Jerusalem Bus Bombing Should Rule All Options Valid

 

The political winds are blowing on the campaign trails as well as the White House. On the campaign trail Bernie Sanders still points to the use of force against Hamas as “disproportional” because there was more damage, casualties and deaths in Gaza than there was in Israel. By Senator Saunders’ system of a fair and balanced war, the allies in World War II were probably the most disproportionate war criminals of all time. Where the bombing of London and other British cities was likely balanced by the bombing of Berlin, Frankfort and other German cities; they then used excessive force in the European theater leveling the entirety of Marseilles, Dresden and the entirety of land in what was determined to be a general series of bombing which would disenchant the German and Italian forces, peoples and citizens even in occupied France and central Europe on into Poland with Germany to receive the bulk of the saturation bombings carried out by the British by night and the Americans by day. Below is a map of the sorties and bombings on Axis targets in defeating the Italian and German fronts by the United States and British air power. It can be noted with even the most casual glance that very little escaped being struck at some point by Allied bombings which was unsurprising when bombing was carried out day and night, day after day, in darkness, overcast skies and clear days where targets could actually be recognized and still the probability of striking any specific target would have one bomb per score dropped actually striking the target on the best days and operational conditions. It becomes obvious that even the targeted bombings in Germany and much of Austria, Belgium and eastern France were buried by the amount of bombs dropped across the entire areas. This was not proportional according to Senator Sanders’ definitions but I doubt anybody would have referred to the bombing campaign against the Nazis a using disproportional force as any force was permissible as this was war.

 

Bombings on Axis Targets in Defeat of Italy and Germany
by the United States and British Air Power with
Red Denotes Saturation Bombing While
Colors Denote Specific Sites Targeted

 

Another bombing which would not have met with the approval by Senator Sanders would have been the firestorms in Tokyo and the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States ending the war by convincing Emperor Shōwa (昭和天皇) Hirohito (裕仁) that his Japan would be completely destroyed and could not win against such power. One need remember the night of March 9-10 (“Operation Meetinghouse”), where 334 B-29s took off to raid with 279 of them dropping 1,665 tons of bombs on Tokyo that the civilian casualties 97,000 killed and 125,000 wounded in the ensuing firestorm which razed entire neighborhoods especially in the eastern half of Tokyo. Further were the dates of August 6 and August 9, 1945 and the dropping of two nuclear bombs, Hiroshima where over 20,000 soldiers were killed along with 70,000–146,000 civilians and Nagasaki where 35,000-80,000 people were instantly killed and some 50,000 others suffered burns or died by the end of 1945. These were the only wartime use of such weapons but with the new threats forming on the horizon in an ominous fashion, one cannot be assured that they will have been the final use of such weapons. One need remember that the super weapons which end wars become the weapons of choice in the next such war.

 

Hiroshima Before and After Atomic Bomb

 

Nagasaki Before and After Atomic Bomb

 

The pictures above beg the question as to exactly, Senator Sanders, would be proportional after the bombing and burning beyond recognition of two buses, one with a load of passengers amongst whom more than twenty civilians were injured with many still recovering in hospital with the most severely injured on respirators and in critical care wards. Exactly what is the formula one should use in determining the correct number of casualties? Would it be a direct one for one or does one make the determination of percent of total populations where there are 2,100,000,000 Muslims and not even 14,500,000 Jews worldwide; so do we need to make each Jew injured represent up to 150 Muslims or does your math demand only a one for one ratio? How does the modern Arab/Israeli conflict deserve a different scrutiny than the allied powers of the two World Wars and countless other conflicts throughout history? Could you please clarify for the rest of the world and for Israel, Putin and others who are combating terror?

 

Jerusalem Buses Burning from Terrorist Bombing
Young Man with Leg Injuries, Young Lady with Burned Arms and Legs
Plus Mother of 16 Year Old with Extensive Burns on Respirator,
Man Who Had Cell Phone Explode Adding Hand Injury to Wounds

 

The injured from the two buses and a number of vehicles which all burned beyond recognition with one of the buses and most of the other vehicles involved were made the victims of this horrific terrorist bombing with a fair number still clinging to life, some on near to full life support while others simply working their way through being burned and some having serious other wounds caused by the metallic shrapnel from the explosive device which was packed with nuts, bolts and screws with potentially other objects which ended being lodged in the victims’ bodies. This attack itself, by primarily targeting civilians, as was the obvious when the initial blast was within one of these city buses which seldom carry solely military personnel and are almost always filled with young civilians who depend on mass transit to take them wherever their lives require of them, was a war crime. But Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, John Kasich and Ted Cruz aside, Israel got a warning of things to come and how completely unconcerned the terror leadership including Mahmoud “the instigating maestro” Abbas as well as Hamas, Islamic State and Islamic Jihad, al-Qaeda, al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the rest populating Gaza as well as Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are at bringing death and destruction attacking civilians in the most public fashion and in broad daylight. All the above groups celebrated the attempt to slaughter Israelis heaping praise upon whoever planned this cowardly attack.

 

Further, American Vice President Biden also denounced and scorned Israel as part of his speech given to J-Street, a Jewish pro-Palestinian anti-Zionist and extremely discouraged on Netanyahu winning another term as they believe as does President Obama that it is Netanyahu who is at fault and that Abbas is willing to make peace if only Israel was reasonable. By reasonable Abbas means that all the Jews return to New York City, even if they have never even visited there; so he can make his Palestinian State as he desires, on Israel’s grave. Even should he be granted a state presented on a silver platter with the keys to every building on the Temple Mount; if by assuming such a state, elections would still be required. Abbas knows that if elections are held soon thereafter he would be a dead man or seeking asylum in person in New York himself. The numbers do not lie, they tell the story. When 65% support stabbing Israeli civilians, 89% want to live under an Islamic State run by Sharia law, 84% want to stone adulterers to death and 66% support killing any Muslim who leaves Islam and a two-to-one majority want Abbas out of power with a majority would approve of his being tried for crimes against the Palestinians and then have a proper trial followed by as proper public hanging. No, Abbas will never accept a state in any way, shape or kind as without the IDF protection he becomes a dead man walking.

 

Still, there are rumors floating that Putin and Obama desire giving Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad the Golan Heights from which to shoot at Israelis as he had before in the hopes such would gain him support, or at least sympathy, from the Syrian street thus returning to rule as the leader in the war against Israel. There have been additional balloons floated since we reported on the Huffington Post trial balloon over President Obama simply by edict using the powers of the Security Council to recognize a Palestinian State using the Green Line as the borders including giving all of the Old City of Jerusalem to the Arabs. This would be right in line with the recent ruling by UNESCO that the entirety of the Temple Mount has no roots or bearing from Jewish or Hebrew history and is exclusively and completely an Islamic site including the churches and other structures and historic sites there including the Western Wall and Kotel Plaza, the area where the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’s crucifixion all took place as well as the area the location of the Holy of the Holies. Such a ruling by President Obama would be unenforceable as there are close to three-fourths of a million if not more Jews residing in Judea and Samaria as well as the thousands of Jews moved from their properties in the Old City where they fought in the courts to finally have their properties returned to them when the area was liberated from Jordanian occupation and the majority of Arabs residing in Eastern Jerusalem, all of whom have Israeli identification cards, who would rush as far as they were able westward to assure they would end up residing in Israel and not any Palestinian “nightmare” State. Both of these ideas have been floated thus taking by United Nations Security Council binding resolutions to take the Golan Heights and all lands liberated from Jordan and hand them over to what would almost immediately in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and soon thereafter with Hezballah likely to be tasked by Assad and Putin to hold the Golan Heights and attack Israelis whenever targets of opportunity present themselves. Additionally, any State set up in the Palestinian Authority areas would become an entity where the people would vote for Hamas, if not the Islamic State, as soon as they were allowed to vote. This fact explains why Mahmoud Abbas has spent a decade in office on his original term of four years which he claimed when he replaced the dead Yasser Arafat. There would be no such confusion or direct route to lead any state which President Obama would spend the political capital to present the Arabs because there would be a demand that an election decide who would rule the state.

 

The hope by President Obama to establish the State of Palestine will never fly as the leadership will immediately become terrorist and it would be a failed state where the terror masters would live lavish lives while the rest of the people who were not directly supporting the terror leaders would be destitute living in camps which would make the current camps become suddenly appealing. Should the Security Council only make the resolution under Chapter Six, then Israel would have the option of ignoring the vote as it would be a strong suggestion and nothing more. That would force President Obama for his legacy, his current Middle East North Africa (MENA) legacy, to be mired in failure from Egypt to Syria to Iran and Iraq, in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and especially Nigeria and Libya and particularly Benghazi, a failure which will have a high profile this election season, all failures across the board so Obama appears to be looking to blame Israel and Netanyahu for all his sorrows, and it will blow-up in Obama’s face along with his brain trust of Powers and Rice who have taken turns at Senior Security Advisor and United Nations Ambassador and have lied and spun until dizzy enough to collapse in a tizzy and become as useless and weak as their boss. Obama attempting to form his legacy on the graves of tens if not hundreds of thousands, hopefully nowhere near millions of Jewish graves as he carves up Israel’s security locations such as the Golan Heights, the Jordan River overlooking highlands and even any area along the Jordan River forcing an Israeli retreat. Such a retreat would only occur if Israeli retreat was in response to force of arms which would entail American boots on the ground enforcing Palestine and shooting Jews in Hevron, in Jerusalem, across Biblical lands of the Hebrews and Jews of Judea all in the name of enlightened knowing it all and making the solution by force which will fail as soon as he pulls out the United States troops, something the Americans would likely demand. The suffering this would cause is heart wrenching and unthinkable. Where are the American voices in opposition or has the media refused to point out what is being planned to be implemented either in the late summer in the United Nations and in mid if troops are to be deployed. Listen carefully for rumors of wars which will become actual wars without American people and vigilance, the first requirement for freedom and liberty, the second is acting to right wrongs and doing so before they come to fruition.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Middle East One Year After a Nuclear Iran

Everyone has given their picture of the horrors which would follow a nuclear armed Iran. Most of these warnings point to the possibility of Iran distributing their nuclear capabilities to their closest allies Syria and Hezballah in Lebanon. They explain how Iran might choose to attack Israel with a nuclear device smuggled into Israel by Hezballah in the north, by Hamas from the southwest, or Bedouins or others from within the Sinai Peninsula in the south. They mention that Iran could threaten Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Bahrain with severe and dire consequences while loosing the Shiite populations in each country to serve whatever ends the Ayatollahs decide. Where these scenarios are troubling enough, they completely miss a far worse situation which is actually more likely. There have been some who have hinted at these problems but they warrant retelling.

 

All of the Sunni nations in the Middle East are fully aware of the threat they would face should Iran become a nuclear armed nation. The struggle for supremacy between Shiite and Sunnis Islam would become far more competitive with Iran having nuclear weapons with which to threaten the major Sunni powers who currently enjoy a measure of preeminence provided by their oil wealth. What has been omitted from many explanations of a future after Iran goes nuclear is that when Pakistan faced a nuclear armed India they went on an emergency nuclear weapons development program. This was an exceedingly costly program far beyond anything the Pakistani government could ever have afforded. Enter the ever helpful but not too egalitarian Saudis with all the cash that Pakistan would need. There was a very simple price for the assistance of the Saudis, the promise of nuclear weapons on demand should Saudi Arabia ever find themselves on the wrong end of a nuclear situation, say like Iranian threats. This agreement would provide the Saudis with a number of operative nuclear weapons along with the plans for building their own weapons once they put the processing and other required productions into place. There have been numerous conjectures to the number of weapons which would be provided the Saudis on demand with a dozen being the median figure which would be more than sufficient to keep Iran in check while the Saudis brought their own nuclear weapons program online. But the Saudis are but the first in a line of new nuclear powers which would result from a nuclear Iran.

 

There are other countries who would feel compelled to reply to a nuclear Iran by immediately developing their own nuclear arsenals. The idea that every nation in the Middle East, and even further, would be satisfied to rely on the United States nuclear umbrella to keep them safe is a foolish and silly belief. For starters, any nation which currently views themselves as being major players in the Middle East would take a nuclear armed Iran as an unacceptable challenge to their place in the order of the Middle East. Of these the first two which come to mind are Turkey and Egypt. Turkey and Egypt both have sufficient technology available to them to produce their own nuclear weaponry within a nominal amount of time, likely less than three years from inception to production of their first two or three devices. They would require negligible research times as access to plans for a nuclear weapon are readily available to any nation with sufficient money. The readily available sources for such plans are well known and include but are not limited to North Korea, Pakistan, China, Russia, and other former Soviet countries. Even without any assistance from a current nuclear power the designs for a simple nuclear device are readily available on the internet though not necessarily in sufficient detail to assemble one straight off those plans. But with sufficient engineering and nuclear physics expertise, nuclear weapon designs require mere months to successfully develop. With computer aided design it becomes even more readily accomplishable. But who else might decide they were in need of a nuclear arsenal should Iran complete their nuclear weapons plans?

 

The first suspects would likely be many European countries; especially Germany, Poland, Romania, and very likely all of the rest would either desire their own or would ally forming treaties of mutual protection with neighboring countries that were developing such weapons. England and France would likely resume building nuclear weapons and update any nuclear weapons they currently hold. Once any of the nations of North Africa developed nuclear weapons they might start a nuclear arms race through the rest of Africa. South Africa was once a nuclear power and who knows where those plans are now. Then one needs to reevaluate the equation even if only three or four nations in Africa manage to go nuclear and also look to Asia and South America. If Iran is allowed to go nuclear then the entirety of Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty goes out the window and a truly horrific domino theory will come to fruition. Such a world becomes the most ominous threat condition from which mankind may cease to exist along with near extinction event enveloping the world. Many of the nations which would become nuclear armed and enabled were either nonexistent or uninterested in the last World War and may not have taken the lesson of Nagasaki and Hiroshima to heart as those nations involved in World War II.

 

The United States and allies faced off against the Soviet Union and its allies in a nuclear standoff in which great care and mechanisms were built in to assure that no accidental confrontation would occur. Even with these precautions there were a number of times when the two sides came perilously close to the brink but fortunately never went beyond the cusp and committed their nuclear response. Once even one-third of the nations of the world possess nuclear weaponry the possibility of either a mistake or an intentional use of nuclear weapons would simply become a matter of time. Once one nation utilized nuclear weapons then either the attacked nation and the nations with which they have mutual defense treaties either respond in kind leading to an ever escalating nuclear conflagration or they stand down at which point every other nations’ nuclear deterrent becomes just one small bit less effective. Once a nation and their allies allow a nuclear attack to go without a response in kind then it becomes a measured consideration which would make the offensive use of nuclear weapons just a small amount more tempting. Since mankind has always used the weapon of previously unequaled destruction which ended the previous war to start the next war, how long before nuclear weapons become the first strike weapon of choice? Look at the evidence, the Ancient Greek used the Phalanx which was perfected by the Romans. World War I brought into use tanks and aircraft and World War II revolved around armor, bombers, and fighter aircraft. World War I used dreadnaughts which were the follow-up to the ironclads and metal warships of the American Civil War and the other wars between then and the outbreak of World War I. It may have been inevitable once mankind invented the nuclear weapon that it would be the weapon of initiation for World War III which may very likely be World War Last until the next intelligent species rises from the mire left afterwards. Maybe we should press for more actions to be committed for preventing Iran or anybody else developing and building nuclear weapons.

 

Beyond the Cusp