Death in Afghanistan

MOD: Reports that a British Soldier was killed today in Afghanistan, the soldier was from the " Household Cavalry Regiment ". Thus since 2001 the UK has lost 277 of its Armed Forces Personnel in Afghanistan, of that total it has lost 244 in combat operations and 33 due to illness, accidents or other incidents. The UK has lost eleven soldiers this month, the Army needs to look at its field operations, getting close to the Afghan People should not come at the cost of this many deaths every month.

The Ghost of Iran - North Korea sinks South Korean Ship

The Washington Post: Reports on the sinking of a South Korean Military Vessel, the suspect is North Korea. This is why making sure Iran does not get the bomb is important folks, North Korea has the bomb and the missile technology, the Western Ally South Korea is non nuclear. In essence North Korea can do what it likes since its a nuclear armed power, the Obama Administration will be critical but do nothing, and in this case its the right move, the game is different when the other side has the bomb. Lets hope China places pressure on North Korea to behave or least act the model. At the end of the day the Obama Administration will have to strike a deal with North Korea, it wont be pretty folks, we will have to give it security guarantees and allow them to keep the bomb. The Obama Administration will have to make sure that North Korea does not gives its technology to Iran, thus back to Iran again folks, lets recall the Middle East folks with its oil, you want to start paying £1.40 for petrol, that is the nuclear blackmail that Iran could start if it gets the bomb.

New START Treaty - USA and Russia

Today President Obama announced a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) Treaty to reduce the nuclear stockpiles of the USA and Russia. The President stated the following on the new treaty, " Since taking office, one of my highest priorities has been addressing the threat posed by nuclear weapons to the American people. And that’s why, last April in Prague, I stated America’s intention to pursue the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons, a goal that’s been embraced by Presidents like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. " This is a good move by President Obama, one had to wonder when he would get results for selling out the Czech Republic and Poland over Missile Defence. I guess Obama does feel guilty about the Czech Republic, the President stated the following " I’m pleased that almost one year to the day after my last trip to Prague, the Czech Republic -- a close friend and ally of the United States -- has agreed to host President Medvedev and me on April 8th, as we sign this historic treaty..... " This is the Obama spin on his relationshio with the President of Russia, " Through all these efforts, cooperation between the United States and Russia will be essential. I want to thank President Medvedev for his personal and sustained leadership as we worked through this agreement. We’ve had the opportunity to meet many times over the last year, and we both agree that we can serve the interests of our people through close cooperation. " Lets see President Obama sold out his Allies but all President Medvedev had to do was retire some old missiles. I think the Russian bear got the better of the American President. It seems now that that President Obama needs Republicans support thus the following, " Finally, I look forward to continuing to work closely with Congress in the months ahead. There is a long tradition of bipartisan leadership on arms control. Presidents of both parties have recognized the necessity of securing and reducing these weapons. Statesmen like George Shultz, Sam Nunn, Henry Kissinger, and Bill Perry have been outspoken in their support of more assertive action. Earlier this week, I met with my friends John Kerry and Dick Lugar to discuss this treaty, and throughout the morning, my administration will be consulting senators -- my administration will be consulting senators from both parties as we prepare for what I hope will be a strong, bipartisan support to ratify the new START treaty. " These kind of treaties take months, lets see what the Obama White House is not telling the public, if its like health care reform, we will have to see the details, one good point from the White House is the following, " No Constraints on Missile Defense and Conventional Strike: The Treaty does not contain any constraints on testing, development or deployment of current or planned U.S. missile defense programs or current or planned United States long-range conventional strike capabilities. " As Iran is a growing national security threat its is good that Obama has not from these details sold out other Allies to get a Treaty. The White House hopes this new treaty will place pressure on Iran, the White House states the following, " The Presidents agreed that the new Treaty demonstrates the continuing commitment of the United States and Russia – the world’s two largest nuclear powers – to reduce their nuclear arsenals consistent with their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Such actions invigorate our mutual efforts to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime and convince other countries to help curb proliferation. " One can say one thing from this move, Iran will not take a blind bit of notice, one can see the spin from Tehran right now, its not about the USA and Russia, its about Israel and its nuclear arsenal. Well I think Obama might find Israel is not in the best mood to hear any talk about cutting the Israeli nuclear stockpile after the recent frosty exchanges between the Oval and Israel. On the whole a good move by the USA and Russia, buts as the Gipper stated, Trust by Verify.

The Time to Strike Iran

The Times: Reports on the disastrous Summit meeting between President Obama and the PM of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu. This could be the perfect time for Israel to hit Iran, the USA under Obama is NEVER, NEVER going to strike Iran or place tough sanctions on Tehran. Thus the Obama ego after health care reform has gone stellar, someone needs to remind the President that when he is Mayor of Jerusalem he can have viewpoint on planning or even a vote. Think if Russia decided to make a point about building in Washington D.C. The problem with the Obama ego is that while its effective on the domestic front in till the November elections, his ego could cause a war in the Middle East due to the fact that Obama has no clue about the Middle East, he might have been trained a lawyer but don't recall him ever getting a degree in International Politics. Lets see Obama has damaged the US relationship with Israel its main ally in the Middle East but is appeasing Iran and North Korea. One has decide on the empirical evidence that Obama wants to be a one term President, he has pushed health care reform down the throats of the US voter, he has appeased Russia at the expense of the Czech Republic and Poland, and now he is letting Iran off the hook and being critical of Israel. Thus if your in Israel one has to ask why not attack Iran, really show that Obama is holding jokers, the US Congress will always support Israel over Obama when it comes to the security of Israel. Obama has not learned an important lesson, its the same lesson that LBJ failed to learn in Vietnam, the other side can say NO, and they can roll you, if your poll ratings are going South when you need the support of the American people you will find that you left alone with your ego.

Another League of Nations = The UN ?

Fox News: Reports that the Obama Administration has walked back from tough sanctions on Iran due to the pressure from China and Russia. One can postulate that the UN is fast becoming the another League of the Nations of the 1920's/30's the precursor to the UN of today. The Obama Administration is allowing US Foreign Policy to be defined by Russia and China, Iran is a direct threat to the USA and Israel, thus sooner or later Obama or Israel will have to take action outside the remit of the UN. The cold freeze level of diplomatic relations between the USA and Israel over the right of Israel to build homes on its homeland could make the decision by Israel more easier, they could strike Iran due to the fact that the relationship is so cold between the two supposed Allies. It can be argued that Russia and China will never allow tough sanctions on Iran due to their economic ties, thus Obama is fast becoming another Jimmy Carter.

The Ghost of Tip O’Neill

A great Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Speaker Tip O' Neill in his autobiography bought up the power of the Israeli lobby in Congress, it was the one issue that both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan asked about before they become President. Both Carter and Reagan wanted to know how powerful was the Israeli lobby, in other words by a PR standard they had presence in Congress. As Speaker O' Neill stated Jewish voters wrote to him even when they agreed with him, they played an active part in all parts of the US civic structure, thus that equated with political power. Thus we come to to the frosty relationship between the Obama White House and Israel at the present, even Ronald Reagan made a threat to end the special relationship with Israel due to its actions in Lebanon, the President was right and Israel came to heel. Lets be honest you can be a friend of Israel but also make it aware when it goes well over the line. In the case of building 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem the Israeli Government should tell Obama to get lost, its Israel after all not Chicago, and Obama cant use the race card on them as he used it on Clinton Campaign in 08. Also in an excellent article in RCP the power of the Israeli lobby in the Democratic Party could decided who runs the Congress after 2010. In other words the Israeli lobby could turn off the money stream to the Democratic Party, give it to the Republicans. Thus if Obama does not want to lose Congress in 2010 and the White House in 2012 he might want to back off his own arrogance towards Israel.

A Divided Relationship, the USA and Israel

BBC News: Reports that the Obama White House has admitted that there are problems between Israel and the USA. A good piece of advice to the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, tell Obama to take a running jump, as the Obama appeasement of Iran, North Korea and Russia has shown if you say NO hard enough to Obama he will appease you, thus Israel should build more houses in East Jerusalem, make the Obama Foreign Policy choke on its own arrogance, it seems that President Obama is ready enough to sell out the Czech Republic, Poland and the Middle East Allies of the United States by allowing Iran to become a nuclear power. The problem with Obama is that he thinks his own rhetoric is the reality, news to POTUS your not that good, a majority of Americans opposed health care reform, every time the President spoke on health care reform the negatives of the policy went up, your no JFK or Reagan, the President is under the illusion that he has options when it comes to Israel, he does not, the Congress will over turn any negative policy when it comes to Israel, also as stated the election calender is now starting to work against the Obama White House, thus we have the 2010 Mid Term Congressional Elections, a lot of Jewish voters in Florida and New York, then we have the 2012 Presidential Election, Obama cant be seen favouring Iran over Israel. Thus again to the Israeli PM, call the Obama bluff, he is bluffing, his cards are jokers, while your at it strike Iran, just before the Mid Term Congressional Elections would be quite good.