BUB: Morning Headlines

WikiLeaks is at it again, threatening a huge data dump on the Iraq war. Given that there were so many more people deployed in Iraq than Afghanistan, the number of documents will be significantly greater.

China's giving some hints of their political succession process with the elevation of VP Xi Jinping to a key military committee. This move comes as more countries are looking for help from China to contain Nork WMDs. Given that the Chinese have been pretty cavalier about UN sanctions against Iran over their nuclear development, one wonders if China is really the right partner to lean on the Norks.

Guess what? There's a whole flotilla of terrorist enablers preparing to run the blockade that Israel has around Gaza. Sigh.

Back to Afghanistan, where the Kings of War discuss why Sweden should stay in Afghanistan. Most importantly, they draw the comparisons between the political discussions in Sweden and those in NATO countries, as Europeans debate their continued presence in Afghanistan.

US AFRICOM hosted a maritime security conference attended by 19 African countries and 5 European ones.

By: Brant

Another Blockade Runner in Gaza

This time, it's a Jewish aid vessel trying to run the blockade.

Israeli warships have intercepted a Jewish aid boat that is trying to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, organisers say.

The 10m (32-foot) catamaran is being blocked by a frigate and trailed by several smaller boats off the Gaza coast, the mission's Twitter feed says.

The activists have said they will not resist Israeli attempts to stop them.

Earlier this year, Israeli commandos killed nine people in clashes on board a Turkish ship trying to reach Gaza.

Israel says its naval blockade is designed to prevent weapons being smuggled to Hamas militants who run the territory.

By: Brant

UN Condemns an Israeli Action - World Not Surprised...

Before you get in a tizzy about the UN Human Rights Council investigation that condemns Israel's raid on the "aid" flotilla, remember that this is the same body that thinks that the People's Republic of China, Zimbabwe, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan belong on bodies assessing other's performance with regards to "human rights"...

Israel's military broke international laws during a raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a UN Human Rights Council investigation says.

Its report said the action by commandos, which left nine dead, was "disproportionate" and "betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality".

It said there was clear evidence to support prosecutions against Israel for "wilful killing".

Israel rejected the report as "biased" and "one-sided."

It insists its soldiers acted in self-defence during the 31 May raid.

Nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed and many others injured after Israeli commandoes boarded the six-ship convoy as it tried to breach an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.

The convoy's passengers were detained and later deported by Israel.

There was widespread international criticism of Israel's actions, which severely strained relations with its long-time Muslim ally, Turkey.

By: Brant

Another Boatload of Twits Try To Run Gaza Blockade

So the question I have about the blockade runners claiming to be bringing "aid" to Gaza: Isn't Egypt also enforcing a blockade against Gaza?

Israel informed the United Nations Friday that it reserves the right to use force to stop a new aid flotilla from reaching the blockaded Gaza Strip.

In a letter sent to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the stated intention of the Bolivian-flagged all-women cargo ship Mariam "is to violate the existing naval blockade of Gaza."

She added that Israel also had information that another vessel, the Naji al-Ali, plans to leave from a Lebanese port with the aim of violating the blockade.

"Israel reserves its right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the aforementioned naval blockade," Shalev warned.

She said such "confrontational actions by the organizers as well as those that offer their consent, is deeply troubling and requires the attention of the international community."

By: Brant

BUB: Israeli Happenings

This evening's BUB looks at recent news in Israel.

Did the blockade runners fire first when the Israelis raided the flotilla?

Israel's top general on Wednesday accused passengers on board a Gaza-bound aid ship of firing the first shots of a deadly confrontation which ended with the deaths of nine Turkish nationals.
Giving sworn testimony to a five-member Israeli commission of inquiry, Gabi Ashkenazi admitted the military establishment had failed to foresee the level of violence which would be directed at the navy commandos landing on the deck of the Mavi Marmara passenger ferry.
"The first shots fired on the Marmara were by the people on board and not by IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers," he told the panel, referring to the Turkish passenger ship leading a six-ship flotilla headed for the Palestinian territory.
"This is unequivocably clear," he said, pointing out that right from the outset, troops had faced live fire, with the second commando who tried to reach the deck being shot in the stomach.
"We had underestimated the intensity of the resistance we would encounter on board the ship," he said, adding that the shooting was "a by-product of (the passengers') decision to attack the soldiers."

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Whatever your opinions of Israeli raids into Gaza, the bottom line is this: rocket attacks are down dramatically this year.

The number of rockets and mortars launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip has dramatically reduced after Operation Cast Lead from December 2008-January 2009, during which the IDF acted to prevent Hamas and other terrorist groups from firing rockets at Israel. In 2008 and during Operation Cast Lead, 3,684 projectiles were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. That number was reduced to 302 for the entire year of 2009 following the Gaza operation. Despite this sharp reduction, rockets from the Gaza Strip continue to be fired at Israel.

Since the beginning of 2010 until the end of July, 120 projectiles were launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip. The months with the highest incidences of rocket fire this year were March and January, with 29 and 27 rockets and mortars launched at Israel, respectively. The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization, as the governing body of the Gaza Strip, solely responsible for these and future rocket attacks emanating from the region and will continue to act in self-defense to prevent future rocket attacks from being carried out.

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Was Israel lining up a counterattack into Lebanon following the tree-cutting incident?

French sources told Asharq Alawsat newspaper that the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in a telephone conversation after the deadly clash in southern Lebanon, that Israel was "intending to carry out a major military operation to discipline the Lebanese army and to "retaliate for the killing of a senior Israeli officer."
According to these sources, these contacts were made at the highest levels, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
According to the sources in Paris, the fact that Hizbullah was not part of the confrontation prevented new war. The sources in France told the newspaper that Israel "has no interest in launching war against the Lebanese army" because its is the only side that can "solve the problem of southern Lebanon and impose the state authority in this area."

By: Brant

More Fun Off Gaza

The Israelis now have another Gaza-bound ship to deal with, this time from Libya.

The captain of a Gaza-bound Libyan aid ship Tuesday rejected an Israeli demand that it dock instead in Egypt, the mission organizers said, setting course for a new confrontation over Israel's naval blockade.
Six weeks after it drew a world outcry by killing nine Turks in the botched boarding of another ship that tried to reach the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory, Israel said it would turn away or seize the cargo vessel Amalthea — renamed "Hope" by activists.
A charity chaired by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, said in a statement an Israeli warship was near the Moldovan-flagged Amalthea, which left Greece on Saturday for what would normally be a three-day voyage to Gaza.
In response to the Israeli order to head for the Egyptian port of El Arish, "the captain of the Libyan ship and the head of the foundation team on board reaffirmed that the ship's destination is Gaza and no other place," the charity said.

By: Brant

BUB: Gaza Flotilla Probe From All Sides

So let's consider the sources here....

VOA reads the Israeli report and reports that Israeli military planning was at fault.

Israel has published its first internal investigation of the deadly raid on an aid flotilla heading to the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip. An Israeli military inquiry said the army was poorly prepared for the raid on an aid flotilla trying to break the Gaza blockade six weeks ago.

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Al Jazeera reads the same report and reports that Israel concluded their use of force was justified.

An Israeli military investigation into the raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid ships, has concluded that "the use of live fire" that killed nine activists "was justified".

The investigation, conducted by an army committee, also found that mistakes were made "at quite a senior level" but did not recommend punishments for any of the officers involved in the May 31 raid.

"The team determined that the Navy Commando soldiers operated properly, with professionalism, bravery and resourcefulness and that the commanders exhibited correct decision making," the Israeli army said in a statement on Monday.

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Draw your own conclusions. Read the actual report of it all here. Warning: the first 8-10 paragraphs are all the background of how the report came to be authorized. It's very dry.


By: Brant

Israel and Turkey Still Chatting, Though Not BFFs

Israeli and Turkish generals have kept their dialogues open even as the diplomats keep up their public fuss.

Israel's military chief said on Tuesday he had been in contact with his Turkish counterpart in an effort to maintain relations in the midst of a diplomatic row over the deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza aid ship.

Turkey responded to Israel's killing of nine Turkish activists on board the ship on May 31 by withdrawing its ambassador, suspending joint defence exercises and closing Turkish airspace to Israeli military planes.

Turkey's foreign minister was quoted on Monday as threatening to cut ties with Israel altogether unless the Jewish state apologises for the actions of its troops, something the Israeli government has firmly ruled out.

Briefing Israeli lawmakers behind closed doors, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi said he had been "personally in touch" with the Turkish chief of staff since the high seas interception, which Israel defended as part of its blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Ashkenazi said he thought there was a limit to Turkey's change of political direction because as a NATO member it was dependent on Western military hardware, according to a parliamentary official who briefed reporters.

On a military level, Ashkenazi thought Israeli-Turkish ties could be maintained as before. "Relations are important, and we must maintain them during turbulent times," the commander said.

By: Brant

Gaza Blockade Being Redefined

Israel is changing the roles of the GAZA blockade.

Israel on Monday dropped its long-standing restrictions on allowing consumer goods into the Gaza Strip but retained tight limits on desperately needed construction materials, redefining the rules of its heavily criticized Gaza embargo on the eve of the Israeli prime minister's trip to the White House.
The new rules, which come in response to an international outcry following a deadly Israeli raid on a blockade-busting flotilla, should bring some relief to Gaza's 1.5 million people.
The decision ends the use of a narrow and often arbitrary list of permitted items. In a boost to the moribund Gaza economy, officials also said raw materials would soon be allowed to flow to Gaza's shuttered factories.
But prospects for rebuilding the damage from a punishing Israeli military offensive last year remain uncertain. Israeli officials said construction materials like iron and steel would be allowed to enter only under Israeli supervision for use in projects overseen by the United Nations or other international bodies.

By: Brant

Turkey to Israel - Fly Somewhere Else

The Turks have told Israel to take a detour, in clear retaliation for Israel's enforcement of the blockade against a bunch of terrorist-loving Turkish twits.

Turkey has barred an Israeli military flight from Turkish airspace, in apparent retaliation for Israel's raid on an aid convoy bound for Gaza.

Turkey's prime minister confirmed that a "ban" had been implemented following the 31 May raid, in which nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed.

Military flight bans are now being considered on a case-by-case basis, Turkish officials said.

The banned flight was carrying Israeli officers to Poland to tour Auschwitz.

The plane was denied permission to cross Turkish airspace and was therefore forced to fly an alternative route.

A senior Turkish foreign ministry official told the BBC there was now an official policy in place of banning Israeli military aircraft from Turkish airspace, but on a case-by-case basis.

By: Brant

Israel's Take on Blockade Runners

Israel says the real reason for running the blockade is to get weapons into Gaza.

– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged Wednesday that the real motivation behind plans to send blockade-busting ships toward Gaza is to allow free flow of weapons into the Palestinian territory.
Netanyahu spoke as preparations were under way to send several ships carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists toward Gaza, setting up potential confrontations at sea.

By: Brant

Israel Easing Gaza Blockade?

They might let up on some of the land blockade, but the naval blockade is staying in place.

Israel will significantly ease its bruising land blockade of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, officials said, in an effort to blunt the widespread international criticism that has followed a deadly Israeli commando raid on a blockade-busting flotilla.
Senior Cabinet ministers were meeting to limit restrictions on what gets into Gaza — materials Israel says militants could use in their battle against the Jewish state — to a short list of goods, some of them desperately needed by Gaza civilians.
But the Israeli naval blockade that was at the root of the deadly raid that prompted the international outcry will remain intact.
It also wasn't clear whether key raw materials for industry would be permitted to enter again and whether Israel would end its ban on Gazan exports.

Hey Gaza - y'all elected those Hamas guys to free you from the shackles of Israel, right? How's that working out for you?

By: Brant

Israel Easing Gaza Blockade?

Israel has chosen to ease some restrictions on the Gaza blockade.

Israel has allowed some previously banned food items into the Gaza Strip, officials said Wednesday, taking a small step toward easing its three-year-old blockade of the territory after worldwide criticism of last week's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound international flotilla.
The decision only narrowly expands the list of goods that can enter Gaza — and most of the newly permitted items are already being smuggled into the area from neighboring Egypt.
The move also does not include the most-sought items in Gaza, such as cement, steel and other materials needed to rebuild the war-devastated strip.
But it is the first tangible step by Israel to temper the uproar caused by the raid, which left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead after a clash with Israeli naval commandos on one of the flotilla's ships.
Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh, who coordinates the flow of goods into Gaza with Israel, said that soda, juice, jam, spices, shaving cream, potato chips, cookies and candy were now permitted. He said some products have already entered Gaza, and others would cross in the coming days.
The naval raid drew attention to the blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas militants violently seized power in Gaza in 2007.

Gee, I can't imagine why Israel wouldn't allow steel into an area run by a militant organization dedicated to the extinction of Israel with a track record of lobbing rockets over the border. Though I must confess, I don't see the security implications of shaving cream, or much of a demand for it in Gaza.

By: Brant

Turkey's Anger With Israel Growing

Short-term military cooperation has been canceled.

Ömer Çelik, deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said military agreements would be cancelled with Israel for the short term. “Regarding Turkey-Israel relations, everything will be cancelled in the short term, from military agreements to other ties,” Çelik said. On May 26-27 teams of commandos from the navy’s elite and secretive Flotilla 13 unit began rehearsing for the operation off Israel’s coast, according to Israeli defense officials. Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave the final approval, and on Friday, three Israeli boats left port with the commandos on board.

Around 600 of the flotilla’s 700 passengers were aboard the Mavi Marmara. Most were from Turkey and Arab countries, but the group also included dozens of Americans and Europeans, including lawmakers and an Arab member of Israel’s own parliament. The Israelis ordered the flotilla to halt, but the ships pressed ahead. The resulting Israeli raid left nine people dead, including eight Turkish citizens and one US citizen of Turkish descent. Around 30 people were wounded in the attack.

Turkish government sources said it was Barak’s order for a raid that made the AK Party decide to sever military ties with Israel. Barak, who has a moderate approach in the Israeli government, had come to Turkey on Jan. 17 following the diplomatic row between the Turkish and Israeli governments over a farcical drama over the Turkish ambassador’s seat, and his visit was effective in softening ties between the two countries. However, after details emerging following the operation showed that Barak gave the order for the raid, the Turkish government changed its stance even though the defense ministers from both countries had announced following the flotilla crisis that the 16 military agreements between them would not be cancelled.

By: Brant

BUB: Israel & The Gaza Blockade

Schmedlap from SWJ discusses, over on his own blog, how the IDF's actions were completely irrelevant in the narrative that was going to be told.

If there is one thing demonstrated by the IDF boarding of a flotilla of violent “non-violent” activists, it is that all political speech is dishonest. Everybody criticizing Israel knows that this flotilla was intended as an act of provocation. They know that Israel could have killed everyone on board, but did not, because it was attempting to use a minimal amount of force. Even if nobody had been killed, we would be hearing stories about “mistreatment” and “injuries” from the violent “non-violent” activists. And despite the fact that the flotilla was deliberately trying to provoke, those injuries would be decried as some sort of inherent evil of Israel.

I forget which pundit was decrying this a few days ago and, apparently, looking down his nose at the gullibility of the rest of the world, but this is no different than what occurs here in the US. Partisans search for any little thing to nitpick their opponents about and then attempt to inflate the issue and then feign shock and outrage. Barack Obama does not wear a flag lapel pin! He must hate America! We are so much more enlightened than the rest of the world. Well, except for Europe.

Perhaps the problem is not Information Operations or "4GW" or public diplomacy. Perhaps the problem is that we insist upon living in this world of media fiction. This flotilla event did not change anybody's opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. People who hated Israel still hate Israel, though now they have something new to feign outrage over. People who supported Israel still support Israel and cite this incident as yet another publicity stunt intended to provoke international outrage.

As George Will used to say - people cannot be reasoned out of positions they weren't reasoned into.
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And file this under: "Yeah, that will make it all better"

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard (how "revolutionary" are you if you've been in power for 30 years?) are offering to escort more Gaza ships.

Iran would be willing to send its Revolutionary Guard members to accompany further aid ships to Gaza, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday in an interview cited by Reuters.

"The naval wing of the Revolutionary Guard is ready to assist the peace flotilla to Gaza with all its effort and capabilities," Khamenei's Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ali Shirazi stated.

"If the Supreme Leader issues an order for this then the Revolutionary Guard naval forces will do their best to secure the ships,' Shirazi said. 'It is Iran's duty to defend the innocent people of Gaza."

How many innocent people are there in Gaza? Five? Six, maybe?
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And oh, those peaceful Gazans! All they want is love, faith, charity, and a chance to sabotage Israeli naval vessels from underwater.

Israel's navy killed four Palestinian militants in diver suits off the coast of Gaza early Monday in the first violence at sea since a deadly raid against an international flotilla last week killed nine pro-Palestinian activists and set off an international storm of criticism against Israel.

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What do you think about the Israeli/Gaza naval incident? Is this going to cause more tension with Israel? What's Turkey going to do? Was the convoy all about provocation? Or was it really a "peaceful" convoy? And if it really was about charitable humanitarian aid, why not let Israel inspect it?

Sound off in the comments!

By: Brant

Were Turkish "Peace" Activists Looking for a Fight?

According to Israel they were.

Israel's prime minister claimed Sunday that the Turkish activists who battled Israeli naval commandos in a deadly clash last week had prepared for the fight ahead of time — boarding the ship separately from other passengers after they organized and equipped themselves.

The comments from Benjamin Netanyahu were the latest in an Israeli campaign to defend its crackdown on Monday that killed nine activists on a flotilla headed to the blockaded Gaza Strip with hundreds of activists and humanitarian supplies on board. The operation has drawn fierce international condemnation, seriously damaged Israeli ties with Turkey, and brought heavy pressure to lift the 3-year-old closure of Gaza.

Netanyahu told his Cabinet that "dozens of thugs" from "an extremist, terrorism-supporting" organization had readied themselves for the arrival of the naval commandos.

"According to the information currently in our possession, this group boarded separately in a different city, organized separately, equipped itself separately and went on deck under different procedures," he said. "The clear intent of this hostile group was to initiate a violent clash with IDF (Israeli) soldiers."

Netanyahu did not say where the information came from. But Israeli military officials have claimed there is strong evidence that the men who fought the soldiers were hired mercenaries.

The organizers deny the allegations.

Videos released by the army have shown a crowd of men attacking several naval commandos as they landed on a ship from a helicopter, beating the soldiers with clubs and other objects. The army has displayed pictures of knives, slingshots and metal rods confiscated from the crowd, and other video seized from reporters and security cameras on board the ship appear to show a group of young man brandishing clubs and other weapons ahead of the arrival of the soldiers.

The fighting took place on the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, and the dead included eight Turks and a Turkish-American man. The ship was organized by the IHH, a Turkish Islamic charity that Israel has outlawed because of its close ties to the Hamas militant group.

By: Brant

Another Israeli Boarding at Sea

Israel has boarded another Gaza-bound 'aid' vessel.

Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid vessel without meeting resistance on Saturday, preventing it from breaking an Israeli maritime blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory days after a similar effort turned bloody.
The military said its forces boarded the 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie cargo ship from the sea, not helicopters.
The takeover stood in marked contrast to a violent confrontation at sea earlier this week when Israeli commandos blocked a Turkish aid vessel trying to break the blockade. At the time, Israeli commandos rappelled from helicopters and a clash with passengers left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead.
Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich says Saturday's takeover took only a few minutes and that the vessel was being taken to Israel's Ashdod port.

By: Brant

Israelis Admit Screw Up

They failed to wear their anti-crowbar uniforms. Oh, and they made some other blunders, too.

Wrong intelligence, wrong guns, wrong tactics. Israel's military acknowledged big mistakes on Tuesday during the bungled boarding of a Gaza-bound aid ship in which elite troops killed nine international activists.

Though Israelis rallied to their conscripts in the face of foreign fury, the domestic recrimination -- with "Foul-up" and "Fiasco" dominating newspaper headlines -- betrayed an erosion of confidence recalling the setbacks of the 2006 Lebanon war.

One commentator demanded that Defense Minister Ehud Barak step down. Cabinet members vowed to investigate, but their insistence that the pro-Palestinian activists had provoked the bloodshed found a ready ear among an irate Israeli public.

The secretive Flotilla 13 marine commando unit was brought out of the shadows to try to explain the operation's failings.

"We did not expect such resistance from the group's activists as we were talking about a humanitarian aid group," one unnamed naval lieutenant told Israel's Army Radio.

"The outcome was different to what we thought, but I must say that this was mainly because of the inappropriate behavior of the adversary we encountered."

By: Brant

Fast-roping 101

Important tip on fast-roping from Abu Muquwama:

I'll take a window seat on the express train to Hell. I don't like being hit in the leg by the beverage cart.

By: Guardian

Internal Fallout of Israeli Boat Raid

Prime Minister Netanyahu has given the military his full support over the raid on the Gaza relief flotilla.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his "full backing" Monday to Israel's military forces after a raid on a flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, which left up to 19 people dead.

"The prime minister... reiterated his full backing for the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) and inquired about the well being of the wounded," his office told AFP in Ottawa.

Netanyahu was meeting Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper ahead of a high-profile visit to Washington on Tuesday, where he is due to hold talks with President Barack Obama.

Up to 19 people aboard a flotilla of ships carrying aid for the Gaza Strip were killed earlier Monday when Israeli navy commandos stormed the vessels in international waters.

And showing that some people still have a terminal case of the stupids, more boats are headed to Gaza to challenge the blockade.

Organizers of the Gaza aid flotilla that was the target of a deadly Israeli naval raid say they're sending two more ships to the area within the next few days.
Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement says a cargo boat is already on the way to challenge Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. She says a second boat carrying about three dozen passengers is expected to join it.

Oh goodie - target practice! Really? What makes you think the Israelis won't shoot again?

By: Brant