Crossfire War – Hamas Warns of ‘Public Explosion in All Directions’

Crossfire War – RAPID FIRE NEWS=TEHRAN – GAZA – BAGHDAD WATCH – West Asia – North – Northeast Africa Theatre:

Hamas Threatens “Public Explosion in All Directions” – Armed Demonstrations – India Sends 8,000 More Troops to Kashmir – Kosovo Prepares to Enforce Confrontational Constitution June 15

Night Watch: RAFAH – Tehran continues to use the Israeli blockade of Gaza, especially control over the Rafah Terminal on the Egypt/Gaza/Israel border, as the main flashpoint to expand the war in West Asia (Middle East). Jerusalem imposed the blockade nearly a year ago as a kind of halfway solution to ending the rocket-mortar attacks from Palestinian units. Now Tehran is having Hamas lead the Palestinians from peaceful mass demonstrations at the crossings to the next step of violent mass attacks and not just against Rafah which was exploded open by Hamas for twelve days in January. Xinhua is reporting Hamas official Osama al-Muzini is threatening a “public explosion” of Palestinian people that “will go in all directions” and that the Rafah Terminal “will be one of the directions.” Tehran-Hamas emphasize Rafah because it leads into the Sinai Peninsula the main smuggling route of supplies and weaponry from Syria-Iran into Gaza. When the terminal was forced open Hamas was able to ship tons of supplies openly in trucks. Muzini continued his warning by saying, “The results of the explosions will be hard because we, in Gaza, we have no more things to lose.” He concluded his statement by saying earlier demonstrations had been peaceful but it will become “of something else” if the blockade continues. [XINHUA]

Mecca – By all accounts it will continue because Israel believes it has been an effective way of limiting the rocket-mortar barrages which increased during the past year. But the explosion “in all directions” will go beyond Israel and the Gaza Strip, since the real reason for the occasional reduction in rocket-mortar fire was not due to the blockade but because Iran wanted to complete the training of Hamas-Islamic Jihad to go beyond the level small raids up to the level of conventional warfare, the level of Hezbollah and that takes time but the time of training now seems to be over. The planned explosion is designed to encompass not only Israel but the Egyptian administration of President Hosni Mubarak, who has proudly been the main obstacle to serious Islamic regional unity against the continued military presence of the West. It is also designed to set the stage for Hezbollah-Lebanon- Syria’s then Iran’s entry into the front against Israel and for Tehran to unleash more attacks against the remaining UK/US bases in Iraq and Persian Gulf, knowing in advance this means (f)allout war with the West, which was always the main enemy of the Tehran’s foreign policy. Attacking Israel is Tehran’s event instrument of inspiring more Islamic radicalism which will be directed at Mubarak and Mubarak will respond by declaring war on Iran which will take some pressure off Israel. [IRNA]

It is a regional-international policy most Islamic governments agree with and briefing Saudi King Abdullah on some of the finer points of Tehran’s timetable is Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who, IRNA reports, is meeting His Majesty in Mecca. Both leaders are aware the Jihad is always offensive and this is the year the offensive goes beyond the occasional small scale attack and suicide bombings. Rafsanjani is at the head of a delegation from Iran’s Assembly of Experts and the foreign policy advisory group the Expediency Council, the decision making body that determines which conflict Iran can take advantage of and use against the West and Iran’s other main target, India. That is why, since the early 1990’s as more conflicts either emerged or continued at the end of the Cold War, Tehran has prepared to take advantage and directly participate in any regional theatre from the Balkans to Kashmir.

Srinagar – The Indian government has responded to increased attacks and infiltration attempts into India’s part of Kashmir by sending 8,000 more troops into the battle ground state. Fayaz Wani of NewsBlaze reports a senior para-military officer stated the troops will come from seventy companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), “Each company comprises up to 110 personnel and as such about 8,000 para-military personnel brought to Kashmir from different Indian states in the up and coming days. This is a must to ensure the smooth conduct of Hindu pilgrimage.” Hindu worshippers will be gathering in the state at religious sites from June 18 through August 17 and there are concerns they could become the targets of Islamic fighters from units supported by Iran-Pakistan. Some of the Indian units are being airlifted. It is an interesting parallel of history that the first India/Pakistan war began in October 1947 when Pakistani tribesmen advanced towards Srinagar and India airlifted some units then to prevent the state capital from being taken.

At least ten Islamic militants have been killed in the past two days and the fighting increased last month, not only due to the melting of the snow, but during the visit to Pakistan by Iran’s most powerful decision making body the Council of Guardians. In February 2007 Pakistan President-General Pervez Musharraf conducted a state visit to Tehran and presented them his offensive “Action Plan.” Infiltration is the vanguard of the plan and last month Pakistani Rangers provided cover fire for a unit infiltrating from across Pakistan’s part of Kashmir. Pakistani troops have since then fired on Indian troop positions twice in direct violation of the ceasefire. India did not return fire but it is quite possible they will next time and the fourth war will be on with Iran-China poised to enter.

Pristina – Serbianna reports Hajredin Kuci, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, the province of Serbia that declared independence in February, has publicly threatened to use what he called the “violence of the state” to force the Serbian community in the north of the province to obey the laws of Kosovo’s new constitution which goes into effect on June 15. This is obviously the best chance of violence-war since February. Though there have been some skirmishes in the divided city of Kosovska Mitrovica between Serbian/Albanian nationalists another war has not yet broken out. Since Kosovo’s declaration the Serbian government in Belgrade has concentrated on immediately establishing Serbian institutions in the north of the province which is majority Serbian and the community there has stated they answer to and recognize only Belgrade as their authority. Belgrade has pledged to support them and for the past several years has re-armed with the support of Russia while at the same time Serbia signed defense agreements with Iran and Greece in 2006. [SERBIANNA]

NATO and the European Union (EU) forces in the province will be caught in the crossfire while their divided institutions collapse, which is why neither regional organization will survive the war. Both organizations are headquarted in Brussels which since the end of the Cold War in 1990 has promoted regressive, backward policies of division and alienation. Brussels helped lead the recognition of the division which divided Yugoslavia and of course continued to do so by recognizing Kosovo and in so doing they have divided both NATO and the EU. They have in effect been pursuing a blind, senseless war creation policy motivated by irresponsible nationalism which has completely alienated not only Russia but all of Southeast Europe.

Willard Payne

Willard Payne is an international affairs analyst who specializes in International Relations. A graduate of Western Illinois University with a concentration in East-West Trade and East-West Industrial Cooperation, he has been providing incisive analysis to NewsBlaze. He is the author of Imagery: The Day Before.