December 2, 2011
That's what can happen to your head as you try to make sense out of the news -- for it is forever shifting and changing. But we have an obligation to stay informed to the very best of our ability.
Yesterday I wrote about the explosion at Isfahan in Iran, which, according to a Timesof London report said to be based on satellite images, a uranium enrichment facility was hit. A reader has now sent me a posting by Elderof Ziyon that says the blast was not at Isfahan, but at air force base 8 near Isfahan, where 400 converted Chinese missiles were destroyed, as well as a rocket fuel depot. Not having the expertise to make judgment on this, I make no comment other than to share it in the interests of keeping my readers as well informed as possible.
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Caroline Glick, in her column today, "The real war in Iran," -- while acknowledging that there is much speculation necessary here because of the "shroud of secrecy that covers all operations in Iran" -- makes some of the same points that ElderofZiyon advanced, although she continues to assume the attack was at Isafan:
She writes that Isfahan, which is not a vital installation, would not be a primary target, for Western sabotage. Citing Dr. Michael Ledeen, an Iran expert from the Defense of Democracies, she advances the idea that the attack at Isfahan, like the attack before it, was mounted by the anti-government Green Movement in Iran -- or possibly this movement working in concert with foreign forces.
The Green Movement, she says, began as a protest movement but has "morphed" into a "full blown revolutionary movement."
The significance of this, Glick says, is that we now have strong indication that elements inside of Iran are willing to target Iranian facilities. Thus, the "popular Western belief that a...strike on Iran's nuclear installations would provoke the Iranian public to rally around the regime is utter nonsense."
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Glick also writes about the fact that Obama "still fundamentally misunderstands the situation in Iran.... (Emphasis added)
"Thankfully, Obama's abandonment of the traditional US role as leader of the free world has not prevented Western governments and regional forces for freedom from acting in their common interests...
"In the absence of US leadership, a coalition and strategy for preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons...has emerged."
She is speaking of the Iranian opposition forces, Israel, and now Western nations such as Britain and France. I would say, "is emerging" rather than "has emerged," as this is a relatively new turn of events. But it is a most hopeful turn of events, even as she says, "with the US following far behind."
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Herb Keinon has an analytic piece in the JPost today about Israel's efforts to solidify relationships with new allies in the face of the growing Islamic threat in the Middle East:
"The first is the eastern Mediterranean circle, made up of Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria. These countries, historic rivals of Turkey, are concerned about Ankara’s widening reach and intentions, and this has brought them into a much closerrelationship with Israel than existed in the past.
"The second cluster is a number of countries in sub- Saharan Africa – Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria and South Sudan – whose concern about Islamic terrorism at home has led to growing political and security cooperation with Israel. This cooperation was evident in South Sudan’s opening diplomatic ties with Israel soon after it gained independence earlier this year, and the leaders of both Kenya and Uganda visiting here last month.
"The third cluster includes countries in the region – as yet unnamed – that government officials say are in contact with Israel on issues regarding Iran and the sweeping changes in the region.
"Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently made a couple of opaque references to ties with these countries, believed to be Persian Gulf countries. One official said the prime minister was signaling the Israeli public that despite the turmoil roiling the Middle East, there were some 'points of light.'"
Those points of light (yesterday I spoke of "glimmers") are all important -- a necessary antidote to despair.
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And here I will leave matters -- with more to follow soon -- as we approach Shabbat. Thank G-d for the peace of Shabbat.
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© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner, functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced onlywith proper attribution.
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