The French UNIFIL forces are insisting on pretending that they’re going to fire on IAF jets that have been overflying Lebanon.

French UN anti-aircraft batteries have taken “preparatory steps” to respond to Israeli jets violating Lebanese airspace, despite global criticism of such incursions.

“The anti-aircraft unit of the (French) battalion took initial preparatory steps to respond to these actions,” Milos Strugar, spokesman for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) told AFP on Friday.

Isn’t it amazing that they can’t find the tons of weapons being delivered daily from Syria and Iran, but they can find a cause to threaten Israel over violations of 1701? Hell, they can’t even find the Hezbullah operatives, who have returned to the northern border, because they’re wearing civvies now and not carrying guns.

If it wasn’t so awful, it’d be funny. The world is so upside down that the French won’t see the terrorist army being rebuilt right under their noses, but they’re threatening to shoot down Israeli planes for staging mock raids—practice for the upcoming war that France and the UN are doing nothing to prevent. My mistake, they are doing something—they’re making it harder for Israel.

The responsibility for the blood that will flow in the next stage of the war should be laid on many shoulders, Ehud Olmert’s not the least of them, but there should also be blame laid squarely on the UN, and on France, for this reprehensible failure to do the smallest of responsibilities that UNIFIL was sent to Lebanon for.

The problem is, the blood that will flow is going to be Israeli blood. More lives are going to be lost in the next round—many more. I guarantee you, the re-arming of Lebanon is being done with an eye to the failures of Lebanon I, and the successes (as they will see the death of civilians) of Lebanon II. The question now is when, not whether, Hezbullah/Iran/Syria will attack again.

Israel’s enemies was emboldened by the lack of commitment to anything but an air campaign, and are still claiming victory. Iran is claiming that Israel will fall quickly. You can make the case that it doesn’t matter what they think, they still lost a lot of men and materiel. I will make the case that perception is all that matters here: The Islamists think they have Israel and the West on the ropes. Therefore, they will continue to fight.

I think Israel can win an all-out war. But that doesn’t mean she won’t take some heavy blows in the next one. With Hamas working feverishly to turn Gaza into Lebanon, and a president who refuses to do what is necessary, and a military commander who refuses to accept responsibility for the mistakes of Lebanon I, I have little confidence that the next one won’t be far worse.

I worry very, very much for my Israeli friends.

The decision of France to recognize the murder of one and a half million Armenians by Turks as genocide continues to piss of the regime in Turkey. The climax was reached recently when Turkey suspended military relations with France. Most probably France, in turn, will continue its drive to prevent Turkey from ever joining EU…

It’s interesting to see how Turkey defines the tragic events of 1915:

Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of Armenians died in mass expulsions and fighting, but says the number of dead is exaggerated and that most were killed in interethnic violence that erupted as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

That’s a good one. Using this approach, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Afghanistan invasion by USSR and many other inhuman deeds by human beings could be classified in a similar way: interethnic violence, political disputes or other minor disagreements.

Following the lead created by the (anonymous?) author of “Your terrorist is my freedom fighter” (one of the more revolting samples of moral relativism), we can expect something on the lines of “Your genocide is my ethnic dispute” or anything in the same vein.

As a matter of fact, there are quite a lot of people (useful idiots included en mass) who vehemently deny that what is going on in Darfur is genocide. So it is only a matter of a formula.

Of course, most of the people mentioned are gladly agreeing that Israel carries out genocide against Palestinians. Interesting, ain’t it? Go figure…

Cross-posted on SimplyJews

I was just looking around for various statistics, and discovered that I am older than more than a third of the people in America.

Wait. That means that I’m younger than nearly two-thirds.

I feel much better now.

More than 700 Islamic militants from Somalia traveled to Lebanon in July to fight alongside Hezbollah in its war against Israel, a UN report says. The militia in Lebanon returned the favor by providing training and - through its patrons Iran and Syria - weapons to the Islamic alliance struggling for control of Somalia, the study adds.

The report, which was disclosed by Reuters on Monday, appears to be the first indication that foreign fighters assisted Hezbollah during the 34-day conflict, when Israel maintained a tight blockade on Lebanon.

The report also says Iran sought to trade arms for uranium from Somalia to further its nuclear ambitions, though it does not say whether Iran succeeded.

But Meryl has already reported on the story, so I am taking another angle. We need a word for pan-Islamic equivalent of crusade. As crusade symbolized a pan-Christian military effort to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims (trampling the remaining Jews in the process), a similar word for the ongoing Islamic effort is just what the doctor ordered. And don’t give me Jihad - it doesn’t work for me for some reason.

Suggestions, please? The best proposals will be published.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews

The IAF flips France the bird: Not exactly shaking in their boots, IAF planes flew low over Lebanese territory in mock attack formation today. It’s practice for Round Two of the next war, which Hezbullah, Syria, and Iran are bringing on. The French did not fire anti-aircraft missiles. Yeah, we knew they wouldn’t, but it’s fun pointing it out.

Iran’s proxy armies: Millions for Hamas, but not one cent for peace. So, the stories you keep hearing about those starving palestinians? Not so much.

Iran has given the Hamas-led Palestinian government more than $120 million this year, a Hamas leader said Thursday, and the Iranian government promised to sending money to the administration amid a Western financial embargo.

Don’t look to the EU or UN to notice this.

Surprise allies: Okay, Canada isn’t as much of a surprise as it is a relief, but Harper meant it when he said he wasn’t going to automatically vote the anti-Israel line. But this one: Now THIS is a shocker: Uganda says Hamas should recognize Israel. Yes, Uganda. YES, UGANDA. Okay, it doesn’t say it anywhere except in the headline, and it’s an opinion piece, but still—effing Uganda!