RUTHFULLY YOURS

There were few modern democrats among the armed opposition to Assad two years ago. There are far fewer now. So who can Obama trust not to turn Western-supplied weapons against us later?

The young rebels and opposition activists gathered in a school to discuss how the northern Syrian town of Al Bab should be governed after the departure of Bashar al Assad’s soldiers were taken aback by the question: “Why aren’t there any women here?” It was the summer of 2012, more than 12 months into the uprising against the Syrian president, and more than a year before Abu Bakr al Baghdadi announced the formation of his al Qaeda breakaway, the Islamic State of Syria and Sham, or ISIS.

Initial surprise at my question was followed by smirks. The young men who had talked about ushering in a new era of modern democracy and freedom in Syria pushed forward a nervous young imam to explain. “It is not in our tradition for men and women to mix,” he said. “They can have their own meeting, if they want. And if we need advice on some issues, we can ask them.” There were some chuckles at this. So much for democracy, at least in its Western guise.

Later that night I sat with two local sheikhs who explained how they were forming a court to adjudicate civil disputes and rule on criminal cases. “We will use Sharia law,” said Abdulbaset Kuredy. “What else is there? After Assad, the whole country will be governed by Sharia.” Then he launched into a condemnation of the corrupt West and its acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The sheikhs were aligned with the Free Syrian Army, the rebel group now touted in Washington as the “moderates” to support in the fight against Assad on the one hand, ISIS on the other.

There was nothing I saw in Al Bab in August 2012—still early days in the insurrection that is now halfway through its fourth year—that led me to feel that if the Syrian uprising toppled Assad, it would lead to an inclusive, minority-respecting, and more or less democratic outcome. Like other countries convulsed by Arab Spring insurrections, there was a mismatch between Western expectations and perceptions and the thinking and religious views of the majority involved in the fighting, and that was a year before the emergence of ISIS. The war back then was clearly becoming more sectarian and Islamic—the trajectory was obvious.

According to the media the diplomatic wunderkinds of Obama Inc. have assembled a coalition that is “broader and more committed” than the one that Bush put together against Saddam Hussein.

Bush couldn’t get France and Germany on board. Obama got France.

Unfortunately France is also about the only country in Obama’s coalition against ISIS. At least France appears to be the only country willing to commit militarily. Possibly the UK will join it, but after parliament turned down Cameron’s air strikes on Syria the last time around, that may be unlikely.

Kerry claims that some Arab countries might be willing to bomb ISIS, he just isn’t willing to say which ones, and meanwhile the standard for participating in the military campaign has been lowered to mean providing training and weapons to Sunni Jihadists in Syria. That means Qatar and Turkey, ISIS’ backers, can be in our anti-ISIS coalition.

Or maybe we’re in their ISIS coalition.

You would have thought that a Nobel Peace Prize winner and famous multilateralist (except when it comes to Congress or the Supreme Court) could assemble a bigger coalition than the crazed cowboy who alienated the French, but it turns out that while Bush could get multiple countries to commit actual troops to securing Iraq, Obama can’t even get anyone to do a flyby of ISIS.

Except the French.

What the multilateralists failed to understand during the Cold War was that countries join international coalitions for their own security. International law only matters when it is backed by iron and steel as a mutual defense pact, not when it wafts words of empty rhetoric at the podium of the General Assembly.

Poland wasn’t sending troops to Iraq because it was worried about Saddam Hussein. It made the commitment because it wanted to be part of a partnership with the United States that would also provide security in its own backyard.

That’s what NATO was originally for.

FOR OBAMA: “IS YOU IS OR IS YOU AIN’T MY BABY?

Co-written by Louis Jordan and Billy Austin. Austin (March 6, 1896 – July 24, 1964) was a songwriter and author, born in Denver, Colorado. The phrase “Is you is or is you ain’t” is dialect, apparently first recorded in a 1921 story by Octavus Roy Cohen, a Jewish writer from South Carolina who wrote humorous black dialect fiction. Glenn Miller recorded this song on a radio broadcast from Europe during World War II.

FOR THE CLINTON STATE DEPARTMENT: “AIN’T NOBODY HERE BUT US CHICKENS”

“Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens” is a 1946 song, with music and lyrics by Alex Kramer and Joan Whitney. It was recorded by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five. The single hit number one on the US Billboard Rhythm and blues Juke Box chart and number six on the pop chart.

he terrorist group ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (or Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, for those who prefer the acronym ISIL) can be traced at least as far back as 2004, when founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi pledged his allegiance to the infamous al Qaeda group and its then-leader, Osama bin Laden. The two organizations found themselves compatible, as both were devoted to Salafist Sunni Islam, which preaches a return to traditional Islamic values and practices. Originally known as “Jamat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad”, Zarqawi changed the group’s name to “al Qaeda in Iraq” when ties with bin Laden were solidified. Zarqawi himself was killed in 2006, his successors meeting their own fate later in 2010, and today the group is led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In the aftermath of the United States’ ill-advised troop withdrawal from Iraq, the group prospered, eventually divorcing itself from al Qaeda and declaring itself an Islamic caliphate, so that it is now most commonly known as ISIS. The growth of ISIS has been as impressive as it has been alarming, with well-armed militants spreading across Iraq (where even that nation’s second largest city, Mosul, has fallen to the power of ISIS and is now administered by them) and into Syria, sustaining themselves with funding from captured financial institutions, oil fields, and sympathetic radical Muslims in other Arab countries. They are brutally totalitarian in their adherence to their flavor of Islamic doctrine, having instituted flogging as punishment for the sale of alcohol or tobacco, hand amputation for stealing, and death for failure to convert to the “true” Muslim faith. What is perhaps most terrifying of all is the fact that blame for the rise of ISIS can be laid squarely at the feet of United States President Barack Obama.

In the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq, conducted under then-President George W Bush, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was toppled and a power vacuum was created in the nation. This is significant, because it was precisely Hussein’s brutality and repression that kept radicals like those driving ISIS in check, and allowed a secular government to function. Without this apparatus, only the presence of armed US soldiers carrying out anti-insurgency operations was able to restrain a beast that would otherwise break its leash. Sadly, that leash was broken when Barack Obama made the decision to call back American troops and abandon the nation of Iraq, leaving to its own devices a country fundamentally destabilized by American action, and ignoring the United States’ moral responsibility there. Of course, claims were made that the newly instituted democratic government under Nouri al-Maliki would now step up and hold back the insurgents, but in reality this young administration, still finding its legs as a governing force, had no hope of standing up to the well-oiled machine of ISIS. Alarming – and, frankly, embarrassing – stories of regular Iraqi military units being routed and sent fleeing by terrorist bands hit the headlines, and the stage was set for ISIS to enter primacy. And now, sadly, Iraq and Syria are only the beginning. ISIS is ambitious indeed, aiming to capture Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The potential nightmare which the Middle East now faces cannot be overstated.

It appears that reality is not cooperating with the myth that man-made CO2 is causing global warming. Recent satellite images show that both the Arctic and the Antarctic sea ice have dramatically increased in size and thickness.

Despite Al Gore’s 2007 apocalyptic predictions that in just 7 more years the Arctic ice cap will be “completely gone,” it has instead dramatically increased by 43% in size since 2012. The North Pole ice cap grew by 1.715 million square kilometers, an area the size of Alaska, in the last two years. In solidarity, the South Pole ice cap has also reached record-breaking levels, and not stands at 20 million square kilometers, the highest level since records began.

Al Gore (2007): “The [Arctic] ice cap is falling off a cliff. It could be completely gone in summer in as little as 7 years from now.”

Reality (2014):

ARCTIC Ice Cap: Ice sheet growth has been dramatic. The North Pole ice cover has reached 5.62 million square kilometers. “This was the highest level recorded on that date since 2006 and represents an increase of 1.71 million square kilometres over the past two years” an impressive 43 percent.

ANTARCTIC Sea Ice Cap: “Scientists have declared a new record has been set for the extent of Antarctic sea ice since records began. Satellite imagery reveals an area of about 20 million square kilometers covered by sea ice around the Antarctic continent. That is roughly double the size of the Antarctic continent and about three times the size of Australia.”

Elizabeth Warren says it is ‘fair’ to compare Israel’s actions in Gaza to Holocaust By Thomas Lifson
Speaking at Tufts University yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren cemented her position on the hard left by agreeing with a questioner that it is “fair” to compare Israel’s actions in Gaza to the Holocaust. Daniel Harper of The Weekly Standard picked up on the startling analogy and provided video:

“Eva Moseley, I’m not a student, I’m not an alumnae, but was in faculty life. I was also a Holocaust refugee and I’m extremely concerned that Jews don’t do to another people what was done to them,” said the activist.

“I think that’s fair,” Senator Warren responded.

Gee, I don’t remember the Jews of Germany promising to drive the Germans into the sea, nor do I remember them shelling Germans randomly. One hundred percent of the aggression came from the Nazis, and the Jews, having been disarmed by Hitler’s gun control laws, were completely unable to fight back. So how on earth can any comparison be made with Israel attempting to halt the rocket attacks emanating from Gaza? It is so insane that it defies the imagination.

But Warren continued digging her hole, as Ms. Mosely continued her question:

“You recently said that you believe that Israel has the right to self-defense,” the activist continued. “Do you also believe that the Palestinians have a right to self-defense?”

“Of course. So, and the answer is yes. The direction we ought to be moving is not toward more war. The direction we need to be moving, as I said, I believe we need to move to a two-state solution where both peoples can be secure and safe within their own borders. So, I’m there,” responded the senator from Massachusetts.

One side, Israel, wishes to live in peace, and would happily do so if Hamas (and Hezb’allah and the Palestinian Authority) would give up their mission to eradicate Israel. But the other side does not wish to live in peace with Jews. The stated goal is elimination of Israel. Until that changes, no peaceful coexistence is possible. That is the funadmanetal reality that Warren is oblivious to.

Warren continues to be the darling of the left wing of the Democratic Party, and although she has denied interest in running for president, is often spoken of as the great hope of the left. The idea that someone with such a twisted view of the Middle East could even be thought of for the office is appalling.

I’ll never forget the scene in the movie Independence Day when the missiles, artillery and even nukes fired by US forces were completely ineffectual in the face of the aliens’ force field technology. Indeed, no decent sci-fi plot is complete without the sight of earth militaries desperately pummeling the alien invader’s deflector shield with missiles, rockets, artillery and tank shells, all to no effect.

Prior to the invention of gunpowder, physical shields and strong city walls provided effective protection against the primitive ranged weapons of the day. But for over 1000 years cannon shells, bombs and rockets have been unstoppable offensive weapons that overwhelmed all physical defences.

Today, missiles of all sorts (guided), rockets (unguided), shells and bombs are the main weapons of all the world’s militaries and the only defence is to destroy the enemy’s launchers with your own accurate missiles, guided bombs and artillery.

But all this is about to change radically, because Israel has perfected and battle proven effective force fields / shields for its cities, bases and armoured vehicles. These systems can defeat every missile, rocket, shell and even bomb currently in existence by blowing them up mid-air before they can reach their target.

Israel’s Iron Dome has intercepted over 1,000 rockets aimed at Israeli cities, towns and infrastructure with a success rate of over 90% in 2014 – and steadily rising (from 84% in 2012). Advanced radar detects the incoming rocket, computers calculate the trajectory within seconds, and the system fires a Tamir interceptor missile which destroys the target. It can also destroy artillery shells and long range mortars. Despite over 4,500 deadly rockets fired at Israeli cities and towns during the recent 50-day conflict with Hamas, only two Israelis were killed by rocket fire (as opposed to short range mortars). One was in a remote desert area not covered by Iron Dome.

More Hamas rockets have landed in Gaza (causing many deaths) than have landed in Israeli urban areas.

Israel’s Trophy system has made Merkava IV tanks impervious to Hamas’s advanced Russian antitank missiles. The system detects the approach of a missile with advanced 360-degree radar and fires a countermeasure which blasts the approaching warhead to harmless shrapnel. It can stop not just the latest Russian anti-tank missiles but every anti-tank missile in Western inventories, including top-down attack missiles and helicopter- and aircraft-launched anti-tank missiles. Future versions will even be effective in damaging the latest armour-piercing discarding-sabot (APDS) tank shells so that they will be unable to penetrate the Merkava’s armour.

The United States has a problem with Islamic State. Its problem is that it refuses to acknowledge why Islamic State is a problem.

The problem with Islamic State is not that it is brutal. Plenty of regimes are brutal.

Islamic State poses two challenges for the US. First, unlike the Saudis and even the Iranians, IS actively recruits Americans and other Westerners to join its lines.

This is a problem because these Americans and other Westerners have embraced an ideology that is viciously hostile to every aspect of Western civilization.

Last Friday, Buzz Feed published a compilation of social media posts by Western women who have left Chicago and London and other hometowns to join IS in Syria.

As these women’s social media posts demonstrate, the act of leaving the West and joining IS involves rejecting everything the West is and everything it represents and embracing a culture of violence, murder and degradation.

In the first instance, the women who leave the West to join IS have no qualms about entering a society in which they have no rights. They are happy covering themselves in black from head to toe. They have no problem casting their lot with a society that prohibits females from leaving their homes without male escorts. They have no problem sharing their husband with other wives.

They don’t mind because they believe that in doing so, they are advancing the cause of Islam and Allah.

A Bakersfield, Calif., man was sentenced to six years of hard labor in North Korea on Sunday in a quickie trial.

The Korean Central News Agency said Matthew Miller “committed acts hostile to the DPRK while entering the territory of the DPRK under the guise of a tourist last April.”

The 24-year-old was denied the right to make any appeal of his sentence.

Miller allegedly wanted to investigate the deplorable human rights conditions in North Korea. Pyongyang said the Californian tore up his visa after arriving in the country.

“A relevant organ of the DPRK put in custody American Miller Matthew Todd, 24, on April 10 for his rash behavior in the course of going through formalities for entry into the DPRK to tour it,” reported KCNA at the time of his arrest.

New Jersey-based Uri Tours staff last saw Miller in Beijing, where they “saw him off to Pyongyang” to meet a local tour guide.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf was asked Friday whether the U.S. was stepping in to try to stop Miller’s trial.

“We have requested the DPRK immediately release him and the other detained Americans so they can return home,” Harf said. “As we’ve said, we don’t always publicly outline all of the ways we are working to return our citizens home, but we are very focused on this and have called on the DPRK to release him.”

“We stand w/ Matthew Todd Miller, an American given 6 yrs hard labor. #NorthKorea should release Miller, Fowle & Bae on humanitarian grounds,” the House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats tweeted.

The White House didn’t have comment. Miller becomes the second American serving time in North Korea.

Devout Christian Kenneth Bae, sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor last year, thought he could help suffering North Koreans in part by leading a tour company in the special economic zones that would help reveal the people’s plight.

One more American has yet to face trial.

According to reports, the House Armed Services Committee is currently preparing an amendment to arm and train the Syrian rebels that will be voted on this week. If passed, the bill will be attached to the continuing resolution to fund the government until December. **UPDATE** The amendment has been posted.

The most troubling element to the proposed amendment is a provision allowing the Obama administration to arm and train rebels with ties to terrorism. The “vetted moderate rebel” groups supported by the administration are known to be partnering with designated terrorist organizations, and the passage of this amendment would give congressional blessing to such arrangements.

According to The Hill:

The measure includes several provisions intended to satisfy Republicans and Democrats worried about giving the administration blanket authority to arm and train rebel groups, who would be used in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

It would require Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to submit the administration’s plan for training the moderate opposition 15 days before the commencement of any such activities, the aide said. That requirement was put forward by the administration, the aide added.

After that, Hagel would have to submit an update to lawmakers every 90 days.

That will be the extent of oversight by Congress — notification by the Pentagon.