'A Brave Move'

The Australian's editorialist is yet to greet an USraeli manoeuvre, or aggression, with anything less than hearty approval. The latest example, A realistic decision on Golan:

"Donald Trump's historic proclamation announcing US acceptance of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights has much to do with the tough fight Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces in next month's election. But the President's reversal of decades of US policy on the highly strategic Golan is timely recognition of Middle Eastern reality [...] Mr Trump will be criticised for what is a brave move. But the Syrian civil war has radically changed strategic challenges in the region. It is no longer realistic for the Jewish state to be expected to go back to pre-!967 borders." (27/3/19)

One of the enduring mysteries behind such seals of approval is who writes them. Greg Sheridan? AIJAC?

Never Forget the Occupied Syrian Golan Heights

Now this:

"Syria has vowed to retake the Golan Heights as Donald Trump's call for the US to recognise the occupied territory as part of Israel elicited strong responses from Russia, Turkey and Iran. The president ended half a century of US foreign policy and broke from post-second world war international consensus that forbids territorial conquest during war with a tweet on Thursday that said it was time 'to fully recognise Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights'. Trump said the territory was 'of critical strategic and security importance to the state of Israel and regional stability'. Israeli troops took the volcanic plateau from Syria in the six-day war in 1967 and later annexed it, moves that were condemned by the UN security council and never internationally recognised." (Trump provokes global anger by recognising Israel's claim to Golan Heights, Oliver Holmes, theguardian.com, 23/3/19)

"Following the Israeli occupation of the #Syrian #Golan in 1967, approx. 95% of the population was forcibly transferred or displaced. The Israeli army then demolished their homes, destroying one city & 340 villages and farms. These were replaced by Israeli agricultural settlements." (Tweet @GolanMarsad, 22//3/19)

(Al-Marsad "monitors and documents violations of international humanitarian rights law and humanitarian law in the Occupied Syrian Golan.")

IOW, the Israelis did to the Syrian population of the Golan in 1967 what they'd already done to the Palestinians in 1948 and 1967 (West Bank). Serial ethnic cleansing.

Confessions of an Innocent Bystander:

"The outgoing IDF chief of staff has acknowledged that Israel has been bombing Syria on a 'near-daily' basis for years, in a massive military campaign allegedly aimed at degrading Tehran's supposed military buildup in the region. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rarely acknowledge striking specific targets in Syria but its outgoing chief of staff just openly confessed to running a large-scale bombing campaign in its neighbor's territory. In 2018 alone, Israel dropped around 2,000 bombs on alleged Iran-linked targets, Gadi Eisenkot told the New York Times in his final interview as chief of staff of the IDF before he retires next week. 'We struck thousands of targets without claiming responsibility or asking for credit,' Eisenkot stated, confessing to carrying out strikes on a 'near-daily' basis." ('We struck thousands of targets': IDF chief of staff on Israel's 'near-daily' strikes in Syria, rt.com, 13/1/19)

Give Israel an Inch...

... and it'll always take a mile.

Two recent examples of this iron law:

1) In 2016, Obama gave Israel a record 10-year $38 billion military aid package, which, btw, it only grudgingly accepted.  The deal is set to take effect about now, on condition is that the money be spent on US-made arms. (See my 14/9/16 post Bushama's Legacy.)

But now Israel wants it all - upfront - to spend on Israeli-made arms. (Source: Israeli MPs push Trump to let them use military aid on non-US equipment, Jason Ditz, antiwar.com, 21/5/18)

2) Just recently, as you know, Trump moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something Israel and its fifth columnists in the US have been urging for decades. Not good enough apparently.

Now, Israel wants the US to formally recognise the Israeli-occupied (since 1967) and -annexed (since 1981) Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli territory. (Source: Israeli intel minister says US will soon recognize Golan annexation, Jason Ditz, antiwar.com, 23/5/18)

Will Americans ever wake up?

The Next War

Ominous drumbeats in Friday's Australian, from its full-page interview with Israel's new ambassador to these shores, Mark Sofer:

"... the insidious beachhead of Iranian military power pushing into Syria, which shares a border with Israel." (A NOTE TO IRAN: GO HOME, Adam Creighton)

"... Iran is 'crossing a red line'."

"'The Iranians are sitting there, threatening our existence... '"

"... an Iranian government so belligerent that even Arab nations - former enemies of Israel - are looking to Israel to help contain it."

If Israel isn't gearing up for a war this year...

Some other highlights:

"Sofer is at pains to draw a distinction between the Iranian people - 'very erudite' - and the 'half-crazed lunatics' running the theocracy in Tehran."

Says the representative of the half-crazed lunatics running the theocracy in Tel Aviv...

(Remember what happened after another half-crazed lunatic, George W. Bush, drew the same distinction between the Iraqi people and their leader? "Iraq's talented people, rich culture, and tremendous potential have been hijacked by Saddam Hussein." (A vision for Iraq & the Iraqi people, 16/3/03))

"The country is more than pulling its weight in humanitarian terms. 'We're accepting into Israel a huge amount [sic] of Syrian wounded into our hospitals. We don't make a song and dance about it,' he says, referring to the tens of thousands of Syrians being treated for wounds in the north of the country."

And the Oscar goes to...

"The ambassador displays his nation's famously coy attitude to its own military capabilities. 'We're not a nuclear power. We have always said so, and will always say so,' he says when asked about his country's nuclear development. Try finding a source that argues Israel doesn't have a sizeable battery of nuclear weapons. Can anyone blame Israel, though?"

Certainly, you can't, Adam - not if you want to keep your job at the Australian.

Here's One for You, Babe

"The White House was in touch with Jerusalem ahead of the overnight airstrikes on Syria. US President Donald Trump's new national security adviser, John Bolton, spoke in the last few days with his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat, to coordinate details of the US-led attack on Syria... " (Trump adviser Bolton coordinated US-led strike in Syria with Israel, Noa Landau, haaretz.com, 14/4/18)

Mugging Syria for Israel 2

Still don't get who's behind the 'get Syria' push? Still don't see who's had it in for Syria for decades. Clearly, you haven't done your homework. Specifically, by reading John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's seminal 2007 study, The Israel Lobby & US Foreign Policy:

"It is worth recalling that some important figures in the lobby had their sights on Syria well before the Twin Towers fell. Damascus was a prominent target in the 1996 'Clean Break' study written by a handful of neoconservatives for incoming Prime Minister Netanyahu.* In addition, Daniel Pipes and Ziad Abdelnour, the head of the US Committee for a Free Lebanon (USCFL), had coauthored a report in May 2000 calling for the United States to use military threats to force Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon, get rid of its WMD, and stop supporting terrorism. The USCFL is a close cousin to the lobby, numerous neoconservatives are among its major activists and supporters, including Elliott Abrams, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, and David Wurmser. In fact, all of them signed the 2000 report, as did pro-Israel Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), another core USCFL supporter.

"This proposal, and others like it, did not gain much traction in Washington during the Clinton years, mainly because Israel was committed to achieving peace with Syria during that period. Apart from these hard-liners, most groups in the lobby had little incentive to challenge Clinton's policy toward Syria, because the president's approach tended to mirror Israel's. But when Sharon came to power in 2001, Israel's thinking about Syria changed dramatically. Reacting to this shift, a number of groups in the lobby began to press for a more aggressive policy toward Damascus.

"In the spring of 2002, when Iraq was becoming the main issue, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was also promoting legislation to formally place Syria on the 'axis of evil' and Congressman Engel introduced the Syria Accountability Act in Congress. It threatened sanctions against Syria if it did not withdraw from Lebanon, give up its WMD, and stop supporting terrorism. The proposed act also called for Syria and Lebanon to take concrete steps to make peace with Israel. This legislation was strongly endorsed by a number of groups in the lobby - especially AIPAC - and 'framed,' according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 'by some of Israel's best friends in Congress.' JTA also reported that its 'most avid proponent in the administration' was Elliott Abrams, who, as we have seen, is in frequent contact with [Israeli PM Ehud] Olmert's office.

"The Bush administration opposed the Syria Accountability Act in the spring of 2002, in part because it feared that the legislation might undermine efforts to sell the Iraq war, and in part because it might lead to Damascus to stop providing Washington with useful intelligence about al Qaeda. Congress agreed to put the legislation on the back burner until matters were settled with Saddam.

"But as soon as Baghdad fell in April 2003, the lobby renewed its campaign against Syria. Encouraged by what then looked like a decisive victory in Iraq, some of Israel's backers were no longer interested in simply getting Syria to change its behavior. Instead, they now wanted to topple the regime itself. Paul Wolfowitz declared that 'there has got to be regime change in Syria,' and Richard Perle told a journalist that 'we could deliver a short message [to other hostile regimes in the Middle East]: 'You're next.' The hawkish Defense Policy Board, which was headed by Perle and whose members included Kenneth Adelman, Eliot Cohen, and James Woolsey, was also advocating a hard line against Syria.

"In addition to Abrams, Perle, and Wolfowitz, the other key insider pushing for regime change in Syria was Assistant Secretary of State (and later UN Ambassador) John Bolton. He had told Israeli leaders a month before the Iraq war that President Bush would deal with Syria, as well as Iran and North Korea, right after Saddam fell from power. Toward that end, Bolton reportedly prepared to tell Congress in mid-July that Syria's WMD programs had reached the point where they were a serious threat to stability in the Middle East and had to be dealt with sooner rather than later. The CIA and other government agencies objected, however, and claimed that Bolton was inflating the danger. Consequently, the administration did not allow Bolton to give his testimony on Syria at that time. Yet Bolton was not put off for long. He appeared before Congress in September 2003 and described Syria as a growing threat to US interests in the Middle East.

"In early April, WINEP [Washington Institute for Near East Policy] released a bipartisan report stating that Syria 'should not miss the message that countries that pursue Saddam's reckless, irresponsible and defiant behavior could end up sharing his fate.' On April 15, the Israeli-American journalist Yossi Klein Halevi wrote a piece in the Los Angeles Times titled 'Next, Turn the Screws on Syria,' while that same day neoconservative Frank Gaffney, the head of the Center for Security Policy, wrote in the Washington Times that the Bush administration should use 'whatever techniques are necessary - including military force - to effect behavior modification and/or regime change in Damascus.' The next day Zev Chafets, an Israeli-American journalist and former head of the Israeli government press office, wrote an article for the New York Daily News titled 'Terror-Friendly Syria Needs a Change, Too.' Not to be outdone, Lawrence Kaplan wrote in the New Republic on April 21 that Syrian leader Assad was a serious threat to America.

"The charges leveled against Syria were remarkably similar to those previously made against Saddam. Writing in National Review Online, conservative commentator Jed Babbin maintained that even though Assad's army was a paper tiger, he is still 'an exceedingly dangerous man.'  The basis for that claim was an 'Israeli source who had told Babbin that 'Israel's military and intelligence arms are convinced that Assad will take risks a prudent leader wouldn't' and therefore, 'Assad's unpredictability is itself a great danger.' Marc Ginsberg, former US ambassador to Morocco, warned of 'Syria's secret production of weapons of mass destruction and its weaponization of missile batteries and rockets.' And like their Israeli counterparts, American supporters of Israel suggested that Syria was hiding Saddam's WMD. 'It wouldn't surprise me,' Congressman Engel remarked, 'if those weapons of mass destruction that we cannot find in Iraq wound up and are today in Syria.'

"Back on Capitol Hill, Engel reintroduced the Syria Accountability Act on April 12. Three days later, Richard Perle called for Congress to pass it. But the Bush administration still had little enthusiasm for the legislation and was able to stall it again. In mid-August, Engel and a group of politicians and Jewish leaders from New York traveled to Israel and met for ninety minutes with Ariel Sharon in his Jerusalem office. The Israeli leader complained to his visitors that the United States was not putting enough pressure on Syria, although he specifically thanked Engel for sponsoring the Syria Accountability Act and made it clear that he strongly favored continued efforts to push the legislation on Capitol Hill. The following month, Engel, who announced he was 'fed up with the... administration's maneuvering on Syria,' began pushing the bill again. With AIPAC's full support, Engel began rounding up votes on Capitol Hill. Bush could no longer hold Congress back in the face of this full-court press from the lobby, and the anti-Syrian act passed by overwhelming margins (398-4 in the House; 89-4 in the Senate). Bush signed it into law on December 12, 2003." (pp 273-76)

[*See my posts Absent-Minded Professors Inadvertently Set Iraq Ablaze (22/12/08) & Netanyahu & the Cauldronization of Iraq & Syria (14/3/13).]

Mugging Syria for Israel 1

Read this part transcript of Fox News' host Tucker Carlson, sensibly animadverting on the subject: What do we REALLY know [about the latest chlorine gas attack in Syria] this time? Then note his guest's - Republican Senator Roger Wickers - damning admission at the end. Most educational:

... All those geniuses tell us that Asad killed the children. But do we really know that? Of course, they really don't know that. They're making it up. They have no real idea what happened... How would it benefit Asad, using chlorine gas last weekend? Well, it wouldn't.

Asad's forces had been winning the war in Syria. The [US] administration just announced its plan to pull American troops out of Syria, having vanquished ISIS. That's good news for Asad and about the only thing he could do to reverse it and hurt himself would be to use poison gas against children. 'Well, he did it anyway,' they tell us. 'He's that evil.' Please.

Keep in mind this is the same story they told us last April. Do you remember that? It was almost exactly a year ago. The new administration was now no longer seeking to depose Asad from power. Regime change was no longer our policy. So the usual war hawks in Washington started yelling, went beserk, and days later Asad supposedly used sarin gas against civilians in Syria. There was a video. We bombed a Syrian airbase in response to that. At the time the obvious question would seem to have been: Are we really sure that Asad did that? It seemed weirdly-timed and counterproductive to him. 'Shut up,' they exclaimed. 'Of course we're sure. What an unpatriotic question.' But of course they were lying. Two months ago the Secretary of Defense admitted that actually we still have no proof that Asad used sarin gas last year. The story, it turns out, was propaganda, designed to manipulate Americans - just like so much of what they say. We've seen this movie before, and we know how hit ends.

But just for the sake of argument let's assume they're not lying this time. Let's assume Asad did just use chlorine gas against kids...  Would that be worth starting a new war? Overthrowing Asad's regime in Syria would result in chaos. Many thousands would die. In fact we might likely see the genocide of one of the last remaining Christian communities in the Middle East, and we might just care about that... Would it make America safer? Would it make the region more stable? Let's see exactly how regime change worked in Iraq and Libya. 'It doesn't matter,' say our moral leaders at CNN... atrocities like this cannot be tolerated. OK, but let's be real. We do tolerate atrocities like this all the time. For example, there's a devastating famine killing children in Yemen right now. The Saudis are causing that famine...

In real life Syria is a highly complicated place. With Asad gone who would run it exactly. Are the moderate rebels we're always hearing about, the ones you're supporting with your tax dollars. Well, a lot of them turn out to be Islamist crazies...

Back in 2013, when the Syrian civil war was still in its earliest days, one onlooker weighed in on twitter. Here's part of what he wrote: "We should stay the hell out of Syria. The rebels are just as bad as the current regime. What do we get from our lives and billions of dollars?. Zero." That was Donald Trump.* And he was right, and that's one of the reasons he got elected president, and now the same people who brought us a dying American middle class, indefensible American borders and endless, pointless wars you can't even find on a map, are telling the president he's got to depose Asad for reasons that are both unclear and demonstrably dishonest...

Roger Wickers is the Republican representative for the state of Mississippi, and he joins us tonight... Senator, what is the national security interest that would be served by regime change in Syria?

Wickers: Well, if you care about Israel, you have to be interested at least in what's going on in Syria...

[*Trump's latest (11/4) gobsmacking tweet, smacking of a b-grade 50s western: "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!' You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!]

PS - 13/4: Tucker Carlson's rant was featured on the American progressive Jimmy Dore Show. Most of it was replayed to much head-nodding and positive asides by Dore. But not all. Seems he was so wowed over the convergence of his and Carlson's anti-war stance on Syria that he neglected to play Carlson's exchange with Wickers. Funny that...

Sheer Hypocrisy

This from the spokeswoman of the country that has used its veto in the UN Security Council 43 times to protect Israel from UNSC censure for its criminality over the decades - the last being its veto over Trump's move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital:

"After fresh air and rocket strikes by regime forces on Eastern Ghouta killed a further forty-six on Thursday, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert blamed Russia for not reeling in the regime of ally Bashar al-Assad. 'Without Russia backing Syria, the devastation and the deaths would certainly not be occurring,' Ms Nauert said. 'It is a good reminder that Russia bears a unique responsibility for what is taking place there. What are they doing to stop the devastation, the deaths, the murders that are taking place in Syria?' Ms Nauert blamed Moscow for again 'throwing a wrench' into the negotiations to block the ceasefire. As diplomats wrangled over a UN vote, people in Eastern Ghouta huddled in basements while government forces pounded the enclave with rockets and bombs, turning towns into fields of ruins and even hitting hospitals." (Russia lashed for UN deadlock, AFP, AP/The Australian, 24/2/18)

Enough already.

WAPO/SMH Portrays Israel as Innocent Bystander in Syria

"The Syrian war has seen no shortage of twists this year, but this weekend, it saw one of its most consequential. Despite its proximity, Israel has largely stood on the sidelines over the past seven years. Saturday's airstrike suggests it may soon end up sucked into a conflict that is looking increasingly chaotic." (Biggest step yet, but what's next, analysis, Adam Taylor, Washington Post/Sydney Morning Herald, 12/2/18)

Have you ever read such bullshit? Israel, which violates Syrian and Lebanese airspace regularly and routinely attacks what it calls 'Hezbollah supply convoys' in Syria, has "largely stood on the sidelines"? Seriously?

Now see how this WAPO hack, Adam Taylor, then contradicts himself:

"Still, Israel has conducted dozens of covert airstrikes against Hezbollah weapons convoys in Syria."

Moreover, that sentence is immediately preceded by this one:

"Israel has little reason to support the Islamic State or al-Qaida-aligned Islamist groups that became Syria's primary rivals."*

Can Taylor seriouly be unaware of the much publicised Israeli hospital which patches up jihadis operating in Syria?

Far out...

[*"A former leader of Syria's Al-Qaeda branch commended Israel for striking Syria on Saturday, after the Assad regime shot down an Israeli F-161 fighter jet." (Al Qaeda leader praises Israeli strike on Syria, israelnationalnews.com, 2/11/18)]

Meet Planet Priti Patel

The government of PM Theresa May just gets better and better:

"Downing Street has admitted that International Development Secretary Priti Patel discussed with Israel the idea of giving the country British foreign aid cash. A Number 10 spokesman said a conversation had taken place between Ms Patel and Israeli officials, after it was reported that she had suggested funnelling money to the country's armed forces. Theresa May's spokesman highlighted that the country's army runs a hospital for Syrian refugees, but said the UK currently provides no financial support to Israeli forces and that there would be no change in policy.

"Any move to provide aid money to Israeli armed forces which have been engaged in bloody campaigns in Palestinian occupied territories, would prove hugely controversial in the UK. The admission heaps embarrassment on Ms May who was completely unaware that Ms Patel had met the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other key figures on her holiday to the country...

"The Downing Street spokesman said: '[Ms Patel] did discuss potential ways to provide medical support for Syrian refugees who are wounded who cross into the Golan Heights for aid. The Israeli army runs field hospitals there to care for Syrians wounded in the civil war, but there is no change in policy in this area. The UK doesn't provide any financial support to the Israeli army.'...

"Ms Patel only made Ms May aware of the meetings on Friday, more than two months after they took place, when reports began to emerge of talks she held with a politician and a disability charity..." (Priti Patel discussed giving British foreign aid money to Israeli army, Downing Street confirms, Joe Watts, independent.co.uk, 7/11/17)

What a credit to the Tories this woman is!

Not only is she a former tobacco and alcohol industry lobbyist, and a self-confessed Thatcher tragic, but one who, if the Parable of the Good Samaritan were applied to the Middle East, would have you believe that Israel, far from being the thief who stripped Palestine of her raiment, wounded her and left her half-dead, was actually the Good Samaritan:

"I have always been struck by the exceptional achievement that is the state of Israel. A country that has turned desert into fertile and plentiful land. A country that started with nothing, in a struggle for subsistence and survival and is now a world leader in technology and innovation. A country that despite the challenges of a turbulent region has become a democratic success story. A country that is at the forefront of the skills revolution, whether in technology, life skills, vocational skills, and is creating the most practical solutions to enhance the lives of the poorest and most marginalised in the world. The desire and responsibility to want to help others, coupled with a can-do attitude, is precisely the sort of Jewish Homeland that was dreamt by Herzl and was of course supported by the historic letter - the Balfour Declaration." (Priti Patel speech at third BICOM Jewish News conference - GOV.UK, 2/11/17)

Gooo Tories!

Innocent Bystander in Tough Neighbourhood...

... strikes again, and again, and again, and again, and again [...]:

"Providing the most specific details yet on Israel's ongoing series of military strikes inside war-torn Syria, Air Force Chief Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel revealed today that Israel has carried out nearly 100 distinct military actions over the last five years specifically related to what they believed were Hezbollah-bound arms convoys." (Air Force chief: Israel has attacked Syrian arms convoys nearly 100 times in 5 years, Jason Ditz, antiwar.com, 16/8/17)

Syria Must Burn

Here's Zionist chutzpah for you: Syria must go on burning so a nuclear Israel can feel safe from... Iran.

"Israeli officials and other diplomats familiar with the situation are finally detailing the circumstances regarding the lead-up to the southern Syrian ceasefire agreement reached between the US and Russia, revealing secret talks were held in Amman and in an unnamed European capital city about the plan beforehand. Israeli officials were involved in the talks, and unsurprising given their public position since the ceasefire was announced, made clear they were unconditionally opposed to the ceasefire agreement, and objected to the creation of safe zones to limit combat in the areas. The reason for Israel's opposition to the ceasefire similarly appears to have been exactly what they've complained about since, that they believe any calm in Syria necessarily benefits Iran, and that anything that might conceivably move toward ending the Syria War must hand Iran some sort of specific defeat. It is this Iran-centric view of the Syrian conflict, despite Iran having a fairly limited involvement in it, which has led Israeli military officials to say they don't want ISIS to lose in Syria, and since the ceasefire's announcement that they are prepared to join the conflict simply to ensure that Iran, by which they mean the Shi'ite government, doesn't win." (Israel held secret talks with US, Russia to object to Syria ceasefire, Jason Ditz, antiwar.com, 9/8/17)

Meet Israel's South Syrian Army

Remember Israel's late, unlamented South Lebanon Army (SLA)? They were a proxy sectarian militia led by General Antoine Lahad and strutted their stuff  - which included a notorious torture centre in the Lebanese town of Khiam - in an Israeli-declared 'security zone' north of the Israeli-Lebanese border in the 1980s and 90s. Well, as the Lebanese (particularly Hezbollah) resistance to Israel's occupation of south Lebanon grew in the 1990s, Israel's 'security zone' became its 'insecurity zone' and it was finally forced to withdraw in 2000.

And its SLA proxy? So sad:

"... there were mass arrests of collaborators with Israel who, after interrogation by Hizbullah's security apparatus, were turned over to the Lebanese authorities. More than 1,250 militiamen with their families crossed into Israel before the Israeli pullout was completed on May 27, 2000. The refugees, who were being housed in a camp near Lake Tiberias, complained about the squalid living conditions and expressed their anger at Israel. 'Israel betrayed us... We could have continued to fight Hizbullah for ten years without the Israeli army, but they handed them victory,' said Etian Sakhr, known by Lebanese as 'Abu Arz,' the leader of the Lebanese Cedar Party." (In the Path of Hizbullah, Ahmad Nizar Hamzeh, 2004, p 95)

Well, meet the South Lebanon Army's contemporary Syrian counterparts, the South Syrian Army:

"Israel has been providing Syrian rebels near its [!?] border in the Golan Heights with a steady flow of funds, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance, with one group receiving roughly $5,000 per month, according to rebel fighters quoted in a newspaper report. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing interviews with half a dozen rebel leaders and three persons familiar with Israel's undeclared policy, that the Jewish State is helping these forces, which are opposed to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Iranian, Lebanese and Russian allies, in an effort to help set up a buffer zone on its [!?] border with forces friendly to Israel. According to the report, Israel set up a special military unit in 2016 to oversee and coordinate the transfer of the aid, which helps the groups pay salaries and buy weapons and ammunition... Israel has dubbed this operation in the Golan Heights the 'Good Neighborhood' policy... 'Israel stood by our side in a heroic way, a spokesman for the rebel group Fursan al-Joulan, or Knights of the Golan, Moatasem al-Golani, told the Journal. 'We wouldn't have survived without Israel's assistance'." (Israel provides steady flow of cash, aid to Syrian rebels, says WSJ report, timesofisrael.com, 19/6/17)

I sure hope there's still some room left in that squalid 'refugee' camp near Lake Tiberias for Israel's Knights of the Golan...

And on the Sixth Day...

Today is the 50th anniversary of the last day of the June/ Six-Day War of 1967, when Israel seized control of Syria's Golan Heights, since ANNEXED. This would be Israel's last great LAND GRAB until its OCCUPATION of southern Lebanon in the early 80s.

While its propaganda apparatus hyped a non-existent 'existential threat', the reality was more mundane. Israel's aging brass still fondly remembered its glory days in 1948 when, by fire and sword, they'd GRABBED 78% of Palestine from its native people, whom they'd sent packing. Not to mention the great Sinai LAND GRAB of 1956. They were bored and itching for a bit more biff, snatch and grab.

As Israeli historian Tom Segev put it: "The generals were in their forties, family men, but they clung to the Israeli culture of youth; they were like adolescent boys or bulls in rut. They believed in force and they wanted war. War was their destiny. Almost 20 years had passed since the army had won glory in the War of Independence, and 10 years since the victory in the Sinai. They had a limited range of vision and they believed that war was what Israel needed at that moment, not because they felt the country's existence was in danger, as they wailed in an almost 'Diaspora' tone, but because they believed it was an opportunity to break the Egyptian army." (1967: Israel, the War & the Year that Transformed the Middle East, 2007, p 296)

But too much war is never enough for military brass and their political dupes. Why not go for broke on the northern front as well?

"The main pressure to seize [Syria's] Golan [Heights] came from General David Elazar of the Northern Command... In the two years preceding the war he had broached the matter not only with his superiors in the military, but also with {PM] Eshkol and a few ministers, including Allon, with whom he even discussed the possibility of occupying Damascus." (ibid, p 388)

"According to [Defence Minister] Dayan, he had found out early on Friday morning that the Syrian forces were crumbling and would be easy to defeat, although Syria was about to stop fighting, as Egypt had already done... 'Last night I did not think Egypt and Syria... would collapse like this and abandon the rest of the battle,' wrote Dayan to Elazar, 'but if this is the situation, it should be fully exploited'." (ibid, pp 390-91)

"Eshkol went on a tour of the north and met with Dayan. His impression was that the IDF was having great difficulty gaining control of the key town of Kuneitra. At this point, the Golan was a race against time. [Foreign Minister] Eban telephoned Eshkol's house to inform him that the UN Security Council had issued a cease-fire resolution, and so the fighting had to stop immediately. Since Eshkol was in the north, his wife took the call. Later Eshkol phoned her, full of enthusiasm about the view from the Golan, the water, the greenery. She gave him Eban's message and Eshkol shouted, 'Hello? Hello? I can't hear you. There's something wrong with the line, I can't hear you...' He repeated this over and over, until she understood that he did not want to 'hear'. A few hours later Kuneitra fell." (Ibid, p 397)

"Ben-Gurion, who had opposed the incursion into the Golan, now had a change of heart. Following a visit with General Elazar, he described the Golan Heights as critical to [Israel's] security." (Ibid, p 428)

As they say, 'Boys will be boys... and so will a lot of middle-aged men.'

Zionist Dreaming

The 1982 Yinon Plan (A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties):

"Lebanon's total dissolution into 5 provinces serves as a precedent for the entire Arab world, including Egypt, Syria, Iraq and the Arabian peninsula, and is already following that track. The dissolution of Syria and Iraq later on into ethnically or religiously unique areas such as in Lebanon, is Israel's primary target on the Eastern front in the long run, while the dissolution of the military power of those states serves as the primary short term target. Syria will fall apart, in accordance with its ethnic and religious structure, into several states such as in present day Lebanon, so that there will be a Shi'ite Alawi state along its coast, a Sunni state in the Aleppo area, another Sunni state in Damascus hostile to its northern neighbor, and the Druzes, who will set up a state, maybe even in our Golan, and certainly in the Hauran and in northern Jordan. This state of affairs will be the guarantee for peace and security in the area in the long run, and that aim is already within our reach today."

The Yinon Plan in action today:

"If Assad wins,' one IDF official in the Golan Heights told me, 'we will have Hezbollah not on two borders but one.'

"Yavne, the brigadier general, similarly described the Iranian influence as significantly more worrisome than ISIS or other Sunni Muslim terror groups: 'If I can be frank, the radical axis headed by Iran is more risky than the global jihad one,' said Yavne. 'It is much more knowledgeable, stronger, with a bigger arsenal.'

"As far as these Israeli officers are concerned, the ideal strategy is to sit back and let both typres of groups duke it out - and work to contain the conflict rather than trying to end it with military forces. As the IDF intelligence officer put it, 'the battle for deterrence is easier than the battle for influence.'

"But does that mean that the United States and its allies should simply allow ISIS to retain its so-called caliphate in parts of eastern Syria and eastern Iraq? 'Why not?' the officer shot back. 'When they asked the late [Israeli] Prime Minister Menachem Begin in the Iran-Iraq War in the 8os, who does Israel stand for, Iraq or Iran, he said, 'I wish luck to both parties. They can go at it, killing each other.' The same thing is here. You have ISIS killing Al Qaeda by the thousands, Al Qaeda killing ISIS by the thousands. And they are both killing Hezbollah and Assad." (Israeli officers: You're doing ISIS wrong, Bryan Bender, politico.com, 22/5/17)

Innocent Bystander in Tough Neighbourhood...

... receives apology from its mates in Syria:

"Fighters loyal to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) have apologized for launching an attack on Israeli forces last year in the disputed [sic: occupied] Golan Heights region, according to Israel's former defense minister." (ISIS fighters regret attacking Israel & have 'apologized, former defense minister says, Tom O'Connor, newsweek.com, 27/4/17)

Innocent Bystander in Tough Neighbourhood...

... strikes again:

"A massive blast near Damascus International Airport early on Thursday reportedly was likely caused by an Israeli air strike said Lebanon's al-Manar, a television channel affiliated with the Syrian government ally Hezbollah... A spokesman for the Israeli military... said: 'We can't comment on such reports'." (Israelis blamed for huge explosion near Damascus airport, Suleiman al-Khalidi, AAP, Reuters, Sydney Morning Herald, 28/4/17)

Israel Up to its Neck in Syria

But you'll never read about it in the Australian press:

1) "Forces of the Syrian army in the southeastern governorate of al-Suweida seized Israeli-made weapons that were designated for ISIS, Syrian media reported on Wednesday. According to the reports, Syrian Army forces, in cooperation with local residents on the western outskirts of al-Suweida, confiscated... a vehicle that was coming from the Daraa eastern suburbs, on its way to ISIS forces in the eastern Syrian desert. The vehicle was carrying Israeli-made mines with Hebrew writing on them, as well as mortars, RPG rockets and hand grenades. It was not immediately clear how the Israeli weapons got into the hands of those arming ISIS..." (Syrian army reportedly seizes Israeli-made weapons on their way to ISIS, Maayan Groisman, Jerusalem Post, 28/4/16)

2) "Members of the Syrian opposition will make a rare public appearance in Israel next week at the invitation of the Truman Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem... The Truman Institute declined to provide the names of those who will appear... Opposition figure Issam Zeitoun visited Israel 7 months ago to participate in the Herzliya Conference... In an interview... Zeitoun defended himself against criticism of his visit, saying 'I work with a group of academics and experts in strategic research centers, Americans and Jews, whom I found to be friends to the Syrian people... Next week's event can be expected to be used by the Assad regime to discredit the opposition, which has been depicted in official Syrian media discourse... as being instruments of Israel and US machinations to dismember Syria." (Syrian opposition figures to make rare public appearance in Israel, Ben Lynfield, Jerusalem Post, 9/1/16)

3) "Syrian army command said on Friday that Israeli artillery fired rockets at a major military airbase outside Damascus, and warned Israel of repercussions for what it called a 'flagrant' attack... In November, the Syrian army said Israeli jets fired two missiles on an area west of the capital, close to the Damascus-Beirut highway, in an attack mounted from Lebanese airspace." (Syrian army says Israel fires rockets at airbase near Damascus, Suleiman al-Khalidi, Reuters, 13/1/17)

C'mon Guys, Do It for Israel

Some interesting quotes from UNCLASSIFIED US Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc. No. C05794498 Date: 11/30/2015:

"The best way to help Israel deal with Iran's growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad."

"What Israeli military leaders really worry about - but cannot talk about - is losing their nuclear monopoly... If Iran were to reach the threshold of a nuclear weapons state, Tehran would find it much easier to call on its allies in Syria and Hezbollah to strike Israel, knowing that its nuclear weapons would serve as a deterrent to Israel responding against Iran itself."

"With Assad gone, and Iran no longer able to threaten Israel through its proxies, it is possible that the United States and Israel can agree on red lines for when Iran's program has crossed an unacceptable threshold. In short, the White House can ease the tension that has developed with Israel over Iran by doing the right thing in Syria."

"Success in Syria would be a transformative event for the Middle East. Not only would another ruthless dictator succumb to mass opposition on the streets, but the region would be changed for the better as Iran would no longer have a foothold in the Middle East from which to threaten and undermine stability in the region."

"Arming the Syrian rebels and using western air power to ground Syrian helicopters and airplanes is a low-cost high payoff approach. As long as Washington's political leaders stay firm that no US ground troops will be deployed... the costs to the United States will be limited... Iran would be strategically isolated, unable to exert its influence in the Middle East. The resulting regime in Syria will see the United States as a friend, not an enemy. Washington would gain substantial recognition as a friend, not an enemy. The resulting regime in Syria will see the United States as a friend, not an enemy. Washington would gain substantial recognition as fighting for the people in the Arab world, not the corrupt regimes. For Israel, the rationale for a bolt from the blue attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would be eased. And a new Syrian regime might well be open to early action on the frozen peace talks with Israel. Hezbollah in Lebanon would be cut off from its Iranian sponsor since Syria would no longer be a transit point for Iranian training, assistance and missiles. All these strategic benefits and the prospect of saving thousands of civilians from murder at the hands of the Assad regime... With the veil of fear lifted from the Syrian people, they seem determined to fight for their freedom. America can and should help them - and by doing so help Israel and help reduce the risk of a wider war."