Comments on: Gaza: Will Iran take the bait?

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:48:50 +0000

On the outside chance you may be tracking responses to your comment, Yonatan, I came across this in by daily survey of Israeli on-line press. Debka wrote the,

"In Tehran and Moscow, the Gaza offensive was not perceived as a lone Israeli operation but rather as the ground-breaker for a broader offensive by the US, Turkey and Qatar and the product of their combined intelligence brains rather than of military war planners.
Iran had been systematically building up the Gaza Strip as its “southern front” to fight enemies who attacked its nuclear facilities. The obliteration of a large portion of the military infrastructure Hamas and Jihad Islam had accumulated left this plan in shambles. Moscow and Tehran fully expect Washington to next turn the attention of the intelligence team which engineered the dashing of Iran’s hopes in Gaza to Syria and Hizballah, exploiting Tehran’s momentary weakness."

Not conclusive, Yonatan, but certainly supports my suggestion that Iran, not Gaza, was the reason for the air-missile war, does it not?

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:48:50 +0000

On the outside chance you may be tracking responses to your comment, Yonatan, I came across this in by daily survey of Israeli on-line press. Debka wrote the,

Not conclusive, Yonatan, but certainly supports my suggestion that Iran, not Gaza, was the reason for the air-missile war, does it not?

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 01:33:53 +0000

Yonatan, there is much talk today of an imminent cease fire and let us hope that this is so, and that it will provide something worthy of the expenditure in life and treasure. But just as tangential confirmation of my article above, one wonders why, in the midst of such talk, the US would cast doubt both on the possibility of truce, and an indication that what is envisioned is far more than Israel reentering Gaza:

Headline in Debka: US warships turn around toward Israel for possible evacuation of Americans

"This step negates the expectation articulated widely in Israel Monday, Nov. 19, that a ceasefire with the Hamas is within reach. It rather indicates that Washington sees the situation surrounding the Gaza Strip in a far different light, more like a situation holding the threat of a general conflagration beyond the confines of the Israel-Hamas contest in Gaza."

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 02:25:16 +0000

Notice, I didn't like myself for Yonatan's comment.

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 02:24:14 +0000

Yes, and only when I get lonely.

By: Tuvia Fogel

Tuvia Fogel — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:30:49 +0000

Wait a second, are David Turner and David Ben-Ami the same person? And if so, do you always 'like' your own posts?

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:49:26 +0000

You may be correct, Yonatan. I am neither prophet nor soothsayer. I am even willing to take the argument further and suggest that if Iran is as she appears, and America is as described above, then Israel's best shot at activating America in destroying the threat may just be a "provocation" by Iran.

By: David Ben-Ami

David Ben-Ami — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:44:41 +0000

You've gone beyond me, Tuvia. Regarding American interests and policy in the region I see no daylight between Bush/Obama. I am uninterested in US party politics when it comes to Israel. I do recognize extremes within that overarching policy, and see Bush invading Iraq a massive blunder, but within general American "interests." As regards their policy regarding Iran, again no daylight: Bush initiated the policy of military avoidance, and Obama is just more comfortable representing it. But it was Bush, after all, who appointed the Gates/Poindexter anti-Iran war Defense team.

As regards your observation re Fannie Mae: I was not referring to fundamentals when I said "fuse," but fuse. Between the wave of oil futures speculation attendant with the invasion which put enormous strain on economic conditions set for collapse anyway; W's choice to pay for the war "off the books," a trillion dollars of borrowed money… I think I may be overly generous in characterizing W as having lit the fuse, do you agree?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:45:26 +0000

Naive one ,you forget what,who unites Sunni and Shiite Muslims and temporarily heals the divide in the Arab,Muslim world.

By: Yonatan Karmi

Yonatan Karmi — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 18:55:53 +0000

This article is rubbish. Hamas left the Iran-Syria axis some while back. Only Islamic Jihad remains affiliated to Iran. Hamas has switched to its natural home, the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, which has now taken power in Egypt. Iran will do nothing, because it has bigger concerns at the moment. Indeed I'm more worried that Israel might take its eye off the Iranian danger, which in the medium to long-term is much more serious than Gaza.

By: Tuvia Fogel

Tuvia Fogel — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:40:49 +0000

I agree with the Iran-related points you make, David, but "the Bush Iraq adventure lit the fuse setting off the global economic collapse" is just naively accepting Obama 'blame W' rhetoric. Have you really never heard of sub-prime mortgages, of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, of 'derivatives'? With the money Obama spent SO FAR on turning a land of free enterprise into a welfare state, SIX Iraq wars could have been waged and there would still be a few hundred billion left over. Please take our intelligence a little more seriously.