War Is Boring

Israel threatens to bomb Iran. Iran, not coincidentally, reminds the world that it still flies F-14 fighters after more than 30 years of sanctions. Meanwhile, an American is sanctioned for illegally providing F-14 parts to Iran.

Sarah Glidden has a new comics-journalism piece up at Cartoon Movement.

Drones
Drones count among the hottest military technology on the market, and Latin American nations have been buying, according to a report last week by The Christian Science Monitor. UPI also explored the growing influence of Israeli firm Elbit Systems in the region. Elbit drones have a significant presence in Latin America, with both Hermes and Heron drones recently sold to Brazil. Hermes drones have also appeared in Mexico, and the Heron has been seen in Ecuador. The Monitor’s feature follows last month’s news the United States is flying Predator and Global Hawk drones over Mexico to snoop on drug traffickers.

In the final days of the war in southern Lebanon in the summer of 2006, Israeli commanders were desperate. Nimble teams of well-trained Hezbollah insurgents had shocked the high-tech Israeli army. So far, nearly a hundred Israeli troops had died in complex ambushes requiring the kinds of careful coordination that no one had expected of a guerrilla army.

On Sunday, a flotilla of “humanitarians” challenged the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. Israeli warships intercepted and boarded the civilian vessels. When the crew of one ship attacked Israeli commandos rappelling down from a helicopter, the Israelis opened fire, killing nine. The diplomatic fallout is severe and ongoing.

“At least nine people have been killed after Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army says.” This according to the BBC. “Israel says its soldiers were shot at and attacked with bars and knives; the activists say Israeli troops came on board shooting.”

Major General Ido Nehushtan officially welcomed the Israeli air force’s newest drone aircraft, the Eitan, to Squadron 210 by plastering a large Star of David decal onto its side. Speaking to the assembled crowd of Israel Aircraft Industries personnel and their families, General Nehushtan praised their “years of hard work and dedication” and for “protecting the state of Israel” from its most serious threats.