Counting Rifles: Iran Re-arming Hamas Via Sudan

This year, while we were paying attention to vital issues such as Rep. Akin's somewhat antiquated views on gynecology, and listening to an eavesdropped presentation by candidate Romney, and the latest adventures of Snookie (is that how it's spelled?), and NFL replacement referees, other people in other parts of the world were, well, a bit more focused on other things.

Like the Iranians, for instance....

 From the Jerusalem Post:

Israeli intelligence satellites have spied the loading of rockets and other materiel believed to be destined for the Gaza Strip, The Sunday Times reported citing Israeli officials. According to the report, Iran began preparing the weapons shipment around the same time Israel and Hamas negotiated cease-fire understandings late last week.

Sweet...turns out they've been busily arming Hamas with sophisticated missiles (and, naturally one would assume, trained people to operate and keep track of them, as did the Soviets in their day).

The shipment is said to include Iranian-made Fajr-5 medium-range rockets, the same model that was fired into the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas during Operation Pillar of Defense, the Times reported.
Last month, following an air attack on a weapons plant near Khartoum, the Defense Ministry's director of policy and political-military affairs accused Sudan of acting as a transit point for weapons shipments to Gaza.

OS does note that the Iranians/Hamas types did wait until after November 6 to begin firing their missiles at Israel--wouldn't want to, you know, disrupt TheObamaNarrative about how wonderfully well Himself has been able to restrain the Iranians and the Islamist crazies. That would have been impolite.


And, simultaneously, it was convenient for the whole Petraeus affair to wait until after November 6 as well. And that silly thing in Libya--well, Hillary was otherwise occupied in Australia at a wine-tasting, just couldn't work in a conversation with Congress.

So, Iran/Hamas politely waited for the official Obama victory lap to Burma (huh? Burma?) to begin setting off its own roman candles in celebration.

They are, after all, polite about this sort of thing. We will serve no mayhem before its time.

OS was walking one of the dogs yesterday, and an old movie came to mind; title forgotten, movie forgettable, but not this scene: A British contingent found itself holed up in a fort somewhere in Southern Africa, surrounded by more pissed-off Zulu tribes than one could count. The Zulu chiefs lined up their troops and staged a frontal assault in broad daylight against a well-prepared defense. The outcome was predictable--hundreds upon hundreds of dead tribesmen, no British losses, general good cheer amongst the troops.

A younger officer exclaims breathlessly to the grizzled veteran about what a great day they had had, and the grizzled old gent in his best stiff-upper-lip counseled him, 'You don't understand what happened here. They were just counting how many rifles we have.'  The movie became a much grimmer affair for the Brits from that point. The lives of several hundred warriors were meaningless to the Zulu chiefs, so long as they got their rifle count.

OS contends we have just witnessed Iran/Hamas counting Israeli and American rifles. Let's fire this many of this kind of missile from these spots, and see how well the air defenses work, and gauge the reaction from the IDF. Sure, they'll bomb the bejeezus out of us, but since we're set up in neighborhoods, all the press will report are images of bombed-out apartment buildings and dead children. Small price to pay to count rifles.

So, they found out that Israel does have good air defenses, so long as the US resupplies them, and they can mobilize 70K reservists in short order (now, where and how did they deploy?), and Miss Hillary will come scurrying from the Burma Victory Tour to make certain the Israelis don't do anything rash like flood Gaza with seventy thousand troops and tear them from limb from limb. After all, they reason, with that Muslim Botherhood sistah' at her side, we're good, and we've got access to every conversation anyway. No worries.

All of this feels so....Spanish Civil War...presented to the world as an epic struggle between the forces of light and dark, with its American brigade, and Picasso paintings and Hemingway and even Kim Philby lurking about, on the English payroll while working for Moscow. The stuff of novel and film and Pulitzer Prizes.

Actually, it was a dress rehearsal for the horrors to come, as the Nazis and the Bolshies tested weapons and tactics, using Spanish cities and civilians as live targets. The outcome didn't much matter, vis-a-vis who ended up in power in Madrid. The bigger question from Berlin was, 'Are we good to go?', and the answer came back a resounding 'Javohl!'.

And so on to the Sudetenland. And Poland.

Sitting here in his small town in the southern United States, there is damned little OS can do about this, except note that it is happening, and contend we have just witnessed a rehearsal.

In the meantime, every day is precious. Mrs. OS is wrapping presents, and there is a grandson to ogle today, and coffee to drink, and music to enjoy. It is a glorious clear chilly day, and the oaks are shedding their leaves.

And, for today, OS will remember the tale of Joseph from Genesis. All those evil people played into Jehovah's hands, and Israel was preserved thereby.

Hmm...More Than Meets The Eye in Gaza: New Shopping Mall Opens

When OS hears 'Gaza', he thinks 'mud huts, rockets firing at Israel, and neighborhoods blow to Perdition by the IDF'.  And, apparently, there's a lot of that, except the rocket fire seems to have abated after the early 2009 thrashing administered to Hamas.

And, then again, there are scenes of true prosperity, even opulence, in Gaza as well.


Hmmm...somehow, the whole story is not being accurately told.

OS doesn't think this is some conspiracy one way or the other, but perhaps too many years of blood-curdling passions on one side or the other have totally skewed everyone's view.

Hmmm...

'Peace Activists' And Their Culture Of Violence: James Corum Remembers

James Corum is no right-wing nutter living in his mother's basement, as the White House would have us believe about any who dare disagree with The One.

James Corum is Dean of the Baltic Defence College in Estonia. He has taught at American and British staff colleges and is the author of seven books on military history and counter-insurgency. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserve (rtd) and has 28 years' experience as an army officer.

Colonel Corum has a chilling tale to tell of life on the receiving end of the 'peace activists' activities, in the wake of the 'peace activists' activities on behalf of Hamas.

[quote]

I had my first experience with peace lovers in 1965 when my father was the deputy commander of the Presidio of San Francisco, in those days an Army post located right in the centre of the city. Due to its location, it was a magnet for the 1960s-era protests. My father was tasked to deal with anti-Vietnam demonstrations that began with the deployment of US combat troops to Vietnam. A group of seven liberal activists – some of them who later became quite prominent in the Democratic Party in California – requested permission to hold a demonstration on the Presidio. Of course, political demonstrations of any type are forbidden on federal property. My father, following federal law, denied the protest request. My father was also noted in the local press as the one who had turned down the peace activists’ – so a personal target was clearly identified.

The night after my father denied the peace demonstration request our car – a beautiful 1957 Lincoln – was completely destroyed by terrorists. In those days the Presidio was an open post - and anyone had access. From that day on, and for the next few months, we received constant death threats. Federal agents traced a lot of the calls to Berkeley – center of peace activities in the Bay area. When I was twelve I got quite used to picking up the phone and having peace people tell me they would kill our family. When you personally experience terrorism as a twelve year-old, you grow up quickly in terms of understanding politics – and especially understanding the true nature of “peace” activists.

Hmmm...that's 'peaceful', isn't it?

Col. Corum has more to tell, and OS recommends his thoughts to you.

OS also wonders what the man is doing as a retired officer teaching in Estonia, instead of an active general in service of his country. But then again, since there are so many 'peace activists' who have made their way to upper reaches of the government in the past decade, it comes as no surprise. OS notes that the GW Bush administration was also famous for its intolerance of any and all who dared disagree, or demonstrated that potential.

OS also calls to mind the verbal (thankfully not physical) violence he has witnessed by the 'peace activist' types directed toward any who dare offer an alternate opinion to the Party Line. One special moment occurred at church some time back, as a patrician lady attempted to verbally disembowel him in the halls for refusing to accept and post copies of the then latest cause pushed by the Left. OS was much younger and more naive, and left the encounter with his feelings bruised, instead of just seeing the old bat for who she was--an old bat with an abusive streak.

Some wisdom does come with age. Let's be careful out there. As he has stated before, anyone who demonstrates an enthusiasm for spilling blood over a domestic political difference of opinion is someone to be treated with a healthy wariness.

Maybe we're not the problem. Just sayin...

The Newest Terrorist Weapon: Exploding Donkeys (From Jerusalem Post)

Gee, Wally, Hamas didn't get the memo from PETA!

Murder all the people you want, but if you harm a hair on a animal's head, your ass is grass!

From Jerusalem Post: 

A small Syrian-backed terrorist group in Gaza said its activists blew up a donkey cart laden with explosives close to the border with Israel on Tuesday, killing the animal but causing no human casualties.

Abu Ghassan, spokesman for the terrorist group, said more than 200 kilograms of dynamite were heaped on the animal-drawn cart. He added that the explosives were detonated 60 meters from the concrete security barrier that separates the territory from Israel.

The donkey was killed in the blast, but there were no reports of human casualties. Israeli troops routinely patrol the border, and impoverished Gazans often gather rubble in the area.

We'll await the deafening outcry from the animal activists. OS is certain they'll be mounting demonstrations outside Hamas HQ in Gaza, any day now.

This Is How Wars Begin: Obama Shuns Netanyahu, Hamas Stages An Ambush

...and an Israeli family loses a second son to the jihadists. Not a murmur from our press here--just another day. How many column inches devoted this week to the latest from Sandra Bullock? The NCAA? 'Medical marijuana'?

From the Jerusalem Post, the account of an incursion into Gaza by a tank unit, confronting Hamas fighters planting IED's near the border. 

Two Israeli soldiers killed:

On Friday evening, Maj. Eliraz Peretz, 31, from Eli, deputy commander of the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, and St.-Sgt. Maj. Ilan Sviatkovsky from Rishon Lezion were killed during combat with Palestinian gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip, near Khan Yunis.

Peretz led a force into Gaza after two Palestinians were spotted laying improvised explosive devices near the border security fence. During the ensuing fire exchange, a grenade in Peretz’s vest was hit by a bullet and exploded, killing him and wounding two of his soldiers. Sviatkovsky was then shot and killed as well.

Israeli officers still lead their troops, and suffer losses accordingly.

Further down the article, the poignant news is related:

Peretz’s brother, Lt. Uriel Peretz, 22, of Givat Ze’ev, was killed by a Hizbullah bomb along with St.-Sgt. Nitzan Balderan, 19, of Kibbutz Lotem, on November 25, 1998, when the IDF was still deployed in the security zone in south Lebanon. Both men were in the Golani Brigade. The family has another brother serving in Golani Battalion 13. The third brother participated in Operation Cast Lead last year.

OS doesn't know whether to weep, rage, or some combination of the two. Deepest condolences to the families. Who can imagine, much less endure these sorts of losses?

Our President won't be photographed with your Prime Minister, won't break bread with him. He's planning a state dinner for President Calderon of Mexico next month, the leader of one of the most chaotic, brutal and corrupt nations of modern history.

Something is terribly, tragically awry in the White House.

This is how wars begin...