A fellow named Alastair Crooke is retired from Britain's diplomatic corps; while he was active there, he spent many years in the Middle East. Some of the narrative in his essay will cause some readers to be offended, or to question Crooke's loyalties. Nonetheless, knowing more is always useful. I'm not on Mark Levin's Christmas-card list, anyway.
This essay provides some perspective that you simply will not get from "the Press" in the US--mostly because "the Press" consists of practical agnostics and atheists who do not now, nor ever will, understand the importance of religion to most people in the world. (Some of you recall that I had the same criticism of GWBush (the Dumber); it was well-deserved.)
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood has caught "Israel" and the US by complete surprise. Americans are calling it ‘Israel’s Pearl Harbour’ moment --and an attack on America too). Nikki Haley (running for election) is succinct: To Netanyahu: “Finish them”.
Al-Aqsa Flood is held to be "Israel’s" greatest ‘intelligence failure’. Maybe so, but if Israeli and American intelligence did not see the attack coming, it is because of their Western mechanical, literal way of thinking....
... Two years ago, a missile campaign was unleashed from Gaza on "Tel Aviv" in response to the Temple Mount Movement’s religious zealotry and invasion of Al-Aqsa mosque. Palestinians rallied to the call to safeguard the Holy Mosque. It was not just Hamas; it was West Bank Palestinians and (for the first time, too, 1948 Palestinians who have Israeli passports) who all rose up to protect Al-Aqsa. Just to be clear, the rallying cry was not for Hamas; it was not for Palestinian nationalism. It was for Al-Aqsa -- an icon that goes to the heart of what it is to be Muslim (Sunni or Shi’a)....
By the way, you can find reports less than two weeks old stating that Israelis have been charging up the Temple Mount to harass Al-Aqsa worshippers. Is Al-Aqsa built on the location of Solomon's Temple? Yes. It is also adjacent to the Dome of the Rock. Israel granted Muslims control of the mosque in 1996, although Jews and Christians are allowed to visit.
Anyhow....
The politics of Israel have changed significantly since 1996.
..."Israel" has shattered into two equally weighted factions holding to two irreconcilable visions of "Israel’s" future; two mutually opposing readings of history and of what it means to be Jewish.
The fissure could not be more complete. Except it is. One faction, which holds a majority in parliament, is broadly Mizrahi -- a former underclass in Israeli society; and the other, largely well-to-do liberal Ashkenazi.
So, what has this to do with Al-Aqsa Flood? Well, the Right in Netanyahu’s government has two long-standing commitments. One is to rebuild the (Jewish) Temple on ‘Temple Mount’ (Haram al-Shariff).
Just to be clear, that would entail demolishing Al-Aqsa....
Aside from the "holy ground" thing here, the split is roughly comparable to the Trump Faithful vs. the Establishment Deep State, with the Establishment playing the role of Ashkenazi. That fits well, because the Deep State has a lot of Ashkenzi Jews in various Executive departments.
The Mizrahi have won a majority in the Knesset; Netanyahu is--to a great degree--'their man.' But that creates a big problem with the Muslims, since they will not abide the demolition of Al-Aqsa.
...The bottom line is that very likely, "Israel" will try to move to an emergency ‘Unity Government’ -- at least for the period of the ‘war’. One aim (strongly advocated in Washington) behind moving to a unity government is to evict the Right from power -- but recall that Netanyahu’s only hope of escaping indictment and prison lies with his coalition partners on the Right....
That 'unity' government has already been announced.
Now what?
https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1711504737982619869
ReplyDeleteTucker Carlson blasts Nikki Haley, Lindsey Graham and Dan Crenshaw for being warmongers with their responses to the Israel-Hamas war.
Carlson specifically blasted Graham for "not caring" about lost lives because he is nearly 70 years old with no kids.
"What exactly would happen to the United States if we declared war on Iran and started blowing up their infrastructure?"
"Lindsey Graham has no clue what would happen. He hasn't thought it through. He's almost 70 years old and he has no children. He doesn't care."
"But neither amazingly do most of his colleagues in Washington, they're as reckless as he is."
Personally, I’m tired of the absolute binary thinking: Israel is all good and Palestinians are all bad, or the flip side, Palestinians are righteous because circumstances and Israel is evil because events.
ReplyDeleteI’m appalled when reading “conservative” commentators writing things like: “Killing every living thing in Gaza is not "ethnic cleansing" it's an act of humanity” or “There are no innocents in Gaza”.
Love thy enemy is a catchy slogan but a hard behavior. Joshua asked the Commander of the army of the Lord: Are you for us or for our enemies? It’s good to remember the answer.
Joshua is a strange citation here. The Lord sent his commander to him, to tell him to take off his shoes; and then God Himself helped Joshua wipe out his enemies, even stopping the sun in the sky at Joshua's request.
ReplyDelete...and won't, even if they happened to win. Ask the Egyptians how much freedom Egyptians have under Egyptian rulers a few miles away, where the elections are fair and honest because the opposition is in prison whenever they're held. Or Syrians under Syrian ones, a few miles away -- the ones who weren't cleansed with chemical weapons by their own government and are now either dead or living as refugees in Europe.
ReplyDeleteGrim, you are right in the details. The point is that God is on his own side. Having spent 40 years leading a population of ingrates, fornicators and cowards out of slavery by miraculous means, HE was angry enough at their behavior to let time eliminate everyone who witnessed the freedom events. HE then turned the fulfillment of HIS promise to their ancestors.
ReplyDeleteIf Benjamin Netanyahu stands outside the Gaza walls and they fall down on his command, then I will believe it is the will of the LORD, assuming the sun also stops, and Israeli military engineers aren’t doing the actual work. If the Mediterranean Sea parts to reveal an unobstructed land passage between Gaza and Turkey, I will also take that as a sign of Divine guidance.
Short of that, however, I will continue to believe that the entirety of a fallen humanity will continue to justify their desires for power and revenge while wrapping their actions under the cover of “justice”. I guess that is standard operating procedure for those who believe death relieves us of judgment. The last command of Love thy Enemy is still in effect, as I understand it.
By the way, Israel's gun controls are extreme, even though they announced 'some modifications' recently. That was eye-candy. 90+% of the citizens still cannot own a gun and 100% still cannot have more than 50 rounds in their possession.
ReplyDeleteS'pose the Ashkenazi Lefties put those in restrictions place years ago? And the Ashkenazi-run Israeli supreme court likes that just the way it is?
Another Two Great Reads
ReplyDelete1.Gazans Break Out of World's Biggest Concentration Camp
https://www.unz.com/kbarrett/gazans-break-out-of-worlds-biggest-concentration-camp/
Zionists’ open war against the world’s nearly two billion Muslims, which is also a covert war against almost three billion Christians, is doomed.
2.Hundreds of former Israeli surveillance agents hold top roles at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/hundreds-of-former-israeli-surveillance-agents-hold-top-roles-at-google-facebook-microsoft-and-amazon/
Yes they are arrogant, and they are probably Dual Citizens at this point
(Fake Ameriucans)
Ask the Egyptians how much freedom Egyptians have under Egyptian rulers a few miles away, where the elections are fair and honest because the opposition is in prison whenever they're held.
ReplyDeleteYah, well, as I understand it, Al Sisi 'cleaned out' the Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt--they are 'the prisoners.' That's why Al Sisi really, really, really, does not want any Gaza residents in Egypt, because all they will do is cause trouble.
But I could be mis-informed.
Grim States Israel can Protect themselves and he is absolutely full shit when he says this. ************Here is the Proof************
ReplyDeleteIsrael has asked the US for $10 billion in emergency military aid - Times of Israel - 1O OCT 2023
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-has-asked-the-us-for-10-billion-in-emergency-military-aid-report/
" Israel has asked the United States for $10 billion in emergency military aid, The New York Times reports, citing three officials familiar with the request.
The aid package is currently being put together by Congress in coordination with the White House and will also include funds for Ukraine, Taiwan and the US-Mexico border, according to NYT.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said during a visit to Tel Aviv on Sunday that US lawmakers have discussed providing Israel with replacement ammunition for the Iron Dome missile defense system, precision-guided bombs, JDAM kits to turn standard bombs into precision munitions and 155-millimeter a************mmunition."
************This is not our WAR************************
******No American Lives Nor $ should go to support ISRAEL OR HAMAS************
************ NOT our Problem************
IF Grim wants the US Taxpayers to pay for Israels war, May I suggest he withdraw his big fat military pension and personally send it in and leave the rest of us out of it.
ReplyDeleteGreg
Israeli Statistic of the Day
ReplyDeleteOctober 16, 2023
$1.7 million: What the average American makes over the course of his entire life.
$1.7 million x 10: What the U.S. pays Israel every day to occupy Palestine.
Read all of it at :
https://www.thinkinghousewife.com/2023/10/statistics-of-the-day/#more-140085
************This is not our WAR************************
******No American Lives Nor $ should go to support ISRAEL OR HAMAS************
************ NOT our Problem************
Pray for all of them.
Grim, Where is the Debate? Where is the Democracy? No American troops should die for the Jews. No American Youth should waist there life fighting in a war for people who hate them.
ReplyDeleteListen to Bannon
Episode 3107: US Readies Troops For Israel Aid
https://rumble.com/v3px2n4-episode-3107-us-readies-troops-for-israel-aid.html
Greg
Israel is reporting American Citizens as being killed or taken hostage......
ReplyDeleteDo not know if this is true or not.
but it still leads to a question.
We are being sucked into a war which is not our war.
How many of those supposed Americans have dual citizenship?
Because Dual Citizens are FAKE citizens in my view. No Loyalty.
We Must Change Our Constitution by Ticker
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=249889
The Founders were very concerned about divided loyalty -- and with good reason.
They had just thrown the British out of what was a nascent United States. It was not long before Britain tried something crazy again, of course: In the War of 1812 they burned the US Capitol!
It wasn't that long ago the United States did not formally recognize dual nationality. Prior to 1967 it was not permitted, notwithstanding a 1952 Supreme Court case on the matter. I had an uncle (since deceased) who held dual British and US citizenship and he had to be very careful when traveling internationally, lest he wind up having one of them revoked on him and having trouble getting back into the US. British citizenship allowed him to work and in fact run a hotel in Bermuda, which he did (as that's a British protectorate), something a US citizen could not do. He was a veteran as well having been in WWII so you'd think nobody would question anything of the sort.
You'd be wrong.
Our permitting this change in US policy has been a grave mistake. It is even worse when people with dual nationalities hold policy-making offices, including but not limited to sitting in the House and Senate.
This must be revoked; it is not only stupid it is to no small degree responsible for much of the involvement in foreign conflicts through the years, and as is now on display is being abused once again.
Interestingly enough the US Department of State does not "endorse" this position but under USSC decisions is required to respect it. As such this would have to be changed via Constitutional Amendment; mere Statute is insufficient. For what should be obvious reasons those who hold that status and are currently in the House or Senate would not like such a change, so the only way its going to happen is if we, the people, demand it and force from office any who do not support it.
Folks, we live in a world with many competing interests. We also live in a world, post-WWII, where nuclear weapons are trivially constructed (despite what some will try to tell you as pleasant bedtime stories) and nuclear power means you don't even need to get nuked to be screwed. Indeed I am far more concerned about an existing nuclear power plant, particularly with its spent fuel pool, being blown up with a conventional weapon than I am about an atomic explosion. That sounds insane but it is not; a nuclear blast is of course extremely bad when it happens buthttp://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=249889 does not produce much in the way of long-dated radioactive material where an operating power plant and its spent-fuel pool have literal tons of such material in the facility and if that is spread all over the land it will be dangerous -- literally life-threatening -- for tens of thousands of years.
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ReplyDeleteWe cannot change the world despite many people's messianic beliefs to the contrary. There will always be crazy and some of it will be organized. History tell us that humans have always had some subset that was willing to brutalize others, whether through slavery (openly or otherwise), bombing them to the stone age or whatever have you. The so-called debate about "indigenous" this or that is idiotic and through history virtually every piece of land has changed hands many times through conflict, whether openly through force of arms or various other tactics such as sieges, taking advantage of natural shifts to drive people out and otherwise. Indeed our world today is full of economic advantage taken through effective slavery: Every single electric vehicle and other device powered with rechargeable lithium cells exists as a result of the effective slavery of children in the DRC as just one example.
One principle we should all agree on and enforce: If you wish to be involved in a policy-making role in our government, whether local, state or federal and irrespective of whether elected, appointed or through outside contracting you should have to be an American citizen only with no divided allegiance.
This must be ensconced in our Constitution without delay -- before we find out the hard way that said dual allegiance of person in these roles winds up with us living in a Hellscape of unimaginable consequence.