The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
The Houthis are one example where precision strikes on infrastructure such as ports may not work to win the conflict.
A banner depicting U.S. and Israeli flags is burned, as
protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to show support to
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen December 13, 2024.(photo credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)
The Iranian-backed Houthis launched a missile attack targeting Tel Aviv
in the early morning hours of Saturday. It came two days after another
similar long-range missile attack had led to Israeli retaliation against
the Houthis. There was also an attack on December 16 by the Houthis.
This group is now posing as the “last man standing”
in Iran’s axis of “resistance” groups that have been attacking Israel.
However, it does not appear to be deterred by Israeli attacks on various
types of infrastructure.
It’s
important to understand that Israel has carried out three rounds of
retaliatory strikes on the Houthis, one in July, then in September and
now in December. However, the group continues to attack.
Struggles Israel faces
In
fact, it is increasing its attacks, using long range missiles and
drones. Yemen is more than 2,000 kilometers away from Israel, making
retaliation difficult. Warplanes have to fly a long mission, with
refuelers to accomplish the strikes on the enemy.
The
Houthis know this. They also know that Hezbollah has been weakened,
Hamas is weakened and that Iran has been pushed out of Syria by the fall
of the Assad regime. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq appear to have
also stepped back from attacks on Israel.
Israeli emergency services work at the scene of a missile strike that
was launched from Yemen and landed in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, Israel,
December 21, 2024. (credit: STOYAN NENOV/REUTERS)
This
leaves the Houthis as one of the main fronts Iran can use in attacks,
which is why they are increasing the strikes. In the Thursday attack
debris from a missile fell on a school, collapsing part of it. The
attack took place early in the morning, so no one was harmed.
However
the attack on Saturday morning did injure people. The IDF said that
“overnight, a missile was fired from Yemen into central Israel, and a
fallen projectile was identified in the Tel Aviv-Yafo area. IDF Home
Front Command teams and additional rescue forces were dispatched to the
scene and began searching the area along with additional security
forces, local officials, and emergency services to investigate the scene
of the fallen projectile.”
Several
civilians were injured. The missile impacted a site near Jaffa. This is
a dangerous escalation and shows that Israel cannot sit back and just
let the Houthis attack, as has been the case for a year and two months.
Israel has focused on other fronts.
It
also shows that photos atop Mount Hermon with Israeli officials and top
military brass seemingly declaring victory are not enough to stop the
Houthis, or Hamas, which continues to hold 100 hostages.
Israel
also faces challenges with Hezbollah. Many people have not returned to
the border, because the two-month ceasefire could be fragile. This
illustrates that a sense of victory that Israel has felt may be
misplaced.
The enemy is still there in most cases. The Houthis are one example
where precision strikes on infrastructure such as ports may not work to
win the conflict.
The strikes began less than an hour after the IDF intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward central Israel by the Houthis.
Israel Air Force (IAF) fighter jets struck Houthi terror targets in
the capital of Sana'a in Yemen during the early hours of Thursday
morning, as 14 aircraft were already in the air as Yemen fired a
ballistic missile towards Israel, the military announced.
The
IDF added that the targets Israel struck were used by the Houthis for
military purposes, which included smuggling Iranian weapons into the
country. The IDF also confirmed that ports and energy infrastructure in
Sana'a were hit during the strikes.
A source close to the matter told The Jerusalem Post
that Israel gave the US notice prior to the strike in Yemen and that
the purpose of the strike was to disable all three Houthi ports in
Yemen.
The
IDF cited that the US has also attacked Yemen recently, but that given
ongoing attacks from the Houthis, “We decided to counter-attack.”
According
to the IDF, the Houthis have fired over 200 ballistic missiles and over
170 drones at Israel, with most being shot down by the US or Israel but
22 having penetrated into Israel.
In July, one Israeli was killed in Tel Aviv by a Houthi drone from Yemen.
The
IDF decided to attack before the Wednesday overnight attack, and in
fact, the 14 aircraft that attacked Yemen were already on their way for
the 1,800-kilometer flight to Yemen at the time that the ballistic
missile came close to Israel’s territory.
The aircraft appear to have left Israel around 1:00 a.m.
The IDF was unclear on whether the Houthis detected the attack but said there was no clear evidence that this had occurred.
At 3:15 a.m., the first wave of the air force’s attack hit the Yemen coastal area.
At 4:30 a.m., the second wave of the air force’s attack hit the Houthi capital of Sana.
All 14 aircraft returned safely.
The IDF said it had attacked dozens of targets in five main areas.
There
were attacks in Hodeidah, Ras Isa, other coast areas, and many smaller
ports, such as Al-Salif. Each target area had dozens of targets,
especially Sana'a, regarding Houthi electricity and oil.
In addition, eight special large ships were attacked.
Destroying
those ships could shut down those ports because these ships can block
certain areas and also are often required to pull in other ships to
port.
The IDF said that it could take time for the Houthis to find replacements for such unique ships.
Further, the IDF said all the areas attacked helped the Houthis fund their war items and weapons.
The
strikes on the terror group were carried out with the direction of the
Intelligence Directorate and the Israeli Navy, the IDF said.
Notably, it added that the airstrikes began shortly after the Houthis
fired a projectile from Yemen toward central Israel during the early
hours of Thursday morning. The projectile was then intercepted by the
IAF.
The airstrikes in Yemen reportedly killed nine, Houthi-controlled Al Masirah TV said.
Seven
were killed in a strike on the port of Salif and the rest in two
strikes on the Ras Issa oil facility, said Al Masirah, both located in
the western province of Hodeidah.
The strikes also targeted two central power stations south and north of the capital, Sana'a, it added.
Katz threatens whoever plans on harming Israel
Katz later reiterated his commitment to operating against all threats posed to the citizens of Israel.
"Last night, we struck the Houthis in Yemen," the defense minister said.
"I
warn the leaders of the Houthi terrorist organization: Israel's long
arm will reach you as well. Those who raise a hand against the State of
Israel will have their hand severed, and those who harm us will be
struck sevenfold."
תקפנו הלילה את החות'ים בתימן.
אני מזהיר את ראשי ארגון הטרור החות׳י: ידה הארוכה של ישראל תגיע גם אליכם. מי שמרים יד על מדינת ישראל - ידו נגדעת, מי שפוגע - ייפגע שבעתיים.
This is the second time this week that Yemen targeted Israel. An initial drone was fired toward the country on Monday.
Emergency services personnel walk at a damaged site
after a ballistic missile fired from Yemen was intercepted, in Ramat
Gan, Israel December 19, 2024.(photo credit: STOYAN NENOV/REUTERS)
Sirens sounded across central Israel after the Houthis in Yemen fired a ballistic missile at the Jewish state, the IDF announced early on Thursday morning.
The
military said that the missile was intercepted by the air force before
crossing into Israeli territory, and sirens were sounded due to the
possibility of falling shrapnel.
Both the IDF and Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom,
said that no one was wounded due to shrapnel. However, several people
reported suffering from panic attacks or minor injuries on the way to
safe rooms.
The Houthis released a statement on Thursday morning, saying that they fired two ballistic missiles towards Israel.
On
Thursday morning, the Ramat Gan municipality announced that shrapnel
had damaged the main building of the Ramat Efal school, causing it to
collapse.
Map of where rockets were sounded throughout central Israel after Yemen
fired a projectile toward the area December 19, 2024 (credit:
SCREENSHOT/TZOFAR)
The interception caused explosions to be heard across the country.
This is the second time
this week that the Houthis targeted Israel. On Monday, the Yemeni terror
group launched a drone at the country.
An
IDF missile boat intercepted the Yemen drone at the time, and Israel's
military noted that it had not crossed into Israeli territory.
"Occupied
Jaffa 'Tel Aviv' is not safe for Zionists," Nasruddin Amer, chairman of
the Houthi-backed Yemeni state news agency Saba, posted on X/Twitter,
along with a photo of what he called "A new failure of the Zionist air
defense."
Some of the suspects even transferred information and photographed facilities and sites classified by the security establishment as sensitive.
The silhouette of a man, seen over the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran (illustrative)(photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
The Shin Bet raised concerns regarding what extent Iran has attempted
to infiltrate Israel after the security agency uncovered 12 espionage
cases involving Israeli citizens working for Iran within several
months.
These
are unprecedented numbers for the Shin Bet. Even during the Iron
Curtain era, Soviet intelligence agencies did not operate such a large
number of spies in Israel, and there were certainly no Israeli citizens
who chose to betray their country and spy for the enemy.
The
Shin Bet has also been troubled by the fact that the Iranians do not
recruit spies based on a particular profile. “We see a variety of
citizens being recruited for espionage tasks by Iran, ranging from
ultra-Orthodox citizens, new immigrants, minorities, and citizens
leading ordinary secular bourgeois lifestyles,” said a security
official.
The
Iranians have been running their infiltration operations through social
media networks. “They recruit using a ‘fishing’ method. Unfortunately,
we have come across citizens who knew they were acting on behalf of the
Iranians, and in interrogations, they even admitted hearing about other
citizens being exposed for working with Iran to undermine the state of
Israel. Despite this, they still agreed to spy and operate,” the
security official added.
The
security establishment estimated that some of the 12 espionage cells
uncovered by the Shin Bet in recent months have caused damage to
Israel's security.
Some
of the suspects even transferred information and photographed
facilities and sites classified by the security establishment as
sensitive.
Missiles launched at Israel from Iran
The
security establishment also noted that Iran directly launched hundreds
of missiles at various sites in Israel during two attacks it carried out
over the past year.
The
security establishment claimed that, beyond the classic espionage
activities Iran sought to advance through Israeli citizens, it also
instructed them to engage in subversive actions to destabilize Israel.
Tasks
assigned to the Israeli recruits included organizing and distributing
posters on controversial issues within Israeli society, activities
causing property damage, and planning attacks on senior security
officials, political figures, and even heads of local authorities.
“For me, the State of Israel is everything: its well being is my well being, and its challenges are my challenges,” says Nael Zoabi, a Muslim Arab Israeli educator and advocate.
Nael Zoabi, a Muslim Arab-Israeli educator, activist and advocate(photo credit: Courtesy)
Nael Zoabi,
a Muslim Arab-Israeli educator, activist and advocate who proudly and
unequivocally defines himself as an Israeli Arab, has dedicated his
entire professional and personal life to bridging cultural divides and
promoting mutual understanding between Jewish and Arab communities in
Israel.
With
an impressive career spanning 30 years in the national education system
and 16 years of school administration, Zoabi has been far more than just
an educator. He is an active and passionate advocate for coexistence,
the author of the thought-provoking book "An Arab on the Israel Trail",
and is consistently working to strengthen connections between Arab and
Jewish populations in Israel.
Zoabi's
journey began in Kafr Nin, a village near Nazareth, where he grew up
experiencing the nuanced realities of Arab-Jewish interactions. His
childhood was marked by close observations of neighborhood dynamics,
witnessing firsthand the potential for harmonious relationships between
different communities.
“My
children have all enrolled in national service, and even in the
police,” Zoabi stated proudly. His personal philosophy goes far beyond
mere tolerance. "For me, the State of Israel is everything," Zoabi
emphasized with unwavering conviction. "The state's well being is my
well being, and its challenges are my challenges."
This profound sense of national identity has been the driving force
behind Zoabi’s advocacy activity, which pushed him ever since the
October 7th attacks to speak out for Israel on Arabic speaking outlets.
Countering Hamas in Arabic
For
a long time Zoabi has been a staunch critic of the current political
leadership of the Arab Israeli parties. “They fail in everything. Crime
rates, poverty, road safety infrastructure – they’ve made no progress
whatsoever for decades,” he commented, angrily. “They don’t have time
for in-depth strategic programs. They only use the Palestinian issue as a
platform to gain media presence and sound their slogans.”
This
criticism was further reinforced following the tragic 2014 kidnapping
and murder of the three Israeli teenagers Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer
and Eyal Yifrach in June 2014 by a Hamas cell. "I saw that the
leadership of Israeli Arabs were not rising to the occasion and remained
silent on these terrible events, which in my view tarnished the name of
the entire Arab society in Israel," he said with a mixture of
frustration and determination. "So, I stood up and spoke out against
terrorist attacks. I wanted to ensure that our community was not defined
by violence, but by our potential for understanding and cooperation.
These terrible acts are in no way related to fundamental human and
Islamic values,” he affirmed.
For
Zoabi, the atrocities of Hamas’s October 7th attack boosted his drive
to speak out against terror, this time not only on the local level – but
out into the Arabic speaking sphere in its entirety. Zoabi soon emerged
as a prominent and influential voice in international Arabic media,
appearing on major networks like BBC Arabic,
Sky News, and Al Arabiya. He described his appearances as entailing
strategic preparations and careful crafting, all in the aim of
explaining Israel's perspective while condemning Hamas's actions to a
mostly hostile environment.
"As
a Muslim, I felt a human obligation to denounce Hamas's crimes, which
were contrary to the Quran and Islam," he stated. “Each media appearance
needed a calculated effort to challenge propaganda and distorted
narratives, highlight Israel’s humanitarian efforts, and provide context
often missing in sensationalized reporting.”
Zoabi explained that he always appears with Israeli symbols of
solidarity - the flag, images of hostages, the hostage pin - never
hiding his multifaceted identity as an Arab, Muslim, and Israeli
citizen.
“The
first two weeks after the massacre were a tad bit less challenging, as I
there was more willingness from the media’s side to hear criticism
against Hamas for their crimes of mass killing, rape, kidnapping of
women and children from their beds. I said: ‘what country would be
willing to accept this?’”
Then
the trend began to change. “Guests or interviewers started casting
doubt on whether these things even happened. They started bringing up
conspiracies that Israel had invented or initiated the massacre or
killed its own citizens as an excuse to conquer Gaza. And some of these
guests were academics and directors of ‘research institutes!’”
Then
came the accusations of ‘genocide.’ “I usually reply by saying that all
these conspiracies and accusations are nonsense,” Zoabi explained
calmly. “I emphasize that Israel is only targeting Hamas and not the
children and women of Gaza, and stress Hamas’s exploitation of the
civilian population.”
According
to Zoabi, many interviewers try to drag him to the inner political
scene. “They tried to claim that Israel doesn’t want to reach an
agreement for all sorts of reasons, like expelling all the Gazans, or
destroying them, or just inner politics. I’ve never agreed to take a
political stance. If I do, that would be a win for them. I always stress
that all of Israel is united against Hamas.”
In
this context, Zoabi explained how he leverages the issue of peace even
further. “To those who claim that Israel wants to conquer Gaza and not
to reach an agreement, I always say that until October 6th there was not
a single Israeli to be found in Gaza, and that many were talking about
prospects of peace between Israel with other Arab countries,” he said,
adding that this is the same peace that Hamas openly and admittedly
worked against, which is why Hamas is the one to blame for the war and
the lack of peace – not Israel.
Other
arguments Zoabi faces claim that Israel wants to starve and humiliate
ordinary Gazans. “I always give examples of aid that Hamas has received
even before the war, but never made its way to Gazan citizens. It all
went to Hamas, to their tunnels, to their headquarters. And nowadays we
have examples of trucks being robbed by Hamas who sell the goods for
exorbitant prices.”
When
asked what other messages he conveys, Zoabi mentioned the Iranian
factor. "I focus a lot on Iran. I explain that Hamas is essentially the
current contractor used by Iran, which is exploiting the
Israeli-Palestinian issue to conquer the Arab world. I also remind the
viewers how Iran is currently occupying a handful of Arab capitals,
including Sanaa, Beirut and Baghdad," He elaborated, adding that many in
Israel’s vicinity agree with these notions.
Despite
some harsh online reactions he must brave every day, Zoabi also
described what he deems ‘interesting conversations’ with program
producers, who have agreed with some of the points he has made. “This is
especially salient on the issues of Iran and Hezbollah,” he explained.
Zoabi
believes that advocacy is an ongoing, complex process requiring
persistence, nuance, and genuine commitment. "Hasbara must happen on all
fronts, in all languages and networks," he said. “We have to remember
that our ultimate goal is to reduce hostility, to bring forward Israel's
democratic values, and to help transform the biased public opinion in
the Arab world.”
A personal journey for coexistence
For
Zoabi, true coexistence is a profound and active concept that goes well
beyond mere passive tolerance. Zoabi believes that the state of Israel
must actively embrace its Arab population, be genuinely present in Arab communities and address their comprehensive needs and aspirations.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is seen meeting with Arab women at the
President's Residence in Jerusalem, on June 25, 2023. (credit: HAIM
ZACH/GPO)
"One of Israel's national goals should
be to be present in Arab society," he argued passionately. "To embrace
them and thus disconnect them from the current corrupt political
leadership." His vision includes meaningful political integration and
strategic community development. Recent polls he referenced suggested
that 70% of the Arab population desires to be part of the governmental
coalition, understanding that integration is the path to meaningful
progress.
Zoabi
also has a message for the Israeli public. “In the Arab media, they
always hold a magnifying glass over everything that happens here. Every
rift and controversy is a potential opening headline for the news
broadcasts. Things that we think are so small and fit into our
democratic landscape – they take them and present them as nothing short
of the disintegration of Israeli society.
“I
mention this so that people in the country will notice how we look from
the outside. We need to know how to demonstrate, how to criticize, and
how to express ourselves wisely. Because things are presented as if
everything here is falling apart. I always say that disagreements are a
key part of the democratic nature of the society, and that it’s at the
foundation of Israeli democracy. But still, we must be cautious of
over-emboldening our enemies,” he added.
Zoabi’s
call to coexistence is shared in his book, cleverly titled “An Arab on
the Israel Trail,” a double-entendre in Hebrew which can also mean “An
Arab for the Sake of Israel.” The book tells of his personal story, how
he grew noticing a healthy interaction between his own environment and
his neighbors from the Jewish sector.
“The
book is about growing up together, bringing the challenges of society
through my own personal story. I believe the Arab and Jewish sectors in
Israel must get to know each other, get closer to each other's natural
environments. We must learn together how important peace is, as citizens
of this country.”
Zoabi
continued: “In 1993 we all dared to dream about peace, but then it was
all destroyed by Hamas and their violent terror attacks. They simply did
not want peace; they stood against it and opposed any kind of
dialogue.”
Zoabi
pointed to what he deemed is a central issue at the core of the
conflict. “As long as the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel is not
widely recognized – the problem will never be solved. There is a clear
connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. This is
their home and no other place in the world,” he stressed.
“This,
of course, does not come in contrast to our right as Arabs who were
also born in this land to live as full and integrated citizens in the
State of Israel,” he explained. “For this reason, Israel should embrace
and contain us as a minority, too. Once both sides recognize both the
incessant undeniable Jewish connection to the land, and our own civilian
rights as well, I am sure we will have made enormous strides toward the
longed-for peace.”
"The fact that there was so much antipathy toward the bill indicates that maybe, just maybe, we're turning a corner," Rep. Andy Biggs said.
President-elect Donald
Trump signaled a change to the status quo on spending as he has torched
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s continuing resolution/omnibus bill.
Johnson has pushed a 1,547-page spending bill
in an effort to prevent a government shutdown on Friday. Trump, his
incoming administration nominees, and House Republicans have all
criticized the bill for including massive pay raises for Congress
members, shielding Jan. 6 House committee members from congressional
subpoenas, and extending a censorship agency within the State
Department.
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance released a joint statement on Wednesday, slamming the spending bill and calling for a clean bill to fund the government.
"Sweetheart provisions"
“Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney,” they wrote.
“The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt
January 6 committee—which accomplished nothing for the American people
and hid security failures that happened that day. This bill would also
give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this
Christmas.
“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch.
If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone
think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have
this debate now. And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that
doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want."
“Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025,” Trump and Vance continued.
“The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT
DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling.
Anything else is a betrayal of our country.
“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats
threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they
want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up
aid to our farmers and disaster relief.”
Trump later posted
on Truth Social on Wednesday regarding the bill, saying that “the
Communist Global Engagement Center, a project of Crooked Hillary
Clinton, should not in any way, shape, or form be extended and, the
shielding of the very corrupt J6 Unselect Committee of Political Losers
and Thugs would be suicidal for any Republican approving it. Likewise,
this is not a good time for Congress to be asking for pay increases.
Hopefully, you’ll be entitled to such an increase in the near future
when we, ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’”
"They are the swamp"
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who Trump picked to lead the
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Vivek Ramaswamy, called
for the ousting of any Congress member who votes for the spending bill.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous
spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk posted on X on Wednesday.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., also reacted to the spending bill, calling out his congressional colleagues.
“Pay attention to the members of Congress who have been all
in for [DOGE] for media attention but will vote for the short-term
omnibus. They are the Swamp,” Biggs posted on X on Wednesday.
Assuming that the current spending bill will be abandoned,
Biggs told “Just the News and AMAC Special Report: Trump’s First 100
Days” on Wednesday that the status quo of passing an omnibus spending
bill might be changing.
The replacement is “probably going to be a clean CR, so it
won't be total disruption, but the fact that with President Trump and
the DOGE brothers and our Freedom Caucus – and actually, it wasn't just
Freedom Caucus, there were Freedom Caucus-adjacent,” Biggs said. “There
were other members throughout this conference that said, ‘This is
absurd, this is a no-go.’ So the fact that there was so much antipathy
toward the bill indicates that maybe, just maybe, we're turning a
corner.”
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told “Just the News, No Noise" and "AMAC Special Report: Trump’s First 100 Days”
on Wednesday that it’s important “that Congress wakes up and
acknowledges what just happened this last November, and that the
American people gave us a mandate to turn this sinking ship around and
quit playing games up here. Like we're playing games right now with a
horrible, pretty disastrous CR/omnibus bill you know that kicks spending
into next year so President Trump, can, you know, work on it with his
team, but it's got a bunch of nonsense, a bunch of pork in it. You know,
it gives members of Congress a raise.”
While Crane said he'd “like a raise,” he doesn't “think
we've earned one, man. And I think it's important to remember that our
bosses are the American people.”
Below are a few of the provisions included in the spending bill.
Congressional pay raise
A salary bump for members of Congress, who are currently paid $174,000 per year, is included in the spending bill.
Congress has voted since 2009 to block lawmakers from receiving automatic cost-of-living adjustments.
The House speaker earns $223,500 annually and the Senate
majority leader makes $193,400 while other lawmakers earn $174,000
currently.
A provision in the negotiated spending bill
would allow the automatic pay raises to return, which could yield a
$6,600 raise next year for lawmakers, according to a Congressional
Research Service report from September that analyzes salaries.
Obamacare exemption
The bill allows Congress members
to use the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program instead of
Obamacare. Lawmakers and some staff are required, under the Affordable
Care Act, to use an Obamacare exchange instead of the Federal Employees
Health Benefits Program.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton posted on X on Wednesday, “So I see the CR allows members of Congress to get off the Obamacare exchanges! Rules for thee…”
Lab funding
The bill
also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to fund at
least “12 regional biocontainment laboratories” for “(1) conducting
biomedical research to support public health and medical preparedness
for, and rapid response to, biological agents, including emerging
infectious diseases; (2) ensuring the availability of surge capacity for
purposes of responding to such biological agents; (3) supporting
information sharing between, and the dissemination of findings to,
researchers and other relevant individuals to facilitate collaboration
between industry and academia; and (4) providing, as appropriate and
applicable, technical assistance and training to researchers and other
relevant individuals to support the biomedical research workforce in
improving the management and mitigation of safety and security risks in
the conduct of research involving such biological agents.”
J6 committee implications
The CR also includes a mechanism for a House representative to fight a House subpoena in court.
“Upon a motion made promptly by a House office or provider
for a House office, a court of competent jurisdiction shall quash or
modify any legal process directed to the provider for a House office if
compliance with the legal process would require the disclosure of House
data of the House office,” the bill reads.
Independent journalist Kyle Becker posted
on X on Wednesday, “If someone (like a House office or a service
provider working for a House office) believes a legal request for
information (such as a subpoena) would force them to disclose sensitive
House data, they can quickly file a motion with a court to stop or
change the request.
“The court must agree to block or change the request if it
would result in the disclosure of the House’s sensitive data. In
essence, this ensures House offices' data remains protected, and
provides a way to challenge legal requests for that data. This could be
used to shield J6 committee members accused of deleting records and may
be criminally prosecuted under the Trump administration.”
Donald Trump, Jr., reacted to the provision on X on
Wednesday. “So the house is going to vote to protect itself from glaring
and obvious wrongdoing?” he wrote. “The American people didn’t vote for this. They voted for the opposite. They voted for transparency. This cannot pass.”
Censorship agency
The legislation extends the Department of State’s Global Engagement Center for another year. In September, House Republicans released a report
that found the center skirting its duty to crack down on foreign
disinformation by funding groups engaged in “censorship” against small
businesses in the United States.
Ramaswamy slammed the funding bill on Wednesday as he noted the cost of various provisions.
“Keeping the government open until March 14 will cost
~$380BN by itself, but the true cost of this omnibus CR is far greater
due to new spending,” Ramaswamy posted on X.
“Renewing the Farm Bill for an extra year: ~$130BN. Disaster relief:
$100BN. Stimulus for farmers: $10BN. The Francis Scott Key Bridge
replacement: $8BN. The proposal adds at least 65 cents of new spending
for every dollar of continued discretionary spending.”
“The bill could have easily been under 20 pages,” he later added.
“Instead, there are dozens of unrelated policy items crammed into the
1,547 pages of this bill. There's no legitimate reason for them to be
voted on as a package deal by a lame-duck Congress. 72 pages worth of
‘Pandemic Preparedness and Response’ policy; renewal of the
much-criticized ‘Global Engagement Center,’ a key player in the federal
censorship state; 17 different pieces of Commerce legislation; paving
the way for a new football stadium in D.C.; a pay raise for Congressmen
& Senators and making them eligible for Federal Employee Health
Benefits. It's indefensible to ram these measures through at the last
second without debate.”
These are aliens with significant ties to terrorism.... I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIA's or mention any of the arrests. The administration was trying to convince the public that there was no threat at the border." — Aaron Heitke, testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, September 18, 2024.
"Border Patrol zones across
Texas, Arizona and California had no agent presence for weeks and months
at a time. Those who did not want to be caught could simply walk in. We
have no idea who and what entered our country over this time." — Aaron
Heitke, retired chief patrol agent for the San Diego Sector of the U.S.
Border Patrol, testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland
Security, September 18, 2024.
"Simultaneously, in San Diego we had an exponential increase in
[Special] Interest Aliens (SIAs). These are aliens with significant ties
to terrorism.... I was told I could not release any information on this
increase in SIA's or mention any of the arrests. The administration was
trying to convince the public that there was no threat at the border." —
Aaron Heitke, testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland
Security, September 18, 2024.
More than half a million Venezuelans have entered the US
illegally since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. These
included criminals from the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which,
according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, has "a history of flooding
other countries with military-aged Venezuelan males to establish a base
of operation to carry out violent crimes in those countries." Pictured:
Illegal immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, arrive to be processed by U.S.
Border Patrol agents on September 29, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas, after
agents allowed them into the United States to make asylum claims. (Photo
by John Moore/Getty Images)
More than half a million Venezuelans have entered the US illegally since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, according
to the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Until Biden became
president, few Venezuelans arrived illegally. Only around 4,500 arrived
in 2020. After Biden's inauguration, however, numbers exploded: 50,499
Venezuelans illegally entered in 2021, another 189,520 in 2022 and a
whopping 334,914 in 2023.
This means that Venezuelans now rank second in illegal immigration into the US, after Mexicans, who still take the number one spot.
For more than two decades, Venezuela has been a close ally of Iran,
and a regional home base for Hezbollah, Iran's proxy in the Middle East.
Hezbollah, according
to one 2020 Atlantic Council report, helped to "turn Venezuela into a
hub for the convergence of transnational organized crime and
international terrorism."
Iran's Quds Force is a subsection of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC). Quds Force runs Iran's terrorist operations abroad, and it
established operations in Latin America with Venezuela's support during
the Hugo Chávez regime (1999-2013), noted
Jorge Serrano, a security expert and member of the team of advisors to
Peru's Congressional Intelligence Commission. Quds Force has a local
unit in Venezuela, Unit 840, which recruits and relies on local criminal
groups to conduct assassinations and kidnappings. (The practice of
hiring local criminals to do Iran's bidding has also spread to Europe.)
According
to Alejandro Cassaglia, an expert in terrorism and organized crime and
professor at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina:
"It's crucial to recognize that these groups are
dedicated to hybrid warfare, cyber-intelligence, and terrorist
attacks... The presence of Iran and the Quds Force [in Latin America] is
not just a potential risk, but a palpable reality. These criminals have
total freedom of movement in the region, they have Venezuelan passports
and are usually of Lebanese or Persian origin."
One of these groups is the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, described
as a "mega-gang" or a conglomerate of different criminal groups, by
Transparencia Venezuela, an NGO that notes the gang is the "largest and most powerful organization in Venezuela" with more than 4,000 criminals. It has been described as "MS-13 on steroids."
The state of Texas has designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization. According to Serrano, the gang "has Iran's support" and have forged "strategic alliances with Russia, China, and North Korea."
In July, a federal memo said that the Tren de Aragua gang had been
given the "green light" by its leaders to "attack and open fire on cops
in Denver," according to the New York Post.
The gang has "a history of flooding other countries with
military-aged Venezuelan males to establish a base of operation to carry
out violent crimes in those countries," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in September.
The Biden administration, knowing this, nevertheless allowed Tren de
Aragua to come into the US, where they are now have set up shop in at
least 16 states, and have already been tied to hundreds of crimes, including the shooting of two New York Police Department officers in June.
How did the Biden administration do that? According to the Center for Immigration Reform:
"The major driver of Venezuelan migration to the U.S. has
been policies that allow illegal aliens to enter, be released, and work
in the United States. Many Venezuelan nationals are taking advantage of
the Biden Administration's illegal categorical parole program,
announced in late 2022. Under this program, Venezuelans and dual
citizens of Venezuela can fly directly into the U.S. without a visa.
Furthermore, the Biden Administration has designated and re-designated
Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which blocks the
government from deporting Venezuelan nationals and offers them work
permits. This has incentivized more Venezuelans to come to the U.S.
because they anticipate similar treatment."
Former director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan, tapped by President-elect Donald J. Trump to be the US "border czar", has stated that Biden is the only president in U.S. history to "unsecure the border on purpose."
It is indeed impossible to see the invasion at the border as anything
other than planned by the Biden administration. When Venezuela began to
empty its prisons of criminals two years ago, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, aware
that the criminals were heading to the U.S. border, gave the United
States Border Patrol instructions to look for violent criminals from
Venezuela entering the country. If the Biden administration had wanted
to stop the invasion, in the words of U.S. House Representative Troy Nehls:
"For starters, he can use Section 212 (f) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, which states, 'Whenever the President
finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the
United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United
States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem
necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as
immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any
restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.' Simply put, Biden could end
the entry of illegal aliens, or specifically Venezuelans, today.
Instead, he is callously and consciously refusing to do so."
Aaron Heitke, a retired chief patrol agent for the San Diego Sector
of the U.S. Border Patrol, gave testimony on September 18 to the U.S.
House Committee on Homeland Security, revealed that "Biden and Harris'
policies so overwhelmed the Border Patrol that upwards of 80-90% of
agents were completely pulled away from the border to process and
release historic numbers of border crossers." Heitke testified:
"Sectors were ordered to take in and process all the
illegal aliens encountered on the border. The Border Patrol saw groups
of hundreds and thousands coming into the United States and turning
themselves in. These numbers pulled 80-90%, sometimes 100% of the agents
on duty away from the border. Border Patrol zones across Texas, Arizona
and California had no agent presence for weeks and months at a time.
Those who did not want to be caught could simply walk in. We have no
idea who and what entered our country over this time. Throughout 2022
and 2023 I sent agents to Texas and Arizona to count gotaways. Those
sectors could not even put enough agents in the field to see what they
had missed."
As evidence of the national security risks caused by the Biden administration, it told Border Patrol agents to lie about the number of terrorists entering the country, according to Heitke.
"Simultaneously, in San Diego we had an exponential
increase in [Special] Interest Aliens (SIAs). These are aliens with
significant ties to terrorism. Prior to this administration, the San
Diego sector averaged 10-15 SIAs per year. Once word was out that the
border was far easier to cross, San Diego went to over 100 SIAs in 2022,
way over 100 SIAs in 2023 and more than that this year. These are only
the ones we caught. At the time, I was told I could not release any
information on this increase in SIA's or mention any of the arrests. The
administration was trying to convince the public that there was no
threat at the border."
Returning to foreign policy realism, traditional wisdom, and common sense.
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The end
of Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad’s regime has likely taken with it
the so-called Axis of Resistance confected by Iran and its proxies in order to eliminate Israel and replace the U.S. as the region’s premier power. This malign cabal promises to go down in history as one of the most dangerous examples of the West’s feckless foreign policy idealism, the master narrative and received wisdom that shaped and rationalized Obama’s foreign policy––and its sequel during Biden’s term staffed with Obama’s personnel.
Will this repudiation of Obama’s foreign
policy also put paid to the “rules-based international order” whence it
came? And will foreign policy realism be restored to the State Department?
Obama’s foreign policy was obviously a product of the clichés and bromides of the foreign policy establishment that comprisesfederal bureaucracies, leftist media, universities,and think-tanks. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, our foreign policy mavens have embraced tenets and principles such as global interests and norms should trump national ones,and “soft power” like diplomacy should be prized overmilitary force. In short, “diplomatic engagement,”
international covenants, supranational institutions, and a globalist
rather than a nationalist perspective would now keep global order and
promote peace and prosperity.
Moreover, the controlling assumptions behind these ideals was that the whole world desires Western democracy and its cargo:individual rights, rule by law, tolerance for ethnic and religious minorities, separation of church and state, and widely distributed prosperity. Also, violent conflicts like wars, invasions, occupations, ethnic cleansing, and genocide are the product of the lack of those goods. And the West should provide the “rest”with those boons bythe limited and carefully calibrateduse of force, but more importantly through “soft power” ––cultural influences, global institutions,international trade,NGOs, and foreign aid.
From the beginning, these ideals featured in Obama’s writings and speeches at home and abroad.In 2007,in ForeignAffairshe took to task the previous administration’s failed diplomacy anditchy trigger-finger that ended up with an invasion of Iraq,the evidence of a need to “reinvigorate American diplomacy,” “renew American leadership in the world,” and “to rebuild the alliances, partnerships, and institutions necessary to confront common threats and enhance common security.” Consistent with the globalist framework, Obama sounded the cringing, soft oikophobic notes of Jimmy “malaise” Carter, as when he advised that we use our power and wealth to improve the global community, “not in the spirit of a patron but in the spirit of a partner––a partner mindful of his own imperfections.”
Also typical of the “rules-based international order” was Obama’s unseemly “apology tour,” especially his 2009 comments in Cairo. Earlier in his State of the Union speech, hehad specifically addressed the Muslim nations with a solicitouspromise of a “new way forward, based on mutual interests and mutual respect”––Western diplomatic clichés lacking any awareness of orthodox Islam’s teaching about infidels.
In Cairo,his audience included representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood, the“godfather,” as Lee Smith put it, of modern jihadism, which made his remarks even more clueless. His focus was on the Western sins that provoked the terrorist attack on 9/11, and the subsequent “tensions” between the West and Islam: especiallya “colonialism
that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in
which Muslim-minority were too often treated as proxies without regard
to their own aspirations.”
The former charge betrays a remarkable ignorance of history, given that Islam is one of history’s most successfulcolonial empires, a consequence of invasion, conquest, and settlement––andone that 2500 years later still occupiesterritories that were Greco-Roman and Hebraic for millennia. As for the lattercharge, it bespeaks the arrogance of the West to deny Muslimnationsany agency in their rulers’ choice to align either with the U.S. or the Soviet Union, based on their estimation of which power would most benefit them and their interests.
Given his embrace of foreign policy idealism, naïve Third-Worldism, and leftist animus against the U.S. and Israel, Obamasaw the problem of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weaponsas an opportunity for a legacy foreign policy achievement. Hence began the misbegotten Iran JCPOA, the “nuclear deal” that put Iran’s brutal and antisemitic theocracy on the glide-path to possessing nuclear bombs, one accompanied by billions of dollars in Western danegeld.
And this craven appeasement has continued during Biden’s term, despite
Iran’s attacks on our troops, kidnapping of our citizens, serial
violations of the treaty, training and arming of terrorists like Hamas
and Hezbollah, threats and attacks on our allies, especially Israel, cooperation with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and support of a brutal dictator in Syria.
All the disorder and assaults on our interests in the Middle East are the consequences of Obama’s foreign policyand its continuation by hisloyalists who directed Biden’s rancid foreign policy idealism that still drives the “nuclear deal” with Iran. But that was part of a larger goal of clipping Israel’s wing by aiding Iran to become a regional counterweight to Saudi Arabia. Obama also had a hand in perpetuating Assad’s dictatorship in Syria, turning him into a partner of the Iranians and the Russians.
Obama’s mishandling of the Syrian civil
war was another blunder that worsened conditions in an already
dysfunctional region. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, “It’s
worth recalling Barack Obama’s role in keeping Mr. Assad in power. Mr.
Obama declined to support the opposition in any important way and then
refused to enforce his ‘red line’ against Mr. Assad’s use of sarin and chlorine gas to kill his own people. Incredibly, Mr. Obama invited Russia to help end
the civil war. Vladimir Putin obliged by joining with Iran to prop up
Mr. Assad, elbowing the U.S. out, and establishing an air base and a
long-desired naval base on the Mediterranean. This misjudgment helped
Iran expand its Axis of Resistance from Tehran to Beirut. It also
reversed the strategic triumph achieved by Richard Nixon and Henry
Kissinger in the 1970s in minimizing the Soviet Union’s influence in the
Middle East.”
The election of Donald Trump means we
have a good chance of undoing much of the damage Obama inflicted on our
foreign policy and on our national security by empowering terrorists and
autocrats like Vladimir Putin, and by ushering Iran to the threshold of possessing nuclear weapons.
But the responsibility for these failures is bipartisan.
Barack Obama was following the received wisdom of the “rules-based
international order” that began to develop over a century ago. It became
unexamined orthodoxy after the Cold War, when the victory was credited
not to the U.S.’s strategy of containment, forward deployed troops, and
thousands of nuclear warheads. Instead, the “new world order,” exporting
liberal democracy, diplomatic engagement, and global trade could create a “harmony of interests” that would make war an anachronismand global peace a possibility.
George H.W. Bush in his 1991 State of the Union address called it a “new
world order where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to
achieve the universal aspirations of mankind––peace and security,
freedom, and the rule of law.” In such a world, violent conflict and bellicose nationalism would in time give way to the boons of globalism: multinational institutions, international law and courts, and “diplomatic engagement.”
Barack Obama is a true believer in all these claims founded on numerous begged questions. In his cringing speech in Cairo, Obama informed, and no doubt insulted, his Muslim listeners:“I
do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things:
the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed;
confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice;
government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the
freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they
are human rights.”
These idealistic nostrums dominate foreign policy establishment despite numerous failures, most recently Joe Biden’s bungling retreat from Afghanistan, and dangerous mishandling of Iran and its proxies’ heinous attacks on Israel––errors fostered by Obama’s serial appeasement of Iran. As Eli Lake recently wroteabout Biden’s shamelessly taking credit for the collapse of Assad’s regime and other Iranian setbacks: “Biden’s
empty boast about Assad’s demise is a punchline. But his foreign policy
was not an anomaly. He channeled the Obama-era conventional wisdom that
captured a generation of Washington’s foreign policy elites. Their
assumptions about Iran now lay bare and exposed
for the world to see as the region realigns. And yet they remain in
their perches on Congressional committees, at the best think tanks, and
in the top op-ed pages. So it’s worth asking: What else might they be wrong about?”
The answer to Lake’s rhetorical question is, pretty much everything since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Trump and his new foreign policy team need to return forthwithto foreign policy realism,which acknowledgesthat our enemies and rivals––no matter how much they indulge our idealistic rhetoric––
don’t believe in the “rules-based international order,” or that the
free, prosperous West is the universal paradigm they want to emulate, instead ofa despised barrier to the tyrannical power they want to wield. The discrediting of Obama’s failures is just the prelude to restoring realism, traditional wisdom, and common sense.
Bruce Thornton is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center,
an emeritus professor of classics and humanities at California State
University, Fresno, and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution.
His latest book is Democracy’s Dangers and Discontents: The Tyranny of
the Majority from the Greeks to Obama.
The idea that maybe things Hamas says should not be instantly believed in their entirety never occurrs to the people who are supposed to value the truth.
UN flag at half mast for those killed in GazaEvan Schneider/U.N. Photo.
Hamas keeps fooling the media because they want to be fooled
Another
study has come out demonstrating what was obvious, the mainstream media
have been using statistics provided and deliberately inflated by Hamas
in their reporting on the war in Gaza.
The study by the Henry Jackson Society found that media outlets such as the New York Times,
the BBC, CNN, and more uncritically cite and parrot the casualty
figures provided by Hamas via the Gaza Health Ministry, even as those
figures turn men into women, adults into children, and combatants into
civilians, while claiming people killed by Hamas and other terrorist
organizations as well as people who died of natural causes were killed
by the IDF.
Hamas played the media for fools and has done so for the entire war. But don’t expect any anger from the New York Times or the BBC
at the terrorists who tricked them into writing fiction instead of the
news. A thousand reports all proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that
Hamas is lying about the casualties in Gaza can be released, and still
the mainstream media will report their lies as facts without question.
History
proves that the media will ignore all the evidence and continue to
report lies as the truth as long as those lies make Israel look bad.
In June, the Associated Press
conducted its own study that found that the percentage of women and
children killed in Gaza had fallen to 34% despite Hamas’ continued false
claims that the figure was a constant 70% or higher.
Despite
this, just yesterday, AP published an article about Hamas’ latest
claims on the Gaza death toll, including its claims that more than half
of the casualties have been women and children. Ignoring and never
mentioning its own study
showing that Hamas figures have long been known to be false, the AP
never questioned the figures provided by Hamas. The only lip service it
paid to reality was to note that Hamas does not distinguish between
civilians and combatants in its figures. Instead, it chose to say that
it is Israel that claimed “without providing evidence” that 17,000
terrorist combatants have been killed.
How
does a major news organization go from publishing a study proving Hamas
lies about casualty figures to reporting as if Hamas is telling the
truth and it is Israel that is lying?
The
sad truth is, these media organizations are fooled by Hamas because
they want to be fooled. They want the story to be the noble Palestinian
Arab resistance bravely defending itself against the evil Israelis. The
fact that the war only started because Hamas committed the worst
massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, the fact that Hamas exists for the
sole purpose of committing genocide, are all irrelevant. Facts don’t
matter when they get in the way of “the narrative.”
The
media never learn. The fake reports of a nonexistent massacre in Jenin
in 2002 caused no soul-searching, no questioning, and no change. As the
facts came out following the 2009 and 2014 conflicts with Hamas and even
Hamas eventually admitted that its original casualty figures were wrong
and Israel’s were right, almost no one at the New York Times, CNN, or the AP took notice.
This
consistent pattern of believing every Hamas lie against Israel
continued throughout this entire war. You would think media outlets
would be embarrassed by having fallen for the lie that Israel had killed
hundreds of civilians by bombing the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City when
it was so quickly proven that every aspect of the accusation against
Israel was a lie. The hospital was struck by an errant rocket fired by
Islamic Jihad and the death toll was a small fraction of what was
claimed. But as with every other lie against the media has swallowed
hook, line, and sinker over the decades, no lessons were learned, no
conclusions were drawn. The idea that maybe things Hamas says should not
be instantly believed in their entirety never occurred to the people
who are supposed to value the truth.
In 2014, former AP correspondent revealed the inner workings of how this media machine works against Israel. In a piece for Tablet Magazine
titled ‘An Insider’s Guide to the Most Important Story on Earth,’ he
documented how mainstream media organizations refused to report on Hamas
intimidation against journalists in Gaza and how AP’s editorials
refused to publish a bombshell story showing the extent of the offer
made by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Palestinian
Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
A
story that proved an Israeli leader was serious about peace and that
the PA leader refused his generous terms that would have created a
Palestinian state did not fit the narrative, so it had to be killed.
When the facts are not what the reporters want, they don’t report them.
This
agenda-driven ‘reporting’ has dangerous real-word consequences. It
lends credence to the attempts to punish Israelis for the crime of
living at the International Criminal Court and the International Court
of Justice. It gives politicians cause to criticize Israel for things
they would do if they were in Israel’s shoes and to push to cut off arms
sales to the Jewish State.
Most
egregiously, by pursuing a narrative instead of facts, these mainstream
media outlets feed the antisemitism that has made the world a far less
safe place to be a Jew over the last year.
How different would the world be if the New York Times, the BBC, the AP, the Washington Post, CNN,
and so many other news organizations were more interested in telling
their readers and listeners the truth instead of feeding their preferred
narrative? Would the Biden Administration have spent all of 2014 trying
to stop Israel from winning the war if news organizations accurately
reported from Gaza or if they treated Hamas’ casualty claims with even
the slightest amount of the scepticism these claims warranted?
Would
the ICC and ICJ have chosen to target Israel for nonexistent crimes if
the media had done its job and reported the truth that these crimes
never happened, giving the cases against Israel no leg to stand on?
Would
the antisemites who have spent the last 14 months doing everything they
can to make life a living hell for Jews and calling for another
Holocaust be given any of the social power they have seized if the
public was told the truth that their claims of Israel committing
“genocide” are a lie?
Just
imagine a world in which the AP cited its own study and told its readers
the truth that it was Hamas that made claims “without providing
evidence.”
The saying goes,
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” But there is
no saying about being fooled a hundred times by the same lies. Shame is
nonexistent at that point.
The
Henry Jackson Society has done a great service in providing more
conclusive evidence against the narrative of Hamas and its supporters.
But it will make no difference to the mainstream media, which shows no
compunction about being made fools of every time they listen to the lies
of their chosen heroes.
The
emperor has no clothes, the man behind the curtain is exposed, but they
will never admit it. They want Hamas and its supporters to continue to
fool them so they can fool their audiences. There is no greater enemy of
truth than the fool who wants to be fooled.
