Briefly I want to return to the
issue of what will happen vis-a-vis Iran when Obama is here -- this
time sharing Barry Rubin's sardonic take in "What Obama faces in
Israel" (emphasis added):
"...Presumably, the US delegation
and Obama will emphasize their optimism about negotiations with Teheran and
express wishful thinking that the June election will result in a more moderate
government...In other words, they will preach hope and patience.
"In addition, they will stress
that all options are being kept open and that the United States will never
accept Iran having nuclear weapons...Personally, I don't believe
that Obama will ever attack Iranian nuclear facilities or support such an
Israeli operation.
(Rubin has indicated in other
articles that it is his opinion Israel will not attack Iran
alone. Here he speculates as to how hard Netanyahu will push on this
issue, but assumes he will warn that negotiations won't work.)
"...The reality is...that
Obama will continue to deny that his strategy is one of containment. That will
go on until Iran gets nuclear weapons and Obama switches to an open
containment strategy...It's important to understand that there's
'good containment' and 'bad containment.'
"On that point I need say
only two words: Chuck Hagel. He will likely be US secretary
of defense. Want four more words? John Kerry, John
Brennan. They will be secretary of state and CIA chief. The
problem of terrible ideas meeting terrible incompetence.
"If the Unites States is
going to end up focusing on containing Iran -- stopping it from
using nuclear weapons or giving them to terrorists -- it better be done
well.
"At the end of the meeting,
everyone will then state publicly that the talks show the continued strength of
the US-Israel alliance and that Obama is a great president and a wonderful
friend of Israel. Then Obama will return to Washington and get back to
the business of installing or helping anti-Israel Islamist governments in Egypt,
Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey; making sure Israel is never too tough
against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and losing credibility with America's
anti-Islamist Arab and other friends."
~~~~~~~~~~
Rubin doesn't fool around, and
doesn't engage in polite double-talk or in obscure pedantic analysis.
Pretty much he tells it like it is, and that's I why I cite him often.
When responding to current issues
on Iran, however, it's difficult not to wonder if he's unduly
cynical. Much of what he describes here feels absolutely on the
mark. But is he correct that Obama will never back any Israeli
action on Iran? Don't know.
Obama fully supported Israel's
action in Syria -- which I read as a case of "I don't have the will or courage
to act here, even though I said I would, but I'm glad you
do."
~~~~~~~~~~
And what about Rubin's
assessment that Israel -- if facing total non-cooperation from
Obama -- would not act alone?
What continues to be
clear is that Netanyahu is without illusions in terms of what needs to
be done. Speaking to the Jewish Agency Board of Governors
yesterday, he said (emphasis added):
"Have tough sanctions stopped
North Korea? No. And the fact that they produced a nuclear
explosion reverberates everywhere in the Middle East, and especially in
Iran.
"...Sanctions alone will
not stop the nuclear program of Iran. They have to be coupled with a
robust, credible military threat. If they are not, there's no
chance to stop it. If they're coupled with that military threat, there is
a chance to stop it. And if it doesn't stop it, then it will have
to be stopped another way."
Netanyahu also said that once he
forms his government (something that's taking a long time), his highest priority
will be stopping Iran's nuclear program. Just as Iran will be the most
important subject he will discuss with President Obama when he
arrives.
We shall see...
~~~~~~~~~~
Can you believe this?
Believe it: When Obama is here President Peres is going to present him with
a presidential medal. A revoltin' development. I have a good
friend who says I have no reason to be surprised, since Peres received such an
award from Obama and is merely returning the favor. And she is absolutely
correct. But revoltin' it is.
I, with many many others, was
opposed to Peres receiving that medal in the US because Obama had ignored all
requests to release Pollard. He missed an opportunity to make a huge
public statement. And now, Obama will, in all likelihood, receive his
medal while Pollard, seriously ill, still languishes in prison. This, even
though even more voices have been now raised seeking his release.
~~~~~~~~~~
A 1987 study ordered by the CIA
was released recently. What it shows is that Pollard's handlers instructed
him to seek information about "Arab (and Pakistani) nuclear
intelligence; Arab 'exotic' weaponry, including chemical
weapons; Soviet aircraft; Soviet air defenses; Soviet air-to-air
missiles and air-to-surface missiles; Arab order-of-battle, deployments, readiness." And also PLO
headquarters in Tunis.
This was all information relevant
to Israel's security. Never, said the study, did Pollard's handlers
“request or receive from Pollard intelligence concerning some of the most
sensitive US national security resources.”
"The Israelis never expressed
interest in US military activities, plans, capabilities or
equipment."
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163173
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163173
This is exceedingly important
information: in no way was the US compromised by Pollard's work.
Particularly in light of this, his life sentence is a travesty of justice
and totally inconsistent with sentences meted out to others who have acted
similarly. What is more, Pollard has expressed remorse for what he did.
It would be an act of justice and
simple humanity for Obama to now commute Pollard's sentence to time
served.
~~~~~~~~~~
A petition calling for Pollard's
release will be presented to Obama when he's here.
Recently, Yair Lapid, head of Yesh
Atid, met with Pollard's wife, Esther. During that meeting he had an opportunity
to speak briefly with Pollard by phone:
Related Lapid,.
"The conversation brought tears to my eyes. He is in very bad health. He is
desperate and broken."
Pollard said to
him, "All I want is to return home and spend the rest of my life with my
wife, who has filled her days with enormous efforts to secure my release. Please
help me."
Credit:
IsraelMatzav
~~~~~~~~~~
Much was made of a move by
Egypt last week to flood smuggling tunnels that run under Rafah from the Sinai
to Gaza. This was said to be part of a commitment by the Egyptian
government made at the time of the ceasefire regarding hostilities between
Israel and Hamas in Gaza -- a commitment to stanch the flow of new weapons to
Hamas from the Sinai.
"Egypt will not tolerate a two-way flow of
smuggled arms with the Gaza Strip that is destabilizing its Sinai peninsula, a
senior aide to its Islamist president said, explaining why Egyptian forces
flooded sub-border tunnels last week."
The idea, it was said, was to
keep water in the tunnels for sufficient time to destabilize them, so that they
then collapsed -- easier than destroying them mechanically or by explosives
(which is near impossible because of adjacent housing).
As recently as Sunday, an Egyptian
military spokesman said that they had found over 225 tunnels and that flooding
was continuing.
~~~~~~~~~~
But as of yesterday, Egypt
Independent (cited by IMRA) reported that (emphasis added):
"Sources in Sinai, however, say that the water is being drained out
and announced that the targeted tunnels would be functional again in a
week."
The Independent, furthermore,
refers to the flooding as a "punitive" and not a security measure.
The fact is that besides being
used for smuggling of weapons and terrorists, the tunnels are also used for
commercial purposes -- bringing goods into Gaza. For this reason alone,
Hamas was furious about the flooding.
BBC Gaza correspondent Jon
Donnison tweeted that: "tunnel flooding story has a lot of pick up but no
sign tunnel trade badly damaged. No queues 4 fuel. Plenty of cement in
shops."
~~~~~~~~~~
There are reports from Egyptian
media that a delegation of high-level Egyptian security officials will be
visiting Israel soon. It is anticipated that the security situation in the
Sinai will be high on the agenda.
~~~~~~~~~~
Last week, seven wounded
Syrian refugees from rebel forces. who showed up at the border on the
Golan, were permitted into Israel.
This was a unique situation,
extended for humanitarian purposes because of their medical condition. One
was critically wounded and the other six, who ultimately required
surgery, in serious condition. They were first treated at the border
and then transferred by military ambulances to a hospital in S'fat. They
have been kept away from reporters.
Both the 1951 UN Refugee
Convention and Israeli law would forbid their being forced back into Syria,
given their situation.
But IDF officials have made it
very clear that this incident does not set a precedent and that Israel was NOT
going to start permitting Syrian refugees to come over the border. It
would be disastrous to do this.
The Times of Israel is reporting
(tentative) plans by the IDF to set up a field hospital right at the border with
Syria, so that other refugees seeking medical attention could be treated there
and not brought farther into Israel.
~~~~~~~~~~
Black joke of the day:
Syrian President Bashar Assad --
who hopes to run again for the presidency next year -- has been quoted
by Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London) as saying, in the course of a
meeting with Jordanian officials, that, "The images of carnage are painful. Some
people forget I am flesh and blood. I'm not a wild animal and you must keep in
mind I am a doctor [ophthalmologist] and it pains me to see death."
Meanwhile, Syrian
rebel sources are saying that 50 people were killed when Assad's
forces fired a surface-to-surface missile into a residential area
in Aleppo. The charge is that the residential area was deliberately
targeted, and that there were also mortar shells fired at houses.
~~~~~~~~~~
Assad's plaintive request that people "keep
in mind that I'm a doctor" interested me, nonetheless.
For it happens that there have
been a few doctors here in the Middle East who have been involved in gratuitous
murder of innocents, usually in the course of roles they've played in terror
organizations. I think, for example, of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, who was a
certified pediatric medical doctor. Or Egyptian medical doctor and surgeon
Ayman al-Zawahiri, who assumed the leadership of al-Qaeda after
bin-Laden.
I've
never understood how they could do the things they've done, when
trained to save lives.
~~~~~~~~~~
Compare this, please, with the
action of IDF medical personnel who moved to treat Syrian rebels (described
above) who may well be Islamists, and perhaps even members of al-Qaeda.
Dr. Oscar Embon,
the director. of the Ziv Medical Center in S'fat, where the rebels are
being treated, told CNN, "We treat patients regardless of religion,
race, nationality and give the best care we can provide." He said
that Israeli doctors frequently treat people from groups with which Israel
has tensions, or even is engaged in conflict.
~~~~~~~~~~
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Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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