via The LA Times...
Israel said early Tuesday that its military has launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, striking at least 50 sites in Gaza by air and sea and mobilizing for a possible ground invasion, the Associated Press reported.Read the entire article but quite honestly I've been waiting for this for awhile now.
The army said its offensive, dubbed “Operation Protective Edge,” is aimed at striking Hamas and ending the rocket fire that has intensified in recent weeks.
The idea that Israel hasn't been the target of Muslim extremist ever since the so called "Arab Spring" erupted is to me startling.
Now that this is about to kick off, all bets are off.
Will the Israeli's see strikes from Lebanon? What about the issues with Syria? Is now the time that Iran does a pre-emptive strike to further confuse an already confused and retreating US foreign policy?
An already dangerous world just became a little more so.
In the first Picture, I cant make it out...........is that Truck in the background a Half Track Truck ?
ReplyDeleteYup, its a Half Track
DeleteNo, it's a 2 1/2 tonner with lifting crane for servicing
DeleteI would be more secure if someone from the Israeli Defence Dept. told in clear, Certain terms what their definition of victory is before the conflict starts.
ReplyDeleteIs it full re-occupation of the Gaza Strip under Israeli Administration ?
Is it to destroy X number of rockets and stockpiles in Y amount of time ?
Is it to eliminate A,B,C leadership of Hamas ?
Is it just a rightous angry knee jerk reaction to that very unfortunate and tragic killings of the teenagers ?
At what level does a Lieutenant tell his men............All Right boys, Lets go home.
If these victory conditions arent clarified before an operation starts, we are looking at that 2006 Israel/Hezbollah fiasco again. Magnify that 10 fold and that what we Indians did with Operation Parakram in 2001. Full Mobilization of all Defence Forces with no clear goal in mind and a civilian leadership which could never come to terms with total war.
the Israeli's and Palestinians have a weird hate, we need you type relationship. the Israeli's administer large parts of the Palestinian programs simply because they have to. if the Palestinians were actually about to business of destroying Israel the first thing they would do is clean up their govt, clean up their education system, crush extremism and simply let birth rates take care of the rest.
Deletethey like the fight and provoke it at every chance. thats the way the powerful and monied Palestinians remain in charge.
i'd be more critical of it if our own system didn't work in much the same way.
The 'rockets' that the Pals are said to fire are little more than large fireworks that one or two men could easily set off and disappear. Now ask yourself how easy it would be to justify any military action against the Pals that you wanted to, without more than a handful of your own people being ‘in the know'. Or how hard it would be, on the Pal side, to stop your fringe loonies from popping them off periodically if your enemies provoked them.
DeleteRealizing that, what can the Pals hope to do? Seriously. Look at a map and realize to what degree Israel has herded them into ghettos (yellow spots on the map).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_territories#mediaviewer/File:Occupied_Palestinian_Territories.jpg
The plan is obviously a slow-motion extermination of the Pal people. Starve them, stress them, keep herding them into smaller areas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto
Israel isn’t going to be happy until the Pals are gone, and the Pals aren’t going to de-radicalize anything while their people are under assault. Looking at the history of other such situations (Jews in WW2 Europe, American Indians), who can blame them?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Palestinian_territories
DeleteOne million to 4 million 1970 to 2010.
Yep, clearly genocide in progress, moron
Ignorance and stupidity are not the same thing, except to the stupid.
DeleteThe rest of my points still stand though.
SandWyrm, I agree with you that benath all the political charades, both these parties......Israel and Palestinians do not want each other there sharing that piece of land. But for the betterment of the region as a whole and for the "international community" which is already pissed off about rising oil prices, they would welcome a return to the Israeli Administered/Occupied Gaza.
DeleteHey SandWyrm - would you like to be on the receiving eng of one of these "fireworks" day after day for years on end? I would like to see how brave you would be if it landed in your kitchen. That is what many Israelis experience in the area around Gaza. But I could not enlighten you in any case - your logic is not Arab logic and you do not live in the Middle East.
DeleteThere is no victory in sight - just a few months of respite for the neighbourhood.
Did you know that the only area in the Middle East that has not been touched by the disastrous "Arab Spring" is the area in Israel, West Bank and Gaza? The populations aand living standards have risen in the last few years.
Modern buildings and shopping centers are going up in the midst of abject poverty. 40% unemployment in Gaza.
If only the Arabs had some sense and made peace they could have real development and prosperity.
Did you know that even now most of the fuel, food, water and electricity is supplied to Gaza by Israel???
Anyway, before all Hostilities start let me just say-
ReplyDeleteWish you, the Innocents (Israeli/Palestinian) the best of luck. May Allah and the Jewish Equivalent help you in dodging and ducking any hellfires and katyushkas comming your way. Hope that religious dogmatics and hard nosed bureucrats run into some common sence before they run out of stocks of 5.56 Nato and 7.62's. And if all else fails, grow your self some wings and haul your ass to Mexico, catch a bus and Obama will do the rest.
First picture is not a half-track, just an optical illusion. It's a 5-ton truck with a crane for changing out tank power packs. There are two power packs (probably the one just removed and the one about to go it) on the near side of the truck which give the "half track" appearance. I wonder if those tankers are either a reserve unit, or an active one that has spent so much time on patrol duties that tank maintenance needs this much work when they are supposedly on hair trigger to attack?
ReplyDelete"Will the Israeli's see strikes from Lebanon?"
ReplyDeleteUnlikely, Hezbollah hasnt picked a serious fight since 2006, the losses to material, manpower and morale in that war was extreme. On top of that, the losses they've suffered in Syria were as high as 20% of their total strength last summer. If they've been keeping those losses up, well, they struggling with recruitment then.
Can Iran afford to bankroll proxy wars against ISIS, the FSA and Israel? I doubt it, although Israel might be interested in testing that.
A preemptive attack on Israel *could* be a handy tool to unite the various factions, but its pretty high risk, if it doesn't work, you've doomed your side
Curious how some of the critics would react if each week they were on the receiving end of rockets in the dozens and hundreds? Go Israel.
ReplyDeleteIsrael has been trying to chock the life out of gaza for years, but it seems they wont bend knowing the Israelis will have no mercy based on there long history with them, so they kept getting militarily stronger improving missiles
ReplyDeleteghadeer - see my post about the supply of water, food, fuel and electricity to Gaza. It does not come from Egypt, that closed its border crossing in Rafiah (except for limited hours and only to peolpe). All the stuff is going into Gaza by hundreds of trucks a day through Kerem Shalom, Karni and Erez Crossings.
DeleteWater is supplied and electricity from the Israel Electric Company lines go to the Gaza grid. Fuel is supplied vis tankers (paid for by Gulf Arabs that also supply cash to Hamas).
Against that the Gazans are firing artillery rockets - some smaller, home-made, and some long range heavy stuff - at CIVILIAN Israeli cities. I appologise if I take it personally, when I and my wife have to run to the shelter when the air raid siren sounds and listen to the booms outside. It is usually the Iron Dome anti rocket interceptors, but unfortunately some shit does get through.
Ghadeer, be happy you don't live in the Middle East - or even worse in an Arab country. Especially if you are a Shia or a Christian Arab as your fate WILL be worse than death.
Speaking of the general situation and in view of the fact that this blog is more about military stuff, rather than politics :
ReplyDeleteI am really (personally) impressed by the Iron Dome anti missile system. It has been extraordinarily effective and it has enable Israel to have a strategic answer to the missile threat. It (together with the Air Force and Intelligence Corps) almost completely neutralised the threat and prevented major damage or loss of life (until now).
I visited the Antiaircraft and Space Exhibition in Tel Aviv the day before yeasterday. On display they had a mockup of the big brother to the Iron Dome missile (David's Sling or Magic Wand), which is still under development, but could be ready next year. Also on display they had the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 missiles, intende to answer long range ballistic rockets from Iran. Nice to have all these stuff and they do work, but it would be nicer not to need them.
As I write these lines I can hear the booms of explosions a few kilometers away, which pucker up certain parts of my body.
Peace, Baby