Month: October 2012

Hamas aims Grad at Dimona reactor

From Debka this morning:

Less than 24 hours after Sudanese President Omar Bashir pledged “decisive steps against Israeli interests which are now legitimate targets,” for the destruction of the Iranian missile plant in Khartoum, Palestinian rocket teams early Sunday, Oct. 28, fired Grad missiles as target finders against Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona. This is reported exclusively by DEBKAfile. They exploded on open ground in the Ramat Negev district southwest of the town of Dimona.  
The nuclear plant is only 42.5 kilometers as the crow flies from the southern Gaza Strip.  Saturday night, the Israeli Air Force struck a Palestinian rocket team in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younes, killing one Hamas operative and injuring a second critically.
The Palestinian Hamas has evidently launched a new and expanded targeting-policy marking two developments of grave import: One: Its rulers have submitted the Gaza Strip to Tehran for use as its southern operational arm against Israel, complementing Hizballah’s pivotal role to the north of Israel; and two, having acquired improved surface missiles, Hamas is setting its sights firmly on the most sensitive locations within their reach, e.g., Israel’s nuclear reactor and air force bases and the American X-band radar station in the Negev.
The Islamist rulers of Gaza are expected to keep on trying to perfect their aim.
Israel’s defense ministry and high IDF command sounded at sea Sunday over this dangerous new departure. The IDF spokesperson started out by disclosing that one Grad rocket from Gaza had been aimed at the city of Beersheba, later raising the number to two, both of which exploded outside the city.
But the Grad launched against the nuclear reactor at 07:44 was followed by hours of official silence. Even then, the army spokesperson reported a missile fired against Ramat Hanegev in general terms, without mentioning the reactor’s location in that district at its northernmost point.
It was the second time in three weeks that Tehran was seen to be focusing on Israel’s nuclear plant, DEBKAfile’s military sources note. On Oct. 6, an Iranian stealth drone which flew over Israel managed to photograph the reactor building and its air defense system’s radar. The data gathered was given to Hamas to help guide its first rocket attack on Dimona.

2 cents: Israel will now have to decide how to best react to these new attacks that are attempting to harm the nuclear plant in Dimona. Iran is foolishly helping the re-election of Netanyahu by the continuous attacks on the small nation. Of course being the Islamists that they are they have cornered themselves into never using compromise in order to have peace. Peace with Israel is impossible for an Islamist and don’t let the MB fool you. With the new targets determined in Israel, the actions should also force some reaction by the US, especially if the American X-band radar station in the Negev is attacked. It will be interesting to see just how much change will occur if their is a change in US leadership.

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Ayman al-Zawahri has called on Muslims

(Reuters) – Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has called on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, join Syria’s rebellion and to ensure Egypt implements sharia law.

2 cents: note the Islamist desire for sharia law in Egypt which is a MB unstated goal. He wants Syria to fall and be an Islamist nation which I’m sure is another MB goal.

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Petraeus Throws Obama Under the Bus

Over at the Weekly Standard William Kristol blogged the following:

Breaking news on Benghazi: the CIA spokesman, presumably at the direction of CIA director David Petraeus, has put out this statement: “No one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate. ”

So who in the government did tell “anybody” not to help those in need? Someone decided not to send in military assets to help those Agency operators. Would the secretary of defense make such a decision on his own? No.

It would have been a presidential decision. There was presumably a rationale for such a decision. What was it? When and why—and based on whose counsel obtained in what meetings or conversations—did President Obama decide against sending in military assets to help the Americans in need?

This was blogged yesterday and I am curious if this will gain any traction. This information would once again point to the absence of leadership in the executive branch of our government.  The fact that a spokesman was used for the comment/update makes me think it is positioned for retraction if the story does gain traction.

2 cents: No startling revelations in the statement. Note its carefully crafted wording.

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further more

While Noonan’s recent article is good and in most ways accurate she missed another part of the story which is in the debate America and the world saw the chief empty suit without the huge mechanism of liberal spin – the MSM – being the mechanism that delivers, buffers and spins the arrogant and belligerent novice’s rhetoric and philosophy. Please note how the facilitator of the last two debates was a topic/subject matter churned and swirled by the MSM leading up to each debate as well as following the event. A planned disruption and scapegoat needed to be readied in the event that the president once again showed up as himself. The MSM was the overwhelming catalyst that swept this novice into the chief office of the US government – people need to not forget that as well as understand that.

Noonan’s article “When Americans Saw the Real Obama” is well worth reading.

Link to Krauthammer’s most recent article “Obama stoops, doesn’t conqueror” is a good commentary on the third debate.

At this moment I am not certain who is going to win the election. My gut wants to say Romney but the unethical immoral shenanigans that Obama/Democrats will deploy so as to not lose, alarm me. The threats of violence and rioting if he loses also makes me sick because that is NOT THE WAY civilized responsible people should behave. Remember how things played out when Gore lost to Bush? I think we will experience a collective/mass episode  of deja vu in a couple weeks.

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Politicizing Iran nuclear aspirations

New York Times

Debka

Jerusalem Post

With Monday’s final debate scheduled on the subject of foreign policy it is little surprise that conflicting messages are coming out of the WH. (The 3 sites give 3 different messages.)

Late last night I received the news alert email that the NYT is reporting the WH and Iran has agreed to 1:1 discussions following the election. I rolled my eyes and went to bed.

This morning the WH is denying that this is true. Israel is on record as saying “news to us”. Of course the attempt is to pose O as on the cusp of a vital diplomatic coup JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION. Coincidence? Why of course (eyes rolling again). Mind you that the talks won’t occur until AFTER the election  because Iran wants to know which administration it will actually be dealing with (wink, wink). We are suppose to then reasonably excuse another month of Iranian progress on nuclear technology based on this promise of talks in general. I can  see the posturing on Monday by the CES as he firmly explains Romney is a detriment to the peace process and he would most likely send our young men and women to another war. And with that comment the shenanigans of the leaked story (wink, wink) will be realized.

Question: Do we really see the Iranian regime sitting down with the “Great Satan” to discuss their nation’s programs and plans ethically? Do we see a nation that will cooperate fully “in deed” to inspections and controls by IAEA to ensure solely civil work and use of nuclear technology?

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Failed foreign policy leads to loss of lives, appears even more to follow

Picture a school playground. Outside playing are kids 7 -9 years old. There is one teacher monitoring the activity.

Billy has communicated out loud to anyone in hearing that he hates Tommy. He says he will bash his brains out. Tommy plays outside with a couple friends but he plays near the teacher in this way hoping to prevent Billy from hurting him.,

One day the teacher noticed Billy picking up a large rock from the pretty border work around the play yard. He looked around and started walking across the playground. Tommy didn’t see him but the teacher did and watched. He was coming closer to Tommy.

In the interview that afternoon with the teacher the police asked her why she didn’t stop Tommy? The teacher’s reply was that they felt they would be able to tell when Billy was going to actually go through with attacking Tommy and they they would be able to stop it. After all kids play with rocks don’t they? The police was bewildered by the response.

I share this illustration because – once again – the current administration’s failed foreign policy has the real possibility of allowing loss of lives.

Below is a Debka article from this morning. I have added emphasis in some areas. For people who follow this story the developments are not surprising however that doesn’t mean that we aren’t greatly troubled at what we are seeing play out.

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President Barack Obama this week clued Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in on the latest US intelligence input confirming that Iran will have enough enriched uranium for 4-6 bombs by March 2013, DEBKAfile reports from its Washington and intelligence sources.  His update, which took place in the framework of quiet US-Israeli intelligence-sharing on the state of Iran’s nuclear program, was Obama’s first acknowledgment that sanctions and diplomatic pressure are not having any effect on that program.

It is now clear to his administration that Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will press on toward a nuclear weapon capacity at any price – even if faced with a military threat. No pause is to be expected in Iran’s drive to accumulate enough enriched uranium to fuel a nuclear bomb arsenal, while advancing at the same time along a second track toward a plutonium bomb.

This updated US intelligence included three more data:

1.  Most of the enriched uranium for the 4-6 nuclear bombs is scattered in 20-percent grade form among different caches.  When vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan revealed Iran’s possession of enough fissile material for five nuclear bombs during his debate with VP Joe Biden on Oct. 10, Biden waved the revelation away with contempt.

It is now confirmed by his boss, the president.

2.  After completing the transfer of advanced centrifuges to the fortified underground site at Fordo, Iran is now ready to expand uranium enrichment at Natanz by doubling the number of centrifuges working there to 6,000. The new annex to house them, on which building began in March 2011, is almost finished.

3.  The technological infrastructure for the rapid conversion of 20-percent enriched uranium to the 90-percent weapons grade is now in place. It is estimated in Washington that no more than two to three weeks will elapse between a Khamenei order for the conversion to begin, to the production of enough weapons-grade material for Iran to build its first nuclear bombs.

The US intelligence experts keeping track of Iran’s program are sure they will know when that order is given.

Notwithstanding all the facts and figures from his own intelligence experts on the imminence of a nuclear Iran, President Obama is still leaning hard on Netanyahu to hold off a preemptive strike until after the Nov. 6 presidential election. He promises that, shortly after the vote, if he is reelected, he will put before Tehran the endgame document prepared by a White House team in the form of an ultimatum with a deadline for response.

But Obama is still not saying how he will respond to an Iranian rejection of the document’s main points, or whether he will again agree to return to the negotiating table while Iran is allowed to forge ahead on its bomb program. This had been the standard diplomatic format under his watch.

DEBKAfile’s Washington sources disclose that a large group of former high-placed US diplomats, ex-officials and elder statesmen – Democrats and Republicans alike – has come forward to warn the Israeli prime minister to give up any expectation, ever, of Barack Obama’s cooperation on the Iranian nuclear issue. These former top Washingtonians all harbor strong reservations about the president’s foreign policy, especially on Iran.

Some have called Netanyahu in person and warned him that the White House instituted an intelligence-sharing dialogue with Israel only as a device for delaying an Israeli attack on Iran. If reelected, they say, he will weasel out of his repeated pledges to prevent Iran attaining a nuclear weapon and certainly not countenance preventive military action by Israel.

This is no secret to Tehran. Counting on Obama maintaining this posture and Israel’s compliance, the Iranians are certain they can go full speed ahead toward their nuclear goal without fear of interference.

Our sources also disclose that three questions on Iran will be put to the president and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney in their third and last debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, Monday, Oct. 22.

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2 cents:

Note that Ryan shared this information in the debate about a couple weeks ago. Note that Biden blew it off.

This information had been in the hands of our so-called leadership for AT LEAST a couple weeks (I suspect longer) and yet our government does not share it or use it. Why? Focusing on the presidential election. Which provides yet another example  of the absence of leadership in the executive branch and state department.

 

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