Barely, if at all noticed, in current news coverage is Israel's all-important elections on Tuesday, October 27, which pits retired general Gadi Eisenkot in a neck-to-neck race against the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been hiding in a pit while his fellow Israelis are taking cover to evade Iranian missile strikes. Although his Yashar party lacks the clout of the incumbent's Likud, Israeli voters are by now worn down by the missile exchanges with an angry Iran and are undoubtedly seeking a way out of the brutal conflict and negative publicity sparked by the annihilation of the Palestinian community in Gaza. While the incumbent may rally support among the militant Zionists in frontline kibbutz communities, the majority population in the major cities and towns are desperate for an end to missile strikes out of an angry Iran. which have crumbled apartment towers and leveled car parking buildings.
Brief background: General Eisenkot's main assignment was along the northern border with Lebanon the center of Hezbollah's guerrilla raids against Israeli border posts. There he lost a son and another relative in combat, a harsh dose of realism in dealing with the regional battles along Israeli borders - which are not the kind of child's play Netanyahu thrills over. By contrast Bibi's military experience, as a fast-talking New Yorker, amounts to zero. The underlying question that has gone unmentioned by the Israeli press is whether Netanyahu's rightwing coalition has a secret plan and the means to throw the elections with a fraudulent vote count.
The other obvious question avoided by the Israeli press is the political impact of the Iranian missile strikes that have hit Israel's nuclear circle and tall apartment structures in the major cities. Obviously, Netanyahu imposed strict censorship over Iran's missile barrages against Israeli military facilities and major cities. Recent Iranian missiles have been focused on hitting USAF bases and planes, and Saudi military aircraft across the Gulf.
Here is a brief review of that missile barrage - Starting in February (this year) Iran stepped up its missile program with the import of 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, the chemical used to produce ammonium perchlorate, the primary solid propellant fuel for rockets. The imported chemical sufficed to produce 260 Khibar Shekan rockets and 200 ballistic missiles. By June during the new 12-day war, more than 100 missiles struck urban areas across Israel and some 500 more hit military targets all across the Zionist state. Following that round of exchange, the Iranians stepped up production to build a force of some 2,000 missiles, which apparently were redesigned to overcome some reported targeting flaws. The upgrade greatly improved accuracy as shown by repeated precision rocket strikes against Saudi Arabia's oil facilities and military bases, including the Prince Sultan Air Base, damaging USAF KC-135 refueling planes, and a Boeing E-3 Sentry. Why didn't the mainstream news media mention anything about these losses to US taxpayers? Ask Donald.
The rate of burn increases missile speed after launch. The short-range Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar arrive at high speeds. MRBMs (medium-range ballistic missiles) like the Shahab-3, Emad and Ghadr-1 can reach speeds of several kilometers per second. The hypersonic Khorramshar and Kheibar Shekan can hit Mach 5 - a blur through the blue sky - and conduct final inbound maneuvers to evade missile defenses. That should explain why Israeli and Saudi bases and oil facilities have been powerless to shield their facilities from Iranian missile strikes. The US Navy found out off Iranian waters and quickly retreated to outside the Persian Gulf. Iran's rather slow cruise missiles can travel long distances with precision accuracy - often having up to 3,000 kilometers in range.
It's grossly obvious that Trump, the Pentagram and Israeli brass failed to do basic homework of current basic Iranian military capabilities. Dropping big bombs on a mountain is another thing entirely...but even that failed to demolish the underground Iranian nuclear program. The Persian Gulf adventure was a total disgrace for American admirals, US intel agencies and the state of Israel. It also drastically and dangerously drew down American military munition stocks and missile inventories…which many say will take up to five YEARS to replenish…depending on the type of ordnance involved.
Forgotten in all the US fog of arrogance is Sun Tzu's ancient adage: "Know your Enemy and Know Yourself - In a Hundred Battles You Will Never Be in Peril” - True wisdom of the ages.
One historic note to remember is that the US Navy's first long-range foreign assignment was against the Barbary Coast pirates (1801-1805) along the North African coast of the Mediterranean during Thomas Jefferson's term in the White House. That was a reasonable success. Trump’s war on Iran isn't within a country mile of that achievement and Trump should wear that shame throughout history….right along with his hideous Tomahawk missile slaughter of upwards of 165 little Iranian school girls in the opening days of the war. May that horror never be forgotten, either.
Source: Rense.com
