The United States should not wait for Israel to act. If President Bush is not willing to do it, then his successor should immediately authorize targeting strikes inside Damascus with the explicit purpose of killing Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Before getting to the only thing that matters, winning the War on Terror, a couple quick housekeeping notes are in order. On Tuesday I was a guest of Frank and Shane on Political Vindication. I was on for the final 45 minutes of the 2 hour program discussing the recent Pro-Israel and anti-humanity (or as they called it Pro-Palestinian) rallies.
On Wednesday I was at the taping of Dr. Phil. It will be broadcast Monday. I will not be linking to it because it was a disappointing experience and waste of time. I have nothing against Dr. Phil. His appearances on Letterman are hilarious. On this taping of his own show he was funny and engaging, and he and I “fist-bumped.” Yet I did not know what the program was about. I thought there was a chance for audience questions. There was not. I was just an audience member.
I could care less about Hollywood. I was led to believe they wanted a group of republicans to get their opinions. They wanted a group of republicans to just sit there to fill up seats so the television audience would not see empty chairs.
I have no interest in doing anything like this unless it promotes me. I have a book coming out, and Dr. Phil talking to other people does me no good. Ari Fleischer was there, and while I have met him several times, this time I did not get to speak to him or make any good contacts.
Now about those murdering savages that are killing innocent Jews for sport while the world watches and does nothing to stop it.
While every news article or opinion column including mine should be taken with more than a few granules of sodium, an interesting report from Tel AViv is offering an astounding opportunity, if true.
Some say that the Palestinian people are under the death grip of Hamas. I reject this, because it implies that the Palestinian people are innocent victims and not terrorist enablers. Yet for the moment, let’s allow for this to be treated as factual enough. A new branch is growing from this tree of preposterousness. Hamas is under the death grip of Syria.
While again this must be rejected as offering excuses for evil behavior, let’s extend another branch, provided it is not an olive one. Who is Syria under the death grip of?
The world’s dumbest opthamologist, Bashar Assad.
Many say that Palestinians want peace but Hamas will not let them have it. Well now a report is stating that Hamas wants peace, but Syria will not allow it.
Now nobody is alleging that Hamas wants peace because it is the right thing to do. The issue is that for all of their fireball rhetoric of eternal praise and 72 virgins, some Hamas people do not want to die. They send others to be homicide bombers, but not themselves. Apparently they are needed for “coordinating.” Anyway, Hamas fighters are being b*tchslapped by brilliant Israeli Defense Forces. This has created a schism between those that want to pursue Jihad to the end, and those that want to merely live.
Coincidentally, those wanting a fight to the end are nowhere near the fighting. The Hamas leaders in Gaza seem to have a close up front view of an oncoming blue and white enema, and they do not want to receive it. It is very easy for me to tell NFL football players to “man up” and play in blizzard conditions while I am wrapped in a blanket in Los Angeles watching on television.
Syrians may not know a football from a falafel ball, but they are fabulous armchair quarterbacks.
The article is entitled “Israel says Hamas is damaged, not destroyed.”
“The intelligence officials said there were some signs that the military assault had undermined Hamas’s political cohesion, and that Hamas’s leaders in hiding inside Gaza were more eager for a cease-fire than group leaders in exile. They described this assessment as based on hard intelligence, presumably telephone intercepts.”
Shockingly enough, overwhelming force accomplished what not even United Nations resolutions could. I am not saying that the U.N. is completely worthless, but if anybody else said it I would agree with that understatement.
“A senior Egyptian official in Cairo said separately on Tuesday that representatives of Hamas had disagreed openly when participating in continuing Egyptian efforts to broker a cease-fire.”
This is literally how they can be broken in half. They are not that committed. Apparently they are only interested in a fight to the death if it is others that are dying.
“Inside Gaza, the military wing of Hamas has been hit “to a certain extent” with ‘a few hundred’ Hamas fighters killed during the ground offensive that began midway through the war, the intelligence officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in return for discussing internal assessments of the conflict. Hamas is still able to launch 20 to 30 rockets a day, including 5 to 10 missiles of ranges longer than 20 kilometers, or about 12 miles, down by a third from the start of the war, the officials said.”
Just to make sure I understand the words I just wrote, a 95% possibility at best, after 18 days Hamas capabilities have been reduced. Perhaps further reductions can be achieved with continuing the Israeli self defense exercises.
Some say that zero rockets coming at Israel would be unrealistic. I suggest these same people have rockets fired on their own homes and let me know if more than zero is only a negligible number.
Until there is 100% cessation of rockets being fired, and a complete dismantling of all rockets aimed at Israel for future strikes, there is nothing to negotiate.
Yes, this war is killing children. For those that want this to stop, the rockets aimed at Israel must stop first.
Wars end when one side realizes they cannot win. Perhaps this is way too premature, but Hamas fighters might be approaching that point. Yet they are in the line of fire. Their bosses in Syria are not. There is no urgency for Syria rto stop sending sacrificial goat lovers.
“Greater damage has been done to Hamas’s capacity to run Gaza, with a large number of government buildings destroyed over the course of the operation, they said.”
Yes, this is what happens when the mouse that roars gets crushed.
“In Egypt, efforts to broker a cease-fire were complicated by bickering inside Hamas, the Egyptian official said. The official said that Hamas representatives in Gaza were eager for a cease-fire, but were being blocked because political decisions were being made by the group’s leadership in Damascus, Syria.”
I am not saying that Hamas are just pawns. They are true believers, but only up to a certain point. They would kill all Jews if they could, but apparently they cannot. They are tired of losing. They realize that they are the Detroit Lions of the Arab world, when they would rather be like the Arabs that actually live in Detroit, where relative freedom and liberty can be found.
“Hamas is in a very difficult position,” the Egyptian official said. “On the ground, their militants are not doing as good a job, not matching their rhetoric. But politically, they have been totally taken over by their sponsors.
“’The guys inside are holding their ground, but they don’t want to continue the confrontation,’ the official said. Egypt talks to Hamas but is not eager to see the radical Islamic group succeed in running a small statelet next door.”
Terror does not exist in a vacuum. Some have a problem with obliterating all Palestinians. Fine. Yet some will not even be ok with killing all Hamas people. Less fine. Syria pays them. Some will not support blowing up all of Syria. Ok, again, fine.
Yet terror must stop. The buck stops somewhere. It reaches the desk of Bashar Assad.
International Law prohibits the assassination of foreign leaders. WHile I believe this law should be repealed, it is on the books as of now.
However, there is a loophole. Assad ordered the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Lebanon was on a path to democracy. Once Assad violated international law, he lost all protection. He is now therefore fair game. Also, given that Syria would kill an American or Israeli President in a heartbeat, I am perfectly ok with a preemptive strike. Most people that have a problem with preemptive action refuse to admit that their alternative solution only delays getting themselves killed anyway, perhaps by days of not weeks.
“On Tuesday, Hamas fired 11 rockets and six mortar shells into Israel, the Israeli Army said.”
That is 11 rockets and six mortar shells too many. There must be 100% cessation. Tis is not only realistic, it should be demanded by anybody that sees this conflict sanely.
“The leader of Israel’s opposition Likud Party, Benjamin Nentanyahu, said Tuesday that ultimately Hamas would have to be removed from Gaza and if the government chose to do so in this war, he would support it.
‘At the end of the day there will be no escape from toppling Hamas rule,’ he said at a meeting with the Foreign Press Association, adding that ‘Israel can not tolerate an Iranian base right next to its cities.'”
Perhaps all of this is tactical. If Hamas surrenders, the incompetent bunglers that make up Israel’s Labor Party can actually claim victory just long enough to prevent Benjamin Netanyahu from returning to power. Then again, if Hamas can lose to a Labor Government, they really are pathetic.
Nevertheless, Olmert wants to save his legacy from his 2006 disaster. Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak are battling to see who can screw things up in 2009 for the Israeli Military. They are already arguing about “degrees” and “conditions.”
Ariel Sharon was able to try and make peace because he was the bulldozer. He wanted to go to Damascus in 1982, and Menachem Begin said no. Ariel Sharon was right.
Bibi Netanyahu has learned from his past mistakes. He knows who the enemy is, and where he is located.
The clock is ticking Mr. Assad. President George W. Bush may not be lookng over your shoulder anymore, but you are far from safe. Mr. Netanyahu lives closer than you, and he will finish what you started.
Just ask Sheik Yassin. Just ask his successor Rantisi.
Oh wait, we can’t. They are dead. Rumor has it since they were killed, they have not sponsored one single terrorist attack. Now that is deterrence.
Bashar Assad is a terrorist. The road to Damascus must be led by special forces willing to eliminate Bashar Assad once and for all.
eric
If Israel killed Assad I guarentee you whoever filled that vacuum would bve a hell of a lot worse than him.
Be careful what you wush for.
And now comes this shelling of the UN building in Gaza. Huge mistake. Israel is unpopular enough these days. This only made things a lot worse.
This Gaza thing might well backfire worse than the 2006 Hezbollah fight by far and a long way.
It’s time for the internatioanl community to step into Gaza, the West Bank and southerm Lebanon and bring this conflict to a final and decisive end.
JMJ
They should just blow up the UN period.
Jersey, IDF was being fired on by Hamas standing right next o the building and then the little chickens ran inside of it for cover when IDF returned fire
” Aww shucks, they went inside. Oh well, next time”
To top it off is typical Hamas to place themselves next to a place like this.
It was a relief and aid center which they thought would provide as much cover as a school or hospital.
The only reason Israel is unpopular is because people like you dont tell the truth or the whole story.
If the UN had any balls they would tell Hamas that if they’re going to use our buildings for cover we just wont give you any or any aid.
The international community just got done pouring five billion dollars into the Palestinians. Palestinians ar the highest per-capita recipients of aid from the international community. The U.S.put out $80-$120 million every year forthe Palestinians since 94, in addition to an annual $75 million allocation to the United Nations Relief Agency (UNRWA) to support refugees.
So here we go again, suggesting more stuff that has failed in the past.
Duh.
Whatever Israel do to the UN by accident is fine by me. The UN is nothing short of being in cahoots with Hamas as far as I am concerned.The tragedy of this whole affair is the 14 precious human lives that that have been lost.