WarSclerotic

Source: Candidly Speaking: A balance sheet on President Trump – Opinion – Jerusalem Post

He has – by and large – neutralized the disastrous impact of his predecessor, Barack Obama, who in his prime objective to achieve peace, discarded some of America’s long-standing allies.

US President Donald Trump gesticulates as he returns from a trip to trip to Annapolis, Maryland, in Washington, US, May 25, 2018.. (photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA)

US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin served to increase the paranoia about him to an all-time high. He was accused of “failing America,” acting “shamefully” and “disgracefully,” and even committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Former CIA chief John Brennan went so far as to call his performance “treasonous.”

Trump certainly blundered when commenting on the similarity in behavior of the current Russian and American intelligence sources. This followed his outbursts during an earlier meeting with the Europeans in relation to NATO. Even Republican supporters rubbed their eyes in incredulity at some of his remarks to Putin. Yet, even following this barrage of criticism, Trump announced last week that he had invited Putin to Washington.

Nobody can deny that Trump behaves like a buffoon and has a penchant for vulgarity. He shoots from the hip, says what he thinks, often contradicts himself and incessantly posts juvenile tweets. He has made many errors and impulsively introduced regulations with total disregard for details, such as the restrictions on immigration, thus creating considerable chaos that could have been averted.

On the other hand, he has – by and large – neutralized the disastrous impact of his predecessor, Barack Obama, who in his prime objective to achieve peace, discarded some of America’s long-standing allies, groveled to the Iranian terrorist state, and in the process, diminished America’s global influence.

Trump started his presidency with a call for “America First” that enraged his opponents who linked it to pre-World War ll fascism.

A REVIEW of the facts will help evaluate his overall performance.

• The economy

Trump has introduced a series of economic measures – decried by his opponents – but the outcomes of which have been significant positive indicators in the economy and a sharp upturn in the stock market.

• Immigration

In his determination not to follow the disastrous example in Europe, he imposed strict limitations on immigration, refusing to permit the country to be flooded by Islamic migrants. Although introduced clumsily, Trump’s immigration policy will historically be recognized as a wise decision.

• China

After demanding a more balanced trade relationship with China and warning against ongoing theft of American technology, he stunned the world by imposing tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese government-subsidized goods that were undercutting US products. He threatened to extend this to vehicles. The Chinese responded by imposing tariffs on American goods, accusing Trump of starting a trade war and breaching the terms of the World Trade Organization. Time will tell, but many believe that Trump will be vindicated and that China will compromise on a fairer export policy and that America’s disastrous negative trade balance will be reversed.

• Europe and NATO

Trump shocked the Europeans and horrified their leaders by questioning the value of NATO and its members’ dependence on American largesse. He warned that the US would go it alone and no longer pour US taxpayer money into subsidizing the Europeans unless they shouldered the burden of their defense, raising their military spending from 2% to 4% of gross domestic product. He noted that Germany, the most powerful European nation, currently spends a mere 1.25% of its GDP on defense.

This created an upheaval. But the bottom line is that they will deliver, and Trump will be vindicated.

• Iran

Trump has clearly intensified the war against terrorism. He has broken with the Iranians and is in the process of imposing powerful sanctions, which could lead to the collapse of the regime.

• North Korea

Trump personally initiated direct top-level negotiations with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an attempt to persuade him to denuclearize. Although the outcome is far from assured, these negotiations are themselves an unprecedented achievement.

• Russia

Putin’s Russian Federation is an authoritarian state but a far cry from the totalitarian Soviet Union. Whether there is any truth in the allegations that Russia meddled in the US elections, few genuinely believe such actions altered the outcome.

Despite their major differences, in particular in their attitudes toward Iran, both Putin and Trump pledged to cooperate and work jointly to combat terrorism.

Trump was bitterly castigated in the US for adopting this approach with the Russians. But if he succeeds in easing tensions, avoiding a new Cold War and increasing cooperation even to a limited degree, this too will be recognized as a significant positive achievement.

• Israel

As far as most Israelis are concerned, Trump’s election has proved to be God’s gift to them. Trump is the first American president to formally announce the alliance of the US with Israel and assure the Israelis that the United States will back them if they were embroiled in conflict.

He brought an end to Obama’s biased policy of moral equivalence between Israel’s defensive measures and Palestinian terrorism, and has refused to maintain the façade that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is a moderate man of peace. He also drastically cut back US aid to the Palestinians.

He has made it very clear that the US will not tolerate the Palestinian diversion of millions of aid dollars to reward terrorists and provide pensions to their families.

The administration placed full blame on Hamas for the Gaza escalation of terrorism, accusing them of “pushing Israel to engage in increasingly significant acts of defense.”

Trump’s UN representative, Nikki Haley, aggressively defends Israel and condemns its biased critics. The US also withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council, an organization dominated by tyrants and rogue states, which the Trump administration accused of hypocrisy and bias against Israel.

Despite howls of global protest and unlike his predecessors, Trump has fulfilled his electoral promise to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.

In another unprecedented turn of events, following their recent meeting, Trump and Putin issued an astonishing joint press statement in which they explicitly proclaimed their commitment to “work together to ensure the security of Israel.” Trump said, “I think that working with Israel is a great thing, and creating safety for Israel is something that both President Putin and I would like to see very much.”

TO SUM UP, Trump is clearly calling the shots and rearranging the existing global order.

From an Israeli viewpoint, Trump has – to date – been like manna from heaven. That does not mean we endorse all his actions, and we continue to squirm at his cruder outbursts.

But despite the great schism in American politics since his election, Trump has gone a long way toward reversing the damage inflicted by Obama. He is disliked by most global leaders, but he is feared and has demonstrated his ability to deal positively with many international issues that have, until now, been ignored. His supporters can only hope that despite his erratic temperament, he stays the course.

While the Democrats are likely to win seats in the upcoming Congressional elections, there is a strong chance Trump will be reelected in 2020, especially if the current radicalization of the Democratic candidates is not reversed.

The writer’s website is wordfromjerusalem.com. He may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com.

Source: Double whammy female IDF officer downed Syrian jet and drone – Israel News – Jerusalem Post

( AND she’s quite pretty… – JW )

Cpt. Or Na’aman, commander of the Patriot battery of the 138th battalion, also commanded interception of Syrian drone two weeks ago

Source: Syria says response to fighter jet’s downing ‘will come soon enough’ — report | The Times of Israel

Official tells Lebanese news site ‘Damascus is in no hurry to enter a war with Israel’ but promises a reaction; Russia said to protest to Israeli officials over incident

View of the trail left in the sky by a Patriot missile that was fired to intercept a Syrian jet entering Israel from Syria, as seen in the northern Israeli city of Safed, on July 24, 2018. (David Cohen/Flash90)

A Syrian official warned Tuesday night that his country will respond “soon enough” to the IDF shooting down a regime fighter jet after it entered Israel’s airspace, according to a Lebanese news site.

“Damascus is in no hurry to enter a war with Israel,” the unnamed source told El Nashra, but added that “the response to the downing of the jet will come soon enough.”

The official claimed Israel supports “terrorist centers” in southern Syria and shot down the jet to stop the regime’s operations against them.

The first step of the Syrian response would be to complete operations against those centers, he said. Afterwards “the direct response to the Israeli forces will come at the appropriate time.”

The third part of the response would be to “foil any attempt to push Syria’s allies away from the (border) area.”

Israel said it shot down the Sukhoi-model jet with a pair of Patriot missiles Tuesday after it entered some two kilometers inside Israel territory in the Golan Heights. The plane crashed inside Syria, reportedly killing its pilot.

File: A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber taking off from the Hmeimim airbase in the Syrian province of Latakia, October 3, 2015. (AFP/Komsomolskaya Pravda/Alexander Kots)

Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said Israel tried to contact the pilot several times but received no response, and so proceeded to intercept.

According to the Ynet news site, Russia protested Israel’s actions, with officials claiming the fighter had not breached Israeli airspace as Jerusalem has claimed. Israel subsequently provided them with a clear radar image proving its assertion, the report said.

The Kan public broadcaster reported that Israel had warned Moscow of the potential of military “spillover” into Israel as the regime’s forces continue to advance against rebel forces in the border area.

Kan reported that the IDF has filed a complaint with UNDOF, the UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights, over the jet incident. Though Israel believes the fighter pilot likely made a navigational error while carrying out bombing runs against rebel-held areas, officials still view the incident as a serious breach of Israeli sovereignty, it said.

The IDF is on “elevated alert” along the northern border because of the fighting on the Syrian side of the fence, military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said.

Danon said Israel seeks “no escalation in the region” but will protect its border.

“Israel will not tolerate any violation of our sovereignty — not from Syria, not from Gaza, not from any other enemy that threatens our security,” he said.

A picture taken on July 24, 2018 from the Tal Saki hill in the Golan Heights shows smoke rising above buildings across the border in Syria during air strikes backing a Syrian-government-led offensive in the southwestern province of Daraa. (AFP/ JALAA MAREY)

Syrian rebels surrendered their last pockets in the southwestern Quneitra and Daraa provinces last week, leading thousands of opposition fighters, their families and other civilians to evacuate to the rebel-held province of Idlib in northern Syria.

On Tuesday, government forces reached the border fence where a UN peacekeeping force is deployed at the edge of the Golan Heights for the first time since 2011, when an uprising swept through Syria against President Bashar Assad.

Minutes before the reported downing of the jet, Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV was broadcasting footage from the fence demarcating the UN buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces in the Golan Heights. A UN observer post could be seen just on the other side of the fence. The camera showed an Israeli post 400 meters (440 yards) away.

Source: Christian Zionist conference celebrates Trump era in US-Israel relations | The Times of Israel

Activists push bill extending restrictions against businesses complying with the Israel boycott movement

PM Netanyahu addresses a summit of Christians United for Israel in Washington, DC, July 23, 2018. (Twitter)

Following from this post:

How the Mossad stole Iran’s nuclear secrets

we now have Iran’s response….

… which could be characterized as *fingers in ears* “la la la la la la la can’t hear you, don’t believe you, la la la la”

Iran says notion of Mossad raiding Tehran warehouse ‘laughably absurd’

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-says-notion-of-mossad-raiding-tehran-warehouse-laughably-absurd/

After US reporters view documents from captured archive on nuclear weapons program, Islamic Republic insists Jerusalem’s claims are ‘outlandish’

Iran has denied that Israel stole thousands of secret documents from a Tehran warehouse relating to the Islamic Republic’s clandestine nuclear weapons program as “laughably absurd.”

Israel said the trove of documents seized by the Mossad in a daring January raid shows Iran had for years worked on developing nuclear weapons while lying to the international community, and that it has put plans in place to pursue such weapons in the future.

“Iran has always been clear that creating indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction is against what we stand for as a country, and the notion that Iran would abandon any kind of sensitive information in some random warehouse in Tehran is laughably absurd,” a spokesman for Tehran’s UN mission said.

“It’s almost as if they are trying to see what outlandish claims they can get a Western audience to believe.”

On Sunday the New York Times reported that the archive shows Iran’s weapons program “was almost certainly larger, more sophisticated and better organized” than was suspected, after US reporters were shown selected documents from the haul.

Three US reporters were given limited access to the trove last week, and were briefed by Israeli officials. Israel, which unveiled the documents in April, has been mining the trove of 100,000 documents for new information, and has also shared the material with the IAEA and with US and European intelligence agencies.

The thrust of last week’s briefing for the US press was to highlight how far the nuclear program had progressed — Iran “was on the cusp of mastering key bombmaking technologies when the research was ordered halted” in 2003, the Washington Post said — and to underline Israel’s insistence that the archive demonstrates that the Iranian regime has not abandoned its effort to obtain a nuclear weapons arsenal, but has merely mothballed parts of it.

Safes inside a warehouse in Shorabad, south Tehran, where Mossad agents discovered and extracted tens of thousands of secret files pertaining to Iran’s nuclear weapons program (Prime Minister’s Office)

“These documents are old, but they have a bearing on the future,” a senior Israeli official was quoted by the Post as saying. “It’s not a history lesson. They have capabilities they can use in the future.”

Iran halted much of the nuclear weapons program in 2003, but internal memos in the archive “show senior scientists making extensive plans to continue several projects in secret, hidden within existing military research programs,” said the Washington Post.

“In a few years, when some of the [deal’s] restrictions expire, Iran will be in a position to resume work on a nuclear device that Israel sees as a threat to its existence,” the Israeli official told the Post.

The Tehran warehouse from which the documents were purloined “was put into use only after the 2015 accord was reached with the United States, European powers, Russia, and China,” the Times reported. Israeli officials contend that the fact that the Iranians “systematically went about collecting thousands of pages spread around the country documenting how to build a weapon, how to fit it on a missile and how to detonate it” demonstrates that they fully intend to return to the effort of nuclear weapons building when the opportunity arises.

Photographs from the Iranian nuclear weapons archive, showcased by Israeli officials, of a metal chamber that Israeli officials said was housed at the Parchin military site and was built to conduct experiments as part of the Iranians’ rogue nuclear weapons program (Israeli government)

The Times noted that one of the reasons Mossad decided to steal the documents rather than photograph or copy them and leave undetected was “to counter Iranian claims that the material was forged and offer it up for examination by international groups.”

Iran indeed maintains the entire document trove is fraudulent.

First article says pilot was killed, second article adds that ISIS now has the body.

Report: Syrian pilot killed after being shot down by Israel

Syrian official says pilot of aircraft shot down over Israel was killed. Syria denies plane entered Israeli airspace.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/249456

The pilot of the Syrian aircraft which was shot down after it entered Israeli airspace Tuesday was killed, according to a report by a Russian media outlet.

Pilot Amran Mara’e was killed, a Syrian official told Sputnik, a news outlet supported by the Russian government.

According to the official, Mara’e was flying a mission against ISIS targets in southern Syria when he was shot down.

The IDF stated that the aircraft was shot down by two Patriot missiles after it had flown two two kilometers (1.24 miles) into Israeli airspace. The Syrian government denied that the aircraft had entered Israeli airspace and claimed that it was shot down over Syrian territory.

The fate of a second pilot is unclear.

According to the IDF, there has been an uptick in the Syrian infighting since Tuesday morning, together with additional activity by the Syrian air force.

“The IDF is on high alert and very prepared, and will continue acting against violations of the 1974 Separation of Forces agreement,” an IDF statement read.

Islamic State said to capture body of downed Syrian pilot

Plane shot down by Israel after crossing border said to have crashed in small pocket of land held by terror group in southwest Syria

An official based in Syria and allied with government forces said Tuesday that Islamic State fighters seized the body of a Syrian pilot whose jet was shot down by Israel.

The pilot was identified as Col. Amran Mara’e. He was killed when his plane was shot down, a Syrian military source told Sputnik, a Russian government-backed news outlet.

The fate of the other pilot remains unknown, said the official, who is with the so-called “Axis of Resistance” that is led by Iran and includes Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and other groups fighting alongside Assad’s forces. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

more here

https://www.timesofisrael.com/islamic-state-said-to-capture-body-of-downed-syrian-pilot/

Source: Israels NIS 30 billion plan to thwart missile strikes

The Security Cabinet is set to approve on Sunday a new NIS 30 billion ($8.225 billion) plan to arm the IDF with defense weapons to thwart missile strikes amid the rising tensions on both the northern and southern fronts.

The multi-annual plan, which is expected to start in 2019 and end in late 2028, is the most expensive plan in IDF and Israeli security history.The plan will allocate massive resources to the IDF for the protection of the entire Israeli home front from the north to the south, increasing the IDF’s missile arsenal and developing and purchasing advanced defensive measures.

Iron Dome (Photo: Ministry of Defense Spokesperson and Public Relations Department)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, the heads of the National Security Council and other senior defense establishment officials have been holding secret discussions about the details of the plan in recent months.

A senior government official described the plan as unprecedented in scope. “There hasn’t been such a plan, certainly not at such a massive cost and scope. This is a wide scale defensive and offensive plan,” he said.

IDF Chief of Staff Eisenkot, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Lieberman (Photo: Shaul Golan)

According to assessments in the defense establishment, the next war will include massive fire of advanced missiles at the Israeli home front. In order to prevent mass casualties and significant damages to the home front, Israel will have to neutralize these missiles immediately upon their launching.

To that end, the defense establishment will increase Israel’s missile defense apparatus by hundreds of percents under the new plan.

Arrow 3 (Photo: Defense Ministry Spokesman)

In addition to bolstering the Israeli home front in time of war, the new plan will add work to Israel’s defense industries factories, requiring the recruitment of additional employees and the allocation of resources to increase the production in these factories.”The plan will particularly increase the country’s emergency resilience, even in the case of multiple fronts,” the senior government official said. “The plan will increase and expand defensive measures for Israeli citizens and allow the IDF to have the strategic depth it needs to bring to a clear military victory quickly.”

David’s Sling (Photo: Defense Ministry)

The allocation of NIS 30 billion for the plan reflects “the long-term governmental thinking, while setting long-term national goals, which are budgeted as part of the national expense based on the gross national product (GNP),” according to the plan’s explanatory note.

The plan will be implemented over the next decade at the cost of some NIS 3 billion a year on average. It will be funded with money saved in significant streamlining processes inside the army as well as with additional funding from the state budget. The intention is to use tax surplus money and make cuts in places that won’t harm citizens—meaning, not from the education, health or welfare budgets.

Source: Netanyahu accuses Erdogan of massacring Syrians and Kurds

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday rebuked Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of massacring Syrians and Kurds after Erdogan strongly criticized Israel.

Erdogan said the new Nationality Law, which declares that only Jews have the right of self-determination in Israel, legitimized oppression and showed that Israel is a fascist and racist country.Netanyahu replied: “Erdogan is massacring the Syrians and the Kurds and is jailing thousands of his own people. This great democrat’s criticism of the Nationality Law is the greatest compliment it could be paid.”

Erdogan; Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters, MCT)

Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said the law showed Israel was “the most Zionist, fascist and racist country in the world,” and called on the international community to mobilize against Israel.

“The Jewish nation-state law passed in the Israeli parliament shows this country’s real intentions. It legitimises all unlawful actions and oppression,” Erdogan said.

“There is no difference between Hitler’s Aryan race obsession and Israel’s mentality. Hitler’s spirit has re-emerged among administrators in Israel,” he said.

Erdogan said Israel had shown itself to be a “terror state” by attacking Palestinians with tanks and artillery, adding that the move would “drown the region and world in blood and suffering”.

The law, backed by Israel’s right-wing government, passed through the Knesset on Wednesday after months of political argument.

“This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel,” Netanyahu had told the Knesset.

Turkey and Israel, former allies, expelled each other’s top diplomats in May during a row over clashes in which dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on the Gaza border. However, the two sides continue to trade with one another.

The two countries have long been at loggerheads over Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians and Jerusalem’s status. Erdogan has called for a summit of Muslim leaders twice in the past six months after US President Donald Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

12 Av 5778 – July 24, 2018

IDF Patriot Missiles Shoots Down Syrian Sukhoi Warplane Over Israel

The Sukhoi T-50 fifth generation test aircraft. (Illustration photo)

Photo Credit: Maxim Maksimov via Wikimedia

At 1:42 PM on Tuesday, the rocket alert went off along Israel’s northern border with Syria. Two Patriot missiles were fired at the target which had been tracked crossing into Israel.

The IDF released a statement that a Syrian Sukhoi warplane crossed over into Israel, flying two kilometers within Israeli territory. The plane took off from the T4 airbase. The IDF believes it was an SU-22 or SU-24. Syrian sources say it was an SU-22.

The Patriot missiles targeted the warplane and took the plane down. The plane crashed in Syrian territory.

The IDF added a statement, “The IDF is on high alert and very prepared, and will continue acting against violations of the 1974 Separation of Forces agreement.”

News outlets connected to the Syrian rebels report that a Syrian warplane went down in the Yarmouk basin in southern Syria. Local Syrians report that the pilot, a colonel, ejected in ISIS-held territory.

Syria confirms that Israel shot down a Sukhoi-22.

Local NDF in Al-Quneitra said that the pilot ejected in the ISIS-held part of the Yarmouk Basin region.

— Leith Aboufadel (@leithfadel) July 24, 2018

Two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated about 1 mile into Israeli airspace. The IDF monitored the fighter jet, which was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles. pic.twitter.com/owL4Pm7zER

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 24, 2018

כך זה היה נראה בצפת: pic.twitter.com/zXlzQMcbqP

— יאיר קראוס (@yair_kraus) July 24, 2018

#Update
The pilot is a colonel in the #SyAAF

— Wael ?? (@WaelAlRussi) July 24, 2018