Month: September 2006
The War of Enboldenment: A Clear Analysis of the Dimensions of the Hezbollah Front…
Cease-Fire: Shaking Core Beliefs in the Middle East, By George Friedman (Stratfor)
Commentary;
This is the first time this author has seen someone spell out in clear terms the vague understanding that most people have of the various aspects of the war. Although distribution of it was not received until yesterday, this analysis is at least as timely NOW as when it was written and published a few weeks ago — THIS IS A MUST READ. MB
An extraordinary thing happened in the Middle East this month. An Israeli army faced an Arab army and did not defeat it — did not render it incapable of continued resistance. That was the outcome in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982. But it did not happen in 2006. Should this outcome stand, it will represent a geopolitical earthquake in the region — one that fundamentally shifts expectations and behaviors on all sides.
Olmert Must Go! Not the Time for Expanding His Coalition…
Weekly Commentary: Not the Time for an Expanded Ruling Coalition
Aaron Lerner
Date: 7 September, 2006
“If anything an expanded coalition only gives him more time to work on dangerous policy surprises.”
“If we have to choose between a foolish [Israeli] prime minister and another who is strong and capable, we prefer that the fool remain” Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah As-Safir (Lebanon)
5 September 2006
As Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s team works feverishly to keep their boss in power, there are indications that some MKs are toying with the possibility of trading their seats among the ranks of the opposition for ministerial portfolios.
Friday War News…
9 Palestinians Arrested in West Bank
Soldiers Targeted by Terrorist Gunfire
Bomb Attack Against Soldiers in Kalkilye
Terror Office Posing as Charity Raided
Tank System May be Ready in Months
Excerpt;
“Creates a hemispheric protected zone around armored vehicles such as the Merkava tank. The system is designed to detect and track a threat and counters it with a launched projectile that intercepts the anti-tank missile.”
Investigating Olmert …
Investigating Olmert By Michael Freund
(Israel National News)
Ehud Olmert is in trouble.
Despite the Government’s best efforts to avoid a serious inquiry into its handling of this summer’s Lebanon war, it now seems all but certain that wide-ranging investigation will, at last, take place.
Speaking before the Knesset State Control Committee today, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss made clear that he has every intention of conducting a thorough examination of the Government’s conduct of the war.
The True Price of a Deal …
The True Price of a Deal
From The Jerusalem Post — Editorial:
Excerpts;
At least part of Al-Hayat’s reporting on a purported deal taking shape for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the newspaper now admits, was incorrect. Here’s hoping that much of the rest is off the mark, as well.
It’s not that Israel is anything but eager to see the 20-year-old soldier return home safely and swiftly. We all long to see Shalit reunited with his family, in fact. But it is difficult to see how the wildly asymmetrical deal Israel is reportedly considering, in which 800 Palestinian terrorists currently held in Israeli prisons would be released, is either morally tenable or wise.
Thursday War News…
3 PA Arabs Dead in Shootout With IDF
Atarot stabbing Suspect Arrested
Kassam Attack in Western Negev
2nd Kassam Attack in Western Negev
82 Illegal Palestinians Nabbed in North
IDF Arrests Female Fatah Fugitive Near Nablus
Terrorists Fired at Military Vehicle
’Lifting the Lebanon Blockade Means Abandoning the Captives’
Excerpt;
“So says Gen. (ret.) Uzi Dayan, head of the Return the Captives task force.”
URGENT: Major Problem at Rachel’s Tomb…
Received this important email from;
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 17:24:55 +0200
From: “Mattot Arim”
Subject: Rachel’s Tomb
We have an urgent problem at Rachel’s Tomb at the moment. The “security” wall has just been completed there, and the new arrangements for prayer are NOW being determined by the Jerusalem Region Police. Kindly immediately call, before the ink dries on the relevant government papers, and pleasantly ask for the following two crucial things:
A Visit to the Reserve Soldiers’ Protest in the Rose Garden …
This author visited the reservists protest site at the Rose Garden on Sunday afternoon. The visit was both discouraging and disheartening at best.
After visiting the Quality in Government table and signing their petition calling for a state committee of investigation, they were asked how many people have signed the petition. The response; around 50,000 signers. About 100 meters further were the tables where reservists were sitting. One table was at street level and another was up, in the garden, along one of it’s paths.
Yesha Council Attempts PR to Preserve Yehuda, Shomron…
Judea and Samaria: Where Do We Go From Here? By Anshel Pfeffer (Jerusalem Post)
Excerpts;
The settlers in Judea and Samaria are beginning to plan a major offensive. This time it won’t include moving caravans in the dead of night onto a barren hilltop; the next battle will be carried out by slick PR firms in Tel Aviv in a desperate last-ditch attempt to shift the Israeli mainstream. The next plan for the future of the region might come from, of all places, the YESHA Council.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert virtually admitted on Monday at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that realignment was off indefinitely, and opinion polls show that a majority of Israelis suddenly think that disengagement wasn’t such a great idea, a year afterwards, and increasingly oppose another unilateral retreat.