Here’s a bit from the Wikipedia entry on the Phoney War:

At the Nuremberg Trials, Alfred Jodl said that “if we did not collapse already in the year 1939 that was due only to the fact that during the Polish campaign, the approximately 110 French and British divisions in the West were held completely inactive against the 23 German divisions.”

That’s right. We could have stopped the insanity right there if we had just acted.

Well, Israel is wondering if we aren’t at that same September 1939 moment where a little action could save millions (even billions) of lives and avert global catastrophe.

From the rhetoric that’s coming out of Jerusalem, it looks like Israel is getting ready to act on its own.

Or, is Israel trying to startle us out of that trance-like state that we’ve been in for the last few years?

It looks like we’re going to find out the answer to that question sometime during the next few months.

Israel Vice PM: Military strike can hit all of Iran’s nuclear facilities

Speaking at Herzliya Conference, Moshe Ya’alon calls the possibility of a nuclear Iran a ‘nightmare to the free world,’ says explosion at Iranian missile base targeted missile system that would have threatened the U.S.

Ha’aretz, 02.02.12, By Barak Ravid

All of Iran’s nuclear faculties are vulnerable to a military strike, Vice Prime Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Thursday, calling the potential of a nuclear Iran a “nightmare to the free world.”

At the closing day of the Herzliya Conference, Ya’alon referred to the many tools at the international community’s disposal that could serve to slow down or stop Iran’s advancement toward nuclear weapons capability: international pressure, economic sanctions, support of Iranian opposition, and military actions.

Speaking of the possibility of a military strike of Iran’s nuclear facilities, the vice PM said that “the West has the ability to strike, but as long as Iran isn’t convinced that there’s a determination to follow through with it, they’ll continue with their manipulations.”

“The Iranians believe that a determination isn’t still there, both in regards to military action and in regards to sanctions,” Ya’alon said, adding that “any facility protected by humans can be infiltrated by humans. It’s possible to strike all Iran’s facilities, and I say that out of my experience as IDF chief of staff.”

Read the rest of the article here.

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Is Israel preparing to attack Iran?
By David Ignatius, February 2, The Washington Post

BRUSSELS – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has a lot on his mind these days, from cutting the defense budget to managing the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But his biggest worry is the growing possibility that Israel will attack Iran over the next few months.

Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June — before Iran enters what Israelis described as a “zone of immunity” to commence building a nuclear bomb. Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon — and only the United States could then stop them militarily.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t want to leave the fate of Israel dependent on American action, which would be triggered by intelligence that Iran is building a bomb, which it hasn’t done yet.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak may have signaled the prospect of an Israeli attack soon when he asked last month to postpone a planned U.S.-Israel military exercise that would culminate in a live-fire phase in May. Barak apologized that Israel couldn’t devote the resources to the annual exercise this spring.

President Obama and Panetta are said to have cautioned the Israelis that the United States opposes an attack, believing that it would derail an increasingly successful international economic sanctions program and other non-military efforts to stop Iran from crossing the threshold. But the White House hasn’t yet decided precisely how the United States would respond if the Israelis do attack.

The Obama administration is conducting intense discussions about what an Israeli attack would mean for the United States: whether Iran would target U.S. ships in the region or try to close the Strait of Hormuz; and what effect the conflict and a likely spike in oil prices would have on the fragile global economy.

The administration appears to favor staying out of the conflict unless Iran hits U.S. assets, which would trigger a strong U.S. response.

Read the rest of the article here.

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Also:

Barak: If sanctions fail, Iran must be hit

Ya’alon: Iran was working on US-range missile

In fact, Canada’s friendship with Israel illustrates just how shamefully the office of the President of the United States treats Israel. At every level, the executive branch of the US government has done everything to marginalize and even betray America’s greatest friend and ally in the Middle East. From the President to the Secretary of State to the Secretary of Defense and onward, Israel has found very few real friends.

“But,” I hear you say, “America has been a great supporter of Israel.”

Yes, the US Congress and Senate. THEY have been good friends of Israel, and I hope that they remain good friends.

Even under such friendly presidents as Bush and Clinton, Israel wasn’t given as warm a reception as she deserved. In fact, the only true friend of Israel that I can think of, outside of Harry Truman, was Ronald Reagan.

The others?

Yes, some of the other presidents had their friendly moments and a few good words to say about the Jewish state, but even George Bush denied Israel the right to overfly Iraq.

So, when Canada shows such unashamed and enthusiastic support of Israel…

Well, it makes me want to trade my US passport for a Canadian one. (Assuming that the Canadian government would even want me to have their passport.)

Canada solidifies position as Israel’s staunchest friend

Wednesday, February 01, 2012 | Ryan Jones

Among Western powers, America may be Israel’s greatest ally, but Canada has been making a play for the title of “staunchest friend.”

Speaking at the opening of the 12th annual Herzliya Conference on Monday, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird blasted efforts to delegitimize Israel and its claim to the land as nothing short of anti-Semitism.

“Harnessing disparate anti- Semitic, anti-American and anti-Western ideologies, [these antagonists] target the Jewish people by targeting the Jewish homeland, Israel, as the source of injustice and conflict in the world, and use, perversely, the language of human rights to do so,” Baird said. “We must be relentless in exposing this new anti-Semitism for what it is.”

Baird declared that Canada would not be among those nations that engage in anti-Israel rhetoric out of some misguided obligation to be “even-handed.”

During a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Baird said that while Canada officially supports a two-state solution to the conflict, it views the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to unilaterally wrest control of the land via the UN Security Council as “profoundly wrong.”

Back in Jerusalem, Baird told Israeli President Shimon Peres that “Israel has no better friend than Canada,” and stressed that “Canada does not stand behind Israel; Canada stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel.”

Read the rest of the article, here.

Really disappointing.

STRATFOR is pretty good at making these calls, and apparently they see a possibility that Assad might muddle through in his attempt to save his regime from complete destruction.

The good news is that, he might be so weakened that his ability to meddle in the affairs of Syria’s neighbors could be seriously blunted.

The other thing is that we cannot be sure who will gain power in Syria if Assad falls. When Egypt fell, the Muslim Brotherhood took over. Is there a Syrian version of the Muslim Brotherhood ready to jump into the vacuum left by the failure of the Assad regime?

If Islamists gain control of Syria we may find ourselves out of the frying pan and roasting in the fire.

Syrian Regime May Survive, But With Reduced Clout
STRATFOR, January 31, 2012

A day after the Arab League announced that it is suspending its monitoring mission in Syria, Syrian activists continued their claims that Syrian forces had renewed an offensive in the Damascus suburbs against protesters defended by army defectors. The leadership of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) hopes that the apparent end of the Arab-led diplomatic mission will bring the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) one step closer to authorizing foreign military intervention to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. However, the United States — whose participation in a potential military intervention in Syria would be critical — is in no rush to elevate this conflict to another military campaign in the Middle East.

The attention is now on the UNSC and what kind of action it will take against Syria following the self-admitted failure of the Arab League monitoring mission. Russia, looking to maintain a foothold in the Mediterranean basin and keep its military base at Tartus, has created another diplomatic outlet by proposing to mediate between the Syrian government and the opposition. Moscow claims that the Syrian government has agreed to the talks, but the Syrian opposition, wary of Moscow’s continued support for the regime, has predictably refused the offer. Nonetheless, the United States appears to be entertaining the Russian proposal. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that the United States supports a political solution to the crisis in Syria and that Washington is discussing with the Russians ways to pressure the Syrian government into ending its deadly crackdowns.

The United States is reluctant to engage in yet another complex military campaign with major spillover effects, along sectarian lines, in the wider Islamic world. At the same time, the Syrian regime has calibrated its crackdowns to avoid building the kind of moral pretense that led to the military intervention in Libya. This dynamic has led the United States to engage in quieter and less risky efforts to train and supply FSA rebels in Turkey — yet U.S. reticence toward military intervention has also enabled the al Assad regime’s survival.

Syria’s al Assad regime can likely hang on to power for quite some time if the United States continues to lack the bandwidth and political will to intervene in the country. This is especially true if European powers remain too wrapped up in their financial crisis to take military action, and as local parties opposed to al Assad — including Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — don’t have the capability to intervene.

Read the rest of the article, here.

Just when you thought that you could dispense with Israel, and relegate her to the back pages of human history… along comes a development that emphasizes just how important Israel is – and why the world will never be able to free itself from Israel’s importance.

And yes, I like that.

One of these days the idiots who set foreign policy will wake up to this fact, but probably not until it’s too late – right about the time the global caliphate is on the verge of taking to the world stage.

Fools.

So, over the next year, the 75% Islamist Egyptian parliament is going to draft a constitution. Anyone still wondering what kind of constitution it will be?

No?

Well, me neither.

So, to my friends in the US State Department, please continue your games. Really, it provides immense entertainment value to those of us who know the score.

Fools.

Islamists Secure Nearly Three-Quarters of Egyptian Parliament

January 21, 2012, Christopher Santarelli, The Blaze

Egyptian Islamists Win 75 Percent of Parliament

Egypt‘s election commission and political groups say final results from the country’s first elections since the Arab spring show that Islamist parties won nearly three-quarters of the seats in parliament.

The Associated Press reports that an alliance led by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood won 47 percent of the spots in the 498-seat parliament, while the ultraconservative Al-Nour Party clinched 25 percent. The two parties are not likely to join forces because of ideological differences.

Liberal New Waftd and Egyptian Bloc parties finished third and fourth respectively, according to Reuters. Reuters also notes that the Revolution Continues coalition, which is dominated by youth groups at the forefront of the protests that toppled Mubarak, attracted less than a million votes and took only seven of the 498 seats up for grabs in the lower house.

Only one woman was among the 10 parliamentary seats appointed by the ruling military council which took over for Hosni Mubarak last February. Mubarak had traditionally used the quota to boost the representation of women and Coptic Christians.

The new parliament is set to convene for the first time Monday.

Read the rest of the article here.

Seriously.

It’s been slowly dawning on some of us that democratic ideals can only exist where there is an education system to promote them. If you have an educational system that promotes some OTHER ideal, well… you’ll get something other than democracy.

Hence, the current Palestinian mess.

That’s right. For generations, the Palestinians have taught their children anti-democratic values, and we’ve known this. That’s why it shouldn’t surprise us (but does) when democratic elections bring non-democratic results.

Democracy requires a good educational system. Palestinians do not have one. Ergo, Palestinians cannot be allowed to have a democracy. Otherwise, they become a threat to their neighbors. And frankly, that’s a bad thing for the Palestinians.

It is very, very unhealthy to be a threat to Israel.

Read the following article and see if you draw the same conclusions that I have…

‘Hamas will defeat Fatah in May elections’
By Khaled abu Toameh, 01/20/2012

Former PA minister Nabil Amr warns that his party will be defeated again if new elections are held in Palestinian territories.

A senior Fatah official warned Thursday that Hamas would once again defeat his faction if and when new elections are held in the Palestinian territories.

Nabil Amr, a former Palestinian Authority minister, said that Fatah leaders have sent a letter to President Mahmoud Abbas (who also heads Fatah) calling on him to hold a conference to discuss preparations for the elections, slated for May.

Abbas has announced that he would like to hold elections on May 4. However, many Palestinians are skeptical that he would be able to hold the vote, largely due to the ongoing dispute between Hamas and Fatah.

Fatah has come under criticism for failing to draw conclusions from its defeat to Hamas in the 2006 parliamentary election.

Since the Hamas victory, Fatah has failed to come up with a new list of candidates.

Moreover, internal squabbling between Fatah’s young guard and veteran leaders continues to undermine the faction’s credibility in the eyes of many Palestinians.

Last week, Amr and several Fatah leaders held consultations in Jordan to discuss ways of avoiding another electoral defeat to Hamas, as was the case in the last parliamentary vote.

“Yes, we are concerned,” Amr said in an interview with the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper. “Unless the situation in Fatah changes, what happened in the past could occur once again.”

Read the rest of the article, here.

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As an aside. Take a look at the US educational system. That’s the future of ‘American Democracy’ – such as it is.