Hamas War College Planned

It had to happen sooner or later. A terrorist group is taking a page out of the success of Western Civilization, and is planning to start a command staff college to learn how to improve their performance.

From the Jerusalem Post:

According to the officials, the school will be established in line with the lessons learned from Hamas's poor showing in Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in January.

"Following the operation, Hamas realized that its field commanders had not been trained well enough in how to maneuver and fight against a conventional [and] well-trained military such as the IDF," explained one Israeli defense official.

Hamas, the official said, was often afraid to engage the IDF during Cast Lead, and as a result withdrew its forces from the areas in which Israel was operating.

"Hamas wants to learn how to fight against us," the official explained. "The group realizes that it needs to establish a real school to teach and train its field commanders."

All IDF field officers undergo training at the army's Staff and Command College, which is based at Glilot. The training takes place throughout their careers, until they become brigade and division commanders.

Many Hamas commanders and fighters have been trained in Iran and Lebanon. According to Jane's Defense Weekly, the group has decided to fire 50 of its senior field commanders for poor performance against the IDF in January.

Source: Jerusalem Post

I cannot help but wonder if there will be a course in following the Geneva Convention on Warcrimes or not so they could avoid booby-trapping zoos and schools with explosives like in the following video...

Silly me, these are terrorists...by their very nature, they exist to commit warcrimes!

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The John Batchelor Show for Jan 11th

**4.46pm** Here is a video that shows how the "peaceful" Palestinians raise their children to hate...

It's Sunday night, and that means it's time for John Batchelor! 





Here is his website. 

The show starts at 7pm Eastern, and continues for six hours of the best radio you will find anywhere, as only John Batchelor can deliver it with his stable of experts...

And here is where you can listen to the show live online:

New York, WABC-AM 770 7-10PM ET;
Washington DC, WMAL-AM 630 7-9PM ET;
San Francisco, KSFO-AM 560;
Los Angeles,KFI-AM 640;

And here is where you can find the podcasts of the show: the first three hours, and the last three hours.  

Schedule for Tonight: (all six hours are on the same link now)

The first two hours are below to whet your appetite:

"Slumdog Trillionaire" Special. 

705P ET: Rob Pollock, Russell Adams, Wall Street Journal, with Simon Constable, DowJones Newswire, re the fate of the newspapers in the trillionaire world of debt, collectivism and theft, re editorial changes at the Washington Post aim to survive the ad famine. Bennett to Leave Washington Post.

720P: Larry Kudlow, CNBC, re $1 trillion deficits, $1 trillion stimulus, re the collectivism of banking, insurance, agriculture, re the resignation of Bob Rubin and the breakup of Citi. Obama Employs His Version of Reagan - Larry Kudlow, RealClearMarkets.

735P: Professional Roundtable Jim McTague, Barron's, Mona Charen, NRO, John Fund, Wall Street Journal, re the Obama administration floats a trillionaire stimulus package and announces trillionaire deficits, re the stampede to collectivism and debt, re Congress wants to buy out foreclosures, too.

750P: Continued re the Mr. Franken goes to Washington, re Mr. Burris (right, barred from the Senate, Jan 6) goes to Washington.

805P: Thaddeus McCotter, 11th Michigan (Wayne County, MI) (R), Lou Ann Hammond, carlist.com, with Simon Constable, DowJones Newswire, re the Detroit Auto Show and the missing autos, re the decline and fall of American auto manufacturing as the annual rate falls under ten million vehicles, re the end of dealerships.

820P: Joanna Chung, Financial Times, re the attack on executive salaries and bonuses, re the claw back by shareholders and Congress, Fear of falling Dan Pedrotty can pinpoint the moment he first saw middle America's rising tide of anger against the gargantuan pay packages. Madoff ordered $150m transfer Bernard Madoff ordered his UK company to transfer about $150m to his US firm just weeks before he allegedly confessed to. Prosecutors drop charges against Stockman US prosecutors on Friday dismissed fraud charges against David Stockman, who served as president Ronald Reagan's budget

835: Financial Professionals, with Tom Donlan, Barron's, John Tamny, RealClearMarkets.com, Simon Constable, Dow Jones, Aaron Task, Yahoo Finance, re Unemployment Jumps to 7.2% re the trillionaire bailouts, the trillionaire debts, re if the first TARP didn't work let's try again, re the strange death of Adam Smith. Tim Geithner Is Preparing Overhaul of the Bailout - Washington Post Hank Paulson Bailout Didn't Give Taxpayers Buffett's Terms - Bloomberg

850P: Continued, No, Obama's Recovery Plan Falls Short - Paul Krugman, New York Times, Andrew Mellon vs. Bailout Nation - Bill Gross, Pimco Asset Management.


905P: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents Major Jewish Organizations, re the UN Security Council resolution fails, re the IDF goals, re the U.S. Congress support of Israel, re what will Tehran do? Re the report that the Bush administration nixed an IDF raid on Iran in 2008. Hamas Makes the Foulest Fight.

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Using Children As Human Shields and Cannon Fodder

Read more about this inhuman practice at The Gates of Vienna.

Now, comes this video from the IDF Spokeman:



The difference between Israel and Hamas could not be any starker.

So, why do lefties support the people who are committing inhuman acts?

Why do the almost unilaterally condemn Israel while making excuses for murdering terrorists?

Why?

These are clear violations of articles 18 and 19 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

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Day 10 Update on Operation Cast Lead; Hamas War Criminals Conduct Operations From Hospital

First, I must remind you of the caliber of cowards leading Hamas:

The Jerusalem Post is reporting this morning that the Hamas 'leadership' is hiding in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City:
The defense officials said it was likely that a number of senior Hamas operatives and terror chiefs were hiding and conducting their operations from within Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

"Hamas operatives are in the hospital and have disguised themselves as nurses and doctors," one official said.

OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin told the cabinet that Hamas was using mosques, public institutions and private homes as ammunition stores.

Source: |Israel Matzav|, in Hamas 'leadership' hiding in Shifa Hospital
Here is another report, with commentary by Yid with LID

Here is visual proof of the terrorists using ambulances as troop carriers, and these are very clearly marked UN for United Nations:





This is in direct violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, articles 18 and 19, which are reproduced in full below (emphasis mine):

Article 18

Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.

States which are Parties to a conflict shall provide all civilian hospitals with certificates showing that they are civilian hospitals and that the buildings which they occupy are not used for any purpose which would deprive these hospitals of protection in accordance with Article 19.

Civilian hospitals shall be marked by means of the emblem provided for in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949, but only if so authorized by the State.

The Parties to the conflict shall, in so far as military considerations permit, take the necessary steps to make the distinctive emblems indicating civilian hospitals clearly visible to the enemy land, air and naval forces in order to obviate the possibility of any hostile action.

In view of the dangers to which hospitals may be exposed by being close to military objectives, it is recommended that such hospitals be situated as far as possible from such objectives.

Article 19

The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit, and after such warning has remained unheeded.

The fact that sick or wounded members of the armed forces are nursed in these hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition taken from such combatants which have not yet been handed to the proper service, shall not be considered to be acts harmful to the enemy.

Where is the outrage of all the anti-war types? It is not legitimate outrage these people express, but manufactured and selected outrage of people who have willfully chosen to side with terrorists.

Alright, now that I have gotten that little bit out of the way, here are the websites that will provide you with a more frequent and extensive coverage than I can:

The Muqata, with today's live-blogging


Israelly Cool, with today's live-blogging


The Elder of Ziyon


Israel Matzav, with this story of an IDF Soldier who escaped being taken hostage by Hamas terrorists


IsraPundit, who reports that 4 Brigades are deployed in Northern Gaza and on the Hamas ideology of the extermination of the Jews. These are the people that lefties and Ron Paul lend their support to when they deny the need for war to exterminate this type of evil.




Here is a summary of overnight activity from the IDF Spokesperson:

Summary of Overnight Activity


The IDF operation continued overnight with many infantry, tank, engineering, artillery and intelligence forces operating throughout the Gaza Strip in conjunction with the Israel Air Force and the Israel Navy.


IAF aircraft struck over 30 targets including:

A mosque used to store mass amounts of weaponry
An underground bunker in the area of Gaza city. The attack caused secondary explosions indicating there were explosives inside. Tunnels in the area collapsed.
A number of smuggling tunnels, near Rafah, used by the Hamas terror organization as passages for terrorists in and out of the Gaza Strip and that formed part of the purchasing and supply system of the organization
4 houses of Hamas operatives used to store weaponry
A rocket launcher
A suspected anti-aircraft missile launcher

Israel Navy boats assisted the ground forces and attacked a number of targets including rocket launching sites, a bunker and Hamas naval outposts.


An IDF officer and five IDF soldiers were lightly to moderately wounded in two separate incidents of gunfire exchanges in the northern Gaza Strip.


The IDF will continue to operate against Hamas terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip according to plans in order to reduce the rocket fire on the south of Israel.

Source: |IDF Spokesperson|, in 5 January 2009 Summary

Last week, Bahrain called for the use of oil as a weapon against Israel, and now the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is doing the same:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander is calling on Islamic countries to use oil as a weapon to end the fighting in Gaza.
The Iranian suggestion this week echoed a similar call made last week by lawmakers in Bahrain.

Source: |YAHOO! News|, in Iran and Bahrain officials call for oil as weapon
I guess the mantra of "Drill Here, Drill Now!" makes a lot more sense does it not? Or would you rather we be beholden to these terrorists?


The IDF is preparing to enter the urban areas of Gaza, and (as I write this) the Jerusalem Post website is down. I hope that it has not been hacked. Here is an alternate source for the story:

ISRAEL/GAZA (BBC): Israel's move to ground operations in the Gaza Strip gives Palestinian militants their first chance to trade blows on a more or less equal footing with the Israeli army in the current conflict.

Until now the militants have been impotent to counter Israel's air, sea and ground bombardment - spheres where it enjoys total military superiority.

Hamas and other militant groups have launched dozens of rockets at Israel but - while these are occasionally lethal and cause considerable disruption and sap civilian morale - they are ineffective militarily.

But if the conflict transfers to the narrow alleyways of Jabaliya camp, or any of Gaza's teeming urban areas, it will be a different story.

"Hamas has few tools compared with the Israeli army," says Nicolas Pelham, Senior Analyst with the Middle East Program of the International Crisis Group.

"But the Israeli operations in built-up urban areas will eliminate some of that huge difference," he added.

Israel possesses formidable tank forces, armored bulldozers, uncontested use of air power and all the paraphernalia of a modern army, such as night vision and thermal imaging equipment.

But Hamas has had months to prepare for bitter urban warfare which will give its fighters a chance to inflict casualties on the Israeli military.

Israeli troops spent 38 years occupying Gaza, but withdrew in 2005

However, analysts believe it has considerably enhanced its military capability since taking control of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007.

The takeover handed Hamas the limited arsenal of the routed Palestinian Authority. But more importantly it gave Hamas freedom to operate throughout Gaza without interference from the PA, which was committed to disarming militant groups.

Hamas has had to smuggle all its other weaponry into Gaza - which is under a complete blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt in the south.

Source: |Paul Anderson|, in Emergency Blog

And this brief from DEBKAfile:

High-placed Israeli officers have told DEBKAfile's sources that the Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip Saturday night, Jan. 3, gained less ground in its first 24 hours than officially indicated - in much the same way as civilian casualties are overstated by the Palestinian side. While essentially bisecting the Gaza Strip, the tanks and armored infantry had not entered urban areas by early Monday, Jan 5.

Source: |DEBKAfile|, in Israeli troops still outside Hamas rocket strongholds in urban centers

This is all I have time for right now, as I must get showered and dressed for going out today...my riders are returning to work today, as must I.

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Jihadis Bring Polio Back To Children in Pakistan

Second polio case in Swat

ISLAMABAD: A second young girl has tested positive for polio in Swat valley, where militants have warned against vaccinations, health officials said on Sunday.

They said security fears were preventing health workers from carrying out a new anti-polio campaign. A three-day polio vaccination campaign for children aged less than five years is scheduled to begin in the NWFP on Monday.

But the campaign will not be carried out in two areas of Swat Valley, Kabal and Matta, due to ‘uncertainty’ and deteriorating security in recent days, said Dr Abdul Waheed Khan, a senior provincial health official.

A local pro-Taliban cleric, Fazullah, has said that polio vaccinations are a Western conspiracy to make Muslim children infertile.

Source: The Times Online

Hat Tip: United States Action

Commentary

Jihadis share the same Luddite tendencies as the anti-technology of hippies and certain circles of the conspiracy nuts who oppose vaccination of children because they fear science.

Tell me again why I am to believe Islam is a Religion of Peace?

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7th of 8 Haditha Marines Cleared of Charges Will Jack "War Crimes" Murtha Apologize?

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani was found not guilty of all charges today, and Gateway Pundit notes that 7 of 8 have now been cleared...despite the assurances of Congressman Murtha that they were guilty.

You can ask Congressman Murtha's office when an apology will be forthcoming at 202-225-2065. Be nice to the people in the office.

Jack Murtha on the US Marines at Haditha:

"...they killed innocent civilians in cold blood..."

Congressman, do the right thing and apologize. We know you couldn't help it because you are a Moonbat Democrat, and as such hate America, and believe the worst about the brave young men and women who selflessly serve their nation.

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The Halabja Massacre

Twenty years ago today, Saddam Hussein killed about 5,000 people (75% of them women and children) in the worst chemical attack of his career.
Thankfully, despite the opposition of many Democrats (including Ron Paul), we were able to finally remove him from power after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. We will never find out if he were capable of topping that figure, or exporting it to a city near you.

Gateway Pundit has a good article on the attack.

From ITN shortly after the attack.


In the belief that photos and video can tell the story of such horror better than words, I have included a few videos about the massacre that occurred 20 years ago today below.





You may download and watch a flash movie here, or read more about the attack.

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