Still No Rocket Defence

A small, frightened girl in Sderot and the C-RAM defence system

I just wanted to bring up the topic of Israeli rocket defence again. Although I appreciate that some people may not find it the most stimulating of topics, the residents of Sderot, not to mention those of northern Israel, find it utterly critical.

Indeed, the poor people of Sderot must be wondering why they still don’t have any effective defence against the continuous barrage of projectiles fired at them from Hamastan (Gaza).

Not only is there a working laser system which has been proved to knock out katyushas and mortars, including in salvos (as I have I pointed out here and here) there is now a U.S. system called C-RAM being used by the U.S. and U.K. in Iraq which has a 70%-80% success rate against rockets artillery shells and mortars which I’m sure the people of Sderot would be most grateful for.

Instead, the Israeli Minisry of Defence, under Peretz, decided on an Israeli made system which will cost a ridiculous $100,000 to intercept every projectile. This is clearly unfeasible and is thus an utterly stupid system to employ, yet development still goes ahead.

With short-range rocket rockets being one of the most significant strategic threats to Israel, as witnessed by the panic, destruction, mass internal displacement and economic losses they caused in last summer’s war with Hizballah, it is criminal that the Israeli government is not procuring either the C-RAM system or one of the others which are currently available for this vital defence task. The poor planning with regard this matter once again underlines the ineptitude of the current government and its continued failure to learn and apply the military lessons of the past war.

Spot the Difference

If you've wondered why Eastenders' star Jim Brannon has been a little aloof of late, there's a perfectly plausible reason why. ...He's taken up residence as Israel's Interior Minister under a cunning new name, Roni Bar-On.

One For the Road

The A-Team's Hannibal and Israel's own action man Avi Dichter are cousins and share a common antelope named Belinda.

Hamastan

Well, your guess is as good as mine basically regarding Hamas’ capture of Gaza. There’s so many different possible outcomes and consequences.

E.g., Hamas could try and turn it into a mini-statelet run by Sharia law and use it as a base for permanent attacks against Israel. We could also see the ascendancy of Fatah in the West Bank and have perhaps two different Palestinian entities to deal with.

All the idiot leftists are now cock-a-hoop with the thought that now Hamas are isolated in Gaza, Israel can make an historic peace with the Fatah “moderates”. Hmmm...yes, nice idea, but about as likely as a glass bulldozer. For a start Israel tried to make peace with Fatah in the Oslo Peace Process begun in 1993. Fatah, with Arafat as the head, ended that. The current head of Fatah, Farrouk Kaddoumi, has said that “At this stage there will be two states. Many years from now there will be only one” and “there is no struggle for our rights other than armed military struggle…”, so my hopes for peace with him aren’t too high either. Furthermore, people have forgotten that Fatah, and all of its vicious and murderous offshoots were responsible for more suicide bombings and attempted suicide bombings then Hamas in 2006. Last year, 126 potential Fatah suicide bombers were detained as opposed to 30 from Hamas. What type of peace partner is that?

The reality is that the Palestinian national movement is completely balkanised and not one part of it has ever fully come to terms with Israel’s existence and permanently renounced violence.

Now, even if lets say Mahmoud Abbas is genuinely interested in making peace there’s two problems of equally gigantic proportions. 1) Abbas does not control the seventeen, yes that’s seventeen, Palestinian “security services”, armed factions and terrorist groups. Arafat created so many different groups as part of a traditional divide and rule policy in typical dictatorial style whereby nobody would have enough power to ever challenge his own authority. 2) The emergency government Abbas has set up is essentially a coup against Hamas which was elected by the Palestinian people in free and fair elections. Doing any deal with such an entity would be invalid since it would not be signed in the name of the Palestinians. Any attempt to force such a deal on the Palestinians without a referendum would have no legitimacy in their eyes and they would not feel bound by it.

When will people get it into their heads that there is nothing more that Israel can do at this point to advance this chimera they are obsessed with of a “final status” peace? Until the Palestinians can put their own house in order there is nothing Israel can or need do.

Once again, as with Syria, we see Olmert scuttling around trying desperately to resurrect his pathetic career by inventing for himself the role of an architect of peace, only he’s playing with Israeli security as he does so. His only reason for chasing a peace deal is his own political life and this is as reprehensible as it is irresponsible.

By Way of Apology

By way of an apology for my unpopular suggestion that Ehud Barak and Uma Thurman shared a likeness, please accept this token of good will. I'm sure you'll agree that the late Hollywood star Howard Keel and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are truly one and the same.

Barak looks like Uma Thurman

Shut Up!!!!!!!!!

In similar style to his feckless attempts to resurrect his political career by chasing after a chimeral peace-agreement with Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinians, Olmert is now trying to do something similar with the Syrians.

Let’s be clear; any effort right now to try and come to a peace-treaty with Syria is utterly pointless. For a start, Assad is about as trustworthy as a hungry crocodile in a petting zoo. Secondly, even if he was sincere he has only very shaky control over his Ba’ath party which is ideologically opposed to Israel’s existence and would very overthrow Assasd should he make such a deal with Israel.

By raising the issue though, Olmert raises international hopes for a deal and thus increases the pressure on Israel to make concessions. It is simply not in Israel’s interests at the moment to give up the Golan Heights and with Syria an international pariah at the moment because of Hariri, Iraqi insurgents, Hizballah, Hamas and other bad connections there is simply no reason for Olmert to raise the issue and bring about this pressure on Israel.

The only reason for his overtures to Damascus is to divert attention form his own ineptitude and to try and forge some sort of positive political development to improve his political standing.

Olmert is therefore not only incompetent, he is a positive danger to Israel’s national security. This country has never had such a calamitous leader.

Peres & Castro are brothers

Recent DNA tests can now confirm, Israel and Cuba's longest serving politicians are brothers separated at birth following a freak yachting accident orchestrated by a large toad named Ian. The two will meet next Thursday for an emotional reunion.