MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

When the American Defense Secretary is unable to discern fact from fiction and is more worried about the economy than a suicidal death cult willing to plunge the world into a nuclear Armageddon with the attempted destruction of Israel and America, is it any wonder then that Israel may be making plans for a possible unilateral strike against Iran? …

By Eli Lake – “When Defense Secretary Leon Panetta opined earlier this month that an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities could ‘consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret,’ the Israelis went ballistic behind the scenes. Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, lodged a formal diplomatic protest known as a demarche. And the White House was thrust into action, reassuring the Israelis that the administration had its own ‘red lines’ that would trigger military action against Iran, and that there is no need for Jerusalem to act unilaterally.

Panetta’s seemingly innocent remarks on Dec. 2 triggered the latest drama in the tinder-box relationship that the Obama administration is trying to navigate with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. With Republicans lining up to court Jewish donors and voters in America in 2012, Obama faces a tricky election-year task of ensuring Iran doesn’t acquire a nuclear bomb on his watch while keeping the Israelis from launching a preemptive strike that could inflame an already teetering Middle East.

The stakes are immensely high, and the distrust that Israelis feel toward the president remains a complicating factor. Those sentiments were laid bare in a speech Netanyahu’s minister of strategic affairs, Moshe Ya’alon, gave on Christmas Eve in Jerusalem, in which he used Panetta’s remarks to cast doubt on the U.S.’s willingness to launch its own military strike.

Ya’alon told the Anglo-Likud, an organization within Netanyahu’s Likud party that caters to native English speakers, that the Western strategy to stop Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons must include four elements, with the last resort being a military strike.

‘The fourth element of this combined strategy is the credible military strike,’ Ya’alon said, according to a recording of the speech provided to The Daily Beast. ‘There is no credible military action when we hear leaders from the West, saying, ‘this is not a real option,’ saying, ‘the price of military action is too high.’'” Read more.

Iran Claims It Chased Away Western Helicopter – “Iran says it chased away a Western helicopter that approached its navy war games area and did not leave until three warnings were issued. The United States, Britain and France are the only non-regional powers with troops in the region. None of the countries has commented on the Iranian claim, published in its semi-official media… ‘Yesterday, a chopper which belonged to the trans-regional countries tried to approach the region of Velayat 90 exercises, but it left the area when it received a serious warning after it ignored two other warning signals of our units,’ Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Moussavi said.” Read more.

Iran threatens to cut off oil exports if sanctions imposed over nuclear activity – “TEHRAN — Iran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil… Iran’s warning on Tuesday came three weeks after EU foreign ministers decided to tighten sanctions over the UN watchdog report and laid out plans for a possible embargo of oil from the world’s No. 5 crude exporter. ‘If they [the West] impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz,’ the official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying.” Read more.

The ‘religion of peace’ once again shows its true colors with another Islamist calling for the genocide of Jews, yet for all intents and purposes the UK continues to tolerate this murderous vitriol by issuing nothing more than an admonishing slap on the wrist. I’d hate to imagine what it would actually take to convince this impotent government that the next appropriate step is to imprison and deport these radical savages repeatedly calling for another holocaust …

By Jessica Elgot – “A London blogger who wrote that Jews must be ‘attacked wherever you see them’ on the Scotsman newspaper’s website has escaped jail, after pleading guilty to posting the comments.

Mohammed Sandia from Wembley said Jews were a ‘genetically mutated inbred tribe. Jews are not fit to breathe our air and should be attacked wherever we see them. Throw rocks at their ugly, hooked-nosed women and mentally ill children, and light up the real ovens.’

He changed his plea to guilty after initially denying the charges in November 2010. Sheriff Gordon Liddell expressed regret he could not impose a longer custodial sentence, suggesting a short sentence would ‘only have the effect of turning you, in your own eyes, and in the eyes of your supporters, into a martyr. I choose not to do that.’

Sheriff Liddell opted to defer sentencing for 12 months. Last week, Sandia appeared again in court, and was admonished – leaving him with a criminal record but no substantive penalty.

The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities director Ephraim Borowski welcomed the sentence as an ‘outspoken condemnation of Sandia’s outrageous and abhorrent postings on the Scotsman website, and a clear signal that the law will not tolerate the abuse of freedom of speech to spread hatred.'” Read more.

Flashback: UK: Muslim Cab Driver Decries Jews as ‘Animals’, Screams ‘All Jewish Children Must Die’ in Front of Jewish School – “A taxi driver ranted racial abuse outside a Jewish school after getting stuck in a traffic jam. Taha Osman shrieked ‘All Jewish children must die!’ after his car was hemmed in by parents picking up pupils outside King David School in Crumpsall. Two mums on the school run and a teaching assistant were singled out in a foul-mouthed and ‘frightening’ tirade witnessed by kids, Manchester Crown Court heard. Osman – an Iraqi Kurd who has settled in Britain – also shouted that Jewish people were ‘animals’ who ‘should not be allowed in this country’.” Read more.

Flashback: UK: Shocking Rise in Hate Crimes Against Jewish Community in Europe – “Anti-Jewish hate crime has rocketed by one third in Greater Manchester – with the region for the first time suffering more attacks than London. Shocking new figures show there were 121 anti-Semitic incidents – including assaults, desecration, threats and abuse – in the first six months of the year. That compares to 98 in Greater London – despite the capital having a Jewish population six times the size.” Read more.

Flashback: ‘Muslims are the new Nazis of Europe’ – “Well, we already knew it, but now there’s confirmation: Muslims are the new Nazis of Europe. They are responsible for at least 50% (and probably far more) of the anti-Semitic hate crimes in Europe. Don’t be shocked if that number gets mirrored here (the FBI refuses to keep publicly-released statistics on the heritage of hate-crime perpetrators here–gee, I wonder why; might get in the way of their ‘outreach’ to extremist Muslims)…” Read more.

It appears that these attacks targeted Shi’ite neighborhoods primarily. Although many Iraqi Shi’ites generally despise their Iranian neighbor, this could change if attacks like today’s continue and the Iraqi people begin to lose faith in their own country’s ability to maintain security. I’d expect to see Iran offering “assistance” to step in and fill the gap of every security vacuum crevice left by America’s departure …

“BAGHDAD — A wave of bombings ripped across Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing at least 60 people and injuring more than 150 in the worst violence Iraq has seen for months. The bloodbath comes just days after American forces left the country.

The blasts also came on the heels of a political crisis between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite factions that erupted this weekend.

The political spat has raised fears that Iraq’s sectarian wounds will be reopened during a fragile time when Iraq is finally navigating its own political future without U.S. military support.

Most of the attacks appeared to hit Shiite neighborhoods although some Sunni areas were also targeted.

While the string of explosions was likely not a direct response to the political Sunni-Shiite confrontation, it will ratchet up tensions at a time when many Iraqis are already worried about security. If continued, it could lead to the same type of tit-for-tat attacks that characterized the insurgency years ago.

Iraqi officials said at least 14 blasts went off early Thursday morning in 11 neighborhoods around the city.

Figures gathered from Iraqi health and police officials across the city put the death toll at 60, with 160 injured. The spokesman for the Iraqi health ministry put the death toll at 57 and said at least 176 people were injured. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the aftermath of such attacks.” Read more.

Iraq’s Shiites in no mood to embrace Iran – “NAJAF, Iraq — Whеn a senior Iranian cleric announced last month thаt hе wаѕ рƖаnnіnɡ tο mονе tο thіѕ holy Shiite city tο open аn office, thе furor thаt erupted offered a glimpse іntο thе future οf a complicated relationship. Aѕ American troops leave Iraq, Iran сеrtаіnƖу ranks high аmοnɡ thе beneficiaries οf thеіr nearly nine-year presence. Aѕ a Shiite power thаt suffered enormously during аn eight-year war wіth a Sunni-dominated Iraq іn thе 1980s, Iran now саn generally count οn closer ties wіth a friendly Shiite government next door. Bυt thе bіɡɡеѕt winners οf аƖƖ hаνе bееn Iraqi Shiites, whose ascent tο power reversed nearly 1,400 years οf sometimes brutal Sunni domination. Anԁ although Iraqi Shiites broadly welcome thе departure οf thе Americans, thеу seem іn nο mood tο substitute one form οf foreign domination fοr another — аnԁ Ɩеаѕt οf аƖƖ, thеу ѕау, frοm Iran.” Read more.