Blogs of War

Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. “Trey” Obering: Iranian Threat Justifies Missile Defense

You can read a transcript of the entire briefing at DefenseLink. It’s interesting stuff. The briefing covers a lot of ground but Iran comes up often:

So, if I could have my first slide, please. If I kind of sit back and look at a strategic overview, we all know that the ballistic missile threat has continued to proliferate around the world. Access to these weapons has increased over the past many years and, in fact, two countries that we’re very much concerned about — specifically North Korea and Iran and the developments that they are continuing to make in their missile programs.

According to our own Defense Intelligence Agency, Iran is working on an extended range version of the Shahab-3 and a new 2,000-kilometer medium-range ballistic missile which they term the Ashura. In addition, in February of this year, Iran claimed that it had successfully launched an exploratory space vehicle, space rocket. The analysis that has been indicated shows that it has a resemblance to the Shahab-3 missile as well. And in November and in just this past week, Iran orchestrated launches of several short- and medium-range ballistic missiles capable of striking Israel and the U.S. bases in the Middle East.

Now, recognizing this growing threat, we have embarked on a strategy where we initially wanted to protect the United States from North Korea, because that was the more advanced threat that we saw from the launches that they conducted in 1998 and again in 2006 with their longer-range missiles. And we have turned to field that capability; we have done so. And I’ll show you what that configuration looks like today.

The next phase was to be able to operate in one region or one theater, which we’ve also done. We’re not completely there, but we’re beginning to continue to roll out capabilities against a shorter and medium-range threats using mobile assets like our sea-based Aegis and Patriot systems that are deployable.

And in addition, we wanted to turn our attention to expanding our coverage against Iran because we view them as the next — the next concern that we had to worry with. And that meant that we needed to protect the United States and then to expand that protection for our deployed forces and our allies and friends in the European theater, and then eventually it would operate in more than one theater with our mobile assets.

Prices Up – Wages Down

I’m sure that you didn’t need the Labor Department’s report to learn that.

The big rise in prices cut deeply into consumers’ earning power with average weekly wages, after adjusting for inflation, dropping by 0.9 percent in June, the biggest monthly decline since 1984.

The report on retail inflation followed similarly grim news on Tuesday that wholesale prices had shot up by 1.8 percent in June.

U.S. stocks looked to be headed for a mixed opening amid worries of how rising prices may affect the economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday that the Fed was concerned about the threats posed by rising inflation.

Bernanke said that the “upside risks to the inflation outlook have intensified lately, as the rising prices of energy and some other commodities have led to a sharp pickup in inflation and some measures of inflation expectations have moved higher.”

Last week I started to pay for my groceries and realized that I’d left my credit card at home. I told the cashier it would take me five minutes to run and get the card and he responded “Hurry up. We’re about to rise prices.” He laughed but I don’t think he was joking:

Food prices also showed a big increase in June, rising by 0.7 percent, more than double the 0.3 percent increase of May. Vegetable prices shot up by 6.1 percent, the biggest increase in nearly three years.

Hezbollah Returns Captured Israeli Soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev – in Coffins

As feared the men were not alive. Only bodies were returned:

Israeli forensic experts have begun trying to identify the remains of what are believed to be two captured Israeli soldiers, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Hezbollah officials handed over two black coffins to Red Cross officials, who will carry them over the border to Israel.

The families had hoped for the best:

A day before the transfer, Goldwasser’s father, Shlomo, held out hope about his son’s fate.

“They were kidnapped alive. [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nassrallah swears on it the first day that he announced to the world he kidnapped two soldiers alive,” the father said. “If tomorrow he brings them in coffins, it means that he killed them — his words. It means that they killed them, and if he killed them, I am waiting for him to be punished.”

The Israeli’s released a monster in exchange:

Kuntar, who had been a member of the Palestine Liberation Front, led a group of four men who entered Israel from Lebanon by boat in 1979. They killed a police officer who came across them. Then they took a 28-year-old man and his 4-year-old daughter hostage.

Kuntar shot the father dead at close range in front of his daughter and tossed his body in the sea. Then he smashed the girl’s head, killing her.

A 2-year-old girl suffocated as her mother tried to stop her from crying as they hid from Kuntar.

And what do terrorists take away from such an exchange?

Islamic Hamas movement Wednesday said the prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah is a victory for the resistance and the Lebanese guerillas.

“This is very big victory for the resistance and for Hezbollah and it is a festival for the prisoners and their families,” said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

“This is also a proof that kidnapping Zionist soldiers is the best way to free the prisoners since the occupation keeps arresting them,” Abu Zuhri added.

You can imagine how Kuntar and friends will be received:

Hezbollah has pitched tents with washing facilities near the border crossing in south Lebanon, where the five men are expected to change into commando attire like that which they wore on the day of their capture.

A red carpet leads from the crossing to a stage where Samir Kantar — a convicted murder serving multiple life sentences — and Khaled Zidan, Maher Kurani, Mohammed Sarur and Hussein Suleiman are set to make an appearence.

Five horses, their riders waving Hezbollah flags, made their way along the carpet in preparation for the moment when they will greet the prisoners in a military style procession.

Two hundred Hezbollah volunteers and supporters, dressed in black and wearing yellow caps reading “Divine Victory”, ushered crowds and ensured that the road was kept clear.

“Today Lebanon witnesses an unprecedented victory over Israel,” proclaimed the Ad-Diyar which backs the Hezbollah-led opposition. “Today the Lebanese prisoners return to their country with their heads held high.”

Hamas and Hezbollah now figure that if the Israelis will release a man like Kuntar anything is fair game. The advantage is clearly theirs:

Hamas said that the release of Kuntar, who was serving multiple life sentences, had broken Israel’s refusal to free prisoners serving long terms for deadly attacks, and that the group would redouble its efforts to release such prisoners in exchange for Shalit.

Tzahi Hanegbi, a member of Olmert’s Kadima party and head of the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee, said that in retrospect, the swap had undermined the rationale for launching the Lebanon war after the two soldiers were seized on July 12, 2006.

“In the end we gave what we could have given on the morning of July 13,” Hanegbi said. “Ultimately we are surrendering.”

It was an understandable moment of weakness but the consequences will be disastrous and far-reaching.

CBS News Examines Mitt Romey’s VP Prospects

I certainly wouldn’t have problem with it – especially given his ability to take it to Obama:

“This is not the time for an amateur,” Romney said of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama. “This is the time for a tested, proven professional to lead our country.”

Just how would Obama close the experience gap presented by a McCain-Romney ticket anyway? Strip away the cult of personality and he isn’t even a serious candidate – a fact that even his sympathizers are finding difficult to deny as the missteps and blunders pile up.

DCRepublican presents five additional reasons McCain should pick Mitt.