[mainekitchen] Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
- From: Josef Jurkiewicz <josef_jurkiewicz@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "mainekitchen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <mainekitchen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 04:40:19 -0800 (PST)
Israel Foils Al Qaeda Plot Against US Embassy
By Brigitte Gabriel
Dear Joe,
Time and time again, Israel has proven to be America’s closest, most reliable
ally in the Middle East.
Last week we saw the latest example of Israel’s dedication to America as an
ally when Israel’s Shin Bet security service announced that it had arrested Al
Qaeda terrorists who were part of a cell plotting to launch an attack on the US
embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Shin Bet indicated that the three terrorists, two from Jerusalem and one from
the West Bank, were recruited by an Al Qaeda terrorist operative based in the
Gaza Strip who worked directly for Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The suicide bomb attack on the US embassy was to be part of an audacious plan
to conduct simultaneous attacks on three targets in Israel, the other two
targets being an Israeli transit bus and a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
While there have been fears of an Al Qaeda presence in Israel for some time
now, this plot is the first indication of actual, active Al Qaeda terrorists
inside Israel.
What is particularly upsetting about the aftermath of the takedown of this Al
Qaeda cell has been the muted U.S. reaction.
First, in Washington, Obama State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said U.S.
investigators and intelligence officials were not yet able to corroborate the
Israeli information and declined to comment on specifics of the case. Harf even
told reporters, “I don't have reason to believe it's not true. I just don't
have independent verification.”
Meanwhile, senior U.S. officials elsewhere, speaking to reporters anonymously,
were confirming the plot, while the Obama State Department was essentially
giving no comment.
One wonders just exactly what the State Department meant when it said it did
not have “independent verification.”
Who would the State Department be looking to for that “independent
verification”?
Eventually, the Obama State Department did “acknowledge” the plot and Israel’s
arrest of the terrorists, claiming that they had been in touch with the
Israelis on the matter for some time.
What has been completely absent from any statement on the matter from the U.S.
has been any expression of gratitude toward Israel for breaking up a plot by
our sworn enemy, Al Qaeda, to bomb our embassy.
That silence comes just days after President Obama told the New Yorker, that
the current Al Qaeda was the “jayvee” team, once again dismissing the threat
from jihadist terrorism.
The only strong statement acknowledging Israel’s key role in heading off this
Al Qaeda attack came from Illinois Representative Peter Roskam who released the
following statement:
“The plot to attack our embassy in Israel reminds us why we must remain
vigilant against the continued and evolving threat from Al Qaeda. With the
tragic deaths of American personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi still fresh
on our minds, the Israeli intelligence community’s work to stop this attack in
its tracks once again demonstrates the mutual importance of our close security
cooperation with Israel.”
It certainly appears that the Obama administration is actively ignoring this
entire event. And no wonder; after all, it's a bad situation for Obama in three
ways:
1. It indicates that the “on the run,” “jayvee” Al Qaeda that Obama keeps
dismissing is still out there plotting against U.S. targets;
2. Israel, the country Obama seems to dislike and throw under the bus more than
any other U.S. ally, came to the rescue;
3. Israel seems to have done a better job of looking out for the security of
our diplomatic personnel and facilities than we have ourselves. It’s too bad
that Israel’s security services weren’t in charge of security in Benghazi on
September 11, 2012, instead of Hillary Clinton, Obama’s then-secretary of
state!
All of this serves as a painful reminder that the U.S. and its allies continue
to be the target of the jihadists and that we must remain ever-vigilant.
Most importantly, we must work to maintain close, friendly relations with our
allies, such as Israel, who have stood by us for decades.
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