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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Obama Diverts Bunker Buster Delivery Away From Israel |
| 2010-03-19 |
| Officials said the U.S. military was ordered to divert a shipment of smart bunker-buster bombs from Israel to a military base in Diego Garcia. They said the shipment of 387 smart munitions had been slated to join pre-positioned U.S. military equipment in Israel Air Force bases. "This was a political decision," an official said. In 2008, the United States approved an Israeli request for bunker-busters capable of destroying underground facilities, including Iranian nuclear weapons sites. Officials said delivery of the weapons was held up by the administration of President Barack Obama. Since taking office, Obama has refused to approve any major Israeli requests for U.S. weapons platforms or advanced systems. Officials said this included proposed Israeli procurement of AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, refueling systems, advanced munitions and data on a stealth variant of the F-15E. "All signs indicate that this will continue in 2010," a congressional source familiar with the Israeli military requests said. "This is really an embargo, but nobody talks about it publicly." Under the plan, the U.S. military was to have stored 195 BLU-110 and 192 BLU-117 munitions in unspecified air force bases in Israel. The U.S. military uses four Israeli bases for the storage of about $400 million worth of pre-positioned equipment meant for use by either Washington or Jerusalem in any regional war. In January 2010, the administration agreed to an Israeli request to double the amount of U.S. military stockpiles to $800 million. Officials said the bunker-busters as well as Patriot missile interceptors were included in the agreement. The decision to divert the BLU munitions was taken amid the crisis between Israel and the United States over planned construction of Jewish homes in Jerusalem. The administration, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has warned that Washington could reduce military aid to Israel because of its construction policy. In 2007, after its war in Lebanon, Israel requested 2,000 BLU-109 live bombs from the United States. The 2,000-pound bomb, produced by Boeing and coupled with a laser guidance kit, was designed to penetrate concrete bunkers and other underground hardened sites. Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, was quoted as saying that his country faced its biggest crisis with the United States since 1975. A pro-Israel lobbyist said Oren was referring to the current U.S. embargo, which echoed a decision taken 35 years ago by then-President Gerald Ford after Israel's refusal to withdraw from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Oren has since denied the remark. |
| Posted by:Bob Gleanter3083 |
| #47 Frankly, IMHO opinion Jews are Self-selecting themselves into an ever decreasing group and a situation is occuring whereby they have a "biased sample" or more simply put, are prejudiced as Hell and clannish. This has reached an observable point at which Jews are partially bringing some meaningful self inflicted prejudice upon themselves due in part but not wholly due to the prejudice they are putting out as well as voting Democrat. Let me explain... As a half non "Jew" (ie: non-praticing Jewish father who was completely turned off by Judaism due to its bedding down with socialism and a Christian mother, I was baptised Christian) I have been treated with chilliness by every Jew I have tried to be friends with for more than, like, 3 months. Once a superficial veneer of friendship was peeled away and philosophy or religion came into focus, the "speech" would be bestowed upon me directly informing me how I am not Jewish and will never be Jewish. Unless, unless, unless I renounce my faults and undergo a process similar to Charlotte on Sex and the City but much worse. On the surface, it sounded doable, assuming I wanted such a thing and had some friendly guidance, which was never forthcoming. I thought this off-putting discovery was an anomaly at first. However, multiple instances of the same cold shoulder left me soured on the whole thing. Being treated condescendingly by folks from my grandmothers generation's club was was more painful than I had imagined. Also the discovery of several Jewish relatives from the past with Communist proclivities was also a major turn off. Every one of my Jewish acquaintances in NY voted for Obama. Furthermore, many quite relish social entitlements, socialism, liberalism, Cuba, movies about ultra liberalism, you get the picture. Congregations in any religion that are self-selecting to the exclusion of outsiders and like to be ass&**(s to outsiders are either: a) prejudiced b) want to see their ranks decline c) clueless that people don't have time for this nowadays with hectic schedules and demands d) all of the above I'll stay Christian, anti-Obama, and keep right on pissing off the people who rightly, I might add, soured my parent's generation against Judaism enough that they felt forced to abandon the cause. All that being said, Obama's mistreatment of Israel is quite obvious, but buyer's remorse should be more obvious to the casual observer of the Jewish community. I take the silence to a large degree as a refusal to admit wrong or total denial. that are self serving, clannish, and overly exclusive go into decline. can be when they circle the wagons is why it is a declining religion. |
| Posted by: GirlThursday 2010-03-20 00:27 |
| #46 Evangelicals and Republicans are indeed strong friends of Israel, and I have dear friends in both groups. I've also been told to my face by people I thought were friends that I and my children will go straight to hell because we choose to continue worshipping the same way Jesus Christ did... and over the years a great many ignorant people have rung my doorbell to tell me the same thing. Generally, once we discover the limits of their knowledge, I assign homework. I don't assign homework to former friends, though. |
| Posted by: trailing wife on the other computer 2010-03-19 23:58 |
| #45 how can one legislate fines for respect or dis-respect? Both must be earned. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-03-19 22:58 |
| #44 Let's count our blessings, in Europe, most Jews actually support Jihadists and promote the boycotting of Israel... In England, most Jews could call themselves Muslim and you could not see a single difference except for the odd clothings. In France, mostly thanks to leftist Jews, any disrespect for Islam call for a 6,000Euros fine and they are largely responsible for the muslim immigration flood... In view of the rabid anti-Sionist view of all Israeli courts and the number of self hating Jews in Israel, one wonder how that country managed to survive... |
| Posted by: Hotspur666 2010-03-19 22:32 |
| #43 not that... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-03-19 21:58 |
| #42 Excellent point lotp, but I've been to a boatload of promotion ceremonies, military weddings and funerals and I've never felt any type of proselytization, not once. What I have felt is a reverence and respect for the creator which most soldiers in one way or another, come to quietly acknowledge. I am so weary of bigoted, religious exclusivity whether Jewish, Baptist, or Islamic. Totally sick of it. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-03-19 20:10 |
| #41 There's a line there Besoeker. On one side of the line is acknowledging your heritage. On the other side of the line is intentionally imposing on others 'because it's good for them'. It's like pr0n - you know it when you see it. In the case I mentioned the Pastor could easily have either generally given thanks to God or apologized for the imposition. He smugly did neither. General prayers and wishes of good fortune can be shared in by all with a good conscience. I wish people good fortune regularly without it being a religious act. Come to Jesus declarations at an official military function are another matter entirely. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-03-19 20:03 |
| #40 by the way, Commentary says the Haaretz poll is bullshit: "It turns out that when asked their opinion of Obama’s attitude towards Israel, Israelis were given three choices: Hostile, Fair, Friendly. Note that “fair” here is not a positive statement but a placeholder for “neutral.” And the numbers are: Hostile: 21%; Fair: 51%; Friendly: 18%. So the poll deceives by using the word “fair” instead of “neutral,” forcing the respondent to say something positive-sounding when he may not have meant to. And then Haaretz deceives by asserting that a “sweeping majority” of Israelis see Obama as “fair and friendly.” This is, of course, ridiculous: it would be just as accurate to point out that an even more sweeping majority see him as “fair and hostile.”" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-03-19 19:59 |
| #39 The irony here lotp, had the 06 been Jewish and a prayer of Mazel Tov (good fortune) been conducted, all the Christian attendees would have been expected to prayerfully Mazel Tov along with respect as well. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-03-19 19:57 |
| #38 then they better arrive late to NASCAR races or take a timeout for a beer run during pre-race prayers. IMHO Jews should look upon evangelicals and Christians as their best friends in this intolerant world. Perhaps they should do a shop and compare with the Obama WH and State Dept.? I have nothing but respect and admiration for what the Israelis have done in surviving and succeeding |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-03-19 19:50 |
| #37 mom - one reason for the fear and hatred of evangelicals has to do with conversions &/or conversion attempts. A particularly visceral fear/hatred among secularized Jews who look down a bit on Israel, I've found, but not confined to them by any means. As to why those in uniform might feel this way, well .... let's take an example from my own experience, one of many like it. Promotion ceremony for a new O-6. He has his pastor along to give the invocation. Pastor proceeds to call on God to renew our hearts and bring us all to Jesus - as part of the official ceremony, at which attendence is strongly urged for other members of the unit, most of them lower ranked than the promotee. My Jewish colleague, active in her Conservative synagogue and a retired Navy Captain, has a stoic look on her face. I'm the only person there who calls the pastor out over his and the new O-6's imposition on the lower ranked people in that room, privately afterwards. I got the smarmiest condescending response, to the effect that Jesus loved me too and was present with us right there. It was all I could do to stop myself from bashing him in the face with his floppy Bible. My Jewish colleague is a very active Dem supporter. Can't imagine why. And don't get her started on Palin ..... it was during such a conversation that I found out just how deep her anger towards evangelicals runs. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-03-19 19:39 |
| #36 The reverting of Jews to the Republican Party has begun, but it will be a slow process, one revert at a time. Unfortunately the Republics can't pick and choose. So first up I give you.....drum-roll.. Howard Stern |
| Posted by: tipper 2010-03-19 19:23 |
| #35 There are many reasons. One of the main ones is Christian eschatology. The ADL's contention is that Evangelicals do not love Israel for its own sake, but only for its role in the events surrounding the return of Christ. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2010-03-19 18:58 |
| #34 There are many reasons. One of the main ones is Christian eschatology. The ADL's contention is that Evangelicals do not love Israel for its own sake, but only for its role in the events surrounding the return of Christ. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2010-03-19 18:58 |
| #33 I'm missing something here. Evangelical Christians are among those who most vigorously support Israel. Evangelicals in Europe were in the vanguard of those who protected Jews from the Nazis. So would the professors at Rantburg U please explain why the Jews are afraid of Evangelicals? |
| Posted by: mom 2010-03-19 17:04 |
| #32 There's a huge, visceral hatred and fear of evangelical Christians in the US Jewish population. Accounts for a lot of that Dem voting. Or so some of my Jewish friends in uniform tell me. And the stuff you hear from them about (well, to take an example) Sarah Palin (who is basically an example of a whole class of people to them) is the same stuff I've heard from Arabs about the ancestry of the Jews. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2010-03-19 16:11 |
| #31 Quite interesting lotp. Hate and fear driven voting. Where have we seen that before? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-03-19 15:51 |
| #30 US Jews really need to dump their pathological attachment to the Democratic Party. There's a huge, visceral hatred and fear of evangelical Christians in the US Jewish population. Accounts for a lot of that Dem voting. Or so some of my Jewish friends in uniform tell me. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-03-19 15:47 |
| #29 The Left, the laughably mis-named 'socialists', have always used the method of divide and rule. They exploit the feelings of vulnerability that they can hijack or engender in anyone they can persuade is a member of a benighted, persecuted or vulnerable minority (or even persecuted majority, when feeling sufficiently audacious, vis Nazism). Social disharmony is what they foment in order to ghettoise and create mouldable mobs whose members soon find that the consequences of failing to lock step lead to accusations of betrayal. It's pernicious, bestial and effective, and Jewish people are no more immune than any others. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2010-03-19 15:14 |
| #28 US Jews really need to dump their pathological attachment to the Democratic Party. It is pathological. Most Jewish people whom I know in the U.S. do vote Democratic. Voting demographics also confirm my limited anecdotal experiences. It is like most African-Americans voting for Democrats or Obama because he is African-American and/or liberal. And yet it seems to me like both Jewish people and African Americans have done better by Republicans. Most of the liberal social programs seem to be designed so that people stuck are where they are. Where's the compassion in that? I have heard this concept called keeping people stuck on the "voter plantation." |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-03-19 14:06 |
| #27 From Forbes: Israelis view Obama favorably, mixed on Netanyahu |
| Posted by: ed 2010-03-19 11:43 |
| #26 Yahoo changed the link to a different story. The original story I quoted: But a Dialog survey of 499 people on Wednesday and Thursday showed that seven out of 10 Israelis share a favorable view. The poll had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-03-19 11:40 |
| #25 Re: #19 - This link doesn't say anything about anybody's approval rating. I agree with you about American Jews but I would like to know where the statement about Israeli Jews came from. They finally got a kindred spirit in the the Presidency. And Israeli Jews seem to like Obama immensely. Israelis view Obama favorably, mixed on Netanyahu http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100319/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians |
| Posted by: Goober Goobelopolous 2010-03-19 11:28 |
| #24 The latest I could find 49% Say Israel Should Stop Building Settlements as Part of Peace Deal... http://tinyurl.com/RR1216 75% say Palestinians must acknowledge Israel's right to exist as part of deal... http://tinyurl.com/RR1216 7:59 AM Mar 17th via web |
| Posted by: Willy 2010-03-19 11:16 |
| #23 John, the linked survey was released today. 70% Israeli support for Obama vs 45% in the US: Rasmussen Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-five percent (55%) disapprove. Maybe none of my/your friends voted Dem/Repub, but that isn't a predictor of who will win the next election. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-03-19 10:11 |
| #22 And Israeli Jews seem to like Obama immensely. Ed, not from what I hear from people in Israel. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-03-19 09:35 |
| #21 The muslins are adamant; they will not settle for anything less than the disappearance of Israel. Bambi is a weak president and by showing favoritism towards the muslims, he emboldens them to get more aggressive towards Israel. Couple that with the community organizer in chief's huge ego and you have a dangerous situation. I don't see a good outcome to this movie. Instead of having peace, we and the mideast move closer to war. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-03-19 09:32 |
| #20 Make no mistake, the unlikely social coalition that brought Barry Soetora to power was no accident. Add accademia, radical, college age youth and man-hating, pro-abortion womyn to the mix and you've easily got the required 52%. I was in Reston, VA yesterday. Amazing the number of Obama bumper stickers remaining. Big Gov't is ALIVE! You would never know there was a recession on driving from Leesburg to the beltway. Another world entirely! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-03-19 08:44 |
| #19 US Jews really need to dump their pathological attachment to the Democratic Party. Why? American Jews are the drivers of Socialism and Communism in the US and have been for 100 years. They finally got a kindred spirit in the the Presidency. And Israeli Jews seem to like Obama immensely. Israelis view Obama favorably, mixed on Netanyahu But a Dialog survey of 499 people on Wednesday and Thursday showed that seven out of 10 Israelis share a favorable view. The poll had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-03-19 08:01 |
| #18 When Louis Farrakhan has a friend in the Oval Office we should all be concerned. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-03-19 07:15 |
| #17 Clanger number 179 Only 24,900 hours till he goes, but how much will he take down with him ? |
| Posted by: Oscar 2010-03-19 07:14 |
| #16 Is it constitutional for the POTUS to also be the leading candidate for president of the Moslim Brotherhood ? |
| Posted by: Elder of Zion 2010-03-19 07:13 |
| #15 Ditto Rabbi, you really have no idea just how much I miss W. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-03-19 06:56 |
| #14 BP YES WE DO !!!!!!! |
| Posted by: Elder of Zion 2010-03-19 06:17 |
| #13 |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2010-03-19 06:16 |
| #12 If this is indeed a political move it is a very stupid move. In the short term it will force Israel to use Nukes in the imminent attack on Iran due to shortage of bunker busters. In the long term, it will lead to increased R&D and mastery of BBs technology and manufacturing by Israel's military industries which will hit the US below the belt in many ways. If this is not political but a part of a long term strategy to weaken Israel and to deprive Israel of offensive capabilities it is even more stupid because it will eventually achieve the opposite effect by forcing israel to stop relying on the US as an ally who can be relied on at times of military trouble and striving to achieve improved self-sufficiency of Military abilities by more self reliance and seeking alliences with other powers like China. What Bambi and Clinton don't understand is that the last thing they want to do now is to encourage the symptoms of our MASADA COMPLEX. If pushed too far, Israeli public opinion will eventually push our government into an all out nuclear decapitation strike on Iran (and possibly Siria) because of estimates that Israel will not be able to sustain the long term damages of a prolongd war onour/five fronts (Iran on the east, Syria and Lebanon/hizballa on the north and Egipt/Hamas in the south + the possibility of a third intifada by fifth colum Israeli Arabs within Israel). When realizing that the non-return date for nuclearized Iran is only a few months in the future it seems we may indeed be living in interesting times for sure (as the old Chinse "blessing" goes). |
| Posted by: Elder of Zion 2010-03-19 06:13 |
| #11 Not to sound alarmist, but I think there's something wrong with him Redirect alert. This is red meat for the Kos/MoveOnner crowd, but for the rest of the nation it serves as a foreign-policy distraction from Obama's domestic incompetence and failures. |
| Posted by: lex 2010-03-19 05:01 |
| #10 Fail to see how this a snub to Israel, more like spreading possible responsibility when/if the Iranian strikes occur. Now the Israelis can say "It wasn't us, the US didn't give us the proper munitions, see???" I hear the Russians have pretty advanced bunker busters and thermobaric bombs, and nuclear armed Chechan terrorists, who wants that? |
| Posted by: MoreScotch4Me 2010-03-19 02:30 |
| #9 Mark Levin is right. Obama is like the six year old with the building blocks - throwing tantrums and throwing them against the wall. |
| Posted by: newc 2010-03-19 02:05 |
| #8 So The One has denied the Israelis bunker busters. I hear that the Israelis have other weapons that can take out bunkers. It would be very interesting if the Israelis used them. |
| Posted by: Chaiper Tojo4065 2010-03-19 01:47 |
| #7 TOPIX > VARIOUS > HEZBOLLAH: ISRAELI ATTACK ON IRAN COULD IGNITE MOIDDLE EAST and SAME > MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: EGYPT "READY TO EXPLODE". |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-03-19 01:16 |
| #6 He's gonna do this sort of #### to the West all through the movie, isn't he? Not to sound alarmist, but I think there's something wrong with him. Go back and look at the exchange between him and Brett last night on Fox News. Mixing up Hawaii and Haiti??? Seriously? He's blamed other gaffs (57 states, 10K dead in a tornado) on campaign exhaustion, but I'm beginning to think something else is going on. Really. |
| Posted by: Gomez Threter7450 2010-03-19 01:14 |
| #5 I think Bambi and his ilk were just waiting for an excuse to lambaste Israel. They got it when Biden was humiliated. Now all the anti-zionist parts of the modern dhimocratic party can come out into the open. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2010-03-19 00:42 |
| #4 'Caching' for the Indian run against Pakistan? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2010-03-19 00:28 |
| #3 US Jews really need to dump their pathological attachment to the Democratic Party. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-03-19 00:24 |
| #2 I imagine then the Isrealis will have to develop their own version of the bunker buster. And it will be just as effective, plus no Bamawafflestrings will be attached, either. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2010-03-19 00:19 |
| #1 He's gonna do this sort of #### to the West all through the movie, isn't he? |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2010-03-19 00:06 |