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Strategies & Market Trends : World Outlook -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (47718)	9/16/2025 11:44:03 AM
From: Les H	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 49015

Netanyahu's Vision of Israel as 'Super Sparta' Means Eternal Siege Haaretz Editorial, September 16, 2025 As the leaders of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and representatives from other members of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation convened in Doha for an emergency summit meeting following Israel's attempt to assassinate Hamas' negotiating team in Doha, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented Israel's isolation as something decreed by fate. In a speech to senior treasury officials, Netanyahu admitted that Israel was "in a kind of isolation," suggesting that "Israel conduct itself as though it were Sparta," turning its economy and society into a war machine. Netanyahu is not just attempting to justify a diplomatic and security failure; he is trying to give this an ideological aura. However, in contrast to his populist explanations, this isolation is not a result of " Qatari campaigns" or the work of "belligerent Islamic minorities" in Western Europe, but of the policies of his government. Instead of listening to the warnings of Israel's partners and to the unequivocal message of the international community – return the hostages, stop the destruction in Gaza and promote a diplomatic solution – Netanyahu is advocating life under eternal siege. Rather than soothing the public and promising he will do everything to halt the diplomatic isolation, he hinted at new and vague threats. "Even when you bring down a certain power … other forces rise to the surface … I won't mention names. Think for yourselves what the risks are," he said. When such words are said on the backdrop of an international summit meeting, there are no limits to the imagination and irresponsibility of "Mr. Security." The isolation is not only in reference to the external world. Netanyahu's insistence on expanding the ground maneuver in Gaza in opposition to the positions of the IDF's chief of staff and senior defense establishment officials exposes the depth of the rift. While the army is warning that moving deep into Gaza will endanger the lives of hostages and embroil Israel in endless battle against an urban guerilla force, the prime minister is determined to "accelerate the operation." For messianic, pro-Netanyahu Israelis, humanist Zionism is the real danger Netanyahu's 'Super Sparta' speech aims to preempt fallout from submarine scandal We are 'Super Sparta': Netanyahu says Israel faces isolation, must shift to self-reliance It was learned on Sunday that, according to the army's chief of staff, Netanyahu is not even providing the IDF with a clear objective for this maneuver. One cannot overstate the gravity and danger of such a rift with the world and the army alike. Sparta is not a model that a country embracing life should emulate. Anyone wishing to turn Israel into a Sparta is leading the country to disaster. Israelis should listen to the words addressed to them on Sunday by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi from Doha: "What is happening now is harming the future of peace, threatening your security and that of people in this region, blocking any chance for new peace agreements, while hurting existing ones with countries in the region." Instead of raising the walls of the ghetto, Israel must do the opposite. It must sign a hostage deal, stop the war, say yes to a regional partnership, listen to the world and accept its willingness to be a guarantor for the "day after" in Gaza. The above article is Haaretz's lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel. link

To: Les H who wrote (47718)	9/17/2025 4:14:52 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 49015

F-35 is the biggest money sinkhole ever GAO says despite hundreds of millions in incentive fees, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney delivered planes late for years Stavroula Pabst Sep 09, 2025 “The latest GAO report underscores once again that the F-35 is not now, and will never be, fully ready for combat,” William Hartung, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told RS. “The program, which was touted at the outset as representing a ‘revolution in military procurement,’ was doomed from day one because its variants were meant to carry out a huge range of potential missions. It has done none of them well.” To Hartung’s point, the GAO found in 2023 that the F-35 was only mission capable slightly over half the time. “It’s time for the Pentagon to cut its losses and phase out the program now, before we waste billions of additional taxpayer dollars on a flawed plane that spends almost half its time in the hangar getting repaired,” Hartung told RS. responsiblestatecraft.org