T. Belman. Regardless of the denials, I believe that Obama has made it crystal clear to Israel, that she must toe the American line or lose the support of the US in the UN and who knows what else. Nothing short of such an ultimatum would have got Netanyahu to cease building in the eastern part of Jerusalem. Even now Israel is constrained by the US to not “over react” to the Palestinian murder spree. Kerry and Obama keep hectoring us on the matter.

Media reports claim Washington may not veto UN resolution on settlements if Israel ups construction after terror wave

BY REBECCA SHIMONI STOIL, ILAN BEN ZION AND RAPHAEL AHREN, TOI

The US State Department denied reports it had issued Israel an ultimatum this week threatening not to veto a UN Security Council resolution declaring West Bank settlements illegal if Israel announced new settlement construction.

Deputy State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said that while his office was aware of such reports in the press, those reports were “false.”
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The Iran agreement will remake the Middle East — for the worse.

By Victor Davis Hanson, NATIONAL REVIEW

There are several scenarios the Obama administration may be entertaining as it pursues its diplomacy in the Middle East. It may believe that the new agreement with Iran will lead to “engagement” with reform-minded theocrats. The idea is that this will insidiously liberalize the regime, empower a younger generation of pro-Western reformers, and put the theocracy on “an arc of history” back into the “family of nations.” Or perhaps an Obama-inspired second green revolution will overthrow the regime, and we will see a Euro-socialist Iranian republic renounce nuclear weapons — or at least, having inherited custodianship of the existing arsenal, oversee it in the fashion of democratic Israel or France.

Alternatively, the administration may imagine that a Shiite Axis — Iran, Syria, Iraq, Hezbollah, Hamas — empowered by Putin’s Russia, will balance the region, either, strategically, convincing the Sunni monarchies to accept the new balance of power, or, morally, ensuring that formerly outlaw anti-American radical regimes find parity with the pro-American conservative and right-wing regimes in Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf monarchies. Or, less concretely, the United States may simply wish to abdicate the Middle East and let the players there all fight it out, reentering when the players are worn out and defeated. Read more…

Putin gains the upper-hand in the Middle East and the Ukraine.

By Joseph Puder, FPM

U.S. President Barack Obama’s initiated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Monday in the aftermath of their speeches at the UN General Assembly in New York was an admission of his failure on two fronts.  It testifies to his failure to destroy the Islamic State (a.k.a. Daesh in Arabic, ISIS and ISIL) as he promised on several occasions, including last year during the 15-minute address from the White House (September 10, 2014) when he said, “I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country wherever they are.  That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIS in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.” Obama added, “America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.  Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy ISIS through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.”
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And why the catastrophes are so consistent.

By Bruce Thornton, FPM

Russia’s armed intervention in the Syrian civil war is but the latest foreign policy disaster of Barack Obama’s tenure. Yet Obama has been nothing if not consistent. What many see as bungling, naiveté, or evidence of a plot to destroy America is simply the consequence of a particular view of interstate relations he has openly and frequently endorsed.

Obama came into office chanting all the mantras of idealistic internationalism. In contrast to the caricature of George W. Bush as a unilateralist cowboy disdainful of diplomacy, Obama promised to “rebuild the alliances, partnerships, and institutions necessary to confront common threats and enhance common security.” Balance of power realism, which is predicated on the notion that sovereign nations seek power to pursue their own interests, was rejected: “In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero-sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group or people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold.” Contrary to accepting force as an arbiter of conflict, he championed “tough diplomacy” and “new partnerships,” promising our enemies to “seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” and to “extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” Finally, he evoked America’s history of foreign policy aggression as a factor in contemporary conflict, in his Cairo speech decrying “colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations.”
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Russia’s Dep. Army Chief due in Israel today.

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 5, 2015, 2:18 PM (IDT)

Russia’s deputy chief of staff, Gen. Nikolay Bogdanovsky, accompanied by a large military delegation, arrives in Israel for a two-day visit on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to discuss increased coordination between the two militaries. However, Moscow seems to be sending Jerusalem an altogether different message: Friday, Oct. 2, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the surprise deployment of Navy cruiser, the Moskva, armed with 64 advanced anti-aircraft missiles S-300 ship-to-air missiles opposite the Syrian coastal town of Latakia.
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T. Belman. These are all stop gap measures. What about fundamental change. Lift building freeze and build. Legislate death penalty for convicted terrorists. Penalize the PA for its support of terror. Refuse to give them money or electricity until they withdraw support of terrorism and terrorists. Incarcerate people for incitement.Stop supporting the status quo on the Temple Mount. If we can’t go there and pray, they can’t go there and pray. And so on.

By Hezki Ezra, INN

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sought to impose tougher measures against terrorists late Monday night, in a late-night emergency Cabinet meeting held in light of an escalation in terror.

During the meeting, Netanyahu assigned Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) to establish a mechanism which would significantly shorten the legal process to allow the State of Israel to demolish terrorists’ homes.

Security reinforcements throughout Judea and Samaria (Shomron) and Jerusalem will continue as needed, with several hundred more officers slated to be added to patrols. Thousands of police and reservists have already been called up to help secure both areas since the High Holidays began earlier this month.
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By Cliff Kincaid October 4, 2015

The conventional wisdom is that Vladimir Putin has blindsided Barack Obama in the Middle East, catching the U.S. off-guard. It’s another Obama “failure,” we’re told. “Obama administration scrambles as Russia attempts to seize initiative in Syria,” is how a Washington Post headline described it. A popular cartoon showsPutin kicking sand in the faces of Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry on a beach.

The conventional wisdom is driven by the notion that Obama has the best of intentions but that he’s been outmaneuvered. What if his intention all along has been to remake the Middle East to the advantage of Moscow and its client state Iran? What if he knows exactly what he’s doing? Too many commentators refuse to consider that Obama is deliberately working against U.S. interests and in favor of the enemies of the U.S. and Israel.
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Al Monitor says Obama prepared to work with Putin to broker Syria transition. Our effeminate Obama said;

“”In my discussions with President Putin, I was very clear that the only way to solve the problem in Syria is to have a political transition that is inclusive — that keeps the state intact, that keeps the military intact, that maintains cohesion, but that is inclusive — and the only way to accomplish that is for Mr. Assad to transition, because you cannot rehabilitate him in the eyes of Syrians. … I said to Mr. Putin that I’d be prepared to work with him if he is willing to broker with his partners, Mr. Assad and Iran, a political transition — we can bring the rest of the world community to a brokered solution — but that a military solution alone, an attempt by Russia and Iran to prop up Assad and try to pacify the population is just going to get them stuck in a quagmire. And it won’t work,” Obama said.

They are both going after Raqqa

By ERIC SCHMITT and MICHAEL R. GORDON, NYT, OCT. 4, 2015

WASHINGTON — The American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has begun preparing to open a major front in northeastern Syria, aiming to put pressure on Raqqa, the terrorist group’s de facto capital, according to military and administration officials.

President Obama last week approved two important steps to set the offensive in motion over the coming weeks, officials said. Mr. Obama ordered the Pentagon, for the first time, to directly provide ammunition and perhaps some weapons to Syrian opposition forces on the ground. He also endorsed the idea for an increased air campaign from an air base in Turkey, although important details still need to be worked out.
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EXCLUSIVE-Strategika 51: Six Russian fighter jets type Multirole Sukhoi SU – 30 SM have intercepted 4 Israeli McDonnell Douglas F-15’s fighter bombers attempting to infiltrate the Syrian coast.The Israeli F 15 warplanes have been flying over Syrian airspace for months and in particular the coast of Latakia, which is now the bridgehead of the Russian forces in Syria.
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T. Belman. This is an excellent review dated Oct 3/15. Since then Russia has gone into action big time and has inflicted heavy blows on ISIS.

Russian Air Force hits 50 ISIS targets in Syria over 3 days, ‘significantly’ damaging militants.
ISIS jihadis OBLITERATED: Putin jets blast terrorist HQ in Syria with bunker-buster bombs
End of ISIS? Putin ‘sending 150,000 soldiers to Syria to WIPE OUT evil Islamic State’

Russia is doing what the US was unwilling to do.

by Jonathan Spyer, http://www.meforum.org/5537/russia-in-syria
October 3, 2015

On Wednesday, Russian aircraft carried out the first bombings of rebel positions in Syria. The operation was not a surprise. It was the latest, most dramatic episode in a significant increase in Russian support for the beleaguered regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad that has been under way since the beginning of last month.
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Nor is the Deal signed

By: Yigal Carmon*, MEMRI

On September 3, 2015, not two months after the July 14 announcement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action at Vienna and its celebration at the White House and in Europe, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dropped a bombshell.

In a speech to the Iranian Assembly of Experts, he backtracked from the agreement, demanding a new concession: that the sanctions be “lifted,” not merely “suspended.”[1] If that term is not changed, said Khamenei, there is no agreement. If the West only “suspends” the sanctions, he added, Iran will merely “suspend” its obligations. Giving further credence to his threat, he announced that it is the Iranian Majlis that must discuss and approve the agreement (or not), because it represents the people – when it is well known that the majority of its members oppose it, and Iranian President Hassan Rohani made every effort to prevent such a discussion in the Majlis from taking place.
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T. Belman. Bibi is suggesting that the price of joining the government is public silence. I disagree. Bennett and Shaked have every right to make their views known when they disagree with a government policy. Bibi runs roughshod over minority views in the government and the minority parties have no recourse but to appeal to the public.

‘You can’t be in cabinet and opposition at same time,’ Prime Minister’s aide says in response to Jewish Home critiques over security.

By Cynthia Blank, INN

Sources close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lashed out at Education Minister Naftali Bennett, as well as other Jewish Home ministers, on Saturday for issuing critical remarks about the security situation in Israel.

In response to the brutal murder of Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin on Thursday, the Jewish Home chairman handed the Prime Minister a list of demands.

Bennett tasked the government with backing security forces in their fight against terrorists, the immediate building of a neighborhood or town in response to each terrorist attack, and the immediate re-arrest and return to jail of terrorists freed in the Shalit deal.
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Furious Lod residents protest after 5-year-old shot in sukkah, suffers skull fracture; 16-year-old girl shot in leg in Binyamin.

By Avi Shimshi, INN

In the coastal town of Lod on Shabbat eve this Friday night, Arab gunfire reportedly wounded a five-year-old child as he was in a sukkah, the festive booth Jews are commanded to dwell in during the holiday of Sukkot – the same night a girl was shot in a sukkah north of Jerusalem.

Several gunshots were fired apparently by Arab assailants in Lod on Friday night, with one of them entering the balcony of the Shiloh family and hitting their five-year-old son Maoz, according to Yafit Haikin, a community leader and social worker in the coastal city.

The bullet caused a fracture to the young boy’s skull, and currently he is in intensive care following a complicated surgery.
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T. Belman. I agree with Bibi. Israel must chart its own course with Russia. Israel was neutral on the Russian moves in the Ukraine and in backing Assad to the displeasure of the US. Bibi also kept Israel out of the war in Syria and limited itself to protecting her interests.

Prime Minister tells CNN Israel wants to avoid a situation in which its goals clash with those of Russia.

By Ben Ariel, INN

Netanyahu’s comments were made in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, which will air on Sunday and of which Reuters quoted excerpts on Saturday.

In the interview, Netanyahu did not join the United States and other NATO nations in criticizing Russia’s taking military action in Syria.

“We don’t want to go back to the days when, you know, Russia and Israel were in an adversarial position,” he said, adding, “I think we’ve changed the relationship. And it’s, on the whole, good.”
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T. Belman. This is an excellent interview. The questions were right on. I am not satisfied with Germany’s position on Iran’s intent to destroy Israel. She merely said,

“Iran’s stance towards Israel is unacceptable. We will say this again and again, loudly and clearly.” and “Iran must change its unacceptable stance towards Israel. I hope one day politicians who rule in Tehran will reach this conclusion. Until then, I see it as the German government’s duty to repeat this demand again and again. Beyond that I’m not interested in overstating Germany’s goal and abilities.”

How insipid is that.

‘We are not neutral’: Angela Merkel on Israeli-German relations
The world’s most powerful woman sits down for an interview ahead of annual meeting with Netanyahu and the 50th anniversary of Israeli-German relations.

By Eldad Beck, YNET

[…]

On May 12, 1965, the day diplomatic relations were established between West Germany and Israel, you yourself were 11 years old, living in East Germany. Did you feel something of the historical value of that day? How would you judge that historical development today?
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By Ted Belman

Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas’s bombshell speech to the United Nations General Assembly this week proved to be a dud. He repeated the same old lies about Israel’s alleged default on the Oslo Accords and merely threatened to abandon the agreements.

“So long as Israel refuses to commit to the agreements signed with us, cease settlement construction and release prisoners, Israel has left us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to these agreements.

“The state of Palestine, based on the 4th of June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, is a state under occupation, as was the case for many countries during World War II.
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Beefed-up security fails to staunch spiraling Palestinian terror

DEBKAfile Special Report October 3, 2015, 9:35 PM (IDT)

In the space of 48 hours, during the Jewish festival season, two pairs of Israel parents were attacked by Palestinian terrorists. After gunmen killed the first couple Eitam and Na’ama Henkin in a drive-by ambush near Alon More Thursday night, a second couple and their two-year old child were knifed in the Old City of Jerusalem Saturday night, Oct. 3 by a another Palestinian terrorist on their way to the Western Wall. They were among a large crowd thronging through the main street to the Kotel.
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By Ted Belman

Putin is not in Syria to fight ISIS as demanded by the US and France. He is there to support Assad and defeat his enemies which include anti-Assad forces backed by the US and Saudi Arabia.

What the US should do is aggressively bomb Hezbollah which also supports Assad on behalf of Iran. That would be a message that Russia and Iran would hear loud and clear.

If Hezbollah retaliated by firing rockets at Israel, the US should back an invasion of Lebanon by Israel with the view of destroying Hezbollah. At the same time the US and Saudi Arabia should instruct the Lebanese army to stand down and allow the defeat of Hezbollah.

By Ted Belman

Commentary MAgazine published The GOP Makes Radical Islam’s Case by Max Boot. In it he complains the the anti-Muslim positions taken by many of those seeking the presidential nod is “nothing more than rank bigotry”. He continues:

Needless to say — although perhaps it bears repeating — very few Muslims support acts of violence carried out in the name of their faith. According to a Pew Research Centre survey in 2013, “Roughly three-quarters or more Muslims reject suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians.” Only about 10 percent of Muslims support terrorism, and of course even fewer of those — well under 1 percent — actually try to carry out attacks. That still means there a significant number of terrorist sympathizers out there — more than 100 million out of an estimated 1.2 billion Muslims in the world —so we in the West have real cause for concern about terrorist attacks, even if the most numerous victims of Muslim terrorism are fellow Muslims.

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