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Defense Minister Israel Katz briefed the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by MK Yuli Edelstein, at the Kirya military headquarters, detailing Israel’s pre-emptive actions during the 12-day “Am K’Lavie” war against Iran, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24. Katz revealed that Iran had planned a surprise attack, stating, “The Iranians planned to strike first and launch between 400 to 500 missiles in the opening strike. If we hadn’t acted first, it would have been much harder for us.” ... “We met 100% of the operational objectives in Iran, and the Americans helped a lot in the end,”...

France's military actively intercepted Iranian drones targeting Israel in the days leading up to this week’s ceasefire, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed Wednesday evening. Speaking before Parliament during a debate on the Middle East, Lecornu said the French army engaged in defensive operations as Iran launched a large-scale assault on Israel."I can confirm that the French army intercepted fewer than 10 drones over the last few days, during Iran's military operations against Israelhttps://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/iran-israel-conflict-analysis, either through ground-to-air systems or using our Rafale fighter jets," Lecornu stated

In a devastating IED attack in Khan Yunis, Gaza, seven IDF combat engineers were killed when terrorists exploited vulnerabilities in Israel’s Puma armored vehicle. The incident exposes critical flaws in the APC’s defenses, raising urgent questions about battlefield preparedness as asymmetric warfare escalate.... The attack’s ease is infuriating. IEDs, crafted from scavenged explosives and triggered by cell phones or timers, are stealthy and simple to attach, likely slapped onto the Puma’s underbelly or flank, its weakest armored points, during a crowd or brief halt. The Puma’s design lacks add-on defenses like slat ("cage") armor, leaving it vulnerable to shaped charges...

Military Actions During the Clinton Presidency (1993-2001) The presidency of Bill Clinton, spanning from 1993 to 2001, was a period of significant military intervention despite the end of the Cold War. The United States engaged in several key operations, most notably in the Balkans (Bosnia and Kosovo), Somalia, Iraq, and Sudan/Afghanistan utilizing air power, ground forces, and cruise missile strikes. .. Key Military Operations Under Clinton... The initial U.S. involvement in Somalia predates Clinton, beginning under President George H.W. Bush with Operation Restore Hope in 1992 to alleviate a severe famine. However, under Clinton, the mission transitioned to UNOSOM II...

During the current conflict, Iran has launched about 500 missiles and over 1,000 drones at population centers. Iran launched a barrage of missiles at northern, central and southern Israel this morning (Monday), triggering air raid sirens across much of the country. According to the IDF, 15 missiles were fired toward Israeli territory, with the majority successfully intercepted by Israel’s missile defense systems. Despite the widespread alarms, no injuries have been reported. MDA CEO Eli Bean in a live broadcast on Galei Tzahal reported that there are no casualties as a result of the 4 barrages.... disruptions in electricity supply are...

1 Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) 2 Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) 3 John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) 4 Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) 5 Richard Nixon (1969–1974) 6 Gerald R. Ford (1974–1977) 7 Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) 8 Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) 9 George H.W. Bush (1989–1993) Bill Clinton (1993–2001)Somalia (1993): Airstrikes supported U.S. operations without specific congressional approval. Bosnia (1993–1995): Clinton ordered airstrikes as part of NATO operations without explicit congressional authorization. Kosovo (1999): Clinton authorized NATO-led airstrikes in Serbia/Kosovo, continuing beyond the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day limit, arguing implicit congressional approval through funding. Critics challenged this as unconstitutional. Iraq (1998): Operation Desert Fox...

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, speaking today (Saturday), called for urgent efforts to defuse the escalating Israel-Iran war, criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s motives and highlighting the devastating civilian toll. In remarks made during a public event, Clinton suggested that Netanyahu’s aggressive stance against Iran is partly driven by a desire to remain in power, stating, “Mr. Netanyahu has long wanted to fight Iran, because that way he can stay in office forever and ever.” Clinton urged de-escalation, expressing hope that President Donald Trump and other leaders would work to calm the situation. “I think we should be trying...

In a bold show of force, U.S. jets flattened Iran's key nuclear sites overnight — delivering a crippling blow to Tehran's atomic ambitions and sending a clear message: the West will not tolerate nuclear terror. In a stunning and historic move, U.S. President Donald J. Trump confirmed early Sunday morning that American forces carried out a large-scale airstrike targeting three of Iran's most guarded nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. The operation, described by senior Israeli intelligence officials as "a strategic masterstroke," comes after weeks of escalating tension between Iran and Israel, during which Tehran launched multiple missile barrages into...

On many mornings, I wake up and think, “You know what this country needs? More culture war.” As I scramble up a couple eggs, I find myself wishing—fervently wishing—that we could spend more time reducing substantive issues to mere spectacle. Later, as I scrub the pan, I’ll fantasize about how those very spectacles might even funnel money toward some of the country’s most politicized religious groups. Fortunately, Bill “the Science Guy” Nye has heard my wish—which, really, is the wish of a nation. Why else would he have traveled to Kentucky this week in order to debate Ken Ham, the...

At least one fifth of Rhode Islanders receive some form of public assistance, including housing, health care, food stamps, and cash assistance, according to figures collected from several state departments and federal agencies by GoLocalProv. Welfare, strictly defined as direct cash payments, benefits a small slice of the population, about 22,000 individuals. But when all forms of public assistance are included, the number balloons to at least two hundred thousand. By far, the largest public assistance program is Rhode Island Medicaid, with 199,199 eligible residents in August 2012 and $1.6 billion budgeted for medical benefits in the current fiscal year....

Editor's note: This comic was temporarily taken down at 2:20 p.m. to alleviate web traffic and prevent the web site from crashing. It was republished at 4:50 p.m

Under Barack Obama, the phenomenon of class resentment is a live political issue When David Cameron visits the United States this week, he will find a country whose national political argument has become more like our own in Britain than probably he – and certainly I – would ever have imagined. For America has learned, thanks to Barack Obama's crash course in European-style government, about the titanic force of class differences. The president's determination to transform the US into a social democracy, complete with a centrally run healthcare programme and a redistributive tax system, has collided rather magnificently with America's...

On his pre-inaugural visit to Ben’s Chili Bowl, a landmark for Washington’s African-American community, President Barack Obama was asked by a cashier if he wanted his change back. “Nah, we straight,” Obama replied. The phrase was so subtle some listeners missed it. The reporter on pool duty quoted Obama as saying, “No, we’re straight.” But many other listeners did not miss it. A video of the exchange became an Internet hit, and there was a clear moment of recognition among many blacks, who got a kick out of their Harvard-educated president sounding, as one commenter wrote on a hip-hop site,...

So the latest four-day episode in Athens and other Greek cities comes as no great surprise. The Greeks are a feisty people. This is meant as a compliment - broadly speaking - just in case any Greek readers should take it the wrong way. Hitler was so impressed by Greek bravery that he accorded Greek soldiers full military honours, almost the sole example among captive nations in the East - or at least professed to do so at first. That said, these riots are roughly what eurosceptics expected to see, at some point, at the periphery of the euro-zone as...

Personal attacks and inaccurate accusations are flying as John McCain and Barack Obama “take the gloves off” in the home stretch of the U.S. presidential election, and Americans might have a hard time imagining that it could get any worse. But as voters in the following five countries can attest, it definitely can. Nigeria General Election, April 2007 The offenders: then President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and current President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua How it got ugly: This comically flawed election dashed any hopes that Africa’s most populous country might lead the way for democratic reform throughout the...

Considering the many jubilant boasts by "flat world" devotees in recent years, you might have been tempted to regard economic globalization as a juggernaut, powered by inexorable forces of technology and history. Big mistake. There's no preordained direction for the world economy--only an undetermined future that will take the shape of whatever ideas and policies we choose to uphold. The lack of an intellectual defense of capitalism has left free markets vulnerable. "The power of the state is reasserting itself," said Daniel Yergin, co-author of The Commanding Heights and a free-market optimist , in The Wall Street Journal recently. In...

Under Hugo Chávez, the right political connections are a passport to wealth, whisky and a Hummer “PETROLEUM socialism” is how Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's president, recently dubbed the blend of military populism and neo-Marxist statism to which he is subjecting his country. Its prime objective, he insists, is to improve the lot of the country's poor majority. Mr Chávez proclaims that “being rich is bad”. He frequently lashes out at what he calls “the oligarchy”. Strange, then, that the streets of Caracas are clogged with big new 4x4s (Hummers are especially favoured), it is hard to get a table at the...

I try to see as many little movies as I can, because you never know when you’ll make a discovery. Usually, I feel like I’ve wasted my time but whenever I find a unique film, it enriches my life. End of the Spear is one of those films.

I have posted this at my website (link above). "The value of liberty was thus enhanced in our estimation by the difficulty of its attainment, and the worth of characters appreciated by the trial of adversity." --George Washington There have been several people, from politicians to pundits, that have opined about how to--or whether to-- rebuild the city of New Orleans. Right here and now, I will take a stand: REBUILD THE CITY. In the wake of a natural disaster of epic proportions, we also now have an opportunity of epic proportions. Not since the era of the Great Depression...

Virginia State's Leftist Racists By Malcolm A. Kline CampusReportOnline.net | May 18, 2004 How is it possible, half a century after the Supreme Court’s Brown decision, for respected, tenured, award-winning African-American professor Jean Cobb to lose benefits at a university she has taught at for more than three decades? “She is a Republican and an objective scholar who takes a dim view of the political correctness scourge, and of those who use the classroom to indoctrinate students into radical (Marxist/black separatist) politics,” her friend, Dr. Carey Stronach, said recently. “For this she should be applauded, but instead, it has been...