Damning: BBC Documentary Reveals Shocking Truth About Flotilla (Video)

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Hard Core of Islamist Activists Seized Ship Long before Israel

This surprisingly candid BBC Panorama documentary lays out the events surrounding the Mavi Marmara Turkish Flotilla designed to break the Gaza blockade, and the Israeli seizure of the ship.

The facts are presented with compelling video evidence and they are quite damning, but not for Israel as the media onslaught portrayed. Rather for the organizers, Turkey, and the IHH (now designated a terrorist supporting entity by Germany).

We learn..

  • The Organizers were prepared to break the siege at all costs, sanctioned violence.
  • Islamists seized the Ship before Israel arrived.
  • Islamists prepared for martyrdom, violence, and an assault on the IDF.
  • Turkey  was complicit.
  • The so called AID was a farce, cover for a violent confrontation.
  • The IHH set out to create a staged media disaster against Israel.
  • Hundreds of passengers were used as pawns.
  • Islamists sought to 1st lynch, then murder IDF troops.

Here is the video in 2 parts

Part 1

Part 2

The world rushed to judgment

But as usual the real story is a familiar one. Radical Islam, terrorists, violence, lies, manipulation.

Star Wars: Israel Charts Ambitious Space Plans

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Where No Jew Has Gone Before.. Except, we have.

Israel, already a leader in space technologies is looking to raise its profile in the space game. At stake? Military supremacy in the new century and a boatload of cash.

Activity this past week focused on a high profile meeting between Israel’s space agency head and Mr. Bolden (of recent Muslims in Space, Obama shenanigan fame) over at NASA.

Apparently good things come in small packages (who knew?), and when it comes to satellites Israel packs them in pretty tight. NASA has expressed interest in this miniaturization technology, and Israeli developed radars that can pierce the atmosphere for mapping Venus.

The minister said the conversation mainly focused on NASA’s interest in Israeli technological developments. “We’re going for grandiose collaborations in areas NASA needs us. There are talks about collaboration in at least three areas where Israel is a leading force in the world of space.”

According to Hershkowitz, the US agency showed interest in Israel’s ability to create light satellites which weigh a fifth of American and European satellites while having the same capabilities. Light satellites can be launched from aircrafts and not only from ballistic missiles.

Another Israeli specialty that caught NASA’s attention is hyperspectral cameras which can detect land, air and sea pollution from space and classify types of soils and minerals. The two also discussed Israeli developments in the field of satellite antennas aimed at analyzing photos using radars. NASA is planning to map out Venus, and Israeli technology could help it see through the planet’s layer of clouds. [...]

An agreement of ‘future intent’ has now been been struck with NASA, complete with fancy space words. Impressive!

Big Bang

Key Words for Iranians: My ICBM is bigger than your ICBM. The mammoth 3 Stage Shavit-2 launcher has orbital payload capabilities and can open Israel up to commercial markets - In Space!! (It kills them the Jooz beat Islam into space. Worse, we can come back down.. Right on top of their heads.)

Israel is currently one of only 8 countries capable of putting sats into orbit, and has done so on numerous occasions.

Even sexier, because of Israel’s generally hostile eastern borders Israel launches its satellite rockets opposite the earth’s rotation. A mean feat designed to prevent boosters & technologies falling into enemy hands. This counter rotation launch has necessitated the miniaturization Israel now excels at, putting satellites into lower earth orbits.

Paging Ahmadinejad – Please call your office.

Israel’s advanced home built 3 stage solid fuel Shavit-2 launcher, is now rumored to be capable of 800KG payloads.

That kind of  ‘Big Boy’ payload can deliver a lot of thermonuclear juice boxes. It is based on Israel’s multi-stage Jericho ballistic missiles, but those payloads also open Israel up to new markets. The most recent Shavit launch was in late June, the Ofek 9 military satellite.

TEL AVIV – Israel delivered its latest spy satellite into low Earth orbit on June 22, using an improved version of its indigenous Shavit launcher, defense sources here said.

An official Ministry of Defense (MoD) notice of the launch, which took place about 10 p.m., was expected by midnight, once technicians ascertained that the satellite appeared to be functioning. [...]

The Price is Right

Offek and this miniaturization spell commercialization. Which while not entirely related to the NASA news above, is part of the this week’s space focus.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is set to approve an ambitious plan to turn Israel into a satellite superpower. According to details obtained by The Jerusalem Post, the aim is to increase sales of Israeli space platforms to nearly $8 billion a year.

The multi-year plan calls for the government to annually increase support for space research and development by several hundred million shekels. This investment would focus on new platforms – primarily Israel’s niche market in “mini satellites” – intended to yield billions in sales. [...]

Israel’s specialty, Eshed said, lies in manufacturing “mini satellites” like the recently launched Ofek 9. These weigh just a few hundred kilograms, in contrast to the mammoth satellites of several tons operated by the United States and Russia.

Despite Israel’s advanced technology, sales of its space platforms over the last 20 years have totaled less than $2.5b. Yet the international space market, Eshed stressed, is $250b. a year, and Israel could carve out at least 5% for itself. [...]

The combination of exciting NASA cooperation, and new commercial markets could have important benefits for Israel economically.

Feed naturally into defense applications, move Israel further into the realm of nanotechnology and open new avenues with technological and commercial partners. All the while solidifying our alliance with our favorite ally America well into the new century.

Jews are already in space, we’re just reaching higher.

Awesome: Obama Shifts MidEast Balance of Power Away From Israel

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Obama Triples US Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia. Just like the Deficit!!

A funny thing happened along the way to ‘containing’ Iran. Israel lost its historic military edge in the Middle East, and Obama tripled the Bush arms commitment to Saudi Arabia. Haha, the joke it appears is on us. In the last year of the Bush administration the US announced 3 major arms packages.

  1. 10 year, 30 Billion dollar arms commitment to Israel.
  2. 10 year, 20 Billion arms sale package to Saudi Arabia
  3. Multi billion dollar arms sale package to US Gulf allies.

Last year, I wrote that per capita (dollars spent per person) Israel was the largest defense spender on the planet. However, in raw dollar numbers Saudi Arabia was doubling us. According to the Economist, in 2009 Israel spent approximately 16 billion dollars on arms, roughly 3 billion of it coming from US military aid. Compared to the Saudis who spent an alarming 38 Billion dollars on weapons.

Alarm bells went off

Early on in the Obama administration Israel voiced serious concerns to the US at the highest levels. Commitments to Israel regarding arms packages had been broken, and top of the line advanced US weapons were being sold to Saudi Arabia, including guided weapons, smart bombs, and advanced fighter aircraft as part of their 20 billion dollar package under Bush.

Senior sources in the current U.S. administration, and senior officials at the foreign and defense ministries in Israel, have suggested that during the last year of the Bush administration the U.S. sold advanced military equipment to moderate Arab states – Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. The Americans justified the arms sales with the need to bolster these countries against the perceived threat posed by Iran.

In an address before the National Jewish Democratic Council, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, commented on the matter. “We discovered that the qualitative edge of the IDF has been eroded,” Oren said. “We came to the Obama administration and said: ‘Listen, we have a problem.’”

According to Oren the response of the Obama administration was positive and immediate. “They said they are going to deal with this matter and ensure that the qualitative edge of the IDF is preserved,” he said. “Since then we have embarked on a dialog [on preserving the IDF's qualitative edge].” [...]

The results?

The Obama administration and democrats tried to make hay implying that Bush was not Israel’s friend, rather Obama is. They were going to fix this. This week it all came gushing out. Today Israel announced it was agreeing to pick up approximately 20 F35 JSF fighter from the US in a 3 billion dollar deal, in order to ostensibly ‘maintain our qualitative edge’.

At the same time, last week the Saudi’s were reported to have agreed to purchasing 84 new F15 fighters from the US in a 30 billion dollar arms deal. As the big fix to allay Israel, Obama had agreed to keep some of the long range weaponry destined to the Saudis out of their deal..

Wait for it.. Today the other shoe dropped.

The Saudi deal swelled, doubling to 60 BILLION DOLLARS over the next 10 years. Throwing in on top of the 84 F15s, an additional 130+ attack helicopters – Some 60 of them advanced Apache gunships, plus US Blackhawks. This will bring the Saudi air-force well above the 200 mark for advanced F15s, and dwarf Israel’s attack helicopter fleet by a factor of about 3.

Obama came through all right..

He in theory cut some of the munitions & systems going to the Saudis, and instead TRIPLED the 20 billion dollar Bush commitment turning it into a 60 billion dollar arms orgy.

One that will see Israel numbers wise outgunned, outspent, and in theory possibly outmatched in the next 15 years. Shifting the balance of power in the Middle East, a balance which was already tilting of late away from Israel toward Iran & terrorists.

Containing Iran is costing us dearly indeed, and they have not even developed the nuclear weapons yet.

Lightning Strike: Huge F-35 Deal Will mean JSF Lands in Israel

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Cost Offsets

The JSF saga continues, but it is nearing its end.

We may not be gaining access to critical JSF components, but the tough to swallow price tag may now be muted according to Israeli sources. In the form of a 4 billion dollar manufacturing cost offset which will somewhat lessen the economic sting of a JSF costing twice as much as an F15 latest gen Boeing fighter..

Israeli defense companies have scored one of the biggest deals in the industry’s history: They will be making about $4 billion worth of parts for the next generation of American fighter jets, industry sources told TheMarker.

While no official announcement has been made, Israeli defense officials have been talking with the U.S. defense companies involved in the development and production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. [...]

It is a testament to how badly Israel, the US & Lockheed want to make this whole thing work. After the JSF balloon in cost, both the USA & Lockheed need orders for the jet badly. Israel needs help paying for it.

Prestige

The IAF is indeed a huge win in the jet fighter realm.. The Israeli airforce is world renowned and other countries pay close attention to Israeli procurement. Israel would be the 1st original non official partner on board buying the jet. A huge prestige win for Lockheed & a needed vote of confidence in the JSF.

We can only go with 19 instead of 75 for now, but rest assured a procurement win of 20 or so from Israel will eventually mean a few hundred JSFs sold to other countries down the road. Something the Pentagon & both Lockheed will need to bring down the cost of the jet for US use via mass export / increased production over the next two decades.

F-35 Lightning II / JSF

A large local manufacturing win in Israel will lighten the JSF costs significantly. Please Israel, Lockheed and the US Congress - Which is committed to Israel's security & having us fly the latest US fighter. If these design wins are confirmed, the JSF will be landing in Israel soon to Boeing's F-15 displeasure. (Photo courtesy USAF)

Nothing is official, but if Israel can lend abiltiy, expertise & benefit from the gigantic JSF economy of the future it is almost a certainty that the JSF will have a trump card the F-15 cannot compete with on price alone.

There are other factors at play between the two jets competing over Israeli airspace, but the JSF cost balloon was a substantial & critical one.

Shields: Were UNIFIL Forces Complicit in Ambushing IDF?

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Damaging Imagery Shows UNIFIL Forces Shielding Lebanese Soldiers Attacking the IDF

The IDF informed UNIFIL UN ‘peacekeepers’ of  the brush clearing operations which were taking place on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon in advance. The images clearly show soldiers working with a crane to clear brush. This is how it looked..

From Haaretz (AP & Reuters Images)

Light blue capped UNIFIL peacekeepers flying a UN flag appear to be shielding Lebanese soldiers who are prone, aiming automatic weapons & RPGs at the IDF soldiers near the border.

This is a Lebanese soldier aiming down on the IDF, possibly one of the shooters that ambushed us. He's one of the guys on the ground with UNIFIL peacekeepers waving UN flags standing next to him.

We can see light blue UN caps, mixed with Lebanese soldiers aiming guns at Israelis very clearly here.

UNIFIL

The UN forces were supposedly enhanced & put in place by resolution 1701 ending the 2006 war to keep Hezbollah from the border with Israel. They have failed at that mission clearly in general.

So now what is their purpose? Is it to shield the Lebanese Army while it opens up with automatic sniper fire on IDF soldiers in ambush!? Is it to allow the Lebanese to fire RPGs at us while we cannot respond lest the world go insane because a UN Peacekeeper / Human Shield was hurt or killed??

Israel Defense Forces GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot announced Tuesday that the two Israeli officers had been very seriously hit during the exchange of fire. Eizenkot said that the incident had been a “deliberate ambush.”

Eizenkot told Israeli media that “a routine operation was carried out during the afternoon near Misgav Am – an operation whose purpose was to trim some bushes near the border, in our [Israeli] territory. It was on both sides of the border but still within [Israeli] territory. Officers oversaw the operation from a permanent position. Sniper fire was directed at the officers, and two of them were wounded as a result.”

The GOC Northern Command stressed that “this was a pre-planned event, aggression by the Lebanese army who shot at soldiers inside Israeli territory without any provocation. We view this as a very severe incident.”

Where is Ban-Ki Moon?

  • Where is US Ambassador to the UN  Susan Rice?
  • Where is the UN Security Council which only convenes emergency sessions to CONDEMN Israel?
  • Where is our only ally the United States of America who helped negotiate & force this UNIFIL farce in the 1st place in 2006?

They have all been very quiet today. A stark contrast to their usual rush to judgment statements when it comes time to smear the State of Israel.



Updated: My thanks to IsraPundit & Israel Matzav for linking over.

Yamit: There is no doubt in my mind of UNIFIL’s complicity. Israel meaning BB is also complicit in our tepid response. Most of all Bush and Olmert are responsible for the murder of a senior Israeli officer. The silence of the world is deafening, is anyone surprised?

Yes – You can hear a pin drop when Israel is the victim. No matter.. Am Israel Chai.

SD also has unanswered questions on the UNIFIL role, and the media reportage.

Fresh Allies: New Tea Party Caucus Takes Strong Pro-Israel Policy Stand

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Line in the Foreign Policy sand.

Welcome SymbolismThere have been concerns raised in Israel by left wing pot stirrers to cast the Tea Party as policy isolationists in the Ron Paul mold. It’s a tactic picked up from liberals in the US aligned with the progressive movement, people who naturally fear the Tea Party which poses a significant political threat.

While limited government, fiscal responsibility and accountability have been mainstays of Tea Party domestic politics, the foreign policy side has been more muddled and less cohesive. Alternating between a smaller isolationist fringe and a more traditional GOP idealistic view of America’s role on the world stage.

Palin Vs Paul

Sarah Palin is unabashedly pro-Israel. Ron Paul considered a hostile entity here, is most certainly not. As such, the wing that best defines the Tea Party on foreign policy is of direct interest to Israelis, we rely on our American brethren for support which is crucial to the State of Israel. The Tea Party is a bold new force in American politics, the uncertainty has kept Israelis guessing.

The brand new Tea Party caucus in Washington however, has quickly moved to draw a line in the sand delineating where large portions of the Tea Party stands on critical foreign policy issues. One of their 1st resolutions has half the caucus sending a message loud and clear..

H. RES. 1553 submitted to the House.

Expressing support for the State of Israel’s right to defend Israeli sovereignty, to protect the lives and safety of the Israeli people, and to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within reasonable time to protect against such an immediate and existential threat to the State of Israel. [...]

It’s a signal that the Tea Party may not only choose to be more bold than the GOP on domestic issues, but may show similar rousing boldness and passion in the foreign policy realm as well.

The Resolution is largely symbolic. None of that symbolism will be lost here in the State of Israel.