Drumbeats of War - The Red Crescent
The Red Crescent is the symbol of the IFRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which is the world’s largest humanitarian organization. It is comprised of disaster, rescue and emergency medical organizations from 186 member nations. The United States is one. Israel, Turkey and Iran are some others.
Their website says, “our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.”
The Turkish Red Crescent and Israel’s Magen David Adom, which also runs the ambulances in Israel, joined together to evacuate Turkish citizens wounded during the disaster that came from Israel boarding the flotilla which tried to break the blockade of Gaza.
Now the Iranian Red Crescent is about to enter the picture in Gaza. According to Mid East sources which usually have 85-plus percent reliability, three Iranian ships flying the Red Crescent will accompany the next flotilla sponsored by Turkey which will try to run the Gaza blockade in the next few days.
One ship will carry humanitarian aid, one a hospital ship to be anchored in Egyptian territorial waters, and the third, perhaps a little outside the normal purview of the Red Crescent societies, will carry marines of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
A quote attributed to Iranian President Ahmadinejad says the marines ‘will teach Israel a lesson.’ Frankly, I do not know if he actually said that. There’s so much spin and disinformation going on, you need hipboots to wade through it. That is why I’m putting this entire blog in the ‘probably’ category. There is a lot that could happen a whole different way.
It is said the Iranian and Turkish ships will arrive at Gaza at the time of the UN vote on Iranian sanctions. If so, they have to had already been on their way for a while, because Iranian ships have to transit from Iran down around Yemen, up the Red Sea, and through the Suez Canal to get to the Mediterranean and Gaza. And it is said the vote on sanctions will happen tomorrow, Wednesday. Either the vote was planned for later, and it has been moved up, which is possible, or the ships will reach Gaza sometime after the vote. Or, since Turkey is a temporary member of the UN Security Council, there is the possibility of a prolonged vote, or even a no vote. Although Clinton promises the sanctions will be approved.
Well, maybe. But they are pretty anemic, according to the New York Times, who apparently got a prerelease copy of the sanctions. They say they are ‘tough’, but really it is more of the same as the first three. Not a deal maker or a deal breaker. China saw to that. Israel will not be pleased.
If it is true that Iran and Turkey have joined forces, and there are many indications to say it is true, then when those ships near Gaza it is entirely likely that the shite will hit the fan, as the Irish would say. Israel seems to be saying bring it on (where have we heard that before) and the other side says they are determined to break the blockade, preferably while world opinion has swung their way after Israel’s disastrous handling of the flotilla with 9 dead.
Note well that the ostensible plan is to anchor a hospital ship IN EGYPTIAN TERRITORIAL WATERS. I have been wondering which side Egypt would fall on when it really came down to it, and if true… if true, then the wishes of most of the Egyptian people to oppose Israel and the United States, who have been bribing them with loads of dollars while we dot the Egyptian landscape with military bases… and the wishes of the Muslim Brotherhood, illegal in Egypt but still represented in the Egyptian government… the wishes of all these pro-Arab, anti-West groups… will be fulfilled.
Chances of war this week: low to moderate with a likelihood of sudden changes. More likely in a few days if and when the Iranian/Turkish ships appear off the coast of Gaza. Are you prepared with emergency stores of food and first aid supplies? How about water? Many cities need oil to make the electricity for the pumps that bring up and distribute the water that comes to your house. If the Strait of Hormuz is closed, oil will be in short supply. Really short.
If nothing else, read the pages of this website. It will help. But not as much as laying in supplies now while you still have the opportunity.
