Captain's Quarters -

Abbas has been hanging around US Congresscritters too long. He's absorbed the idea that all you have to do to solve a problem is to pass a law. The HAMAStan Army is standing in your way, outlaw them. 12 to 20 million "undocumented workers" in America, that's an easy one, give them documents, problem solved.

El presidente compasivo must act quickly to admit the inhabitants of Gaza to the United States as refugees. They will contribute another valued element to the multicultural melenge that so enriches our country and can work closely with their recently admitted Iraqi brothers. I suggest settling them in Detroit, Minneapolis, and California.

Viva El Presidente Jorge bin Jorge al-Bush!

Islam is a religion of peace!

Allahu akbar!

You can be darn sure

the 'world" and the US will demand Israel restore fuel shipments to Gazastan

All in the nale of the PEACE PROCESS and DIALOGUE!

Abbas Outlaws Hamas Militias

Yeah! THAT'LL show 'em!

/sarcasm

Cap'n Ed wrote:

In the West Bank, where the Israelis maintain security, the standard of living is not as desperate.

Wait! I thought that the Joooos were the REASON that things were so bad in Pali territory (well, the Jooooos and the fact that we won't send more foreign aid).

/sarcasm again

I say that we tell the Israelis to reinforce their border fence (and maybe ask how they built it since we seem incapable of building one of our own) and call up their reserves, then ship few hundred thousand AK's and a few million round of ammo to the Palis. In a couple of weeks, they'll exterminate each other and peace, at last, will come to the Middle East.

Hamas won't give a flying damn about whatever Abbas and his Fatah buddies do as long as there's still a way for Hamas to get supplies into Gaza from the Egyptian side.

And while Ed seems to be hoping there'll be an uprising against Hamas as Gaza gets starved out, let's not forget how the Palestinians got into this mess in the first place: They elected Hamas to power.

Hamas is an organization willing to slaughter their own people in order to weaken Israel enough for the Iranian mullahs to strike. And the Palestinian people democratically elected these fine, upstanding madmen to control their government, knowing full well the consequences of their actions and the extent to which Hamas would go in order to complete their stated mission of the destruction of Israel.

Ed, at what point do we stop making excuses for the Palestinians and start admitting that as a society and as a people, the elections that brought Hamas to power fully endorsed not only the goal of the destruction of Israel but the extremity of the methods used to obtain that goal?

Democracy and self-determination were never part of the picture. Palestine, the country, the sovereign state, was never the goal. They were amusing side effects of turning everything from Tel Aviv to Elat into slag.

Abbas, the UN, the US State Department, the EU, Russia, China...they all believe that you can apply rational, predictive actions towards the Palestinians. How do you defend yourself from somebody willing to abandon self-preservation of their entire society in order to destroy not just you, but everything you know?

Abbas is a cipher, somebody we propped up and fell for while Hamas did the dirty work. The whole thing was a good cop/bad cop scam from day one. There's no hope left in continuing to prop him up, for he will do nothing to bring the remaining rogue elements in the West Bank under control. They will demand to attack Israel. He has no true power left to wield. After Gaza, I'd have to say he never had any true power to begin with. We got played by a master.

You mention that communication between Gaza and the West Bank is minimal now...that works both ways. Abbas is only useful insofar as he can exercise his leadership over the rest of the Palestinians, and that leadership credibility is null and void right now. He's in the losing camp. He's hiding behind Israel's skirts, as far as the rest of the Arab world is concerned. They despise him for it. I wouldn't be surprised if attempts were made on his life, and soon. He has quite literally outlived his usefulness.

The rockets are already falling out of Lebanon today according to Fox News. This summer will determine the future of the Middle East and Israel for decades to come.

As I've said before, 9/11 and Afghanistan was Act 1 of the tragedy. Iraq was Act 2. The curtain has gone up on Act 3 now.

The hour of the rough beast has come round at last.

The thing to remember here is that Abbas is a non-entity. His proclamations are important only to him and maybe not even that. What he says is as meaningless as what he does.

Well there is a second thing too I suppose---- Hamas vs Fatah is at best a choice between cancer and leprosy. The best thing is if they simply went to full scale war and killed everyone in sight. Fatah is NOT a 'partner' in anything except any convenient criminal enterprise. That leopard simply cannot change its spots.

Even if the clueless West gives Fatah more aid they will simply steal it, or use it to attack Israel, or cement their local gang-lords in power. They certainly won't collect the garbage with it. To believe that they will do anything different from the past performance is to believe that a succesful Arab Culture actually exists.

They will never stop being corrupt or mendacious or incompetent. And they will never stop trying to destroy Israel. Even if they had any interest in building a Real State, they are far too shabby and useless to even make a convincing start at the process. They are the prime reason Hamas became powerful in the first place.

They only thing they have going for them is that they are not Hamas, and it isn't enough. Whichever one eventually 'wins' , everyone else 'loses'.

Death is their only business and goal, and death is the only solution to them. Everything else is just theatre.

"The driver's seat," Captain?

I mean, I've seen Nancy Pelosi getting the keys to a seat she can keep until 2008. But it's hard to make guarantees on future events.

As to Abbas; it is a known fact, now, that Dayton, is he a general? What an unworthy man. Received dictation from Condi, to put $60-million-dollars-worth of American arms, machine guns. Bullets. Armored vehicles. Into Gaza. Legitimately. So this didn't have to go through their tunnelling system.

And, because of pressure from Dubya; this merchandise was there for the taking. Abbas? When asked for permission by fart'a to "fight back," bot his usual stalling phone calls. Where he kept spouting "cease fire." Until?

Well Hamas now has a store house of American military supplies.

We're also still stuck on the idea that if terrorists live among civilians, "we can't go there."

Can you imagine General Patton hearing an order like that? Or General MacArthur?

What's happened to the pentagon and our crap for generals, these days?

While everything that appears in print is about as honest as the stuff that dribbles out of the UN. Nothing's the truth! For the truth? You gotta wait for events to play themselves out. And, as the clock advances time, SOON Dubya will pack his bags.

Until then? We ain't fighting this thing right and proper.

And, all Abbas has, by the way, are the bank accounts. So, he's still in charge, huh? I guess, then, he found Arafat's red binder? But it doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

Olmert, who is now in DC, did a phone canvas of the Knesset. And, while Abbas was advising "cease fire," Olmert moved Amir Peretz' ass out of Defense.

NOW, in Defense, in Israel, sits Ehud Barak. (Not Shaul Mofaz.) So, Olmert's still got a bunch of ministers who couldn't get elected again ... Shades of Abbas in the air, anyone?

But it's a tight arrangement; according to the laws.

Even if it seems at a snail's pace, Olmert isn't looking to end Israel's existence. Surrounded not just by hostile arabs; but by hostile europeans. A hostile press. And, the man who makes the most money: James Baker.

So, yes. It's interesting to watch how he plays this board.

Sort'a like chess. If you understand the game; it's way more profound than tennis. Yet all you see, because Olmert play's the WEAK HAND, is that it looks like a bunch of pawns trying to find their ways through the thicket of an American system where friendship isn't one of your playing cards.

Still, ya can't give the game away.

And, with Barak IN Defense, up ahead, for Bibi, things got tougher. And, with the two incompetents; Amir Peretz and Ami Ayalon without portfolios. WIthout clout. You can see how the weak hand gets played. It looks almost bloodless.

Of course, Barak is now waiting in the wings for Olmert to make a huge mistake. If not? Given Barak's background. He's a NAVY SEAL, a pro with the clandestine; my money's still on Olmert's hand.

Dubya? He's not gonna improve much in the next 18 months.

the test comes over the next few weeks. how much support does Hamas have in the west bank? if Fatah has the numbers they are going to liquidate all Hamas members/fighters. Hamas will be left with Gaza. Gaza then becomes Egypt's problem. Israel is not going to let one person out of there. in fact if Hamas acts up Israel will invade with the "wink and nod" support of Fatah and the west.

if Hamas has the numbers on the west bank then real trouble is about to start in the middle east. Israel will probably find itself getting bombed from Gaza, the west bank and Lebanon very shortly once Hamas completes its takeover the west bank.

my money is on Fatah on the west bank........

Invade, sir?

Barak, the new voice in the Defense portfolio, is a very ambitious man. He's already swept Amir Peretz out of office. Though you'd think the guy would have left on his own. Odd stuff. The glue that attaches to some behinds.

Anyway, from where I sit, I know Barak is NAVY. He swims. He conquers. And, if he has to hit gazoo? Look to the beaches.

Why?

Because right now the Ham-Assholes are booby-trapping their buildings. Just like Jenin. If kids eventually explode? You think those cockroaches care?

But it does give pause to "going into gazoo."

While Haniyeh, to survive, must live in a hidey-hole. Not far different than the other "winner" last summer; nasrallah.

You could learn something from the ease with which men can come and go into their offices. Haniyeh and Nasrallah can't even use cell phones.

Do you know why?

Overhead, Israel has a "spy view." Flies by every 90 minutes. From this? You get GPS and other sorts of fly-by information. Not dependent on General Dayton, and his muddled crew.

I don't expect much to happen in gazoo. They've already reached the peak of their "revolution." They've ripped out all the piping, plumbing, and copper wires. They've even uprooted trees.

These revolutions, like our Rodney king Riots tend to blow over and out in about three days time.

You want excitement? Put up a dead pool on Haniyeh. His life span's shorter, ahead, than Mashaal. Who lives in the safety of Damascus. Till the IDF decides it needs to rattle some windows.

You'd think Dubya would somehow concern himself with his dropping numbers. Given that he was very much aware of Bill Clinton's swift kick into his dad's behind. He spent all those years, from 1992 to 2000 ... of all things ... Claiming Bill Clinton wasn't legitimate.

Guy's a boob.

While Americans are learning that time can pass. Ain't gonna make much of a difference.

In Irak? According to a post up on InstaPundit; Michael Yon says a "massive attack" is underway, right now in Baghdad. That's NO GOOD NEWS for the Sunni's. Which shows ya the real way the Saudi bet is going these days.

Dead Pools. In my book, Haniyeh's first. Then, Sadr. Then Mashaal. (But to get to Mashaal? The eye doctor has some pointing out to do.)

Other than that? I just watch.

So, it's Barak instead of Mofaz. Figures.

Will Bibi get Finance? Well, that depends on Mr. Politics.

And, they don't call Olmert Mr. Politics fer nothin.

it is an interesting development for a long standing mess going back for decades.

perhaps karma does exist as the Palestinians have created nothing but a society of mindless violence.

certainly, this is better than Fatah embracing Hamas as a 'shared' government, and focused their death upon Israel.

perhaps the likes of Fatah and Abbas will be forced to lean towards the West and even Israel.

maybe their will be some positives after all.

for example, with Hamas and Hezbollah in the pocket of Iran, the alliance of terror and death will grow more visible and thus be more clear to combat.

i do like hearing Joe Lieberman talking about going after Iran in a more aggressive fashion.

What's known about arafish: He looted BILLIONS!

What's unknown about Abbas: What does he settle for? Obviously, he knows the way to the money.

But we don't get sums.

So we don't know how to compare one month to the next.

Ah. REVENGE. How sweet it is when out enemies devour each other.

In WW2? It was hitler who misread stalin. (Stalin got caught when the Fins, in Finland, fought back. And, kept stalin's shoeless troops at bay for 10 months.)

Misjudged the situation.

Not that I care.

Now, if you asked me "what's Abbas holding onto?" I'd say DIPLOMATS. He's holding onto the money that flows down the tracks set up by Arafish.

But the amounts are unknown.

The other unknown unknown? How long before Keith Dayton's career is kaput? Okay. He goes and chooses "retirement."

And, you think Israel's lost anything here?

Not me. The newly dressed up in fancy clean uniformed goons of hamas ... still leads me to believe Haniyeh has to live in a hidey hole.

And, he's stupid to take a cell phone call, even from a buddy. Given the way the Israelis know how to hone in a missile up the exhaust pipe of a traveling Mercedes. Kapish?

Let the journalists guess. But if Nick the Greek was still alive, their guesses would be jokes. And, you'd have the statistical bets laid out for ya.

Tempting to bet. Does Haniyeh hit the dead pool before Condi goes back to Stanford? Pick. Guess.

Because Condi understands she's skating on thin ice.

Dubya? I've heard him called Bush/Arbusto. And, that's right. Hasn't been a business he's touched that hasn't suffered from red ink.

You want to know what Israel will do for the next 18 months? She'll do better than Dubya, in terms of standing numbers. You wonder sometimes ...

Or at least I do. Does Bush ask for the latest polls? Has he stopped saying "how am I doing?"

Provocative think piece on how Condoleezza, Abdullah, and the Israelis are living in virtual realities:

http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=18002

Thanks, onlineanalyst. I sent and bookmarked the line.

Where I'll bet some money? Lt. General Keith Dayton's career just lost altitude.

Seems those in the pentagon that mismanaged; are doomed to "reputational fallout."

And, Israel knows how to take in diplomatic papers from the Americans; wave them about. And, do nothing.

That's why diplomatic papers see more than just the "in" and "out" box. Sometimes? They're put in Monica's box.

That Condi is this awful? Sure. Came as somewhat of a surprise. like Dubya, before last summer's "war fracas in Lebanon, she and Dubya were doing well. They had high poll numbers. Not any more.

Gamblers, in time, learn that their good luck charms stop working.

And, of course, there's the imbedded truth. Bush/Arbusto. The company he had in the 80's. Ran with the accounting skills of Enron. Hit the skids. But the Saud's, thinking the Bush's had possibilties, bailed out Dubya; who kept sinking dry wells.

That's the connection.

Now?

Bush wanted to redesign the Mideast. Irak's still a headache. Given that the same arab behaviors exist every time you try to drop in a bit of democracy.

Heck, even as the Greeks gained speed on culture; the persians needed to be walled up. They weren't gonna go anywhere. Short of selling the hallucinagins on their caravans. A trade, in the 1500's, taken over by Portugal.

And, here, too, is a lesson.

Nobody got richer than Portugal.

Then, nobody got richer than Spain.

There's always political headaches you can choose to look at.

While Condi really wanted to give Dubya a legacy.

These decisions were not made in a vacuum.

They were made, however, by people with no concept of failure. As they plunged down failure's cliff.

As I said, if it was me? I'd avoid Condi like the plague. And, the only thing I'd do, if I were a man, is pee down James Baker's leg.

Meanwhile? Just as the world turns, and interesting facts show up ... Libby's lawyer, Jeffress ... comes from Baker Botts.

So, at least Libby knows where the power lays in DC.

And, Olmert? He pays lip service. To shnook.s

The Palestinians have divided themselves into a civil war. Hamas will need more even more Iranian aid.

Iraq's government of majority Shia have been in power for two years now; they have constructed an Army that even Iran would fear. The Iraqi national Police is now at planned strength and no Muslim opponents to fear as the AQI and Al Sadr are no military force in actuality. Hoist on their theory of full asymmetrical warfare, they haven't even tried to construct the elementary guerrilla armies.

AQI has been decimated five or six times over and is losing out on its last and only remaining bastion in Anbar province,as the only real pollsters, the local politicians, the tribal chiefs, come down against them there. It's spreading to Sunni areas of Baghdad and Diyallah,too.

Sadr is in in exile in Iran; his militia have turned on themselves, and Sadr's government ministers have been self-purged with little effect in the Shia government,failing to bring it down.

Lots of oil has just been discovered in Sunni areas, so all three groups now will have oil wealth; now making it easy to "share" what all will have.

The Kurds are satisfied to remain in Iraq, protected from the Turks by the US, and free to continue their guerrilla wars against Syria, and Iran (and Turkey), to free their kinfolk.

When the West MSM isn't looking any more, the Arabs will kill as many Arabs as necessary to create order, and nothing will be said or noticed. Mopping up the AQI and Sadr remnants will be no trouble when you don't have to play by Marquis of Queensbury rules. Unlike us, the Iraqis have n problem detecting the foreigners of Al Queda or Persian origin.

All the Arabs hate the Persians, but love their money and aid. Just like us. Unfortunately, the Persian pockets are about empty, heavily overextended to support Lebanon's Hezb'Allah, and now Hamas, propping up Syria, arming Al Sadr, and building their own Manhattan Project Bomb.

Doing all this while suppressing the Iranian Kurdish civil war in northern Iran; amid rising civil unrest, in Iranian NE and SW and among the rising Iranian intelligentsia.

Even in North Korea the hereditary Communist tyrant-emperor is reported to be dying. Crocodile Tears are ready to flow.

With a realistic perspective, I would say, Things are coming up Roses!!!.

The Palestinians have divided themselves into a civil war. Hamas will need more even more Iranian aid.

Iraq's government of majority Shia have been in power for two years now; they have constructed an Army that even Iran would fear. The Iraqi national Police is now at planned strength and no Muslim opponents to fear as the AQI and Al Sadr are no military force in actuality. Hoist on their theory of full asymmetrical warfare, they haven't even tried to construct the elementary guerrilla armies.

AQI has been decimated five or six times over and is losing out on its last and only remaining bastion in Anbar province,as the only real pollsters, the local politicians, the tribal chiefs, come down against them there. It's spreading to Sunni areas of Baghdad and Diyallah,too.

Sadr is in in exile in Iran; his militia have turned on themselves, and Sadr's government ministers have been self-purged with little effect in the Shia government,failing to bring it down.

Lots of oil has just been discovered in Sunni areas, so all three groups now will have oil wealth; now making it easy to "share" what all will have.

The Kurds are satisfied to remain in Iraq, protected from the Turks by the US, and free to continue their guerrilla wars against Syria, and Iran (and Turkey), to free their kinfolk.

When the West MSM isn't looking any more, the Arabs will kill as many Arabs as necessary to create order, and nothing will be said or noticed. Mopping up the AQI and Sadr remnants will be no trouble when you don't have to play by Marquis of Queensbury rules. Unlike us, the Iraqis have n problem detecting the foreigners of Al Queda or Persian origin.

All the Arabs hate the Persians, but love their money and aid. Just like us. Unfortunately, the Persian pockets are about empty, heavily overextended to support Lebanon's Hezb'Allah, and now Hamas, propping up Syria, arming Al Sadr, and building their own Manhattan Project Bomb.

Doing all this while suppressing the Iranian Kurdish civil war in northern Iran; amid rising civil unrest, in Iranian NE and SW and among the rising Iranian intelligentsia.

Even in North Korea the hereditary Communist tyrant-emperor is reported to be dying. Crocodile Tears are ready to flow.

With a realistic perspective, I would say, Things are coming up Roses!!!.

Debka reported, right on time and as I predicted, that a slow-motion missile offensive is beginning out of the North. If Olmert is smart, and I don't really know how smart and ruthless Olmert acutally is, he'll use this as pretext to smash the Iranian presence in Syria.

Olmert, however, is not Sharon and deals in half-measures. That is why he fails.

Gaza was a misdirection play by the Iranians. They're true intentions are to strike from the north. Today's small missile barrage in the Galilee was fair warning: while our attentions are riveted in Gaza, Hezboallah has been busy.

Section 9; Israel flew missiles BACK into Lebanon. Long enough to bring Nasrallah out of his hidey-hold screeching "IT WASN'T HIM!" Seems the palestinians are up to mischief.

As to Assad, in Damascus, Olmert doesn't want to REWARD JAMES BAKER!

So, since Israel is living with despots nearby, it always chooses the weak ones. Hosni's weak enough. The little king in Jordan is very, very weak. And, the eye doctor is a way better choice than turning the Mideast over to Riyadh.

By the way; it's the Saud's game. People get so confused when they see tablecloths for headdresses. But if it's checkered? It's SUNNI.

And, all bad Sunni aims are funded by the Saud's.

As to the "lobbing of missiles" you're gonna get that on occasion.

People should just realize how the arabs are intermingled within Israeli society. So when Lebanon lobs? They're track record is that they've killed cows and arabs. And, this time? One missile/rocket fell short and hit a UN encampment.

YES, folks. There was return fire! A bit more accurately done from the Israeli side.

Everyone there is changing their underwear.

Olmert's satisfaction?

Hmm? He put in Barak, who grabbed the job. And, the midget with the mustache (who was expecting a nice portfolio), got kicked out of office sooner than he expected.

How do I know? Amir Peretz was booked on a 4-day trip to Paris with his wife. He thought Barak would live with gummed up works.

Me? I thought Olmert would give the defense portfolio to Shaul Mofaz. But every time I expect Olmert to "give" a charismatic minister a chance at bat, I learn that ... that is not how Olmert plays his weak handed game.

Mr. Politics. Ain't he ain't called Mr. Politics, by Israelis, fer nothin.

Of course, there's no teaching the people who are in love with Bibi, that Bibi's time has not arrived.

And, Barak is gonna mount a campaign to keep Bibi in his 12 chairs. Make that 6. Sylvan Shalom also owns 6 Likdunik chairs.

Nick the Greek's dead. So no one knows how to calculate odds, well, anymore. But I think we've got some stuff going on in Irak. That will occupy the White House at least for the next few months.

Don't invest heavily in the checkered tablecloth market, either. While eBay will probably have arafish paraphenalia up there, to sell. Is tthat were all the looted stuff that was taken when the Israeli's left gaza, went?

Yesterday, I saw someone coming up with the idea we need to start a drive "CHAIRS FOR PALESTINE." Given the propensity to hear about looting. And, what's considered "loot-able."

Oh. And, I'll add that Barak's strength is clandestine. Expect something to spritz from the sea. ALways go with a man's forte.

Note:

It should be clear that the President does not worry much, if at all, about poll numbers.

So, the constant reference to them regarding the President is a statement more on those spouting them than on the one who ignores them.

Note:

It should be clear that the President does not worry much, if at all, about poll numbers.

So, the constant reference to them regarding the President is a statement more on those spouting them than on the one who ignores them.