Things to Keep an Eye On
Israeli military intelligence chief resigns, Ben-Gvir's accident, sanctions hit the Israeli far-right, Cordish casino in Petersburg, the Eisenhower transits the Suez Canal
I’ve been at the beach this week. I was informed that I have been thrown out of American Compass, my last affiliation with official conservatism. Not unexpected, but I had to keep faith with the young ones, who by and large know I’m right, as long as I could. Not much more to say about that.
The Israel lobby, and Republican Israel hawks, are sort of in a MacBeth moment, in that they’ve cancelled and blackballed people willy-nilly for years for the smallest infractions, and the heat of the moment is still such that they are not able to recognize moderation when they see it. Meanwhile, Banquo’s ghost is sitting there at table, reminding them, “you know, you killed me, right?” This only increases the tendency toward paranoid recriminations.
For now what I infer is that much of the conservative policy elite, like those who urged the passage of FISA reauthorization without amendment, have absolutely no intention of protecting America’s young people from the predations of this criminal Israeli government, and their pro-family posture is a sham. In Texas this week, the authorities are breaking their own state laws on protest—which permit non-students—for the benefit of Israel, which is not surprising given the governor’s subservience to the Likud syndicate.
The Head of Israeli Military Intelligence Resigns
This is just the beginning:
A major purge of senior Israeli military and intelligence officials is underway over their failure to prevent the devastating Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
On Monday, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, the head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intelligence branch, resigned. He’s the first senior Israeli official to step down for failing to prevent the assault, in which Hamas militants killed some 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 others hostage in the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history.
But he won’t be the last. As military investigators deepen their internal probe into the events surrounding the Oct. 7 attack, many others in the IDF’s intelligence branch, as well as Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency, are expected to leave their posts in disgrace, knowledgeable Israeli sources told SpyTalk.
Israel’s National Security Minister Rushed to Hospital After Car Crash
He reportedly regularly instructs his driver to ignore traffic rules:
Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir has been rushed to hospital after he was involved in a car accident in central Israel on Friday.
The national security minister was reportedly near Ramla when the accident happened.
According to Israeli media, his car had run a red light before the accident. Video footage of the accident was posted on social media.
Sanctions Hit Israel’s Far-Right
From Haaretz:
Bentzi Gopstein, the right-wing extremist who over the weekend was added to the list of Israelis subject to U.S. economic sanctions, discovered the practical effect of the measure when he went to fill up on gas for his car on Sunday and was informed by the electronic card reader, "Due to your inclusion on the U.S. Treasury sanctions list, we have been forced to block your [credit] card."
Charles Blaha Says the U.S. Routinely Refuses to Enforce Its Own Laws With Respect to Israel
The double-standard is getting untenable:
A former senior U.S. official who until recently helped oversee human-rights compliance by foreign militaries receiving American military assistance said Wednesday that he repeatedly observed Israel receiving “special treatment” from U.S. officials when it came to scrutiny of allegations of Israeli military abuses of Palestinian civilians.
The allegation comes as the Biden administration faces intense pressure over its ally’s treatment of Palestinian civilians during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. And matters because of who said it: Charles O. Blaha. Before leaving the post in August, he was a director of a State Department security and human rights office closely involved in helping ensure that foreign militaries receiving American military aid follow U.S. and international humanitarian and human rights laws.
Petersburg, VA Chooses Cordish Bid for Casino
We’ve been over Reed Cordish’s role in updating DHS software under Trump, and how concerning it is that a casino guy would be involved in updating national security software. This is his company:
Petersburg’s City Council has chosen an operator to roll the dice on for the proposed casino to be built in the city
This decision was made in a unanimous vote after reconvening in an open session following the closed session.
Councilman of Ward 5 Howard W. Myers confirmed to 8News Wednesday evening that the council selected Cordish Companies to operate the proposed company in a unanimous vote during the council’s closed session.
The vote comes one week after the General Assembly approved an amended version of Senate Bill 628.
Microsoft is a Major Security Risk, Says Former WH Cyber Guy
This is pretty important:
Grotto told us Microsoft had to be "dragged kicking and screaming" to provide logging capabilities to the government by default, and given the fact the mega-corp banked around $20 billion in revenue from security services last year, the concession was minimal at best.
That illustrates, Grotto said, that "they [Microsoft] just have a ton of leverage, and they're not afraid to use it."
Add to that concerns over an Exchange Online intrusion by Chinese snoops, and another Microsoft security breach by Russian cyber operatives, both of which allowed spies to gain access to US government emails, and Grotto says it's fair to classify Microsoft and its products as a national security concern.
Rami Shy, a Top Counterterrorism Guy in the Obama Administration, Charged With Child Sex Offenses
A former senior policy adviser to the Obama administration has appeared in court in Britain charged with child sex offences.
Rahamim 'Rami' Shy, 46, who co-ordinated the US government's strategy to combat terrorists from Al Qaeda and the Taliban, is accused of arranging the commission of a child sex offence, court documents reveal.
He is also charged with possession of two category C indecent images of children and possessing a prohibited image of a child.
The USS Eisenhower Is In the Med Now
What that means is the strategic situation with respect to shipping in the Red Sea is not likely to change:
After almost four months on station in the Red Sea, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and USS Gravely (DDG-107) transited the Suez Canal on Friday, the Navy announced.
Ike, the flagship of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, and Gravely are now in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to a news release from U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa. It is unclear how long the two ships will remain in the Med.
The Ike Carrier Strike Group deployed on Oct. 13 and headed toward the Red Sea, where it participated in Operation Prosperity Guardian. Aircraft from Ike and Gravely shot down several Houthi drones and anti-ship missiles while in the Red Sea, according to USNI News’ timeline.
A Very Lovely Post by Murtaza Hussein
I agree with all of it:
Something needs to change, and I believe that the past can offer some guidance. Surprising as it may sound, some of the most strident, unapologetic, and coherent voices of opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq came not from the left, but from the right. For a number of reasons, I believe that it is this conservative tradition of antiwar activism, nationalist in character, that has the potential to generate the critical mass of public support needed to impose a course correction on U.S. foreign policy. At the very least, conservative antiwar nationalism needs to be a critical component of any coalition to change U.S. foreign policy, tactically allied with progressive movements who may differ with them on other matters, but share the same desire to restrain an out-of-control and unaccountable D.C. foreign policy establishment.
Ben Smith’s Deeply Weird Axel Springer Reporting
I just have no idea what to make of this flaming mess of a story. You get the sense Ben Smith is writing around his own connections to a lot of it. Kurz went to work for Peter Thiel, for instance, as did Matthias Dopfner’s son. Ric Grenell flipping out at Smith probably has a lot to do with the revelations in the last year that this circle was connected to a lot of weird Russian stuff, like Wirecard. The stink has gotten on Grenell, and he probably knows it. It doesn’t look good for Axel Springer, either. I think many criticisms of Angela Merkel are perfectly legitimate, but icing Grenell out now looks like one of her smartest moves.