on the scope of its program but by altering the overall impression of its reliability as a state.”

 Otherwise, all problems can be settled with the  Brotherhood and Iran, with the help of Russia and Turkey. Israel, in contrast, is unreliable, preferring an avoidable confrontation. Funny,so Iran no longer regards America as the Great Satan but as the Great Sucker.

Beware of Iranians bearing gifts, and even more aware of Iranians that aren’t.

This article is published on PJMedia. 


Barry Rubin

Source: http://www.gloria-center.org/2013/09/the-iran-is-now-moderate-joke/

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Israel Crossing Open to Gaza as Palestinians Face Shortages in Basic Goods

by Ahram Online

Israeli crossing allows transportation of construction materials to Gaza while Rafah crossing remains closed

Egyptian Army soldiers guard the gates (Photo: Reuters)

Related

Israel began to allow construction materials to be transported to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday for the first time since it imposed a blockade on the Palestinian territory in 2007. 

Gaza, home to 1.7 million Palestinians, has been suffering from a shortage of construction materials since the recent intermittent closing of the Rafah crossing and the destruction of many of the tunnels by the Egyptian government, which were used regularly to smuggle materials previously.

A report issued by the Office for the Coordination of Human affairs (OCHA - A United Nations organisation) last Thursday showed that construction materials (mostly cement) transported from Egypt to Gaza fell by 96% (from 7,500 tonnes to 300) following June 2013.

The fall in goods has included strategic commodities like fuel, which declined by 70% (from one million litres to 300,000) resulting in extended electricity blackouts reaching 16 hours per day in some areas of Gaza.

Overall, the volume of goods entering Gaza via the tunnels has decreased by more than 85% (from 200 truckloads to 30) following June 2013.

This is in the wake of the destruction of many of the tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip and Sinai, leaving only ten operating compared to 300 before June 2013.

The tunnels were demolished as part of the Egyptian authorities' efforts to counter illegal activities and insecurity in the Sinai, according to the OCHA report.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority's ambassador to Egypt is “taking all possible measures” to resolve the Rafah border crisis, Palestinian political movement Fatah said on Sunday.

Tensions have been on the rise between Hamas leaders and the Egyptian government, with the latter repeatedly accusing Hamas of interfering in its internal affairs to support ousted president Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Last week, Hamas sought to ease tensions by ordering Islamic preachers to mute their criticism of the Egyptian government over what has been dubbed by several preachers as a 'coup' to oust Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Hamas also denied accusations made by the Egyptian army's spokesman who recently said hand grenades bearing the stamp of the Palestinian Islamist group’s military wing were found in Sinai.

With the boarders closed, more than 5,000 people, including students planning to study in Cairo and beyond, as well as patients seeking treatment in Egypt, are stranded in Gaza awaiting permission to cross.


Ahram Online

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/82219/Business/Economy/Israel-crossing-open-to-Gaza-as-Palestinians-face-.aspx

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Israel's Bright Future

by Guy Millière


Israel is undoubtedly one of the most hated countries on Earth.  Hatred against Israel is deeply rooted in the Arab world and in the Muslim world at large.  It has also progressed quickly in Europe over the last decades.  Although less common in North America, it is gaining ground, especially in universities, and "anti-Zionist" events such as Israeli Apartheid Week annually attract thousands of students on dozens of campuses.


In addition, Israel is a threatened country.  Iran continues toward building nuclear weapons.  Instability in the Sinai Peninsula may at any moment lead to a deadly terrorist attack.  The civil war raging in Syria, the presence of al-Qaeda on Syrian territory, and an eventual strike against Syrian military could spill over into Israel and lead to a larger-scale war.


Israel is also a country facing difficulties: real estate prices are very high and restrict homeownership, tensions between ultra-Orthodox and more mainstream Jews are rising, and the poverty rate is above twenty percent.


Nevertheless, polls show year after year that the Israeli population is imbued with hope and confidence.  A recently published survey, the World Happiness Report, based on Gallup World Poll data, says that Israelis are the 11^th-happiest people in the world, behind the Swiss and Scandinavians, but before the Americans (17^th), the British (22^nd ), the French (25^th), and the Germans (26^th).


Israelis' happiness is difficult to explain to people who observe Israel from a distance, but if one delves deeper into Israeli society, it becomes very explicable.


Although it is less present in the Tel Aviv intellectual elites, a feeling of belonging to a society sure of its values and core beliefs is very strong in Israel: the Jewish people regained their land and their roots, and Israelis feel that they are part of something much larger than themselves. People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are always happier.


Israelis who contemplate the history of their nation cannot but be impressed by what was accomplished in so short a time.  In little more than six decades, Israel has evolved from a developing country to a country at the forefront of technological accomplishments, and from a tiny and fragile country to the most stable and the strongest power in the Middle East.  Israel was constantly faced with wars and terrorism but never ceased to be an exemplary democracy and never restricted freedom of speech.


It could be added that, twenty years on, Israelis have largely distanced themselves from the illusions that led to the Oslo Accords.  As they seek peace, most of them know that they have no partner for peace.  Most of them know that the status quo is the least bad solution and that Israel can wait, with vigilance and determination.  They have confidence in Israel's ability to defend itself.  Despite the regional context, a recent survey showed that only 16.4 percent of Israelis believe that Israel faces increased risks over the next few months, and 74.4 percent of Israelis think that Israel's security will remain what it is today, or will soon improve.  The same survey indicated that only 7.7 percent of Israelis believe that an agreement with the Palestinians is possible.


During the Jewish year that just ended with Rosh Hashanah and the ten Days of Awe leading up to Yom Kippur, one Israeli was murdered in a terrorist attack, and eleven Arabs involved in terror attacks were killed.  These figures are among the lowest in the history of Israel.  Since the fall of Mohamed Morsi, Hamas is paralyzed and on the defensive.  The Palestinian Authority sees that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a priority for anyone apart from John Kerry.  Iran is a growing threat, but its leaders' priority is to save the Assad regime; Hezb'allah knows that it could hardly survive if the Assad regime does not survive; and the Assad regime itself has no intention to attack Israel: in the last decade, Assad has chosen to ignore all Israeli attacks on its territory.  Sunni jihadist groups are busy fighting the Assad regime or fomenting sectarian strife in Iraq.


The Israeli government agreed a few weeks ago to return to the negotiating table.  Binyamin Netanyahu sent Tzipi Livni to meet Saeb Erekat.  But not a single minister, except perhaps Tzipi Livni, thinks an agreement will emerge.  The idea that Israel must choose between being a Jewish state and remaining a democratic state, recently revived by the creation of a Constitution Committee, finds little echo in the Israeli population: Israel is a democratic country, and Israel is a country where the population will remain predominantly Jewish, with no risk of demographic submersion.  Israeli Arabs represent twenty percent of the country's population, and their birth rate has been steadily converging with that of Israeli Jews.  Even if, hypothetically, Israel annexed Judea and Samaria, the most reliable figures (used by the CIA's World Factbook and the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics) show that the proportion of Arabs in Israel would reach 35 percent -- and the Arab birth rate in Judea and Samaria is lower than that of Israeli Arabs.


Beyond the differences among its members, the Israeli government faithfully reflects the determined force permeating the Israeli people.  They discern that time is on Israel's side, and that even if Israel may yet have to act against imminent threats, the future of the country is bright.


The Arab world is being torn apart.  It looks on the verge of a general collapse that could last for years, maybe decades.  Iran's economy is in very bad shape, and unlike the Israeli population (3  children per woman), the Iranian population is aging (1.8 children per woman).  Turkey's economy was booming but is now slowing down, and the Turkish fertility rate is decreasing.


Europe takes anti-Israel decisions, but Europe's economies cannot break ties with the Israeli economy: European businesses need Israeli technologies and cannot do without Israel's creativity and dynamism.  After the European Union imposed a boycott against Israel, Israel threatened to withdraw from Horizon 2020, "the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation."  Consequently, EU leaders reversed their policy, and EU "Foreign Minister" Catherine Ashton stated (at the meeting of EU Foreign Minister in Vilnius on September 6): "Of course, we want to continue having a strong relationship with Israel."


European economies will also have to take into account that Israel's newly discovered energy resources will shift the future balance of power in the Middle East: Israel is now the country with the largest latent oil and gas wealth per capita.  In March, the first major Israeli gas field, Tamar, began production.  Other fields will follow.  The Shfela Basin, southeast of Jerusalem, contains 250 billion barrels of pre-oil hydrocarbon and could soon be commercially exploited.  Israel will become a producer and exporter of cheap energy.  Its GDP will considerably increase.  Its military security will be decisively enhanced.

The Israeli government sees that friendship between the American people and Israel remains deep and intense, despite campaigns of anti-Israeli propaganda and political fluctuations.  The most recent polls show that, unlike Europeans, who are mired in moral relativism and infected with renewed anti-Semitism, a clear majority of Americans (64 percent in March, a record high) have a good opinion of Israel (the corresponding figures at the same moment were 17 percent in France and the United Kingdom, 10 percent in Germany).


In 2009, George Gilder published a book called The Israel Test.  He said that those who love achievement have esteem and admiration for Israel, and only the love of achievement is fruitful.  The people of Israel love achievement and see that Israel is on the side of fruitfulness.  The American people also remain fundamentally committed to achievement and are firmly on the side of Israel.



Guy Millière is a senior fellow of the Gatestone Institute and a a professor at the University of Paris.  He has published 27 books on France, Europe, the United States, and the Middle East.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/israels_bright_future.html

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Whose Spending is it?

by Greg Richards


As with the debt ceiling crisis in 2011, as this one hoves into view, President Obama is using a somewhat startling argument:

[Raising the debt ceiling] "...says you (sic) got to pay the bills that you've already racked up, Congress."

Hmmm....That is an interesting formulation.  Of course, it is the despair of all Republicans and conservatives that our guys either cannot or will not make an argument in the public forum.  Whatever else you can say about the president, he is making his case in public.



But it is an interesting case.  Congress' bills (meaning debts)?  Well, technically that is true. 


But the argument is "Mr. President, we thought that we were acquiescing, however reluctantly, to your spending levels, your spending programs, your priorities.  While as Republicans we did not agree with them, we were acquiescing to them in the spirit of compromise, in respect to your office, and as part of making a republican government of separated powers work.  However, if this is our spending and these are our debts then we will take charge.  The first thing to do is to cut total spending by the federal government for fiscal 2014 by 10%."



Or some such.  We have not had a president who has been so unwilling to take any responsibility for his actions, his programs, his administration.  Because of the nature of politics, politicians are frivolous with the truth when running for office and they are not generally held too closely to what they say as candidates. 



But once in office, they have a record.  In President Obama's case, for instance, it was a key part of his philosophy that America had been too aggressive, too dominant in world affairs and that he was going to redress that.  Which he proceeded to do with his apology tour in the Middle East in 2009. 



But when Romney called him on it in the debates, far from defending it, he denied it!  Same with oil production.  Obama is a greenie and thinks that the future belongs to renewables.  He used the BP runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico to cancel most drilling permits for American companies there.  His administration has issued few, if any, permits for drilling on government land.  But when Romney called him on it in the debates, he bragged about the increase in oil production during his administration, all of which occurred despite, not because of, his administration.


And now with our spending which leads to our increased debt.  Suddenly, this is not his spending, his debt increase, it is Congress'!  If that is the case, Congress, meaning the House, should seize the day and remake spending for fiscal 2014. 

 

 

Greg Richards

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/09/whose_spending_is_it.html

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.