The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
According to Bolton's plans with Kushner's blessing, Israel has started a war with Iran. I would expect the new USA Defense Secretary to rein that in.
Israel, no different than Russia, is an expansionist power whenever it gets a chance. Up to now, Israel has maintained it's expansionism within the borders of Palestine. It is no longer contained.
The problem with Israel being an expansionist power is best viewed through the Six Day War. Israel does not have great military capacity when it comes to conventional forces. It's Air Force is it's strength. Bulldozers were primarily used with Palestine, but, now outside it's borders, there is no conventional fighting force that can uphold any ground the bombing might take. In order to conduct a full scale war where Israel actually occupies and holds land, it would require the American military. With these bombings, Israel is really outside it's capacity to protect it's borders from retaliation.
July 31, 2019
By Jack Khoury
Israel (click here) has expanded the scope of its anti-Iranian attacks and struck targets in Iraq, the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Tuesday.
According to the report, which cites anonymous Western diplomats, Israel struck Iranian warehouses storing arms and missiles at Camp Ashraf, north-east of Baghdad, twice in the past month.
On July 19, the base was struck by an Israeli F-35 fighter jet, the sources added. The base was allegedly attacked again on Sunday....
By attacking Camp Ashraf, it is confronting not just Iran, but, Iraq and the Shi'ites. The Iraqi Shia ran a successful assault against Daesh. I would not underestimate them. I don't really see the Kurds volunteering as an American force so much as backing an Iraqi force. Let's face it, the Americans have assaulted the Kurds because of Turkey and allowed Turkey to do the same.
Any spark of war that starts this inferno will be sorry. Camp Ashraf is an interesting choice by Israel. It has a very turbulent recent history. By recent, I mean the past few decades. The Middle East by nature has a very extensive history.
Isreal is on a fool's errand. Diplomacy would have gotten it further and would have Oman as an ally to any talks. That 'itch' of expansionism will not lead to settlements in Iraq or anywhere else. The IDF needs to be a good neighbor. There was a reason why Russia hemmed Israel in from Syria. I strongly suggest Israel EXPAND it's diplomatic corp as soon as possible.
This overview tells the story of Camp Ashraf (click here) from its outset in 1986 until September 2013, when the last residents were forced to relocate to Camp Liberty.
Since the Iraqi government took control of the camps, 116 MEK (PMOI) members have been murdered and more than 1,300 injured.
The MEK (PMOI) members are “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention. They have been officially recognized as asylum seekers and people of concern by the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), which also publicly declared they are protected persons be international law.
The MEK (PMOI) members are undergoing Refugee Status Determination (RSD). Many have already been recognized while others have yet to finish the process.
In 2004, the US government signed individual agreements with each MEK (PMOI) resident to protect them until their final disposition. The US government has a legal and moral obligation to ensure the MEK (PMOI) residents remain safe. But tragically it has failed to do so.
Despite multiple attacks on the MEK (PMOI) residents by Iraqi forces, there has yet to be a single impartial investigation of the killings and they remain highly vulnerable to additional attacks....
