Israel: US Greatest Ally

HA! HA!  If you believe that then I have a bridge I want to sell…..CHEAP!

I hear this rubbish every time I publish something about Israel……it is the trolls in them that cannot let anything derogatory about Israel go…..

The biggest lie is that Israel is a democracy…….an election does not make one a democracy…..then the second biggest lie is that Israel is our best ally……Israel spins a lot of time trying to undermine any policies that the US tries to follow if Israel is not the sole beneficiary…….

Take for instance the latest attempts to find a settlement of the Iranian nuke issue……Israel is taking every chance to undermine these negotiations……..even to the point of spying on the US……..Israel spied on the world powers’ nuclear talks with Iran and was using the obtained information to urge the US lawmakers’ opposition against a nuclear deal with Tehran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

That is the most recent attempts to undermine which goes as far back as the 1980’s in Lebanon…….now since BiBi has made it clear (as clear as anything in politics can be) that there will be NO 2 state solution…….the Us is thinking about ways to make BiBi pay for his insolence……The Hill offered up some suggestion on how to make Israel pay attention……….

1. Clog the arms pipeline. Even though Congress will appropriate more military aid for Israel in this year’s budget, there is a myriad of ways in which the Defense and State Departments can delay, if not completely suspend, the signing of contracts and the actual delivery of weapons.

2. Report on Israel’s violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA). Under the AECA, countries receiving U.S. military aid can only use weapons for legitimate self-defense and internal security. Israel killed more than 2,200 Palestinians — the vast majority of whom were civilians — last summer, oftentimes with U.S. weapons such as F-16 fighter jets and Hellfire missiles. The Obama administration should send a report to Congress documenting these human rights abuses and suspend future deliveries of specific weapons systems as outlined in the AECA.

3. Sanction Israel under the “Leahy Law.” Under the Leahy Law, specific units of militaries which commit human rights abuses are ineligible to receive U.S. training and weapons. In addition, individuals who commit human rights abuses are denied U.S. visas. While there is some evidence that high-ranking Israeli military officials have recently been denied U.S. visas, the State Department’s reporting on the implementation of Leahy Law sanctions is opaque. More extensive and public sanctioning of Israel under this law is warranted.

4. Declare Israeli settlements a national emergency. Under the National Emergencies Act, the president has broad and unilateral powers to declare an emergency in response to a foreign policy crisis. By designating Israeli settlements as an emergency, the Obama administration could regulate, or even prohibit, any transaction in foreign exchange that will directly or indirectly contribute to the expansion of Israeli settlements.

5. Shut down “charitable” funding of Israeli settlements. Dozens of organizations currently recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as 501(c)(3) nonprofits funnel tens of millions of dollars to Israeli settlements every year. There is nothing charitable about dispossessing Palestinians from their land. IRS guidelines do not allow for the funding of illegal activities, which Israeli settlements are according to U.S. policy and international law.

I agree with everyone of the proposals.  After more than six years of offering Israel more and more carrots only to be repeatedly snubbed, it is long overdue for the Obama administration to brandish the proverbial stick.

Time for the US to do the right thing…..but I am being naive…..of course we will do NOTHING to punish our greatest ally for it would cost votes and we know that that is more important than justice, right?

The media will do whatever is asked of them to prevent Israel from facing any punishment for their lies and actions……if you think the media is not part of this paradigm then ask any American to tell you something about Palestinians…….their answers will be……..hate Israel….terrorists……and that will be the total extent of their “knowledge”……because that is ALL they get from the media……and no one has asked why do they hate Israel?

Is America Truly Prepared?

Inkwell Institute

It has been awhile since I posted something by the Inkwell Institute……world events have been changing so rapidly that it did not leave enough time for my research and analysis…..hopefully that can change and I can once again go back to finding the problems that we as a country need to be focused on in these days of conflict.

For almost 15 years the US has been engaged in all out war…..we can quibble what to term the actions taken…..but war is war….matters not how we cut it.

After the attacks of 9/11 we have decided that we should meet the ‘enemy’ on their ground not ours…….in essence we will go after them wherever they hide……..after two major wars and countless lesser ones……….the military is being called on to do more and more

ISIS has become a threat and we have jumped on them with both feet while eyeing the problems in Libya and Yemen and the rise of ISIS there.  Then we get word that Boko Haram in Nigeria has allied itself with ISIS and the US feels it must respond……

From the Marine Times…….

Marines could play an important role in containing — if not defeating — Boko Haram, according to a new study published just days after the radical organization announced its allegiance to the Islamic State group.

The study was commissioned by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, and was conducted by the CNA Corporation. It proposes ways to defeat Boko Haram within the confines of what its authors describe as a complicated relationship between Washington and Nigeria.

The strategy proposed by CNA to combat the group includes the short-term goal of working with Nigeria’s neighbors to contain Boko Haram, all the while advocating for a “whole of governance” or counter insurgency approach to eventually dismantle it.

Yet another country for US troops to operate within…..there is Somalia, Ukraine, most of Eastern Europe and now ass deep in Nigeria….US forces are being spread a bit then for an all volunteer force.

What shall we term this expansion of military force?  National security?  American exceptionalism?  Hubris?  Surely there is a term that describes this intrusion into other countries matters.

How long can we be expected to keep this push up?

Now ask yourself……who does this intrusion actually benefit?

Is it the American homeland?  Or is it possibly the special interests within the Pentagon and White House?

If this exercise continues, and I believe it will, how long before the all volunteer military starts losing more people than it can recruit?  The more conflicts we are involved in the more demand on troops to carry out the policies.  When that occurs how long will it be before the propaganda machine (read media)  starts making the positive case for a re-reinstatement of the draft?

You think it is a silly idea?  Keep in mind that we now have combat ready troops in every continent of the globe…..if there were the 1950’s the world would see this as a form of imperialism in a bid to control the world……so what changed that makes all this acceptable?

The American people are asleep and shall awaken only when something monumental occurs………like a return of the DRAFT!

Yemen: Where Will It End?

Yemen has been a bloody mess for decades…….and now that the Saudis have decided to intervene it will become even more bloody…….the reports are that the airstrikes are not the only action in the plan….the Saudis claim to have 150,000 troops massed on the border with Yemen awaiting orders…….

All this seems like a neighborhood conflict…..some want to define it as a sectarian rift between the Sunni and the Shi’a…….what are the chances that this could go beyond just a religious slap fight?

Egypt seems to be siding with the Saudis in this action……..

Saudi and Egyptian warships deployed Friday to the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen to secure the strategic sea passage, Egyptian military officials said, as a Saudi-led coalition widened its strikes on the second day of an air campaign against Shiite rebels and their allies, aiming to pave the way for possible ground operations.

A top priority after the air campaign has weakened the rebels is for coalition troops -likely Egyptians – to move into the southern port city of Aden, a main stronghold of supporters of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was forced to leave the country as the rebels and their allies moved on the city, Yemeni and Egyptian military officials said. Hadi arrived in Egypt Friday, where Arab leaders will be meeting to discuss the crisis.

Could this expand beyond the few players we have today?

Pakistan is considering a request from Saudi Arabia for troops to send to Yemen, the foreign office said on Thursday.

“We have been contacted by Saudi Arabia,” said spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam in response to a question about whether Pakistan would send troops. “The matter is being examined.”

Pandora’s Box is opening slowly but continuously……….

Jordanian air force fighter jets are participating in the Saudi- led operation with its Arab allies against Houthi fighters in Yemen, a Jordanian official source said on Thursday.

“This is in line with supporting legitimacy in Yemen and its security and stability … Yemen and the Gulf’s security is a high strategic interest (for Jordan),” an official Jordanian source told Reuters.

A joint statement by the five Gulf Arab countries said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar had decided to act to protect Yemen against what they called aggression by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia.

All this sounds a bit ominous don’t you think?  But what about the old US of A?

The White House has confirmed today that they are in contact with the Saudi Arabian government, and coordinating with them on the ongoing attack and pending invasion of Yemen.

The scope of US involvement in the war is still being fleshed out, but for now, President Obama has authorized the Pentagon to provide “logistical and intelligence support” to the Saudis, according to National Security Council officials.

This situation does not look as if it will end in a good way…….the one point that few are focusing on……Iran.  How will they react to the attacks on fellow Shi’as?

THE US will most likely lose in this conflict…..in some way we will be held accountable.

 

The 47 Republican Samurai – FPIF

Has anyone heard the story of the 47 Ronin?  It is a Japanese legend of dedication, loyalty and revenge……47 samurai lost their lord in a palace coup and they decided that they could not let this affront go…..they waited and then attacked the opposition lords castle and exacted revenge by cutting off his head……they then turned themselves in and faced their punishment……

The story made me think of another 47 people that are motivated by revenge……US Senate……

 

The 47 Republican Samurai – FPIF.