Tag: US | Hamilton.jerry

March 14, 2014

Israel and Palestine Cool Off Under Egyptian Peace Deal

Israel-Palestine rocket fire ceased under Egyptian halt earlier today. http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-police-gaza-militants-fire-rockets-at-israeli-cties/1870288.html

Two days ago Islamist Jihad of Palestine launched over 50 rockets towards Israel in retaliation for Israeli soldiers killing three of their leaders. The Popular Resistance Committee admitted to firing some of the Palestinian rockets also. Hamas spokesmen said they had not participated in the attacks, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the Gaza region descried the hostilities as attempts to undermine ongoing peace efforts. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/israel-hamas-gaza-iran-islamic-jihad-rival-rockets.html

None of the Palestinian rockets appear to have killed or injured any Israelis. http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/03/14/islamic-jihad-leader-israel-attack-coordinated-with-hamas-despite-truce-threatens-tel-aviv/

Israel launched over 30 airstrikes and hundreds of tank shells in response, destroying seven suspected Islamic Jihad launch sites. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26555742

The US condemns the Islamist Jihad rocket launches, saying nothing about the Israeli response. http://iranian.com/posts/view/post/29722

HFS analysts forecast resumption of peace talks led by the US, although the latest hostilities cloud the likelihood of quick agreement.

March 12, 2014

Russia Holds Oil Over EU, Despite Threat of US Backed Sanctions

EU Pokes At Russian Bear To Its Peril

A draft seven page document prepared by the EU in cooperation with the US articulates sanctions against Russian citizens holding assets or traveling in the EU. The document will be considered by EU foreign ministers next Monday, 17 March 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/us-ukraine-eu-russia-sanctions-idUSBREA2B0QJ20140312

Passage and implementation of the sanctions hinges on whether Russia will halt expansion into the Ukrainian peninsula, Crimea, through its referendum vote in Crimea set for 16 March 2014. http://www.channel4.com/news/ukraine-crisis-uk-to-push-for-travel-bans-on-russian-mps-state-ownership-crimea-companies

To analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com (HFS) the EU cooperation with the US could easily backfire due to European dependence on Russian petroleum, and if Russia chooses retaliation, not only oil but raw materials for manufacturing could be placed in jeopardy. In the end, say HFS analysts, Russia continues holding the upper hand, and Russia knows it.

What do you think?

March 3, 2014

2 or 3 Moves Ahead? Gates Advises Obama on Ukraine-Russia Action

Look 2 or 3 Moves Out, Gates Advises Obama on Ukraine-Russia Tensions

When the US Secretary of Defense, an acknowledged expert on Russian politics from a CIA perspective, advises US President Obama to look two or three moves out, as he just did today, one must wonder what the US is truly up to in the face of mounting tensions as Russian tanks and troops gather just east of Crimea. http://news.yahoo.com/obama-must-carefully-calibrate-russia-response-rhetoric-gates-014117221–sector.html

Of course the path looks treacherous, no matter which turns the US takes. A major reason for such danger arises from the fact that the US has no real business intervening in those tensions in the first place. The Ukraine-Russia tensions have a long history, older in some ways than the US as a nation, so no westerner, but especially the US, has either military power or moral credibility to act in the region. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/ukraine-crisis-putin-idUSL6N0LZ0QK20140303

At least Gates realizes that Russian Prime Minister Putin holds huge power on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine, partly because Russia maintains a large, mostly modern military force but also because a significant portion of the Ukraine population identifies with a Russian heritage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine and http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/ukraine-crisis-gas-idUSL6N0M00ZR20140303

If Obama needs to be told to look a few moves out, Obama seems to have lost any contest with Russia before it begins, say analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com. What do you think? Does the US have any legitimate role in the Ukraine-Russia theater? What real interests does the US have there? Why would the US risk confrontation with Russia after seeking for the past five years to find some friendly balance between the two giants’ domains?