Israeli attack on Iran may be imminent

As Iran inches toward production of nuclear weapons, speculation is growing that Israel may be preparing to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Middle East observer Joel Rosenberg notes on his Flash Traffic blog that recent comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the Knesset, the Israeli legislature, may hint that Israel’s patience with diplomacy is coming to an end. As quoted on Flash Traffic, Netanyahu said, ““If I had to summarize what will happen in our region, I would use two terms: instability and uncertainty.”

 

Read the rest of this article on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/israeli-attack-on-iran-may-be-imminent

 

Wikiterror

Julian Assange, cyber terrorist (Espen Moe)

It is time to call Julian Assange and his hacker cohorts what they are: cyber terrorists. Assange used his website, Wikileaks, to post thousands of stolen classified documents online for the world to see.

Assange may not be a member of al Qaeda, but his goals are similar to those of Osama bin Laden. Assange is anti-American and anti-business. He wants to hurt the United States, specifically our efforts in the War on Terror, and anyone who gets in his way

To read the rest of this article, please click the link below:

http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/wikiterror

The Electromagnetic Pulse Threat

A single nuclear warhead could affect the whole country in an EMP attack.

One afternoon last summer, an afternoon thunderstorm moved through my hometown of Villa Rica. Lightning from the storm knocked out power in most of the town. Without power, all commerce stopped. We had intended to order a pizza, but the restaurant employees told us that they couldn’t cook anything electricity. Even if they had food to sell, we wouldn’t have been able to buy it since they couldn’t use the cash register. Across the street, grocery store customers with full carts of food found that they couldn’t buy anything either. Police had their hands full directing traffic since all of the traffic lights in town were out.

Now imagine that the blackout is not confined to one town, but is spread across the whole country. It also is not confined to the electrical grid. Nothing electrical is working. Your car engine might die. Your cell phone is dead. Even the battery in your watch is dead. Instead of a thunderstorm, you have likely experienced an electromagnetic pulse attack.

To read the rest of this article please click the links below:

The EMP Threat

Surviving an EMP Attack

Two Looming Crises Grow Larger

Over the past week, largely ignored by the mainstream media, two simmering crises bubbled a step closer to finally growing too large to be ignored. Both issues have been slowly deteriorating over multiple presidencies and been neglected by both parties. Nevertheless, it is very ironic that both problems, one foreign and one domestic, moved up to the next level within days of each other.

The more dangerous of the two is the domestic issue. The Social Security Administration announced that in 2010 Social Security will pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes [1]. Social Security has was predicted to begin losing money by 2017 as Baby Boomers begin to retire en masse, but layoffs and forced retirements from the Great Recession accelerated the losses as tax revenues fell. It is believed that that as the economy recovers, receipts will rise and push the program back into the black for a few years. As the program slips again into the red, it is forecast to go totally bankrupt by 2037 (long before I retire!).

This is not the first time that Social Security has lost money. The program had to be overhauled in 1983 to prevent it from going bankrupt years earlier. The bipartisan agreement that delayed the inevitable raised the retirement age to 67, increased payroll taxes, and made benefits taxable. The changes were supposed to keep the program solvent until 2058, but that estimate has now decreased by 20 years [1].

Social Security’s budget problems are symbolic of the larger financial problems facing the federal government (and most of the states) as a whole. Medicare began paying out more than it took in last year and is forecast to become insolvent by 2017 [2]. The federal government has long been taking in less than it spends, but in 2009 the federal budget deficit rose to more than 10% of the national GDP [3]. Even President Obama’s own budget director, Peter Orszag, admits that this is not sustainable, yet President Obama’s proposed budget calls for spending increases. Orszag and Obama are relying on primarily on tax increases and economic growth to bring the deficit down. In reality, Obama’s unchecked spending and anti-business policies are likely to push the deficit even higher.

The current deficits are the worst that the US has experienced since WWII. What makes this situation worse is that in the 1940s we had a plan to eliminate the deficit and pay off the national debt. We would win the war and shift our economy back to making profitable consumer goods. Back then, we also got something tangible for our money: ships, tanks, and airplanes. Today we not only have no plan to do anything other than run increasingly large deficits, much of the money that we have spent has been totally wasted.

In contrast to the USA’s 10% of GDP deficit, the European Union has a limit of 3% of GDP for member states. When Greece’s deficit came in at 13% for 2009, it sparked a crisis which may lead to a financial rescue of the Greeks by Germany and other European nations to prevent a default [4].

If the US trend continues, the government might find it hard to find buyers for our debt. Essentially other nations and investors would stop loaning us money to fund our excesses. Another possibility is that the US government might print more money, which leads to inflation, or default on its debts, ruining our national credit rating. Already bond rating agency, Moody’s, has warned that the US is in danger of losing its AAA credit rating, which would make it more expensive for the government to borrow money [5]. The worst case scenario is a creditor nation could call in our debts, which we could not pay, and collapse our economy.

The second threat is equally dangerous and could have just as big an impact as a US national bankruptcy. This week Iran announced that they had begun further enriching uranium. While Iran does not admit to having enriched to weapons grade uranium yet, this announcement is a further step in that direction [6].

Iran’s refusal to negotiate in good faith indicates a commitment to developing nuclear weapons regardless of the consequences. President Obama’s campaign promise to negotiate with leaders like Ahmadinejad has not borne fruit in Iran or anywhere else. It has been impossible to achieve agreement on meaningful sanctions because of interference from Russia and China. Russia is providing the Iranians with their nuclear reactor and stands to lose commercially if the Iranian nuclear program is dismantled [7]. China is a large purchaser of Iranian oil.

Many believe that Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon is not a threat to the world. They point to their belief that Iran has not initiated wars of conquest in the years since the Iranian Revolution, but neglect the fact that one of Iran’s chief exports since then has been terror and hatred. Likewise, some believe that Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons would be defensive in nature. Others point to the fact that the US and USSR coexisted throughout the cold war without a nuclear exchange and believe that a nuclear Iran could be similarly constrained through the certainty of their own destruction if they ever used their weapons. These arguments ignore several crucial facts.

First, they ignore the many threats that the Iranians have already made against the US and Israel. President Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust-denier who hosted a “World without Zionism” conference and demanded that Israel be “wiped off the map” [8]. He apparently believes that he is called to attack Israel to usher in a Muslim messiah called the “Mahdi” [9].

Second, many prominent officials in the Iranian government believe that the destruction of their entire nation would an acceptable cost for destroying Israel. Hashemi Rafsanjani, currently Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, said the “application of an atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel but the same thing would just produce damages in the Muslim world” [10]. In other words, Iran is merely a part of the Muslim world. If Iran is destroyed along with Israel, but other Muslim nations survive, the Iranian government would consider that a victory. The important thing to them is not that Iran survives, but that Israel does not.

The United States is also Iran’s mortal enemy. Iran has threatened the United States as well as Israel [11]. At the same time, Iran’s missile tests indicate that Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) capability in which a single nuclear warhead, detonated high above the US, could paralyze the entire country and kill millions through starvation and exposure by destroying our electrical grids [12]. A report on the EMP threat was delivered to congress in 2004 [13], but so far little has been done. The Iranians could use a nuclear weapon to attempt to control oil exports from other countries in the region as well.

At this point, there is still time to deal with both problems, but time is slipping away. Our elected leaders of both parties seem to be uninterested in either issue. If our leaders won’t lead, then it is up to the people to take the initiative.

On the spending issue, we need to encourage our politicians to make hard choices. Government spending must be cut. The solution that seems to make the most sense is to impose an immediate freeze on all nondefense spending. While spending levels are frozen, a bipartisan committee should go over the federal budget, not with a scalpel, but with a chainsaw. Everything that is not absolutely necessary and constitutional should be cut. The committee’s recommendations would go to congress for an up or down vote with no amendments allowed. Entire federal departments could (and should) be eliminated.

Voters can contact their representatives to ask them to stop taking earmarks and to cut spending. If they don’t listen, vote for someone who will. Entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare together with interest on the federal debt make up almost half of the federal budget [15]. All of these categories will be growing in the future. To pay down the federal debt, entitlements must be cut, but this is politically difficult.

Growing the economy will help, but is not a solution in itself. Cutting federal spending will also help to grow the economy since the government won’t be competing with private firms for investment dollars. Keeping taxes low and regulations simple will also help the economy to grow.

With respect to Iran, we can also demand that our leaders pay attention to the problem and negotiate from a point of strength rather than weakness. A military strike should not be ruled out. If we choose not to strike, we should not limit the options of Israel. The US should also do as much as possible to support the Iranian dissidents who oppose their government’s vision of the world. President Obama has been noticeably quiet towards the new Iranian revolutionaries. They have even chanted on occasion “Obama, are you with us or against us? [16]” They should not have to ask.

In the meantime, we should pressure our representatives to take steps to defend against an EMP attack. Admittedly this is a time of national financial crisis, but national defense should be our number one priority. The very survival of our country could be at stake.

Sources:
1. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-02-07-social-security-red-retirements_N.htm
2. http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/may09/reimbursement2.asp
3. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-02-01-budget-analysis_N.htm
4. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704140104575056751636031606.html
5. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703427704575051192374232722.html?KEYWORDS=us+bond+rating+geithner
6. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704182004575054592759454422.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews
7. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148861,00.html
8. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,391199,00.html
9. http://www.meforum.org/1985/ahmadinejad-and-the-mahdi
10. http://www.jpost.com/Cooperations/Google/Default.aspx?q=iran%20threatens%20israel
11. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-08-iran-nuclear_x.htm
12. http://washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jan/16/20060116-100037-9847r/
13. http://washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jan/16/20060116-100037-9847r/
14. http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/congress/2004_r/04-07-22emp.pdf
15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Federal_Spending_-_FY_2007.png
16. http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmEwMGE3NzFkYTllYmJiOTUxNjhjMGNiNGJiYmZiMWQ=

“It’s NOT Healthcare, Stupid!”

During the 1991 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton famously displayed a sign in his campaign headquarters that read, “It’s the economy, stupid.” This sign served to remind Clinton and his staff of what was important to their campaign and keep them on message. Ultimately, Clinton convinced voters that he could bring the country out of the recession caused by President George H. W. Bush’s tax increases.

Now that he is in office, President Barack Obama could use a similar sign to remind him of what is important, not to his campaign, but to the country. Obama’s sign could easily read, “It’s not healthcare, stupid!”

Currently, the United States faces two major crises. The first and most obvious is the economy. The second is the threat that the US faces from radical Muslims, both in the form of terrorist groups and rogue nations. Obama’s response to these twin crises has been to focus his administration’s efforts over the entire summer of 2009 into an overhaul of the US healthcare system. Healthcare reform is necessary, but should have a much lower priority given the current world and national situation.

President Obama’s efforts to reform healthcare are likely having a negative effect on the economy. After the dramatic increase to the federal deficit caused by the stimulus package passed in February 2009, Obamacare is now being estimated to cost $1.5 trillion. This will ultimately mean that Americans will either pay more for their health insurance or receive coverage that is not as good as what they have now or both. It is increasingly likely that many of Obama’s promises on healthcare, from allowing people to keep their old plans to being cost neutral to not having taxpayers fund abortion, will not be kept in the final version of the bill.

In the meantime, speculation as to what will be included in the final version of the bill is working against the markets attempts to spur an economic recovery. As business owners see the prospect of numerous government mandates and taxes, they elect to delay investment and hiring decisions. Few want to make long-term plans in a business climate that involves the possibility of drastic and negative changes to government policy.

To help the United States recover from the current recession, President Obama should take steps to reassure the business community and spur investment. One quick and easy way to do this would be to enact a corporate tax cut rather than a tax increase. By allowing business owners to keep more of their own money, rather than sending it to the IRS, President Obama would ensure that businesses would have the money to hire more workers, expand their operations, and provide capital for investment in businesses that drive the economy. Such tax cuts, even if only a temporary basis, would help jumpstart the economy.

Additionally, President Obama should promise to veto any legislation that would place new and onerous restrictions and regulations on business. The government should seek to strike a balance between making it cheap and easy to do business in the United States and preventing fraud. The government should not try to micromanage private businesses.

The flat economy and steadily rising unemployment rates illustrate the fact that President Obama’s economic policies are not working. The stimulus bill did not only did not revive the economy, it eroded consumer confidence due to the widely held beliefs that such a large increase in federal debt will inevitably lead to a increase in taxes, a decline in the value of the dollar, or both. Obama’s focus on the creation of a vast new healthcare bureaucracy and carbon regulation have also led to a stagnation in the economy as business leaders take a wait and see attitude.

The combination of lower taxes and streamlining regulation has done much in the past to help economies grow, both in the United States and abroad. In our own history, such policies under Presidents Coolidge, Kennedy, Reagan, and George W. Bush have caused rapid economic expansion. Other countries, such as Ireland and the former Baltic republics of the Soviet Union, have seen similar results with the enactment of low flat taxes.

Even more dangerous is President Obama’s neglect of the war against the terrorists. President Obama has pledged to close the Guantanamo Bay detainment facility even though no credible plan for doing so has been revealed. Some terrorists, such as bomber of the USS Cole, have had the charges against them dropped. Others, including fighters captured on the battlefield, have been moved to the criminal justice system for trial. The civilian criminal justice is ill-equipped to deal with foreign paramilitary fighters due to rules of evidence that did not apply when they were captured and concerns about the release of sensitive intelligence information.

After the Gaza War between Israel and Hamas last winter, President Obama announced $900 million in federal aid to Gaza, even though Gaza is still ruled by the terrorist group Hamas. This money was pledged without preconditions that Hamas stop attacking Israel. In fact, the only country that President Obama has shown any interest in placing preconditions upon for aid or diplomacy is Israel. In May, President Obama demanded that Israel freeze expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank.

Additionally, after vowing to fight and win in Afghanistan, as well as committing additional US troops to Afghanistan last spring, Obama has delayed for weeks his response to General McChrystal’s request for 40,000 additional troops. The request is similar to General Petraeus’ request for a troop surge in Iraq that was bitterly opposed by most Democrats, including then Senator Obama, and a majority of the US public as well. President George W. Bush bucked public opinion to send the additional troops, and, as a result, the war in Iraq is largely to considered to be a US victory.

As with the Iraq surge, most Democrats and a majority of the public now oppose sending additional troops to Afghanistan. President Obama must find the intestinal fortitude to go against public opinion to prevent a Taliban victory in Afghanistan. The Taliban would likely reopen Afghanistan’s terrorist training camps as well as stepping up the insurgency against the nuclear-armed government in neighboring Pakistan.

If that weren’t bad enough, the Obama Administration also doesn’t seem to take seriously the threat of Iran’s imminent acquisition of nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Clinton has indicated the intention of the Obama Administration to let diplomacy continue as Iran plays for time by making agreements and then not following through with them.

Obama’s anti-Bush rhetoric and frequent apologies for America’s actions make it impossible for dictators such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to take seriously his deadlines and promises of action if Iran continues to develop weapons of mass destruction. To put it simply, Iran’s government does not believe that it will face severe consequences for continuing along the path to nuclear weapons.
Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons is a direct threat to the United States. As far back as the 1990s, Iran tested the capability to launch missiles from cargo ships, a tactic that would be useless against Israel. Iran has tested missile launch profiles that simulate the use of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) warhead. Such a weapon could be exploded high over the United States to wreak havoc on our electrical power grids resulting not in the crash of all electrical and computer systems, but also mass starvation as transportation networks and food storage facilities lose power.

When considering the damage that the economy has already sustained and the possibility of severe, even catastrophic, terror attacks, it suddenly seems less urgent to ram through a massive expansion of the government healthcare bureaucracy. President Obama and Congress should set more realistic priorities. Their most important job is to protect the American people from foreign enemies and that should be their top priority.

Sources:
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/blog/tag/diagnosis/cbo

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Obama+Israel+Stop+settlement+expansion/1640404/story.html
http://www.rferl.org/content/Obama_Receives_Request_For_More_Afghanistan_Troops/1846325.html
http://www.zeenews.com/news574868.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=6815292
http://www.wanttoknow.info/050509electromagneticattack
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e05_1217357707
Palm Springs CA
November 2, 2009