Tuesday, June 30, 2015

ISIS 1 Year Later

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

It has been exactly one year since ISIS proclaimed themselves a state.

The US Department of Defense announced that ISIS is a formidable force. They say that despite the fact that ISIS has lost 25% of the land that was under their control at the heyday of their rise to power.

Finally, the Department of Defense is realizing that ISIS is no longer a junior varsity player. Now the DOD must devise a serious strategy that will put more pressure on ISIS and, eventually, eradicate them entirely.

ISIS has a plan.

Now the United States needs a plan, too.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Monday, June 29, 2015

Deadline Has Been Extended!!

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

I told you so. And it is official.

The talks with Iran have been extended beyond the June 30 deadline. Of course they were.

Here is the official quote: "Since a lot of work remains to be done, delegations will stay in Vienna after 10 Tir (which is June 30) to continue negotiations to achieve a good overall agreement."

Do not hold your breath. The leader of the Iranian delegation is now back in Teheran getting guidance on how to move ahead. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who heads the delegation needs to get the parameters and the limits of what compromises Iran can make.

Rest assured - Iran will want much more than what the P5+1 is willing to give. That bone of contention will be understood in completely opposite ways by Iran on the one hand and Western negotiators on the other.

Stay tuned, there is definitely more to come.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Sunday, June 28, 2015

Deadline Just Hours Away

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

The deadline is June 30th. However you count it, it is just a few hours away.

There have been reports of major movement - reports that the sides might be moving closer and closer to a deal.

But will there be a real deal with Iran? Can there ever be?
I doubt it.

Even if an agreement was signed it would not be a deal.

The real issue is how close everyone comes in their demands - and if that will constitute a deal, or, if there will be an deadline extension to the end of August.

My bet is that there will be an extension.

Even if there is an agreement just like there was in April it will require many more months of ironing out the details. That is not a real deal.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Saturday, June 27, 2015

Another Flotilla Sailing to Gaza

By Micah D. Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Another flotilla set sail for Gaza yesterday.

The flotilla is a symbolic gesture. There are 70 people, including crew, aboard the ship which launched from Crete en route to Gaza.

The reason given for sending out the ship is that it is carrying medical supplies for needy hospitals in Gaza.

Also on board is an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset. His name is Basel Ghattas and he is a representative of the Joint Arab List. The president of Tunisia was on board when it departed Crete.
Sounds strange considering that an ISIS terror attack just took place in Tunisia. Terrorists struck a beach hotel at a tourist resort killing at least 38 people and wounding 26.

People affiliated with the flotilla said that the night before they set sail, someone tried to sabotage the ship - as has been done with other flotillas. Someone swam under the boat and tied up the propellers.
The organizers detected the problem and freed the propellers.

In 2011 a very similar attack took place and the sabotage postponed the departure of the ship. As a result fewer ships joined the flotilla.

Today there is just one. This flotilla is begging for publicity.



Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Friday, June 26, 2015

Gaza Sent A Drone to Israel

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

Yesterday a drone took off from Gaza and flew into Israel.

The Israelis report that the drone was being watched every moment - even before it was launched.
The Israeli Air Force was scrambling to destroy the drone if necessary.

The drone crossed into Israeli territory and then fell to the ground. The army picked up the drone and they are examining and studying it. Israel is asserting that at no time was the drone a threat.

There are two types of drones. One is for intelligence and spying and the other is for attack. They are both remote control operated and they both have cameras that send back important reconnaissance pictures to be studied.

There have been serious rumors that Hamas was given drones by Iran. And Hamas has repeatedly said that they do have drone technology and the ability to hit Israel with drones.

Israel is not yet releasing information on the nature or the make of the drones. But no one can deny that this incident was an important game changer. Drones give Hamas eyes in places they never could see before.

That is dangerous.

Micah@MicahHalpern,com 

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Thursday, June 25, 2015

Russia Outsells Saudis When it Comes to Oil to China

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
Russia is feeling the crunch of their policy in Ukraine. They have had to diversify their markets and recruit different buyers for their essential natural resources.

In other words, Russia needed to find new buyers for their oil.

It is not only Ukraine that has hampered Russian oil growth.
Another blow to the Russian economy is the fact that crude oil prices have fallen dramatically.

Natural gas and crude oil compose over 60% of Russian exports. That is a huge chunk of their economy.

Leave it to Russia, they have found alternatives. Russia is now the largest supplier of oil to China - doubling their exports of oil to China in the past year. In May alone Russia provided 3.92 million tons of oil to China.

The Russians are now exporting more oil to China than Angola which exported 3.26 million tons and Saudi Arabia which supplied 3.05 million tons of oil.

Russia knows how to play the game. They are out there making certain that they gain market share and that they do not lose influence in the world.

Dropping exports would signal weakness. Russia would never let that happen. Russia wants to show strength.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Wednesday, June 24, 2015

US Will Not Prosecute Families for Paying Ransom for Loved Ones

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
Today the United States is publicly releasing a broad review of their policy on hostages.
The review was ordered by the president.

As a result of the review findings, a new policy regarding hostages will be put in place.

The request for review came about after the recent spate of kidnappings and beheadings of American citizens by ISIS.

Family members of the hostages were threatened by US officials. They were told that if the family paid ransoms, they would be prosecuted for helping and providing money to terrorists.

This was devastating to the families. And it became even more painful when it was clear that European hostages whose ransoms were paid to ISIS by their family and friends - were indeed released and went free.

The report does not change the law which stands as it always did. It does, however, say that the White House will make certain that the Department of Justice knows not to prosecute family members if the situation should once again become a reality.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Egypt Digging a Moat Around Gaza

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

For Egypt, Hamas is a significant threat. Not surprisingly, the Egyptians are trying to block all smuggling tunnels into and out of Gaza.

Over the past year hundreds of Egyptian soldiers, police and civilians have been killed by terrorists who have received material aid from Gaza. Hundreds.

Egypt has shut the border between their country and Gaza. They also, recently, doubled the width of the buffer zone of that border extending it to 1 kilometer which is .62 miles. In doing so they uprooted trees and destroyed homes.

Anything that was within the swath of land that was destined to be the buffer zone was razed in order to create a safer and more defensible border.

Now the Egyptians are digging a security ditch 23 yards deep and 11 yards wide.

These efforts are designed to make it much more difficult to tunnel into Gaza. Tunnel builders must now dig deeper and dig longer. Now digging tunnels is more expensive, more dangerous, and much more time consuming.

Most important of all is that, now, it is much easier for Egypt to detect the digging.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Monday, June 22, 2015

Uptick in Terror -- Here's Why

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
There has been an uptick in terror against Israelis. There have been stabbings and car attacks.

There are several important reasons for this surge in terror attacks.
The most significant reason is one of inspiration.

This is the month of Ramadan. It is a time for sermons and dynamic speeches in mosques and on TV and radio. During their sermons Imams call on Muslims to act.
The action that inspiration stimulates is terror.

The next most significant reason is the ISIS / al Qaeda influence.

Muslims are inspired to imitate the actions of extremist groups.

ISIS and al Qaeda movements operating all around the world, but especially from Syrian and Iraq, set the tone for would be followers and supporters.

Your average Muslim is not capable of perpetrating a massive terror attack, but is perfectly capable of carrying out a stabbing or initiating a car attack.

There is no easy way to counter these attacks or to stem the rise of violence and acts of terror.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Sunday, June 21, 2015

Rescue History from ISIS

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
Great Britain has put together a group of rescues archeologists to go and save historical sites threatened by ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Right now only England is funding the project, but they are convening a summit meeting in hopes of raising more monies to save these priceless and unique historical treasures.

ISIS does two things to the sites.

# 1: ISIS publicly destroys the sites. ISIS films and posts on line the actual destruction of the sites. In their minds, they are destroying paganism. They broadcast to all their followers how Islam has destroyed the pagan culture of Rome and Greece et al. ISIS says that the sites "promote idolatry."

# 2: ISIS raids the sites for artifacts that can be sold. The sales amount to tens of millions of dollars annually, all profit going into their coffers. For ISIS, the sale of historical artifacts is almost as lucrative an industry as the sale of oil.

This new group of rescue archeologists will hopefully secure the sites, reconstruct the destroyed elements and document the current state of affairs for posterity. It is a daunting but very worthwhile endeavor.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Saturday, June 20, 2015

Iran Defeats US in Volleyball

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

The FIVB, which is the International Federation of Volley, is holding a competition in Tehran, Iran.
On Friday Iran defeated the United States in three sets. The scores were 25-19, 29-27 and 25-20.

The US and Iran are set to face off again on Sunday.

Participation in this competition demonstrates a significant change in US policy. It signals the thawing of relations and the end of sanctions. One of the most obvious and easy to comply with dimensions of sanctions is involvement - or absence thereof - in international sports.

In this case not only Is Iran involved, they are hosting and the US is participating in the volley championship in Teheran much as they would were it to be held almost everywhere else in the world.

I am not shocked by this - actually it was to be expected. The only unrealized issue is: what will this lead to.

The obvious answer is normalization of diplomatic relations- bringing Iran in out of the doghouse. This is one of the objectives of international sports. The idea is that conflicts are about politics and leaders while sports are about people.

Athletes are supposed to put politics aside and deal only with the sport and the competition. Sometimes that is harder to do than at other times. This is one of those other times.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Friday, June 19, 2015

Palestinians May Rescind Israel Recognition

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat presented a 56 page report outlining what he considers essential steps to be taken regarding Palestinian relations with Israel.

The report is really the Palestinian response on the status of non-negotiations with Israel and their lack of progress in finalizing
the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Erekat, always a wily character and shrewd thinker, suggests that the Palestinian Authority rescind its recognition of Israel. Yasser Arafat recognized Israel in 1988. The rescinding, or taking back, of this recognition would be a tool to force Israel into concessions.

Erekat also suggests bringing Gazan Islamic groups, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad and others, into the PLO executive committee.

These moves are more than symbolic. Erekat hopes that they will unify Palestinian leadership. If enacted, the Erekat plan will give Palestinians leverage over Israelis in the international arena and in bi-lateral, face-to-face and tri-lateral talks.

But it will fail.
Palestinian unity is a myth.

Even if the Palestinians withdrew their recognition of Israel it would mean nothing. It would appear to be a blank gesture of weakness - and that is exactly the opposite of the position Palestinians want to convey.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Thursday, June 18, 2015

Ramadan Starts Today

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

For most of the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, today begins the month long fast of Ramadan. From dusk to dawn Muslims cannot eat or drink. It is a period introspection.

Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Within Islamic tradition this is the month during which the original revelation of Mohamed took place. It is a month where Muslims try to do the right thing - especially in interpersonal interactions and speech.

According to some media reports crime rates drop significantly in Muslim countries during Ramadan as people attempt to mend their ways. Other media outlets report the opposite - a serious increase in crime. Criminals know that families are out celebrating and homes are empty.

A lot of interesting things happen during the month of Ramadan. Who knows what will happen this year.

For some, Ramadan is a call to peace. For others, Ramadan is a call to arms.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Syrians Are Rushing to Israel for Refuge

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
Israel has declared the entire region of the Golan Height where it abuts Syria a closed military zone.

There are two reasons for the closure.

# 1: In the aftermath of the increased number of massacres of Druze in Syria, their family and outside sympathizers have organized protests on the Israeli side of the border in the hope of influencing Israel to intervene stop the massacres in Syria.

The closure will keep people safely away from a hot border. The protesters are targets for al Qaeda, al Nusra and ISIS rebels.

# 2: Israel is expecting a massive exodus of Druze and other Syrians as the massacres continue. When that happens the area must be free of civilians in order to properly facilitate the escape of these
Syrians seeking refuge and safety in Israel.

I know - it sounds preposterous. But yes, thousands of Syrians have already sought safety in Israel. More are on the way.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Saudi - Iran Conflict at OIC

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

Today, Saudi Arabia is hosting the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). And there are going to be fireworks.

The OIC is the umbrella group of 57 Islamic states that was founded in 1969. It was created in the aftermath of the Six Day War when it became obvious that the Islamic world was leaderless and directionless.

Iran is attending the meeting and the Iranians want to discuss Yemen. Saudi Arabia is hosting and they want to discuss Yemen. Iran is on the opposite side of Saudi Arabia when it comes to Yemen.

For the past three months Yemen has been in the thralls of a civil war and Iran has been supporting the Houthi tribe. The Houthi are Shiites and they are trying to take over Yemen. Saudi Arabia is supporting the regime which is Sunni.

Bringing in the 55 others countries will not resolve this issue.

Iran is making a tactical mistake. Saudi Arabia has more clout in the OIC than they do. Most countries will not get involved in this local issue except to say resolve it on your own and do it ASAP.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Monday, June 15, 2015

Amazon Sold ISIS Magazine

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

Amazon had a very embarrassing moment last week. They were selling ISIS's propaganda magazine for $12 a pop.

How would they know. The magazine is a glossy production called Dabiq and this was its 9the issue. It is produced in 5 different languages: English, German French, Spanish and Arabic.

As soon as Amazon found out, they pulled the product.

Dabiq is a town in Syria. It is the equivalent to the city of Megido. It is where the cataclysm will take place.

But, and this is the most interesting part, ISIS did not need Amazon in order to reach thousands and thousands of magazine buyers. Dabiq is an online publication. Amazon just made it easier. ISIS is selling the magazine throughout the web.

This latest issue of Dabiq is dedicated to explaining why and how young women become sex slaves. There are also two very long articles explaining ISIS. The point is that these women would not be sex slaves if only they converted and accepted the ISIS point of view and stance on Islam.

The articles are written by women. That is part of the ISIS propaganda machine. ISIS is justifying the denigration of women and hoping to recruit women, all at the same time.



Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Sunday, June 14, 2015

Hackers & Iran's Nukes

By Micah Halpern

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a computer virus infected three hotels in Lausanne, Switzerland. Lausanne is where the nuclear talks with Iran have been taking place and where they will continue to take place. The report has set off a maelstrom - throughout Europe, the Middle East and here at home.

The source for this information is Kaspersky, one of the world's biggest antivirus companies. Kaspersky found out about the virus because they themselves were infected.
This virus is called Duqu 2.0. It does no damage. It is an advanced version of the Duqu virus of 2011which attacked Iran and it is very similar to the Stuxent virus of 2009-2010. The original Stuxnet successfully destroyed thousands of Iranian nuclear centrifuges.

Wired Magazine and The New York Times have asserted that Stuxent was a joint creation of Israel and the United States. From the point of view of resources, that makes sense.

On home and work computers, malware and worms slow down our systems.

We know that they are there. Not so with this kind of spyware.
Stuxnet, for example, was housed in the BIOS. No one ever even looks in the BIOS. Most of us don't even know what it is let alone where to look.

Duqu and Stuxnet are not the only worm warriors in today's ongoing cyber war. Only the two most glaring and talked about. There are at least two other very similar and extremely powerful worms that have been launched. There has been no press coverage of those worms.

They are Viper which came out in 2012 and Flame in 2013.

Kaspersky has said that computer spyware programs as sophisticated and stealth as these can only be the product of a country dedicated to cyber warfare. The company asserts that at least 5,000 programmers were at work designing these cyber weapons. Interestingly, Israel and the Palestinian Authority have also been hit. Kaspersky says that they have found the spyware Flame inserted into both Israeli and PA computer systems.

This brings the number of Stuxnet-type viruses to at least five.

The newly discovered Duqu 2.0 virus uses the computer as a relay. It can watch and hear everything going on in the room and everything that is on the computer can be seen and sent to its own home base. The computer's activation light for the microphone and for the camera are disabled by Duqu.
The virus takes over the entire computer.

There are only a few companies and governments that have the tools to even detect this virus. If the code is written well, no one can ever even know that the spyware was there. It even eliminates its point of entry making it impossible to find computer patient #ZERO -- the very first computer that was infected.

Both the Wall Street Journal and Kaspersky imply that Israel is
behind the spying in Lausanne.

The WSJ put it this way: Duqu 2.0 was "a virus widely believed to be used by Israeli spies."
And in their report, Kaspersky referred to Duqu 2.0 as Duqu Bet. "Bet" is the second letter of the Hebrew language. All letters in the Hebrew alphabet are assigned numerical value and the numerical value of "bet" is "two". They are clearly hinting that Israel is behind the hack. But there is no tangible evidence.

Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's deputy foreign minister, the person who is now effectively the foreign minister, addressed the innuendo during an interview on Israeli Army Radio. She said: "The international reports of Israeli involvement in the matter are baseless." She said that this is a waste of time and the main issue is to prevent a bad deal from being signed between Iran and the P5+1.

The Duqu 2.0 was also found on the computers of representatives attending the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Why there? Why those computers? Because in attendance at that event were dozens of heads of state, foreign ministers, diplomats and power brokers and advisers. Several of the people involved in negotiations with Iran were there. It was the perfect place to infect the phones and computers of those one (anyone!) would want to spy on.

The Swiss are investigating. The Austrians are investigating because some of the talks took place in Vienna. The United States has said that they are aware of the threat and that they are always careful and, more than that, they will not comment.

One thing is for certain, this is not the work of a lone hacker or talented high school kid. This attack bears all the markings of a highly complex worm that cannot be found. This kind of computer spyware is created by countries - they are called APTs or Advanced Persistent Threats. They are the most sophisticated and complicated and stealth of all the computer threats out there.

By the time they are discovered, APTs have already done their harm. And most of the time, most of them go undetected. They do their job and then they go dormant. Kaput. All done. Good bye. Until next time.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Saturday, June 13, 2015

Russia Says Iran Talks Are Dead

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
TASS, the Russia news agency, was the first to report that the current talks with Iran taking place in Vienna are at a standstill. TASS was quoting a Russian diplomatic source inside he negotiations.

It should not surprise any of us. Iran really does not want this kind of an agreement. They want an agreement on their terms only.

The deadline will most certainly be extended. I have been predicting that ever since the April 2 framework agreement was signed.

Just because some nations think there there is a framework agreement does not mean Iran thinks that there is a framework agreement.

The sides are at odds.

Now - an agreement might still emerge. But if an agreement is signed it most certainly will be one which favors Iran and its nuclear program.

Why? Because Iran knows that the United States really wants an agreement. And Iran knows that they have the leverage in these negotiations.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Friday, June 12, 2015

Iran Says NO!

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

It is now mid-June and only a few days remain before the deadline of the nuclear deal with Iran.

The negotiations are beginning.

Paragraph 3:1of the temporary agreement speaks about Iran scaling down their nuclear operations and granting unfettered access to nuclear facilities. It also speaks about giving early notification about new nuclear sites.

Here is the Iranian response to Paragraph 3:1:

Chief Iranian Negotiator Reza Najafi told reporters in a press conference that -- "These are the issues still under discussion and I believe we should wait to see the final text... and before that, we cannot prejudge anything."

In other words: NO!

In the world of Iranian diplomacy and negotiations, in the world that only they inhabit, the interim temporary agreement is not applicable. It was merely a suggestion and it is a suggestion whose principles they do not agree with and did not agree to.

The deal is no deal and never was a deal.

For the United States unfettered access to Iranian nuclear activities and the scaling down of those activities were to be essential component of any agreement.

But now, who knows? The United States is so worried about placating Iran we have no idea what they will agree to or sign on for.





Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Thursday, June 11, 2015

Spyware Uncovered At Nuke Summit

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
The Wall Street Journal ran a piece yesterday that has set off a maelstrom.

The paper reports that a computer virus infected five hotels in Lausanne, Switzerland. Lausanne is where the nuclear talks with Iran have been taking place and where they will continue to take place.

The WSJ's source is Kaspersky, one of the world's biggest antivirus companies. Kaspersky found out about the virus because they themselves were infected.

This virus, called Duqu 2.0, does no damage. It is an advanced version of the Duqu virus of 2011which attacked Iran and it is very similar to the Stuxent virus of 2009-2010. The original Stuxnet successfully destroyed thousands of Iranian nuclear centrifuges.

The virus uses the computer as a relay. It can watch and hear everything going on in the room and everything that is on the computer can be seen and sent to its own home base. The computer's activation light for the microphone and for the camera are disabled by Duqu. The virus takes over the entire computer. There are only a few companies and governments that have the tools to even detect this virus.

If the code is written well, no one can ever even know that the spyware is there.

Both the Wall Street Journal and Kaspersky imply that Israel is behind the spying.
In their report, Kaspersky referred to Duqu 2.0 as Duqu Bet. Bet is the second letter of the Hebrew language with the numerical value of 2. They are clearly hinting that Israel is behind the hack. But there is no tangible evidence.

One thing is for certain, this is not the work of a lone hacker or talented high school kid. This attack bears all the markings of a highly complex worm that cannot be found. This kind of computer spyware is created by countries - they are called APTs or Advanced Persistent Threats. They are the most sophisticated and complicated and stealth of all the computer threats out there.

When they are discovered, APTs have already done their harm. And most of the time, most of them go undetected. They do their job and then they go dormant. Kaput. All done. Good bye. Until next time.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Cairo Summons US Ambassador

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

The tables have been turned.

Egyptian officials summoned US Ambassador Steven Beecroft to Cairo yesterday. Egypt summoned the US ambassador to discuss their displeasure over the fact that a delegation from the Muslim

Brotherhood is in Washington, DC on a mission to determine if they will set down roots in the US capital.

Egypt is not merely displeased. Egypt is livid.

According to the Reuters report the Muslim Brotherhood delegation is not meeting with US officials. The Egyptians, however, take exception to the very presence of the Brotherhood in the US capital.

According to the Egyptians, the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist group and is dedicated to the destruction of Egyptian society. The Brotherhood wants to establish a caliphate, a Muslim state, in Egypt.

Over the past year the Muslim Brotherhood has been responsible for hundreds of terror attacks in Egypt - including attacks against military bases, soldiers, civilians and even natural gas lines.

The United States defended the Muslim Brotherhood when their representative, Morsi, was elected president and then again when he was ousted from office last year. The US slowly came around to recognizing the current leadership and to the realization that the Muslim Brotherhood was threatening the entire region.

Or so we thought. This latest move tells us that the United States may not have actually internalized the message.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Supreme Court Says Jerusalem is Disputed

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

The US Supreme Court 6-3 ruling striking down Congresses' law about
Jerusalem is a damning decision.

Here's why:

The Supreme Court is now saying that the President is THE lone voice in determining US foreign policy. This is not just about filling in a small box titled Place of Birth on the US passport. The ramifications are tremendous.

This decision by the Supreme Court effectively diplomatically minimizes Israel around the world.
The decision, in effect, tells Israel that they cannot select their own capital. They are not the masters of their own capital - the president of the United Sates is.

This ruling by the US Supreme Court leaves the question of the status of Jerusalem up for negotiation. The greater problem is that in some circle the very existence of Israel - not just of Israel's capital city - is being disputed. This decision gives credence to that POV.

The Supreme Court should never have ruled on this issue.





Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Monday, June 8, 2015

Next Week Iran To Ship Oil to Russia

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

This week Iran will start exporting 500,000 barrels of oil per day to Russia.

The delivery is part of the "oil for goods deal" that Iran and Russia have been speaking about since April. For a long time, it was just talk. Now it is becoming a reality.

Iran will provide the oil and, in turn, Russia will give Iran food and cash. With the cash, Iran is supposed to buy iron and other essential goods.

The Iranian oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, was quoted in FARS, one of the official news outlets of the Islamic Republic, talking about the deal. The official announcement was made in Teheran as the minister returned from the latest OPEC meeting in Vienna. He made it clear when he said "Russia will begin oil imports from Iran this week."

"We agreed with (Russian Energy Minister) Alexander Novak in Vienna that Russia will buy less than 500,000 bpd from Iran in exchange for cash, and Iran will use this cash to buy Russian goods such as steel, wheat and oil products from Russia."

This effectively ends the sanctions against Iran. Russia is only the first among nations to begin trading with Iran again. The list will not be a short one.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Sunday, June 7, 2015

Cyprus Arrests 2 Hezbollah Bombers

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
Since ancient times Cyprus has been used as a conduit, a place to group and re-group. So, too, today - and not always for the most up and up and peace loving groups.

Over the past week Cyrus has arrested 2 people on charges of having the chemical materials used to make explosives.

Last week a 26 year old Canadian / Lebanese man was arrested.

Yesterday a 62 year old Cypriot from Nicosia was arrested. The men were in possession of 5 tons of chemicals and fertilizers. The most dangerous chemical they had was ammonium nitrate which is extremely volatile and explosive.

Cyprus authorities were tipped off by Israeli intelligence which was tailing and monitoring these two people as well as several others. After the chemicals were located, local authorities arrested the terrorists.

These men are part of a Hezbollah web. I am confident that the other members of their team will also be found out and arrested. They were procuring, securing and transferring supplies to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Saturday, June 6, 2015

French City names Street after Arafat

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

It was bound to happen in France. It was only a matter of time.

The southern coastal city of La Seyne-sur-Mer is naming a street after Yasser Arafat, the notorious founder of the PLO, the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Arafat, a 1994 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize along with Israeli Prime Minister Ytizhak Rabin, died in France in 2004.

La Seyne-sur-Mer is a small city of about 57,000 people. It is famous for being home to one of the finest ship building yards in the world and certainly in Europe.

The mayor, Marc Vuillemot, said that he does not understand the problem. He explains that Yitzhak Rabin has a street named after him in the very same quarter. In his own words: "My understanding is that the two men received the Nobel Peace Prize together! I am not going to be the decider of who was the greater person."

The logic is wrong. Even if, in the end, the Nobel committee saw Arafat as worthy of the prize, he was still a mass murderer of Jews and Israelis.

In a strange twist of history... maybe even an ironic twist ... the Israeli attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osarik that took place June 7, 1984 was an attack on a reactor that was manufactured and assembled by in La Seyne-sur- Mer.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Friday, June 5, 2015

Hamas Will Not take Responsibility

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
Over the past few days Gaza terrorists have been lofting rockets into Israel.

It does not make a difference which specific group is actually responsible for the rockets - Hamas is in charge of Gaza, they are the address. Whatever comes out of Gaza, whoever sends it out of Gaza, the ruling force is still responsible. And that force is Hamas.

After the rockets were launched, Israel responded by conducting air strikes against the launch pads.

And then Hamas said that the Israeli response to the rockets was a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas official Ismail Radwan said on Thursday that the Israeli aerial strikes against Gaza in response to rocket fire was "a violation of the ceasefire terms, and the occupation bears responsibility for it."

Well, maybe. But if the Israeli response was a violation of the ceasefire, what would you call the original rockets that were fired into Israel.

Would you call those a gesture of peace?

Micah@MicahHalpern,com 

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Thursday, June 4, 2015

ISIS - Al Qaeda Fighting in SYria

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

Al Jazeera in Arabic ran a very unusual interview with Abu Mohammed al Golani, the head of al Nusra, the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

In the interview al Golani made it crystal clear that ISIS and al Qaeda are fighting each other and he sees no chance of rapprochement in the near future.

"There is no solution between us and them in the meantime, or in the foreseeable future. We hope they repent to God and return to their senses ... if not then there is nothing but fighting between us."

Imagine that. Al Qaeda is saying to ISIS that they must return to their senses and repent. Even al Qaeda thinks that ISIS has gone too far.

In the course of the interview al Golani also divulged that 30% of al Nusra fighters are foreigners and that some even come from the United States of America.

Al Qaeda / Al Nusra is seen as the more moderate arm of Islamic extremism. Many, many, people are joining ISIS specifically because they are so ruthless --- even more ruthless than al Qaeda.

What a world!

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Wednesday, June 3, 2015

ISIS Hamas Conflict in Gaza

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

Tensions between Hamas and ISIS in Gaza continue to heat up For a year Hamas has maintained that there is no ISIS presence in Gaza and then, yesterday, Hamas killed the 27 year old leader of ISIS in Gaza. His name is Younis al Honnor.

Al Honnor was buried in black shrouds emblazoned with ISIS slogans. Banners adorned the street proclaiming his martyrdom and allegiance to ISIS.

According to the Hamas Ministry of the Interior, Hamas forces came to his house and a firefight broke out. The forces came because Honnor was stockpiling illegal weapons.

Honnor was killed in the firefight. He had booby-trapped the house. According to Hamas reports "explosive belts, explosive devices and rifle-propelled grenades were found inside."

The PA in Ramallah said that Hamas was wrong to have murdered Honnor. They said Hamas should have arrested him and tried him. In a statement published by WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, the Palestinian cabinet said: "Hamas must respect the law and civil rights."

The statement continued: "It must not mess with the souls of people. It must cease abolishing security and order and stop trespassing on the authorities of the government and the judiciary."

Terrible tensions are emerging in Gaza. Hamas, ISIS and several other smaller radical Islamic groups are gunning for each other. In Gaza, that means literally as well as figuratively.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Tuesday, June 2, 2015

ISIS Issues Ultimatum to Hamas

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

Supporters of ISIS in Gaza have sent a message to Hamas leaders and to ISIS followers. The message is: Stop the crackdown in the next 48 hours - or else.

Hamas has been cracking down on all groups that have been firing or are planning on firing, rockets into Israel.

All Islamic radical groups in Gaza have been told not to agitate. And Hamas has gone so far as to arrest gangs who have violated the cease fire with Israel.

Just to rub Hamas' nose in it, ISIS also claimed responsibility for the rockets that struck Israel last week.

Who knows what will happen, but one thing is for certain - ISIS is active in Gaza and they are itching to get into more and more conflict with Hamas.

Micah@MicahHalpern,com 

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Monday, June 1, 2015

Egypt Fighting Radical Islam

By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:

A gas pipeline transporting natural was blown up in the Northern Sinai area of al Arish.

The blowing up pipelines has been a regular tool of the trade for terrorists over the past year. One specific Islamic terror group called Ansar Beit al Maqdis has become very effective at blowing up these pipelines.

Ansar Beit al Maqdis recently pledged their allegiance to ISIS. They regularly attack Egyptian forces and strike at pipelines delivering natural gas throughout the Sinai and at pipelines transferring natural gas to Jordan.

According to reports coming out of Egypt this latest pipeline to be blown up supplied gas that powered the electrical power station in al Arish and distributed energy to the homes and businesses there.

Egypt knows that the biggest threat the country currently confronts is the threat from radical Islam. The Egyptians are now involved in a full force attempt to crack down and put radical Islam back into the bottle.

I do not know if they will succeed. If they do, others should learn from their example so that they, too, can learn how to contain and control radical Islam.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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