See What You Have Wrought, Liberals?

To my liberal brothers and sisters:

We warned you that voting for a man with no experience because it felt good was a horrible idea. Hillary Clinton warned you that some react to the 3 AM phone call and questioned whether her opponent had the abilities needed to answer it and dictate and strategy. John McCain told us the consequences of electing a shady Chicago "community organizer" would result in chaos around the world. But many didn't listen and as one of Obama's spiritual leaders once noted "the chickens have come home to roost".  You called all of us racist and refused to stop screaming "yes we can" long enough to see how factual our statements were.

Obama's self-belief that he had the intellectual power to calm the Mid-East have been laid to waste. When the opportunity arose to assist in protecting a long-standing, mostly secular yet brutal dictator in Egypt arose, we said that to allow this man to be ousted would result in the rise of radical Islam in a crucial nation in the region. We knew that a liberalized Egypt was the only way to counter Islamofascism and the void left would be filled by the Muslim Brotherhood and local salafist's who want a pan-Muslim mega-state reaching from Morocco to Pakistan and further.

We said to do nothing but dither while a nascent rebellion began to rise in the deeply radical and destabilizing nation of Iran would result in a perception of weakness from the Muslim world you said nothing and supported your clearly unprepared president.

We said that launching another war in a country that already had a history of attacking the US but was led by another tyrant who was coming around to the concept of American power, you cheered your hero on and did not think about the long-term consequences for the US. You did however play up the conflict for short-term political game because the only thing that matters to you is to be in power and hold influence and the purse strings.

So here we sit watching our embassies attacked, our ambassador savagely murdered and the US flag burned. This is the consequences of your votes. Radical Islam is counter to everything you hold dear: gay rights, women's rights, abortion, secularism and yet, you support a man who has set the rights of millions of people back a century or more.

And please stop with the silly notion that this was all because of a poorly-edited You Tube video. You just sound inane. This was a well-planned and orchestrated attack on sovereign US territory that was carefully planned to occur on the day that many Muslims hold dear, the day they inflicted 3,000 deaths on the US. Does one actually want to argue that people who raise their children this way need any provocation other than our mere existence?

Also, just stop with the Romney bashing because your savior dropped the ball and his people instituted policies that would not allow Marines to carry loaded weapons in a deeply hostile nation. 

Please stop blaming former President Bush for this because I recall that on January 20, 2009 Egypt was stable and Gadaffi was trying to mend his errant ways in Libya. Both nations are now wastelands with numerous sects fighting to see who can be more radical and more anti-American.

No liberals, you elected a man who was easily the most unprepared for the task he won. He threw our money to his cronies, rammed through a horrible health care bill, alienated the one true ally we have in the region and actually believed that he was so gifted as a person and orator that he could meet with Ahmedinejad without pre-conditions and get him to reconsider his position. You elected a man who shirks any responsibility for anything remotely unpopular while blaming his predecessor as often as possible.

We told you that being the president of the greatest nation on Earth was difficult. It's not just meeting with Beyonce and Jay-Z but meeting with Netanyahu and Karzai and explaining the American position in straight-forward terms. We told you that security relied on intelligence and ones ability to act on it to protect our citizens. You scoffed at the notion that Obama could handle it and continue to do so even though actionable intelligence appears to have been discovered. 

No, leadership is not fundraising, making deals on the golf course and meeting Olympians. Leadership is standing out front and--using either the stick or the carrot--moving the nation and the world into the next era. Obama has never led anyone to do anything of consequence that bettered US interests and has in fact done many that have harmed them. 

I felt that another four years of Obama would cripple us both socially and economically but after this last week, I'm not really sure we can survive another four months until inauguration day. 

The Muslim Brotherhood Take Over

Hosni Mubarak is/was a son of a bitch but he is/was a known and stable son of a bitch (Mubarak's actual state of being is in dispute). He managed to keep the Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian Islamic Jihad in check while keeping the peace treaty with Israel intact.

His ouster last year changed the face of the Middle East. With Islamist's winning in other nations such as Libya, we now have our hands full dealing with regimes who hate us and want our presence in the region curtailed. We face two very bad options with regard to Egypt: we continue to send them billions in aid and hope they stick to the agreement with Israel or we cut off the funding and watch the nation devolve into a haven for jihadi's right on Israel's southwestern border.

Either way, the region is going to become highly destabilized. The new president said he didn't want Cairo, Mecca or Medina as his capital, he wants Jerusalem and led a huge crowd in a chant saying exactly that:




Israel cannot sit idly by and see what direction this is headed. If it were up to me, I'd covertly arm Israel with whatever they need to shore up their defenses including spare parts for existing systems and increased intelligence sharing. We could very well be seeing the next pan-Arab coalition building that was last seen when Nasser was leading the charge and Israel was attacked by numerous Arab states.

On the flip side, Amir Tehiri sees some hope but that was before the election.

Israeli Soldiers, Pro-Palestinian Rioters Clash in Flotilla Raid

10 dead at this point but it will surely be more.

The background is that a Turkish boat loaded with pro-Palestinian activists tried to run the blockade Israel has enforced in hopes of reducing the daily attacks they've suffered. The IDF attempted to land soldiers aboard the boat and expected little if any resistance. They were wrong as the rioters attacked the soldiers before the could land using slingshots, guns, firebombs and metal poles.

The IDF reportedly had strict rules against the use of force but the soldiers felt they were in great jeopardy and resorted to using handguns to fend off the rioters.

Here's video released by the IDF just a few hours ago that backs up their version of events. The soulless lefties are slamming Israel of course and calling the Turkish fighters "peace activists" or just plain "activist's" instead of trained thugs trying to help a terrorist regime.

US Gearing Up For Iran Engagement

Iran is still acting froggy and even threatened today to cure us of our arrogance. Despite the repeated admonishments from the UN backed by threats of a fierce wrist slapping and bed without dinner, Ahmadinejad seems poised to take his nation over the edge.

The US Navy has moved anti-missile assets into the Arabian Gulf and placed ground-based Patriots in several nations to fend off a missile attack should the Islamic Republic act on their threats and start a regional war no one wants.

Unfortunately, a test designed to intercept an Iranian missile shot they are capable of failed today:

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. attempt to shoot down a ballistic missile mimicking an attack from Iran failed after a malfunction in a radar built by Raytheon Co (RTN.N), the Defense Department said.

The abortive test over the Pacific Ocean coincided with a Pentagon report that Iran had expanded its ballistic missile capabilities and posed a "significant" threat to U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East region.

The Missile Defense Agency said that in Sunday's test both the target missile, fired from Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, and the interceptor, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, had performed normally.

"However, the Sea-Based X-band radar did not perform as expected," the agency said on its web site. Officials will investigate the cause of the failure to intercept, it said.

I disagree with the credit where credit is due sentiment expressed by Karl. Democrats have been trying to shut down funding for what they called "Star Wars" back in the days of Reagan and we haven't nearly perfected the technology to make missile defense reliable. We have had numerous successful tests so it may indeed work and better to fail in a test than when missiles are en route to Tel Aviv.

Speaking of Israel, they can't sit back and just hope we take care of things for them. They must gear up as we speak and I wouldn't be too surprised to see an attack on a par with the daring Osirak raid go off within weeks.

The ridiculous coddling of the Iranian ayatollahs and their stooge Ahmadinejad has proven to be an epic failure. Obama--in his naive approach favored by weak liberals--has allowed old Mahmoud to steal an election, laugh at us, threaten us and supply those who are killing our troops while keeping hope alive that the Iranians will see the brilliance he possesses and come to the table. Uh, no. They understand strength and power and Obama has to say forcefully that we will take action if Iran launches at any nation. No, the mealy-mouthed rhetoric we usually hear from the administration won't do this time. If they launch at Haifa, we have a war that will engulf the entire Mid-East, drive oil prices through the roof and force us to defend Israel, thus motivating thousands to join al-Qaeda in the war they want.

This is no time for nuance and thoughtful contemplation. This is a time for straight talk and even more overt action. Place two or three DDG's on the coast outside the 13-mile recognized range and let them sit until the self-proclaimed date by Ahmadinejad. Then encourage those that are leading the revolution covertly by supplying money and assets. The next ten years depends on action taken today.

Iran's Tiananmen Square

From bad to horrible. Update: This is a must read on just how magnificently Obama has failed in what can only be seen as his first true test on foreign policy. A nation of oppressed people begged him for help and he turned his back on them and sentenced others who may try the same thing in North Korea, Burma and The Sudan (update: add Venezuela to the list) to more years of authoritative rule with the complete absence of freedom.


More Chip Bok cartoons here.

Iranian Regime Settles the Score

It only took the silence of a US president to signal the regime that they could start handling the protests in their own, special, hyper-violent way and face no ramifications.

Today the mullahs unleashed hell upon those who dared to stand up for freedom in the theocratic nation and the result will be untold dead and wounded.

Gateway Pundit has all the news plus video and pictures from the crackdown including this:



But wait, their will be serious ramifications on a scale like those levied by the UN: Obama rescinded his invitation to Iranian diplomats who were previously invited to the White House barbecue. It would have been awkward eating hamburgers with the blood of innocents all over their hands I guess. I'm sure Obama would have covered for them by saying it was only ketchup.

Monday Iran Update

Things were somewhat calmer over the weekend but threaten to flair up again. Here's today's news:

-Obama says that those feel good invitations he extended to Iranian diplomats still stand and yes, he would be delighted to celebrate the birthday of the worlds greatest democracy with those who are actively oppressing the onset of one.

-26-year old Neda Agha-Soltan is remembered by her family in what has to be the most tragic event of the uprising. She was a bystander essentially and will now go down as the face of the revolution. Senator McCain eulogizes her in a way she greatly deserved. Her picture is at right.

-Christopher Hitchens puts the wood to Obama over his utter failure on Iran. Note to self; never piss off Hitch.

-Obama and Hugo Chavez are of one mind on Iran. Nice company he keeps.

-Rumors have been flying that the Republican Guard is disobeying orders and will not attack protesters, which means it will be hardline thugs doing the dirty work. People are fighting back. Note, all links are to Gateway Pundit who has done fantastic work on this issue.

Iran Update

Here's what's going on in the (hopefully soon to be dead) mullahracy:

-The J-Post reports that Hamas thugs are cracking skulls in support of the regime. Didn't Jimmy Carter say that Hamas should be removed from the list of terror groups just yesterday? Yes, yes he did. The irony meter is pegged at eleven:

On Monday, he said, "my brother had his ribs beaten in by those Palestinian animals. Taking our people's money is not enough, they are thirsty for our blood too."

It was ironic, this man said, that the victorious Ahmadinejad "tells us to pray for the young Palestinians, suffering at the hands of Israel." His hope, he added, was that Israel would "come to its senses" and ruthlessly deal with the Palestinians.

-Obama refused to vocalize support for those seeking freedom and justice because he didn't want to hurt the cause by allowing the Mullahs to blame the US. Surprise, they blame us anyway. You see, whenever anything bad happens in Iran, it's all the fault of the US. Kinda like when anything went bad in the US it was Bush's fault.

-New media has a coming out party. Michael Smerconish asked on his radio show this morning what would have been the outcome of other historic events had Twitter been around. It's an interesting question.

-Iranians in South Korea make their feelings known:

Iranian soccer players also wore a green armband to show support. I'd imagine their are going to be a good amount of requests for asylum in South Korea tonight.

-IAEA inspector Mohammed al-Baradei is now a firm believer that Iran wants nukes. The only one who doesn't see this with clarity is Barack Obama.

Finally, I just want to be clear that Mousavi is not a revolutionary but more of the same. This is not a support Mousavi action but it's a start at change. Mousavi knows that should he somehow come out the victor in this, he will have to live up to what the students expect and that's going to be a tough order to fill.

Pictures of Iranian Freedom Revolution

I wrote earlier that President Obama has been tight-lipped about the events in Iran after Ahmadinejad stole the election. Perhaps pictures will wake him up. Nothing like a little dose of reality to smack oneself into action:



Anyone who can sit back and say nothing when they have the power to sway events is not worthy of the title "American" let alone President. These people are fighting for freedom. Unfortunately, The One is only about political expedience and human rights have no place in the mix.

Shameful but not entirely unexpected.

Update: Perhaps video will light a fire under his ass:

Obama's Shameful Silence on Iran

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the mullahs are not pulling any punches in putting down the protests over the fraudulent "election" on Friday. Reports have surfaced that the regime is sanctioning--or supporting through proxies--shootings, maimings and beatings of those who are exercising their human right to freedom of speech.

As the Obama administration has so tactlessly made clear with their kid glove treatment of China's human rights policies, they seem to be taking the same approach to Iran. They've said nothing of consequence while muttering non sequiturs and the world is noticing:

Vice President Joe Biden, while expressing "some real doubt" about the election, summed up the administration's position on Sunday's Meet the Press - "we're going to withhold comment... I mean we're just waiting to see." Waiting to see what Mr. Biden? More savage beatings of opposition supporters including women? The further arrest of hundreds of opposition leaders? Even greater suppression of the press and free speech?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton basically said the same thing in a pathetic statement on Saturday, declaring "the United States has refrained from commenting on the election in Iran," while White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who thinks nothing of savaging domestic opponents, meekly noted the administration was "impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm this election generated."

As blood flows on the streets of Tehran, the United States government remains as silent as a Trappist Monk. It is highly embarrassing when even the German government is showing more backbone than the White House. In contrast, the Germans, who shamefully happen to be Europe's biggest exporters to Iran, strongly denounced the crackdown on protestors, as have a number of European governments. Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier condemned the "brutal actions" against demonstrators, and summoned the Iranian Ambassador to Berlin in protest.

Here we have a nation that has snubbed its nose at the US for three decades and has given the finger to Obama on numerous ocassions brutally repressing civilians who seek greater freedom. Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, FDR and yes, even George W. Bush would have been condemning the Iranian leadership at every opportunity. But they had what was once known as guts and an unwavering sense of American exceptionalism. Obama (and most liberals) on the other hand will find some way to blame this on the US while letting the Mullahs and Ahmadinejad off the hook with a few words akin to "we condemn..." or the more mealy-mouthed "we strongly condemn..."

Here we have people protesting and dying to gain some semblance of freedom, the very thing America stands as a beacon (and one the Iranians who are being oppresses are counting on) of and the President can't condemn a brutal theocracy who he had coddled since day one with overtures of talks with no conditions and expressions of peace through speeches.

Oh yeah, Obama did take some action; he removed a major State Dept player who knows Iran well to appease the mullahs. Kind of like voting "present".

As an aside: George W. Bush labeled Iran, North Korea and Iraq the Axis of Evil. Not surprisingly, the one who has been given a new nation with a functioning democracy has learned to live as a free nation while the others have stepped up their level of rhetoric to heretofore unforeseen heights.

Hope and change baby, hope and change.

Update: Obama spoke after three, count 'em, thre days and said, well...nothing of consequence. People are dying and wanted a concrete statement and got rhetoric from The One:

Change With No Hope: Obama Bails On Israel

For more than 60-years the government of the United States has had a special relationship with Israel that was considered strategic, cultural and technological. That may now be coming to an end.

Obama's speech yesterday to the worlds Muslims was in effect a major change in US Middle East policy. By engaging the Muslim and Arab world, Obama will have to change our relationship with Israel and he effectively did so yesterday.

Yes, there have been strained moments but when we needed an ally in the region, we had one who would take care of the dirty work we needed done. Whether it be taking out the Iraqi nuke facility at Osirak or the Syrian atomic facility, the Israeli's acted with professionalism and incurred the wrath of the hand-wringing world for our strategic interests as much as their own.

The Israeli public is apoplectic and the Obama administration has placed Netanyahu in an awkward position at home. By courting the Arabs, Obama has effectively shunned the Israeli's and their quest for security. His actions will only embolden Ahmadinejad and Assad while also giving rise to a renewed fundamentalism in Egypt and Jordan.

The Arab world has never supported us and won't now. They'll speak in platitudes and soundbites that will look good in print but will continue to do what they've always done; work against our interests for their own self-preservation. Name one reliable ally we've had in the Mideast. Saudi Arabia was nice to us when they needed our protection but would just as likely push for $200 per barrel oil and make us grovel then help us in any real way. I guess we could count Kuwait but their proximity to Iran and Saudi Arabia would ensure major instability should they be too vociferous in backing our aims.

So we find ourselves at the dawn of a new era, an era that sees us disengaging with an old, reliable ally and engaging with those who bred and, in fact, encouraged through state media attacks on our interests at home and abroad.

The Obama Speech in Cairo

Reactions run the gamut on the speech and I guess it depends what each individual was expecting.

My thoughts are that it was a well-crafted speech although a bit too long. The audience didn't not grasp the applause lines except when it was either Obama quoting the Koran, praising Islam or bashing Israel, which is about what I expected.

All in all however, the speech projected weakness. Arabs as a whole and Muslims in particular respect one thing and that is strength. If one is powerful he deserves respect and if not he doesn't. It goes back to their tribal roots and has never left them. Obama came off as weak and he is the leader of the US so we did as well. At least he didn't bow to King Abdullah again and really make us look pathetic.

I think he had some fine points to make but didn't have the guts to say the words "terrorism" or "terrorist" and shied away from talking about the 9/11 attacks. He also neglected to note that Iraq is now a growing democracy--the first in the Mideast and, in fact, belittled the effort. Plus, he's going to sell out Israel regardless of his words.

Reactions around the blogosphere range from "awful" to "surprisingly good" to disappointment.

Other reactions here, text of the speech here.

I'm hoping this is the last of the America Sucks tour. It's akin to The Who doing their seventeenth annual farewell tour.

Iran Attacks Inside Iraq; How Will Obama Respond

Seemingly small incidents carry huge clout in the Mideast. When I was in Kuwait after Desert Storm, we were schooled incessantly on the local customs and how generally every action meant something in the local culture. Whether it be the Persians or Arabs, actions and reactions carry weight that western cultures can't even begin to comprehend.

This is one of those moments:

Iranian aircraft attacked three villages inside Iraq over the weekend. The airstrikes — Iran’s first on Iraqi soil since the U.S. invasion — could complicate the Obama administration’s efforts to normalize relations with Tehran.

“The bombardments appeared to have targeted the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish separatist group which has launched attacks on Iran from rear-supply bases in the mountains of northern Iraq,” AFP reports. Iran has attacked the Kurdish group before, with artillery. But this is the first time the Iranians followed up, with assaults from the air.

“The incident comes a week after reports of a clash between Iranian police officers and suspected PJAK fighters in the country’s western province of Kermanshah,” Al-Jazeera reports. “At least 10 policemen and 10 fighters were killed in the gun battle.”

This is a direct slap at the Iraqi government and by extension at Obama. His response (or lack of) will have ramifications that could harm our long-term strategies in the region. A non-response will send the signal that we are backing away from our commitment to Maliki and the Iraqi nation in which case Ahmadinejad will be further emboldened.

The only response is to covertly execute a mission that lets Iran know that we will never stand by and allow them free rein to attack within another nations sovereign borders. Something that will embarrass the regime in such a way that they will not even disclose it in the same vein as the Israeli attack in Syria that was covered up by everyone. Perhaps we take out one of their anti-aircraft radar installations or some other such action that will send a clear message.

I can't say I'm even remotely confident that Obama will authorize such a thing but one can hope.

Granted, the Kurdistan issue is one that concerns Iran, Iraq and Turkey but Iran clearly broached Iraq's border and that can't go without some response. As Uncle Jimbo notes, we own the airspace so we may have allowed this to occur but that seems doubtful.

The simple scenario is: today Kurdistan gets attacked, tomorrow the Straits of Hormuz are blocked unless we act quickly and decisively.

Danny Pearl Did Not Die In Vain

At least to those of us who see terrorists for what they truly are. Daniel Pearl's father ravages Bill Moyers, al-Jazeerah and "Red" Ken Livingston but saves his true outrage for Jimmy Carter:

But the clearest endorsement of terror as a legitimate instrument of political bargaining came from former President Jimmy Carter. In his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," Mr. Carter appeals to the sponsors of suicide bombing. "It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Road-map for Peace are accepted by Israel." Acts of terror, according to Mr. Carter, are no longer taboo, but effective tools for terrorists to address perceived injustices.

Mr. Carter's logic has become the dominant paradigm in rationalizing terror. When asked what Israel should do to stop Hamas's rockets aimed at innocent civilians, the Syrian first lady, Asma Al-Assad, did not hesitate for a moment in her response: "They should end the occupation." In other words, terror must earn a dividend before it is stopped.

I'm sure Carter supporters will wave away this criticism as an old man grieving for his son but if they actually took the time to read what he wrote they would feel shame. Carter has done more to legitimize terror tactics against an ally and a fellow democracy than anyone has before. His words encourage Hamas to continue acting as they do when any leader worth a damn would condemn them. Carter is not a leader and is instead a terrorist sympathizer who cloaks his words in mild condemnation while lashing out at Israel with full vitriol.

No Mr. and Mrs. Pearl, your son did not die in vain. He was a good reporter and writer and was selected for death by Mohammed because he was a Jew and an American. He is a martyr to me and anyone who loves freedom and remains the antithesis of what a martyr is to those who Carter supports.

Obama Gets a Taste of Iranian Diplomacy

Obama has this stunted view--a view most liberals share--that talk and negotiation will get other nations to like us. He sent some feel-good overtures to Iran and the Iranians have responded about how I'd expected:

US President Barack Obama's offer to talk to Iran shows that America's policy of "domination" has failed, the government spokesman said on Saturday.

"This request means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed," Gholam Hossein Elham was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

"Negotiation is secondary, the main issue is that there is no way but for (the United States) to change," he added.

After nearly three decades of severed ties, Obama said shortly after taking office this month that he is willing to extend a diplomatic hand to Tehran if the Islamic republic is ready to "unclench its fist".

In response, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a fresh tirade against the United States, demanding an apology for its "crimes" against Iran and saying he expected "deep and fundamental" change from Obama.

The Iranians come from a part of the world where men are hard and have been for centuries. People in the region respect one thing: strength. Negotiating is for weaklings or for those who are losing.

Obama played right into that by his talk during the campaign of unconditional talks with Ahmadinejad and others. They look at him as a timid leader who doesn't have any heart and that's scary.

I expect an incident in the Straits of Hormuz in the next year in which the Iranian navy tries to get froggy with either a merchant ship headed toward the US or a US Navy vessel. The mullahs are going to want to test the backbone the unproven Obama.

Welcome to the World Stage, Obama

Say it ain't so, Iranians burning pictures of The One. Don't they know that he's going to heal the planet, make the seas stop rising and solve all the worlds problems?



Of course his supporters will blame Bush because of the ill-will the world feels towards us in spite of the fact that we freed millions from tyranny. I say that Obama will have a harder time with Iran because he's planning a soft foreign policy toward the soon-to-be nuke nation.

Welcome to the big leagues, rookie.

Israel Sends Ground Troops Into Gaza

A tough battle in a densely packed area lays ahead. According to Olmert, it will not be over real soon:

GAZA — Israeli troops advanced into Gaza on Sunday under cover of heavy air, tank and artillery fire after opening a ground war against the militant group Hamas on Saturday night.

Witnesses said the Israeli forces had punched across Gaza, bisecting its northern and southern parts, and had taken over certain strategic areas, including what the military has described as rocket launching sites.

The ground campaign came after a week of intense airstrikes. Israel’s stated goal was to destroy the infrastructure of Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza’s government, and to significantly decrease the threat to southern Israel from Palestinian rocket fire.

In a telephone briefing for a group of foreign correspondents, a senior Israeli military official said that Israeli troops would hold the areas they have taken inside Gaza at least for the duration of the operation to prevent militants from returning to fire rockets from there.

Smart for PR purposes as the reason to attack was to prevent rockets from being launched into neighboring towns like Sderot.

Tactically, this is going to be tough for the IDF; Hamas members will hide among the civilian population much as al-Qaeda and the Fedayeen did in Iraq. It seems the Israeli's have something that we did not however, excellent intelligence. I would venture that intel collection has been ongoing since they vacated Gaza in 2005 and judging by the accuracy of hits on senior Hamas leaders, it appears the Mossad has been pretty successful.

Allah asks some important questions:

Question: Are we to infer from the timing that Obama greenlit the operation? I remember people like John Bolton speculating months ago that the IAF would make a run on Iran sometime between the election and the inauguration, partly to avoid putting the new president on the spot and partly to eliminate the possibility that he’d stop them from acting once in office. This ain’t Iran, but the principle still applies. Did The One sign off on this, or did Israel act now precisely so that he wouldn’t have to?

Isn’t this operation destined to be finished by Inauguration Day or very shortly thereafter? Obama’s not going to complicate his peace plans by tolerating a long Israeli incursion right out of the chute. They’re on the clock.

I wrote that President Bush had increased attacks on al-Qaeda in the case Obama was elected. Could the same thing be happening here? Israel as a nation is not quite sure how Obama will view them and given the latest poll, it doesn't appear that they can count on many Dems to go to bat for them. So they invade now and kind of take Obama off the hook since he's not been inaugurated but also in case he has misgivings about the operation, they won't be stopped or have weapons withheld.

Bush seems more than ready to let the IDF do what they can to eliminate Hamas over the next several weeks going so far as to stop Arab nations from halting the operation:

The U.N. Security Council ended emergency consultations that began late Saturday without reaching an agreement on the situation in the Gaza Strip.

France's U.N. ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said there were "strong convergences" among the council's 15 members about the need for a fully respected ceasefire.

But diplomats said the U.S. blocked Libya's attempt to call for an immediate halt to the fighting.

Exit thought: How long until we see Nasrallah and his Hezbollah goons start making some noise to try to relieve some of the pressure on Gaza?

More updates here and here.

Update: You can never underestimate the venom of liberals when it comes to Israel defending their citizens from rocket attacks.

Update: Hamas terrorists are taking out Fatah to preclude them from filling the power void. Yeah, they should have their own country.

Update: There's a lot of good commentary on this around the blogosphere. This would be among them.

Why Do Jews Still Vote Democrat: Installment XI

I am not so stupid as to say that all Jews support Israel and the military actions they are forced to take, but I feel confident that an overwhelming majority of Jews support the tiny state.

That said, I find this polling info interesting:

Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans back Israel’s decision to take military action against the Palestinians, but only half as many Democrats (31%) agree. A majority of Democrats (55%) say Israel should have tried to find a diplomatic solution first, a view shared by just 27% of Republicans.

Once again, Democrats go against Israel when Israel is in the right and is acting in self defense. Every time Israel finally reacts after having it's civilians targeted by suicide bombers, having it's soldiers kidnapped and murdered or watching Hamas continually launch rockets into schools the political left blames the victim. If it ain't anti-Semitism, it's a close relative. Either that or they prefer to take the side of those who cheered when 3,000 died in the 9/11 attacks.

Here's video in case anyone forgot:



Either way, they are opting to support terrorism over a country protecting itself.

Pamela Geller has some thoughts here.

Of course, the liberal blogosphere is all worked up and of course the most misguided, inane comments come from Glenn Greenwald at Salon:

...By stark constrast, Republicans, as one would expect (in light of their history of supporting virtually any proposed attack on Arabs and Muslims), overwhelmingly support the Israeli bombing campaign (62-27%).

Emphasis mine. Perhaps Greenwald was busy committing random acts of sock puppetry when we helped Muslims in the Balkans and freed an Arab-Muslim nation during the first Gulf War. Not to mention that Iraq is now a free nation with an elected government that has established itself quite nicely thanks to our actions. Also, when Greenwald accuses us of supporting attacks on Arabs and Muslims, would he have a problem with us taking out Ayman Zawahiri or Osama bin-laden if given the opportunity? My belief is that he would.

But our hero couldn't stop his idiocy there:

Equally noteworthy is that the factional breakdown regarding Israel-Gaza mirrors quite closely the factional alliances that arose with regard to the Iraq War. Just as was true with Iraq, one finds vigorous pro-war sentiment among the Dick Cheney/National Review/neoconservative/hard-core-GOP crowd, joined (as was true for Iraq) by some American liberals who typically oppose that faction yet eagerly join with them when it comes to Israel. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the world -- Europe, South America, Asia, the Middle East, the U.N. leadership -- opposes and condemns the attack, all to no avail. The parties with the superior military might (the U.S. and Israel) dismiss world opinion as essentially irrelevant. Even the pro-war rhetorical tactics are the same (just as those who opposed the Iraq War were demonized as being "pro-Saddam," those who oppose the Israeli attack on Gaza are now "pro-Hamas").

Um, Glenn, you can't have it both ways. You either support Israel or you support Hamas. One nation pulled out of Gaza and allowed them to try to self-govern themselves, signed a cease fire and lived up to it. The other continuously lobbed incendiaries into the first country with no regard for women and children. No nuance here, bro.

Liberals use extreme pretzel logic while slamming Israel and defending Iranian proxies like Hamas. They're knee-jerk anti-Israel at all times and will defend anyone who provokes them into military action regardless of how many Israeli's were murdered or how egregious the breach of a ceasefire was.

I ask again, why the hell do Jews continue to support liberal Democrats?

US Hands Over Control of Green Zone to Iraq

A great day and one that was never imagined a year and a half ago:

BAGHDAD (AP) — The United States handed over control of the Green Zone and Saddam Hussein's presidential palace to Iraqi authorities on Thursday in a ceremonial move described by the country's prime minister as a restoration of Iraq's sovereignty.

At a ceremony marking the transition, Nouri al-Maliki said he will propose Jan. 1 be declared a national holiday to commemorate what he called "Sovereignty Day" — the day Iraq took the lead in security away from U.S. forces, regained control of its airspace and reclaimed a wide swath of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

The area that became known as the Green Zone on the west bank of the Tigris River was occupied by the United States shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion and walled off from the rest of the city.

Until Wednesday, Saddam's former palace formally served as the U.S. Embassy and headquarters of the U.S military in Iraq. Thursday's palace handover was mostly ceremonial, as most U.S. diplomats and military officials long since moved to a new embassy building on the other side of the Green Zone, which is also known as the International Zone.

A great day indeed. Thanks to the men and women of our military, Iraq is becoming quite stable and is only the second democracy in the entire Mideast and one that may spur further democratic movement in Lebanon, Jordan and perhaps even Egypt.

This move is symbolic but most from this point will be until we leave. We've trained the Iraqi's to defend themselves and police their own nation and they've moved quickly toward that goal.

Shocker! Bombed Syrian Site Was Nuke Facility

Leave it to the Israeli's to give the world the finger and handle issues of concern to their national security on their own:

Samples taken from a Syrian site reportedly bombed by Israel on suspicion that it was a covert nuclear reactor contained traces of uranium combined with other elements that merit further investigation, diplomats said Monday.

The diplomats - who demanded anonymity because their information was confidential - said the uranium was processed and not in raw form, suggesting some kind of nuclear link.

Emphasis mine.

The IAEA tried their best to play down the significance of this but they had no choice but to release this info. This is the clearest indication that Syria was nearer to a nuke weapon than anyone would admit and shows once again just how feckless the UN offshoot IAEA really is.

Just as they did in 1981 when PM Menachem Begin--fearing the next government would be slow to act--attacked the Osiraq nuclear facility in Iraq, Israel had to act on intel showing Syria was nearing the makings of a nuclear warhead. They attacked (allegedly with US assistance or at least a nod from Bush) and took out what Boy Assad had in the planning stages.

Next on the agenda for the IAF is Iran. It will be a much harder nut to crack as the Iranians have been smarter in hiding their weapons and their overall program. Look for the attack to occur prior to Obama taking office.