Yemen: Amputations and a Crucifixion

Amnesty International has just issued a new report entitled 'Conflict in Yemen: Abyan's Darkest Hour,'(http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE31/010/2012/en/5c85d728-a9ab-4693-afe9-edecc2b8670e/mde310102012en.pdf), describing human rights abuses in southern Yemen. The report details horrors perpetrated by the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia organization, which is linked to al-Qaeda, and Yemeni government forces, backed with US intelligence and drone strikes:

"During its 14-month rule in Ja'ar, Ansar al-Sharia committed a wide range of human rights abuses in its attempts to maintain 'order'. It imposed punishments, including summary killings and amputations, on people it accused of spying, 'sorcery' and theft, among other activities.

. . . .

Saleh Ahmed Saleh al-Jamil . . . was found guilty by a 'religious court' in Ja'ar of planting two electronic devices in two vehicles carrying commanders and members fighting for Ansar al-Sharia.

. . . .

Saleh al-Jamil's body was crucified in the town for all to see.

. . . .

Yemeni government forces, in their efforts to regain control of the areas that had fallen to Ansar al-Sharia, increasingly used aircraft and artillery against residential areas, putting at risk civilian residents.

. . . .

In other attacks government forces appeared to fail to take necessary precautions to spare civilians, such as verifying a target was in fact military . . . and giving advance warning to civilians of an attack."

Query: Where were the Washington Post home page pictures of the victims of these outrages? Or perhaps such pictures can only be shown of aggrieved Gazans, notwithstanding the troubles the Israel Defense Forces took during Operation Pillar of Defense to provide advance warning to civilians of attacks and its willingness to cancel attacks when civilians were endangered.

Meanwhile, Thomas Pickering, the person selected by Obama to investigate the Benghazi scandal, decries American ignorance of Islam (see: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.co.il/2012/12/david-ignatius-its-close-call-on-susan.html). Believe me, there are things you are better off not knowing.

[I will also not be traveling to Ja'ar anytime soon.]

Jackson Diehl, "Lessons from Gaza": Sorry, But School Is Not Yet Out

Jackson Diehl, in his latest Washington Post opinion piece entitled "Lessons from Gaza" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-lessons-from-gaza/2012/11/25/129610bc-35a3-11e2-bfd5-e202b6d7b501_story.html?hpid=z2), declares:

"Though it survived the assassination of its military chief and managed to bombard Israel with 1,500 rockets and mortar rounds, Hamas once again demonstrated that it lacks the means to do more than frighten or inconvenience Israelis. On the contrary: The success of the U.S.-funded Iron Dome anti-missile system suggests that missiles will be a decreasingly credible threat."

Well, yes and no. Although Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system exceeded expectations with a greater than 80 percent success rate at bringing down incoming rockets, the Hamas arsenal of some 10,000 rockets and missiles prior to Operation Pillar of Defense is dwarfed by Hezbollah's stockpile of more than 50,000 rockets and missiles.

And although Israel succeeded in destroying the vast majority of Hamas's long-range Fajr-5 missiles on the ground, Iran is already going to great lengths to replenish the Hamas and Islamic Jihad inventory with shipments via Sudan (see: http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=293324).

In short, Israel is in urgent need of additional Iron Dome batteries to provide cover along its northern border with Lebanon.

Meanwhile, however, Israel has just announced a successful test of its David's Sling interceptor, and as reported by Yaakov Lappin of The Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=293395):

"The system would defend against Iranian missiles such as the M600, the Zelzal, Fajr and Fateh 110 deployed heavily in Hezbollah hands in Lebanon as well as other missiles with a range between 70 and 300 kilometers. It is slated to become operational in 2014."

Hezbollah's Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah is currently threatening to fire missiles at all of Israel (see: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/25/274438/missile-rain-awaits-israel-war-nasrallah/); however, Israel's northern border remained quiet throughout Operation Pillar of Defense. Why? There are two reasons:

• Nasrallah knows that if he initiates hostilities, his organization will sustain billions of dollars of damage which Iran is no longer in a position to reimbuse.

• In addition, Hezbollah (Shiite) and Hamas (Sunni) are on opposite sides of the fence regarding the uprising in Syria.

Diehl concludes his opinion piece by observing:

"In exchange for more open borders and an opportunity to develop economically with backing from its new Arab allies, Hamas could agree to a more thorough and reliable truce that leaves southern Israel in peace. That’s a long way from real peace — but it’s better for both sides than going to war every couple of years."

Diehl, however, ignores the Hamas covenant, which rejects negotiation with Israel and calls for the murder of all Jews. Quiet reigns in Israel's south for the time being only because Hamas determined that its rocket fire was not achieving its desired effect, and given the some $1.3 billion in damages caused to Gaza and the Hamas terror infrastructure during Operation Pillar of Defense.

Iran Ready to Fight Israel Until the Last Palestinian

A few thoughts concerning Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense. (Yes, this is for you, McLean and Arlington.)

After eight days of fighting between Israel and Hamas, the cease-fire is temporary. The Hamas charter continues to call for the murder of all Jews (not just Israelis) and rejects negotiation of any peace agreement with Israel. The Hamas charter will not be amended.

Although Hamas is claiming victory, Gaza's terror infrastructure has again been shattered by the fighting. Although Hamas and friends are still thought to have more than 8,000 medium and short-range missiles and rockets, most of their long-range Fajr-5 missiles were destroyed on the ground.

Iran throughout the fighting continued its efforts to resupply Hamas with new Grad missiles via Sudan to the tunnels leading from Egypt into Gaza. It is now up to Egypt, i.e. Egyptian President Morsi, to decide whether he will continue to allow the missiles to be smuggled into Gaza.

Iran's surrogate in Lebanon, Hezbollah, did not fire a single rocket at Israel in support of Hamas during the recent fighting. Although Hezbollah's leader Nasrallah also claimed victory after a month of fighting with Israel in 2006, he was not willing to risk another showdown with the Israel Defense Forces, which then destroyed much of his Beirut enclave.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system proved a remarkable success with interceptions in excess of 80%. Without Iron Dome, Israel's ground forces would have necessarily been forced to enter Gaza during this round of fighting, which in turn would have resulted in a much higher number of Palestinian civilian casualties.

Israel is in urgent need of additional Iron Dome batteries to protect against missiles from Lebanon. Although the Hamas long-range missile threat has at least temporarily been defanged, a possible three-front war with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran will require Iron Dome batteries in both Israel's south and north.

The fighting between Israel and Hamas served Iran's interests. The world's attention was distracted from the civil war in Syria, where Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad is holding on to power by a thread. Shiite Iran is clearly willing to encourage Hamas to continue fighting Israel until the last Sunni Palestinian remains standing.

Pillar of Defense Musings

My thoughts will never be published by Andrew Rosenthal, editorial page editor of The New York Times. My views are not leftist, and I have no political ax to grind.

Moreover, I will not be scheduling paid speaking appointments in the United States, given that I hope to spend most of my free time digging in my garden. Somehow, I recently found the time to plant two Ettinger avocado trees, and I look forward to seeing the literal fruits of my labor in 2013.

How do I view the renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas? If I had to choose a word to describe my feelings, I suppose it would be "anguish."

My oldest son, a paratrooper, has not yet been called up by his reserve unit, and I am embarrassed to admit my relief. During Operation Cast Lead, his officer died only a few meters away from where he stood, and I believe there is a limit to the trauma that any person can withstand over the course of a lifetime. I know that I have been left with a very short fuse. Nevertheless, Michael wants very much to again be in the thick of things.

I was in Tel Aviv two days ago when the sirens sounded, announcing an incoming Fajr-5 missile, supplied to Hamas by Iran. Having lived through Iraqi Scud attacks during the First Gulf War, which regularly shook our sixth floor apartment when Michael was just an infant, I couldn't get excited.

Earlier this evening, I stopped by our local grocery store and purchased meat from our Palestinian butcher, who occasionally hitches rides from me back to his neighboring village. He knows that I am a reservist, yet today, like every day, there were only smiles and no signs of enmity.

What will be the future of this conflagration? I don't know, because I don't decide policy.

Yet, I view with horror the demands from Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal that Israel initiate a ceasefire. Is it all just a matter of pride? Doesn't human life mean anything to him? Inasmuch as he heads an organization whose charter calls for the murder of all Jews, perhaps we shouldn't be expecting too much.

The EU is acknowledging Israel's right to defend itself, but is also asking that Israel's response to Hamas and Islamic Jihad missiles be "proportional." In addition, the EU is telling Israel's political leadership that under no circumstances should Israel dare send its ground forces into Gaza.

Fortunately for me, I do not need to make the decision whether to send infantry and tanks into Gaza. However, I would be very curious how European capitals would respond if their civilian centers were, over the course of a week, subjected to a barrage of a thousand rockets and missiles.

Meanwhile, in Antwerp leftists and rightists today staged a protest against Israel and chanted, "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to gas." I find it interesting that only anti-Semitism can bring these two extremes together.

And in the US, although "57% of the public says Israel is justified in taking military action in Gaza against Hamas," only 40% of Democrats agrees with Israel's efforts to defend itself (see: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/19/cnn-poll-57-of-americans-say-israeli-attacks-in-gaza-are-justified/). I wonder what these Democrats would say if New Jersey, which is the same size as Israel, were to come under missile attack.

Hamas rockets today landed on three schools in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, but fortunately classes have been canceled since November 14. I suppose many of these Democrats, including many Jews among them, would prefer that Israel just lay down and die.

Me? I'm not ready to pass on just yet. I'm too busy working to ensure the success of my life science companies, and I can't wait to taste that first avocado from our new trees.

New York Times Editorial, "Another Israel-Gaza War?": Yes, They Are Myopic Naifs at the Times

In an editiorial entitled "Another Israel-Gaza War?" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/opinion/another-israel-gaza-war.html?_r=0), The New York Times opines:

"Israel has a right to defend itself, but it’s hard to see how Wednesday’s operation could be the most effective way of advancing its long-term interests. It has provoked new waves of condemnation against Israel in Arab countries, including Egypt, whose cooperation is needed to enforce the 1979 peace treaty and support stability in Sinai."

"Hard to see" how Wednesday’s operation advanced Israel's long-term interests? The members of the editorial board of the Times, writing from their Manhattan aeries, truly are myopic naifs, incapable of comprehending the existential threat facing Israel.

Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense caught Hamas with its pants down and achieved both tactical surpise and strategic success.

Over the past month, more than a hundred rockets and missiles were fired from Gaza into towns and cities in southern Israel (more than 800 rockets and missiles have been fired at Israel in 2012). In addition, an anti-tank missile was fired across the border at an Israeli jeep, injuring four soldiers, and prior to that, an explosion along the border fence had cost an Israeli officer his hand.

At first, Israel's response appeared along the lines of "more of the same": less than punishing air operations against suspected Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, which ended when Egyptian President Morsi appeared to have brought about a tacit ceasefire. Satisfied that it had achieved its goal of ongoing provocation without sustaining meaningful retaliation, Hamas dropped its guard. And then . . .

Yesterday, Israel began Operation Pillar of Defense by killing Achmad Jabari from the air. Jabari was the functional head of Hamas's military wing and had been responsible for the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit.



Next, Israel destroyed Hamas's hidden arsenal of Fajr missiles from Iran, never used, but capable of hitting Tel Aviv. The elimination of this threat was a major Israeli intelligence coup, even more so than the assassination of Jabari.



Overnight, the Israeli air force and navy continued to strike missile arsenals, and a vastly improved Israeli Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted some 80 rockets and missiles fired at Ashdod, Beersheva and other Israeli cities.

In terms of strategic success, which has gone unnoticed by the press, Israel has been facing a three-front war involving the threat of missiles from Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Had hostilities begun involving Hezbollah in Lebanon and/or Iran, Hamas would have let fly its Fajrs at Tel Aviv. However, as of last night, given the difficulty posed to Hamas of replenishing this "treasured" arsenal, Israel has neutralized, at least for the medium-term, this headache.