Subs in the Suez

Is Israel’s decision to send a Dolphin submarine through the Suez Canal — overtly — a message to Iran, as this Jerusalem Post report suggests?
Well, duh.
Let’s review why. As I wrote back in 2006:
Israel’s long-range Dolphin-class submarines are reportedly able to launch nuclear-tipped Popeye Turbo cruise missiles…
Since the distance from Israel to Iran is far [...]

Explaining war

This is today’s IDF: coordinated, rehearsed, media savvy. Perhaps even more significantly, it is an army in which its spokesmen play a larger role than ever before – for better and for worse.

A lesson in Sri Lanka

For a few months already, government troops have been on the verge of ridding Sri Lanka of the island nation’s terrorist scourge, the Tamil Tigers. Now, it seems, they have done so.
Most of the world has ignored this 25-year-long conflict, and Israel is no exception. But now that this struggling island state has defeated one [...]

Durban II? Yawn…

For the record, I don’t care one whit about Durban II. What I do care about is Bushehr, Natanz and Isfahan. Everything else is just a sideshow, and a waste of time.

The pen is mightier…

Uh-oh. The ADL is hysterical about this political cartoon by Pat Oliphant that depicts Israeli soldiers as headless Zio-Nazis, rolling over innocent women and children in Gaza. Prepare for the usual “You can’t criticize Israel without being labelled an anti-Semite” nonsense.
The ADL is right, obviously. This cartoon is terrible. But I’ve seen this kind of thing [...]

Deal, or no deal?

Several things were noteworthy about Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s announcement on Tuesday night that negotiations for the return of Gilad Schalit had broken down:
1) News of the development was presented as a failure of the government to complete the deal. The language and tone indicated that success in this affair was solely a matter of Israeli compliance, [...]

1,001 Arabian nights

It was with much skill and cunning and more than a little charm that young Scheherazade entertained Sharyar, weaving enchanting stories whereby, for 1,001 consecutive nights, she bought herself a reprieve from the jealous sultan’s pledge to lop off the pretty maiden’s head.
As Gilad Schalit approaches his own 1,001st night in captivity in Gaza, one wonders what tales [...]

Homeward bound?

Maybe you really can’t go home again. But for a few former Gush Katif settlers now serving in the IDF, Operation Cast Lead is a long-awaited opportunity to return to the Gaza Strip.

A good start… to a bad ending

Olmert and Barak are attempting to ‘manage’ the conflict with Hamas. That is the wrong approach, and its failure is inevitable

Barak adds insult to injury

Ehud Barak has lowered his standing as defense minister by insulting the family of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit.