Middle East War Briefing

[Gilligan]

That rocket didn't fail. It was aimed there.

I don't agree at all. As a former "rocket scientist" (seriously) I know a little about this stuff. You cannot "aim a rocket" at anything that isn't on a ballistic trajectory unless you are so stupid as to fire it horizontally. (Not) . The most plausible explanation I've seen is that Hamas set off what they claimed was their biggest piece of rocket/missile ordnance ever...and it failed. The failure set off a cache of other explosive ordnance stored nearby. THAT is a plausible explanation. Very plausible.

 

[Kyle]

I don't agree at all. As a former "rocket scientist" (seriously) I know a little about this stuff. You cannot "aim a rocket" at anything that isn't on a ballistic trajectory unless you are so stupid as to fire it horizontally. (Not) . The most plausible explanation I've seen is that Hamas set off what they claimed was their biggest piece of rocket/missile ordnance ever...and it failed. The failure set off a cache of other explosive ordnance stored nearby. THAT is a plausible explanation. Very plausible.

Especially since they’re known to hide ordnance in places like hospitals.

 

[GURPS]

Israeli Surveillance Drone Video of the Fully Intact and Undamaged Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza after Rocket Hits Parking Lot – NOT the Hospital​

On Tuesday evening a rocket reportedly hit the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza causing a massive explosion and resulting in the deaths of allegedly several hundred Palestinians.

The Palestinians, Islamic Jihad terror group and Western media immediately blamed Israel for the explosion.

This comes ten days after the largest slaughter of Jews since World War II. Over 1,300 Jews were massacred by Hamas and another 200 Jews were taken hostage back to Gaza on October 7.

The international media immediately blamed Israel for the rocket attack “on the hospital.”

But it now appears the story was fake news.

A rocket did not strike the hospital. It struck a parking lot. It was likely an Islamic Jihad missile that was fired from nearby in the urban area.

And 500 Palestinians did not die in the missile strike.

 

[GURPS]

Amid Hamas horror, it’s time to replace terror-supporting United Nations​

America should lead the democratic nations to establish a new forum and junk the UN.

Those two letters have come to stand for Useless Nations — or worse, Unethical Nations.

The UN lends legitimacy to ruthless, despotic regimes and even a terrorist organization, Hamas.

The Gaza crisis shows the UN’s true colors.

For years the body refused to label Hamas what it is — a terrorist organization like ISIS and al Qaeda.

In 2018, then-UN Ambassador Nikki Haley sounded the alarm about Hamas’ plans to attack Israeli communities, even alleging evidence of maps and raid plans.

Haley urged the terrorist designation, but the UN refused to act.

 

[herb749]

Its just as bad as putting some of these countries on human rights committees.

 

[Kyle]

It's LONG past time to disolve the UN.

 

[GURPS]

Day 12: Middle East War Briefing.


The Wall Street Journal ran a followup to the Hamas General Hospital story yesterday headlined “U.S., Experts Say Evidence Suggests Palestinian Militants’ Rocket Hit Gaza Hospital..” After all that hoopla, it was just a friendly-fire casualty, with some cheap European cars hardest hit.


As the Hamas Hospital story continued cratering yesterday, two facts emerged from the acrid fog of war. One: surprise! The hospital was not, in fact, destroyed. Photos showed the parking lot was pretty torn up, and the hospital may have some blown-out windows. Fact Number Two: credulous Western media accepted as 100% true all the fake photos and propaganda that Hamas pumped out in the minutes and hours after the unfortunate friendly-fire accident.

The rush to believe Hamas suggested the fake war propaganda fit some kind of predetermined media narrative or something.

Maybe this kind of thing has been going on for a long time, but ever since covid, media’s constant lying has become especially obvious and irritating. Remember all the Italian covid hospital pictures with the hallways clogged by bloody gurneys that turned out to be from a 2006 soap opera or something? Corporate Media is so unreliable it’s truly a miracle — mirabilia dei — that anyone still believes anything corporate media says.

For exhibit A, as if you needed any more evidence, behold the original breathless New York Times front-page story about the allegedly-bombed Hamas General Hospital (which is still standing, see WSJ photo, above) and the evil IDF that couldn’t wait to genocide babies and dialysis patients instead of actual terrorists, who are much slipperier and harder to catch.

Look carefully at the Times’ front-page photo. Pretty impressive-looking destruction! But the problem was: that’s not the hospital. It’s not even a building resembling the hospital. It’s some other random building in southern Gaza where Hamas terrorists were hiding out, and not containing any babies or dialysis patients at all. Not even a band-aid.



The Times’ sneaky little disclaimer in the fine print did NOT make it better. It made it worse. They knew exactly what they were doing. What liars.


Speaking of the “mostly-unreliable” New York Times, it ran a story yesterday suggesting Biden may be in for some turbulence if he keeps up all this public boosterism for Israel. It was headlined, “Biden Walks a Tightrope on Israel-Gaza as Democratic Tensions Smolder.”

Things are not perfect in democrat-land. They aren’t sure if they can openly oppose Israel or not and survive politically. The Times reported that “Democratic rifts over the conflict were beginning to tear open, leaving (Biden) presiding over a party struggling to resolve where it stands.”

Biden? “Presiding” over the party? Is he?

Perhaps trying to appease certain elements in his party less friendly to Israel, Biden announced a giant $100 million bribe, I mean payoff, I mean aid package for Hamas. Technically it’s for “Gaza,” but since Hamas runs the government that receives the money, Hamas decides what to do with the cash. The hundred million will not even be contingent on releasing any hostages. Biden also ordered Netanyahu to reopen the “aid corridor” from Egypt into Gaza and definitely not to occupy Gaza — or else. But all that was not enough for many democrats.

After meeting with Netanyahu, Biden was then supposed to meet with other regional leaders, but Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority all canceled their meetings and Biden went home. So.

The Times article cited the Hamas General Hospital controversy — a fake controversy which it helped falsely create — as the trigger for lots of woke but uninformed U.S. democrats to decamp from the Israel support team and march squarely into pro-Hamas territory. Along those lines, outraged pro-Palestine Jewish “protestors” occupied and held the U.S. Capitol Rotunda yesterday.

CLIP: Andy Ngo — protestors occupy the US Capitol Building (0:39).

So-called ‘Jews for Peace’ militantly infested the Capitol Rotunda trying to interrupt Congress’ official proceedings for several hours. Ultimately, Capitol Police removed them and three mostly-hysterical people were arrested and quickly released.

I know what you’re thinking! You’re wondering whether the FBI is going to track the all these insurrectionists down using advanced image analysis, send stormtroopers to raid all their houses in the wee hours, perp walk them in front of their kids, interrogate their employers, charge them with criminal trespassing and interference, and try them before DC juries before locking them up for one to ten years.

Nope! It will never happen. What a silly question. They vote democrat. They’re not worried about it at all.

☕️ SIGNALING ☙ Thursday, October 19, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

More bad polling news for Biden; RFK seeks race reparations; FDA study finds second (bad) safety signal for kids; dems restless about Israel; Hamas Hospital story debunked; Biden wants billions; more.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[Kyle]

It always comes out eventually that it was nothing but Muslim Bull#### but, by then, its already served it's purpose to get the $#!tbags stirred up around the world.

 

[herb749]

It always comes out eventually that it was nothing but Muslim Bull#### but, by then, its already served it's purpose to get the $#!tbags stirred up around the world.

It made Biden look like a fool, which isn't hard to do. So which congressperson will be 1st to say, opps I was duped.

 

[GURPS]

The New York Times generated even more disgust over its war coverage yesterday when it “accidentally” on purpose showed Hamas terrorists exactly where all Israel’s ground invasion units were in real time:



Now Hamas knows exactly where to aim its rockets! Not to mention shore up its defenses. Thanks, New York Times!

Now ponder this question: somebody gave the Times that satellite imagery analysis. Who could it be? It wasn’t diligent, hardworking New York Times reporters, don’t make me laugh.

☕️ DOXXERS ☙ Friday, October 20, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

Biden's big speech, condensed for legibility; Musk yeets the NYT; NYT doxxes the whole Israeli army; Biden doxxes special forces; worldwide caution alert; Newsom goes there; SADS catchups; and more.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[GURPS]

With friends like these, we don’t even need Hamas. In a similar story yesterday, Fox ran an article headlined, “Biden administration admits it doxxed US special forces soldiers in Israel, apologizes.” You’d better sit down for this one.

While Biden was in Israel, he “encouraged” U.S. special forces members with a personal visit. Our soldiers were there secretly to help retrieve over a dozen American hostages. But then Biden’s team posted the unredacted photos — which clearly showed four of the soldiers’ faces and their tattoos — on Instagram:



This is the redacted version. Biden posted a clear photo.

Biden deleted the photo an hour later — too late, after hundreds of thousands of views — and only after people started pointing out the terrorists will soon identify these soldiers and then target them and their families. A White House spokesperson told Fox News, "As soon as this was brought to our attention, we immediately deleted the photo. We regret the error and any issues this may have caused."

Biden regrets the error. Is a statement of regret an apology?

Since I’m piling on, the New York Times, which did not report the Biden doxxing story at all, not thinking it newsworthy that Biden doxxed four in-theatre, active-duty special forces soldiers. But the Grey Lady did fret about the poor pro-Hamas Harvard students being doxxed:



Also, two years ago, Biden “accidentally” doxxed some CIA agents:



Seasoned C&Cers will recall that like Biden, the U.S.’s other worst president, James “Jimmy” Carter, also faced a Middle-East hostage crisis, and also bungled the rescue attempt. It’s like Biden is trying to beat Jimmy Carter.

As Mark Twain said, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.


Yesterday, The Washington Post ran a story headlined, “State Department issues ‘worldwide caution’ alert to Americans overseas.” Thanks Joe Biden! Without fanfare, midday yesterday the State Department issued an unprecedented GLOBAL travel alert, warning ALL Americans who are traveling about heightened risks.

I can’t remember anything like this ever happening before. Can anyone else?



Be careful out there!

The UK Times published a thoughtful “letter to the editor” yesterday, penned by two House Lords who argued as lawyers using basic legal principles of self-defense that it is an error to criticize Israel for its violence against Gaza:



Certainly Israel should make every reasonable effort to avoid civilian casualties, but under a self-defense standard it would not have any further obligation. I’m not arguing either way for using the common-law self-defense standard, but it seemed like an interesting place to begin the discussion.

The Restrainer — whatever it is — continued holding Israel back from its Gaza ground invasion yesterday, although, as the New York Times’ not-so-helpful satellite shots showed, the invasion still appears to be on track.

But do not worry, Israelis! Help is on the way. Gavin Newsom is going to Israel. To assist or give advice. Or something.



Now if we could just get Justin Trudeau over there, the woke masterpiece would be complete.

☕️ DOXXERS ☙ Friday, October 20, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

Biden's big speech, condensed for legibility; Musk yeets the NYT; NYT doxxes the whole Israeli army; Biden doxxes special forces; worldwide caution alert; Newsom goes there; SADS catchups; and more.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[gemma_rae]

It would be a shame if Newsome met with Hamas in Gaza and accidently got misted by an IDF missile.

 

[Clem72]

I don't know how anyone can criticize them going into Gaza, even if you take the position that Israel instigated the attack you can't say that the people in Gaza are innocent or uninvolved when it was their literal elected government that sponsored the attack.

Hell, the last time we had a significant terrorist attack we went to war against the wrong country. twice. for almost 20 years.

 

[GURPS]

FBI chief warns that terrorists can unleash AI in terrifying new ways​

The chiefs of the FBI and Britain’s MI5 have raised concerns about the enormous and terrifying potential artificial intelligence poses for terrorists, saying the technology adds "a level of threat to that we haven’t previously encountered."

"It’s one of those issues where no one has a monopoly of wisdom and trying to have a different form of public-private partnership and, crucially, international partnerships," MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said during the Five Eyes alliance conference in California this week.

The conference between the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand focused on the launch of an initiative aimed at finding innovative responses to developing intelligence threats, particularly in the face of new technology such as AI generative platforms.

"Emerging technologies are essential to our economic and national security, and America’s role as a leading economic power, but they also present new and evolving threats," FBI Director Christopher Wray said ahead of the conference.

 

[GURPS]

Police chief to Arab Israelis: ‘You want to support Gaza, I’ll put you on a bus there’​

Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai said the force would have “zero tolerance” for pro-Hamas demonstrations within Israel, suggesting that those expressing solidarity with Gaza Strip should go to there instead.

“Whoever wants to be a citizen of Israel, ahalan wasahlan,” Shabtai said in a video posted on Tuesday to the Israel Police’s Arabic TikTok channel, using common Arabic slang meaning “welcome.”

“Anyone who wants to identify with Gaza is welcome — I’ll put them on buses that will send them there, I’ll help them get there,” Shabtai added.


The comments were only widely reported in Israel on Wednesday, shortly after police broke up a rally in Haifa in support of Gaza, arresting six people.

 

[GURPS]

2 Iranians who 'could pose a significant security threat' captured at US border, sources say​

Two Iranians who are "raising red flags that they could pose a significant security threat" have been captured over the past two weeks at the American border, sources with U.S. Customs and Border Protection tell Fox News.

The identities of both Iranians appeared on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), the sources confirmed.

Meanwhile, an Iranian man in his 40s was taken into custody around 3 a.m. Sunday in Eagle Pass, Texas, becoming the fourth individual from the country to be captured since Oct. 1 in the Del Rio sector.

In fiscal year 2023, which began at the start of last October, there were 151 total hits on the TSDB through the period ending on Aug. 31.

 

[GURPS]

Hamas Has Fired More Than 500 Faulty Rockets That Hit Gaza: Israeli Military​

"The Hamas terrorist organization uses the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields, and launches rockets from civilian infrastructure, areas, and buildings in the Gaza Strip," the IDF said in a statement on Saturday.

In its online statement, the IDF shared video footage showing some of the failed launches, as well as an infographic showing the Gazan impact sites of Hamas's failed rockets.

It is unclear how many of the 3,785 Palestinian deaths reported by the Hamas-backed Gaza Health Ministry on Oct. 19 are a result of Hamas's faulty rockets.

 

[GURPS]

The First U.S. Military Engagement in an Expanded Israeli War Has Begun​

October 21, 2023 | Sundance | 363 Comments

Today, the sketchy Pentagon statements about the USS Carney are starting to make sense. The initial suspicions within the originating statements {GO DEEP} are well founded. Today, the Pentagon is admitting the events in the Red Sea were “much more significant” than originally outlined. Here’s the big picture, and we will go a little deeper.

The USS Carney is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer assigned to USS Ford Carrier Strike Group 12. As part of the October 8th deployment into the eastern Mediterranean, the USS Carney took up a defensive position for the strike group by going through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. Fortunately, the Carney arrived in the Red Sea, on mission, Wednesday, just hours before four cruise missiles and 15 drones entered the established defensive perimeter airspace.

[clip]

In reality, the original Pentagon statement does make sense. They don’t know where they came from, and they don’t know where they were going. However, they entered a defensive perimeter established by USS Ford, via the battleship Carney, as part of their strike group mission and formation.

With the carrier strike group in place, the proximity and overall direction of the unknown missiles and drones was a threat. So, we shot them down. That is the standard mission priority.

The political message to CNN, not from the Pentagon, is to firm up the most likely originating location as Yemen and establish the most likely destination as Israel.

However, there are multiple alternatives, one of which is alarming and would also explain the intense sensitivity of the Pentagon in using the word “potentially”; the truth is, they really don’t know. Factually, USS Carney arrived literally hours before this took place, a very fortuitous arrival on mission all things considered.

We can well imagine if the Carney was still navigating the Suez Canal at the time the missiles and drones flew overhead. We, or whoever was the target of 4 cruise missiles and 15 drones, lucked out.

Which brings us to the part of “potential” destinations. Considering the motives and intents of the hostile and opposition elements globally and regionally, there’s just as solid an argument to make that the USS Carney did exactly what it was supposed to do, defend the USS Ford strike group. Meaning, the target could have been the U.S. fleet and the USS Ford itself.

Then we look at “potential” origination. Again, the Houthi’s may have received a very recent Iranian missile capable of delivering a payload over this distance. They did not have them before, but they could be newly acquired; so, the origination could be Yemen. However, it is worth remembering that China is the #1 investor in Yemen, and has a geopolitical relationship in Yemen driven in part by a very nearby Chinese navy military base in Djibouti.

 

[GURPS]

Why Jordan and Egypt are saying 'no' to accepting Palestinian refugees from Gaza​

"There will be no refugees in Jordan and no refugees in Egypt," said Jordanian King Abdullah II this week, declaring it a "red line" that would not be crossed.

Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry also said on Tuesday that Egypt would not host any more Palestinian refugees, citing the economic "burden" and not wanting to solely bear the "responsibility" of taking them in.

Three experts on the region, who spoke to Insider, highlighted the complexity of Egypt and Jordan's positions.

Security concerns​

If Palestinians were to flee to Sinai, this could cause "dramatic instability" in the region, which Egyptians do not want, Takkenberg said.

"Egypt has already been struggling with ISIS elements in Sinai and other extremists," he added.

Since 2011, the Egyptian military and police have battled ISIS-affiliated militants. The fear is that incoming Hamas militants could bring further instability to the region.

Sisi also generally views Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, suspiciously, with Cairo considering it a potential security threat.

"So this is the last thing Sisi wants, both from a security perspective and from a political perspective," said Takkenberg.

But, ultimately, Takkenberg said, understanding Jordan and Egypt's firm stances requires an overall appreciation of the context.

He said: "You cannot understand the Palestinian refugee question while not at the same time also understanding the broader historical, political, and legal circumstances surrounding the issue."

All of which leaves those in Gaza in a very precarious position.

 

[GURPS]

Day 14 — Middle East War Briefing.

Yesterday, the Times of Israel hinted at who the “Restrainer” might be who is holding off Israel’s slow-motion ground offensive in Gaza, which has still not started. It’s Hamas. The article was headlined, Senior official: US, European countries pushing Israel to delay Gaza ground offensive

It’s all about the hostages.

Bloomberg reported yesterday that the U.S. and allied E.U. countries are pressuring Israel to postpone its Gaza ground invasion, to “exhaust the moves” for the release of the more than two hundred civilian hostages Hamas captured during its brutal surprise attack two weeks ago.

Russia Today, of all places, provided the most succinct and informative analysis of the emerging dynamics in an article yesterday headlined, “Every Middle East agenda derailed by the Israel-Hamas conflict, explained.” The Russians explained that the U.S. fears being blamed for the Gaza invasion, since everyone thinks the U.S. controls Israel:

While it publicly expresses full solidarity with Israel, the US has to be careful on the humanitarian front, which is why it has pressed Israel to provide water to southern Gaza and has pushed for some humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza from Egypt. Whether Israel can be dissuaded from launching a ground invasion of Gaza is unclear. If Israel does go ahead, it would appear – rightly or wrongly – that Biden green-lit it. This would create a backlash against the US in the Islamic world. If Israel does not go ahead, it would politically expose the ruling Israeli government to a backlash by far-right elements in the country.​

Tracking this narrative, the media’s biggest war news yesterday was reported in one Jerusalem Post article headlined, “Hamas releases two American-Israeli hostages: Judith and Natalie Raanan.” Hamas released two female American hostages, a seventeen-year-old girl and her mother.



Hamas issued a statement explaining its dramatic, newsworthy decision to release the two on “humanitarian” grounds:

We are working with all the mediators to finish the case of the civilian abductees, as far as the appropriate conditions from a security point of view allow.​

Pro-Hamas commenters insisted yesterday that the terrorist group wants to negotiate a return of all civilian hostages, in exchange for a cease-fire agreement that would preclude a ground invasion. It’s a brilliant strategy. Hamas can trickle out a hostage or two every few days with great media fanfare to keep pressure on while Israel’s allies insist that the ground invasion wait, indefinitely, until “all options” for getting the hostages back have been exhausted.

Israel will be universally condemned for putting the hostages’ lives at risk if it invades before all the hostages have been returned as long as it looks like Hamas is cooperating.

☕️ THE REST OF US ☙ Saturday, October 21, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

A "medical emergencies" tribute for we common folk; Hochul Israel trip and tragedy; Obama was there when Tafari drowned; Middle East war day 14 roundup; massive earthquake news; and more.

www.coffeeandcovid.com