US military chief in Israel for top-level talks

The top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday for talks with Israeli military and defence officials, both sides said.

"This is a very short visit -- he will meet with Defence Minister (Ehud) Barak and with (Chief of Staff) Gaby Ashkenazi and a few others from the defence establishment," a US embassy spokesman said.

Mullen, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was expected to meet Barak at around midday, the Israeli Defence Ministry said without giving further details.

A military spokesman said the meeting would focus on "cooperation between the two armies and the challenges they have to face," but defence officials quoted by the Jerusalem Post said the two would discuss Iran's nuclear programme and the situation in Syria and Lebanon.

They would also discuss the deterioration in relations between Israel and Turkey in the wake of the disastrous naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid fleet which left nine Turkish activists dead, the paper said.

All right, Freepers, correct me if I’m wrong. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has no power. No troops. No commands report to him. He and the other Chiefs are advisors to the president. (And, they serve at the President’s pleasure. If he wants he could put in Grand Admiral Van Jones.) I don’t believe BHO has invested two minutes in anything these men have to say. If he thought they were important, he’d have replaced them with the least likely candidates.

Here’s what probably happened. BHO wants to bring some actual weight and gravitas to bear on Israel. Somebody suggested sending Admiral McMullen. Somewhere between the fifth hole and the sixth, BHO decided that was a good idea.

Since the Admiral is simply and advisor all he can do here is take a message to lower level people in Israel from the President. It will be more pressure for Israel not to attack Iran and to bend over and take it from the Palestinians. The admiral will probably brief them on top secret orders to US forces between Israel and Iran that order those US forces to stop any Israeli planes or weapons from reaching Iran.

I pity the Admiral as I’m sure these are things he will never forgive himself for being part of.

As to the deteriorating situation between Israel and Turkey; Turkey had its fling with western style government and it hasn’t worked out for them. They will attempt to become the new leader of the Muslim world. To prove their mettle they’ll do everything possible to hurt Israel without provoking an overwhelming response.

My guess is that Admiral McMullen’s visit indicates that the ball is about to drop.

Admiral Mike Mullen... who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was expected to meet Barak at around midday... A military spokesman said the meeting would focus on "cooperation between the two armies and the challenges they have to face," but defence officials quoted by the Jerusalem Post said the two would discuss Iran's nuclear programme and the situation in Syria and Lebanon. They would also discuss the deterioration in relations between Israel and Turkey in the wake of the disastrous naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid fleet

Turkey's Erdogan has pretty much singlehandedly fouled up Turkey's relationships with the US, the EU, and Israel, and obviously did so deliberately; he's been building ties with Iran and its proxy terrorist groups in Lebanon and Gaza, and been purging the Turkish military of secularists while conducting a mass-murder operation against Kurds living in Iraq. His "star is rising" (say the op-eds) among the terrorist groups, at the (further) expense of the Saudis and other Gulf states, and even the Syrians. Before anything can be done with Iran, something is going to have to be done with Turkey, in order for Obama to satisfy his Saudi masters.

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