J-Post.com

Two new polls show that Americans strongly back Israel over Hamas in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

A McClatchy/Ipsos poll found that 44 percent of Americans support Israel’s use of force, in comparison to 18% who think Hamas’s use of force is appropriate. And 57% think the latter is using excessive force - something only 36% believe Israel to be doing.

The poll also found that more Americans now oppose rather than support creating a Palestinian state, with 45% saying the US shouldn’t favor one, versus 31% who said it should and 24% who didn’t know.

In addition, the majority of Americans (51%) are not confident that President-elect Barack Obama will be able to forge a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians once he takes office: 32% said they were somewhat confident, and only 10% said they were very confident.

A large plurality, 49%, put the blame for the current conflict squarely on Hamas, with only 14% blaming Israel and 29% undecided. Nine percent said both, and 4% said neither.

A recent poll by the pro-Israel advocacy group The Israel Project also found that more Americans (55%) hold Palestinians responsible for the violence rather than Israelis (11%), with 23% blaming both and 5% blaming neither. They also fault Palestinian leaders over Israeli ones for the humanitarian crisis (66%-17%), and see the latter as working toward peace more than the Palestinians (48%-5%).

The people surveyed identified the conflict as stemming more from ideology and religion than land (73% versus 19%). Between 87% and 91% of those questioned agreed that stopping Iran from training and funding terrorists, and Palestinians from firing rockets and teaching hate, was important to bringing about peace. A much lower percentage - 38%-41% - felt it was important for Israel to stop building settlements and to give Palestinians land, open the Gaza borders and stop the military incursion in the Strip to bring peace.

The Israel Project survey as was conducted among 800 registered voters from January 10 through January 12, with a margin of error of +/- 3.5.

The McClatchy/Ipsos poll was conducted from January 6 through January 12 among 1,054 Americans 18 and older. The margin of error was +/- 3 percentage points.

We have your back, Israel!

Hat Tip: Israel Matzav

New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Bush deflected a secret request by Israel last year for specialized bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran’s main nuclear complex and told the Israelis that he had authorized new covert action intended to sabotage Iran’s suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons, according to senior American and foreign officials.

White House officials never conclusively determined whether Israel had decided to go ahead with the strike before the United States protested, or whether Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel was trying to goad the White House into more decisive action before Mr. Bush left office. But the Bush administration was particularly alarmed by an Israeli request to fly over Iraq to reach Iran’s major nuclear complex at Natanz, where the country’s only known uranium enrichment plant is located.

The White House denied that request outright, American officials said, and the Israelis backed off their plans, at least temporarily. But the tense exchanges also prompted the White House to step up intelligence-sharing with Israel and brief Israeli officials on new American efforts to subtly sabotage Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, a major covert program that Mr. Bush is about to hand off to President-elect Barack Obama.

This account of the expanded American covert program and the Bush administration’s efforts to dissuade Israel from an aerial attack on Iran emerged in interviews over the past 15 months with current and former American officials, outside experts, international nuclear inspectors and European and Israeli officials. None would speak on the record because of the great secrecy surrounding the intelligence developed on Iran.

More…

Attack Planning

Early in 2008, the Israeli government signaled that it might be preparing to take matters into its own hands. In a series of meetings, Israeli officials asked Washington for a new generation of powerful bunker-busters, far more capable of blowing up a deep underground plant than anything in Israel’s arsenal of conventional weapons. They asked for refueling equipment that would allow their aircraft to reach Iran and return to Israel. And they asked for the right to fly over Iraq.

Mr. Bush deflected the first two requests, pushing the issue off, but “we said ‘hell no’ to the overflights,” one of his top aides said. At the White House and the Pentagon, there was widespread concern that a political uproar in Iraq about the use of its American-controlled airspace could result in the expulsion of American forces from the country.

The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Sallai Meridor, declined several requests over the past four weeks to be interviewed about Israel’s efforts to obtain the weapons from Washington, saying through aides that he was too busy.

Last June, the Israelis conducted an exercise over the Mediterranean Sea that appeared to be a dry run for an attack on the enrichment plant at Natanz. When the exercise was analyzed at the Pentagon, officials concluded that the distances flown almost exactly equaled the distance between Israel and the Iranian nuclear site.

“This really spooked a lot of people,” one White House official said. White House officials discussed the possibility that the Israelis would fly over Iraq without American permission. In that case, would the American military be ordered to shoot them down? If the United States did not interfere to stop an Israeli attack, would the Bush administration be accused of being complicit in it?

More…

A New Covert Push

Throughout 2008, the Bush administration insisted that it had a plan to deal with the Iranians: applying overwhelming financial pressure that would persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear program, as foreign enterprises like the French company Total pulled out of Iranian oil projects, European banks cut financing, and trade credits were squeezed.

But the Iranians were making uranium faster than the sanctions were making progress. As Mr. Bush realized that the sanctions he had pressed for were inadequate and his military options untenable, he turned to the C.I.A. His hope, several people involved in the program said, was to create some leverage against the Iranians, by setting back their nuclear program while sanctions continued and, more recently, oil prices dropped precipitously.

There were two specific objectives: to slow progress at Natanz and other known and suspected nuclear facilities, and keep the pressure on a little-known Iranian professor named Mohsen Fakrizadeh, a scientist described in classified portions of American intelligence reports as deeply involved in an effort to design a nuclear warhead for Iran.

Past American-led efforts aimed at Natanz had yielded little result. Several years ago, foreign intelligence services tinkered with individual power units that Iran bought in Turkey to drive its centrifuges, the floor-to-ceiling silvery tubes that spin at the speed of sound, enriching uranium for use in power stations or, with additional enrichment, nuclear weapons.

A number of centrifuges blew up, prompting public declarations of sabotage by Iranian officials. An engineer in Switzerland, who worked with the Pakistani nuclear black-marketeer Abdul Qadeer Khan, had been “turned” by American intelligence officials and helped them slip faulty technology into parts bought by the Iranians.

What Mr. Bush authorized, and informed a narrow group of Congressional leaders about, was a far broader effort, aimed at the entire industrial infrastructure that supports the Iranian nuclear program. Some of the efforts focused on ways to destabilize the centrifuges. The details are closely held, for obvious reasons, by American officials. One official, however, said, “It was not until the last year that they got really imaginative about what one could do to screw up the system.”

Then, he cautioned, “none of these are game-changers,” meaning that the efforts would not necessarily cripple the Iranian program. Others in the administration strongly disagree.

In the end, success or failure may come down to how much pressure can be brought to bear on Mr. Fakrizadeh, whom the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate identifies, in its classified sections, as the manager of Project 110 and Project 111. According to a presentation by the chief inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency, those were the names for two Iranian efforts that appeared to be dedicated to designing a warhead and making it work with an Iranian missile. Iranian officials say the projects are a fiction, made up by the United States.

Basically, Israel asked for permission to attack Iran. Israel wanted to fly over Iraqi airspace. President Bush said no citing the safety of American troops in Iraq. Also, Israel asked for bunker-buster bombs, which were also denied by President Bush.

President Bush, however, has decided to use the Central Intelligence Agency to disrupt Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The CIA most likely was able to turn the suppliers of centrifuges to Iran, thus the faulty equipment blew up once it was installed in Iranian nuclear plants. Also, President Bush used falling oil prices and created a European bank credit crunch against Iran, and was successful in persuading European banks to cut off financing to Iran.

Finally, the U.S. needs to take decisive action against Mr. Mohsen Fakrizadeh, who is a professor that is deeply involved in designing a nuclear warhead for Iran.

Back on September 25, 2008, Scoop This reported that Israel asked for the green light to attack Iran, and President Bush said no.

Hat Tip: Hot Air

Israeli supporters counter-protest against HAMAS supporters!

Democast on .

Some patriotic Americans welcomed the New Year by turning-out to challenge subversive agitation at an anti-Israel rally outside the Israeli Embassy in Los Angeles on Friday, January 2nd.

YEAH!

Fuck Palestine!

Hat Tip: The Jawa Report

Unless Norm Coleman’s lawsuit is heard, this may be your new Senator:

Every branch of the American government - executive, legislative, and judicial - has been taken over by liberals.

Goodbye, freedom.

So as not to fall behind from all of the major news stories, here is an open blog with links to what is currently making headlines.

Scoop This predicted on Saturday, December 20th that Israel and Palestine were heading towards war, and that prediction has nearly come true.

More than 3,000 mortars and rockets have been launched from Palestine at Israel over the 2008 year, including 200 such missiles since last Saturday. Israel has countered with wave after wave of air strikes against militant-controlled buildings. BBC Video.

More…

Apparently, Barack Obama does not have magic powers since all the lights have gone out in Oahu.

Proving that reality is stranger, and more horrifying, than fiction, Bruce Pardo killed nine people in a Christmas massacre, including his ex-wife, her parents, two of her brothers and their wives, a nephew and a sister. He blew up his ex-wife’s parents house, then died of his own burn injuries. He had $17,000 strapped to his body, and planned to flee to Canada. Pardo also has a mentally handicapped son who he abandoned from a previous relationship. The child suffered brain damage when he almost drowned while Pardo was looking after him. This was the cause of the divorce because Pardo’s ex-wife found out that not only did he have a son, but he was still claiming the boy as a dependent on his taxes.

Chrysler spent $100,000 of the bailout money to “thank America” for bailing them out. That is not what the money is for, idiots!

Well, if there are any breaking news items, of course Scoop This will pick it up.

The United States government is not bailing out General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, also known as the “Big 3″. The United States government is bailing out the United Auto Workers union by way of giving money to the Big 3. By doing this, the Big 3 can meet the payments due to their retired union workers, as well as guarantee future retirement payments, health care payments, and other compensation benefits. President Bush and the Democrats and Liberals in Congress are all in collusion to commit $15,000,000,000.00 billion theft of my money, of your money, and the American taxpayer’s money. (And don’t forget the $700,000,000,000.00 billion grand larceny that was payed to American banks.)

The management in the United Auto Workers union should be changed, and the United Auto Workers union contracts need to be re-written, especially when it comes to health care and other benefits. Democrats, liberals, and the United Auto Workers union treat the Big 3 as health care providers who make cars on the side. It is like mini-Socialism, and that is why the Big 3 are in such debt.

The Big 3 are at fault as well. They should change management at their top ranks and hire Chief Executive Officers that can actually turn a profit. Also, the Big 3 should tell the United Auto Workers union to go to hell, fire all of their union workers, and hire non-union workers. The reason why Wal-Mart is such a success is because they do not allow unions. Unions stifle the growth of businesses and deplete the bottom line, which is to make money.

Also, when it comes to “government manufacturing standards”, the Big 3 should tell the government to go to hell as well. The Big 3 cannot create the cars that they want because they have to meet government quality standards such as miles-per-gallon. More powerful engines are banned by de-facto because cars will not be able to meet miles-per-gallon requirements and other idiotic government standards. The American consumer should have the choice of driving a gas-guzzling Sport Utility Vehicle that gets 5 miles-per-gallon, or a compact car that gets 40 miles-per-gallon.

Liberalism has burrowed its way through Capitalism and that is why we are in a recession. Socialism for the rich is in full effect. Rich banks will keep their bailout money by not lending to the middle class. Car manufacturers will continue to make the same management mistakes and continue to expect, and receive, government bailouts because they are “too big too fail”. Perhaps if the United States government wanted to exercise true Socialism “for the people”, they should give all adult American citizens $3,000,000.00 million dollars. As a consumer nation, the American automotive market and housing market would become profitable almost overnight! But, that will never happen, even when liberal politicians promise that exact same consumer utopia.

As always, Liberalism is at fault. Liberalism, like Socialism, are broken promises.

And unfortunately, true Capitalism is dead. I wonder if it will ever be resurrected.

Scoop This is a couple of days late to the party.

But we are still going to rock for our troops in Iraq!

On a personal note, I have two cousins and many friends fighting in Iraq. My friend Marcus Mathes died in Iraq. Before I started blogging on Scoop This, I blogged about Marcus on my .

We honor your sacrifice and celebrate your victory, Marcus.

Marcus Mathes.

Marcus hugs his wife.

More on Marcus Mathes at The Iraq Page.

Scoop This thanks all of our military men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all around the world.

America is The Land Of The Free because of The Brave.

And Saddam Hussein and his sons are still burning in hell.

Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit

Rashid Rauf was initially wanted for questioning by police in England over the murder of his uncle in Birmingham. Rauf fled to Pakistan but was arrested in August 2006 by the Pakistani police for his alleged involvement in the plot to detonate liquid bombs in airplanes over the Atlantic Ocean. Rauf escaped Pakistani custody in 2007 but was killed by a U.S. missile on Saturday.

However, I am more interested in the cooperation between America and Pakistan and how they planned to kill Rauf.

The Independent

A secret meeting on board an American aircraft carrier between the US General David Petraeus and the head of the Pakistani military laid the foundation for the killing of Britain’s most wanted terrorist.

The Independent learned that talks held on board the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf three months ago led to General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani pledging to provide information on “high-value” targets such as Rashid Rauf, who died in a missile strike inside Pakistan on Saturday.

Senior UK security sources insisted that the lethal attack in North Waziristan on the 27-year-old Birmingham-born Rauf – accused of being involved in the plot to plant liquid bombs aboard transatlantic airliners – was “a unilateral American action” without any British involvement.

American officials stated that the intelligence on the whereabouts of Rauf and a Saudi Islamist, Abu Zubair al-Masri, was provided by Pakistani authorities. The agreement on sharing intelligence came during the meeting on the aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea in the last week of August, US sources said.

General Kayani, who had taken over from General Pervez Musharraf as the head of the Pakistani military, was brought to the ship by American helicopters. He was told about grave American disquiet over the help being given to the Taliban by elements of the Pakistani military and intelligence service, the ISI. According to US officials an agreement was reached at the conclusion of the “heated” meeting with General Kayani, in which the Pakistanis promised to supply high-quality intelligence.

I wonder if the Pakistani ISI knew all along where Rauf and al-Masri were hiding. Also, I wonder what General Petraues, on behalf of the American government, offered in return for intelligence on Rauf’s whereabouts. Money? Weapons? I believe that Pakistan received more than “shared intelligence”.

Also, I hope General Kayani arrests the Pakistani military and ISI members guilty of aiding the Taliban in North Warziristan.

Hat Tip: Hot Air Headlines

J-Post.com

Hundreds of United States expatriates voted Tuesday night in Jerusalem for next week’s US presidential elections.

The event, which was organized by a private, nonpartisan organization, Vote From Israel, and was held at the OU Israel Center, aimed to get Americans living in Israel who were either uninformed about how to vote or otherwise unmotivated to cast their ballots in time for the November 4 elections.

“This is so convenient I can’t believe it,” said Jill Stubbs, 33, a native of Santa Barbara, California, and a teacher at the capital’s Anglican School.

Stubbs said she was alerted to the event by an advertisement in The Jerusalem Post, which she produced from her purse neatly cut out.

“Living over here gives you much more concern about what is happening in the world,” she said.

Many in the largely religious crowd, which surpassed 500 in the first two hours of the five-hour event, said they were voting for Republican nominee John McCain, in no small part due to his unequivocal support for the State of Israel, something they felt was lacking in his opponent, Democrat Barack Obama.

“Obama is not very pro-Israel and Israel is very important to me, otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” said Shuli Atkin from Skokie, Illinois, near Chicago, who is studying at a seminary in Jerusalem.

“Hopefully we’ll make a difference,” she said.

“I have really been stressed out by this election,” said Mimi Luria, 31, a native of Brooklyn who has lived in Israel for five years.

Luria, a Republican who confessed to “never loving” McCain to begin with, said the Democratic Party was carrying out “major reverse discrimination” regarding African-Americans.

“It’s guilt by association,” she said.

And there you have it, folks.

The majority of Americans in Israel know that Barack Obama is not pro-Israel. You know it, I know, it, and the world knows it.

As Scoop This reported earlier today, a Jewish American told Joe the Plumber that Barack Obama’s Administration will surely usher in Israel’s destruction and death. This exchange occurred at a John McCain campaign rally in Ohio.

Vote for America. Vote for Israel. Vote McCain-Palin.

McClatchy reports:

WASHINGTON — A CIA-led raid on a compound in eastern Syria killed an al Qaida in Iraq commander who oversaw the smuggling into Iraq of foreign fighters whose attacks claimed thousands of Iraqi and American lives, three U.S. officials said Monday.

The body of Badran Turki Hishan al Mazidih, an Iraqi national who used the nom de guerre Abu Ghadiya, was flown out of Syria on a U.S. helicopter at the end of the operation Sunday by CIA paramilitary officers and special forces, one U.S. official said.

“It was a successful operation,” a second U.S. official told McClatchy. “The bottom line: This was a significant blow to the foreign fighter pipeline between Syria and Iraq.”

A senior U.S. military officer said the raid was launched after human and technical intelligence confirmed that al Mazidih was present at the compound close to Syria’s border with Iraq. “The situation finally presented itself,” he said.

The three U.S. officials, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity because the operation was classified, declined to reveal other details of the raid. A CIA spokesman declined to comment.

Also from the article:

The more that U.S. Intelligence personnel learned about Badran Turki Hishan al Mazidih (also known as Abu Ghadiya), the higher al Mazidih ranked on the U.S. most-wanted list. Mazidih produced the most prolific foreign fighter network, which led to thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths, as well as U.S. military deaths. The U.S. Treasury Department froze all assets belonging to Mazidih earlier this year on the 28th of February. Mazidih took direct orders from al Zarqawi and al Masri, both Al Qaeda in Iraq leaders. Mazidih was a High Value Target, especially since he was appointed by al Zarqawi as the groups Syrian commander.

The Bush Administration has refused to publicly acknowledge the operation. Pentagon officials are also not speaking about the operation, though their actions clearly state that they will go after terrorists inside nations that sponsor terrorism or turn a blind eye to terrorists, such as Syria.

Scoop This first reported about the Syrian raid on Sunday afternoon, just as soon as the story broke.

Hat Tip: Hot Air Headlines