X Marks The Spot

So what is this with the big orange X on the street in downtown Washington, D.C.

Is this the site for something really big and grand going up here–maybe the next big monument or tower (hehe)? 

Hopefully, (G-d forbid) not the next ground zero for the Iranians who have once again tested their long-range missiles in violation of UN resolutions and have called us their “main enemy.”

Can anyone out there really understand why we’ve abandoned a decades long relationship with Sunni-Saudi Arabia (and related other friendly Sunni states in the Persian gulf) and instead replaced it with a deal with Shia-Iran that hates the U.S. and is hell-bent on developing nuclear weapons of mass destruction and the ballistic missiles to deliver them?

Since an estimated 10-13% of the Muslim world is Sunni, renouncing the relationship with Saudi Arabia–and by extension the 1.5 billion Sunni Muslims (of a total 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide)–seems like a very risky proposition.

Indeed, 1) going into Iraq and overthrowing Saddam Husseim and liberating the 70% of the Iraqis that are Shia, then 2) lifting sanctions and aligning ourselves with Iran, the largest Shia country, and 3) now allowing Iran and Hezbollah to go into Syria to support the Alawite-Assad regime (the predominant Shia group) presumably has us taking sides in the Sunni-Shia Muslim worlds. 

However, why in the world would we choose those that explicitly hate us, support and conduct terror, and vow to destroy the U.S. over those like the Saudis that have in some ways worked with us in the past (even if we don’t need their oil as much now)?

Just a hypothetical, but perhaps could we be strengthening the smaller, thereby weaker Shiites as a counterbalance to an otherwise overwhelming Sunni majority Muslim world and a potentially dangerous and developing radicalized powerful ISIS state.

And if this is our strategy, at what risk are we playing this hand with a dedicated Iranian foe that has it’s own schemes for hegemony with a powerful Caliphate and the nuclear weapons to match. 😉

(Source Photo: Danielle Blumenthal)

Clash Of Civilizations

Things are looking a little less rosy today in the world…

Clash of Civilizations – Tensions continuing to heat up in Middle East as Saudia Arabia is accused of bombing Iran’s embassy in Yemen after the Saudi embassy in Iran was ransacked. 

Weapons of Mass Destruction – North Korea conducts H-Bomb test threating major escalation of WMD in Asia, and Iran unveils nuke capable carrying ballistic missiles at 2nd site, and claims surface that ISIS (similar to Syria) is now using chemical weapons. 

Wold Economy – Yesterday, China had to again halt trading (after only 30 minutes) when their stock market dropped another 10%, and the World Bank cuts global growth forecast to just 2.9% for 2016 (down another .4%). 

Violence From Immigration Crisis – Dozens and dozens of women were sexually attacked by alleged gangs of immigrants in multiple cities in Germany after Germany opens its border to 1.1 million immigrants from Syria, Afghanistan, etc. just last year.

Terrorist Attacks — After multiple terror attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, and on a Russian airliner flying out from Egypt last year, another attack was thwarted just yesterday in Paris on the 1-year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo killings. 

We may not want to say the words “clash of civilizations,” except that we are desperately trying to avoid it, but it seems to be happening and with all it’s effects anyway. 

The question is what happens when the proverbial politically “acceptable losses” rise to the point of being completely unacceptable disasters? 😉

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Guio Gloor Modjib)

Warning 613

As per my prior posts in November and December, we are continuing to see the mystical 613 (representing the number of commandments in the Torah). 

This morning, on the Washington, D.C. Metro, see the time showing (above upper right). 

The whole family is seeing this, as I got a note from my daughter just a few minutes ago looking at online classes at Lynda.com and one of the classes had 613 views. 

Even to me (normally a critical thinker and healthy skeptic), it seems beyond regular explanations for the frequency and locations that we are seeing these signs. 

Also, last night I had a scary dream about what seemed like the end of times–it was almost like The Walking Dead, with people running to the countryside amidst chaos and destruction all around them. 

As tensions heat up between major Sunni and Shiite rivals, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and “Axis of Evil” Iran unveils a 2nd underground depot with missiles capable of carrying nukes, and ISIS continues their jihadi rampage leaving 80% of Ramadi in Iraq destroyed at a cost of $10 billion, a new Jihadi John replacement is executing British hostages in Syria, and there are escalating superpower tussles with Russia and China–it is not hard to see just some of the potential dangers in our times in terms of escalating conflict, terrorism, and war. 

What is the future for us all, I do not know for certain, but all I can tell you is there appears to be warnings all about, and the question is will we heed them or not and then what is the outcome–it should be with mercy and for blessings. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

The “Real” Reason For The Iran Deal

So I’ve been giving this a lot of thought…

Why would the United States make a bad deal with Iran?

– Where Iran gets to keep their nuke infrastructure.

– Where they get restrictions for a mere 10-15 years and then presumably get the coveted BOMB.

– Where “managed access” for inspections has a ridiculous 24 days waiting time.

– Where the arms and ballistic missile embargo is lifted.

– Where Iran gets a windfall of $150 billion released to them for which they acknowledge they will tap for use to support terror worldwide. 

– Where Iran’s leadership continues to chant “Death To America,” burn our flag and President in effigy, hold Americans hostage, threaten us, and insist that their hatred and fight against us will go on. 

Are we going crazy?

No, there is actually a rational reason for all this.

So what’s the reason–let me explain from my simple-minded thinking about all this (follow carefully)?

Iran is a Shiite nation. 

Shiite’s make up only a small percentage of the Islamic world around 15% (or 200 million).

However, the Sunnis make up the other 1 billion Muslims.

The Sunnis are moving through terrorist movements such as ISIS, Al Qaeda,  Boko Haram, Hamas and more to create a Sunni Caliphate throughout the Middle East and North Africa (and maybe beyond). 

The Western world fears the terror and destruction that can come about from a Sunni Caliphate. 

Also, on 9/11, The U.S. was attacked by Al Qaeda (Sunnis) and where 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia (a Sunni Country). 

The answer is the enemy of my enemy is my friend…Iran. 

Iran is the largest Shiite Country with it’s own ambitions for a Shiite Caliphate. 

Arming and funding Iran is a bulwark against the predominant Sunnis and their ambitions for power and hegemony. 

Notably, guess what?  Iraq is another country with a large Shiite population, like Iran. 

Hence, this is why the U.S. went into Iraq to dethrone Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, who was holding power over the Shiite population–now the Shiites there are in power. 

Voila, Shiites in Iran and neighboring Iraq empowered to fight Sunnis.

They mostly terrorize and murder each other instead of seriously battling the West.

Since 9/11, there has not been a major terrorist attack on the U.S.

And if Iran is on the road to the Bomb, and this sparks a nuclear arms race in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia etc., perhaps the thinking…maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all.

Unfortunately, Israel who is threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran who explicitly wants to “annihilate” them is caught in the middle of all this.

But the West is more concerned with the Sunnis and Shiites battling it out, then with the fate of Israel, who we figure can be placated with some “compensation” armaments to protect themselves. 

But is that enough for a country where one nuclear missile hit can mean a second Holocaust? 

I am not a conspiracy theorist and never have been.

But this seems too easy. 😉

(All Opinions My Own)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Is This A Partner For WMD Peace?

Everyone was speculating why Iran was building a 202 meter long life-size replica of a Nimitz Class U.S. Aircraft Carrier in the Persian Gulf.

Well today (as we are hear of “progress” with Iranian nuclear talks), we got our answer, as the Iranian military took the opportunity and blew the mock U.S. aircraft carrier to smithereens!

The commander of Iran’s Navy stated: “The Americans, and the entire world, knows that the American Navy is one of our targets and it will take us 50 seconds to destroy every US warship.”

At the same time, Iran is mulling over the purchase of a powerful anti-aircraft missile system from Russia.

So now Iran is going toward an agreement for a possible lifting of western financial sanctions and a 10-year nuke capability, and we are trusting them that it is for peaceful purposes?

Many of our major Middle East allies are concerned including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, and more, and so much so that an Iranian nuke capability may “spark a nuclear arms race.”

Hmm…why the desperation for a deal with “Axis of Evil,” Iran amidst ongoing hostility and threats from Iran towards “The Great Satan,” America, and all the express concerns of our longtime friends and allies? 

Now we won’t just have deadly terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS to contend with across the region, but also a nuclear armed Iran–amidst regular threats to sink the U.S. Navy and annihilate Israel (and just 70 years after the Holocaust killed 6 million Jewish men, women, and children!).  

What have we learned about appeasement of dangerous foes and the unimaginable risks to millions of innocent lives around the world? 😉

Noticeably Absent From Auschwitz Liberation Memorial

So yesterday was the 70th anniversary memorial of the liberation of the Auschwitz Death Camp,

More than 1.1 million Jews and 100,000 other POWs and ethnic minorities were EXTERMINATED there.

There was forced labor, beatings, torture, starvation, the gas chambers and the crimatoria, the electrified barbed wire and attack dogs, the human experimentation, and every cruelty known to mankind. 

At yesterdays memorial at Auschwitz 50 countries sent delegations “with heads of state leading those from:” 

– Germany

– Austria

– Belgium

– Bulgaria

– Croatia

– Lithuania

– France

– Netherlands

– Poland 

– Switzerland

– Ukraine (even though they are currently fighting a war with Russia!)

And even Russian President Putin “marks day at the Jewish Museum in Moscow.”

It is quite mysterious, why like with the recent Unity Rally in France after the terror attacks there on Charlie Hebdo Magazine and a Jewish grocery store that left 17 dead, that the head of state for the United States was once again noticeably absent.

This time, a meeting in Saudi Arabia took precendence–why of course.

At least, the million plus murdered at Auschwitz got a (prepared) statement to mark their tragic deaths.

What does all this say about our commitment to human rights and fighting blind hatred, discrimination, racism, Islamist terrorism, and outright genocide?  

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Ricardo Francesconi)

Another Day In The Middle East

It can be hard for a regular person to understand the course of events in the Middle East–I certainly don’t!

I recognize that I don’t know what I don’t know, but with all due respect, it would be great if we could all better understand where we are going there.

– On the 9/11, we were attacked by Al Qaeda hijackers, 15 of 19 of whom were Saudi Arabian, yet after 9/11, we didn’t go after Saudi Arabia, but instead overthrew Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

– However, early in the 1980’s Iran-Iraq War, we supported Iraq against Iran and permitted the sale of American arms to Hussein.

– By overthrowing Saddam, in effect we established a Shiite-lead Iraq, right next to a fundamentalist Shiite Iran with a history of conflict with America.

– In subsequent conflicts, it is not clear whether we are supporting the secularists or the fundamentalists:

a) In Syria, we have been supporting “moderate” Sunni’s (although often seen aligned to Al Qaeda) against Bashar al-Assad, and what is considered the “secular Ba’ath party.”

b) In Egypt, we withheld military and economic support after the overthrew of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose aims include establishing a state ruled by Sharia law, and an organization that is aligned with Hamas and Hezbollah, both listed as terrorist organizations.

– In Iran, in an attempt to move towards peaceful nuclear disarmament, we are relaxing sanctions on a country that former President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union, declared part of the Axis of Evil (2002), and with an agreement that is viewed as not better than having a 50-50 chance of success.

If you find this a lot to take in, you are not alone. 😉

All opinions my own.

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)