In Israel, the equivalent of our Navy SEALS is known as the Shayetet 13, and thankfully, they have struck again. On January 31, they seized an Iranian ship carrying weapons that would have ended up in Gaza and launched against Israeli citizens, which, please remember, almost always includes Israelis of Arabic descent. The word Shayetet literally means “flotilla,” and they not only successfully brought the Iranian vessel into Ashdod, they displayed their “catch.”
From the realm of instilling psychological toughness into the Israeli psyche, as well as to illustrate what Israel is up against, the decision to display the weapons is a good one. It reminds Israel and the rest of the world of the fact that the Iranians are indeed our enemies, even if we did just sign an agreement with them, and it also forces the Iranians to respond, however predictably or clumsily. The weapons display was made in the presence of a number of a number of journalists from around the globe, virtually assuring reasonable media and by contrast, our media were virtually silent. My husband had heard one report on the radio, and called to tell me about what had happened. It was disturbing that I could hardly find anything that could give more detail, and the comments made by Israeli’s Prime Minister were virtually buried.
Sure enough, and as expected, Mohammed Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister tweeted that the seizure was “An amazing coincidence! Or the same unsuccessful lies.” However, the take was substantial, and unfortunately, one of the containers was marked with strip seals that originated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, or IRICA.
All of the missiles that were in the shipment on board the ship were already spread out and displayed on a surface adjacent to the military port, along with boxes of Kalashnikov bullets and crates of mortars. The shipment included 40 short-range rockets, 181 121-mm mortar shells and about 400,000 7.62-mm-caliber bullets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the assembled journalists and said, “We have exposed the truth behind Iran’s fake smiles,” and also noted that this was not something the international community would find at all reasonable. “The world needs to awaken from its state of illusion and prevent Iran from acquiring the capability to create nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said. “The international community’s decision to ignore the seized weapons ship is biased, dangerous and unacceptable.”
So, once again, why should we focus on what is happening in Israel, when we have so many concerns at home, as well as a President to elect? Because Iran has always said that Israel is the “lesser Satan,” and America is the “greater Satan.” Make no mistake, at some point, our troops are going to have to protect us from Iran, either before or after the Islamic Republic of Iran attacks our ally, Israel, and in that hour our support for both our troops as well as Israel is going to be crucial to our own survival.
My faith causes me to be hopeful that Iran will not ultimately prevail against Israel, but I don’t want to think about what is going to occur before Iran is defeated, nor the price that ultimate victory will exact.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
