Changing Sides?

Arabs and Israelis standing together against a common threat?!!
Is it a possibility?

* * *

Recent events are moving quickly. Here's a current assessment from the Asia Times Online:

    The great chess game of the Middle East
    Aug 28, 2010

    it is hard to avoid the fact that despite all threats on the Jewish state, Israel profits to a certain extent from Iran's belligerent posture.

    . . . "The countries of the Arabian Peninsula are infinitely more interested in the threat from Iran than in the existence of Israel and, indeed, see Israel as one of the buttresses against Iran."

    For the first time since its creation, Israel finds itself in the same camp as many Arab states, and for better or for worse, having a common enemy is perhaps the best way to make friends in the Middle East.-more

And a "hot off the press" news item just reported by the Palestinian Maan News Agency.

    Egypt: 3rd weapons cache found in 48 hours
    Aug 29, 2010
    Al-Arish– Ma'an
    – Egyptian State Security discovered a third weapons storehouse within 48 hours on Tuesday, security sources said.

    Egyptian forces were informed that smugglers were attempting to transfer explosives and weapons to a storehouse in the Sinai peninsula, sources told Ma'an.

    Forces raided the area south of the Al-Arish port city and discovered 65 anti-aircraft missiles, 35 anti-tank missiles, as well as large quantities or ammunition, the sources added.

    Egyptian security forces said they discovered weapons and explosives on Monday, hidden in the border city of Rafah, prepared for smuggling into Gaza through tunnels.

    Security sources told Ma'an that Egyptian forces raided a cemetery in Rafah, 3 kilometers from the Gaza border, and found a weapons cache including anti-tank land mines.

    A second weapons store was found in the Al-Ahrash border area, which included machine guns and ammunition, also prepared for smuggling into Gaza, sources said. -more

Your thoughts?

Water from Turkey (1999)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done in 1999!!

Back in 1999 the question of how Israel could meet its water needs was being debated. We thought we should put all our efforts into desalination. But our staunch, stable, loyal and reliable middle eastern friend and ally, Turkey, offered to sell us the water instead. They even suggested filling giant plastic balloons with water and floating them to us. That was pretty creative idea, so I tried to come up with an even more creative alternate plan.

Just eleven years later we are now faced with an anti-western and unfriendly Turkey. If you're interested in the deal they were trying to sell us, here's the story as reported in 2001:

Israel plans water pipeline from Turkey
Mediterranean conduit could thwart serious crisis in Jewish state

"...In 1999, Turkey believed she could remedy Israel's chronic water shortage by sending enormous water-filled plastic bubbles hauled by tug boats across the Mediterranean Sea. Turkish officials claimed that they could "meet Israel's water needs several times over" and that their plan was "cheaper than desalination."

"Turkey has spent $150 million on a terminal it built at the estuary of the Manavgat River, located on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. This water would be transported to Israel in two tankers, each with a capacity of 250,000 tons, from Manavgat to an unloading terminal that would be built south of Ashkelon in Israel. The water would then be transported by a pipeline that would be built to the Neguhot reservoir south of Kiryat Gat and integrated into the national water system." -more

Read more Great ToonLogs at Dry Bones by Yaakov Kirschen

Assessment

Today's cartoon can be seen as a serious assessment of the situation ...or as a blatant grab for a laugh. Personally, I find it funny, which explains the joke-telling expression on the face of the guy delivering the punchline in the last panel.
And your assessment of the Obama administration's record so far would be?