Retired Army Lt. Colonel can't contain his laughter at Trump's tweet

Trump’s GOP allies condemn president after ‘sickening’ Turkish incursion

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/09/syria-backlash-trump-042654

Turkey’s incursion into Syria on Wednesday is prompting fresh bipartisan condemnation of President Donald Trump’s moves and more congressional threats to hamstring Turkey economically, with some Republicans calling the situation "sickening" and a "terrible mistake" by the president.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), otherwise reliable allies of Trump, both lambasted the president on Wednesday after Turkey moved into northeastern Syria, which is occupied by Kurdish allies of the United States. The U.S. worked closely with Kurds to defeat the Islamic State, and now lawmakers in both parties fear Trump’s conversation on Sunday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that led to a U.S. pullout has become a “disaster in the making,” as Graham put it.

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“Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration. This move ensures the reemergence of ISIS,” said Graham, vowing to lead congressional efforts “to make Erdogan pay a heavy price. I urge President Trump to change course while there is still time.”

Turkey launches military assault in Syria as Kurdish fighters say warplanes are bombing region

https://www.foxnews.com/world/turkey-syria-kurdish-troops-military-assault

A planned Turkish military operation in northern Syria has now begun, the country's president announced Wednesday, as Kurdish fighters say warplanes are already bombing civilian areas in the region.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that the maneuvers being carried out against Syrian Kurdish forces –which Ankara considers terrorists allied with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey – are part of Operation Peace Spring.

"Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area," he said in a tweet. "#OperationPeaceSpring will neutralize terror threats against Turkey and lead to the establishment of a safe zone, facilitating the return of Syrian refugees to their homes."

A spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces says Turkish warplanes have "started to carry out airstrikes on civilian areas," causing a "huge panic among people of the region."

Donald Trump's Chaotic Presidency Has One Fixed Principle: Retaliation

https://reason.com/2019/10/07/donald-trumps-chaotic-presidency-has-one-fixed-principle-retaliation/

In recent days, President Donald Trump has threatened the Ukraine whistleblower with the treatment meted out in "old times" to "spies," which means execution. He has suggested that Rep. Adam Schiff (D–Calif.)—chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating the scandal—should be arrested and charged with treason for unfairly characterizing Trump's comments soliciting dirt about former Vice President Joe Biden from the Ukrainian president. And he has warned that if Democrats try to remove him from office through impeachment, they will trigger another "civil war" in the country.

"Making Racism Great Again"

  

Attachments area

9 Tishrei, 5780 / Oct. 8, '19 (updated post)

By Binyomin Feinberg, Contributor to The Jewish Press*

feinbergbinyomin@gmail.com

* The perspectives and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of The Jewish Press.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable (IDF) Draft Officers:

We reported earlier on the plight of Ziva bas Mazel, for example, here:

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/09/orthodox-jewish-girl-languishing-in.html

Now, some uncomfortable questions:

1. Why did Ziva bas Mazal,* a black religious girl, from an Orthodox Jewish Ethiopian family, get pummeled with a whopping 31 day sentence in Israeli military prison - for refusing to violate her faith and personal modesty by enlisting in the Israeli military?

{* Last names are usually omitted, at the preferences of the girl's family, except when print publication requires it, and circumstances allow it.}

2. Why did Ziva get hit with an additional order to comply with the IDF's antireligious draft order - on pain of an additional SIXTY days in military prison?

3. In this disregard for Ziva's religious and legal rights, what was the role of Avner Lotati, the Segan Mefakaid (usually translated "Deputy Commander;" in this case perhaps more accurately: "Vice Commander") who interviewed Ziva in the process leading to her aforementioned sentencing?

4. What precisely is the Ageless Wisdom behind Avner Lotati's fatwa that a determination about Ziva's religiosity should be made THREE MONTHS after forcing her into the military? Firstly, she is religious, and they know she is religious. Even the Draft Office "frummies" couldn't find an iota of evidence otherwise. Secondly, even if we employ "Willing Suspension of Disbelief," and pretend to entertain the notion that there is indeed some "question" about her [incontrovertible] religiosity - that "question" must be adjudicated prior to drafting - not afterward.

5. Why was there an attempt (thank G-d, unsuccessful) to keep Ziva imprisoned over the Yom Kippur fast-day - the holiest day of the year - by pressuring her not to seek a holiday-release? Was the intent to use her holiday stay in prison to "prove" that "she's not really so religious" - in order to retroactively justify the "Emperor-has-no-Clothes" Lotati Narrative?

A similar modus operandi was employed against other religious girls. One was in the famous saga of Yuval bas Tamar, an unquestionably religious girl who heroically endured excruciating abuse in avoiding the military draft in 2018. First, officials endangered her physical health to the extent that she was obligated to travel on Shabbos; then the draft officers used that (Halachically-required) travel to argue that she wasn't fully religious.

6. May there be - just perhaps - a taint of antireligious racism operative here, working against Ziva? On Feb.10, 2012, Tami Maor reported that the head of IDF Manpower, Ornah Barbibai, in an official visit to the ancient city of Tzefas [accompanied by draft officials of the T'veriah (Tiberias) Draft Office] articulated an IDF goal: to target Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in absorption centers -- and to restrict girls' religious exemptions from military service (see "Historia Chozeres," p. 200 for a copy of the orginal report). Also see Aluma.org.il regarding their focus on increasing military enlistment in the Ethiopian community, along with their promotion of drafting religious girls (in general).

Why are Ethiopian immigrants fodder for elitist Israeli social engineering?

Israeli society is predominantly traditional, if not fully observant. However, the government and social elite have always been dominated, to one extent or another by secularist (often - but not exclusively - leftist) elites.

Historically, darker skinned Jews have suffered immensely under the antireligious, secularist Israeli Establishment. Much information has come out in recent years about the kidnapping of Yemenite babies perpetrated by (predominantly secularist) governmental officials decades ago. Jews of Sephardic countries experienced discrimination as well. In wake of the arrival of Ethiopians, they too encounter cultural bullying from the elitist, antireligious Israeli Establishment.

The Torah emphatically and repeatedly exhorts us against oppression of the powerless: the poor, converts, widows, and orphans. In fact, those who cannot fight back actually benefit from an elevated level of Divine Protection (e.g. see Parshas Mishpatim (Exodus) 22:20-26, and Rash"i).

~~~

A Little Background:

Ziva's encounter with the Israeli military actually started almost a year ago. In the wake of her recent arrest (reported in The Jewish Press two weeks ago), it climaxed with a recent interview with Avner Lotati, Deputy Commander of "Maitav." (Maitav is the military draft division, charged with drafting teenage girls, thereby providing a continuous influx of young females into the secularist-run, male-dominated Israeli military - all in flagrant violation of Jewish Law, according to leading Rabbis from across the spectrum.)

As indicated above, the Lotati interview resulted in a denial of Ziva's right to a religious exemption, a sentence of 31 days in military prison, and sixty additional days for any future refusal to succumb to the military draft. Moreover, this isn't the first time Lotati has committed such a travesty. He similarly denied other demonstrably religious girls their religious exemptions as well, e.g. Penina bas Sima, a girl from a national-religious background, several months ago. Even according to Israeli law, religious girls are supposed to be exempted from military service (the Torah prohibits drafting any girl or woman, of any religion, or degree of religiosity, ethnic background). However, in 2013, the Israeli government issued a policy shift, explicitly seeking to boost enlistment of religious girls.

Increasingly, the antireligious elite has been trying to limit religious exemptions for girls, especially disadvantaged girls, or those on the societal periphery. All sorts of outrageous abuses have been occurring over that past year or two, under the"right wing" government of Binyomin Netanyahu.

It's apparent that Ziva is being disadvantaged by both elitist, secularist racism and antireligious sentiment. While mistreatment for any reason, including race or ethnic background, is against the Torah, what's more revolting here is that it's being perpetrated by a government claiming to function as a Jewish State.

Ziva has been assisted by religious Jews internationally and domestically. For example, Orthodox Jewish activists held volleys of vocal support rallies outside her military prison nightly, and throughout the night. They made sure to convey to everyone on site that Ziva's oppressive treatment will not be tolerated by Orthodox Jewry.

However, given the persecution she's enduring, and the spectre of another two months of military incarceration R"L - far more needs to be done, not only for Ziva, but for all of those girls who share her fortitude to stand up to the exploitive IDF -- and for all those girls who - unfortunately - do not.

We must never lose sight of the strategy at work here. For every girl the military arrests, imprisons, and/or persecutes, there are dozens or perhaps hundreds who succumb to pressure and terror. We share a responsibility for all of them, from the very strong to the timid and weak. (See Yechezkel 34, for example.) We will have to answer what we did when their cries rose to the Heavens. And there are few merits which compete with the merit of saving innocent girls from the moral, spiritual, psychological, and physical dangers of military service, especially in such an immoral, exploitive environment.

The saintly Chofetz Chaim (who, incidentally, has what to say about some of the types of perpetrators with whom these girls contend (cf. Kovetz He'Oros, Aggada, 10:1-6)) explains the advice given in the Talmud on how to avoid the Birthpangs of the Messiah, "Chevlei Moshiach," namely: "Ya'asok baTorah u'Gemilus Chassodim," to become "involved" in Torah and kindness. "Ya'asok," he explains, is a term alluding to business, indicating that we should maximize our investment of effort in these endeavors by treating them as seriously as we'd treat a business. This cause certainly is one providing some of the most potent merits we could hope for. It includes both pidyon shevuyim and hatzolas nefashos - physically and spiritually.

Have an uplifting Yom Kippur and Chag HaSukkos,

BF

###

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To check for Giyus Banos updates throughout the week, view this link (copy into your browser, if need be) :

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dPo1_Y-0u6ry7tLcfF2RbQuEFrIG-BccszjeG9FAdSw/edit?usp=sharing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Supplement Background information:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emergency contact number of "Shalhevet" organization for girls in trouble with the IDF draft to contact for immediate assistance:

Shalhevet:

v: 039 584 048 ext 2

Or 3192 * to leave a message

e: 6202300@gmail.com

שלהבת 039584048 שלוחה 2

או 3192*

להשאיר הודעה

6202300@gmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another example of the IDF Draft Office advancing an antireligious agenda:

Avigail L. H. Report #2 (28 Aug.,'19 / 27 Av, 5779)

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/08/alh-report-2-28-augviolating-vineyard.html

~~~~

This link below, to the initial Report on Avigail L. H., is also embedded in the above article:

27 Aug. °° 26 Av, 5779

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/08/another-religious-girl-and-her-idf-vet.html

Update 5 Ellul '79:

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/09/violating-vineyard-update.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHAT'S AT STAKE IN FORCING GIRLS INTO THE IDF?

For background on the moral hazards of service in the IDF, these links detail promiscuity & rampant abortion in IDF. We cannot recommend or take responsibility for information on other sites, but the serious researcher should be aware of these reports. Additionally, especially for our religious readers, one should be wary of the nature of any such site before accessing it, to avoid unprepared exposure to objectionable materials.

1)

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/40-cases-of-rape-reported-in-the-IDF-signifying-rise-in-complaints-561765

2)

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Dramatic-rise-in-number-of-IDF-soldiers-reporting-sexual-assault-572369

3)

https://www.israelhayom.com/2018/12/12/idf-sees-spike-in-sexual-harassment-complaints-in-2018/

4)

Fwd:https://www.1202.org.il/en/union/info/statistics/arcci-statistics

5)

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/.premium.MAGAZINE-israeli-choreographer-takes-on-routine-sexual-harassment-in-idf-1.6717980

6)

Fwd:https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/IDF-to-offer-day-after-pills-to-soldiers-570107

7)

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-to-provide-morning-after-pills-in-effort-to-decrease-abortions/

8)

Fwd:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16146146/

9)

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-shhh-don-t-tell-evangelical-supporters-of-israel-about-the-country-s-abortion-laws-1.7274968

Graham: Syria withdrawal will be a 'nightmare' for Israel

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269909

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Monday expressed opposition to US President Donald Trump’s sudden decision to pull back US troops from northern Syria, warning such a move would be a “nightmare for Israel”.

“I don’t believe it is a good idea to outsource the fight against ISIS to Russia, Iran, and Turkey. They don’t have America’s best interests at heart,” tweeted Graham.

“The most probable outcome of this impulsive decision is to ensure Iran’s domination of Syria. The US now has no leverage and Syria will eventually become a nightmare for Israel,” he added.

“I feel very bad for the Americans and allies who have sacrificed to destroy the ISIS Caliphate because this decision virtually reassures the reemergence of ISIS. So sad. So dangerous. President Trump may be tired of fighting radical Islam. They are NOT tired of fighting us,” continued Graham.

“Finally,” wrote Graham, “this decision makes it difficult for the U.S. to recruit allies against radical Islam. By abandoning the Kurds we have sent the most dangerous signal possible – America is an unreliable ally and it’s just a matter of time before China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea act out in dangerous ways.”

EXCLUSIVE: OFFICIAL WHO HEARD CALL SAYS TRUMP GOT 'ROLLED' BY TURKEY AND 'HAS NO SPINE'

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-official-who-heard-call-says-trump-got-rolled-turkey-has-no-spine-1463623

Donald Trump got "rolled" by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a National Security Council source with direct knowledge of the discussions told Newsweek.

"President Trump was definitely out-negotiated and only endorsed the troop withdraw to make it look like we are getting something—but we are not getting something," the National Security Council source told Newsweek. "The U.S. national security has entered a state of increased danger for decades to come because the president has no spine and that's the bottom line."

Newsweek granted the National Security Council official anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The source said it would not be surprising to see a Turkish incursion in the next 24 to 96 hours.

The White House said late Sunday evening in a statement that Turkey will soon invade northern Syria but both the Defense Department and Trump on Twitter said they made clear to Turkey that they do not endorse a Turkish operation in northern Syria.

"As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I've done before!)," said Trump on Twitter Monday. "They must, with Europe and others, watch over the captured ISIS fighters and families...it is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory."

According to the NSC official, who had first-hand knowledge of the phone call, Trump did not endorse any Turkish military operation against Kurdish Forces, but also did not threaten economic sanctions during the phone call if Turkey decided to undertake offensive operations.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said, "The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial "Caliphate," will no longer be in the immediate area."

'My Great and Unmatched Wisdom': Trump Ignores Warnings on Syria Retreat, Threatens to 'Destroy' Turkish Economy

https://time.com/5694735/my-great-and-unmatched-wisdom-trump-ignores-warnings-on-syria-retreat-threatens-to-destroy-turkish-economy/

In the run-up to his Oct. 6 call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, aides repeatedly warned President Donald Trump about the dangers of abandoning America’s Kurdish allies in Northern Syria, according to three administration officials familiar with the conversations. Erdogan had long wanted to launch a military offensive against the U.S.-backed Kurdish militias across the border in Syria. And the U.S. had for months promised the Kurds, who have been a vital partner in the five-year war against ISIS, ongoing U.S. support.

But Trump did it anyway.

The Humiliation of Lindsey Graham

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/10/07/trump-lindsey-graham-syria-kurds-turkey-229541

“President Trump may be tired of fighting radical Islam,” he wrote pointedly of his good friend. “They are NOT tired of fighting us.” And he commented on the signal Trump’s decision sent to the world: “By abandoning the Kurds we have sent the most dangerous signal possible — America is an unreliable ally and it’s just a matter of time before China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea act out in dangerous ways.“

In his cruelest cut of all, he compared Trump with Barack Obama. “No matter what President Trump is saying about his decision,” wrote Graham on Twitter, “it is EXACTLY what President Obama did in Iraq with even more disastrous consequences for our national security.”

Graham’s disappointment was palpable, but understandable, given all that he has given up to avoid this moment.

For the past several years, Graham has transformed himself from one of Trump’s fiercest critics, into one of his most reflexive defenders. Even by the cynical and shape-shifting standards of Washington, Graham’s metamorphosis has been a thing of wonder. The senator once known as John McCain’s best friend in the Senate, transformed himself into Trump’s shinebox, willing to ingratiate himself with rationalizations and praise even as Trump became increasingly erratic.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters outside the White House

FOURTH ESTATE

Why Trump Can’t Tweet His Way Out of This

By JACK SHAFER

At first, it was a mere curiosity. During the 2016 campaign, Graham had called Trump a “nutjob” and a loser,” as well as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” He predicted that if the GOP nominated him, “we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it.”

But as McCain faded from the scene, Graham seemed to shift his affections to the man who so publicly insulted McCain.

Graham and Trump became a thing. They played golf. They talked on the phone. And an alliance of the oddest imaginable bedfellows was born.

In moments of candor, Graham tried to explain the deal he thought he was making. When Mark Leibovich asked him earlier this year what had happened to him, Graham explained:

“Well, OK, from my point of view, if you know anything about me, it’d be odd not to do this,” he said.

I asked what “this” was.

“ ‘This,’ ” Graham said, “is to try to be relevant.” Politics, he explained, was the art of what works and what brings desired outcomes. “I’ve got an opportunity up here working with the president to get some really good outcomes for the country,” he told me.

Like many others in his party, staying “relevant” was central to their political calculations. Capitulating to Trump meant that Graham would become a rock star in the increasingly Trumpist party and virtually assured of reelection in South Carolina next year.

Sen. Graham warns Syria withdrawal would be 'big win for ISIS,' compares Trump's strategy to Obama

https://www.foxnews.com/media/donald-trump-syria-lindsey-graham-obama

"If I didn’t see Donald Trump’s name on the tweet I thought it would be Obama’s rationale for getting out of Iraq," Graham told Fox News.

"This is going to lead to ISIS' reemergence. [There's] nothing better for ISIS than to create a conflict between the Kurds and Turkey. The Kurds will now align with [Bashir al] Assad because they have nobody to count on because we abandoned them. So this is a big win for Iran and Assad -- a big win for ISIS."

"ISIS is not defeated," he said. "The biggest lie being told by the administration [is] that ISIS is defeated. The caliphate's destroyed, but there's thousands of fighters over there. And no, the caliphate would not have been destroyed without the Kurds, and I applaud the president for getting the Kurds and the Arabs to do most of the fighting. The casualties destroying the caliphate was very low. We've got less than 1000 troops now in Syria.

Gen. Jack Keane: Trump's Syria withdrawal is a 'betrayal' and would be a 'strategic blunder'

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-syria-withdrawal-isis

As President Trump prepares to draw down U.S. troops from northeastern Syria to extricate America from what he called "endless wars," Gen. Jack Keane said the move is a "betrayal" of the Kurdish people, and strongly advised against it, on "America's Newsroom" Monday.

"There's one word that describes this for me, betrayal," he said. "I think it's a strategic blunder that will have significant implications... We went into eastern Syria to defeat ISIS. The Syrian democratic forces, which the Kurds were a part of, had 60,000 ground troops. We provided 2,000 to help them. It took us two years. We fought every single day to defeat ISIS. The Syrian Kurds, who we're talking about here, lost over 11,000 in that fight.