A novel idea but worthy of consideration?

Obviously, as long as Barak remains hesitant to use force in an all out attack, Hamas will continue to escalate. My friend, Elliot Chodoff, suggests until the weather is clear a large insurgent action on the part of the IDF is not likely because you need/want air cover. Therefore, unless something truly gets out of hand Barak's cautious stance is understandable from a military view. When the weather is more appropriate for a larger scale action and should Hamas continue to attack Israel any failure on Barak's part to take decisive action would be an absolute disgrace.

Hamas, in my opinion, is going to get bloodied and bloodied pretty good assuming Barak is only waiting for the most propitious opportunity to smack them hard. Time will tell.

If Israel were willing to eliminate Hamas and disregard civilian casualties they would have already attacked, I have no doubt. Since Hamas and all terrorists, hide behind civilians the concept and strategy of offensive military action has taken on new relevance and entails altered tactics. (See 1 below.)

What Olmert/Barak may be re-visiting is what Olmert/Barack tried, half-heartedly before, ie. - reduce electricity supplies etc. Since the Palestinians know they will not do so for long this is a failed policy from the beginning and it will only resurrect criticism from the rest of the world about creating a terrible humanitarian situation and play into the hands of media bleeding hearts and Hamas propaganda. Furthermore, Palestinians already are suffering because they live under the thumb of Hamas which promised a better life but never delivered. Why? Because Hamas is more intent on war against Israel than helping the plight of their people. It is what gives them their reason for existence.

My point is that people can endure horrible living conditions and for a very long time. Therfore, when Israel seeks to punish Palestinians for Hamas rocket attacks, it will not be viewed as a result of Hamas' actions. Israel will be blamed. Being more hawkish, I would favor cutting off "everything" to the Palestinians but if it is only going to backfire neither would I be foolhardy. Even this hawk is capable of and willing to curtail his emotions when it would mean doing something stupid.(See 2 below.)

J.R. Dunn, writes a tongue in cheek article about Liberal's obsession with the youth vote.

When one's brain and reasoning powers are not yet fully developed, lack of experience is understandably a fact, most have nothing to lose by way of assets and are probably in debt for their education, it is when one is most likely to be liberal and find Liberal policies and thoughts most appealing. Youth is often wasted on the young as the saying goes.

When it comes to youthful infatuation with Obama, the entire nominating campaign has yet to focus on anything beyond personality, like-ability and campaign blathering. Perhaps, before this entire episode has become history and we have chosen a new president, we will get around to asking some hard questions about how do the candidates intend to accomplish all they espouse. It is a novel idea but worthy of consideration, don't you think? (See 3 and 7 below.)

FM, Livni meets with the U.S's Gen. Jones. (See 4 below.)

Even Egypt's FM, is getting a bit perturbed by Hamas and Palestinian border incursions. (See 5 below.)

When one considers the concept of a Palestinian State under current conditions one can only conclude it will never happen.

First, you have two factions comprising Palestinian leadership at opposite ends of any agreement.

Second, as long as both are intent on Israel's destruction and continue to support acts in that regard, Israel has no reason to move forward beyond doing what is in its own security interest. People may claim Abbas is not a terrorist in the vein of Hamas but he continues to support an education system that teaches lies and hatred and a media system that also spews forth hate and incitement. Abbas also presides over Fatah and many within its ranks are constantly seeking to attack Israel. One recently blew himself up in an Israeli Mall, and only a short while ago several Fatah killed two Israeli soldiers dressed in civilian clothes taking a stroll. Abbas does nothing to restrain these acts.

Third, the two parts of a proposed Palestinian State are disconnected and connecting them would sever Israel. Can you imagine if Canada was in Louisiana and Michigan and we connected them to form the nation of Canada.

Maybe I am missing something.

It has now been revealed many Palestinians went on their Egyptian shopping spree with fake money. Palestinians are clever! Snookered Egyptian merchants, well that is another matter! (See 6 below.)

Even Victor Davis Hanson is aghast and confused. Voter angst is causing confusion and sending some strange messages. ( See 7 below.)

Dick




1)Hamas expands missile targeting area as Israel forces hit back in N. Gaza. Barak threatens harsher military action


Seventeen Palestinian missiles were fired by midday Thursday, Feb. 7, after Israeli Golani tank and engineering units with helicopter cover drove into northern Gaza in another bid to stem Palestinian cross-border missile attacks. They have since pulled back, while the missiles keep coming and Hamas broadens its targeting radius.

The first five landed in Sderot, damaging buildings and homes and starting a fire. Then a salvo hit the Tzehor and Eshkol regions, one missile exploding in the playground of a school during class time. No one was hurt.

Military sources report: Israel defense minister Ehud Barak has more than once threatened firmer and broader military action to stop the missile blitz from Gaza. But so far he has kept the military on a tight leash.

The Israeli force was restricted to the Beit Hanoun and Jebalya areas 2 km inside Gaza – 6 armed Palestinians were killed in the first stage of the raid - whereas the missile fire comes from the villages and camps deeper inside the enclave, of which the Israeli force has been ordered to stay clear.

The first five missiles fired Thursday exploded in Sderot, damaging buildings and homes and starting a fire.

According to our sources, the IDF’s primary mission now is to keep the heat up on Hamas after an expanded Egyptian force restored control of the Gaza-Sinai border. Hamas leaders are intended to be cowed by the reconstituted Israel-Egyptian blockade. For now, there is no sign of this happening.

Indeed Hamas has threatened to turn its guns and missiles on Egyptian troops manning the border as though they were Israelis, if Cairo reseals the Gaza gateway against free Palestinian traffic to and from Sinai. A Kuwaiti newspaper reported Thursday that Hamas is planning to kidnap Egyptian soldiers.

As for Israel, Hamas vows to follow up on the suicide bombing which killed a 73-old woman and injured 43 people in Dimona Monday with more attacks inside Israel.

Military sources assess Egyptian and Israeli counter-terror actions so far as too hesitant, aimless and irresolute to achieve much. All they are after in the short term is peace and quiet along their borders with the Gaza Strip. But Hamas is determined to keep tensions high and therefore holds the initiative.

2) Israel to begin reducing power supply to Gaza
By Mijal Grinberg

Israel will begin reducing the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip in the coming days, possibly as soon as Friday, in accordance with a plan authorized by Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved a plan to reduce electricity, gasoline and diesel fuel supplies in late October last year, thereby accepting the defense establishment's recommendation to impose economic sanctions on the Gaza Strip in response to continued Qassam rocket attacks by Palestinian militants on southern Israel.

On Thursday, Palestinian militants fired at least ten Qassam rockets and eight mortar shells into Israel.

Israel currently supplies 126 megawatts of electricity to the Strip via ten electrical lines. According to the authorized reduction plan, the supply in one of the ten lines will be reduced by 5 percent during the coming days, and a similar amount will be reduced from one additional line every following week.

The Defense Ministry was planning to hold an assessment meeting as the plan progresses to examine options regarding how Israel should proceed.

Aside from the electricity supplied by Israel, Gaza independently produces 65 megawatts of electricity, and receives 17 megawatts from Egypt.

"We want the Gazans to take care of themselves, and we are operating to minimize the assistance granted to them by Israel," Vilnai said Thursday during a ceremony marking the opening of new bomb shelters in the rocket-ridden southern city of Sderot.

"We must wean Gaza off its dependency on Israel in various areas. The High Court of Justice ruled that we are operating in a proper manner - we are gradually reducing in percentage increments the supply of electricity, and meanwhile, the Gazans are building alternative electricity production infrastructure," the deputy minister added.

When asked whether he supports the idea of an independent port in Gaza, Vilnai said "if they want it? Yes."

The new public bomb shelters were not funded by the government, but rather by a non-profit organization named "Keren Yedidut." Vilnai arrived at the ceremony accompanied by Rabbi Yehiel Epstein, who heads the organization.

Vilnai was asked why the government hadn't funded the new shelters, and the deputy minister responded that "the government is investing substantial amounts of money in the protection of the residents of Sderot, and Keren Yedidut is part of the collective effort against our enemies."

3) Obama and Da 'Yutes
By J.R. Dunn

One unwelcome side effect of Obamamania is the threat of yet another bout of liberalism's youth obsession.

This is not a reference to John Kerry's Botox shots or Nancy Pelosi's face lifts, but the liberal tendency to fall on their knees before the nation's youth at the drop of a skateboard.

Granted that pols right left and center pander to the upcoming voters in search of the "youth vote" -- usually to no avail -- but this is something else. Something compulsive, irrational, and more than a little creepy. It seems to consistently bubble under the surface of American liberalism, erupting only on occasion. We're in the middle of such an eruption right now.

Over the past few months, we've gone from straightforward reportage on Obama's appeal to young voters to semi-mystical rhapsodizing in praise of the new children's crusade on behalf of the Illinois messiah.

In October, Adam Nagourney of the New York Times wrote,

"Barack Obama has clearly struck a chord among younger voters. And his campaign has made what seems to be the most sophisticated effort of any of the Democrats to reach out to them..."


This is clear, concise reportage on a development of interest that might turn out to be a crucial element of the presidential campaign.

Compare it to this piece by Roger Cohen, which appeared last week in the International Herald Tribune, also a Times newspaper:

"This young man represents something important. A new generation -- for whom race is an issue overcome, and baby-boomers are old folk fighting arcane battles, and post-9/11 thinking must cede to post-post-9/11 creativity -- is hungry for hope and willing to come even to places as hopeless as Greeleyville to demonstrate their longing."


This isn't reportage, it isn't even opinion. It's somebody who thinks he's writing some kind of gospel. It reflects the tone taken by most of the recent journalism dealing with the topic of Obama and the kids. The latest Time magazine tells us all about "Obama's army", and the fact that "His campaign has become the first in decades -- maybe in history -- to be carried so far on the backs of the young." (A weird image if there ever was one.)

Nor is it limited to the media. According to Roger Simon, Ted Kennedy, in his endorsement of Obama, repeated the word "youth" no less than eight times. There's even a website called "Obama Youth". (No word yet on what color shirts they wear.)

Youth, we're being told, can see where we are blind. They have secret wisdom that we have been denied. They are on a journey through a new political landscape whence we cannot follow, can scarcely even comprehend the nature of, with Obama as their Moses. The only role open for older people (read: Boomers) is to get out of their way in order to assure them a clear path to utopia.

The problem with dese here yutes (you can't help thinking of this in terms of Joe Pesci) is that all this has happened before, and on no few occasions. Snagging the youth has been a primary goal of ideological movements for the past century or more. Mussolini gained power in large part by exploiting dissatisfaction among Italy's young people. (The anthem of the Fascist party was "Giovinezza" -- "Youth".) Then we have the infamous Hitlerjugend. In the postwar era Juan Peron pioneered the technique of utilizing university students as a battering ram to force his way into power.

The American version of this is both less virulent, while at the same time being more obnoxious, as all unnecessary disasters are obnoxious. It involves the 60s, of course, though not quite in the way that most readers may assume. The problem with analyzing the 60s is that everything is overshadowed by the turmoil of the decade's final three years -- we tend to think of the 60s in terms of hippies, yippies, the Movement, Chicago, Kent State, all the resonant images that overwhelm everything else. But of course, the early years of the decade were not at all like that -- and it's in those years that the roots of the problem are found. And when we get there, what we find is: da yutes.

The early 60s was one of the most youth-obsessed periods in American history. There's no simple explanation for this, and we don't really require one beyond noting the fact. It was reflected in the presidency of John F. Kennedy, who was characterized as "young" although, like Obama, he was actually on the cusp of middle age. What youth thought, wanted, and believed was subject to endless public dissection and analysis. Youthful opinion on all sorts of complicated topics, ranging from Cold War strategy to Vietnam to race relations, was actively courted and given serious consideration. At one point, Time magazine chose the "Youth of America" as its Man of the Year.

As the decade wore on, rhetoric concerning the younger generation grew more extreme. Rather than simply having opinions of interest, youth were now said to possess the Answer to all sorts of critical matters. Youth, the public was assured, had important things to say. Youth must be listened to. And finally, "Older people have screwed things up. Let's give the kids a chance." All sentiments that would sound familiar to the Roger Cohens of our day.

All this might have been harmless but for the collapse of the previous generation -- the so-called "Silents". (Actually merely a subset of the GI generation.) Possibly the most overlooked factor of the entire decade is the manner in which this generation, just coming into their prime years, abdicated responsibility in favor of what we've come to know as the 60s lifestyle. It was this, rather than anything the kids did, that caused much of the later trouble.

There's no difficulty explaining this turn of events. Every generation has a strictly limited leadership cohort -- the number is generally held to be approximately 5%. The U.S. lost over a quarter-million men in WW II. A substantial number of the GI generation's natural leaders were killed at places like Kasserine, Tarawa, and Omaha Beach. This is one kind of deficit that simply can't be made up. As a result, positions in the postwar world that required hard-charging alphas were filled by whoever was available, too many of whom weren't up to the job. Government was left in the hands of odd figures like Lyndon B. Johnson (who could never have been elected on his own) and Robert "S. for Strange" McNamara. (The same phenomenon can be seen in the 80s and 90s of the 19th century, the so-called Gilded Age. Consider the lengthy chain of nonentities that served as president during that period. The truly dynamic leaders had been killed in the battles of the Civil War.) The kids (just becoming known as "Boomers"), left without guidance or the benefit of experience, ran wild, with many of their elders grooving right alongside them. And so the country roared full-speed ahead into the children's hour: the 60s of legend, in all their tie-dyed and bell-bottomed, not to mention tear-gassed and rubber-bulleted glory.

And here we are, forty years on, hearing calls for the same thing.

So is it going to be groovy again? That, of course, is the real question. Beyond Obama's campaign and the election of 2008, what the youth mystique advocates are pushing for is yet another reprise of the 60s, the same as they've been doing since January 2, 1970.

The answer is, probably not. The world has changed too much for a simple repetition, over and above the fact that the 60s broke Marx's dictum on history repeating itself by being both tragedy and farce at once. The concerns that energized the 60s -- civil rights, Vietnam, rigid social practices -- no longer exist. And Barack Obama, canny politician though he may be, is not the figure to lead any such movement.

But the real problem with hopes for a new youthquake lies in the status of the Boomers. Any expectation that the Boomers will accept the role of the previous generation of the 60s (however one wishes to label them) and allow themselves to be swept off the stage is a little premature, to say the least. Whatever can be said about the Boomers -- that they're obnoxious, lazy, self-centered, arrogant, grandiose, and simply weird (And I'll cop to all the above, to one degree or another), a willingness to forego the spotlight is not part of the mix. Add a near-Irish mulishness, a still-unsatisfied sense of historical mission, and a tendency to react to political pressure in the same fashion as warrior ants and it's clear that they are not going to step out onto the ice floe any time soon. Anyone seeking to build a political movement based on superseding the Boomers will have his hands full right out of the gate at least until a lot more of them are dead and gone.

(Let's not overlook the effect of lengthened life-spans either. Keep in mind that the youngest Boomers are only 48 this year -- only a couple of years older than the callow and inexperienced Barack Obama himself. It's likely that Boomers will still be having an effect in the 2040s. That's my plan, anyway.)

It would be no less than appropriate if the Boomers, having embodied an earlier youth eruption, should take the responsibility of curtailing a sequel in their middle years. The last thing we need in this millennium is another youth craze triggered by feckless and irresponsible adults.

But it does tell us something about current liberalism that they would really rather we didn't know: that they're truly dumb enough to fall for this kind of thing twice.

4) FM Livni meets with US envoy General Jim Jones


Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni concluded
her meeting with the US envoy, General Jim Jones, earlier today (Thursday 7
February 2008). During the meeting, FM Livni and General Jones discussed the
current security situation and the manner in which the security issue should
be handled within the framework of future agreements.

In the meeting, FM Livni raised the issue of the continued firing of Kassam
rockets, and told the US emissary that "The firing of Kassam rockets has not
abated, and we are currently facing a significant increase. The necessary
action to be taken regarding security issues is not only in relation to what
will be written in a future agreement, and we must relate to our response to
the situation on the ground right now. The situation in the Gaza Strip must
be taken into account in any political process - especially in light of the
effects of this process on future security arrangements. This is not a
territorial issue - we have withdrawn from Gaza, and the rocket attacks
continue and intensify. A real response must be given to the threats from
the Gaza Strip prior to the establishment of a Palestinian state - as long
as the Palestinians see Gaza as part of the state they intend to establish.
A solution to Israel's security requirements is not an obstacle to peace -
it is basic condition of any peace agreement".

5) 'Anyone who violates our borders will get his legs broken'


Egypt's foreign minister said that no further violations of its borders would be tolerated in the wake of a 12-day breach on its frontier with Gaza and said anyone daring to cross would have their legs broken, the state news agency reported.


The uncharacteristically assertive remarks by Ahmed Aboul Gheit came during a late night interview on state television, in which he criticized both Israel and Hamas for creating the unstable situation on Egypt's border.

"Anyone who violates Egypt's borders will get his legs broken," Aboul Gheit was quoted as saying. He added that Egypt only allowed the Palestinians to cross the border after Hamas blew up the wall because of fears over the humanitarian situation resulting from Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

He blamed Israel for the humanitarian crisis and hardship that Gaza is experiencing, and for "responding to the Palestinian (Hamas) missiles with collective punishment."

He also criticized Hamas for launching those missile attacks, describing the confrontation as "laughable caricature" resulting in self-inflicted wounds.

"After Hamas's takeover of Gaza, it has decided to clash with Israel, though this clash seems to be a laughable caricature, because clashing with an opponent in battle is supposed to mean damaging them," he said. "You do not go into battle just to damage yourself."

He said Hamas's missiles either fall back in Gaza and injure Palestinians or give the Israelis a pretext to attack them.

The Egyptian's remarks drew a quick response from a Hamas leader in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, who called them "inappropriate" and said he did not believe they reflected the official Egyptian stance.

"All we want is an open border crossing," Abu Zuhri said. "Instead of making these threats against the Palestinian people, [Aboul Gheit] should voice his anger against the Israeli occupation, which is what is closing the border crossings between Gaza and Egypt."

After 12 days during which Palestinians stocked up on food fuel and consumer products, Egypt reclosed the border pending a return to the 2005 international monitoring agreement involving Israeli and EU monitors.

Hamas rejects the agreement and has called for a role in controlling the border. Since the closure, Palestinians have clashed with Egyptian border guards.

6) Gazans used forged bills in Sinai
By Roee Nahmias

Security sources report $1 million in counterfeit bills brought into country while Egypt-Gaza border was breached



About $1 million in counterfeit bills, apparently originating in the Gaza Strip, were seized in the Sinai Peninsula in the past few days, Egyptian security sources told Palestinian news agency Ma'an on Thursday.


According to the sources, hundreds of counterfeit bills, which are being used by merchants amongst themselves or in their dealings with the Egyptian banks, are being discovered every day.



The Egyptian security sources estimated that additional forged banknotes would be discovered in the near future in light of the fact that Egyptian residents – mainly in the el-Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zweid areas – are expected to use the money they received from Gaza residents in exchange for the various goods they sold them.


Meanwhile, the sources said, it is impossible to determine the total amount of forged money transferred to Egypt, as not all of them have been reused.


According to the sources, the Egyptians received warnings regarding counterfeit bills making their way into Sinai immediately after Hamas gunmen breached the Gaza-Egypt border, and these warnings were delivered to the merchants, most of whom made sure to examine the money.


Egyptian officials have said that the Rafah crossing would not be breached again, and that next time it would only be opened legally.


"Sinai is a holy place for Egyptian citizens and is not saleable or merchandisable," an official said.


Less than a week ago, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that Hamas was seriously contemplating severing the Gaza Strip’s economic ties with Israel, quoting a senior advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.


The advisor, Ahmed Yousef, was asked whether Hamas was also considering abandoning the use of Israeli currency in the Strip. Yousef indicated that this “might be possible in the future. Residents of Gaza can always trade in American Dollars, Jordanian Dinars or Egyptian Pounds at a later point.”


Following the interview, Yousef was reprimanded by Hamas leaders.

7) Weird Times, Weirder Election
By Victor Davis Hanson

In this weird presidential campaign, almost everything has turned out opposite from what pollsters and pundits predicted. Even Super Tuesday proved not-so-super, and things are still not quite settled in either party race.

The election was supposed to be about a shaky Iraq. But after the successful surge and the recent economic downturn in the U.S., candidates now talk more about mortgages and illegal immigration than chaos in Baghdad.

John McCain was said to be finished by July. Then he was back again as a contender by January and is a supposed sure thing in February.

Barack Obama was at first just to be a runner-up; front-runner Hillary Clinton once worried more about the fall Republican nominee. Then, after the unexpected Obama victory in Iowa, his surging poll numbers assured us that Hillary was toast in New Hampshire. But she suddenly came back there, and also won in Michigan and Nevada - but that was all before Obama resurged in February.

Then there was the topsy-turvy history of Rudy Giuliani - a supposed insurmountable lead turned into an unexpected implosion. Not long ago Fred Thompson was also hyped - only to crash and burn. And who knows the status of Mike Huckabee?

Conservatives are irate at McCain - especially over his past stances on taxes and immigration and his sometime alliances with Democrats - and some promise to sit out the general election if he gets the Republican nomination.

Meanwhile, some Democrats repulsed by the Clintons promise to vote for McCain if Clinton gets her party's nomination. And a few angry voters of both parties claim that they like nice-guy Obama better than either of the other likely nominees.

What is causing these wild swings among jittery and fickle voters?

First, we are in the middle of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and are still fighting against radical Islamic terrorists on other fronts. Trillions in U.S. dollars are held abroad by rivals and belligerents. The economy is slowing. Energy prices are sky-high.

But for most, the medicine is as scary as the disease: Should we send more troops to finish the job overseas, or are there too many abroad already? Should we prime the economy to prevent recession? Or are stimulus plans unrealistic now that we are already running federal deficits and piling up debt?

Second, without a single administration incumbent in the running, both the Republican and Democratic races are especially volatile. In contrast, in every other presidential race after 1952, either an incumbent president or the sitting vice president has run in the fall election.

But now there is no status quo. Instead, a war has broken out within each party.

Bill Clinton is no longer a senior statesman, but has devolved into a rank partisan, more a liability than a help to his wife. President Bush hasn't endorsed any Republican. He has a low approval rating, and has had issues with both McCain and Mitt Romney.

The current leaders - John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama - are all U.S. senators - but we haven't had a sitting senator win the presidency in nearly a half-century, not since John Kennedy in 1960.

The Democratic nominee for the first time in election history will either be a woman or an African-American. Sons have followed their fathers to the presidency, but never a wife after her husband. Former presidents have ended up in Congress or the Supreme Court, but we've never contemplated one back as First Gentleman in the White House.

Clinton and Obama are not the only trailblazers. If McCain wins, he will be the oldest man to assume the presidency. Romney is the first Mormon presidential contender with a real chance at the nomination.

Now that Super Tuesday is over, here's what we are left with. A surviving Hillary Clinton can't muzzle Bill, whose name got her the lead and whose narcissism has nearly squandered it. No one can cite anything specific that the still-surging Obama has done or will do. And conservatives are supposed to forgive Romney for once taking some liberal stances to win in liberal Massachusetts, but to damn McCain for doing the same thing when he didn't have to in conservative Arizona.

In this crazy year, the election may finally come down to how many Democrats - scared that they don't know enough about Obama, or know too much about the Clintons - will vote for a veteran pro like McCain. Or, on the flip side, how many "true" conservatives will stay home in November to ensure a liberal wins the White House just to prove their purity.
Vict