Yonah Jeremy Bob
@jeremybob1
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BREAKING: The attack on Iran at Isfahan, attributed to Israel, was carried out NOT by drones or land to air missiles, but by long range missiles launched from AIRCRAFT, the Jerusalem Post has confirmed:
jpost.com
Explosions heard in Iran, Syria, Iraq
2:56 AM · Apr 19, 2024 //

FDD
@FDD
·
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"This may be an early demonstration of some new capabilities that Israel has and that the Iranians were not aware of."

@mdubowitz joins @CNN to break down Israel's retaliatory strike near an Iranian nuclear facility.

Watch 👇

12:15 PM · Apr 19, 2024

A missile, two Western officials said, was fired from a warplane far from Israeli or Iranian airspace and included technology that enabled it to evade Iran’s radar defenses. Neither the missile nor the aircraft that fired it entered Jordanian airspace, the Western officials said, a gesture meant to keep the kingdom out of the conflict after it helped shoot down Iranian weapons last week.

The two Iranian officials said that Iran’s military had not detected anything entering Iran’s airspace on Friday, including drones, missiles and aircraft. Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that no missile attacks had occurred and that Iran’s air defense system had not been activated.

How precise was the attack? The NYT got a look at satellite imagery of the Natanz S-300 system, both before and after the attack. The missile strike destroyed the S-300 radar system while leaving other related equipment undamaged: //

Gerald McGlothlin argues at American Thinker that they took a page out of King David's playbook as a warning about what could happen next (via Adam Baldwin):

Targeting Isfahan, Iran's "crown jewel," Israel's action carried a profound warning: a demonstration of military might, and a counterattack that was presumed by many experts not to be made until after Passover.

This maneuver by Israel echoes a biblical story from 1 Samuel 26, where David, pursued by King Saul, infiltrates the king's camp and absconds with his spear and water jug—items placed next to the sleeping king. David's subsequent display of these items from a safe distance served as a powerful testament to his ability to strike at the heart of Saul's defenses without harming him. Similarly, Israel's recent military action against Isfahan sends a clear signal to Iran: "Your military can't protect you from us."

Israel's restraint is both a message and a warning. It signifies that while Israel possesses the capability to unleash devastating strikes that could result in massive casualties and escalate into a larger conflict, it chooses, for now, a path of caution and strategic messaging. This act of restraint should not be mistaken for weakness but rather seen as a calculated effort to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and instability in the region.

The Jerusalem Post
@Jerusalem_Post
·
Iran informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday, adding that the US conveyed to Iran via Ankara that its operation must be "within certain limits."
jpost.com
Iran informed Turkey in advance of its operation against Israel
10:11 AM · Apr 14, 2024

There's no way to sugarcoat that. The Biden administration told the Iranians it was acceptable to attack "within certain limits." Were those limits adhered to? That's something only the president and his handlers can answer (and never will), but given their rush to demand Israel not strike back, it would seem probable that everything went according to plan. //

This is a betrayal that is hard to fathom. //

Whatever Iran has on Biden and the entire Obama alumni must be incredibly serious given the links these people are going to to protect a terrorist state. //

Min Headroom llme
4 hours ago

Whatever Iran has on Biden and the entire Obama alumni must be incredibly serious given the links these people are going to to protect a terrorist state.

That may be true, but there is another possibility which is at least equally unsettling: there’s a “balanced” foreign policy mindset among a good deal of the DC elites, that requires their definition of all competing interests getting what they decide is a proper share. Part of this has to do with crackpot notions of proportionality, part of it is a craven hope that by carefully managing everything, stability, if not outright peace will be maintained. These wise f*ls actually think they are clever and orchestrating a grand scheme, all while fluffing their own egos and feathering their own nests. While the truth is they are weak and stupd.

So it’s not so much they are being blackmailed, although that’s possible, but more likely they are literally giving it away for free.

But then a disturbing report came out that the reason the U.S. had such good intel about an Iranian attack on Israel was because it was Iran who tipped the Biden team off. But they told the U.S. that they would consider it limited and not escalate if Israel didn't respond. The Biden team told Israel they would not be involved in an offensive attack on Iran and was encouraging Israel not to respond, to "take the win" from their good defensive response to the attack. They were also leaking about the discussions to the media, undercutting Israel and saying they didn't know if Israel would sit back after being attacked. //

Washington had conveyed to Tehran via Turkey that any action it took had to be "within certain limits." Basically, you were having Joe Biden green-lighting the attack.

U.S. forces in the area have reportedly shot down "dozens" of drones targeting Israel. They've also reportedly taken out missiles, as well. //

Israel says most launches were taken out outside of Israel. //

David M Friedman @DavidM_Friedman
·
Catching up now after Shabbat. Obviously missed a lot. Here are my quick takeaways:

1) Iran’s attack against Israel — 200+ drones, cruise and ballistic missiles — more aggressive and pervasive than expected.

2) Israel’s response so far has been magnificent — intercepting 99% of the incoming.

3) Lots of help provided by USA, UK, France and even Jordan. We are grateful.

4) Iran literally attacked the Al Aqsa Mosque. Had Israel not intercepted the missile, 3rd holiest site in Islam destroyed.

5) This is the time for Israel, the West and the moderate Sunni nations to unite against this evil, terrorist nation.
8:25 PM · Apr 13, 2024

quoting the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said on April 6 that it had “incomplete data” for 11,371 of the 33,091 Palestinian fatalities it claims to have documented. In a statistical report, the ministry notes that it considers an individual record to be incomplete if it is missing any of the following key data points: identity number, full name, date of birth, or date of death. The health ministry also released a report on April 3 that acknowledged the presence of incomplete data but did not define what it meant by “incomplete.” In that earlier report, the ministry acknowledged the incompleteness of 12,263 records. It is unclear why, after just three more days, the number fell to 11,371 — a decrease of more than 900 records.

Prior to its admissions of incomplete data, the health ministry, asserted that the information in more than 15,000 fatality records had stemmed from “reliable media sources.” However, the ministry never identified the sources in question and Gaza has no independent media.

FDD @FDD
·
.@adesnik: "The sudden shifts in the ministry’s reporting methods suggest it is scrambling to prevent exposure of its shoddy work. For months, U.S. media have taken for granted that the ministry’s top-line figure for casualties was reliable enough to include in daily updates on… Show more

FDD @FDD
Hamas-Run Gaza Health Ministry Admits to Flaws in Casualty Data

@adesnik and @JoeTruzman weigh in:
https://fdd.org/analysis/2024/04/09/hamas-run-gaza-health-ministry-admits-to-flaws-in-casualty-data/

11:35 AM · Apr 9, 2024

What is the Biden administration doing to prevent this catastrophe? It's pulling out the same playbook it used in its attempt to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Specifically, all of these leaks to major news outlets like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are purposeful and are meant to signal to Iran that we know when, where, and what they are going to do. Taking away the element of surprise can be a powerful tool in war. That's where the idea that Tehran "may temper the size and scope" of its attack in response to these revelations comes from.

As we know, that didn't work with Russia. They moved into Ukraine anyway, and Biden's weakness across the globe no doubt played a role in that. Ask yourself, what has changed since then? Is there any reason for Iran to believe a retaliatory strike from the United States would be anything more than blowing up some warehouses in the deserts of Syria? //

With the U.S. on the Brink of War With Iran, the Biden Administration Tries One Last, Desperate Ploy
By Bonchie | 9:59 AM on April 12, 2024The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.

AP Photo/Susan Walsh
At the end of Donald Trump's presidential term, Iran was nearing an economic collapse with little ability to project strength outside of funding terrorist proxies. Internal revolutions were brewing, and the Mullahs were in their weakest position in decades.

Then Joe Biden took over. Since then Iran has been revitalized, seeing significant growth in its military budget due to the waiving of sanctions. The Islamic power has also come far closer to developing usable nuclear weapons. What did the United States get in return? It received a frayed relationship with long-time ally Saudia Arabia and absolute chaos from Kabul to Tel Aviv.

Wherever Biden's foreign policy has been, abject failure has followed. One can't help but laugh at this post from his 2020 presidential campaign.

Biden always has the "answers" until he's actually in charge, and his weakness has begotten aggression. As RedState reported in the early morning on Friday, Iran is preparing to attack Israel directly, a move that would draw the United States into a broader war.

SEE: Iran Attack on Israel Expected Within the Next 48 Hours

American military forces are already being positioned to respond.

What is the Biden administration doing to prevent this catastrophe? It's pulling out the same playbook it used in its attempt to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Specifically, all of these leaks to major news outlets like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are purposeful and are meant to signal to Iran that we know when, where, and what they are going to do. Taking away the element of surprise can be a powerful tool in war. That's where the idea that Tehran "may temper the size and scope" of its attack in response to these revelations comes from.

As we know, that didn't work with Russia. They moved into Ukraine anyway, and Biden's weakness across the globe no doubt played a role in that. Ask yourself, what has changed since then? Is there any reason for Iran to believe a retaliatory strike from the United States would be anything more than blowing up some warehouses in the deserts of Syria?

Again, when you spend years fluffing and empowering an Islamic dictatorship for no logical reason (which points to something more nefarious behind the scenes), the consequences are predictable. Biden's strategy against Russia before it invaded Ukraine, holding off on sanctions in an attempt to appease Moscow, turned out to be a colossal mistake. The president is repeating that mistake by continuing to waive sanctions on Iran instead of taking a hardline before the missiles start flying.

There is considerably more economic leverage to be exerted over Iran due to its position compared to Russia. Instead of using it, Biden is running the same formerly failed play, desperately leaking tough talk to the press that our enemies no longer believe. The results may very well be predictable. Let's hope not. //

PetePatriot
an hour ago
From the article, "Again, when you spend years fluffing and empowering an Islamic dictatorship for no logical reason (which points to something more nefarious behind the scenes), the consequences are predictable."

Yes, they are and here are the numbers from the WSJ 11/10/23: "Iran exported nearly 1.4 million barrels of oil per day in October, sustaining its average for 2023. This is up 80% from the 775,000 barrels per day Iran averaged under the Trump Administration’s 'maximum pressure' strategy...The Iranian surge in oil exports since President Biden took over has brought Iran an additional $32 billion to $35 billion, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies."

That was before Biden traded prisoners and unfroze $6 billion of Iranian assets.

More from the WSJ: "In 2020 the State Department assessed that Iran sends $100 million a year to Palestinian terrorist groups, arming and training them to attack Israel and murder its civilians as Hamas did Oct. 7. Citing an Israeli security source, Reuters reports that Iran’s funding for Hamas ballooned in the past year to $350 million. Hamas’s new capabilities took Israel and the U.S. by surprise, but they didn’t come from nowhere."

It's hard not to loathe this administration.

My Glock is an ugly little monument to the historic threat facing my family, my neighbors, and all of Israel. //

Comments --

As a former soldier who has been to war in your region, Matti, I call upon the notion of self defense; when your government fails to protect you as seen throughout the world, you need to defend yourself regardless of the weapon. The last thing rational People want to do is morph into a killer of others, but when another man puts a gun to your face you have two choices...

The Men Who Wanted to Be Left Alone

“The most terrifying force of death comes from the hands of Men who wanted to be left Alone. They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love. They resist every impulse to fight back, knowing the forced and permanent change of life that will come from it. They know that the moment they fight back, their lives as they have lived them, are over. The moment the Men who wanted to be left alone are forced to fight back, it is a form of suicide. They are literally killing off who they used to be. Which is why, when forced to take up violence, these Men who wanted to be left alone, fight with unholy vengeance against those who murdered their former lives. They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely play-acting at politics and terror. True terror will arrive at these people’s door, and they will cry, scream, and beg for mercy… but it will fall upon the deaf ears of the Men who just wanted to be left alone.”

– Author Unknown

As a former soldier who has been to war in your region, Matti, I call upon the notion of self defense; when your government fails to protect you as seen throughout the world, you need to defend yourself regardless of the weapon. The last thing rational People want to do is morph into a killer of others, but when another man puts a gun to your face you have two choices...

The Men Who Wanted to Be Left Alone

“The most terrifying force of death comes from the hands of Men who wanted to be left Alone. They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love. They resist every impulse to fight back, knowing the forced and permanent change of life that will come from it. They know that the moment they fight back, their lives as they have lived them, are over. The moment the Men who wanted to be left alone are forced to fight back, it is a form of suicide. They are literally killing off who they used to be. Which is why, when forced to take up violence, these Men who wanted to be left alone, fight with unholy vengeance against those who murdered their former lives. They fight with raw hate, and a drive that cannot be fathomed by those who are merely play-acting at politics and terror. True terror will arrive at these people’s door, and they will cry, scream, and beg for mercy… but it will fall upon the deaf ears of the Men who just wanted to be left alone.”

– Author Unknown

I was trying to focus on the historian Michael Oren, who was talking to me not about the war raging around us but about Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman general who walked the world 500 years before Jesus was born, some 200 kilometers from the spot we were standing.

“Cincinnatus was a farmer. All he wanted was to be at his plow,” Oren told me as the winter rain poured down. “But every time he went back to his farm the Roman Republic came to him and said, ‘We need you to come back. We need you to lead an army.’ ”

“The Cincinnatus myth was the foundational myth for the American Revolution, specifically for Washington himself,” Oren said. “It is also the most foundational Israeli myth. It is David Ben-Gurion. It is Moshe Dayan. It is Ariel Sharon. These people just wanted to farm. But they were called to pick up arms and defend their country. Israel is the Cincinnatus nation.”

Many have never heard the name Cincinnatus in Israel, where the Romans are remembered more as the empire that destroyed the Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70, slaughtered and sold its inhabitants, and renamed the land Syria Palestina. But the Jewish people—who long outlived that empire and reconstituted the Jewish national home in the land the Romans had once conquered—are also democratic heirs to Cincinnatus. //

There was not a single conversation that I had in the week I spent in Israel where the person did not say a version of the following: There was an October 6 version of me and an October 7 version of me. I am forever changed. I am a different person.

And that is another sense in which the story of the ancient Roman requires modification. The binary of war and peace, the pastoral and the military, is a retrospective luxury of powerful nations or empires. A small democracy, whose very existence is contested by populous autocracies, does not have the privilege, as Cincinnatus did, of going from the field of battle to the field to till. Israel’s citizen-soldiers are scientists, artists, and farmers, just as they are mothers and fathers, husbands and wives. Israeli citizens, whether they serve or not, are not—as one Hamas leader said of Gazans—someone else’s problem. //

Israel’s founding fathers and mothers, having known a period when Jews didn’t have a state—a period in which six million Jews were murdered—understood the difference between statelessness and sovereignty in their bones. The paradox of their extraordinary achievement is that modern Israelis, who might appreciate the distinction intellectually, could dismiss the dread alternative even when presented with visible evidence of a fragility they consigned to the past. Or at least they could until October 7. On that day, the thought exercise became real.

If Israel, in other words, is currently fighting a second war of independence—an existential war necessary for the survival of the state, as everyone here believes—then the young men and women of this country are more than soldiers. They are latter-day Ben-Gurions. They are a new generation of founders. Indeed, as Gadi Taub told me in Tel Aviv, one of the slogans of this war is lo noflim midor tachach! Which loosely translates to do not fall short of the ’48 generation. //

And yet before October 7, despite the country’s universal draft, many Israelis say they, too, believed that history and heroism were things that belonged to the past. Theirs was a nation, like ours, that was addicted to likes and to TikTok, hopelessly unserious, run by an elite with all of the noblesse but none of the oblige.

After an Israeli air strike in Syria on Monday killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a hardline Iranian political coalition has seemingly admitted that Iran played a significant role in Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. //

Martyr Zahedi's strategic role in forming and strengthening the resistance front, as well as designing and implementing the Al-Aqsa storm, are great honors that will make the silent efforts of this great commander immortal in the history of the anti-occupation regime. //

A Wall Street Journal exclusive in October reported that senior IRGC officers helped plan the attacks and gave the final green light during a meeting in Beirut the Monday before they were carried out. National security sources in the United States have told RedState on condition of anonymity that the U.S. has found evidence that Iran led a great deal of the intelligence preparation for the attacks, including communications protocols, SIGINT support, and cyber attacks. The Iranian government has officially denied any involvement. //

The three men were in Syria to discuss operational logistics and coordination, the source said, without elaborating. Zahedi was a top figure in the Guards' Quds Force, which funnels Iranian support to allies around the region, including to Lebanon's Hezbollah.

POINT 1: So here it's worth flagging how grotesque it is that the whole aid process in Gaza always involves gunmen jumping onto trucks...apparently Hamas gunmen. It shows how the whole problem with the Gaza war in general...which is that because Israel refuses to control areas in Gaza...Israel continues to basically outsource control to others...and the "others" end up being Hamas usually. This creates a ridiculous cycle where Israel is fighting a six month war "against Hamas" but Hamas seems to always seemlessly control most of Gaza today (like 80%?) and has gunmen who systematically take control of aid convoys.

So the PRESENCE of gunmen on aid trucks is a systematic problem. It has not been addressed. And it seems there is a kind of "wink wink" between aid organizations, Hamas and the IDF about this "process"...but it is also a process that can easily turn deadly because of the war. //

Dieter Schultz Lugger66
an hour ago edited
I think that part of the problem in situations like this, i.e. where one side is assumed to control the field of activity and therefore whatever happens is the "controlling authority's" responsibility, is that when that authority is not allowed to, really, control the environment then they will always be held responsible for what happens, regardless of why it happened.

As lots of people here have said, it's a war zone but, it isn't a war zone that Israel is being allowed to control. It really is, when you look at it objectively, a no-win situation for Israel; the US and other nations aren't allowing them to control their zone of operations but they are being held responsible for everything that happens in that zone.

It really is a zugzwang situation for Israel, they are being put into a situation without any good moves being made available to them.

It really sucks for them.

It's very important to minimize the collateral damage, and protecting civilization [sic] lives as well, and I would hope that Hamas decides to, not starting to hide behind civilians--creating those circumstances that makes it even more difficult as well. //

He then nailed the elephant in the room, which many on the Left like to leave out of the discussion. He said, "We also can't forget about the hostages, too. They've been in custody now since Oct. 7. So, it's an awful situation." //

You don't have to agree with every leader's views. But we have an opportunity to stand with Israel. That's what I've decided to do. //

Senator John Fetterman
@SenFettermanPA
·
In this war against Hamas—no conditions for Israel.
3:15 PM · Apr 4, 2024

DR. PHIL: There are some things that are just fundamental human decency, and when I ask you if what happened on October 7th is something you condemn, and you say, "Well, you have to look at that by looking at hundreds of years of conflict," no you don't. No, you don't. That's either right or it's wrong, and it was wrong, and I don't need a hundred years of conflict to know it was wrong. //

That Dr. Phil was having none of it and let her have it is extremely satisfying. You don't need a history of the Middle East to condemn burning infants in their cribs, and these American activists have no idea what they are talking about. They are cosplaying for clout, nothing more.

YOUSEF: Now we have the problem of the pro-Palestine who are actually giving Hamas cover. They are participants in the crime. In fact, since October 7th, I personally don't differentiate between Hamas and so-called Palestinians because, actually, there is no Palestinians. There are tribes. There is the tribe of Hamas and there is the tribe of Islamic Jihad, and there is the tribe of Khalil, and there is the tribe of Nablus, and each one has different interests and all of them are conflicted. If they did not have Israel as the common enemy, they would kill each other. This is the reality of so-called Palestine. //

The cause must die. I think enough is enough, and now it is proven, you are helping Hamas to prove it to the world that Palestine depends on the destruction of the State of Israel, and this is not acceptable, and we are not going to agree to it. //

what Yousef says is so striking. He grew up in the West Bank. His father was a co-founder of Hamas. Yousef has the personal experience to speak on the realities of the situation. //

there can be no peace until the "cause" of eliminating Israel ceases and those in the West Bank and Gaza take responsibility for their own lives.

A review of recent scholarship on the shaping of the modern Middle East in the aftermath of the Holocaust, and how Islamist hate has roots in Nazi antisemitism.

Hezbollah’s escalation coincides with the recent visits by the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to Iran. Hamas and PIJ, both Iran-sponsored terrorists groups, fear an imminent Israeli offensive on their last-standing Gaza stronghold of Rafah.

Hezbollah’s actions in the north could be a bid to ease pressure on Iran-backed terrorists group in Gaza. Israel will score a major strategic victory if its captures Rafah, and thereby eliminating Gaza’s terrorist leadership, jihadist fighting forces and freeing the remaining hostages.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been making bad Hamas terrorists into good Hamas terrorists since shortly after the Oct. 7th massacre last year ... //

The IDF Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance unit has uncovered caches of weapons and un-alived two more senior Hamas operatives. //

International pressure for a cease-fire notwithstanding, this isn't the time for the IDF to stop revoking Hamas members' birth certificates. //

And if Hamas's leadership continues to press for a Palestinian state, point them towards Jordan and tell them to start walking.

Any death in war is tragic, especially civilian deaths. No one should make light of these losses. However, American foreign policy decisions appear to be increasingly driven by the rate of fatalities. It is, therefore, worthwhile to take a closer look at the numbers that may be less than they seem and not out of line with other cases of urban warfare.

Serious doubts have been raised concerning the credibility of the Gaza Ministry. //

The Israeli campaign in Gaza began as a response to the October 7 attack and its particular brutality. It is wrong, however, to view the Israeli fighting as a case of reciprocal brutality. On the contrary, the rate of civilian deaths is comparable to or lower than in other urban warfare settings. There are also indications that the civilian casualty rate is declining further. This evaluation of fatalities is not intended to minimize the real, tragic losses in Gaza. It is, however, grounds for the United States to refrain from making policy decisions based on misunderstood casualty rates or uninformed public debate.

Ambassador Erdan ripped the UN Security Council vote for giving "hope" to Hamas.

"Releasing the hostages should be the first priority of the Council. Your demand for a cease-fire without making it conditional on the release of our hostages harms the efforts to release them and gives Hamas hope of achieving a cease-fire without releasing them. All council members should have opposed this resolution," Erdan said.

So now what will the left say? Israel was willing to agree to a bad deal, but once again, it's Hamas throwing a wrench into a ceasefire deal. It's Hamas who is always the problem in this equation, yet the Biden administration and the left will continue to attack and blame Israel, while essentially helping Hamas in the process.