Some thoughts on the recent turns that the war in the Middle East has taken
With the killing of Nasrallah announced earlier today, and all the events of the last year in that region of the world, here are some musings.
Of course, Israelis detested Nasrallah. But I wonder how many Arabs felt the same way and are happy that Israel managed to take him out. He was an agent of Iran, which after all isn’t part of the Arab world, and had been responsible for the death of many Arabs, too. And although the vast majority of the Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank (or Judah and Sumeria) are highly invested in the perpetual war to destroy Israel, I wonder how many others in the region would just like the Palestinians and Iranians to cease and desist. For example, the Lebanese might recall the days when their country was a very pleasant place in which to live, and might want some of that back again. The Palestinians have stirred up trouble and bloodshed wherever they’ve gone. And the same for the Iranian mullahtocracy.
But even if it’s correct that many Arabs would like the wars to stop and could live with the existence of the state of Israel, will it matter? Because the billion dollar question is: what will Iran do?
One of the brilliant things Netanyahu has done is to make the message very clear: we can find you and kill you wherever you are. And although the higher-ups speak of the glory of martyrdom, I doubt they’re extremely eager for it themselves. It’s hard to know how well such deterrence would work for people who believe that martyrdom is the best way to paradise, but these people also seem to crave and enjoy having power on earth.
Speaking of Iran, one of the men taken out in that Beirut strike was Abbas Nilforoushan, Iran’s big man in Lebanon:
Nilforoushan, Hezbollah’s key Iranian advisor, was behind the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran. He appears to be second-in-command when it comes to military operations. In a 2020 article, the Israeli news website YNET identified him as the Islamic “Guard’s deputy commander for operations.”
Israel’s latest operations against Hezbollah have had an extraordinary boldness and must strike at least some fear into the hearts of Iran’s proxies and the Iranians themselves. I don’t think they saw anything like this coming and to me it seems to represent a sea change. First the utter shock and science-fiction quality of the exploding pagers, then the walkie-talkies, and then a whole series of targeted killings on the mid-level leaders. Then the higher-ups were obliterated while in a bunker-like headquarters where they were conferring, and my strong suspicious is that it was highly fortified. And yet they’re gone, killed in a place where they probably felt the safest, assembling in person because their other communications were either dismantled or seemed too dangerous to use.
Apparently, Khamenei has now been moved to a “secure” location. But is any location secure?
And to top it all off, the big blast occurred when Netanyahu was addressing the General Assembly of the UN and giving that body a piece of his mind.
NOTE: Joe Biden has come through with a pretty decent statement on the killing of Nasrallah. Then again, it’s being reported that Biden is none too pleased at having been kept out of the information loop and that his ceasefire plans didn’t work out. Harris’ statement starts out fine and then pivots to the usual blah-blah about the need for diplomacy. I think diplomacy has been tried for a long long time in the region, and has utterly failed when dealing with terrorists.
I’m glad the grim beepers were the opening round in a massive attack and very successful destruction of Hezbola and not a one-off
Touring around YouTube there seems to-be a great deal of happiness in the Christian community. Meanwhile the MSM in its scummy way seems to be sad that the mass murderer and his gang have beeb eliminated. They don’t come out and say it but their demeanor gives it away.
I wonder if the Christians will try to reclaim Lebanon? Or if they even have the capability?
“Iranian embassy in Beirut warns attack on Hezbollah HQ ‘changes rules of the game’”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/iranian-embassy-in-beirut-warns-attack-on-hezbollah-hq-changes-rules-of-the-game/
It does but not in the way that the Iranian leadership thinks. The ‘change’ is on the Israeli side. Netanyahu has finally decided that Israel will no longer pull its punches. Israel is bringing the war to the jihadist leadership. The Oct 7th atrocity gave Netanyahu the moral support to do so. Hate always plants the seeds of its own destruction.
Yes the media are decidedly on the oher side
Yes they bombed the israeliembassy in buenos aires 30 years ago checks notes
For me, I wish I had invested in baklava futures in Syria and Lebanon — it seems there, they are passing out sweets to celebrate. Hezballah in those countries was like Oct. 7 but lasting years. Now, let’s get Sinwar and find the Hamas held hostages or their remains.
Yes, diplomacy has provided nothing more than respites for the Muslim Brotherhood’s various jihadi groups.
How do you conduct diplomacy with a bunch of religious fanatics? Until the fundamentalist Muslims give up their intolerance of infidels, they will keep on murdering people in the name of their religion. When are the leaders in the West going to accept that? This isn’t a tiff between two ethnic groups vying fora piece of land. It’s a jihad that has been going on, off and on, since the days of Mohammed.
When will the West understand that when the Iranians shout, “Death to America, death to Israel,” they mean it.
Obviously, Obama is blind to this and has convinced his acolytes in our government that a grand deal can be made. Why he believes this is unclear. It seems to me that his policy could be that of an agent of the Muslim Brotherhood trying to destroy us from within. A terrible conclusion, but there it is.
Paul In Boston
They no longer have the capability. They have been less than 50% of Lebanon’s population for years, due to differing fertility rates and emigration.
J.J.
The US is trying with “diplomacy” to enforce UN Resolution 1701, which keeps Hezbollah north of the Litani River. UN Resolution 1701 dates from 2006. The US is trying with “diplomacy” to enforce a diplomatic agreement that Hezbollah has never followed. Is that stupid or what?
For the last 18 years, it is painfully obvious that Resolution 1701 has been honored more in the breach than in the observance. If Hezbollah is unwilling to stop firing rockets at Israel, it is obvious that it has no intention of withdrawing to north of the Litani River.
If the US/UN/France object to Israel’s destroying Hezbollah armaments south of the Litani, and driving Hebollah’s army north of the Litani, Israel should reply that it is merely trying to enforce UN Resolution 1701. 🙂
For those who object to Israel’s “escalation,” the reply is that Hezbollah “escalated” in 2023 with the rocket attacks.
Diplomacy? In a pig’s eye.
Ayatollah Khamenei has a life expectancy of about 5.5 years. He’d undertaken to place Ebrahim Raisi in the president’s chair. The man had some claim to being a cleric and thus perhaps a candidate for Khamenei’s current post. Then a helicopter crash intervened. The current president is a retired surgeon.
Dems are all Talk Talk, Jaw Jaw, when the other party are all Kill Kill
These strikes are, as I have said before, DIFFERENT. They got the guy in Beirut without an Arc Light of 86 overloaded Buffs. They knew. They always know. Every strike proclaims they KNOW. Who, where, when. Mossad is inside them down to the latrine cleaners.
As I may have said before, when they got the dude in the Teheran guest house, they did it by having some of the help–IRGC or close to it–plant the bomb. They KNEW whom to approach. Who wouldn’t turn them in. How….? More than I must be asking.
In addition to reducing collateral damage to a level unsatisfactory to the left, and saving on munitions, it sends a message: Look over your shoulder. That must play absolute hell with their planning processes, their personnel choices, what moves they, as individuals can afford to make and which to avoid. Meanwhile, purging everybody within a certain distance of the last targeted strike which turned out to be right….on….the….button.
Got to take time and energy. And…would a message ordering an op from…right here…be healthy? Is there maybe a pay phone left someplace?
The problem—a problem —Richard, is how to neutralize all those long-range missiles in the Beka’a Valley (as well as lesser-range missiles peppering the entire country).
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…invested in baklava futures…”
Never too late!
(This, by Lee Smith, might explain why…
“ Killing Nasrallah”—
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/killing-nasrallah
H/T Powerline blog.)
Didn’t keep the link, but I was watching a video of an IDF commander explaining that they had decapitated Hezbollah and they still had more tricks up their sleeves.
Decapitated is right. I would like to hear from our military historians if anything like this has occurred in modern times.
From what I gather, the IDF took out the top 95% of Hezbollah’s leadership including the Top Guy, Nasrallah. The IDF commander said they wiped out Hezbollah down to the “operational level.”
As I understand it, that means down to the officers who call the low-level ops but are not on the ground.
In any event Hezbollah has lost a huge amount of leadership plus the experience and trust which goes with that. For now Hezbollah is a chicken with its head cut off. Plus they have lost much of their ordinance.
They can rebuild and most likely will, but it’s going to take a while. Even Iran is backed off for now.
Good news.
Kamala’s Statement:
“I am here to make a statement about the death of Nasralla. We need to look at the situation in the Middle East holistically. Which means taking in the holistic view of the region we call the Middle East. It’s called the Middle East, because it is…” (Someone whispers in her ear. She responds, sotto voce, “You’re fired.” And continues…)
“Southwest Asia. Apparently, the more accurate term is Southwest Asia. (Cackle.) I should’ve been calling it Southwest Asia all this time.” (Cackle.)
“Holistic view.”(Pause. Deer in headlights look on face.)
“It’s called Southwest Asia because the area is in Asia, that big continent east of Europe. Which was WHY it used to be called the Middle East. And it’s the southwestern part of Asia. And the holistic view of the region, the area, unburdens us from the preconceived notions that burden us. Which means we are burdened by notions that we have preconceived of the holistic view of Southwest Asia…. From which we can now be unburdened by viewing the issue holisticslly
(Pause.)
“I was raised in a middle class household….”
Barry.
Those missiles are a potential problem. But organizing their use is going to require…command communications.
Having the local guys shoot as they can get their ordnance humming won’t overwhelm the IDF’s anti-missile defense, which a mass attack might, or get close.
In addition, coordinating the defenses there requires….command communications.
The late P. J. O’Rourke, in his “Holidays in Hell” talks of being in the Bekaa. Said the folks there thought Arafat was a zionist tool. Back in the day, just before the US invasion of Iraq, Saddaam had heavy convoys of trucks running from Baghdad west to, among other places, the Bekaa. Somebody might know what they carried….
In 2004, the Jordanian cops busted a plot to use a number of heavy trucks carrying tons of high explosive and nerve gas. I suppose HE is lying randomly around the ME in multi-ton lots. The nerve gas….
So, no, this series of demos that the nefarious Jews know everything doesn’t solve the entire problem. Given the nature of Islam, I don’t foresee that happening this side of the Rapture.
The big question being, therefore, whether those things can be fired WITHOUT requiring assistance (or orders) from above.
I’m not knowledgeable in these matters but I’d be inclined to ask, “Why not?”
(And then there‘a the Houthis…and Iran: it’s entirely possible that my same question applies to them both, though in the other direction, i.e., why not take both of ‘em out NOW? While the going is good… )
Thanks for the reference to UN Resolution 1701, Gringo. I just read it on Wiki. Eighteen years and it’s still not implemented in full. The eyes glaze over. Diplomacy? Fugedabootit.
“They knew. They always know. Every strike proclaims they KNOW. Who, where, when. Mossad is inside them down to the latrine cleaners.” – Richard Aubrey
🙂
Only religious nutcases would not realize they are getting their asses kicked and will keep on getting them kicked. But they love death more than life. The carnage will continue until someone bankrupts Iran again and makes it hard to buy all those rockets and HE. And guess who would do that?
@ Barry > Lee Smith’s post Killing Nasrallah was very informative.
Because of cutting back my blog surfing for the summer, I missed several of Lee’s important posts, which have held up well in light of Israel’s current policy of throwing off the Biden leash and getting the job done.
The first is from 2023, which sets the stage.
Lee unquestionably sees the Biden Administration as Obama’s third term policy-wise.
I have undoubtedly missed other important posts in his portfolio, but it’s a start.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/biden-administration-tries-hide-knew-impending-massacre-leaving-iran-untouched-hamas-lee-smith
The D.C. blame game is about avoiding responsibility while protecting a policy that is written in blood
by Lee Smith October 16, 2023
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/saving-hamas
The Palestinian terror organization refuses to release hostages while clinging to its last stronghold in Rafah. So why is the Biden administration throwing the full weight of the U.S. government at Israel to prevent it from routing Hamas?
by Lee Smith May 01, 2024
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/sinwar-exchange-rafah-biden-gaza
Why is the Biden administration dangling the Hamas chief in exchange for stopping the Gaza war? Because the terror group’s survival is key to the administration’s larger project in the Middle East.
by Lee Smith May 16, 2024
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/killing-nasrallah
Israel shows America how to win wars
by Lee Smith September 27, 2024
The post about Sinwar contained a nugget of information that we have overlooked recently in the discussion about the travails of Mayor Adams of NYC. While the Biden Regime certainly took umbrage at his departure from the party line about illegal immigrants, once they showed up in his Fair City, there was another, perhaps even more salient, issue of contention.
Thanks for the links, AF.
All in all, a pretty blatant “Pay attention to what they do, not what they say” warning.
(Though in the case of “Biden” that should probably be updated to:
“Pay attention to what they do and then compare it to what they say “…)
This just in —
https://twitchy.com/brettt/2024/09/28/report-new-leader-of-hezbollah-already-killed-by-idf-n2401528
Plus:
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2024/09/28/idf-blasts-us-no-one-talked-about-a-ceasefire-until-we-fought-back-n2645451
Barry.
I presume the missiles can be launched on local initiative. Question is whether that will happen–how much local initiative is allowed in the organization–without orders from the top. And if launched as the locals figure it’s a good idea based on whatever they find out without themselves being blown up, it’s not likely to be coordinated. And which targets?
OTOH, once launched, everybody can go home because there’s nothing left to do and the IDF won’t bother to bomb an empty launch site anyway.
Meantime, who tells the locals the IAF is inbound and to stand to their guns, or run for cover?
So, yeah, the locals can probably shoot without asking higher for the day’s passcode. But the coordination and organization will be far less than before and thus easier to fend off.
J.J. Thanks for the quote about “they know”. Yeah, those guys love death but in most of their wars, they’ve been just as likely to duck as anybody else.
But, whatever they love, they can’t do much about it if they’re dead. And their organization can’t get unscrewed up if the people in charge of organizing it keep getting dead faster than they can change the rank tabs on their uniforms.
And when nobody’s in charge up top–or not for long enough to figure out who–coordination, supply, and thus morale drops.
“I shot off all my missiles. Can’t get anybody to answer the phone about resupply. What am I supposed to do now? Are we switching to infantry? Anybody know? What? I thought that carrier pigeon thing was a joke.”
“…I shot off all my missiles…resupply…”
Well, yes—that’s precisely IT.
(Any idea how much ordnance they’ve got?—hint: huge amount—Or how much has already been interdicted?—hint: lots, but see above—or to what extent the Iranians are still able to continue with the supply lines via Syria or straight into Lebanon itself?—hint: one of the reasons why there’s so much “action” in Syria; but while Israel is trying hard to keep tabs I’m not sure it’s possible to prevent the “railroad” from succeeding entirely.
To be sure, the non-stop Iranian effort to resupply elicits a yawn while Israel’s efforts to prevent it result in an outraged global gnashing of teeth that THE BLOODTHIRSTY, ROGUE WOMEN-AND-CHILD-KILLING-ZIONISTS ARE WIDENING AND BROADENING THE WAR”…
…So I suppose the only thing one can do is mutter the always-useful “Guess we’ll have to wait and see”…as the world furiously tries to hog-tie the Israelis and—exploiting the also-always-useful “Israel must STOP the escalation NOW” and/or “STOP the indiscriminate destruction of [__fill in the blank__]”—implement the next hudna…
…All the while consistently refusing to mention the word, HEZB’ULLAH and insisting that Israel’s fight is against Lebanon…
ToI, “Trump whisperer Kushner says Israel must be allowed to finish off Hezbollah“:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/trump-whisperer-kushner-says-israel-must-be-allowed-to-finish-off-hezbollah/
Only follow the steps and the consquent falls open quite naturally.
Fascinating, and a bit of good news pic this morning. Cutting off the the head of the snake, but I suspect the body is still writhing. The rest needs to be cut into pieces. Israel puts our military to shame. By that I mean the top brass and our seriously politicized intelligence agencies.
https://x.com/EFischberger/status/1839973946633977920/photo/1
Nothing concentrates the mind so wonderfully as the prospect of being hung in the morning, or somethig along that line said the wise man. Israel post 10/07/24 is that man, or perhaps more accurately, is the man awaiting the hangman’s noose. For too long, Israel has been living in a fool’s paradise, with many of its citizens believing, against all self-evident reality that somehow, they could achieve a modus vivendi with the islamic jihadis who lived all around them, and in many cases, lived in their very neighborhoods. The blinders came off rather abruptly and tragically that fateful Shabbat. Yet even then, many of the left wing lunatics continued to deny the existential peril of their country, preferring to concentrate on hatred for Netanyahu and seeking even then to exploit the circumstances to try to oust him, much like their counterparts here in America, whose hatred for traditional America and its citizens and their avatar, Trump, outweighs everything. (Witness the “gays for palestine” phenomenon.) Yet even now, despite Biden’s feeble efforts to applaud Israel’s success, his designated successor and the keeper of the Obama flame, Kamala Harris demands “negotiations” before all else. If elected, she will be the ruin of Israel, America and eventually the entire world. Think I exaggerate? I will await your apologies should her “election” come to pass.
Clarice Feldman informs me (emphasis added to point to what I did not know): “On Friday, Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations. Countless delegates walked out before he spoke and the U.S. Ambassador to the UN did not attend, signaling once again the administration turning its back on our ally.”
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/09/israel_stops_taking_counsel_from_the_angel_of_death.html
Figures though, right? Wouldn’t want to lend gravity to a natural ally.
Funnier still, Caroline Glick is pleased to suggest this morning that Nasrallah and his gang are assumed by Israeli command to have been assembled together in their bunker to watch Netanyahu’s address to the UN, so that — har har har! — Bibi Netanyahu was the last thing Nasrallah saw as he was being buried under thousands of tons of rubble.
AesopFan: “The post about Sinwar contained a nugget of information that we have overlooked recently in the discussion about the travails of Mayor Adams of NYC. While the Biden Regime certainly took umbrage at his departure from the party line about illegal immigrants, once they showed up in his Fair City, there was another, perhaps even more salient, issue of contention.”
We’re on the same page about this:
https://www.thenewneo.com/2024/09/26/why-was-eric-adams-indicted/#comment-2763663
I think that criticizing the Palestinians and their supporters in NYC and siding with Israel is what got Adams targeted for destruction by the DOJ. He may also be guilty of what he’s been charged with, but his real crime was bucking the narrative. Never underestimate Obama’s malice, especially towards Israel and its supporters.
Sdferr: glad to see Israel go head-hunting. It’s long overdue; I hope they keep it up.
Hubert: Sure he’s guilty of what he’s been charged with, but that doesn’t stop other Dems from getting off Scott free. Now that he’s incurred the wrath of AOC and her gang, though, he needs to be brought to justice.
Reporting for those who might not have seen it yet:
International press is reporting the head of the Houthis and a number of senior Iranian officials have just died in a helicopter accident in SW Iran.
That makes two helicopter crashes the Iranians have suffered that have cost them senior terrorist leaders. Beginning to sound like they need to find another maintenance shop for their helicopters, stop hiring the Israeli mechanics.
who else in on the turkish payroll, rhymes with grinsley laham, just informed speculation, same with qatar, who are the other parties involved in details from South Asia to the Levant and points west
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/09/israel_stops_taking_counsel_from_the_angel_of_death.html
yes since the crocodile, the leader of yemen passed in 2017, things have gone down hill
had hodeida and mocha been blockaded years ago, but the regime did the opposite,
And also
ToI: “IDF confirms launching strikes on Houthi-controlled port, power plants in Yemen”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-confirms-launching-strikes-on-houthi-controlled-port-power-plants-in-yemen/
Saul Sadka
https://x.com/Saul_Sadka/status/1840388316463497221
Read the whole thread which does a nice job of laying out a synoptic view of the current strategic situation.
Some points not mentioned elsewhere:
1. Hezbollah was trained by the Soviets, so it has a top-down model. No authority for the lower echelons to improvise. All maneuvers must be approved from above. My guess is that those upper echelons kept their intel close to their chests, and only shared what was necessary with their foot soldiers – that is the paranoid style of totalitarian cultures, be they Russian or Arab. So elimination of the chain of command largely paralyzes the organization.
We are still getting missiles into Israel, but no coordinated barrages. It is unclear how the targets are being picked.
2. Israel has continued without pause its steady, systematic destruction of arms hidden in homes in southern Lebanon. The intelligence has been gathered over years, and is quite detailed. With the mass exodus of the unaffiliated Lebanese population, there is little for honest humanitarians to complain about. (The targeting of the leaders also silences the humanitarian tut-tutters.)
3. The defeatist, BDS-infected Israeli Left has been completely silenced and discredited. Their downfall began with Hamas’ wanton, gang-style execution of hostages even as the peaceniks pressed for a ceasefire – further driving home how clueless they are about the motives of religious fanatics, and the basics of negotiation strategy… Netanyahu is finally acting like the Right won the election – which it did – and is taking back the political momentum within the country.
4. The targeting of the Houthis – and the cumulative timing of the offensives – is also calculated to give Sinwar in Gaza a strong feeling that the rope is tightening around his neck…. and nobody will be coming to save him. If there are hostages to be saved, that is how you save them…
What Hubert @ 11:23 said WRT Adams’s predicament, absolutely. (No, “Biden” doesn’t mess around.) Though this doesn’t necessarily discount Adams’s very public criticism of “Biden”‘s illegal immigration policy. Still, demonstrating publicly a pro-Israel, anti-anti-Israel stance is the straw that has broken the camel’s back.
– – – – – – – – – – – –
What BenDavid said above, though I’m not as sanguine about Hezb’ullah’s reduced rocket/missile capabilities. (Hope, of course, I’m wrong about that.)
– – – – – – – – – – – –
WRT Iranian helicopters, might one wonder whether they’re as compromised as certain “freedom fighters'” pagers and walkie talkies…(and “safe” rooms)? Or maybe it’s merely the old “shoddy maintenance/bad weather trick”…?
I forgot one comment:
5. Remember that Iran will defend Islam down to the last Arab…. we have discussed the ethnic divide here previously, and Iranian elitism. Israel’s targeting of the higher-ups underscores that division while upsetting the gentlemen’s agreement which protects the upper echelons. Ethnic Arabs are implicitly being asked why they should continue to listen to failed Iranian leaders who have viewed them as disposable pawns… that message is also getting to Sinwar too.
And currently in the news, they are ramping up deployments to the Middle East.
600 Indiana National Guard soldiers to deploy for Kuwait
https://www.yahoo.com/news/600-indiana-national-guard-soldiers-210700123.html
Over 700 Tennessee National Guard Soldiers Deploy to Kuwait for Operation Spartan Shield
https://hoodline.com/2024/09/over-700-tennessee-national-guard-soldiers-deploy-to-kuwait-for-operation-spartan-shield/
Nevada National Army Guard Soldiers to deploy overseas
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nevada-national-army-guard-soldiers-to-deploy-overseas/ar-AA1r0LSO
September 25, 2024 at 12:45pm
Senate Approves National Guard Chief, Ending 2-Month Vacancy
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/09/25/national-guard-chief-gets-senate-approval-after-2-month-vacancy.html
Amazing!
Far, far easier for “Biden” to send National Guards-people to Kuwait than it is to send them to the Capitol building.
Now THAT’S what I call, “optics”!
A time-line of sorts:
“IDF strikes Lebanon and Yemen simultaneously;
“IDF strikes Hezbollah commanders in Beirut and Houthi targets in Yemen. Commander of Hezbollah chemical unit reportedly targeted.”—
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/396639
(Note that the times given in the article are local Israel time, i.e., EDT+7.)
Which irgc general will draw the short straw i think very few
I think this apelbaum fellow might have had something with the koranic analysis
Yes send them a desert one placard
Um isnt the tennessee guard a little occupied just now
In other news
https://www.dw.com/en/austria-far-right-fpö-wins-parliamentary-vote-projections/a-70354491
Yes i remember holidays in hell now arafat was actually a gru trained agent as the late sie chief noted of course considering all the hardships that palestinians have endured following him and before him his uncle i could see how they might conclude that
O rourke had a penchant for mining humour out of dark material as with jonathan swift or mark twain
It is curious when that money that was earmarked for iraq resurfaces guess where in southern lebanon of course the reporter didnt make anything about the implications of these revelations
Perhaps hezbollahs ties to the iranian allied militias in iraq the ones that worked with suleimani pbuh
The Mossad assets whose existence is demonstrated by the pinprick strikes against their targets are…..still in place? Could they do their jobs and still be outside the sphere of suspicion (permission to use without attribution)? Do they hang around and wait for some other chump? Are they and their cover(s) still relevant in their immediate circumstance? What’s next?
More than Aubrey must be asking. As in, in various Muslim capitals….
The mossad are not supermen they are skilled collectors of intelligence and directing it toward certain targets along with unit 8200 their nsa and the idf (particular units like sayaret dudavan (plain clothes) metkal (green berets) and shaveyet (seals)
I guess one of the things I’m taking away from the recent developments in the Middle East, and I guess I’ve been a little slow to get there, is that glorious martyrdom make benefit Allah seems to be reserved for the rank and file, and those who command them don’t seem particularly eager for it and are willing to content themselves with the lesser rewards to be found in this world, as opposed to the greater ones to be found in Heaven.
(I’m pretty sure those heavenly rewards are not going to include virgins, not for those who got there after Prince Rogers Nelson did, at any rate.)
Does the fact that mossad operates extensively in the US of A bother anyone but me? Epstein didn’t hang himself. The Liberty didn’t fire on itself .And our 3 letter agencies are DEI infested political/crime groups .
There has been a certain reluctance for the leadership to volunteer themsekves for martyrdom certainly bin laden and zawahiri are typical so is that fellow sinwar (its almost as if they dont believe what they tell their followers) luckily the idf and iaf have obliged them
They probably operate in some capacity as in most of western european countries where they have rivals whether its as explicit as a liason arrangement like in ncis is arguable the epstein question is probably diffferent he needed the protection of various services
We saw in the pollard case how other other services like lakam work in this country
@Keith:Does the fact that mossad operates extensively in the US of A bother anyone but me?
Everybody’s intelligence services operate in everybody’s countries. I suppose this bothers me, but it’s like being bothered by the existence of taxation, or rich people, or criminals, or war. There’s not civilizations without these things. I don’t single out the Mossad or Israel for special botheration.
One might have thought that the Houthis would have learned the lesson the first time around….
https://instapundit.com/675086/
Oh well….
@ Niketas Choniates:
Regarding martyrdom: You are correct. No religion holds a monopoly on sending it’s young men to die for causes while the nobles collect the spoils.
Islam is no different. The poor blow themselves up for Allah, while the connected enjoy all the vice you could find in Vegas, all from the comfort of Dubai.
Also, I’m adding “botheration” to words I’ve learned from commenters on Neo’s blog.
BenDavid:
I’m always grateful for your comments.
“…UN Resolution 1701…”
UN?
“How long will the UN continue to dine with the devil?“—
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/396875
H/T Blazingcarfur blog.
@ Barry > “WRT Iranian helicopters, might one wonder whether they’re as compromised as certain “freedom fighters’” pagers and walkie talkies”
Michael Ramirez.
https://www.creators.com/read/michael-ramirez/09/24/379537
One more for good measure.
@ BenDavid > “Ethnic Arabs are implicitly being asked why they should continue to listen to failed Iranian leaders who have viewed them as disposable pawns”
https://www.creators.com/read/michael-ramirez/09/24/379372
Ditto what huxley said. We appreciate your view from the firing line.
Praying for your safety and that of your country.
Am Yisrael Chai.
An interesting thesis on the origin of the phrase, and more.
https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-779850
@ Barry >”A time-line of sorts:”
In his UN speech, Netanyahu says that Israel has been attacked on seven fronts.
Apparently, Israel is already hitting back at most of them, and may get around to the rest very soon.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-netanyahus-un-speech-enough-is-enough-he-says-of-hezbollah-also-warns-iran/
Pretty sure the Iranians can do that much math.
Israel: the the jobs Americans won’t do.
Great post by Andrea Widburg, with lots of information and up-to-date-ish list of Israeli counter-attacks.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/09/israel_is_single_handedly_remaking_the_middle_east_and_it_s_glorious.html
Great graphic at the end – the Israeli Lion of Judah:
https://images.americanthinker.com/zn/zns587pzc5xjkm1mqfip_640.jpg
From the “We Are Truly F&@#ed” File (or—hold on—maybe not…):
“A seismic moment”—
https://melaniephillips.substack.com/p/a-seismic-moment
H/T Powerline blog.
Related:
“The Left Wails in Mourning for Nasrallah“—
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/09/30/the-left-wails-in-mourning-for-nasrallah-n3795177
From the Melanie Phillips link:
Did Nasrallah actually say that? It sounds plausible. It would be a GREAT quote to throw in the faces of the Israelphobes, but I would want better documentation before I did so. Thus far, all I have found is an X posting, which is not exactly great documentation.
We have to be very careful about our documentation.
https://x.com/realMaalouf/status/1837607041080480176