On The Brink In The Middle East - Buckle Up

Lufthansa just canceled all its flights to and from Tel Aviv due to concerns that an all-out Middle Eastern war is about to break out. They were not the first to do so. United Airlines, Delta, British Airways, Fly Dubai, and Brussels Airlines preceded them.

The Houthis have all but closed the Red Sea to international shipping. The Israelis are already engaged in one war in Gaza and are now rapidly moving into a state of hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran is threatening direct attacks against Israel in retaliation for the killing of a Hamas official in Tehran and a Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

Lurking somewhere in the background is the critical issue of the exact status of the Iranian nuclear weapons program. Tehran either already has the bomb or is about to acquire it. It has the delivery vehicles to which to mate nuclear weapons already.

After viewing a new classified report from the Director of National Intelligence on the Iranian nuclear program, Senator Lindsay Graham called publicly for American military action against Iran.

“I just read the director of national intelligence report regarding the status of the Iran nuclear program, and I would urge every member of the House and the Senate to read it,” Graham said during a press conference at the Capitol.

“Iran will keep going until somebody tells them to stop. It’s time to put red lines on their nuclear program and enforce them. The idea of ambiguity is not working. As we talk about their program, their program gets larger and more lethal. After viewing the ODNI report, I believe that if we do not change course, Iran will possess a nuclear weapon very soon,” he continued. 

The regional conventional war that is about to break out may go nuclear in almost no time at all.

A whole host of countries have issued security alerts for anyone traveling to Lebanon. The U.S. Embassy-Beirut issued a statement saying, "Do Not Travel to Lebanon due to rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. If you are in Lebanon, be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate."

Israel has called on its citizens to exercise extra caution abroad, citing threats from Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah. A statement from Israel's National Security Agency said that Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah may target Israeli, and Jewish institutions abroad.

Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Center has cleared its underground parking lot, preparing to convert it into a fortified hospital if necessary. Israel’s Health Ministry has established teams of doctors ready for rapid deployment to severely affected areas in case of mass casualties.

Tel Aviv’s is not the only medical facility preparing for war. Weeks ago Sky News reported on Israel’s underground blood vault in Haifa. It is fifty feet underground and hardened against missile, chemical, and cyber attacks. Adjacent to the blood bank is a new underground operations room for Israel's national ambulance service. Assuming that Iran and Hezbollah can take out electronic communications, Israel’s war plan calls for emergency services to function via motorcycle-riding messengers.

Israel has stockpiled enough essential medical supplies to last three weeks if international aid can't be flown into the country. The underground facility in Haifa has a five-acre hospital with 1,200 beds. They are expecting a blood bath in Tel Aviv.

Some 80,000 Israelis have already been evacuated from border villages because they are being hit by missiles and anti-tank fire from Lebanon every day. Many of them have been away from their homes already for weeks. The pressure is building for Israel to move into Lebanon and create a buffer zone.

As the threat of retaliation by Iran against Israel looms this week, Jordan has issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen) requiring all flights to the country to carry an additional 45 minutes of fuel for “operational reasons.” This is in case incoming passenger and cargo aircraft arrive in Jordanian airspace to find it filled with missiles, drones and fighter jets and have to head for airports elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the woman who would be President, Kamala Harris, isms holding campaign rallies opened by Megan Thee Stallion who stands on stage twerking and singing X-rated lyrics glorifying her promiscuity. The closest Ms. Harris gets to a meaningful discussion of the critical situation in the Middle East is when she lectures us on the need to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings by using the term “radical Islamic terrorism.”

The man who is at least technically still the President is nowhere to be seen. He has quite literally vanished. The Middle East is on the brink of catastrophic war and there is no one at the wheel in Washington.

Buckle up.