A grave mistake

[EA01]

The Iranian Navy have just seized a Marshall Islands flagged oil tanker off Oman?...The same ship previously seized by the US?



https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-01-11/

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Yup.
See here
viewtopic.php?p=383247#p383247

[Dushan]

I am shocked, I tell y'a, shocked beyond belief...

UNRWA to probe claims saying employees took part in Hamas' October 7 attack

United Nations agency says 'severed ties' with 12 employees suspected of participating in Hamas' massacre; US pauses funding following allegations.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

"Conspiracy theory" turns out to be the truth again,
#4,321 in a series of, oh, millions I wouldn't be surprised

"Do you not know, my son, with how very little wisdom the world is governed?"
Alex Oxenstierna, 1648

[Boac]

Does this come as a surprise to anyone?

[Pinky the pilot]

UNRWA to probe claims saying employees took part in Hamas' October 7 attack

United Nations agency says 'severed ties' with 12 employees suspected of participating in Hamas' massacre; US pauses funding following allegations.

Gasp!! Shock!!! Horror!!!!

Say it aint so, Joe!

[OFSO]

Surprised any UN employee can find the time away from drug-dealing, infecting locals with cholera, and having sex with local under-age girls

[OFSO]

Does anyone else share my utter rage at the continuing biased reporting of the Hammas/Israel conflict ? LBC this morning were again reporting Israel's "genocide" with not a reminder of why the conflict started or why Hammas are continuing it by refusing to release hostages - not to mention the names of the murderers and rapists who initiated the attack last October. The Palestinian people - who voted Hammas into power, remember - are reaping what they sowed.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The primary accomplishment of the media these days is to enrage.
Stressed people buy more stuff, and they make their money from advertising.

Put down the newspaper, and step away from the TV.
It will do your mental health a world of good.

As a consolation, almost no one, and far less than the media claims, is actually noting their drivel these days.

..and your chances of actually being informed of a significant event with correct analysis is now vanishingly small anyway.
This isn't primarily the product of their bias, but their incompetence.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

As predicted, the token effort bombing in Yemen has failed to relieve the situation in the Red Sea.
French shipping giant CMA CGM has just stopped Red Sea transits, despite there being French destroyers there to escort them.

This will hit world inflation figures soon. Can't see this being good for any major government involved, yet they still refuse to take sufficient action to fix the problem.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The US bombers are going in tonight.

They are saying this isn't the only strike.

Well, it had better not be, but I will be surprised if the sum total will be enough, either hard enough or often enough.
After all, the politicians have backed down too soon for nearly 30 years, in every case.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Initial reaction to the strikes from Gen Robert Walsh (USMC - Rtd)

President Teddy Roosevelt famously said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” President Biden and Secretary of Defense Austin certainly did not speak softly in the run-up to today’s U.S. attacks in Iraq and Syria. We must now wait to see how much of its “big stick” the U.S. Central Command uses in the coming days. It took five days for the U.S. to conduct the retaliatory strikes, and the timing may be tied to today’s dignified transfer of our three U.S. service members. The strikes were focused on Iranian-backed Shia militia groups, and the timing certainly gave those groups (and any IRGC support personnel) time to evacuate the target areas. Iran continues supplying the weapons to the proxies that are used in these attacks against U.S. forces. If the administration is concerned with escalating to a hot war with Iran and does not want to attack Iran itself, they should at least put a strangle-hold on Iranian oil sales. President Biden must make this painful enough to Iran to get them to back their proxy forces off.”

So, the delay in response, and the advance warning given to the Iraqi government, pretty much guaranteed that no Iranians would be killed. I would be surprised if any senior terrorists got hit, for the same reason.
The Iranians do not give a sh!t about losing a few weapons and foot soldiers. They gave up Hamas to break up the Israeli-Saudi peace deal.
And if anything, the loss of jihadis helps recruitment.

But I don't think Biden can "make this painful enough" by screwing with Iranian oil. The oil price will go through the roof, inflation goes back up, and bang goes his re-election chances.

So I think we are very likely to see a continuation of US (and allied) strikes that look good on the evening news but don't change the status quo.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I think the Yanks will, rightly, lean on them about that.
They will have to let everyone return to everywhere except Rafah and an IDF zone, before moving from the zone into Rafah.
The Egyptians certainly won't be opening their border.

[admin2]

This thread is about Gaza and not the US presidential elections (relevant posts now moved). If you mix up two topics in one thread it gets kind of confusing!

[John Hill]

The Egyptians certainly won't be opening their border.

They should open their border and all descendants of the followers of Moses be forced back to Egypt.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

With respect Admin2, how things proceed in Israel is tied to the US Presidential election, since support for Israel appears to have become a US political football.
The current finance bill before Congress is good evidence of that.
Likewise, support for Israel and/or Ukraine is also now interrelated, since support for one implies reduced support for the other.
It will be difficult to post stuff on any of the Ukraine War, Gaza War and Chaos in USA threads that excludes the other two - won't make sense sometimes.
This will likely continue until either the election, or one of the conflicts gets resolved. The former seems more likely.

John - I agree it's a good idea not to forget all the ancient history of the ME, the participants certainly haven't!

It will be difficult to post stuff on any of the Ukraine War, Gaza War and Chaos in USA threads that excludes the other two

I would not have thought it too difficult for a man of your abilities? Of course there are inter-reactions but Trump's mental state is not relevant. If he becomes POTUS, it will be. Let's keep this thread essentially on the Gaza situation.

[John Hill]

They should all be put to work remediating their shoddy work when building those pyramids!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Was the Pyramid Crew the Boeing of its time?

[talmacapt]

Re post 328 and roads used as airfields.

The Finnish Authorities have promulgated that a section of the E75 road (main road from south to north of Finland) north of Lahti will be closed, to vehicular traffic, for several days later in the month.

It is being used as an airfield.

There may be other closures but that is the most significant one.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I see the Telegraph doesn't do logic any more

1:32PM
UN: Transfer of weapons to Israel likely 'breaching international law'

The UN has warned that any transfer of weapons to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely breaching international law.

“All States must ‘ensure respect’ for international humanitarian law by parties to an armed conflict, as required by 1949 Geneva conventions and customary international law,” the experts said.

“States must accordingly refrain from transferring any weapon or ammunition – or parts for them – if it is expected, given the facts or past patterns of behaviour, that they would be used to violate international law.”

“Such transfers are prohibited even if the exporting State does not intend the arms to be used in violation of the law – or does not know with certainty that they would be used in such a way – as long as there is a clear risk,” they added.

The headline statement is not what the UN have said. It is not valid without some prior statement by the UN that Israel is explicitly breaching International Law.

And the UN have not done that. They've made an awful lot of statements about Israeli actions, and an awful lot of statements about breaches on International Law, but there is no explicit connection made between the two.
I have just re-read the last three statements by the UNSG. There's no stament that Israel has broken International Law, but there is that Hamas has.
Read for yourself, e.g.

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/spe ... iddle-east
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/spe ... ian-people

I've no doubt they intend people to make a connection, and the Telegraph seems to have fallen for it.