I Worry for Israel and Her Future

 

Is my fear produced because of the terrorist threats? Not at all, though that is troubling, it is not a threat that could erase Israel. Is it that Iran may have nuclear weapons in the not too distant future and have claimed they will wipe Israel from the map? No, not that either. Against Iran I have faith that Israeli intelligence will know before the Iranians launch such an attack and then it will be addressed. Should they manage to launch some missiles, the Israeli multi-layered missile interception systems will take care of those attacks and the new additions that are in development are of a nature that no missile will penetrate the Israeli shields. Is it the number of Arab nations who might combine forces again as in 1948? Again, that is not something to fear; as there are very few leaders around whom these nations would congeal and the one potential such leader is more, a friend to Israel than a threat, but that relationship is low-key and not generally shared publically. Then it must be the war predicted for the end times, the war of Gog and Magog. No, that would not concern Israel at all as Israel is not included in that war. Well, what threat have we left out, what could be all that worrying if not these threats?

 

My fear is an unprepared Israel when the United States decides that Israel is not an ally worth assisting any further and the outlays to Israel can be better spent on benefits to the American poor. This could come as quickly as an election of a new President and his Inauguration followed by a complete disengagement from Israel including dissolution of all treaties and agreements. This would include an abrupt ending of all military aid, both material and financial, and the termination of any civil or other forms of aid. We saw how easily such an event could transpire with the election and partial freezing of any friendly relations beyond that which was absolutely necessary by President Obama towards the end of his second term and the general cool relations during his entire eight years in office. Oddly enough, the loss of financial aid is not what is frightening about such a series of events. There are a number of reasons which we will demonstrate fully, but first a little bit of history and the complete obliteration of one of the most lethal myths about the Israel-America relationship.

 

The myth is that the United States has always been the number one supporter of Israel. The corollaries to this myth are equally perfidious as they make both nations look poorly by insinuation. One is Israel would be incapable of making the weapons systems, which the United States provides, on their own. There are a number of answers to this. The first is the Merkava. The Merkava IV is the current rendition of the Israel designed and manufactured main battle tank. Let’s list the top ten main battle tanks as listed by Military-Today.com. The list follows:

1) Leopard 2A7 (Germany)
2) K2 Black Panther (South Korea)
3) M1A2 SEP (Abrams successor) (United States)
4) Challenger 2 (Great Britain)
5) Armata (Russia)
6) Merkava Mk.4 (Israel)
7) Type 90 (Japan)
8) Leclerc (France)
9) Oplot-M (Ukraine)
10) T-90 (Russia)

 

Merkava Mk.4

 

Now let us research a little history. The United States had an arms embargo on Israel from its inception on May 15, 1948 until they agreed in 1965 to a limited sell of arms, M-48 Patton tanks, which were a main battle tank but was considered to be a medium tank weighing under fifty tons, to Israel through a 3rd party, West Germany. The United States finally lifted the arms embargo selling arms to Israel directly starting in 1969, mainly jet fighters, more Patton tanks and other ground vehicles. This began the United States arms agreements with Israel that becomes obvious in the graph below which shows United States aid to Israel from the beginning in 1948. What is significant is the reason behind this move, which was anything but altruistic. The United States arms industry at that time was largely dependent on its sales of F-15 and F-16 fighter jets that had mainly one rival, the Soviet Union. Of course, each had their basic sphere of nations that were purchasing these aircraft from the two super powers. With neither of these powers selling their aircraft to Israel and with both France and Britain deciding that their best allies in the Middle East were the oil wealthy Arab states, which meant they would have to be abandoning Israel. These left Israel with but one alternative, design and build their own jet fighter, and this was exactly what Israel proceeded to do. The Israelis had built a few prototype aircraft called the Lavi and would have been a competitor for the F-16 in particular as it was of similar design and use. This led the United States to make Israel an offer which she could not refuse. The United States would sell them F-16s and throw in a number of F-15s but Israel had to scrap the Lavi and depend on the United States for their aircraft. The United States also promised that they would assure Israel air superiority for the future. There have been a few episodes since that agreement that have left the promises increasingly suspect. Yes, currently the Israelis have little to worry about with President Trump when it comes to promised deliveries of weaponry and aid, but what about after President Trump. President Obama gave Israel a taste of a wake-up call but things could turn even worse in the future. Imagine if after President Trump actually serves two terms and then, just like after Ronald Reagan (not to claim or compare Trump with Reagan), Vice President Pence serves a single term claiming, “No more taxes,” and then is forced to raise taxes leading to a Democrat winning the Presidency as the conservatives desert the Republicans and simply stay home. The Democrats, after running Hillary again and her losing to Trump a second time, and then running their chairman, Tom Perez, against Pence and he loses. Then they move on to the current vice-chairman Keith Ellison against Pence where he defeats Pence leading to a President Keith Ellison. Look at his affiliations in the past and it becomes glaringly obvious that any relations between the United States and Israel would immediately become a thing relegated to history.

 

United States Israel Aid (Military)

 

The graph above which depicts the United States aid to Israel, presumed largely military aid, had averaged a fairly steady three-billion dollars per year. The aid has been instrumental in providing Israel with a military advantage but has also made Israel dependent upon the United States military aid. Certain years in the graph stand out as being excessive with 1973 being the greatest surge for a single year than any other. This was the year of the Yom Kippur War which caught Israel off guard and flat-footed with most of their active military on leave to attend services and the majority of their reservists also in Synagogue. There were no people manning telephones as Yom Kippur is one of, if not the, holiest days of the Jewish year and is a fast day where people spend the entire day in Synagogue deep in prayer. In the end, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) resorted to sending vehicles with bullhorns, sound systems and anything with which to send out the call driving up and down the streets from synagogue to synagogue calling out the troops. Units formed by officers grabbing anybody who had the correct insignia with infantry grabbing infantry, armor grabbing armor etcetera with them ending up just grabbing anybody and forming fighting units. Within a day or two, the mess sorted itself out and then the push back started and the war turned in Israel’s favor. In the result of the war the boundaries did not change and the United States and Russia demanded that Israel not advance any further and return to the previous lines from the Six Day War and not continue onward to Cairo, Alexandria or Damascus. Israel was in a particular position which called for drastic aid; they had lost too much equipment and were running short of everything from bullets to aircraft and missiles. Despite Secretary of State Kissinger’s advice to squeeze Israel and hold back on the resupply until Israel was more vulnerable, thus making Israel likely more pliable and agreeable to demands, President Nixon sent the aid as quickly as it could be gathered and flown to Israel. This posed a second problem when the European nations refused to permit the United States refueling rights for any aircraft carrying aid to Israel, especially military aid. There is a lesson in there for Israel but that can remain for the next United Nations vote to discuss. The United States finally received permission to refuel in Portugal so Lajes Field in the Azores Islands became the midpoint for the resupply runs. This was the saving grace permitting Israel to survive what would have otherwise resulted potentially in a second Shoah.

 

But what can Israel do, ask almost anybody claiming to be an expert on the Middle East and they will tell the same thing, Israel cannot survive without the United States money and military hardware. They are only partially correct. Israel needs the United States hardware for the time being but that can be remedied by Israeli inventiveness and a brief period of time. Israel has already purchased and paid for sufficient F-35 JSF Israeli versions to provide sufficient air superiority or equivalence for the near future. There was a time when Israel was considered one of the true weapon innovators in the world. They had what was considered one of the best fighting infantry rifles in the world with the Galil. The weapon in one variant had a bottle opener which could open a soda bottle, or better yet, a beer. The Israelis also designed and manufactured the world-renowned Uzi submachine gun.

 

A Galil infantry rifle and an Uzi submachine gun above with the Lavi in flight followed by the IAI Kfir below

 

So Israel has proven with her current main battle tank, the Merkava IV and her historic and proven ability to make her own weapons systems, to be fully capable. The fact the United States felt in the past that they needed to make a generous offer to prevent Israel producing her latest fighter aircraft is sufficient proof that Israel is capable of making his or her own aircraft. Israel has been producing some of the most advanced avionics which they have adapted to numerous airframes and aircraft over the years. So, with the ability for Israel to make their own weaponry, the real potential problem would be the affordability of making their own weapons and doing without the aid money given by the United States. We have established that the funds from the United States to Israel average around three-billion dollars each year. The latest aid package was negotiated by President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu coming to thirty-eight-billion dollars for the next decade. So the current aid level is three-billion-eight-hundred-thousand a year and then after another nine years the package ends and then a new one would be required or Israel, by planning ahead, could turn a new leaf and start being self-dependent. Israel could reenter the world of self-dependence and design and produce her own weaponry. The weapons such as an infantry rifle, a submachine gun, and other small arms and even artillery, self-propelled artillery which they could use the frame of a Merkava IV tank. The largest challenge is obvious, the aircraft, a fifth generation, or better, a sixth generation fighter aircraft or sixth generation fighter aircraft system which may or may not require the pilot be in the aircraft. Israel is a small enough nation that the aircraft defending the borders and close air superiority and support from within Israel using secure encoded telemetry is a feasible and actionable option. The one thing Israel has proven is the ability to innovate and be inventive. How else did Israel get to be called the Start-up Nation? But first Israel has to grow up and realize that they no longer require the defense and military aid money and can depend upon their own ability to afford weaponry without requiring outside funds. Let’s examine this possibility by examining the history of Israel GDP as depicted in the graph below.

 

Israeli GDP Billions $

 

Looking back to where the aid from the United States began in the period between 1965 through 1969 and we see that three-billion dollars a year was about equal to the Israeli GDP. Back then, it was impossible for Israel to raise such a sum of money, as it would have required its entire economy to support the military. Even in 1980 such as the aid from the United States was close to half of Israeli GDP. By the late 1990’s the aid was equal to around three percent of the Israeli GDP and would have been possible even then for Israel to have began defending itself without needing to rely on anyone else. Let us look at the reality of now and where Israel stands economically. The reality is that currently the Israeli GDP is sufficient where the military aid makes up merely one percent and would almost make up for the aid in the taxes paid by the additional workers in defense jobs, jobs which would be fairly well paying. With the military aid package from the United States being merely one percent of Israeli GDP, Israel can make a clean break on her own terms. Eventually the United States aid is going to end. It could have come close under President Obama and had Hillary Clinton won there are some who claim that she would have cut the aid at the first opportunity. Who knows, she might just get such an opportunity yet. And even if she does not, some President down the road is going to decide that the United States can no longer afford Israel and that will be that. Then Israel will have no buffer, no period of adjustment, just a clean, quick cut-off and left dangling without replacement parts for aircraft and whatever other equipment from the United States makes up her armament. Israel had just under a decade to start making the transfer and since the current agreement demands that every penny of the aid be spent in the United States, Israel could stock whatever parts she may require while proving that she can afford to make her own systems and be ready to strike out completely self-dependent into the future. That would make Israel truly capable of defending herself under any conditions or situations because she would be depending largely, nay, completely upon her own industry. That is the future Israelis deserve and the industry would provide thousands upon thousands of new and decent jobs across all levels of educations and abilities.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Obama Intent to Crush Israel

 

The Quartet, Russia, United Nations, European Union and the United States, are about to release a damning policy judgement of Israel with President Obama and his administration taking front and center in pushing for accusations against Israel for human rights violations. The offensives Israel will be charged with is illegally building beyond the Green Line; the destruction of illegal structures built by the European Union for Arab Palestinians in, around, between and surrounding Jewish towns in Area C; Israel presence in East Jerusalem and generally taking positions which the Quartet has ruled as unhelpful. Even the most casual reading of the Oslo Accords, any version, and it quickly becomes clear that Area C was reserved for Israeli civilian and military control, while Area B had shared responsibility and Area A was reserved for Arab Palestinians. This has been escalating since President Obama entered office with his preconceived notions of how the world was and how he knew he could improve upon the world if only he could subject it to his vision. Part of President Obama’s grand vision was an end to nuclear weapons and end to imperialism, an end to colonialism and the return of the lands from occupation worldwide to its original inhabitants. This meant an end to any perceived European rule outside of Europe. The very top of the sinners from Europe attempting to take land which was not theirs was Israel.

 

Israel violated everything President Obama was raised on believing. He was raised on the concept that Israel was a European imposition on the native Arab population in the Middle East. Israel was the last imperialist outpost which needed return to its rightful owners, the Arabs. Further, Israel was a Judeo-Christian outpost in holy Islamic lands and thus had no claim as wherever Islam has slept can never revert to its original peoples as history began in the year 630 with the bursting forth from their enslavement of the Islamic Arabs who were the holy conquerors who were bring order to a world imposed upon it by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Persians and all those other cultures. The Arabs burst forth and became the original culture wherever they managed to subjugate the existing culture. Nowhere was this imperative more offended than Israel. Like so many Orientalists raised that Islam and the Arab lands had always been Islamic Arab lands, any previous history was an imposition on the natural orders which Muhammad and the following Arab rulers had set to right and correct the Judeo-Christian enslavement. Israel was the personification of this culture attempting to reimpose itself on the aboriginal Arabs. Never mind the three-thousand year old history of the Jews residing in these very lands as once conquered, oh, sorry, liberated by the followers of Muhammad from the imposition by the Jews who had obviously stolen the lands from the Islamic Arabs some close to fifteen-hundred plus years earlier as all the lands conquered from the Atlantic Ocean to Indonesia was Islamic under the natural order of the universe. After all, what could be more obvious than that to a young mind molded in the madrassas of Indonesia?

 

So here you have Israel whose Jews ‘all’ came from Europe and ‘none’ from the Arab lands of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) no matter what the demographics showed, those demographics were drawn up by non-Muslims and were all European constructs, including the eight-hundred-thousand refugees which poured into Israel from the MENA nations over the first decade after 1948 as the Arab and Muslim lands spat out their Jews infestations and took a first important modern times purification of the lands back to its proper Islamic Arab beginnings. Now to rid the Middle East of those nuclear armed Jews and everything would be set right. This will be the last thing that President Obama will perform to remold the world to his image. He has successfully righted the apparent imbalance returning Shiite Islam to equal if not superior status against that European and mostly American imbalance falsely raising the Sunni as the enforcers of European (which includes American) influences and Judeo-Christian cultures and ethics which had corrupted the pure Islamic doctrines. Israel was the obvious imposter and the Sunni only slightly less of imposters would be needful of a restoration to pure Islamic rule which was Shia Islam. Thus the new ruler who would spread their purest form of Islam across MENA and then conquer Europe and from there the world, it was Iran, obviously. Never mind that they changed their name from Persia to Aryan, which was spelled Iran in the Farsi translation, which made Iran both Persian, not Arab, modelled after the European fascists of pre-World War II Europe, not pure Islam, but they had the only proper Islamic Sharia compliant state and thus had to rule over all Islam.

 

The rise of an equally pure Sharia Islam on the scene, even if they were the “junior varsity,” complicated things and caused President Obama to become confused over which was the real Islamic leader, but that was soon dismissed and the return to empowering Iran continued. We have recently learned that the deal with Iran had been reached and completed in 2012 and it was simply a game of hide the truth behind a smokescreen of leaks and media manipulation using a compliant liberal media and associated NGOs who could be counted upon to carry the White House water and repeat whatever they had been instructed. The election of a new government in Iran was touted as a move towards liberal doctrine despite there being not a shred of evidence beyond what the White House desired the West, and especially Congress, to understand was taking place in Iran. Iran had to be empowered and made the equal if not superior to the European implemented invasion called Israel. That brings us to now.

 

The White House is going to impose its version of a Palestinian State on the West Bank using the pre-Six Day War boundaries because that has been the desire of Mahmoud Abbas from the beginning and if the Jews would just return the stolen lands, well, at least the most recently stolen lands, then all would be set up to make the final push to erase the European colonialists from the perfected Arab lands. That means that once Israel has been forced back into the indefensible box which they have defended since 1948 against all odds, then the stage will be set for the final push with which the European Jew will be cast out of the lands and the lands purified of their poisonous presence. If that requires the death of over six million Jews in the process, well, that is just another Islamic plus as this would mean that the dream of every rock and tree calling out saying, “Servant of Allah, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him,” will finally be realized and the perfect Caliphate will erupt and the world will fall before the sword of Islam.

 

 

It is impossible to reason with a true believer, and President Obama is a true believer of two complete and total world views melded into what he perceives as the rightful state the world must take. His first view is of the Caliphate ruling the world as was intended ever since Muhammad received his instructions written in the Quran, never mind the conflicting verses, that has been all cleared up and the Medina Quran is superior to the Mecca Quran as it was the most recent interpretations of the will of Allah, as we explained in Which Quran, Mecca or Medina? Additionally, there are numerous links added by other people which can add significantly to our introductory piece providing a more complete picture. President Obama’s second view came from his mother’s world view of the need for a socialist nirvana where everybody shared the wealth and uplifted one another in perfect harmony and without the evil greed present in capitalism. Place the Islamic paradise into a blender with a good measure of socialistic perfection, blend for the entirety of a young child’s impressionable years and have him then nurtured by the elites of the socialist dream and you end up with President Obama. Like all of us, President Obama is the product of his mother, father, and step father with a healthy dose of ego-boosting added by his grandparents and his mentors and manipulators who arranged for him the perfect resume and then maneuvered him into the President of the United States, a dream come true.

 

President Obama was manipulated and molded by European egalitarian socialists but had a strong dose of Islamic upbringing and he is the product of two competing visions of the perfect world where the first is based on the Quran and the second by anti-capitalist socialists and add a dose of modern day collegiate human rights activism and viola, Barack Obama is borne of his many individual parts which all come together and focus on the greatest violation of all those principles rolled into one nation, Israel. Israel is an offense to Islam and the Arab worldview. Israel had transformed and continues to transform from a socialist nightmare into a working capitalist economy which still requires additional development but is still a work in progress. Israel represents the European hegemony over the world and thus Israel is colonial imperialism at its worst. Israel is also a serial human rights violator as all one need do is read the reports from the United Nations Human Rights Council and related NGOs. After all, have you read the Durban Conferences results, the sole perpetrator of all the ills in the universe is Israel. And lastly, Israel is the Jewish State, there can be no such thing as a Jewish State as the Jews are accursed and been thrown down by Allah and Christianity in the form President Obama learned from the Reverend Jerimiah Wright, Frank Marshal Davis, Louis Farrakhan as well as George Soros and his minions who have had an enormous influence in the molding of a young adult Barack Obama, the perfect twisted and confused young man seeking an identity and suddenly thrust into Columbia University and then Harvard Law School, the perfect educational resume for the leader of the future.

 

President Obama cannot see anything beyond the fact that Israel is the reason there is no peace in the Middle East and the world and if only Israel were brought low then the world would mend itself. After all, we need to remember the speech President Obama gave when he accepted the Democrat nomination (video below) on the way to his promised coronation. In Denver candidate Obama laid out his recipe for changing America, fundamentally changing America, and his theme was that America had to be changed fundamentally as those who came before, especially President George W. Bush, who he equated John McCain to be but a carbon copy of George W. Bush, and made his promises for change, change, and yes we can change.

 

 

There are two quotes which perfectly frame the viewpoint of President and Mrs. Obama which are:

“We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” — Barack Obama, October 30, 2008.

And,

“We are going to have to change our conversation; we’re going to have to change our traditions, our history; we’re going to have to move into a different place as a nation.” — Michelle Obama, May 14, 2008.

And if one wants his purest vision statement on what changes he would bring, then Obama’s Nomination Victory Speech In St. Paul June 3, 2008, captured it and framed it perfectly with this famous quote,

”I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth.”

This is also what President Obama would base his foreign policy upon, that the past was a repeated series of the same tired policies and that he would bring a new order where the United States and all Eurocentric policies which had molded the world since World War I and before with colonialism, particularly British colonialism, had to be unraveled and set straight returning the world to where it was before the European influence became preeminent. This was particularly true in the MENA nations of the world when Europe oversaw the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, the last Caliphate. This was an abomination which he had had reinforced repeatedly in his education and then as a young man working as a social worker and his attendance at the church of Reverend Jerimiah Wright as well as the previously listed influences which molded Barack Obama. All of his influences and education as well as those he met professionally and in his private life shared one common view which came together and pinpointed the exact epicenter of all that was wrong with the world, the Eurocentric influences, atomic weapons, British imperialism, American hegemony (especially in the Middle East), Jewish influence and manipulations, and the invasion of native Arab Islamic territory by European Jews and you had the most evil of all entities by these definitions, Israel.

 

 

The two main targets he ever heard from his time becoming a Christian was the theft of the Holy Land by the accursed Jew and the Jewish lobby having such a strangle hold on the seats of power. All this was in service of Israel in the mind of Barack Obama and his desire to change that one fact and bring that entity of the Jewish infection low so as to allow for its destruction by the future leaders of the world, Islam, and pure Islam like that of the Ayatollahs in Iran. This is now about to be the sole guiding principle in his final months and the setting Israel as a serial human rights oppressor will allow President Obama using the Leahy Law to cut Israel military umbilical cord which could lead to, at the most extreme case, the grounding of the Israeli Air Force if spare parts are not made available for their F-15 and F-16 fighters. Additionally, this would result in the cancellation of the purchase by Israel of the F-35JSF which was already in the pipeline. On a parallel track, Senator Patrick Joseph Leahy, one of the Senators who has worked very closely with the White House, has initiated a State Department investigation of Israeli Human Rights violations seeking a report which depicts Israel as a serial human rights violator so that he can sue the Pentagon and Defense Department to end all military aid and cooperation with Israel. This would leave Israel vulnerable and also hindered in other ways. The programming of the fighters in Israeli Air force could potentially be rendered useless by adjusting their Friend or Foe computer to recognize all aircraft as friend thus preventing them from engaging other aircraft. The other ramification and funding given Israel could also be cut and all NATO nations swayed to end all cooperation with Israel, something many European countries would likely jump at as their excuse.

 

Additionally, President Obama could use the Quartet as a bludgeon against Israel and cap it all off with recognition of the state of Palestine in the Security Council setting their borders at the maximalist extreme of the 1949 Armistice Lines and make such a Chapter Seven Resolution enforceable by military force ruling which would tie the American Military into enforcing, or at least not preventing, the imposition of such a decision which would leave Israel with over one million Jews as refugees cast from their homes and any their jobs as well as ending the employment of thousands of Palestinian Arab workers as their factories and places of employment are closed. Such an imposing of a draconian resolution would guarantee a Middle East war against Israel within five years and more likely almost immediately after the forcing Israel to accept the now homeless Jews as it is an understood rule that any and all lands granted for Palestine must be made Judenfrei, how’s that for apartheid rules? This may prove to be the most destructive action should President Obama carry through on his conviction to the most damaging for Israel results. This might even lead to a NATO war with Israel siding with Turkey, a NATO member state, with the Arab nations and possibly Russia all assisting against Israel. This result is unlikely but must be brought forward as it is a possible scenario, even if unlikely. Watch as in his last months President Obama goes into over pressure mode to establish Palestine and to do so resting on the grave of Israel if necessary. It will not be pretty.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Hamas Sticking to Single ‘Must Have’ Demand or Else

 

More often than not when the time nears that any ceasefire approaches its end date, Hamas will emphasize a single ‘must have’ issue and wait until actual talks to try to pry additional concessions before reaching some agreement. Every agreement with Hamas is never actually a truce as we in the Western nations understand; it is always referred to by Hamas in its Islamic term, a Hudna. The difference between a truce, accord or peace agreement and a Hudna is easily defined but almost always ignored by those making such deals with Islamic elements. A Hudna is a temporary halt to the actual fighting while the hostilities continue as does the preparations to continue the violent struggle. Whenever the Muslims who entered into a Hudna agreement feel they are sufficiently stronger or prepared for continuing their war and feel they will be able to win outright or, if not attaining victory vanquishing their enemy, then they at least will make some gains even if it is just additional concessions. No Hudna may last longer than a decade as after ten years the Muslim forces are obliged to resume their struggle. The interesting item this time is Hamas is not calling for a sizeable prisoner release as is their usual demand. This time Hamas is demanding something which would be a permanent game changer and guarantee the next resumption of hostilities would be on a whole new level and demand a different result which would be far more severe no matter which side proved victorious, and that might be an item in question to be resolved by the resumed conflict.

 

The demand which Hamas is placing the entirety of their promise for a Hudna, a temporary, and in this case very temporary, cessation of hostilities, is the lifting of the blockade and their being permitted an international airport and sea ports. Their given reasoning is that the blockade does not permit them the ability to import building materials and to export their goods and farm produce. Their complaint that the farm produce is encountering difficulties accessing an international market has always bemused me when combined with their explanations as to why they must fire their rockets and munitions from within urban and built-up areas, often residential in nature or by schools and such because Gaza is border to border urban areas making it the most densely populated area on the planet. With such a problem with buildings border to border one must question from where the farm produce originates. This and other items were covered in an article titled, <a herf=http://wp.me/pIou8-1zI target-blank>Gaza, Hamas, Corrected Falsehoods, Frightening Realities</a>. Their claim that they have difficulty importing building materials and exporting their produce because of the Israeli arms and dual use items embargo along with the Egyptian total embargo on their Gaza Sinai border is an untruth. Israel permits relatively unfettered access for any export items including farm produce providing Hamas permits it to reach the designated crossing points into Israel. Once it crosses into Israel it is usually intended and is sent to the Palestinian areas in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) or to Jordan across the Allenby Bridge. If there were to be items intended for Europe or Asia there would likely be arrangements for it to be flown or shipped from Israel to its destination with the possible exception of those countries which do not permit direct import for items leaving from Israel. In such cases some other arrangements would need to be made and this might be best accomplished by having limited passage for export or import through Egypt which places such beyond Israeli control. The building provisions are limited because of the slight propensity for Hamas to confiscate hundreds of millions of Shekels worth of such provisions in order to construct extensive tunnels and underground bunkers and command centers sufficient to hold not only the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups’ numbers but potentially could hold almost the entire population of Gaza. Granted doing so would make easy access for the terrorist fighters to get from one rocket launching platform to another somewhat difficult, but the people would be safer than having Hamas and friends herd them into schools and other civilian structures around rocket launching position in order to produce maximum civilian casualties in Gaza for the reporters to photograph and release to the world claiming to show how heartless the Israelis are in their conducting of warfare.

 

So, if it is not for the reasons of import and export and unfettered access to building provisions such as concrete and aluminum, then why is Hamas so intent on gaining a sea port and airport? In order to place what the urgency is in gaining this access one needs to look beyond the shores of Gaza and even beyond the borders of Israel and Egypt. One need go further than Hezballah in Lebanon or Bashir al-Assad in Syria. One needs to go all the way to Qatar which already provides Hamas with funding. One need understand that Qatar does not have a significant military force and that the military they have has been rather well armed for their immediate needs and threats. Qatar could arm every citizen and they would still be unable to resist an invasion by Saudi Arabia, the closest potential threat to Qatar as the Qataris have developed close relations with Iran and this has not exactly pleased the Saudis. Still, the odds of a Saudi attack on Qatar are remote to nonexistent. This becomes more so when one realized that Qatar is also a major base for the United States and one of the home bases for the United States fleet when it is in the Persian Gulf, something that has been quite regular of late. So, since the Qatari military was already sufficiently armed one must question why Qatar would purchase eleven-billion dollars of top of the line equipment including MANPAD anti-aircraft weapons, Apache Longbow Attack Helicopters, Patriot Missile Batteries, Javelin Anti-Armor Systems, Air Refueling Tankers and associated weaponry. Qatar has also been seeking to purchase jet fighters and has been shopping with Airbus and Boeing. When one figures that Qatar has a population of 1.7 million; this produces figures that they just purchased almost six-and-a-half-billion dollars of weaponry per person. Add to this that Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani made the first official visit to Hamas-controlled Gaza by a head of state and during the visit promised four-hundred-million dollars in aid to Hamas and there comes the problem. Obviously these weapons were not purchased for Qatari defense purposes and were instead intended for Hamas to use against Israel. The only thing missing is a sea port or an airport to deliver the goods. This does not take a rocket scientist to figure out; yet, just wait and watch the world demand that Israel lift their arms embargo and threaten to embargo Israel should Israel not comply. Welcome to a world that seems to be more appropriate for items from Mad Magazine than from our news outlets which are reporting these items as real facts on the ground.    Unbelievable!

 

Beyond the Cusp