Below is the most recent posting from Navy Admiral Michael Mullen’s blog:

I just returned from a trip to the Middle East where I visited with civilian and military leaders in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. It was a trip I wanted to make for some time now, given the scope of our security commitments in the region and the mutual challenges we all still face. At each stop and in each meeting, I was encouraged to find, though perspectives certainly vary, the desire for stability and security is as common as it is vigorous.

I was also struck by two other overarching themes.

First, where the United States has military relationships in the region, they are strong and getting stronger. Our partners want to engage, exercise, and operate with us. They also want to pursue new and innovative ways to tackle common challenges there and around the world.

The Egyptians were proud of their participation in this year’s Bright Star exercise, and want to make it even more vibrant in the future. The Israeli’s, of course, remain a vital ally and a cornerstone of our regional security commitments. I was delighted to meet with more than 100 Israeli doctors and nurses who deployed to Haiti to help with international relief efforts. To a person they were proud of the impact they made and of the speed with which they made it.

In similar fashion, the Jordanians, long a key contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, walked me through the medical support they continue to provide in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also showed me a Special Operations Training Center that has tremendous potential for how modern militaries can best prepare for counter-terrorism operations in a harsh environment.

The Saudi’s shared with me valuable lessons they learned working with the Yemeni government to deal with the Houthi issue and in the UAE I was very impressed to see an air coordination and advanced training center that not only provides virtually unimpeded training opportunities to regional air forces, but also improves real-world tactical air coordination issues.

The second overarching theme was, of course, Iran.

If there is one great concern shared by all the nations I visited, it is over the direction they believe Iran is going and what that means for them and for their citizens. I maintain my conviction that Iran remains on a path to achieve nuclear weapons, and that even this very pursuit further destabilizes the region. Like us, it isn’t just a nuclear-capable Iranian military our friends worry about; it’s an Iran with hegemonic ambitions and a desire to dominate its neighbors. This outcome drives many of the national security decisions our partners are making, and I believe we must be mindful of that as we look to the future post-Iraq and post-Afghanistan.

Let me be clear: we owe the Secretary and the President a range of options for this threat. We owe the American people our readiness. But as I have said many times, I worry a lot about the unintended consequences of any sort of military action. For now, the diplomatic and economic levers of international power ought to be the levers first pulled. Indeed, I would hope they are always and consistently pulled.

No strike, however effective, will be in and of itself decisive.

Coalition forces continue their offensive against Taliban holdouts in Afghanistan’s South, as part of Operation Moshtarak.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen visits Israel to discuss Iran and the nuclear issue.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen visits Cairo, Egypt where he discusses Iran’s nuclear issues as well as the drawdown of US forces in Iraq.

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Military leaders say Taliban resistance to the latest coalition offensive in southern Afghanistan has been lighter than expected.

As coalition forces continue their major offensive against insurgents in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, officials hope to gain the trust of the local population.

One thing that can be said for Iran’s leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: he is either paranoid, a propaganda puppetmaster, or both.

Whatever the case may be, Tuesday found Ahmadinejad stating on Tuesday that Israel was mulling starting a war “next spring or summer”, but has yet to make a final decision.

Of course, Ahmadinejad didn’t cite any sources or specify who would be targeted; however, he did say:

“According to information we have they (Israel) are seeking to start a war next spring or summer, although their decision is not final yet.”

“But the resistance and regional states will finish them if this fake regime does anything again.”

It’s no big surprise that the rift between Iran and Israel has grown wider since Ahmadinejad has been in office. And the Israeli’s have been rumored to have glossed over the possibility of attacking Iranian nuclear sites in order to stop the rogue nation’s blossoming nuclear program.

As I’ve said on more than one occasion, I fully expect Israel to eventually lay waste to the Iranian nuclear facilities, especially since the U.S., thanks to President Obama, will not back them up. And it is to no one’s surprise that the Iranians are building their program for purposes other than the alleged “peaceful” purposes that they tout.

And since sanctions against Iran don’t work, the Israelis and hopefully the United States will collaborate and take care of this enigma once and for all. The last thing that the Middle East does not need is a nuclear buildup in the Middle East.

Israel has taken great pains to get this “peace settlement” with the Palestinians rolling. Yet the Obama administration, who are obviously pro-Palestinian, want to ensure that the Israelis cease building construction while this is going on.

And all of this because the Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state and consider Jewish neighborhoods as settlements while Israel says that the city is its “eternal” capital.

Israel’s Housing Ministry has approved the construction of 692 new apartments in three existing Jewish neighborhoods already inhabited by tens of thousands of people. For those who are unfamiliar with Israel’s history in reference to the Palestinians, the country captured the eastern section of Jerusalem during the 1967 Mideast war and immediately annexed it; the international community (read: the United Nations) was none too pleased.

And has been the recurring theme between the Obama administration and Israel, settlement construction has been the major speed bump in resuming peace negotiations, especially after Obama assumed the U.S. presidency. And to add to the mess, the Palestinians are dead set on keeping their main demand that a final settlement should be based on the borders prior to the 1967 war. And you can rest assured that the Israelis won’t got for that.

Leave it to Obama to assume that the Palestinians, a terrorist state (remember the bombings they rained upon Israel? Hello?), want to co-exist with the Israelis. His Carteresque mindset will make him no friends in the Holy Land, I can assure you. Because this is Israel’s piece of land, Palestine has no rights to it at all. That’s not to say that the peace negotiations should just stop. On the contrary, they should continue – just not on the Palestinians’ or the Obama Administration’s terms.

So keep on building, Israel. There’s no reason to let the Jew-haters preclude you from putting up these apartments. Just remember to keep on the lookout for more bombs and other projectiles that occasionally come your way via Palestine.

I obviously cannot speak for the Jewish citizenry here in the United States and certainly cannot speak for the Israelis in their homeland. But what I can say with some certainty is this: President Obama’s comments during his speech in Cairo back in June will not exactly make him a hit at any bar mitzvah.

To recap a little bit, Obama, during his speech in June, questioned the legitimacy of settlements built by the Israelis, saying they violated previous agreements and undermined the peace process. As one would expect, the Israelis responded hawkishly, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A combination of Obama’s speech and his current Middle East policy may probably answer why he isn’t popular in Israel and for the most part here in the States. According to a recent poll conducted by the Jerusalem Post, just 6% of Jewish Israelis surveyed said that they consider the Obama administration to be “pro-Israel”; meanwhile, 50% said Obama was “pro-Palestinian” while 36% said that he was neutral.

Perhaps some sense can be made of this dilemma as according to Otniel Schneller, deputy speaker of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament):

“He doesn’t understand the conflict. He thinks he understands it. The formula is very easy. If they will continue to push us to give the Palestinians more than 90 percent of the West Bank, there will not be any peace in the future, ever.”

See, here is the thing that is currently dogging Obama.  The U.S. has always maintained close ties with Israel, hearkening back to the Cold War; back then, Israel provided crucial intelligence about Soviet military capabilities to U.S. agents. Also factor in that cultural and religious ties bind both countries – and that’s something that is very important.

The Jewish population – especially American Jewish leaders - here in the States, initially upon Obama’s election to the presidency, were in his corner.  But right now? Perhaps not so much.

As a matter of fact, Obama’s current Middle East policy is giving the Jewish population here in the States ample opportunity to perhaps leave the Democratic party and join the GOP. The Jewish face of the GOP, Eric Cantor (R-VA) has been the point man as of late as he has opened the window of opportunity for Jewish voters to join the Republican Party, saying there is a place for them within the party.

Earlier this month, Cantor and 25 other Republicans took a voyage to Israel, which was sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a wing of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) – a powerful lobbying group.

The Democrats, not to be outdone, made a visit to Israel last week tat included meetings with Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.  so naturally, there is lots of “courtshipping” going on from both sides here.  A full-court press, so to speak.

Funny thing about both political parties wooing the Israelis.  I know for certain that Obama has for all intents and purposes made his intentions known about his feelings in reference to Middle East policy: he certainly is pro-Palestinian policy. Who is he to dictate to another nation about settlements that have been and/or about to be built on land that is clearly Israel’s?

What Obama fails to realize here is that Palestine does not deserve “statehood”. It is common knowledge that they are no more than a terrorist organization, along the lines of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. All you have to do is remember when the Palestinians were launching rockets and missiles towards Israel.  And they are demanding that they be recognized as a prospective nation?  They’ve got to be joking.

I am of the sincere hope that the higher-ups within the Israeli government use wise judgement and rebuke Obama’s demands.  and while they’re at it, they may have to face the very real possibility that the U.S. will not be assisting them as they face a serious threat from Iran.  they more than likely go it alone – and you know what?  They will succeed in their mission.  And for that, Obama cannot claim any responsibility or credit for whatsoever.

Image: AP

Below is a partial excerpt from a press conference that took place Monday in Israel; the speakers are Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Israeli Defense Secretary Ehud Barak:

MODERATOR:  Good morning.  We will have our short press conference.  

         Minister Barak and Secretary Gates will both now give short statements followed by brief questions, two questions from Israel side and two from the U.S. side.

         Minister Barak, please.

         MIN. BARAK:  I welcome the visit to Israel by an old friend, Secretary Bob Gates.  You are most welcome here. 

         We had a good, extensive discussion.  We covered a range of strategic and security issues, including the challenges and threats to Middle East security and stability being caused by — (inaudible) — relationship between our defense establishment and the developments with the — (inaudible). 

         The U.S. and Israel have a long history of a very close relationship.  There are common values of friendship and cooperation.   And we highly appreciate the commitment of the United States to the security of Israel and to achieve this — (inaudible).

         We also discussed the prospects of regional issues with the Middle East and the need to shape a structure for regional security arrangements when the time comes.  And I expressed to the Secretary our top — (inaudible) — for the peace process and ending up with security and defense issues — (inaudible) — the big — the top priority for everyone.  But that will take time.  

         Of course, the continuing Iran nuclear program is a central issue in our minds still and we — and we do welcome a — (inaudible) — coordinated international effort to try to block this nuclear, military program.  We have — worried that the continuation of the nuclear Iran could destabilize the whole region and — (inaudible) — world order.  And Israel remains in its basic position that no options should be removed from the table in spite of the fact that at this stage priority should be given still — (inaudible) –  sanctions. And I take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the friendship shown by the United States of America and to you, Mr. Secretary both in the previous and the present administration.

         And we are looking forward to more open discussion in the future to — (inaudible) — and more stable and peaceful region.

         Thank you very much.

To view the rest of the press conference, please click here.

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