Kyle
Beloved Misanthrope
Two turds that swirl in opposite directions.
Middle East War Briefing
- Thread starter GURPS
- Start date
Don't know, but there are articles out there that claim they could within just a couple of weeks. Given the lack of interest by the current administration, and the many concessions that have been given to Iran, I think they probably do.
Pakistan’s air force carries out retaliatory strikes against Iran
The strikes imperil diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, as Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks.
The attacks also raised the threat of violence spreading in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran also staged airstrikes late Monday in Iraq and Syria over an Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing that killed over 90 people earlier this month. Iraq has recalled its ambassador from Iran for consultations.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described their attack as “a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes.”
“This morning’s action was taken in light of credible intelligence of impending large scale terrorist activities,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “This action is a manifestation of Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats.”
Several insurgent groups operate in Iran and Pakistan, including the Jaish al-Adl Sunni separatist group that was targeted by Tehran in its own strike. They all have a common goal of an independent Baluchistan for ethnic Baluch areas in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, as well as Iran’s neighboring Sistan and Baluchestan province, have faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades.
A deputy governor of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, Ali Reza Marhamati, gave the casualty figures from Thursday’s strike in a telephone interview, saying the dead included three women and four children. He did not immediately elaborate.
Gazan 'Civilians' Involved in Every Stage of Hamas Hostage Scheme, Freed Israelis Say
In primetime Hebrew TV interviews, the released hostages have confirmed that ordinary Gazans were deeply complicit in every stage of the hostage scheme. Unarmed teens helped to abduct Jews from their homes on Oct. 7, while Gazan women and children held some of the Israelis captive. In other cases, Gazan doctors collaborated with Hamas terrorists to covertly treat kidnapped Israelis and imprison them in hospitals.
When the Israelis encountered Gazans on the streets, the results were often terrifying.
The revelations underscore the urgency of Israel's 100-plus-day war to destroy Hamas and bring home the 132 hostages who, officials believe, remain captive in Gaza. At the same time, though, the released hostages' accounts indicate how difficult it could be to extricate either the remaining hostages or Hamas from a radicalized population.
"The main issue is that the organization is very much melted into the social structure of Gaza," Michael Milshtein, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer and a leading expert on Hamas, told the Washington Free Beacon. "There is no way you can really know who is Hamas. Someone might have a grocery store where he sells tomatoes and water, but he might also have storehouse of weapons and give religious lessons there."
And his wife and kids might be keeping an Israeli hostage at home.
"Hamas is not only a political matter in Gaza. It's a way of life," Milshtein said. "We can and should ruin Hamas militarily and change the political arena in Gaza. But ultimately the Gazan people will have to do some soul searching. And here in the Arab world, not only the Palestinians, soul searching is very rare."
Surrender: Blinken Tells Netanyahu Israel Can’t Defeat Hamas
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that Israel cannot defeat Hamas — that there is no “military solution,” and that Israel will have to accept a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu reportedly rejected the idea.
NBC News reported Wednesday that Blinken, and Biden, are therefore trying to work around Netanyahu — the democratically-elected leader of Israel — in a departure from the Biden administration’s posture as the supposed defender of democratic ideals:
But Blinken faces two obstacles: one, that Israelis believe that they are, in fact, capable of winning the war, and that they are doing so; two, that Palestinians themselves do not want a state more than they want to destroy Israel, meaning a state is doomed to fail.
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Now, Biden and Blinken are trying to make new peace agreements — such as a Saudi-Israeli peace deal — contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state. And Blinken is casting Israelis as if they are not ready for peace, in contrast to the Arab world.
That is a total inversion of the truth, according to opinion polls, which suggest that the vast majority of Palestinians support Hamas’s terror attack of October 7. Arab public opinion is similar, though the Abraham Accords have remained intact so far.
NBC News also reports that Blinken is pushing a deal in which Saudi Arabia would agree to normalized relations with Israel in return for a Palestinian state. Ironically, Saudi Arabia was on the verge of a deal without a Palestinian state before October 7.
It was the Biden administration, according to one report, that actually stalled that deal by insisting on additional concessions to the Palestinians — concessions that the Saudis did not demand and for which the Palestinians did not agree to any compromises.
Biden Admin Only Partially Reverses Course After Delisting Houthis From Terrorist List
President Joe Biden’s administration designated the Iranian-backed Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group this week, partially reversing course on their decision from 2021 when they removed the group from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list. The designation comes after the...
“This designation seeks to promote accountability for the group’s terrorist activities,” the U.S. State Department said. “If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will reevaluate this designation.”
The administration stressed that it did not want the designation to impact the well-being of the Yemeni civilians who live in areas controlled by the Houthis.
“The U.S. government will conduct robust outreach to stakeholders, aid providers, and partners who are crucial to facilitating humanitarian assistance and the commercial import of critical commodities in Yemen,” the statement said. “The Department of the Treasury is also publishing licenses authorizing certain transactions related to the provision of food, medicine, and fuel, as well as personal remittances, telecommunications and mail, and port and airport operations on which the Yemeni people rely.”
Accountability .... for a terrorist group
Top Israeli figure says Hamas spending on tunnel system deprived Gazans of much needed aid
"We now know how much money went into these tunnels and bunkers," Oren told the John Solomon Reports podcast on Wednesday. "Enough to build dozens and dozens of schools. Dozens and dozens of hospitals.......while the people of Gaza were left destitute."
According to a recent report from The New York Times, the Israeli Defense Forces discovered that the tunnel network Hamas has in Gaza is between 350 and 450 miles long.
This is a lot longer than the original assessment which was only 250 miles.
"Think about this," Oren said. "We're talking miles of tunnels. Some are going down seven stories. Hundreds of feet with elevators. So this is a massive military challenge and would be in any circumstances."
"We now know how much money went into these tunnels and bunkers," Oren told the John Solomon Reports podcast on Wednesday. "Enough to build dozens and dozens of schools. Dozens and dozens of hospitals.......while the people of Gaza were left destitute."
According to a recent report from The New York Times, the Israeli Defense Forces discovered that the tunnel network Hamas has in Gaza is between 350 and 450 miles long.
This is a lot longer than the original assessment which was only 250 miles.
"Think about this," Oren said. "We're talking miles of tunnels. Some are going down seven stories. Hundreds of feet with elevators. So this is a massive military challenge and would be in any circumstances."
Meh... Houthis are nothing. It's the Blowfish you have to worry about.
Kyle
Beloved Misanthrope
And see, that sounds like the single guys perfect pet.
Hijinx
Well-Known Member
The only civilians in any of these Islamic countries are the minority of Christians who unfortunately live there.
Muslims are all a part of the intifada It doesn't matter what country they are in including the United State, they are the enemy.
That isn't Islamophobia it is the truth and anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.
Anyone who believes in the writings of the Koran and the followers of the pedophile Muhammed is against anyone who does not follow it.
It says so right in the book. Believe it.
Muslims are all a part of the intifada It doesn't matter what country they are in including the United State, they are the enemy.
That isn't Islamophobia it is the truth and anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.
Anyone who believes in the writings of the Koran and the followers of the pedophile Muhammed is against anyone who does not follow it.
It says so right in the book. Believe it.
:groan:
Multiple U.S. Soldiers Killed, Dozens Injured By Iranian-Backed Terrorists In Middle East
Iranian-backed terrorists in the Middle East killed three U.S. soldiers and injured dozens more in a drone attack.
The latest terrorist attack against U.S. forces in the Middle East marks that 159th attack that U.S. forces have sustained since mid-October.
“On Jan. 28, three U.S. service members were killed and 25 injured from a one-way attack [Unmanned Aircraft System] that impacted at a base in northeast Jordan, near the Syria border,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “As a matter of respect for the families and in accordance with DoD policy, the identities of the servicemembers will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified.”
Reuters reported that at least 34 soldiers were being evaluated for possible traumatic brain injuries.
President Joe Biden said in a separate statement that the attack was “carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.”
“And have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing,” Biden said.