LEST WE FORGET: D-DAY, JUNE 6, 1944,
THE ALLIED INVASION OF W. EUROPE BEGINS
Preparations: Forty-seven divisions, two million men were massed in Britain; fifty-seven million square feet of British storage area were filled with supplies for the invasion, including ca. half a million tons of ammunition. Two huge floating “Mulberry Harbours,” sunk in the sea off the Normandy beaches to facilitate the landings, used 600,000 tons of concrete, 1.5 million yards of steel shuttering, and 20,000 men to build them, working in eight English drydocks. PLUTO, Pipelines Under the Ocean, 80 miles long under English Channel to Cherbourg, sent 172 million gallons of gasoline to, and through, the landings.
The Invasion: The largest amphibious landings in world military history: five divisions initially used, across 40 miles of front; 6,939 vessels (1,200 warships, 4,000 wooden landing craft); 11,500 aircraft; ultimately, 2,000,000 men. On the first day, 5,000 vessels sailed, 118 in reserve; 13,688 sorties flown; 154,000 Allied troops (70,500 Americans, 83,115 British and Canadian), 24,000 glider-borne, landed on the five Normandy beaches in north-western France.
In the initial assault force of five divisions (ultimately 39 divisions landed) there were 9,000 D-Day casualties, more than half of which were fatalities: 2,500 Americans, 1,641 British, 359 Canadians, remainder Norwegians, Australians, New Zealanders, Free French Belgian—4,572 in total (of which 15% were air-borne troops).
By June 20, 500,000 Allied soldiers were ashore. By July 24, 1944, after the beach-heads were secured, with Allied forces and supplies pouring in, the advance, against stubborn German resistance, proceeded: total casualties by then were 122,000 men killed, wounded or captured. By 25 August, 1944 Paris was liberated; V-E Day, however, remained far off: Hitler’s bunker suicide came on 30 April, 1945, as the Red Army conquered Berlin in bloody battles; on May 2, 1945 Berlin surrendered, and all German forces finally gave up on May 8, 1945.—Prof. Frederick Krantz, Founder and Director, CIJR.
Weekly Quotes
“You apply this whole set of pressures—for what? For practically nothing.… The P5+1 is so keen on getting any agreement that they have lowered the demands.”—Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ahead of the June 18-19 nuclear negotiations in Moscow between the P5+1—the US, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany—and Iran, claiming world powers are so intent on reaching an accord that they have lowered their demands to the point that Tehran could meet the requirements and still build a nuclear weapon. Netanyahu affirmed that despite international sanctions, “the Iranian nuclear program has not slowed down by one millimeter,” and reiterated Israel’s position: that Iran halt all uranium enrichment, remove all enriched material from the country, and dismantle the underground Fordow facility. (Jerusalem Post, June 6.)
“During talks with world powers, the Iranians have managed to enrich 750 kilograms of uranium enriched to 3.5 percent, and 36 kilograms of uranium to 20 percent. Iran, regardless of pressure, is in the meantime laughing all the way to a bomb.”—Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon, describing the ongoing failure of world powers to deter Iran’s nuclear progress through diplomacy. According to Ya’alon, “The problem is that leaders in Tehran aren’t convinced that the West is determined to go all the way, whether through sanctions or military action.…” (Haaretz, May 30.)
“What Americans and Westerners do is idiotic. They magnify the nuclear issue to cover up their own problems.”—Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a televised address marking the 23rd anniversary of the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, accusing the West of lying about the Iranian nuclear threat, and warning that any attack on Iran will be retaliated against with a “thunderous blow.” (Reuters, June 3.)
“The politicians and the military men of the United States are well aware of the fact that all of their bases [in the region] are within the range of Iran’s missiles.”—Brigadier-General Yahya Rahim, military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, describing US military bases in the Middle East as “highly vulnerable.” (Reuters, June 2.)
“These acts may amount to crimes against humanity…and may be indicative of a pattern of widespread or systematic attacks against civilian populations that have been perpetrated with impunity.…”—UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, calling on the Security Council to refer Syrian President Bashar Assad to the International Criminal Court following last month’s government-sponsored slaughter in Houla. Syria’s UN ambassador Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui responded by accusing 600-800 “terrorists” of using Israel-made weapons to carry out the massacre so as to “ignite sectarian strife”. (Reuters, June 1.)
“This crisis is not an internal crisis. It is an external war carried out by internal elements.… The issue is terrorism…from the outside.”—Syrian President Bashar Assad, blaming the country’s 15-month-old crisis on “terrorism,” and vowing to maintain a crackdown on opponents he describes as implementing a foreign conspiracy. (Reuters, June 3.)
“The specter of an all-out war…grows by the day.”—UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, warning that Syria is slipping into civil war. (Reuters, June 2.)
“I urge you to move quickly to end all acts of violence taking place in Syria, and to take the necessary measures to protect Syrian civilians, including increasing the number of international monitors and allowing them the necessary powers to put a stop to the violations and crimes being committed.”—Nabil Elaraby, secretary-general of the Arab League, in a letter to the UN Security Council, calling on world powers to boost the size of the UN mission in Syria, and alluding for the first time to the possible deployment of “military observers” to protect Syrian civilians. (Reuters, June 2.)
“Iran [is] continu[ing] efforts to expand its nefarious influence in the region.… Iran fear[s] a Syria without the Assad regime.”—White House press secretary Jay Carney, accusing Iran of “malignant behavior” for providing Syrian President Bashar Assad with extensive support, including weapons, and warning that Tehran is exploiting the violence in Syria to entrench its regional influence. (Reuters, May 31.)
“I think what is happening in Syria is awful, it is wholesale murder. And you have to understand who is supporting this brutality, this butchery—it is Iran and Hezbollah. I mean supporting them physically. Killers supporting killers, giving them weapons, personnel to actually do the killing.…”—Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, reiterating that Iran is directly contributing to the ongoing murderous crackdown in Syria. (Jerusalem Post, June 5.)
“We know that there has been a very consistent arms trade…coming from Russia to Syria. We believe that the continuing supply of arms from Russia has strengthened the Assad regime.”—US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, accusing Russia of inflaming the crisis in Syria by continuing to supply the Assad regime with weapons. (Wall Street Journal, June 2.)
“Both sides oppose external intervention in Syria and oppose regime change by force.…”—Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin, reiterating Chinese and Russian opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria. (Reuters, June 5.)
“Creating another Benghazi in Syria would spread to Palestine, and ash rising from the flames would definitely envelop the Zionist regime.”—Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, warning that the effects any Libya-style military incursion into Syria would engulf Israel. (Jerusalem Post, May 31.)
“We were wrong. We now understand that he will probably survive 2012 and maybe 2013 as well.”—An anonymous senior Israeli official, following the publication of an updated IDF assessment of the situation in Syria which foresees President Bashar Assad remaining in power until the end of 2012 and possibly through 2013. (Jerusalem Post, May 30.)
“On this day, like every year, the Arab and Islamic nations remember the worst catastrophe ever to befall the peoples of the world. We demand the international community rectify the historic injustice and pressure the government of the Zionist entity to withdraw from the land of Palestine.”—Head of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, in a written statement issued May 17 to commemorate Nakba Day, the “catastrophe” of Israel’s rebirth in 1948, calling for the “liberat[ion]” of the land of Israel. (Jerusalem Post, June 1.)
“The second Muslim conqueror will be Muhammad Morsi and history will record it.… [I will] make all Christians convert to Islam, or else pay the jizya.”—Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Muhammad Morsi, promising to lead “the Islamic conquest (fath) of Egypt for the second time,” and urging Christians to convert, emigrate or risk paying the jizya, an Islamic tax required of non-Muslims. (Gatestone Institute, May 30.)
“The Pakistanis asked for an apology [when US forces accidentally fired on two Pakistani border posts] and the Americans said ‘no way’. So when they come to us and pressure us to apologize over the Marmara…sometimes even to best friends you must say ‘no.’ Otherwise, no one will respect you.”—Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, comparing Israel’s unwillingness to apologize to Turkey for the 2010 raid on the Mavi Maramara ship—in which nine Turks were killed trying to breach Israel’s legal blockade of Gaza—with the US’ adamant refusal to apologize to Pakistan for the accidental killing last November of 24 Pakistani soldiers. (Jerusalem Post, June 4.)
“Israel cannot afford to tread water. [If a deal] proves to be impossible, we have to consider a provisional arrangement or even unilateral action.”—Defense Minister Ehud Barak, in what Israeli media is construing as a reference to possible territorial withdrawals from parts of the West Bank. In response, Israeli Cabinet Minister Gideon Saar denounced Barak, saying his statement “means that lessons have not yet been learned from the total failure of the unilateral disengagement plan from Gaza.” (Associated Pres, May 30.)
“When Israel transferred the bodies they could have been sent directly to their families for burial. But that’s not what happened. Instead, at a PA state ceremony in Ramallah, the Palestinian Presidential Guard carried the coffins of the ‘martyrs’, covered with Palestinian flags, on their shoulders as an honor guard fired a 21-gun salute and PA President Mahmoud Abbas laid a wreath. And the world—at least so far—is silent.”—Dr. Aaron Lerner, director of Independent Media Review & Analysis, describing the glorification of murderers by Palestinian leaders following last week’s decision by Israel to return to the PA the remains of 91 Palestinian terrorists as a “good-will” gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas. (Independent Media Review and Analysis, May 31.)
“We contacted the head of UNICEF and held a meeting with her after which we decided to boycott the agency until it backtracks on its decision.”—Osama Kahil, head of The Palestinian Contractors Union, announcing a boycott of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), following the agency’s acceptance of offers from Israeli firms to bid for construction work in the Gaza Strip. The Union has since appealed to the PA to intervene in order to stop UNICEF from “tampering with the blood and rights of our people and their national sentiments.” (Jerusalem Post, May 31.)
“Pollard’s release is an important goal of mine after the 27 years he has served in prison. I will do my part as a messenger for the ultimate humane cause. I will talk [to Obama] man to man and do everything possible to bring him home.”—Israeli President Shimon Peres, promising to do everything in his power to obtain the release of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard when he travels to Washington next week to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama. (Jerusalem Post, June 5.)
Short Takes
IAEA SEES NEW ‘ACTIVITIES’ AT IRAN’S PARCHIN SITE—(Vienna) The International Atomic Energy Agency has revealed new satellite imagery showing Iran “destroying evidence” at a military site where nuclear inspectors suspect the Islamic Republic has carried out tests relevant to developing atomic weapons. According to UN and security officials, the images show “ground scraping activities” at Iran’s Parchin military facility and indicate that at least two buildings “have been completely razed”. Western diplomats have accused Iran of “sanitizing” Parchin, to which IAEA inspectors have repeatedly been denied access. Iran has dismissed the charges as “childish” and “ridiculous.” (Reuters, May 30 & 31.)
U.S., ISRAEL DEVELOPED STUXNET VIRUS—(New York) According to the New York Times, the Stuxnet computer virus, which in 2010 wreaked havoc on Iranian nuclear installations, was jointly developed by the U.S. National Security Agency and the Israeli military. The Times alleges the Israel Defense Forces intelligence unit 8200 worked with the NSA to build replicas of Iranian centrifuges, using equipment provided by Moammar Gaddhafi when he revealed Libya’s nuclear program in 2003. The Times reports that “spies and unwitting accomplices” with access to the Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility infected computers there using thumb drives. (JTA, June 1.)
ISRAEL ALLEGEDLY FITTING NUCLEAR ARMS ON GERMAN-SUPPLIED SUBS—(Berlin) According to Der Spiegel, Israel has fitted the Dolphin-class submarines supplied to it by Germany with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Berlin had until now denied any knowledge that its submarines were being used as part of an Israeli atomic arsenal; however, former high-ranking German defense officials disclosed to Der Speigel that the government always assumed Israel was putting nuclear warheads on the vessels. Germany has already supplied Israel with three Dolphin subs, with another three to be delivered by 2017. (AFP, June 6.)
MUBARAK SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON—(Cairo) Egyptian judge Ahmed Refaat has sentenced deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to life in prison for complicity in the killings of protesters during the uprising that ended his 30-year rule. Mubarak’s former interior minister Habib al-Adli was also given a life term, and Mubarak’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were sentenced to time served after being convicted on various corruption charges. Egyptian state news agency MENA reported that Mubarak has since been admitted to a prison hospital following a “health crisis”, rumored to be a heart attack. (Jerusalem Post, June 2.)
THREE HURT IN APPARENT ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACK IN FRANCE—(Jerusalem) Three Jews wearing kipot have been attacked by 10 people in Villeurbanne, France, near Lyon. According to French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, the perpetrators, reportedly of North-African origin, beat their Jewish victims with hammers and iron bars. Two of the victims were hospitalized, one treated for an open wound to the head and another for a neck injury. The incident comes two months after the terror attack in Toulouse, in which Mohamed Merah killed three Jewish schoolchildren and a rabbi. (Jerusalem Post, June 3.)
ISRAEL TO START JAILING ILLEGAL MIGRANTS UP TO 3 YRS—(Jerusalem) In an effort to counter the growing threats posed by illegal immigration, Israel has started implementing the “Infiltrators Law,” which allows authorities to jail for up to three years without trial or deportation people caught illegally entering the Jewish State. According to PIBA statistics, some 2,031 illegal migrants crossed Israel’s southern border with Egypt in May, with a total of 8,634 such migrants arriving since the beginning of the year. The decision to apply the law comes following weeks of protests in south Tel Aviv, where violence has broken out over the continued influx, and growing crime, of African migrants to area neighborhoods. There are an estimated 60,000 illegal African migrants in Israel. (Jerusalem Post, June 3.)
PAKISTAN FREES 4 ‘TIMES SQ. TERRORISTS’—(New York) In a move expected to intensify the deterioration in US-Pakistan relations, a Pakistani court has acquitting four men charged with plotting to detonate a truck bomb in Times Square. The suspects, who were arrested and held for two years after Faisal Shahzad failed to set off the bomb in May 2010, were charged as accomplices and accused of providing material aid and support to Shahzad. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly slammed the decision, conceding that “it wouldn’t be Pakistan if it ceased to disappoint.” Shahzad was sentenced to life in prison in the United States. (NY Post, June 3.)
US: OBAMA ‘MISSPOKE’ ON ‘POLISH DEATH CAMP’—(Jerusalem) The White House has expressed regret following US President Barack Obama’s use of the term “Polish death camps”—rather than saying “Nazi death camps” inside Poland—while awarding a posthumous Medal of Freedom to Polish resistance fighter Jan Karski. US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said that Obama “misspoke,” and that the “misstatement should not detract from the clear intention to honor Mr. Karski.” His comments came after Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski tweeted that Obama “would apologize for this outrageous error,” ascribing it to “ignorance and incompetence.” (Jerusalem Post, May 30.)
