Earlier in this article I hinted about how Israel claims it was goaded into the war. I guess that depends whom you ask. Seymour Hersh has written an article for the New Yorker , directly conflicting with the idea Israel was once again the victim dragged kicking and screaming into the latest slap fight.

“David Siegel, the spokesman at the Israeli Embassy in Washington , said that the Israeli Air Force had not been seeking a reason to attack Hezbollah. ‘We did not plan the campaign. That decision was forced on us.’”

“…Several Israeli officials visited Washington , separately, ‘to get a green light for the bombing operation and to find out how much the United States would bear.’ The consultant added, ‘ Israel began with Cheney. It wanted to be sure that it had his support and the support of his office and the Middle East desk of the National Security Council.’ After that, ‘persuading Bush was never a problem, and Condi Rice was on board,’ the consultant said.”

Seymour Hersh’s investigative work clearly shows Israel wasn’t a patsy in the game – they were initiating a planned move toward military aggression and they were testing the American political waters. There are speculations this attack had even earlier roots in Prime Minister Olmert’s May meeting with the White House . Either way the timing of events is suspicious at best. Vice President Cheney was at a conference in Colorado hosted by the American Enterprise Institute , a neo-conservative think tank group with very strong Israeli ties, around the same time all the behind the scenes handshakes and winks were taking place. Taking into account Seymour Hersh’s statement, it was Vice President Cheney who was their first point of contact, so for either to plead ignorance or being suckered into a position is a flat out lie. The company you keep says a lot about a person, and in Cheney’s case, two other attendees stand out in the crowd: former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Natan Sharansky, former deputy Prime Minister and current member of the Knesset under the Likud Party. I’m sure they were there for the food.

There’s more curious press in regards to “Goadgate” that doesn’t stand up under any amount of investigation. “While balking at an expanded war into Syria, Olmert did agree on the need to show military muscle in Lebanon as a prelude to facing down Iran over its nuclear program, which Olmert has called an ‘existential’ threat to Israel.” Now we’re getting somewhere, and everyone knows where this road is leading: the White House has made no secret there’s no love loss between President Bush and Syria ’s President Bashar al-Assad. Bush made veiled statements in 2005 that he wanted to go after Syria and Lebanon , and in 2006 he got half his wish. Of course he still wants Syria , but now he wants Iran , too, which reminds me of something my mother used to say: “your eyes are bigger than your stomach”. Once again, it seems Israel was ready to spread a little testosterone around to protect itself from a threat that didn’t exist until they manufactured it.

“Is rael was a willing partner. Although numerous Israeli press reports indicate that some Israeli officials , including top military officials, are furious at Bush for pushing Olmert into war, the Israeli government had been planning the attack since 2004 .”

I’m at a loss to explain why the Israeli government is upset about a 2004 attack plan that had been retooled in June of 2006 and peddled among Washington DC ’s power elite back in 2005. The San Francisco Chronicle reported :

“ More than a year ago, a senior Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to U.S. and other diplomats, journalists and think tanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing detail. ”

Then there’s retired General Wesley Clarke, who revealed in late 2001 the Bush administration decided it was going to instigate some sort of regime change in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia and Sudan . It is obvious between Israel and the United States , Lebanon has always been on the table, and neglectful of the fact the lives they are toying with are real human beings

If I’ve done my homework, the reader should be able to see the breadcrumb trail left behind by the US and Israel in terms of pre-planning their attack. I still find it incredible Israel had such a well rehearsed public relations spin for the Washington elite and troops trained, but lacked money for ammunition and other necessary equipment.

“Israeli newspapers quoted disgruntled reservists as saying they had no provisions in Lebanon, were sent into battle with outdated or faulty equipment and insufficient supplies, and received little or no training.”

“The newspaper said helicopters were hindered from delivering food supplies or carrying out rescue operations because commanders feared the aircraft would be shot down. In some cases, soldiers bled to death because they were not rescued in time, Yediot Ahronot said.”

The article goes on to say how the Israeli troops were short on water, so they’d toss chlorine tablets into animal troughs or would take canteens of water off of dead enemy solders. I’m curious…does Halliburton have Israeli contracts, too? It sure sounds like their modus operandi to me – bad water and bad food .

I wish this mess ended there, but unfortunately it’s like the Energizer Bunny…it keeps going, and going, and going. If it’s not troops left with their cheese hanging out in the wind, it’s the government ignoring intelligence and getting the cheese shot at, and this ain’t cheap cheese. What am I yammering on about? Remember in the beginning of the Lebanese blockade when Hezbollah fired off a rocket that seriously damaged one of Israel’s flagships and it had to limp back home?

“The intelligence branch at the General Staff had issued a warning to the navy, long before the incident, that it should assume the Hezbollah arsenal contained a Chinese-made C-802 missile. The navy concluded otherwise and rejected the warnings. ”

Ain’t that just the cat’s meow! I wonder how much the repairs to the INS Hanit will cost the taxpayers? That assumes that the US government doesn’t pay for it, of course. Obviously you can patch a ship back up, but I wonder how such repairs actually shorten the lifespan of such a piece of hardware. It’s easy enough to dismiss it as “good as new”, but that’s not the case. A repair is bound to need a future repair – ask anyone who’s tried to patch an air mattress; it’s only a matter of time.

As much as INS Hanit should bother me, it doesn’t compared to the knowledge that Germany gave two submarines to Israel, and split the cost on a third one to them. Excuse me – did I just see a large purchase from a cash poor country float by? This is not like purchasing a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes or a Prada purse on your MasterCard!

Where did they come up with the money to buy half a submarine when 35% of the Israeli population lives below the poverty line? This speaks to an incredible disconnect. They don’t have money for school buses and it is common for kids to hitch hike, but they find a few shekels for a submarine? When was the sale finalized? Would you believe six days before the Lebanese war started? It still knocks the wind out of my sails to know Israel ’s going to get this submarine free once the US government cuts a check. I hope that check goes rubber!

There’s also this little dandy card yet to be played: the rebuilding of Lebanon . In the request for aid Israel will have to make to the United States , it is also going to ask for “save face” cash, wrapped up in a larger aid package. It warms the cockles of my heart to know Israel has such philanthropic urges to dispense with our money, but what about their money? When I was a kid, there was a boy who said to me “you can buy me an ice cream, and pay me back later”. I haven’t thought of this person in nearly twenty-four years. I bet he works for Israel now.

I’ve got one last closing thought to tie this sorted mess up into a neat little package. A friend recently sent me a list of all assorted Nobel laureates of the Jewish lineage, which bears repeating here:

Economics:
1970 – Paul Anthony Samuelson
1971 – Simon Kuznets
1972 – Kenneth Joseph Arrow
1975 – Leonid Kantorovich
1976 – Milton Friedman
1978 – Herbert A. Simon
1980 – Lawrence Robert Klein
1985 – Franco Modigliani
1987 – Robert M. Solow
1990 – Harry Markowitz
1990 – Merton Miller
1992 – Gary Becker
1993 – Robert Fogel

There are thirteen Nobel laureates in the field of economics, and it seems despite all this blessed brainpower, Israel still can’t balance its checkbook!