Tag Archives: Hamas

International news

Hope may lead to possibility in Gaza

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While it is virtually impossible to expect any long-term gain from the ceasefire that has taken hold in the 15-month-long Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, there remains room for hope.

The fighting has stopped in Gaza as Israel and the terrorists in Hamas have agreed to the ceasefire. Three Israeli women held hostage since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023 have been released; more will follow them on the path to freedom.

Aid is flowing into Gaza. Rebuilding the shattered region has begun.

What does any of this portend for a permanent peace? Probably nothing … at least not at this point. However, my limitless font of optimism harbors the hope that could spring from the ashes. It might emerge as a peace framework that could bring some semblance of calm to a region that has known far more than its share of bloodshed, mayhem and heartache for centuries.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas when it sent the tanks and troops into Gaza after the horrific missile attack that killed an estimated 1,200 Israeli civilians. The gunfire, bombs, rockets and artillery shells fired into Gaza have killed tens of thousands of civilians in return … as well as thousands of Hamas fighters.

It’s not altogether clear whether Israel achieved its mission of destroying Hamas. The terrorist organization is gravely wounded, which well could explain why Hamas is willing to accept the ceasefire framework hammered out months ago by President Biden.

So … what happens now? The bloodshed has ceased for the time being. I cannot possibly predict anything good will come from this. However, I damn sure can hope it will.

That is what I will do. Hope for the best.

International news, military news

Is peace now possible?

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In this season of never-ending negativity, we now might be able to rejoice in some seriously good news … from the Middle East of all places!

Israel and the terrorists known as Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire that begins Sunday. Furthermore, they have agreed to a significant swap of hostages, meaning that the families of Israelis and Americans held captive since the Oct. 7, 2023, rocket attacks can be set free.

I am going to hold out hope that the cease fire agreement holds up and that the violence that erupted with Hamas’s brazen and bloody attack will end. Let us not call it a peace agreement, because the cease fire only means the bitter enemies will stop killing each other for the time being.

Let’s be clear on a couple of key points. Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and said the only path to peace would require the destruction of the terrorist leadership; it appears that Israel has accomplished its stated aim. However, it has come at a horrific price for the Palestinians caught in the middle of the fight between Israel and Hamas. Thousands of innocent people have died since Hamas started this war.

Thus, the ceasefire — brokered in large part by President Biden’s team — requires an immediate rebuilding effort. It must commence fully, not on a piecemeal basis. It must include massive deliveries of food, water, construction equipment, medical supplies and personnel to help Gaza residents seek to restore their shattered lives.

To that end, Joe Biden and his team deserve the highest praise any of us can give for their tireless work in bringing an end to the bloodshed in Gaza.

Now, though, the hardest task of all awaits … finding a path to a permanent piece in a region that knows only heartache and despair.

International news

Bibi is getting ‘fickle’?

No one ever should ascribe the term “fickle” to Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, the fiery and ferocious prime minister of Israel.

He declared war on Hamas, the terrorists who on Oct. 7, 2023 launched the hideous rocket attack from Gaza into Israel. They killed more than 1,000 Israelis. Israel responded with a massive show of force that has killed many times more Gazans. Netanyahu’s stated aim is to “destroy Hamas.”

OK. But now the Israelis have a serious proposal to end the violence on the table. Bibi said it’s a non-starter, even though President Biden said late this past week that Israel had worked out the framework of a permanent peace deal with the United States and Hamas.

What gives?

I get that Netanyahu wants to destroy Hamas. I am with him fully. Hamas is a bloodthirsty terrorist organization whose sole intent is to destroy Israel. At what cost is Israel willing to go before declaring Hamas to be dead and buried?

The bloodbath cannot continue. My hope from afar is that Netanyahu can find it within himself to negotiate an end to this warfare and start cleaning up the damage that his country’s vaunted military has inflicted.

International news

Schumer out of bounds on Israel’s politics

Charles Schumer should tend to the affairs of New York and the U.S. Senate … and keep his nose out of Israeli politics.

Schumer recently called for the ouster of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The New York Democrat and Senate majority leader also said Israel needs to conduct a special election to find a prime minister who, I will presume, is more to Schumer’s liking.

I am not going to endorse Netanyahu’s stance on the way he and the Israeli Defense Forces are prosecuting the war in Gaza against the terrorist group Hamas. He does need to pull back and stop the insane attacks on civilians in Gaza and must be more proactive in fighting the growing starvation that is killing helpless civilians.

However, for a sitting US senator — this nation’s highest-ranking official who happens to be Jewish — to call for a change of government in America’s strongest ally in the Middle East goes way beyond what is right and proper.

I strongly believe that Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorists. Hamas is a ruthless, brutal organization that started this war with its horrific rocket attack on Oct. 7, 2023. It aimed its ordnance at civilians and is now paying the price.

But, so too, are civilians caught in the carnage. Israel vows to destroy Hamas and I find it impossible to disagree with Bibi Netanyahu’s stated aim in that regard.

As for the chutzpah that Sen. Schumer is exhibiting, he needs to stand down and butt the hell out of Israeli domestic politics.

Joe Biden, national news

Talk to us, Mr. POTUS!

President Biden doesn’t need or want unsolicited advice from a North Texas blogger … but he’s going to get it anyway.

Mr. President, you say you don’t follow the polls, that they are meaningless this far out from an election. However, they are not trending in your favor.

Here’s what I believe you ought to do: talk to us, as in stand in front of the nation and tell us — in detail — what in the world you are doing to resolve the myriad problems facing this nation.

Do not rely so heavily on your Cabinet members, or on the vice president, to explain the administration’s policies.

Mr. President, you need first and foremost to call the immigration matter along on our southern border what it is: a crisis! You, sir, need to tell us in no uncertain terms that we are facing a crisis with thousands of undocumented immigrants seeking entry into the United States.

Do not let Secretary or State Antony Blinken spell out your policy; do it yourself. Don’t rely on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speak on the issue, either. He’s damaged goods among many Americans who believe he has turned his back on securing the border.

Same is true for the war in Ukraine, and with Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. Mr. President, your relative silence on these matters is giving grist to the phony narrative that you have slipped a step or two.

Women’s reproductive rights also require the president’s voice. I admire Vice President Harris, but she’s No. 2 in the executive branch of government; we need to hear from No. 1 … that would be you!

Mr. President, I offer this advice as someone who voted for you in 2020 and who wants to see you re-elected next year. I am troubled by the lying that comes from those who suggest you don’t have the snap to talk to us intelligently about these issues. I believe you are fully capable of handling the job to which we elected you.

I just want you to hear more from you and less from those who speak for you.

How about it, Mr. President? Talk to us!

military news

Hamas wants extension … to what end?

Did I hear it correctly, that the terrorist organization Hamas is willing to extend the four-day cease-fire in the war it started with Israel?

Well, before we embrace this as a show of compassion for the hostages Hamas is releasing, I want to caution y’all about why Hamas might be willing to extend the cease-fire.

It well might be only to reorganize its command and control network, which the Israeli Defense Forces have disrupted since mounting its counteroffensive after the Oct. 7 rocket fusillade that Hamas launched into Israeli cities.

You see, Hamas is about as trustworthy as the nastiest murderers who ever have lived.

I get that I and most of the world are way on the outside trying to peer into the inner workings of this shadowy group. I also know that Israeli intelligence officials — among the best in the world — likely know what Hamas is up to as it sues for an extension of the cease-fire.

I am left only to hope that Mossad — the Israeli spy network — knows what gives with Hamas’s efforts to keep the Israelis’ bombardment at bay. If it’s for real, that it only intends to release more hostages during the cease-fire, then I’m all in.

I fear that Hamas very well might have more sinister motives in mind. If the Israelis discover that Hamas merely is buying time to reorganize and re-form its command and control apparatus, then they must resume their offensive with full force.

International news

Hamas must give up its fight

Nearly 15 years ago I was preparing to leave for Israel on a month-long Rotary International journey that would take us through the entire length of the country.

Then came a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel launched by the Hamas terrorists. Israeli Defense Forces launched a counterattack; the entire venture put our trip into jeopardy. RI, though, was in contact with the brand new State Department formed by newly elected Barack Obama and eventually, the IDF was able to put down the Hamas rebellion. We were good to go.

And so we went.

We learned immediately about the fear under which most Israelis live. They fear that their Muslim neighbors will attack them without warning. Yes, they have peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt. However, when the shooting starts, would they remain loyal to the treaty they signed with Israel or would they side with their Muslim brethren?

The Israeli fear of attack is real. Which is why I continue to support the Israelis’ effort to eradicate Hamas from Earth’s face. I get that the civilian casualties inflicted on Palestinians are unacceptable, but I also believe the Israelis’ assertion that they are not targeting civilians … not in the way Hamas does by (a) firing rockets into Israeli neighborhoods and (b) hiding among civilians in Gaza.

Hamas started this war with Israel. It now falls on the Israelis to finish it, either by wiping out the terrorists or by asserting enough military pressure on them to force Hamas to seek peace — finally! — with their sworn enemy.

Israel is surrounded by people who want all Jews eradicated. That, by itself, is unacceptable.

They have stopped fighting for a few days to enable an exchange of hostages. I certainly welcome that. What happens next must depend on what the terrorists will do.

International news

Can the fighting now end?

Israel and Hamas have declared a four-day ceasefire while they exchange the release of hostages.

Four days? That’s all the time they are buying. I am now wondering if it is humanly possible that Hamas — the terrorists who started this war — will realize that life is better for them if they can continue to exhibit some level of human decency. Or will they return to their bloodthirsty way once the four days are up and Israel will continue its military campaign to destroy the organization that vows to do the same to Israel?
military news

Firepower galore

Just how much firepower has the U.S. Navy assembled off the coast of Israel to aid that country in its fight against the terrorist cabal called Hamas?

The skipper of a nuclear-powered aircraft once told a visiting party off the California coast — of which I was a member — the amount of juice contained in a single carrier battle group.

Navy Capt. John Payne commanded the USS Carl Vinson in the early 1990s when I and several others joined the late U.S. Rep. Charles Wilson for a factfinding tour of the ship. Wilson, an East Texas Democrat, wanted to tour the Vinson and express his unwavering support for the men and women who defend this country from its enemy.

Payne told us that a single battle group — comprising an aircraft carrier, several cruisers, frigates, destroyers, submarines — contains more “explosive firepower” than all the bombs dropped in all the theaters of operation during World War II, which ran from 1939 until 1945.

The Navy has deployed two such battle groups: the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

I cannot fathom either of these groups firing all its ordnance on targets inside Gaza. Still, I trust the terrorists know the dire peril they face if they refuse to cease their hideous acts against civilians.

military news

Israel hits ‘too hard’?

This is a headline I didn’t want to read once war broke out between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas:

“Israeli airstrike kills 500 in hospital.”

The report came from the Gaza Health Ministry. So … it immediately becomes somewhat suspect. However, as we are learning all over again: War is hell.

Indeed, we might learn before this war ends that it is worse than hell. The “war is hell” comment, attributed originally to Union Army Gen. William “Tecumseh” Sherman during the Civil War, almost has become a cliche, a throwaway line.

It isn’t. It is the unvarnished, unadulterated truth about humanity’s ability to inflict misery on itself.

If the report is true that an Israeli airstrike hit a Gaza hospital and inflicted the kind of casualty count that is being reported, then much about this conflict might be changing. Israel said it intends to wipe Hamas “off the face of the Earth.” I, too, want Hamas destroyed. There cannot possibly be room in a civilized world for the scale of brutality that exists in what passes in the hearts of those who inflict it.

Hamas is among the worst of the worse.

However, Israel must be accountable for hitting a hospital in the manner that is being reported.

Israel denies hitting the hospital. “We did not strike that, and that the intelligence that we have suggests that it was a failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad, and I want to add, categorically, that we do not intentionally strike any sensitive facilities, any sensitive facilities, and definitely not hospitals,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN.

I am going to presume that Israel knows and understands the rules of modern warfare. One of those rules places hospitals off limits to attack. The penalty would be to charge the attackers as war criminals.

I also am going to insist that we cannot place Israel on the same plane as Hamas. Israel has pledged to avoid killing civilians as it plans a possible frontal ground invasion of Gaza. Hamas, though, targets civilians, as it did when it started this war more than a week ago with that horrific rocket barrage into Israel.

Israel, to my mind, deserves some benefit of the doubt as the probe into this attack proceeds … but, dammit! — this is a headline I clearly did not want to read.