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Sunday, August 05, 2012

Israel Plans for the Worst as Iran Steps Up Rhetoric

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for the destruction of Israel is nothing new. In fact, any leader of a Muslim nation spewing anti-Israel rhetoric has been a normal occurrence since the day Israel became a nation again in 1948. Ahmadinejad in a speech recently, however, upped the ante, proclaiming that the ultimate goal for the forces of the world must be the annihilation of Israel.

Sounding like Adolf Hitler, or any number of anti-Semites, the Iranian president claimed the "Zionists" are the cause of the problems of the world, and that it is because their hands are into everything. They are, according to Ahmadinejad, controlling the world's media and financial systems, and it is the Zionists that decide elections in the United States. Liberating Palestine, which means in his mind for the Palestinians to replace the Jews as the people controlling the Holy Land, would solve the world's problems.

Annihilation of the Jews, claims Ahmadinejad, will bring to the world justice and freedom.

These threats come from the mouth of the President of Iran as the Muslim nation test-fired an upgraded version of its Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile. The operation was intended to test the missile's ability to hit stationary land or sea targets. The test was a success according to Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi.

Iran claims the missile now has a range of "more than 300 kilometres" (190 miles) and can be fired at "targets in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman as well as land-based targets." The Iranians are calling the missile a defensive measure, though Ahmadinejad's rhetoric points to an offensive use of the weapon.

As Iran ratchets up their plans for the annihilation of Israel, the violence in Syria has worsened. President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been moving against rebel positions in Syria with heavy artillery, planes and a helicopter gunship, with the most recent target being Syria's biggest city that may determine the outcome of the 17-month uprising.

With the U.N. ceasefire now a distant joke, government forces in Syria battered the city of Aleppo, and the capital Damascus, in a show of force against rebels that has killed about 18,000 people, and may spill into neighboring countries.

Damascus has been spared up to this point during this civil war, and the fighting did not spark in the capital city until July 18 when a bombing killed four of Assad's inner circle. Fighting at that time also erupted in Aleppo.

While the fighting escalates, Russia is sending a group of its naval warships towards the region, with the fleet now moving into the eastern Mediterranean.

Russia claims the warships are not heading towards Tartus, a naval base Russia maintains in Syria. The base is only capable of docking two warships at a time. Later statements have indicated, however, that service boats from the group might call on the small port of Tartus to replenish supplies. The ships are carrying a contingent of about 360 marines and amphibious armored personnel carriers.

There has been speculation that the presence of the Russian ships may be for evacuating Russian citizens out of the area, or for the mere purpose of maintaining a presence in the area. The Russian government has not been privy to giving an explanation. The small size of Tartus discounts the idea that the ships may be present for the purpose of evacuation.

In response to the increasingly unstable situation in the Middle East, Israel has elected to upgrade its top-tier Arrow II missile defense system by improving the system's reach and accuracy. According to Israel's Defense Ministry, they are preparing for possible attacks from Iran and Syria. Arrow is a joint project with the U.S., that is designed to shoot down incoming missiles launched as far away as Iran. In addition to stopping long-range missiles, the system has been also configured to take down projectiles fired from closer range, such as neighboring Syria or Lebanon.

Iran's insistence on building nuclear weapons keeps Israel suspicious, and last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that time was quickly running out to stop Iran from achieving nuclear capability.

In addition to the Arrow, Israel developed the "Iron Dome" system to intercept shorter-range rockets that might be launched against Israel by Palestinian and Hezbollah militants.

President Obama's response to the strife in the Middle East has been to wage a culture war on Christians with his contraception mandate, while telling Muslims of the world that the "United States continues to stand with those who seek the chance to decide their own destiny, to live free from fear and violence, and to practice their faith freely."

With the arrival of Ramadan, while undercutting Christianity at home, Obama has been tossing lavish tributes to global Islam as a great and blameless religion.

Obama has also been ignoring questions from Congressmen about Hillary Clinton's aid, Huma Abedin, and her well-documented familial ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Instead, he has welcomed global Islam's reach into the White House and the State Department. After all, "jihad" is merely a harmless concept of self-improvement, "a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one's community," as Obama security adviser John Brennan has confidently put it.

The Obama administration has refused to identify Islam as a motive for terrorism, while Obama's own press secretary won't even admit that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Obama's team, in 2010, even let slip that that they believe NASA's job was to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science… and math and engineering.

Obama's Ramadan tribute last week made a point of thanking Muslims for their scientific endeavors: "Here in the United States, Ramadan reminds us that Islam is part of the fabric of our Nation, and that -- from public service to business, from healthcare and science to the arts -- Muslim Americans help strengthen our country and enrich our lives."

As Obama has told us, America is not and never will be at "war with Islam."

"I wish Muslims across America and around the world a blessed month, and I look forward to again hosting an iftar dinner here at the White House. Ramadan Kareem," Obama burbled last week.

Netanyahu, and the citizens of Israel, are not willing to be as naive about the intentions of Islam through the hands of people like Ahmadinejad and The Muslim Brotherhood.

Well, in the case of Obama, it might not be naivete, after all.
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