Lankford pens op-ed on why the US must continue to stand with Israel

Continue to pray for peace in Jerusalem

By US Senator James Lankford (originally published in the Tulsa World)

In the past six months, the Iranian regime has launched thousands of rockets at Israel through its proxies: Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Iran has also launched hundreds of attacks on American forces in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Now, Iran has directly attacked Israel.

In addition to the ongoing threat now hurled at Israel from Iran, the US should clearly oppose the violence of Hamas terrorists and support the freedom for every hostage in Gaza. Some in Washington, DC, and around the world have forgotten that the current war in the Middle East started on Oct. 7 when Israel was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret. 

Lankford: national security risk with Iranians on terror watch list crossing border

Lankford Raises National Security Concerns Over Iranians Illegally Crossing Southern Border 

WASHINGTON, DC (October 17th) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK), lead Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, shared a video to continue to draw attention to the national security crisis at our southern border with Iranians on the terror watch list who are entering the US illegally.

Lucas: Pelosi’s War Powers Resolution puts Politics over National Security

Pelosi’s War Powers Resolution Puts Politics Over National Security

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Con.Res. 83- War Powers Resolution by a vote of 224-194. Representative Frank Lucas opposed the resolution.

“There’s no question about it, President Trump was justified in killing Qasem Soleimani – Iran’s most deadly terrorist. For decades, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force has brought bloodshed and terror to the region under the command of Soleimani. Our armed forces and allies are safer thanks to the President’s constitutionally authorized defensive actions.

At a time when Congress should be steadfast and united behind the strength of our national defense, House Democrats are instead more interested in undermining President Trump and playing politics with our national security.

While there will always be differences in policy between the many personalities that serve within the House, it’s apparent the Majority has rushed to push through a resolution that has no binding effect, will not be signed into law, and was drafted to simply highlight the Democrat’s disdain towards the President.”

Background:
On January 2, 2020, the United States military, under the direction of President Donald Trump, took defensive action to protect U.S. personnel by killing Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. In the weeks prior to the strike, Soleimani was responsible for attacks on U.S. military personnel as well as the terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. As Commander in Chief, the President of the United States has the Article II Constitutional authority to use force to protect and defend our nation and our forces.

A concurrent resolution cannot have the force of law because it is not presented to the President and subject to veto, as required by Supreme Court constitutional case law since 1983.

Iran to Inspect (Its Own) Nuclear Site

Headline: UN TO LET IRAN INSPECT ALLEGED NUKE WORK SITE

No, that's not a headline from The Onion. It's an Associated Press exclusive story.

Vienna (AP) -- Iran will be allowed to use its own inspectors to investigate a site it has been accused of using to develop nuclear arms, operating under a secret agreement with the U.N. agency that normally carries out such work, according to a document seen by The Associated Press. [...]

The newly disclosed side agreement, for an investigation of the Parchin nuclear site by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, is linked to persistent allegations that Iran has worked on atomic weapons. That investigation is part of the overarching nuclear-limits deal. [...] 

The Parchin agreement was worked out between the IAEA and Iran. The United States and the five other world powers were not party to it but were briefed by the IAEA and endorsed it as part of the larger package. [...]

The agreement in question diverges from normal procedures by allowing Tehran to employ its own experts and equipment in the search for evidence of activities it has consistently denied - trying to develop nuclear weapons.

There are some times when something is so absurd that you can't come up with words accurate enough to describe the absurdity.

This is one of those times.

Update: Israel and the Arab World

Current Political Situation

Hillel Fendel, senior editor of the Israeli news website Arutz Sheva, has written a very interesting series entitled The New Middle East at a Glance - Country by Country. Here is the link for Part I, and here is Part II.

In the articles, Fendel discusses the recent political turmoil that began in Tunisia, and has spread to Egypt, Yemen, and throughout the Arab World of the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to talking about the unrest, he explains the historic and present state of the Jews in each respective nation. I highly recommend reading this series.

Iranian Provocation Continues

News has broken today that Iran is sending two warships to dock in Syria for a year-long "training mission". The vessels were set to pass through the Suez Canal today. In Syria, they will be in close proximity to Hezbollah, the terrorist group set up by Iran that is now in control of Lebanon. Hezbollah already has been armed by Iran, and with Iranian military support so close, will be emboldened. Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said today that he is ready for another war with Israel, and specifically an invasion of the Galilee region

Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood

For those here in the West who view the Muslim Brotherhood as a "moderate" and "secular" organization, and support elevating them to power in Egypt, allow me to show you Article 2 of the official Hamas Charter:

Article Two: The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] is one of the wings of Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. Muslim Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times. It is characterised by its deep understanding, accurate comprehension and its complete embrace of all Islamic concepts of all aspects of life, culture, creed, politics, economics, education, society, justice and judgement, the spreading of Islam, education, art, information, science of the occult and conversion to Islam.

That is just one reason why it is dangerous for the Muslim Brotherhood to come to power in Egypt, Israel's largest neighbor. Two terrorist organizations (especially when in alliance or control of a nation like Egypt), in conjunction with Syrian and Iranian supported Hezbollah in Lebanon, pose a serious threat to Israel's safety, security, and very existence.

Iran's Nuclear Program - What Will Israel Do?

Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant

Russia will deliver nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant on Saturday, August 21st. Former UN Ambassador John Bolton has said that Israel has [now less than] "three days" to stop the Iranian reactor from going online.

Israel has bombed nuclear programs in the past, although Iran is much farther away than the previous operations were. If Israel does something about Bushehr, there will be serious consequences, including the great possibility of a retaliatory attack by Iran, perhaps also including attacks on American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 1981, the Israeli Air Force bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, crippling it. Iraq lost French help with their nuclear program shortly thereafter, and the Iraqi nuclear program was forced underground.

In 2007, Israel struck a secret Syrian nuclear reactor, which was built with North Korean help. Syria denied the attack, and the reactor, but satellite shows that they attempted to erase evidence of both at the site.

This brings me to another thought, dealing with North Korea. If Israel strikes at Iran's nuclear facilities, there will be great chaos in the region, perhaps all-out war. With the current turmoil between North and South Korea, what will North Korea do?

Only time will tell for both.

Video: Israel's Critical Security Needs for a Viable Peace

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs has released a video entitled "Israel's Critical Security Needs for a Viable Peace". This put into perspective for those of us in the West exactly what Israel faces from a security standpoint relating to their tiny size. Watch below.



JCPA has published a very informative security report here, which Arutz Sheva news has summarized in a great article here.

If you want to read an excellent book on the subject, I highly recommend current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 1993 book - A Place Among The Nations.

If Israel Goes Down We All Go Down

If Israel goes down, we all go down
Anger over Gaza is a distraction. We cannot forget that Israel is the West's best ally in a turbulent region
By José María Aznar

For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion.

In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship. In an ideal world, no state, let alone a recent ally of Israel such as Turkey, would have sponsored and organized a flotilla whose sole purpose was to create an impossible situation for Israel: making it choose between giving up its security policy and the naval blockade, or risking the wrath of the world.

In our dealings with Israel, we must blow away the red mists of anger that too often cloud our judgment. A reasonable and balanced approach should encapsulate the following realities: first, the state of Israel was created by a decision of the UN. Its legitimacy, therefore, should not be in question. Israel is a nation with deeply rooted democratic institutions. It is a dynamic and open society that has repeatedly excelled in culture, science and technology.

Second, owing to its roots, history, and values, Israel is a fully fledged Western nation. Indeed, it is a normal Western nation, but one confronted by abnormal circumstances.

Uniquely in the West, it is the only democracy whose very existence has been questioned since its inception. In the first instance, it was attacked by its neighbors using the conventional weapons of war. Then it faced terrorism culminating in wave after wave of suicide attacks. Now, at the behest of radical Islamists and their sympathizers, it faces a campaign of delegitimisation through international law and diplomacy.

Sixty-two years after its creation, Israel is still fighting for its very survival. Punished with missiles raining from north and south, threatened with destruction by an Iran aiming to acquire nuclear weapons and pressed upon by friend and foe, Israel, it seems, is never to have a moment's peace.

For years, the focus of Western attention has understandably been on the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. But if Israel is in danger today and the whole region is slipping towards a worryingly problematic future, it is not due to the lack of understanding between the parties on how to solve this conflict. The parameters of any prospective peace agreement are clear, however difficult it may seem for the two sides to make the final push for a settlement.

The real threats to regional stability, however, are to be found in the rise of a radical Islamism which sees Israel's destruction as the fulfillment of its religious destiny and, simultaneously in the case of Iran, as an expression of its ambitions for regional hegemony. Both phenomena are threats that affect not only Israel, but also the wider West and the world at large.

The core of the problem lies in the ambiguous and often erroneous manner in which too many Western countries are now reacting to this situation. It is easy to blame Israel for all the evils in the Middle East. Some even act and talk as if a new understanding with the Muslim world could be achieved if only we were prepared to sacrifice the Jewish state on the altar. This would be folly.

Israel is our first line of defense in a turbulent region that is constantly at risk of descending into chaos; a region vital to our energy security owing to our overdependence on Middle Eastern oil; a region that forms the front line in the fight against extremism. If Israel goes down, we all go down. To defend Israel's right to exist in peace, within secure borders, requires a degree of moral and strategic clarity that too often seems to have disappeared in Europe. The United States shows worrying signs of heading in the same direction.

The West is going through a period of confusion over the shape of the world's future. To a great extent, this confusion is caused by a kind of masochistic self-doubt over our own identity; by the rule of political correctness; by a multiculturalism that forces us to our knees before others; and by a secularism which, irony of ironies, blinds us even when we are confronted by jihadis promoting the most fanatical incarnation of their faith. To abandon Israel to its fate, at this moment of all moments, would merely serve to illustrate how far we have sunk and how inexorable our decline now appears.

This cannot be allowed to happen. Motivated by the need to rebuild our own Western values, expressing deep concern about the wave of aggression against Israel, and mindful that Israel's strength is our strength and Israel's weakness is our weakness, I have decided to promote a new Friends of Israel initiative with the help of some prominent people, including David Trimble, Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo (the former President of Peru), Marcello Pera (philosopher and former President of the Italian Senate), Fiamma Nirenstein (the Italian author and politician), the financier Robert Agostinelli and the Catholic intellectual George Weigel.

It is not our intention to defend any specific policy or any particular Israeli government. The sponsors of this initiative are certain to disagree at times with decisions taken by Jerusalem. We are democrats, and we believe in diversity.

What binds us, however, is our unyielding support for Israel's right to exist and to defend itself. For Western countries to side with those who question Israel's legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel's vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values rather than robustly to stand up in defense of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude.

Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not, our fate is inextricably intertwined.


José María Aznar was prime minister of Spain between 1996 and 2004.

The Conservative View: A Necessary Evil

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

A Necessary Evil

It would be nice if we humans were creatures that could resolve all of our problems in a non-violent and civilized manner. The money that we could save on not having to build planes, tanks, ships, etc. could build a utopia on this planet. It is a sad fact that we humans are incapable of building such a world. There is always a group ready to destroy another group or civilization for the land or wealth that they possess. It is a sad fact that many people are not interested in history. I have found that it is far easier to avoid mistakes in our lives when we listen to the stories of past generations. As for myself, I cherish the memories of my grandparents and the common sense philosophy that they learned from the school of hard knocks. I remember them telling of the hardships of World War 2 and the sacrifices that the Americans of that day endured. I have also watched many programs of that era and have seen the carnage that our forefathers endured. I believe that that war would have been much worse if it had not been for the strength of our military. Over the past week much has been in the news about the nuclear agreement with Russia and how this will make our world so much safer.

I believe that peace is only achieved when our adversaries know that our strength and resolve is so strong that it would be suicide to attack us. Nuclear war would be a horror that no sane person would want to be involved in, but when the bomb was used on Japan that act saved that island nation from being burned to the ground along with countless Japanese and American soldiers. It is sad that civilized people cannot understand the barbarian mind. Our forefathers understood that the only reasoning that barbarians understand is force. Throughout history military superiority can change overnight. Rogue nations like North Korea, Iran and a host of other terrorists groups are in the process of acquiring the bomb. We Americans like to pat ourselves on our backs and claim that we are making the world a safer place when we make ourselves weaker. Granted we have many enemies, but I believe that our biggest enemies are apathy and arrogance. We take our safety for granted. Our weapons and military are a necessary evil; we need to remember that the lack of weapons never makes us safer; only having them makes us safer.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.

Netanyahu Slams Ahmadinejad, UN at UN General Assembly

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu absolutely slams Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in this speech at the United Nations General Assembly.



Too bad the Ahmadinejad wasn't present to see minutes from the Wannsee Conference, which presented the plan for deportation and extermination of the Jews by the Nazis. Too bad Ahmadinejad wasn't present when Bibi held up the original plans, signed by Nazi Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, for the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.

Bibi also slammed those who sat through the Ahmadinejad speech, and praised those nations who walked out of the chamber in protest. He also condemned UN hypocrisy in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts; in particular, when Iranian-backed Hamas fired rockets into Israel.

The fiery speech is excellent, and I recommend listening to the speech in its entirety. Would that our president was more like Bibi...

Poland Cannot Trust the West

Poland Cannot Trust the West

The White House, caving to Russian pressure, announced today that the Bush-proposed missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic was being canceled. The plan had been fairly controversial, especially with the Russian leaders, as they viewed it as a threat to them, despite American assurances that it was to counter Iranian missile potential.

This proves once again that Poland can never completely trust the West.

Poland has a sad history of betrayal by Western powers.

In 1939, in the face of Nazi saber rattling, Britain and France gave Poland a guarantee that if Hitler invaded Poland, both nations would launch war on Germany. On September 1st, 1939, Der Führer invaded and the West did very little to hinder him. On September 17th Soviet Russia joined in, attacking Poland from the east. The Polish doctrine of two enemies (Germany to the west, Russia to the east) was proven true once again. A truly free and independent Poland disappeared until the fall of both Nazism (1945) and the Soviet Union (1989-1991).

During World War II, Polish troops formed a significant portion of Allied soldiery (one of the largest national contingents), contributing greatly in the Battle for Britain and the Italian Campaign. On the home front, the Home Army formed the largest (and most successful) underground resistance movement in Europe.

As soon as Poland itself fell to Nazi and Soviet aggression, the government-in-exile worked with Great Britain and other western allies to form a plan to reestablish Poland, when the opportunity presented itself. Headway was made, until the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union (through Polish territory), bringing the Soviets onto the Allies side - truly a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

From that point on, Polish "squabbling" over territorial integrity (Soviet Russia had annexed eastern Poland) irritated the British. Poland wanted their land back in its entirety, and the Soviet Union wanted Poland.

The preparations for Operation Tempest, the liberation of Poland and reestablishment of Polish government before the Soviets could take over, continued. The UK and US promised help in various ways; materiel, Polish troops currently fighting under British control, air drops and raids, et cetera.

While assuring the Poles of assistance, Churchill and especially FDR made concessions to Joseph Stalin. Without consulting their Polish allies, Churchill and FDR agreed that the Soviet Union could claim the Curzon Line as their mutual border with Poland, thereby giving the Soviets the eastern third of Poland (while "making up for it" by giving Poland some of eastern Germany). Churchill originally took a harder stance with Stalin, but after learning that FDR had privately agreed with Stalin on the Curzon Line, was forced to go along. All of this came out at the Yalta Conference.

The summer of 1944 finally rolled around. The Red Army had been pushing the Nazi Wehrmacht out of Russia, and entered pre-war Poland, hot on the Germans heels. With "Allied" troops now in Poland, Operation Tempest was launched. Initial contact with the Red Army by the Polish Home Army was friendly, but once the front line rolled past, the Soviet NKVD (forerunner of the KGB) viciously murdered or repatriated to Siberia most Home Army or government officials, and deported masses of civilians. Neither the British nor the Americans believed reports coming out of Poland, calling them "anti-Soviet".

Seeing what became of their comrades-at-arms, the Polish government-in-exile altered the objective of Operation Tempest. The aim was now to liberate Warsaw, the capital, and show the world that Poland was still by right a free land. The "Warsaw Rising" commenced on August 1st, 1944, with the Soviet troops within sight of Warsaw.

For two months the Poles fought in the streets of Warsaw, with little of the promised-British/American aid, and with no cooperation from the suddenly sluggish Soviets. The Polish paratroops were not sent as agreed, aid was limited (in part by Soviet AA fire at Allied planes), and pressure was not applied to the Soviets. Initially planned to only last a few days, the courageous Poles had fought for 63 days, and were forced to surrender only after losing nearly all the ground they had ripped from the Nazis grip.

The West looked the other way as brutal Nazi repression was replaced by even more brutal Soviet repression. The aforementioned Polish doctrine of two enemies was clearly proven again. One could say that the Germans systematically murdered and oppressed specific groups of people (such as Jews and ethnic-Poles), while the Soviets systematically murdered and oppressed all groups. After all, the Soviets had been running the Gulag well over a decade before the Nazi extermination and concentration camps were opened.

Poland, which gave so much for the war effort, was given over to Soviet rule without so much as a whimper from the West. This only changed with the ascension to power of President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who began to roll back past injuries by their support of the Solidarity movement. A free Poland finally emerged after decades of Soviet rule by Western consent.

After 9/11, President Bush courted Eastern Europe, and Poland in particular. Poland contributed to the liberation of Iraq. In light of the growing belligerence coming from Russia, Poland was glad to move closer to the United States. When President Bush proposed his missile defense shield as a safeguard against Iranian nuclear madness, Poland (along with the Czech Republic) agreed to host the facilities. Russia threw a fit, at one point actually threatening "military action" if the installations were placed.

Poland and the Czech Republic, our closest allies in Eastern Europe, took a great risk in defying Russia in this way, only to be thrown under the bus by President Obama. And to add insult to injury, this announcement came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland.

Obama is acting a lot like another Progressive liberal Democrat President, bowing to pressure by Russia's latest Stalin wannabe.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin, 1945 - Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, 2009

Unfortunately, Poland, the West continues to prove itself untrustworthy in regards to you.

Write the Caption: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Post a comment with your caption.

"I'm not listening to the Iranian people..."

Picture from Reuters/Damir Sagolj

Sudetenland 2.0?

Following up on the 'Netanyahu vs. Ahmadinejad = Churchill vs. Hitler' story; is Bahrain the new Sudetenland?

History buffs will remember Sudetenland as the predominately-German region of Czechoslovakia ceded by Great Britain and France to Hitler's Germany, without the consultation of the Czech government. Hitler claimed that after the Sudeten question was resolved, Germany had 'no more territorial ambitions' in Europe. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, upon returning to Great Britain, claimed that the ceding of Sudetenland to Germany brought 'peace for our time'. History shows what happened. Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia within six months, and Poland within a year, starting World War II.

Bahrain is a predominately Shiite Muslim island-nation, ruled by a Sunni monarch. Iran is also mostly Shiite. Bahrain has been a part of the Iranian/Persian lands for millenia, but in 1971 Bahrain became an independent state.

Now, an excerpt from a Reuters article:

Bahrain has criticised as irresponsible reported remarks by an Iranian official that questioned the Gulf Arab kingdom's sovereignty and caused a diplomatic furore in the region.

According to media reports, Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, a close adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier this month that Iran had sovereignty over Bahrain.

"If these statements are meant to test the waters then the response was clear internally and externally, and this was affirmed by the magnitude of Gulf Arab and international condemnation to these irresponsible statements," Bahraini Interior Minister Sheikh Rashed bin Abdullah al-Khalifa told the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

Here's another possible reason for the rhetoric coming out of Tehran:

The Islamic island country, populated by 500,000 people, has recently made many pro-Jewish gestures, despite the fact that only 50 Jews currently reside there.

In 2008, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa issued a royal decree appointing female Jewish lawmaker Hoda Nono to the post of ambassador, making her the first Jew in the modern Arab world to become an ambassador. The businesswoman and mother of two, who serves as one of two Jews on the king's 40-member legislative upper chamber, is stationed in Washington.

In November, the king extended an invitation for all Bahraini expatriate Jews to return to live in Bahrain, saying "It's open, it's your country."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, alternatively, has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel, claiming that the Jews manipulated the Holocaust to gain sympathy for the Jewish state, calling Israelis the "most detested people in all of humanity."

(from IsraelNationalNews.com)

We shall see how President Obama and the rest of the world leaders deal with this situation, should Iran begin to press for annexation at any point. Thank God that Bibi is going to be Israel's Prime Minister.

Paper: Netanyahu vs. Ahmadinejad Reminiscent to Churchill vs. Hitler

An editorial in the Investor's Business Daily says that "the global stage is set for a confrontation reminiscent of Churchill vs. Hitler and Reagan vs. Gorbachev. How long will Benjamin Netanyahu tolerate an Iranian nuclear threat before acting?"

A very good question, especially since the inept IAEA just announced that Iran, with madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the helm, has enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb. And that's just the stuff that the IAEA knows about. Does Iran have stockpiles of uranium that the IAEA does not know of? Quite possibly.

Anyway, here's a link to the whole editorial. Many very good points are made, especially regarding the ineffectiveness of the IAEA. It's a must read.

Operation Cast Lead: Day Eight

Israeli ground forces have moved into northern Gaza today, shortly after nightfall. Israeli troops have not been there, the site of former Jewish settlements, since the Disengagement in 2005.

Shortly before ground troops went in, the IDF began to use artillery to pound terrorist locations and mines. The IAF also struck more targets in Gaza. The IDF estimated another 30 Hamas terrorists killed, with no Israeli casualties.

Hamas continued to launch rockets into Israel, but there were no casualties. A home was hit, but most of the rockets landed in open areas.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel is prepared for any attacks by the Iran-supported terrorist group Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon. Iran had warned that Hezbollah will get involved if Israel attacked Gaza on the ground.

Schmoozing With Ahmadinejad

Excerpts from a column by Maj. W. Thomas Smith, Jr.:

Schmoozing With Ahmadinejad
by Maj. W. Thomas Smith, Jr.

Following a recent lecture I gave to a group of extremely bright, young US Navy and Marine Corps officer candidates, I was asked why the Shi'a terrorist group Hizbullah - being the global threat it is - rarely headlines any major daily newspaper in the mainstream media.

It was an excellent question, one I am often asked and one which I am unable to adequately answer. After all, Hizbullah is perhaps the most dangerous terrorist army in the world. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff once said Hizbullah “makes al-Qaeda look like a minor league team.” [emphasis mine]

So why isn’t wartime America being adequately informed and educated in this regard?

I won’t begin to guess beyond the insanity of political correctness or who knows what. But I will say that this lack of information has served as an enabler of Hizbullah and its Iranian-Syrian overlords. It has bought time for the Iranian-Syrian-Hizbullah axis. It has seriously undermined the majority pro-democracy movement in Lebanon (including the brave resistance against Hizbullah), and it has utterly failed the American taxpayer.

(Read the rest of the column at Arutz Sheva.)

Breaking: Did Iran Test a Nuke?

From Arutz Sheva:

Iranian Nuke Scientist: Weekend Quake was a Nuclear Test

A weekend 5.0 Richter earthquake in Iran was actually a nuclear bomb test, says an Iranian nuclear scientist claiming to be working on the project.

The report is an Israel Insider exclusive.

This past Saturday night, southern Iran experienced what was reported as a significant earthquake - a seismic event measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was just north of the strategic Straits of Hormuz, which separates Iran from Abu Dhabi and Oman and which is the gateway to the Persian Gulf.

The report quotes an Iranian nuclear scientist who claims to be working in uranium enrichment for the project, and who said that the "quake" was acutally an undergound nuclear bomb test.

Israel Insider adds that the test/quake was actually the second in a series. Nine days ago, a 4.8 Richter scale event occurred, with its epicenter only five kilometers away from the weekend tremor.

The Israel Insider source reports that two nuclear rockets are currently ready - and are intended for use against Israel in the coming months.

If the report is correct, it would belie previous speculation that Iran would not begin nuclear testing until it had more nuclear-bomb production capability.

The geographical location of the test has several advantages. It is exposed to significant seismic activity, which could serve to mask nuclear tests; it is believed to be close to Iran's nuclear development facility; delivery and transport of material and personnel can be effected easily through the Hormuz Strait; and Iranian enemies would hesitate to bomb the area because that would threaten the flow of a substantial percentage of the world's oil.

Reuters reports Thursday morning that Iran has begun building a line of naval bases along its southern coast and up to the Straits of Hormuz.

Click here for the article.

If this is true... watch for Israel to act.

Iran Considering Preemptive Strike on Israel?

Top Iran officials recommend preemptive strike against Israel (from Haaretz).

Senior Tehran officials are recommending a preemptive strike against Israel to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear reactors, a senior Islamic Republic official told foreign diplomats two weeks ago in London.

Interesting development...