HowardUpdate on War Threat
Real Crash- Looking at the Financial System and the War Drive:
She bombs you, yeah yeah yeah
She bombs you, yeah yeah yeah.
(Beatles spoof)
The upcoming nuclear war starting with Israel attacking Iran is still shaping up. The question is, did Barack Obama give Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak permission to "do it baby." Adding to the mix is Arab League observers going into Syria, and actions by Shiite Maliki, PM of Iraq against the Sunni VP in that country. Sounds like preparations for the grand war of the Sunnis led by Saudi Arabia supported by Israel, against the Shiites of Iraq and Iran. There's there's the Iranian military showing off their captured U.S. drone trophy. What a volatile mix, but will it explode? More from our geezer and friends.
What Happened With Barack and Barak?
Did President Barack Obama give Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak the green light for an Israeli strike against Iran? This is the question being asked in Israel following and unscheduled, closed-door meeting between the two Dec. 16, while Barak was in Washington.
Columnist Amir Oren writes in a commentary Ha'aretz, speculating that the meeting could have been a replay of the meeting in May 1982 when then Secretary of State Alexander Haig gave a flashing amber light which then-Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon saw as green, and allowed him to start the Israeli invasion of Lebanon that year.
"Is it possible that the half-hour meeting last Friday at the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, Maryland, between U.S. President Barack Obama and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will be remembered in Israel's history as the moment at which Barack O. gave the green light to E. Barak-- for better or for worse --to attack Iran?" asks Oren. "Can this be seen as a sort of flashback to the talk between Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig in Washington in May 1982, that gave rise to the (mistaken) Israeli impression that there was an understanding with the United States over going to war in Lebanon?"
In answer he writes that upon Barak's return on Dec. 18, his entourage remained "tight-lipped." Oren says that Barak would only tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu what ensued.
Oren then points out that this meeting was held after Barak had met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, and most likely Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus. Knowing that it would be Obama who would make final decisions, Barak held the meeting with Obama. While Oren seems to conclude that since all the others, including Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed an Israeli strike against Iran, that Barak got the same message from Obama.
He also points out that the division of responsibility in the Israeli government, is that Barak is the liaison officer to the Democratic administration, while Benjiman Netanyahu is the liaison to the Republicans, and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman deals with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
This half-hour meeting has now become a point of considerable speculation and the truth is only known between Barack and Barak.
