Tit for Tat for Tit

Last week, Friday morning we took in the world news that Israel had sent a bomb into Iran. There does not seem to be any significant damage or death, although it was in a region with a nuclear power plant. Some analysts say that Iran has downplayed the attack to avoid a wider conflict. In this line of thinking one analyst believes Iran will go back underground using its proxy groups of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Houthi rebels (I call them the 3-H) to continue the on-going Mid-East conflict. So far, this has been a tit for tat, for tit situation.

Israel's bombing of that Friday morning (Apr 19), was a tit in response to a tat and for Iran's attack on Israel, in which it is said 90% of the Iran's 300 hundred drones were intercepted by Israeli, US, Jordanian and some European nations systems in the region. Iran claimed this was a tat, for the tit for they say Israel (Israel has not confirmed this) struck a Iranian embassy in Syria which killed some Iranian generals on Apr 1. This means, as of that Friday morning, April 19 there have been the original strike (a tit), the Iranian response (a tat), and now another tit by Israel to Iran. 

It seems that child's play is alive and well in the world of geo-politics. On Friday morning, Reuters reports that Iran has signaled no retaliation. It was, however, just the prior day that the Iranian Foreign Minister told CNN “In case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level,” Maybe the Israeli strike, while in Iran, did not damage or have a negative effect on their interests. Iran may well respond in due course, but perhaps more from a proxy, one or more of their 3-H groups. The problem with all of this is that regardless of how much care is taken war is intractable and something can easily go wrong and blow up (pun intended). 

CNN, after I started writing this, reported: "The tit-for-tat strikes have brought a decades long shadow war between Israel and Iran out in the open and sent fear coursing through the Middle East." Reuters reported on 23 April that Hezbollah had sent its deepest attack the prior day into Israel since the start of the conflict. Hezbollah claimed it was in response to an attack on one of its persons by Israel.

This proxy war has been going for over 40 years. Hezbollah was formed and funded by Iran starting in 1982, Hamas followed in 1987, and the Houthis were formed in the 1990's, although Iranian funding was thought for the Houthis is reported to have started in 2007. A 40 year proxy war has had disastrous consequences for not just Israel, but also for the United States. I am well aware of the negative consequences of this proxy war. Let me use the one example that affected our family. 

Operation Southern Watch was started in August 1992 to assure Iraqi compliance with a United Nations resolution (#688). As part of that US air force representatives took up housing in Khobar Towers, in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Hezbollah and a Saudi Shia terrorist group Hejaz, (why do so many Muslim terrorist groups have their name begin with the letter H?) undertook placement of a large truck bomb just outside part of the Khobar Towers complex on 25 Jun 1996. The bomb killed 19 US air force personnel and injured hundreds more. 

My wife's brother, Captain Steven Goff, MD was among the injured, and although he had a serious injury himself, for which they wanted him to be evacuated to Ramstein Air Base in Germany for treatment, he chose to stay and treat hundreds of US personnel. For a long time, we did not know his status, although my dad reported seeing him on a news telecast. He was later hospitalized in Saudi Arabia for his chest wound. He carried shards of glass from that bombing in his body until the day of his death. You can read about his role here. 

Khobar Towers
Photo from Capt Steve Goff, MD.
Family archives

Writing in 2021 for the Brookings Institute, Bruce Riedel, who was Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Near East, under Clinton Administration defense secretary William Perry, was in Jerusalem at the time and was travelling with secretary of state Warren Christophers, stated that: 

The plot was hatched two years earlier at the Sayyihdah Zaynab Mosque in Damascus, Syria, by three parties: Iranian intelligence, Lebanese Hezbollah, and a collection of Saudi Shia terrorist groups under various names including Hezbollah in the Hejaz....We learned later that the Saudis had considerable information on the bombers that they were not sharing. The Saudis knew of the existence of a Iranian-backed Saudi Shia terrorist organization which had been smuggling explosives into the Dhahran area. Lebanese Hezbollah was the key to the bombing. It provided the bomb maker who put the explosives together in the truck. He has never been identified.

Riedel traveled with Warren Christopher to the Dharan Air Base to meet with US personnel. I am not sure if he met my brother-in-law, although I doubt it since he had probably taken to the Saudi Hospital by the time the Christopher continent arrived. 

The Middle East has been explosive for a long time, with Iranian proxy groups doing the bidding for over forty years. No end seems to be in sight, which is unfortunate for the residents of the region, and the world. The tit for tat for tit, does not end, it continues and continues. 

Sources:

"Remembering the Khobar Towers bombing" Bruce Riedel June 21, 2021 at: 
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/remembering-the-khobar-towers-bombing/ 

The Great Banana Debacle

My wife likes to purchase bananas in bulk when they are on sale at the grocery store. A few weeks ago she purchased several bunches. I am not sure what happened to them all, but at the end there was one bunch left and let me say that last bunch was looking pretty ripe. The normally yellow skin had turned to a rather ugly color that is not on the color chart and they contained many large black spots. Everyone who is anyone, except the wife, knows that large dark spots on a banana usually transfer to the inside of the banana in a disgusting big black spot rivaled only by the black fungus on a maple leaf. This black spot reaches deep into the fruit. Here is the story of the great banana debacle of 2024.

I do not recall how many bananas I ate out of those bunches, but slight dark spots on them did not produce the usually expected dark colored inside. Too often I find a banana with a small dark, or near dark, spot and find that it is transferred inside to a large black spot. A few of the bananas in those bunches had one or two areas of inside discoloration but not enough to have me cut it out. I was even beginning to wonder if my luck in selecting bananas had changed. Heck, I was even beginning to believe my spouse's theory that dark spots on the outside do not mean dark, rotten spots on the inside. The wife has the theory, or belief, that a dark spot on the outside does not mean discoloration on the fruit of the banana. I have had too many cases where that is simply not the case. 

So, it came to pass that there were a few bananas in one bunch remaining, all with significant dark dis-coloration and signs of putrefaction that I thought I better start eating them before they go to waste. I pulled one off, and noticed that there was a wax paper wrapping around where they all joined at the stem. I had never noticed that type of thing before. When inquiring of the wife, she said that it must have come that way from the store. I had to remove the wrap to pull the banana from the remaining two or so of its bunch.

As I was about to peel the skin, I once again took notice of the large dark putrefying spot on the ugly colored banana and wondered if it would even be edible. If it was a limb, it would be amputated based simply on its appearance. I hasten to think how much ethylene gas this banana was producing. I should have had a device to measure the air quality of the ethylene chemical in the kitchen. In retrospect, I think it was my banana gassed brain that had me take the next step, leading to the great banana debacle of the year.

It was evening, and the wife was sitting on the sofa either reading or working on a cross stich project. I hobbled over near her and held up the banana with that large gangrenous spot facing her and simply said something to the effect of let's see what it looks like in the inside. I had a high level of confidence that the gangrenous spot would have transferred and ruined the fruit of the banana.

I then start to peel back the outer layer fully expecting to see a large dark spot that would infect deep into the flesh of the banana. Instead, I got a banana that mainly looked scrumptious to eat. In trying to prove my banana theory I ended up proving the wife's theory, that is if one banana can prove a theory. There was no gangrenous blemish on the fruit of the banana. A couple weeks later (on 4/13), I had a banana (from a different bulk purchase) which proved my theory correct (photo below), showing one sample size is not a definitive explanation. 

A Banana from this past weekend (4/13), which proves my 
theory on the blemish transferring through

It should have dawned on me that the cover at the top probably assists with keeping banana's fresh. Further, I should have also felt it to see how soft it really was. Biting into it, I realized it was not as soft as I would have imagined given the significant discoloration on the outside. I am not sure what the moral of the story is, other than I was overly confident. My hubris, or that ethylene-gassed brain, led to the great banana debacle of 2024.  In the end, with my later discovery, my theory of what occurs is still in play. This could make for a great science project.

  

The Death March

One of the most famous incidents for brutality of WWII started on this date, April 9, in 1942 in the Philippines: The Bataan Death March. The March, on the Bataan peninsula, was enforced by the Japanese army against the 75,000 US (about 12,000) and Filipino (about 63,000) prisoners of war. The US soldiers were surrendered by US General Edward King. 

Bataan Death March, red is by foot,
black is by rail

The death march followed a three month battle on the peninsula which the US and Filipino soldiers were able to hold off the Japanese even though ill supplied. For example, after Pearl Harbor, the US forces were placed on half rations. The Roosevelt Administration's Europe first policy greatly affected supplies and manpower for the Pacific theater of operations in the early stages of WWII. The men were near starvation at the start of the death march, and things only got worse from there. The Roosevelt Administration, by Christmas 1941, regarded the soldiers on Bataan as a lost cause. Secretary of War Simpson remarked just after Christmas, "There are times when men have to die." (Sides, p 43)

The march, which went from Mariveles, on the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula, to San Fernando, was about 69 miles long, and ended at a rail head. By closed cargo cars, they were shipped further north by rail. They ended up walking the final several miles again by foot to Camp O'Donnell, later referred to as Camp Cabanatuan. Imprisonment occurred at a former Filipino army camp designed for 10,000, but would now hold about six times that number of war prisoners. It is thought that of the total group who marched, about 54,000 actually reached the camp, although actual numbers are not known. There are varied accounts of the number of men in the march, the number in the camp and the number that died. About 27,500, mostly Flipino soldiers, died during the march or in the encampment. A US soldiers ring was was prized by a Japanese solider. The ring could not be removed due to swelling in the fingers, so the Japanese soldier cut off the hand at the wrist with his machete. The camp was liberated on 30 Jan 1945, in a daring well-known raid, behind enemy lines.

Photo of Bataan Death March

The conditions and brutality that were part of the march is difficult to comprehend. The men were marched in hot, humid conditions and in pouring rain. They were provided no medical care. Once in camp, the care from the Japanese was basically non-existent with US medical staff providing the care they were capable of, but with no supplies. If they column of prisoners came across a stream, or really any water source, they were not permitted to take a drink. Some stragglers were bayoneted by the Japanese guards, others left to die, some were helped by already emaciated US soldiers who had three more months of little to eat. 

The camp conditions were ripe for disease, with little water, no sanitation, meaning malaria, dysentery weakened many of the men. Sleeping on the floor in bamboo huts without covers made for a bad situation, particularly for those that were ill. The main food was rice and a vegetable soup, although an occasional piece of water buffalo was provided in the soup. Deficient in many vitamins and protein, illness such as beri-beri, and pelagra became common. The Japanese refused offers of assistance from the Philippine Red Cross.

Bataan Death March

The evacuation after the raid was slow and arduous, with water buffalo pulled carts for the lame, and the slow pace of the men able to walk. The were also difficult battles with a Japanese enemy who would not go down without a fight regardless of how many men they lost doing the same thing over and over against US weapons, often wielded by Filipino soldiers.

Many of the US survivors were on a transport ship from the Philippines to San Francisco. A journey normally of 7000 miles, the transport, covered over 12000 miles, to avoid shipping lanes, and Japanese subs. The Japanese were gravely insulted by the raid, and vowed that their submarines would hunt down and sink the transport ship as it made its way starting in mid-February. 

Photo of some camp residents

The Filipino and US soldiers endured a hell on earth in that prisoner of war camp. It lead one man, whose unnamed diary was found outside the camp to write: "We are all ghosts now. But once we were men." (Sides, unnumbered page). The greatest indignity perhaps was the way they were considered collateral damage by the Roosevelt Administration, as the administration moved men and material to Europe, leaving the men to fight with dwindling supplies, see them surrender, and then go through the hellish conditions of the march and the POW camp. It was truly a death march. 

Sources: 2001 Sides, Hampton, Ghost Soldiers, Random House, NY NY

                History.com

                National World War II Museum website

                National Museum of the US Air Force website

Geography of the Holy Sepulcher

This past Sunday Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is thought to have died sometime between 30 and 36 AD. A document at the University of Chicago has the actual date as Friday, April 3, 33 AD, and of course at 3 pm in the afternoon. I visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in April 2013, eleven years ago, or 1,980 years after Christ's death (if in 33 AD), burial and resurrection. I did not realize, until that trip, that his tomb was so close to the place of his crucifixion. Of the stations of the cross, numbers 10 through 14 occur in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher itself and number nine just outside it. This post will be about the geography of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 

First century Jerusalem

Being a geographer, I like to understand the geography of an area, and the larger picture. With GPS in our Jeep, I miss the large view when travelling to an unknown area that one can get from a printed map of getting from point A to point B. Viewing a paper map allows me to better wrap my mind around where I am going. I have become reliant on the GPS, and it can provide useful information, like current traffic. When in the Holy Land, we depended on the driver, and at times we ended up traveling 45 minutes to get to a place 15 minutes away, often due to the security checkpoints which have many streets cut off. 

Via Dolorosa route from Fortress Antonia to Golgotha

Four of the last five stations of the cross being in one area makes sense. They are all related to the actual crucifixion: Jesus is stripped of his garments; Jesus is nailed to the cross; Jesus dies on the cross; Jesus is taken down from the cross. Israel/Palestine is made up of limestone, and limestone rock outcroppings are everywhere, and so would be caves. Jesus was born in Nazareth and probably in a cave. Mary first breast fed Jesus in a cave a short distance from the place of birth, in what is known as the milk grotto. She probably wanted to get some peace of mind away from all the shepherds, and the Magi. Jesus was born in a cave and buried in a cave. His place of burial likely was a cave further formed by hewing of  rock. It was to be the burial place of Joseph of Arimathea who provided his burial chamber for Jesus' lifeless body. I wonder if the chamber was ever reused? 

Depiction of Holy Sepulcher overlaid
with original grade

When visiting the church I thought this was unfortunate that the ground had been leveled, because it certainly would have been nice to experience the actual situation. The site was originally a pagan temple built by Hadrian (probably about 129 AD), part of which was repurposed for the church so the destruction of much of the ground is likely due to Hadrian and not fully the construction of the Church in the the first part of the 4th century by St Helena and her son Emperor Constantine. The ancients were well known for repurposing materials. Heck, even St Peter's Basilica in Rome is built in part from stone harvested from the Roman Colosseum. Stone was expensive to cut, handle, and transport, and in later times even find. Not all limestone and marble is appropriate for building construction.

Estimated cut out of tomb

One has to recall that the main method of transportation was by foot, so buildings were tightly packed to conserve space, and shorten the walking distance. Therefore, even though in 33AD the site was prominent for crucifixion less than a hundred years later in comes urban sprawl and the temple. It was not really sprawl since it was a logical outgrowth of the city, in a tight and compact manner. 

Entrance to Church of the Holy Sepulcher

In the church are varied markers of the stations. The ninth one, where Jesus fell a third time, being just outside and makes up the roof of the St Helena Chapel. Also present are a rock said to be split when the ground shook. 

Tomb of Christ

The specific date date of 3 April 33 AD is calculated by people much smarter than I, on the basis of a partial eclipse of the full moon as it rose above Jerusalem on that Friday afternoon. The Acts of the Apostles notes: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come" The Eclipse occurred as the moon rose above Jerusalem. 

Rock outcrop to left side of sign

What is also interesting is that, but for one man (who Jesus told to behold his mother meaning his mother, Mary) the people that were at the cross of Jesus as he died were women. Just as women were the first to arrive at the tomb that first Easter, so were they at the foot of the cross. Perhaps it is appropriate that Pope Francis, this past Holy Thursday washed the feet of twelve women (all prisoners). I think the rumble I heard that day was deceased Bishop of Madison Robert Morlino turning over and over in his grave in Resurrection Cemetery. 

View of part of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

While Bob was turning over in his grave last week Thursday, Joseph of Arimathea, if he used his tomb after Christ died, probably had his bones scattered about with the construction of the pagan temple on the site of the tomb. Joseph was a wealthy man so he could afford the finely carved tomb right across from Golgotha, with its entrance facing the site of the Roman crucifixions on that rise in the ground. His was not simple cave, but involved hewing out the rock for the entrance as many say, and for the tomb itself. With such a large and heavy rock covering the tomb, the women who went to the tomb wondered who would move the rock for them. I guess they did not plan ahead well. Would they have relied on the guard who was placed there at the request of the religious authorities to assure the body was not stolen? Obviously, Christ took on the task of moving the rock, so they need not have worried. This all makes me wonder why he even moved the rock at all and just did not transport outside? In this coming weeks reading, my wife's favorite, Christ enters a locked room, without need of door or window. But, here he moved the rock. I guess he was being nice to the ladies.

Moon over Bethlehem, Afternoon in mid-April 2013

Just as I like to see the big picture when travelling, so do I like to make sense of the geography of an area. Geography can explain much in our world: from cultural development, to settlement patterns, and over time has even affected our genes. Diet also plays a role, but diet is related to geography as certain plants grow only in certain climate zones, and location also affected large animal husbandry. Anyway, if you have a chance to rethink Easter this week, as you eat your last chocolate egg, perhaps you may wish to think about the geography of the Holy Sepulcher. 

Source: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/calendar/jesus.html#:~:text=Jesus%20therefore%20died%20on%20Friday,in%20use%20at%20the%20time.