Obama May Have His Deal but Who Will Inherit His War

 

Thanks to the economic and other sanctions which have hobbled the Iranian economy to the point, about eighteen months ago, it resembled a dying man crawling on his belly in tattered pants and the shreds of his shirt, shoes scuffed to the point that their original color was indistinguishable and two vultures already discussing which would get which of the choicest remains, had Iran at the brink of civil revolt. That was when President Obama held back door negotiations where he released some of the most effective of the sanctions which brought the distant oasis to the parched lips of the Iranian economy saving them to make the better deal. It is that deal President Obama, the hero of the Iranians government, is claiming is the best deal and the only option outside of war. But is this claim of peace in our time really just peace for a while in our time? The comparisons between the Munich Accords of 1938 and now President Obama is desperately seeking the same adulation for this close relative to another situation of a nation spreading its tentacles and preparing for war and barely even concealing their arming and their aspirations which have been laid out in writing. The desires for world conquest and the elimination of the Jewish People was laid out step for step by Adolph Hitler in Mein Kampf and the Iranian Shiites (and also the Sunnis just to be fair and even; after all we would not want to take sides now, would we?) in the Quran and the Hadiths where the world is divided between ‘Dar al-Islam’ (Arabic: دار الإسلام‎) which translates to House of Islam and ‘Dar al-Harb’ (Arabic: دار الحرب) which translates to House of War. The followers of Islam are instructed to continue their struggle to spread their religion until it becomes the only religion practiced anywhere in the world. There are many Muslims residing in Western nations who refute any charges that Islam is to be spread ‘by the sword’ should more passive means prove unproductive and there remain some who adamantly refuse to accept Islam which is simply intolerable.

 

Then there is the Islamic State which has denuded entire cities and swaths of lands in which they have taken control of those who practiced any religion other than not only Islam but their very narrowly defined version of Sunni Islam. The marauders of the Islamic State may have been the Junior Varsity in the eyes of United States President Obama but are anything but the Junior Varsity when it comes to torture and coming up with ever more imaginative ways to ever more slowly murder their victims making sure that they suffered the most mental anguish, even if not the maximum pain, as they progressed from beheadings to burning alive to slowly being lowered in a steel cage into water to drown victims and other horrors and then posted their murderous ways using them as some form of sick recruiting tool. What is even more disturbing are the numbers of those who have rushed from across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of the Western World to join the Islamic State. The only productive news concerning Iran is they oppose the Islamic State and desire to eliminate this horror from the world. But then one must ask themselves, is replacing the Islamic State horrors with Iranian, Syrian and Hezballah horrors really a step in the right direction or simply replacing one murderous and fearsome army turned government with another murderous government using its army.

 

These are the leaders of a nation of approximately seventy-eight-million-five-hundred-thousand largely Shia Muslims of which the vast majority are what are referred to as “Twelvers” with the remainder of the population being also largely Muslims following Sunni Islam. The remaining under one-percent of Iranians follows the following religions in order from largest to least; Bahá’í, Gnostic, Christian, Yarsanism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and least but with a very nice Synagogue, the Yusef Abad synagogue in Tehran pictured below, Judaism. Interestingly, there are more Jews of Iranian heritage residing in the United States than remain in Iran which according to the 2011 Iranian census stated this threatened populations of Jews at eight-thousand-seven-hundred-fifty-six souls the majority spread between merely ten families, six of them related by marriage. There are those who inflate the numbers of Jews remaining in Iran to over one-hundred-thousand largely in an attempt to portray Iran as an accepting nation granting equal rights to non-Muslims despite the fact that the minorities walk quietly and taking care to be aware of their surroundings at all times and making sure to keep their heads bowed and their gaze fixates on the ground before them and to never under any circumstance stare any Shiite Muslim in the eyes and to always speak in hushed tones speaking in slow and respectful manners and subservient language never to sound challenging or to ever, ever appear as an equal lest one be reported to the police for such an affront and pay the price for challenging their superiors. There is a very good and solid description of life in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution for Jews and other minorities given by Karmel Melamed, an award-winning, internationally published journalist and attorney based in Southern California who writes the Iranian American Jews blog. This article titled ”The Iranian-Jewish Tragedy in Iran” which gives the chilling view which the Western World needs to understand before they permit the fascist, supremacist dictatorial leadership to once again, in the brief history from 1900 to the present, to allow a cancer which believes they have a right to destroy the world in order to save the world. The history of Iran in that same time period just might give people some pause to realize the direction Iran has taken since 1900 and the path is chilling.

 

 

Yusef Abad Synagogue (Persian: Kenise e Yusef Ábád کنیسه یوسف آباد‎, Hebrew: בית הכנסת יוסף-אבד‎) in Tehran as originally appeared during the 1950s before its restoration. The person who had just completed returning a Torah to the ark will stand as a reference to the size of the main hall. The main hall of the Synagogue was built and completed in the early 1950s. She was a very ornate and majestic house of worship which will soon fall silent after enjoying hearing prayers recited for almost seventy years.

 

 

Yusef Abad Synagogue (Persian: Kenise e Yusef Ábád کنیسه یوسف آباد‎, Hebrew: בית הכנסת יוסף-אבד‎) in Tehran as it appeared after its restoration work. It was with the help of local community leaders headed by Avraham Yusian, the construction of the new facade was completed in October 1965. She was a very ornate and majestic house of worship which will soon fall silent after enjoying hearing prayers recited for almost seventy years. The brightened tiles and golden hue will unfortunately turn a pale shadow of itself as there will be no prayers to give her the joys she had exalted in over her years.

 

 

Iran did not exist in the year 1900 as all the way back then it had a name that most will recognize and for the Jews had a varied history where it went from savior to creeping to the edge of committing genocide against the Jewish People except for the bravery of one Jewess, Queen Esther. All the way back as recently as March 20, 1935 the nation was known as Persia. This name of Persia could be traced back to Cyrus the Great, the leader of Persia who conquered Babylonia and granted the Jews the right to return to their homelands and rebuild their holy Temple which many Jews chose to do while some of their brethren remained in Persia. Years later when Persia was ruled by King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) the Grand Vizier, Haman the Agagite persuaded King Ahasuerus that the Jews were plotting against his rule and needed to be dealt with. This seems to be a repeating theme and almost always leads to someone coming up with the idea that murdering the Jews will make their nation greater, and the order was issued. The problem was that after the King created a vacancy after executing his wife for refusing his orders and generally insulting his authority for which he held a beauty contest, hopefully a contest which took into consideration more than beauty as that had worked so well with Vashti. Well, he chose Esther who the night before the order was to be carried out bravely entered the King’s court without having been invited, punishable by death, begged the King’s attention and broke the news that if his Grand Vizier Haman’s order was to be carried out they could start with her as she was also a Jew. Haman and his sons were executed on the very gallows they would have murdered the Jews of Persia. Haman, Hamas, I wonder, could there be a connection?

 

On March 21, 1935 Reza Shah Pahlavi officially renamed Persia changing the name to Iran. There are two very different theories for the change. One refers to numerous ancient references varying from the Sassanid, the Zoroastrianism, the Romans and other historical references mostly to deal with language. A more modern take takes the date and the rise of the Nazis to power in Germany and the theory of a master race, the Aryans, or the Persian word for the racial designation, Iran. The actual reason is likely was only honestly known to Reza Shah Pahlavi and he will not be giving us any hints. Another item while we are comparing modern day Iran and the Aryans from World War II as a potential enemy; the only war which Iran had fought directly was, to their credit, something which will seldom be found in these editorials in any source, was as a result of Iraqi initiated assaults as Saddam Hussein attempted to grab the Iranian oil fields. That war lasted near to a decade where some of the most horrific and destructive tactics were utilized by both sides. Despite the Iraqi military’s reputation as one of the largest and best trained and equipped in the Middle East outside Israel, Iran held them at bay and often made gains but eventually the war resembled a World War I trench warfare than world war highly mobile and technical war. The most remarked attack in this horrific war came when the Iranians needed to clear minefields and needed to do so with some degree of speed so a fairly brutish and head-on system was necessitated. The Iranians initially attempted to stampede mules and donkeys across the minefields but once the first animal struck a mine the others would scatter and run back the direction they had come from. This led to one of the most disturbing tactics where children were volunteered and upon their death their parents were financially compensated for their patriotic donation to the war efforts. The children were given plastic keys which they were told would unlock the door to heaven for them. In response to the condition of the returned remains led to the wrapping of the children in wet blankets so as to retain their parts when they hit a mine. Such fanaticism and willingness to sacrifice for the religious leadership was horrific and also showed a commitment almost beyond rational belief and which shows the length the Iranians might resort to against an enemy.

 

The question remains as to whether President Obama is saving the world from a war with Iran with his deal or allowing Iran to build up their military and potentially arm themselves with an arsenal of nuclear weapons, potentially thermonuclear warheads and the ICBMs with which to deliver them anywhere on the globe. They may even develop ICBM missiles capable of irregular flight characteristics making anti-missile systems near useless in preventing their striking their targets. Additionally, the Iranians could readily develop cruise missiles and master the ability to launch them from freighter container ships as they have done with some of their fifteen-hundred to two-thousand mile largely unguided rockets, or possibly a poorly guided missile. Of course, if the rocket has a nuclear warhead, exactly how accurate does one need to be? I mean, as long as you strike within a few miles from the intended region and, just as with hand grenades and horseshoes, close counts. What is most worrying is how the situation came to this juncture with the sanctions being weakened by President Obama allowing Iran to continue to limp along while the President and the State Department Team, which included a number of the same people who were responsible for the agreement with North Korea which led directly to their becoming nuclear armed nation, and Secretary of State Kerry appeared to trip over each other seeing who could surrender point after point and succumb to Iranian demands the fastest. The sign that Iran is about to use a fair amount of funds which will represent but a drop in the bucket of the one-hundred-fifty-billion-dollars being unfrozen and gifted to the Mullahs and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei as they have already made arrangement to purchase Russian S-300 anti-aircraft-and-missile systems, one-hundred-fifty Chinese Chengdu J-10 sophisticated jet fighters with Israeli avionics and finally, two-hundred-fifty highly-advanced Russian Sukhoi-Su-30MK1 heavy-fighter-bombers as well as one-hundred IL78 MKI tanker aircraft; or simply put, Iran is purchasing an entire air force and air defense systems taking them from almost no air power worth mentioning to air superiority by comparison and potentially air superiority over the Kurds, Islamic State, and almost every nation in Northern Africa and many European nations as well. As the nations which Iran is most likely to face if they decide to expand their borders and acquire the airfields and staging areas of southern Iraq, as it appears that President Obama is fully supporting the IRGC forces and eventually other Iranian military forces to operate from within Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State with the United States providing air strikes and air support operations one has to wonder how President Obama might react should Iran decide to turn their forces southward and strike across the Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian oil fields in response to what they could claim was mistreatment of Shiite Muslims by the two nations after incidents were instigated.

 

The other front we can expect to come from Iran is for their expanding the influence of Shia Islam across formerly Sunni strongholds spreading their control over Madrassas potentially replacing Wahhabi Madrassas after they have swarmed across the oil fields, complete their control through the Houthis of Yemen and then using a pincher attack from the north and the south in order to capture Mecca and Medina and thus controlling the heart of Islam. This would also complete Iranian control of the Red Sea and the Bab El-Mandab Strait. From that jumping off point it would not be difficult for Iran to then establish a beachhead from which to operate starting in Somalia and spreading from there through Eretria and Djibouti in order to spread through the Sudan and from Iraq and Saudi Arabia into the Sinai thus being on Egypt’s southern and eastern borders. Should Iran also desire to place a substantial force injected into Syria to assist Bashir al-Assad retaking the lands he has lost and using Hezballah to cement their control over Lebanon then Iran could have a northern and southern fronts on Israel and even more troubling should they also gain access to Gaza supplanting Hamas and Islamic Jihad in controlling the area. We can also expect that Iran will fortify their ground forces with purchases of armor most likely light armor to facilitate fast swarm style attacks overwhelming any defense an opponent would be likely to have at any front relying on lighter resistance and by overwhelming the initial positions and driving deeper into any nation they intended to strike thus appearing unstoppable and gaining a perceived position of strength which would also give the Islamic State considerable challenge especially when one considers that Iran will have a very well-armed air force, something completely missing in the Islamic State’s arsenal of abilities. The likelihood that President Obama would take any position opposing any Iranian moves in the entirety of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) as such would be viewed as Iran simply doing exactly what President Obama desired, Iran stabilizing the entirety of the Islamic world, and what better way of being the hegemonic power than to also control all of the valuable lands and suppressing every potential adversary.

 

It would not be a complete surprise if should Iran manage to take control in Egypt that the Muslim Brotherhood might ‘see the writing on the wall,’ so to speak, and decide they had been in error about the lineage and correct successors of Muhammad and turn to back a Shia Islam. The truth is that there will either be a war with Iran or Iran will bring the war to each and every corner of the world one site at a time. The only question is at what point will their expansions be one bite too many and at what disadvantage will the world be in when facing the Iranian threat. History will point to the past decade and a half as the period when Iran could have been collared with minor losses and as being an opportunity squandered placing the world at risk. Once again, it appears the greatest threat building in the world is being left to Israel to stop. Let’s hope that Israel gets the necessary support of those others facing the same dangers or be willing to take on the task themselves. This is one time we can know that the United States has nobody’s back or if they do, then it is the worst of all possible scenarios placing Washington solidly behind Iran as President Obama had tilted his entire time in office, even with his efforts to place the Muslim Brotherhood ruling Egypt or turning a blind eye to Erdogan suppressing Turkey turning it into a Sharia state and potentially joining with Iran. At the very least, a combining of the regions and its people into an alliance of Israel, the Kurds, the Druze and the various Christian strongholds be brought together and aided to eliminate the Islamic State, thus putting Iran on notice that they should carefully consider their next moves as they will make all the difference in the world. As a result of removing the Islamic State, regions of Syria and northern Iraq will now be known as a state for the Kurds in the area originally promised the Kurds for Kurdistan at the end of World War I but not fulfilled due to the Mosul oil fields and politics as usual. The Druze will likely be granted some degree of autonomy within those areas in Syria where they reside and the refugees should attempt to put their lives and country back together and learn to live with a multi-ethnic nation. Further, as Hezballah has shown so much concern for Syria perhaps they can live there and maybe the Bekaa Valley but the rest of Lebanon is to be a Christian refuge free and resolute to act with favor on the Christians of the entire area and make a nation from the ruins left by Hezballah. Such a solution would be so nice and clean which is why it is unlikely to come into fruition. As Winston Churchill told the British Parliament “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war.” and additionally from his writings from “The Gathering Storm,” “If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds are against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves.” May some heed the warnings that many in the leadership positions in Israel be joined by those in Europe, in France, in Germany, in Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and even Greece raise their voices and call for those who cherish the G0d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob not succumb to the forces of those of Abraham, Ishmael and Mohammad, Amen.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Hamas Destroys Roman Temple for New Training Base

Hamas is in the process of constructing a training facility in order to train more youth to attack Israelis, civilians or military as Hamas sees no difference. The location of this new base will require the destruction of an ancient Anthedon Harbor which includes the ruins of a Roman temple and archaeological remains from the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras. Thus far almost all of the world mainstream press has been silent including much of the Israeli press much to their disgrace. The one news outlet Aretz Sheva has given it coverage as well as much of the new media. The seeming regularity with which terror groups destroy archeological sites is very disturbing. We need to remember things such as the Buddha Statues of Bamiyan which were intentionally destroyed in a malicious act of hatred by the Taliban in early 2001 simply due to their not being of Islamic origins. The real irony is the United Nations agency tasked with the care of such historical relics is UNESCO, the same agency which was the first to allow membership to be bestowed on the Palestinian Authority which was utilized as further certification that they represent a recognized nation among nations of the world.

There have also been sermons given by Egyptian Imams calling for the destruction of the un-Islamic relics of false gods in Egypt with references to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid as well as the rest of the Pyramids bordering the Nile River. This is simply a continuation of historical records which document Islamic transforming religious buildings, temples, and cathedrals into Mosques and the destruction of other historical sites, ruins, mausoleums and other historical landmarks simply due to their lack of ties to Islam. Another modern such disregard for historical sites of great importance occurred recently when a new dam floods lands which include numerous Persian sites including the burial vaults of Cyrus the Great along with some sites which date back up to seven thousand years. The world should make all efforts necessary to preserve these important historical sites from senseless destruction simply because they are from a history independent from Islam. How much has to be lost permanently of our collective history before anything is even said and maybe possibly acted upon? Are our heritage sites and other treasures really so worthless that their destructions are not even newsworthy? A civilized world would preserve its historical sites, as few as actually survive to modernity, and take whatever measures required collectively assuring their futures.

Beyond the Cusp

Who to Believe on Obama Concerning Israel Trip

The initial word from the White House to an anxious press corps claimed President Obama was not planning on initiating any grand new plan to restart the terminally stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The smart money at the time predicted that President Obama would be unable to resist forcing himself into the situation with some grand plan to jumpstart the peace process. Whether or not those betting on such an outcome were correct depends upon whom you listen to out of Washington. The White House spokespeople have pretty much stuck to the original story while newly inducted Secretary of State Kerry and President Obama are telling additional lines of thought. Secretary Kerry has claimed from the start that he knows exactly what is required not only to reengage the two sides but hopes to bring them to a successfully concluded treaty. President Obama has admitted that as long as he is in Israel, he might as well do what every American President does when in Israel and see if his magic works to restart the talks. What are more likely to come from these new plans are new demands on Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israelis to make concessions in order to persuade Palestinian President Abbas to rejoin the talks. What was it that Einstein said about trying the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome? Insanity, that is what I believe he called that. In this case it would be Netanyahu who would be insane to allow himself to be forced into making any concessions to Abbas or for the pleasure of Obama or Kerry.

 

Sure, there will be many in the world press who would condemn Netanyahu if he refused to step into that same trap that seems to occur after every election in the United States. But then again, those same self-proclaimed saints of the news wire will be equally condescending and derogatory with their reports blaming Netanyahu when Abbas walks away after the photo-op and hand shake. History has revealed the entire game-plan used originally by Yasser Arafat and since his departure by Mahmoud Abbas, though not quite as successfully, which is to make great amounts of noise complaining about how the Israelis are ruthless, cruel, and horrible people doing all sorts of terrible things denying the Palestinians their human rights and their lands. Then they get the press coverage and next thing you know the President of the United States is twisting the arm of the Israeli Prime Minister to take whatever steps are necessary to placate the screaming mad raving Palestinians who are making the President’s life miserable and the press is hounding him, especially those in the otherwise sweet and wonderful European press. One might think the world would tire of this charade and simply walk away disgusted after a couple of decades but no, they appear willing to continue this same circle forever. One might ask what could end this pathetic game. My best guess would be they will stop when Israel stops playing. If Israel would simply declare borders by annexing those areas necessary for their defensive security and said that was it and the Palestinians are on their own to try and form their state or sit and whine but Israel is washing their hands of the whole charade. Yes, the world will scream as if some catastrophic injustice had been committed. So what, they already are doing that without Israel making any gains. If the world wants to condemn Israel constantly, at least let it be for something Israel has done.

 

As far as what areas should Israel declare ownership over, that is not my call unfortunately. If it were my call I would advise all of Area C, as much of Area B that is arable or vital for Israel’s defense, and the full length of the Jordan valley and Jordan River’s western banks, especially any and all crossings. Anything less would leave Israel vulnerable to the Palestinians being used to conceal an attack force snuck through land crossings using bridges over the Jordan River. If the Palestinians complain that they are unable to travel from their areas just west of the Jordan to Gaza, well, they could adopt the same solution used by Pakistan when they held two incongruous areas, make two separate states. The Palestinians have refused even the most generous of offers waiting for the world to completely dismantle Israel for them. It is time for Israel to say enough and put an end to their ruses. The world will gleefully continue to cheer the Palestinian cause for as long as it is detrimental to Israeli safety and continued survival. Ending this pathetic ploy to undo the one descent act the world has performed for the Jewish people in over three centuries, since Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews from the Babylonian Exile return to Eretz Yisroel and Jerusalem and rebuild our Temple and live in peace, well, for a while until the successors of Cyrus forgot his acts of respect and promise. Let the world whine and thrash about for a real reason as long as they are going to do so anyways. Nothing Israel could ever do would prove to be sufficient in the world’s eyes and we need to act accordingly.

 

Beyond the Cusp