WAR WITH IRAN

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THE WAR WITH IRAN HAS BEGUN

Just last Friday, Iranian President Ahmadinejad warned that Israel's return to Gaza could lead to an "explosion" in the Islamic world that would target Israel and its supporters in the West. "They should not let things reach a point where an explosion occurs in the Islamic world," he said.

"If an explosion occurs, then it won't be limited to geographical boundaries. It will also burn all those who created [Israel] over the past 60 years," he said, implicitly referring to America and other Western nations who support Israel.

Years from now, the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit will be regarded like the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Against the backdrop of Kassam rocket fire on Israelis living within range of the Gaza Strip, it was the fate of Corporal Shalit that triggered the Israeli return to Gaza, which in turn brought the Hezbollah forces into the game.

Israel is fighting two Iranian proxies on two fronts. It may, or may not, open a third front against a third Iranian proxy, Syria. It is from the Syrian capital that Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, has been laying down Palestinian Arab negotiating conditions. Why listen to Mr. Meshaal? Because the Hamas troops are loyal to him, rather than to their erstwhile leader, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah, let alone the increasingly (as if that were possible) hapless Palestinian Arab leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Read it all.

UPDATE: Watching the news networks standing around Gaza waiting for shot of something bloody or gory. Shots of shards of glass. Infrastructure. Where's Gilad? Ridiculous.

From terror arm New York Times

Israel’s Two-Front Battle - New York Times (hat tip CJ)

It isn't Israel's two front battle, it is Hizbollah's. Hizbollah opened up both fronts. They attacked Israel from two sovereign states - Gaza and Lebanon.

While the UN condemns Israel for defending her borders, Israel demands the UN doe the job is was created to do.

The Israeli government has demanded the application of U.N. Resolution 1559 by the Lebanese army, obligating them to protect international borders. It was similarly concluded that the battle must be projected onto the international scene in order to obtain the dissolution of the Hezbollah. (Guysen.Israכl.News)

Kidnapped soldiers named: Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev

Hizbullah: Bomb Beirut, we'll hit Haifa

I will be live on the air here: W.A.R. RADIO LINK: ATLAS ON THE AIR 12 Noon EST. Call in 1888-407-1776.

UPDATE: The Muslims in Lebanon support Hizbollah, the Christians support Israel. Want more of the Lebanese Christian perspective watch  The Brigitte Gabriel Interview.

President Bush earlier today at a press conference with Merkel of Germany:

Israel has a right to defend herself.  Every nation must defend herself against terrorist attacks and the killing of innocent life. It's a necessary part of the 21st century.

Harcourt points out the major networks, including FoxNews, have not reported that Hizbollah has struck Safed and Nahariya and killed at least one and wounded at least 70 Israeli Jewish and Arab citizens.

That's like having a missile strike in Kansas. These are heartland Israeli cities that are being attacked from Lebanon.

UPDATE: EXPERIENCING TECHINICAL DIFFICULTIES with WAR Radio. Give me a minute

UPDATE: Haifa hit with a Katyusha. Haifa has a large Arab Christian population ......where they have lived side by side with the Jewish people for over a century. AMBASSADOR CALLS IT 'MAJOR, MAJOR ESCALATION'

At least 90 wounded as Hizbullah fires 85 Katyushas
Monica Seidman, 40, dies in earlier Katyusha attack in Nahariya; residents ordered into shelters; 28 people wounded in Majd el-Kurum.

UPDATE: Rockets hit Haifa for first time  Katyusha barrage lands in Nahariya, Safed; 31 wounded 

For the first time ever, two rockets launched from Lebanon landed in Haifa in the neighborhood of Stella Maris. Sappers came to the scene to neutralize the rocket that landed in the middle of a road. One persone suffered from shock. The launch represented the farthest a rocket had ever reached into Israel. Full story here

From David Holcberg from Ayn Rand Institute;

What will it take for Israel to go to war? How many more Israelis will have to be murdered, kidnapped, or maimed?

Israel says the killing and kidnapping of Israelis by Islamic terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas are acts of war. But is Israel prepared to wage a real war in self-defense?

Hezbollah and Hamas have been launching attacks against Israelis for decades--yet Israel has not used its military capability to inflict massive destruction on these groups and obliterate the terrorist states that harbor and sponsor them.

It is long past time for Israel to wage a real war against these terrorist groups and states. And it is long past time for the United States to join Israel in waging this war.

Imagine if sKerry was President. Did you see that sillly man interrogating the Iraqi Ambassador today. The Ambassador depicted sKerry's plan as abandonment. It was rich, and telling.

Comments

[Klein Verzet]

"Years from now, the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit will be regarded like the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand."

I was thinking the exact same thing. All out war seems all but inevitable now.

(Unless some common sense in the muslim world prevailes. But given the track record I won't hold my breath.)

[wade]

jesus christ, you actually seem pleased about the prospect?? lots of people are going to die horrible deaths - do you think this is a good thing - i suggest you get your moral compass tested, it seems to be skew-whiff..

[wade]

i should add, i don't deny israels right to defend herself from terrorism. But though war may sometimes be necessary, it should always be regretted and never celebrated.

[Rahul]

Its is Isreal tht keeps on killing Palestinian civilians and hezbollah is not a terrorist organisation.Come on killing isreali soldiers is not terrorism and stop liking isreali's arse like a whore.

[isirota1965]

Syria is the key here. I will say this: Hafez Assad may have been a mass-murdering psycho, but at least he had enough sense to know when to leave Israel alone. Basher Assad has no such common sense, but then again, Israel's refusal to go after him would seem to validate his actions. Last week, Israel buzzed his palace in Damascus. Today, Israel should level it........

[Yitzchak Goodman]

hezbollah is not a terrorist organisation

From Wikipedia:

Using names like the Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and the Revolutionary Justice Organization, Hezbollah is also believed by the United States to have kidnapped and tortured to death[11] U.S. Marine Colonel William R. Higgins and the CIA Station Chief in Beirut, William Buckley, and to have kidnapped around 30 other Westerners between 1982 and 1992, including the American journalist Terry Anderson, British journalist John McCarthy, the Archbishop of Canterbury's special envoy Terry Waite and Irish citizen Brian Keenan. Hezbollah was accused by the US government of being responsible for the April 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that killed 63; of being behind the suicide truck bombings that killed 241 U.S. Marines in their barracks in Beirut in October 1983; of bombing the replacement U.S. Embassy in East Beirut on September 20, 1984, killing 20 Lebanese and two American soldiers; and of carrying out the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome.

[SeanS]

Let's see Rahul. From 7.24.05: "Two civilians murdered, three injured when gunmen ambush Israeli vehicle near Gaza border"

Civilians?! That would qualify Hamas, Hezbollah, and your precious Palestinian government as being terrorists!!! Duh!

Please, try and defend this so that all may revel at your stupidity.

[elvis]

Rahul ahs taken a page from the DNC modus operandi, accusing the adversary of what he is guilty.

Rahul, continue licking your prophet Mohammed's butt as the Q'ran requires. As consolation the DNC has a place for you too.

[Richard Davis]

No one is "celebrating" - our hearts are racing, our adrenalin is pumping. Constant attack after attack, and what is Israel to do? Wait, wait for Iran to get a nuclear bomb and wipe out Israel? No, Israel cannot wait ANYMORE, nor can we, the USA.

We have the superior firepower and we must use it and it appears like finally we will. It's a job that must be done, because the Muslim Jihadists have given us no other choice.

If you've ever played sports you know that eventually you will have to face your opponent in the ring, and battle for total victory, it's anticipation. Sooner or later we (Jews and Americans) are going to have to face this fight.

The future of mankind, or civilization depends on us (Jews and Americans) to rid the world of these evil Jihadists, why should we wait until millions more are killed?

The Jihadists are shoving you in the chest, you don't want to fight, move over, and let us fight for you. We will win because we have the power and we are morally right.

If you're going to wring your hands and worry about upsetting the Jihadists, then you do not get it. WE ARE IN THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES.

Our hearts are pumping with excitement, and we are prayerful, we are not celebrating. We are preparing to do the right thing, will will stop appeasing and eliminate their terror motives as we eliminate ALL Jihadists everywhere.

[Pamela aka Atlas]

Celebrating? How dare you. How tired we all are of war and the relentless pursuit of the Jews. So tired are of these bloody, mindless acts of barbarism on the Jewish people.

The Israelis left Gaza.........Gaza is sovereign. Since that time Israel has been the target of relentless attacks from Palestinian soldiers. We believe Israel has not done enough to defend her people.

Hate the Jews elsewhere.

[tman71]

I don't see how anyone could infer a celebratory message out of this post. It is an observation of the signs of the situation. Israel has already shown superhuman restraint by their relativly small response to the situation. If the Jihadist's had Israel's firepower, Israel would no longer exist.

[Harcourt Fenton]

Yeah . . . This is what the people of Israel want and are celebrating. Klein Verzet - you are out of your mind. You, and the French Government, are the ones who are celebrating today because you can use this as a pretext to condemn Israel, once again, because it defends itself from missile attack and cross-border attack. The French government can't wait to kill Greenpeace activists who dare to protest one of their nuclear weapons tests, but the Israelis, who actually have missiles raining down on their cities from belligerent armies need to sit on their hands. In this type of situation, which is very clear, to condemn Israel is basically to say F--- the Jews. Now I understand France somewhat because they practiced what they preach and let the Nazis take over their capital and country with almost no resistance. So I presume that France would be willing to take missile attacks on its cities and schools and civilians without raising a gun. After all, they seem to have given up their rapacious colonialism after WWII - you know, they colonized and occupied Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, etc. without having any historical, cultural or other real reason to be there; so, if they can leave Lebanon and Syria, I guess their logic is that the Israelis can. But you Small Resistance(Klein Verzet) - I should think after your country was occupied you would understand something about showing more than a little bit of resistance in the face of attrocities. What you are really feeling is unadulterated fear, knowing that your country will be under the burka in no time, you are afraid to support anything, even if morally correct, that might upset your new masters.

[Mumblix Grumph]

I'm getting nostolgic for the old days when Billy Jeff Clinton could sweep all this Arab terrorism under the rug and we were too busy day trading Pets.com stock to notice that the world was moving towards the brink.

Now that my eyes are open, I wish I could close them again, but I think it will be a long time until we can rest.

[Jakesgramma]

< whisper>can we say Armageddon?< / whisper>

[Steverino]

"I'm getting nostolgic for the old days when Billy Jeff Clinton could sweep all this Arab terrorism under the rug and we were too busy day trading Pets.com stock to notice that the world was moving towards the brink."

Therein lies the explanation for the drop in Bush's numbers. It's horrible to have to confront these people, but we would have to do it sooner or later. Look at what Clinton's appeasement got us: State-sponsored terrorism. 9-11 was planned during the Clinton years, and during the same time AQ gained an incredible foothold and sophisticated operational capability.

Bush is taking it head-on, thank goodness, left be damned.

[Harcourt Fenton]

Why is it that the major networks, including FoxNews, have not reported that Hizbollah has struck Safed and Nahariya and killed at least one and wounded at least 70 Israeli Jewish and Arab citizens?

That's like having a missile strike in Kansas. These are heartland Israeli cities that are being attacked from Lebanon. And the world, including the US, calls for restraint. Imagine what would happen if a Mexican political party, that was part of the government, started to rain missiles down on Dallas or San Francisco. How hard would we be on the Mexican government if it didn't immediately cause its military to stop it? How much harder would we be if they said "Not our problem" and "We're not gonna do anything about it"? Pamela - you need to be posting double time today because FoxNews and CNN are not up to the job - as far as they are concerned, they have the same statements as the Times - i.e., Israel is pushing for war. Please get the word out that central Israel is being attacked.

[Kasei]

It's been a long time coming. The only question is (and I regret that it's a question at all) do our leaders here in the states have the same resolve as the people.

[isirota1965]

CNN is reporting that Hezbollah is apparently trying to transfer the captured Israeli soldiers to Iran..........

[LanceThruster]

Gaza a "sovereign" state? Not under Israel's boot heel. And despite your home page banner, the Jew (at least where Israel is concerned) is less like a canary in a coal mine than a bull in a China shop. And all on the US dime. If Israel won't try to live peaceably with its neighbors, can't they at least foot the bill themselves? Truth-tellers such as Professor Norman Finkelstein, now *there's* a mensch!

I found it funny that the Poor Man Institute called you "The Poor Man's Fran Drescher" except than Fran Drescher is cool and pretty whereas you are uncool and less pretty. Hearing Fran on the Howard Stern show reveals her to be witty and thoughtful. Hearing you on your VLOGS (or reading your posts) show you to be clueless and delusional.

[Harcourt Fenton]

The networks are now reporting the Hezbollah missile strikes into Israel, but such strikes are not making the headlines. Still buried under "Israel Intensifies Attacks Against Lebanon".

FoxNews says: "Hezbollah guerrillas fired three rockets at the northern Israeli border town of Safed, wounding six people and killing one, witnesses and medics said. It was the first attack on the town since the 1990s. Rockets also hit the town of Carmiel, also in northern Israel, the army said, but there was no immediate word on casualties."

This current report by Fox understates the number of wounded in Safed, at least 20 were wounded there and a 70 year old woman just died of her wounds. In Nahariya, at least 29 were wounded and a 40 year old woman was killed when a missile fell on her home. Scores of other Israelis were injured in missile attacks, including 28 people in the Israeli-Arab village of Majd Al-Krum - kind of ironic because many of the inhabitants are supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Fox calls Safed a "border town" by the way. It is true that Safed is in the north of Israel, but it is by no means a "border town", which the networks seem to mean that either (a) you don't deserve to have towns so close to the border - they should really be in Lebanese or Syrian hands or (b) don't get upset Safed, what are you thinking by being so close to a dangerous border, of course you will get hit. If Safed is a border town, it is only because every city in Israel, including Jerusalem, is a "border town" - that's the geopolitical reality that no one in Europe seems to understand when they say Israel should restrain itself against missile attacks. Israel doesn't have the benefit of the huge swaths of land that France has to defend its borders (and France should understand that the hundreds of miles that it had were no defense against Germans when they invaded France).

Why is it that Britanny's latest bump or child endangerment gets reported the minute after it happens with banner headlines, but the constant stream of missile attacks on Israel are subsumed under the heading "[Belligerent] Israel Attacks Neighbors [For Absolutely No Reason At All]"?

[John in Chicago]

Pamela, you're the best.

Where else could I get such endless nuggets of pure comedy gold?

Like that time you posted a photograph of ORTHODOX JEWS and claimed they were anti-semites?

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2006/07/free_gilad.html

Or how about that time the NY Times published a story about Rumsfeld's summer home WITH HIS EXPLICIT PERMISSION and you joined the other mouthbreathers like Malkin and Horowitz to claim it was a treasonous act for this story to be published. After all, its not like you can look up Rumsfelds tax records, or even look at similar stories from the NY Post and FOX news that contained the EXACT SAME information.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2006/06/ny_times_outta_.html

So yeah, Mrs. Bensen, you're the best. The best mouthbreathing, bed wettings, paranoid, wannabe-MAnn-Coulter this side of the blogosphere.

The best at making me laugh at how a movement that was actually taken seriously for a few years there (that being the wingnut-Bushie-movement)has now officially lost any and all credibility and is grasping at straws the likes of which would make Joseph Goebbels blush.

[Steverino]

Pamela,

It's your site, but some of the people who are posting "comments" are adding absolutely nothing to the discussion or debate. People who refer to the hostess as "clueless and delusional" or refer to "bedwettings" have worn out their welcome. They bring nothing to the table. Zero.

[The Liberal Avenger]

I don't understand your claim that Hezbollah opened the Gaza front. Are Hamas and Hezbollah really in bed with one another?

[techsupport]

I have no problems with Jews defending themselves OR killing Pali Nazis. In fact, the NeoCons should start taking care of the Muslim problem in America instead of importing them and trying to 'change Islam'.

Yeah, NeoCons are going to change Islam!! LOL. How is that working out for you? Just ask the French Jews and Christians that are getting attacked everyday.
Yeah, Multiculturalism is good for the Jews. S-u-r-e. R-i-g-h-t.

Our tribe is not exactly a bunch of Einsteins these days. So much for the brilliance of the Jews.

[Steverino]

It has nothing to do with dissent, "John in Chicago." It has to do with civility I'm not suggesting banning liberals, just gratuitously rude people like you who are incapable of serious discourse on serious issues. Since you find this site so offensive why don't you go hang out on Daily Kos? I'm sure you'll be taken much more seriously there.

[Harcourt Fenton]

To John in Chicago:

You write: "Where else could I get such endless nuggets of pure comedy gold?

Like that time you posted a photograph of ORTHODOX JEWS and claimed they were anti-semites?"

John, how about you go to the website of the Naturei Karta at www.nkusa.org and tell us that these aren't the biggest bunch of Jew haters around, even if they pretend that they are actually still Jews. They don't just want a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza, they want the Palestinians to rule over all of Israel because they believe that G-D is punishing the Jews, so to have a Jewish State which by its existence makes the oppression of Jews in the world somewhat less detracts from their extremist desire for persecution. They support Iran (who has virtually stamped out a 3000 year history of Jewish culture) and Syria and all of the true enemies of Jews - they can't be so stupid that they believe the lies of those countries that they really just "hate the sin, love the sinner" - they are simply traitors and would rather see Jews massacred than believe that G-D somehow sanctions some happiness for Jews in this world. They say of the President of Iran who has recently denied the Holocaust and would exterminate Israeli Jewry: "It is a dangerous distortion, to see the President’s words, as indicative of anti-Jewish sentiments." Who's the wingnut? The Naturei Karta believe that the Holocaust was the Jews' responsibility for becoming too wrapped up in the enlightenment and committing the sin of believing in stuff like Darwinian natural selection, etc. In fact, they seem to deny parts of the Holocaust in their website section on "Reparations": "NKI is completely opposed to the notion of demanding reparations from non – Jewish nations and/or individuals. In many cases the claims made are exaggerated or fraudulent. Of greater significance is the aura they carry of condemning whole peoples for the misdeeds of a few and of attacking descendants for the alleged misdeeds of their ancestors." Sounds like they've been drinking the kool-aid of Ayatollahs to me. So John in Chicago, it is quite possible for stocking-wearing, ultra-creationist, anti-enlightenment "Jews" to be virulently anti-semitic against every "false" Jew in the world - the radical left has its own version of this called Noam Chomsky. Start doing some reading before you claim without citation that it is a "wingnut" idea to think that a miniscule minority of Jews who think that they are the only true Jews left in the world and whose sole political desire is for the destruction of the only State in the world established for Jewish refugees are in the same boat as anti-semites who don't happen to wear side-locks.

[Harcourt Fenton]

This is now a war of the "You're either with us or against us" type. It is no longer a question of whether one thinks Israel should withdraw or not from all or parts or none of the West Bank. Hezbollah rockets, directed and financed by Iran with considerable aid from Syria, are now hitting Haifa, Israel's third largest city. If one thinks Israel is unjustified in responding to this war and winning it, then such a person or country or organization is plainly and simply anti-semitic. Such a person has taken the Arab's side in this - which is their prerogative - but they should never, ever pretend or think that they are somehow balanced or even-handed again. They, like France, have taken a side in the war and are on the side of those who call for the extermination of the Jews.

Imagine if Marseilles was hit with Katuysha rocket fire by a group controlled by members of the Algerian parliament from Algerian soil. Imagine if France, after zero action (and a raspberry to boot) from the Algerians decided to defend itself against this act of war. Imagine further that Israel said to France to restrain itself and that Israel condemns this self-preservationary action by France, even if it means the destruction of Marseilles. Who in their right mind would be arguing that Israel was not an Anti-Froggite? The answer is "no one". Every AP, Reuters and BBC article would be headlined with ANTI-FROGGITISM PERPETUATED BY THE JOOOS. And they would be right, for once.

[Richard Davis]

Haifa has been bombed from Lebanon. Bombs and Rockets are flying into Israel from Gaza, Lebanon, and possibly Syria.

We must help Israel right away!!

THE USA MUST ASSIST THEM!

WE CANNOT LET THEM FIGHT THIS ALONE.

GOD BLESS THE ISRAELI TROOPS, HELP THEM DEFEAT THE JIHADISTS.

[Steverino]

Lance,

First of all, although your response was more civil than some of the earlier posts, "clueless" and "delusional" aren't going to win you any points from people that you may be trying to persuade.

Second of all, comparing Pamela's posts to the tactics of the Third Reich is not delusional? Or is having an outspoken opinion Hitlerian?

Third, the state of Israel was formed out of a war following the UN "Partition Plan" as a result of Arab attacks, and since I suspect you approve of the UN, I think you will concede that this was not a land grab.

Fourth, it seems to me that you would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to notice that over the past several decades Israel has been largely reactive, not proactive, in its attitude towards hostilities directed towards it.

Fifth, maybe you haven't seen the photos of Palestinian kids mixing it up with hooded Palestinian RPG carriers. And I guess you haven't seen the photos of Palestinian babies with bullet belts and AK47s.

And finally, who can forget that Arafat was given pretty much everything he wanted back when Bill Clinton was running things, and he turned it all down.

I don't know Lance, really, who is delusional?

[doc_hunter]

I could help but notice that there were a lot of nut in that fruit bowl.

[LanceThruster]

Steverino,

I can rebut every one of your points, but could you tell me how it is that you are responding to my second comment, yet it has not been posted? I should like to think that if I make the effort to add my views to the discussion, it at least gets seen like all the rest.

[Steverino]

Gee Lance, do ya think it has to do with calling the hostess "clueless and delusional?" Or does that qualify as a view to you?

Let me tell you something: Come to my place (blog, home, etc) and call me clueless and delusional, and I guarantee I'll kick you out.

So intolerant, so facisistic, right Lance?

[LanceThruster]

Steverino,

The mention of the Pali pictures and Third Reich showed your response was in regards to this. It had not made it up yet you addressed the points in it. It wasn't posted and pulled. It just wasn't posted. What's up with that? You in cahoots with Atlas?

[missing post]

“In the spirit of rational discourse I shall attempt to support my assertions of the hostess being clueless and delusional.

Clueless (as in unaware, ignorant) in that she often parrots some of the most blatant lies, half-truths, and misrepresentations making the rounds as long as they support her tunnel-visioned worldview, and delusional (a persistent false psychotic belief … that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary) in that she does not recognize that the tactics she regularly espouses towards others mirror those of the most universally recognized killer of Jews (the Third Reich).

I am an atheist and reject the notion of a chosen people who were given title to a land by their god as equally ridiculous as many of the doctrines of Islam. But that doesn’t mean that one irrational people may be given free reign in brutalizing another people holding their own irrational beliefs. You cannot steal someone’s land and expect them to thank you for it. You can demonize an entire group as ‘evil’ or ’subhuman’ and not see the horror that such a mindset has brought forth in the past.

In some of your photo essays you’ve shown smiling, happy Jewish youths and ask “who could hate such kids?” But there are equally as delightful Palestinian youths deserving to be free of animosity and hatred as well. You act as if all this hatred occured in a vacuum or is a result of the wicked nature of the enemy, but as has been demonstrated in here, the ‘enemy’ is anyone not marching in lockstep with your champions.”

[Klein Verzet]

@Harcourt Fenton

Please, do make sure you direct your anger correctly. I am neither allied to the French nor am I sanity-challenged.

Methinks you were reacting to the second post, which is not mine.

Klein Verzet
(using my old Typekey login)

[LanceThruster]

Even at the level of the internet, one of the first things pro-Zionists do is silence any discussion that might bring up uncomfortable truths.

You're a peach, Pamela.

[Shy Guy]

Ha ha! I see Lance-A-Lot has made it here, too, after posting the usual Jew-hate drivle on IsraPundit for the last few months.

Lance, the only uncomfortable truth here is that you're the one espousing lies and half-truths. Yesterday on Israpundit, he was whining about the Joooooooooooooooooooz controlling the mass media and the Jewish Cabal that overshadows the US government, yada, yada........