America and Israel use them
strategically. Timing is key. Innocent victims suffer. Fingers point
the wrong way. Cui bono matters most.
Israel benefits greatly from Sunday's incident. Sixteen Egyptian soldiers
were killed in Sinai. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood (MB) blamed Mossad.
More below on separating rhetoric from policy.
MB's English language web site headlined "Muslim Brotherhood Statement
on Unprovoked Aggression Against Rafah Border-Guards," saying:
"Yesterday, a group of criminals and terrorists attacked an Egyptian
security checkpoint in Rafah, killing nearly twenty of our brothers,
our sons, and stole one car and one truck, and tried to crash their
way into Israel."
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya is Palestine's legitimately elected prime
minister. He also blames Israel for Sunday's incident. It's "responsible,
one way or another, for this attack to embarrass Egypt's leadership
and create new problems at the border in order to ruin efforts to end"
Gaza's siege.
He added that "(n)o Palestinian wants to kill anybody in Egypt. Any
attack against Egypt's security is also against the security of Palestinians."
An official Hamas statement said:
"Hamas condemns this ugly crime that killed a number of Egyptian soldiers
and extends its deep condolences to the families of the victims and
to the leadership and the people of Egypt."
Israel blamed unidentified Gaza militants. A supportive Haaretz article
headlined "Armed militants attack Egyptian army outpost, try to infiltrate
Israel border," saying:
"Armed attackers" stole an armored personnel carrier. They "killed around
15 Egyptian policemen." Israeli air strikes destroyed their APC. IDF
officials claimed it avoided a "large-scale terror attack."
"A second personnel carrier exploded at the Kerem Shalom border terminal."
It connects Israel, Gaza and Egypt. The vehicle didn't penetrate Israeli
territory. No injuries were reported.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said:
"IDF forces, under the command of Maj. Gen. Tal Russo, and on the orders
of Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, and with the assistance of the Shin Bet,
showed alertness, sharpness and purposefulness, and prevented a terror
attack that could have caused many casualties."
"The way the attackers operated once again raises the necessity of resolute
Egyptian action to impose security and prevent terror in Sinai."
Egypt said about 35 militants dressed as Bedouins opened fire on border
guards. Some entered Israel. Clashes followed. No Israeli casualties
were reported.
MB said a major border problem for Egypt was created. It "drives a wedge
between" Egypt's new government and its people.
It's more about disrupting Hamas/Cairo relations, manufacturing threats,
closing Rafah's border crossing, maintaining Gaza's siege, destroying
its tunnel economy, legitimizing IDF land, air and sea attacks, and
continuing to suffocate its people ruthlessly.
MB said Israel "sought to abort the revolution ever since its launch."
Days earlier, it urged Israelis in Sinai to leave. Warning were issued
about alleged Gaza-based terrorists planning abductions. Israeli tourists
were called targets.
"(E)very time a warning like this is issued, a terrorist incident" follows,
said MB.
"This crime also draws our attention to the fact that our forces in
the Sinai lack the personnel and the equipment to protect the region
or guard our borders, which makes it imperative to review the terms
of our accords with Israel."
Days earlier, Israel claimed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi sent
a letter expressing his desire to help relaunch peace talks. Morsi denied
Israel's claim. He took office in June.
He and Israel collaborate strategically. Hostile rhetoric masks more
cooperation than friction. Junta leaders hold supreme power. General
Mohammed Hussein Tantawi heads Egypt's military. Close ties to Washington
are maintained.
Morsi said his government "control(s) all parts of Sinai."
General Tantawi calls Hamas part of the problem. Saying so shows relations
with Washington are close. He showed it by closing Rafah Crossing indefinitely.
Two weeks earlier, Morsi extended operating hours and facilitated easier
cross-border movement both ways.
Overall, he's more figurehead than power broker. Tantawi decides what
matters most. Each supports a common agenda. It's linked to Washington's
imperial interests.
MB members are involved in Syria. They're counterrevolutionaries against
Assad. Their hostile Israeli rhetoric masks more cooperative relations.
Sinai's attack bears classic Mossad fingerprints. Militants are easily
recruited. Al Qaeda is used strategically. They waged war on Gaddafi.
They're active in Syria.
Perhaps they're responsible for Sunday's attack. Similar ones could
happen any time. Timing is always key. Cui bono matters most. Sunday's
attack benefits Israel and Washington. Smart money blames them for planning
it.
A Final Comment
On August 8, for the first time since 1973's Yom Kippur war, Egypt launched
air strikes in Sinai. The state Al-Ahram daily said 33 suspected militants
were killed.
Officially, Egypt claims Gaza and Sinai-based "rebel" groups killed
16 Egyptian border guards. Egyptian General Intelligence Service head
Murad Muwafi said GIS had information about a possible attack.
Unnamed Cairo security sources said:
"There are states behind what the terrorists are doing in Sinai. It
is far beyond Sinai groups' level."
Without saying so, fingers pointed at Israel. How this incident affects
relations remains to be seen.
On the same day, Egypt's MENA state news agency said:
"Unknown armed men opened fire on a checkpoint on the main road between
Al-Arish and Rafah."
MENA said it was the 29th incident since Mubarak's ouster. In response
to Sunday's attack, Egypt began closing tunnels Gazans use for food,
fuel, and other vital supplies. Siege conditions just got harder.
A Final Comment
Mossad-connected DEBKAfile(DF) suggested Iran's involvement in Sunday's
incident.
Doing so points fingers the wrong way. It diverts attention from Mossad.
DF claims Tehran "put Gaza Strip Islamists and/or Palestinian proxies
together with a Sinai al Qaeda cell for a coordinated attack on Egyptian
and Israeli military targets to avenge the presence of al Qaeda" in
Syria.
The accusation is ludicrous on its face. Iran has no ties to Al Qaeda.
Both sides are enemies, not allies. Washington uses Al Qaeda to advance
its imperium. Tehran strongly opposes it. So do other nations seeking
peace.
Nonetheless, accusations persist about Iranian/Al Qaeda ties. Bush administration
officials repeated them. So do members of Obama's administration, congressional
neocons, and Israeli extremists. Evidence isn't presented because none
exists.
Big Lies repeated enough gain traction. Truths are suppressed or ignored.
Churchill once said "(a) lie gets halfway around the world before the
truth (gets) its pants on." Today it circulates instantly.
Goebbels said "(i)f you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,
people will eventually come to believe it."
"(T)ruth is the mortal enemy of the lie," he added, "and thus by extension,
(it's) the greatest enemy of the State."
Manufactured reality and fake enemies go hand in hand. Washington and
Israel get away with murder.
On August 5, ahead of the 67th anniversary of the dawn of the nuclear
age, Francis Boyle called Hiroshima and Nagasaki criminal nuclear deterrence.
Humanity flirts with "self-extinction as a species" along with other
forms of intelligent life, he warned. Atom-bombing Japan twice lawlessly
"constituted crimes against humanity and war crimes...."
International law is clear and unequivocal. Responsible officials should
have been prosecuted as war criminals. Instead they're extolled as heros.
Humanity "has been victimized by an international conspiracy of ongoing
criminal activity carried out by the nuclear weapons states under the
doctrine known as 'nuclear deterrence,' which is really a euphemism
for 'nuclear terrorism.' "
Doing so again may be the last time. Humanity may perish in the process.
It may go the way of dinosaurs, and "planet earth will become a radioactive
wasteland."
Waging war against Syria and Iran could precipitate it. Will cooler
heads stop crazed leaders from risking it? The stakes are much too great
not to try.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge
discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News
Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time
and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy
listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
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