From: Chrisifiles@aol.com [mailto:Chrisifiles@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2014 2:27 PM
Subject: More News and Articles.
Wouldnt you know it . Another extremely dumb liberal Journalist Roger Cohen (writing in the NY TImes) has tried to criticize Israel for the death of "500" children in the Protective Edge retaliation against Hamas rockets. It is a lie spewed out by Hamas readily accepted by Cohen to make his "blatherist" points.. You can read his demonization of Israel in todays NY TImes (where else). My answer is below..
Begin forwarded message:
From: William Firshein <wfirshein@wesleyan.edu>
Date: October 7, 2014 7:44:42 AM EDT
Subject: completely absurd
Dear Mr Roger Cohen,
Your tears over the supposedly 500 dead Palestinian children in the last Hamas-Israel war is way off the mark and it is a canard (op ed Oct 7). If you only used some logic and statistics you would see that figure is a figment of the Hamas-Palestinian propaganda imagination. But no, in your zeal to make some wishy-washy point about Israel's soul, you seize upon that lie and spew out nonsense. First of all these"numbers" come from Hamas themselves.. If you believe them I have this bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you. Secondly, there were about two thousand Palestinians killed in the war. Israel estimates that at least 1000 or more were Hamas terrorists. The rest were civilians used as cannon fodder by Hamas who set up their rocket launchers and mortars in the midst of the civilian population (ample evidence in the form of photographs confirm this travesty). Third, that would mean that of the 1000 civilians killed half were children? That is a very unlikely possibility but you swallowed it hook, line and sinker.. Certainly, some children were tragically killed because of the heartlessness of Hamas but thats what they wanted to make propaganda points using fools like you to trumpet Israel's "transgression". Why dont you use your brain for once Mr Cohen and stop trying to demonize Israel because they were forced to defend themselves in the "Protective edge'" retaliation to Hamas rockets. . Instead you should cast your ire at the Palestinians and Hamas .
William Firshein
Dept Mol. Biol and Biochem
Wesleyan University
Middletown, Ct., 06459
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Turkish PM: Attack ISIS, but Also Remove Assad
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- Strengthen Moderate Rebels in Southern Syria
- - Ehud Yaari
Rebels in southern Syria have gained control over most of the territory adjacent to the 1974 Israeli-Syrian truce line. The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has now practically ceased to function, as a result of rebel advances. UNDOF's fundamental purpose on the Syrian side of the border - monitoring the Syrian army's order of battle - has become largely moot because the Assad regime's frontline 61st and 90th Brigades have completely collapsed. Israel's new neighbors across the Golan border include Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) elements dedicated to al-Qaeda's vehemently anti-Israel doctrine.
For the time being, JN has avoided any attempt to engage in terrorist operations again st Israel. Its southern units include very few foreign jihadists. Its cadres prefer loose, ad hoc cooperation with other rebel factions, including those with ties to Israel. So far, most Israeli support for moderate, local, non-Islamist rebel battalions along the border has been limited to humanitarian aid, such as treating 1,400 sick and wounded Syrians in Israeli hospitals. Within the next few months, however, a wider scope of military aid may prove necessary.
In view of the U.S. decision to arm and train moderate rebels, Washington and Israel could seriously begin exploring the option of directing some of this effort to southern Syria. The writer is an international fellow with The Washington Institute and a Middle East commentator for Israel's Channel Two television. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)- Don't Let Iran Off the Hook on Nuclear Talks - Einat Wilf
Leaders of the P5+1 negotiating powers should not underestimate or underplay their hand. They are in an excellent negotiating position and should be able to secure an agreement that leaves Iran far from being able to pursue a military nuclear program. If - from the Iranian perspective - the path to regime preservation is more likely to be secured by dismantling their nuclear program than by continuing it, then the program will be dismantled. Getting the Iranian regime to reach this conclusion has been the challenge.
Iran needs the West to ease sanctions and to fight the Islamic State. Western leaders are negotiating from a position of strength. They hold the key to what the Iranian regime requires for its preservation. The opportunity to reach a good deal should not go to waste. Dr. Einat Wilf, a former member of Knesset, is an Adjunct Fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a Senior Fellow with the Jewish People Policy Institute. (Algemeiner)The Ethics of Israel's Gaza Operation
- Asa Kasher (Jewish Review of Books)
- A state's right to defend itself when attacked is just as unquestionable as an individual's right to self-defense when attacked. This right is confirmed by Just War doctrine, international law, and the UN charter, not to speak of common-sense ethics. Israel has both the international right and the domestic duty to respond when Hamas attacks its citizens. Moreover, no state has as much responsibility for the safety of enemy civilians as it does for its own people.
- Does the presence of large numbers of non-combatants in the vicinity of a building that is directly involved in terrorist assaults on Israelis render that building immune to Israeli attack? The answer is, and must be, no. Israel cannot forfeit its ability to protect its citizens against attacks simply because terrorists hide behind non-combatants. If it did so, it would be giving up any right to self-defense.
- Most IDF combatants are conscripts. As citizens in military uniform, they are entitled to ask whether they are being placed in greater jeopardy to save the lives of enemy non-combatants who have been repeatedly warned to leave the scene of battle.
- In the IDF, the commander in charge of a particular military mission is assisted by a staff "population officer" in assessing the extent of probable collateral damage. Human shields may be attacked together with the terrorists, but attempts should be made to minimize collateral damage among them, even though those who act willingly are, in fact, accomplices of Hamas.
- In all such cases, as much compassion as possible under the circumstances must be shown without aborting the mission or raising the risk to Israeli soldiers.
The writer, Professor Emeritus of Professional Ethics and Philosophy of Practice at Tel Aviv University, co-authored the IDF's code of ethics.See also Hamas' Code of Ethics - Alexander Yakobson and Yitzhak Benbaji (Ha'aretz)
- Attacking buses, open-air markets and pizzerias, with the goal of killing as many random passersby as possible, as Hamas does, is not legitimate and isn't even in the gray area. These are acts of terror - war crimes. These acts are the result of an explicit intent to kill.
- In Gaza, too, Hamas' methods of combat were criminal. It could have attacked Israeli military forces without firing rockets at Israel's civilian population, but chose to make firing rockets at Israeli communities its principal weapon.
- And even when firing from a populated area, Hamas operatives need not have placed the launch sites in the very locations that are most sensitive from a humanitarian standpoint. These methods of combat demonstrate utter contempt for human life, Israeli and Palestinian alike.
The writers are research fellows at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.- ===================================
· Slaughter Is Feared as ISIS Nears Turkish Border -
· Karam Shoumali and Anne Barnard
Islamic State militants pushed on Monday into the eastern edge of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani on the Turkish border, raising fears of a massacre of civilians, Kurdish fighters and activists said. Rooz Bahjat, a senior security official with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, said that as many as 9,000 Islamic State fighters were closing in on Kobani, which has given shelter to internally displaced Syrians from a wide range of ethnic groups.
Video from the front lines in recent days has shown fighters for the Islamic State advancing across fields in formation, well equipped in camouflage flak vests. Some mili tants have posted pictures of themselves holding the severed heads of what they say are female Kurdish fighters. Turkish forces have prevented Turkish and Syrian Kurds from joining the fight. (New York Times)· Shiite Rebels Are Yemen's New Masters
· - Hamza Hendawi
Anti-American Shiite rebels known as Houthis man checkpoints and roam the streets in pickups mounted with anti-aircraft guns after they overran Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, two weeks ago. Rebel fighters have plastered the city with fliers proclaiming their slogan - "Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews and victory to Islam."
The Houthis, who are backed by Shiite-led Iran, are poised to become Yemen's version of the Shiite Hizbullah in Lebanon - top powerbrokers dominating the government. After the fall of Sanaa, Houthis staged a massive victory rally in the city, flying Hizbullah flags and portraits of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Kh omeini. (AP-ABC News)
See also Yemen Changes Hands: Will an Iranian Stronghold Emerge near the Entrance to the Red Sea? - Jacques Neriah
Zaydi Shiites from the Houthi clan have taken control of the capital of Yemen. While the Zaydi Shiism practiced in Yemen differs from the Shiism practiced in Iran, in recent years Iran has sought to bring the Zaydis under its wings. Last year an Iranian weapons boat bound for Yemen was interdicted. A Houthi-controlled Yemen could evolve into a full-scale Iranian stronghold in the future and threaten freedom of movement through the Bab al Mandab Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea and a vital sea route between Europe and the Far East. (Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
See also Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hizbullah Assist Houthis in Yemen - Arafat Madabish (Asharq al-Awsat-UK)· Jordan Tackles Homegrown Islamists as It Joins Attacks on ISIS
· - John Reed
At least 60 people have been arrested in Jordan for suspected jihadi activities since the U.S.-led bombing campaign against ISIS began last month. As a key Arab member of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition, Jordan has put its airfields, training centers, and assets of its state security service at the coalition's disposal. Jordanian jets have carried out at least two air strikes in Syria. (Financial Times-UK)
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Cyprus Suspends Peace Talks with Turkey over 'Aggressive' Moves
Danger of conflagration as Turkish frigate violates Cyprus' southern waters, Cyprus accuses Turkey of provocation.
By Mark Langfan
First Publish: 10/7/2014, 8:58 PM
The Gelibolu
Courtesy of seaforces.org
Events in the eastern Mediterranean waters south of Cyprus are escalating rapidly, as Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades' suspended reunification peace talks with Turkey and Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus, after Turkey issued an unusual Navigational Telex, or NAVTEX, and a Turkish frigate violated the Cypriot Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) in Cyprus's southern waters.
more@ http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185937#.VDQ79Rb4IaM
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The enemy of my enemy is also my enemy
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative"
"Israel Hayom," October 3, 2014, http://bit.ly/1viFloG
"The enemy of my enemy is my potential ally" underlies the 2014 Western policy toward Iran, the enemy of ISIS. It underlay US policy toward Iraq's Saddam Hussein – the enemy of Iran - until Saddam's occupation of Kuwait on August 2, 1990.
The 1990 reckless policy toward Iraq triggered a conventional conflict, a $1.25 trillion cost to the US taxpayer, 4,500 US military fatalities, a surge of anti-US Islamic terrorism and a dramatic destabilization of the Persian Gulf. The 2014 mischaracterization of Iran could produce a nuclear conflict, a mega-trillion dollar cost to the US taxpayer, an unprecedented level of fatalities, a tidal wave of global anti-US Islamic terrorism and tectonic eruptions of insanity throughout the globe.
During 1989-1990, upon the conclusion of the Iraq-Iran war, the US Administration portrayed Iraq's Saddam Hussein - the enemy of America's enemy, Iran – as a potential ally, enhancing Baghdad's strategic capabilities through an intelligence-sharing agreement, supplies of sensitive dual-use systems and the extension of $5bn loan guarantees. Instead of constraining Saddam's regional maneuverability and inherent, violent, megalomaniac expansionism, the US Administration chose to ignore Saddam's core, imperialistic, rogue, radical, anti-US ideology, which triggered the Iraq-Iran war.
The larger, historical, ideological, complex context was overtaken by a narrowly and simplistically-designed policy-de-jour.
The recklessness of "the enemy of my enemy is my potential ally" was underlined by an intense US-Iraq diplomatic traffic. For example, Saddam's meeting with Ambassador April Glaspie on July 25, 1990, which convinced Saddam that he could invade Kuwait with impunity. Thus, an erroneous US policy led to Iraq's plunder of Kuwait, and consequently to the First Gulf War (1991), the devastatingly costly Second Gulf War (2003-2010) and possibly the Third Gulf War (2014-).
The victory of wishful-thinking over reality, also, undelay Israel's 1993 policy toward the PLO - the enemy of Hamas – which was gullibly expected to align itself with Israel's war on Palestinian terrorism, in return for the unprecedented Israeli territorial concessions of the Oslo process. Instead, since 1993, Israel has been a victim of an unprecedented wave of PLO/Hamas anti-Israel terrorism, reinforced by daily hate-education and incitement in Mahmoud Abbas' schools, mosques and media, as well as a surge of terrorism from 2000-2003, the 2006 Hamas takeover of Gaza and the 2008/9, 2012 and 2014 wars against Palestinian terrorism in Gaza.
The assumption that "the enemy of my enemy is potentially my friend" underestimates the following endemic, unique features of Iran's Ayatollahs and Mullahs: the compulsive, core, Islamic/Shite, supremacist, megalomaniac, anti-infidel, anti-US ideology; the perception of the US as the "Great Satan" and the chief obstacle to an imperial Islamic Iran; the intimate military ties with America's enemies and adversaries; the sponsorship of global anti-US Jihadist terrorism, including in Iraq and Afghanistan; a thirty year track record of non-compliance and deceit in their negotiation with the West; President Rouhani's key role in misleading the West; the clear and present danger posed by a nuclear Iran to the survival of Saudi Arabia and other pro-US oil-producing Arab regimes and to global and homeland security, national security and economy; the impact of Iran's occupation of Iraq's Shite section upon the stability of the Gulf; the egregious violations of human-rights by Iran's minority, tyrannical, ruthless regime which sent 500,000 children to clear minefields during the Iraq-Iran War; and the ineffectiveness of sanctions, and any diplomatic option, when applied to rogue regimes, bent on domination, and the rejection of peaceful-coexistence.
"The enemy of my enemy is my potential ally" worldview has been nurtured by the same foreign policy establishments that have systematically misread the Middle East:
Misjudging the rise of ISIS; overestimating the US Arab allies' will to fight and the capabilities of Iraq's military; underestimating the developments in Syria; welcoming the "Arab Tsunami" as an "Arab Spring" transitioning toward democracy; crowning the Palestinian issue as the core cause of the Middle East turbulence and the crown jewel of Arab policy-making; encouraging the toppling of pro-US Mubarak and the rise of the anti-US Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood terror organization; turning a cold shoulder toward Egypt's President General Sisi; jumpstarting the 2006 Hamas takeover of Gaza; legitimizing Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas in 1988 and embracing them as a messengers of peace in 1993; underestimating Palestinian/Iranian hate-education as the most effective manufacturing line of terrorism and the most authentic reflection of the respective leadership; courting Saddam Hussein in 1990; punishing Israel for destroying Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981, which spared the US a nuclear confrontation in 1991; the abandonment of the pro-US Shah of Iran, and welcoming the rise of anti-US Khomeini; etc., etc.
The deficient threat assessment of a nuclear Iran has crowned Teheran's Ayatollahs and Mullahs as the top beneficiaries of the confrontation with ISIS, rewarding them with their most precious resource: the additional time required to obtain nuclear capabilities.
Reality-checks and common sense document that the US does not have a potential ally in the battle between Iran and ISIS. Both are sworn enemies (amenable to tactical, provisional negotiations and truces) bent on Islamic supremacy, terrorism and "Death to America."
Therefore, the nature of the Ayatollahs and Mullahs on the one hand, and the assumption that they are potential allies of the US on the other hand, constitutes a self-destruct oxymoron, which could entail a devastating nuclear cost.
Yoram Ettinger, Jerusalem, "Second Thought: A US-Israel Initiative"
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