This time, Gaza fighting is 'proxy war' for entire Mideast

(CNN) -- The conflict raging in Gaza is different this time.

While Hamas' rocket attacks and Israel's military actions may look familiar, they're taking place against a whole new backdrop.

"This is unprecedented in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict," says CNN's Ali Younes, an analyst who has covered the region for decades. "Most Arab states are actively supporting Israel against the Palestinians -- and not even shy about it or doing it discreetly."

It's a "joint Arab-Israeli war consisting of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia against other Arabs -- the Palestinians as represented by Hamas."

As the New York Times put it, "Arab leaders, viewing Hamas as worse than Israel, stay silent."

Most Arab states are actively supporting Israel.CNN's Ali Younes, Mideast analyst

One of the outcomes of the fighting will likely be "the end of the old Arab alliance system that has, even nominally, supported the Palestinians and their goal of establishing a Palestinian state," Younes says.

"The Israel-Hamas conflict has laid bare the new divides of the Middle East," says Danielle Pletka, vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. "It's no longer the Muslims against the Jews. Now it's the extremists -- the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, and their backers Iran, Qatar and Turkey -- against Israel and the more moderate Muslims including Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia."

"It's a proxy war for control or dominance in the Middle East," says CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

To understand why and what all this means, we need to begin with understanding of Hamas.

Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood

Hamas, which has controlled the Palestinian government in Gaza for years, is an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood. To many Americans, the brotherhood is familiar for its central role in the power struggle for Egypt. But it's much larger than that.

"The Muslim Brotherhood is international, with affiliated groups in more than 70 countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE," says Eric Trager of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The Arab Spring showed the region that uprisings can lead to the Brotherhood gaining power. So it's a threat to the governments it opposes.

"Israel's ongoing battle against Hamas is part of a wider regional war on the Muslim Brotherhood," says the Soufan Group, which tracks global security. "Most Arab states share Israel's determination to finish the movement off once and for all, but they are unlikely to be successful."

"From the perspective of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE and some other Arab states, what the Israeli Prime Minister is doing is fighting this war against Hamas on their behalf so they can finish the last stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood," Younes says.

"Arab governments and official Arab media have all but adopted the Israeli view of who is a terrorist and who is not. Egyptian and Saudi-owned media are liberal in labeling the Muslim Brotherhood as 'terrorists' and describing Hamas as a 'terrorist organization.' It's a complete turnabout from the past, when Arab states fought Israel and the U.S. in the international organizations on the definition of terrorism, and who is a terrorist or a 'freedom fighter.'"

Egypt

Egypt's new President vowed during his campaign that he wouldfinish off the Muslim Brotherhood. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former military chief, deposed Egypt's first freely elected leader, President Mohamed Morsy of the Muslim Brotherhood, last year following mass protests against Morsy's rule.

El-Sisi was elected officially in June.

"In Egypt you have a regime that came to power by toppling a Muslim Brotherhood government," says Trager. "It's therefore in an existential conflict with the Brotherhood. So it doesn't want to see Hamas, the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, emerge stronger in a neighboring territory."

Egypt also has another reason to stand against Hamas: rising violence and instability in Sinai, the northern part of Egypt that borders Israel and Gaza. Hamas' network of tunnels includes some in and out of Egypt used to smuggle goods include weapons for attackson Israeli civilians.

It's part of a regional war on the Muslim Brotherhood.The Soufan Group, which tracks global security

The new Egyptian government has been "cracking down aggressively since it removed the brotherhood from power," Trager says.

El-Sisi closed the border crossings between Egypt and Gaza, which has helped block Hamas militants from escaping or smuggling in more weapons during Israel's onslaught. But it also has contributed to the humanitarian crisis of people trapped in Gaza.

Egypt proposed a cease-fire, and Israel quickly accepted it -- indicating that it contained the terms Israel was looking for, analysts say. Hamas rejected it. While Egypt has worked furiously to try to broker a truce in the past, Cairo this time shows little rush to change its proposal to one much more favorable to Hamas, analysts say.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan

The monarchies of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have called on Hamas to accept the cease-fire proposal as is.

"We condemn the Israeli aggression and we support the Egyptian cease-fire proposal," Jordan's King Abdullah said last week.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are "challenged by Islamists who come to power via the ballot box rather than through royal succession," says Trager.

The Saudis and Egyptians are more scared of Islamic fundamentalism than they are of Israel.CNN's Fareed Zakaria

"So these countries have been directly supportive of the coup in Egypt because it removed elected Islamists and therefore discredited that model."

Saudi Arabia is "leading the charge," partly through backing the coup and financing state media reports that attacked the brotherhood, says Younes.

"Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all see the destruction of Hamas as of benefit to their internal security as well as to regional stability."

"The Saudis and the Egyptians are now more scared of Islamic fundamentalism than they are of Israel," says Zakaria.

"The Saudi monarchy is more worried about the prospects of Hamas winning, which would embolden Islamists in other parts of the Middle East, and therefore potentially an Islamist opposition in Saudi Arabia."

But Hamas is not alone.

Turkey and Qatar

Turkey and Qatar remain supportive of Hamas.

Qatar supported Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood government, and built "an Egypt-centric Al Jazeera network that became known for its strongly pro-Muslim Brotherhood line," says Trager.

Qatar also funds many Muslim Brotherhood figures in exile, including Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal, who is believed to have orchestrated numerous Hamas terrorist attacks.

"I think this is a case of a country with a lot of money to burn making a certain calculation in 2011 that made a lot of sense at the time: that the Brotherhood was the next big thing that was going to dominate many of the countries of the region," says Trager. "Realistically, it made sense to bet on it."

Turkey has "more of an ideological sympathy with the Brotherhood," he says.

Erdogan has tried to use the cause of the Brotherhood to bolster his own Islamist credentials. Eric Trager, Washington Institute

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with CNN, accusing Israel of "genocide."

"Erdogan has tried to use the cause of the Brotherhood to bolster his own Islamist credentials at home," says Trager. Last year, Erdogan cracked down on mass demonstrations in his country.

Iran and Syria

Iran has long supported Hamas, supplying it with weapons. And Meshaal used to be based in Syria.

But that changed. In 2012, Meshaal left Syria as the country's civil war deepened -- a decision believed to have caused a breakdown in his relationship with Iran as well, says Firas Abi Ali, head of Middle East and North Africa Country Risk and Forecasting at the global information company IHS. Tehran is aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Now, Syria -- Israel's neighbor to the north -- is locked in a brutal, multiparty civil war, with Islamist extremists hoisting severed heads onto poles. The war, believed to have killed more than 115,000 people, is just one of the many developments emphasizing how many "fault lines" there are in the region, Richard Haass, president of Council on Foreign Relations, told "CNN Tonight."

"There's fault lines within the Palestinians between Hamas and the other part of the Palestinian Authority. You have Sunnis vs. Shia. You have Iran vs. Saudi Arabia and the Arabs. You have secularists vs. people who embrace religion in the political space."

The Palestinian Authority

Paying a price for all this is another key player: Fatah, the Palestinian faction that controls the West Bank. Fatah and Hamas have long fought each other, but earlier this year made another effort at a unity government.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is in charge of the government in the West Bank, "seems politically exhausted by all the twists and turns he has made in search of a durable solution," the Soufan Gruop says. "And the one chance of reasserting his authority through a unity government that would have forced Hamas into a subordinate and less militant role has now disappeared. He must now watch helplessly as protests in the West Bank undo whatever progress he had made towards a two-state solution."

Gaza conflict by the numbers

Cambodia’s Ongoing Human Trafficking Problem

The country still sees a trade in girls as young as five years old.

Svay Pak is an internationally known district for child sex in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh, where foreign men come to seek sex with young girls.

According to a 2011 study by ECPAT Cambodia, around 75 percent of the victims of sex trafficking within Cambodia were children. The study also shows that the age of the victims has decreased over the years.

Svay Pak was officially shut down in 2005, following pressure from international organizations. However, this only forced the sex trade underground.

Victims of sex trafficking are often girls from poor families, who are tricked into working as prostitutes. Many girls are also sold to brothels by their own parents, often to pay off debts. A majority of the children taken into prostitution were students at the time, although children are vulnerable regardless of their school attendance. Girls who are forced to work in brothels endure regular rape and abuse, and may be tortured if caught attempting to escape. Some of the girls in the brothels are just 5 years old. Trade in virgins is also a big market, with buyers paying from $500 – $4000 to purchase a young girl’s virginity.

This shocking trade can be linked at least in part to Cambodia’s tragic history. The genocide during the Khmer Rouge era from 1975 to 1979 killed approximately two million people. The educated and religious communities of mainly Buddhists were nearly wiped out, along with social institutions, leaving behind a fractured society after the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed. Although the country has shown signs of development, there is a large wealth gap, and Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia.

Cambodia ranked 160 out of 175 in terms of police corruption according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. Since wages for police officers are so low, police officers are targeted for bribes by brothel owners to avoid arrest.

The situation is made more complicated by the fact that many young girls are not forced into the trade by criminals, but by family members. Children, especially daughters, are seen as property of the family, toward which they must contribute.

There are around 200 organizations in Cambodia seeking an end to the sex trade, but communication between the rescue teams is poor, and each team is following its own standards. This result is confusion over how to approach the problem.

The U.S. State Department has upgraded Cambodia’s status regarding its anti-trafficking efforts to tier two on its watch list, which denotes that the country is “making significant efforts.” And while the sex trade has improved since before 2005, when girls would approach tourists, the market is still being sustained byCambodia’s endemic poverty and gender inequality. Women in Cambodia earn an average of 27 cents for every dollar a man makes. Young women, who sometimes get involved in the sex industry voluntarily, often see it as their best option. When caught by authorities, these women become susceptible to official abuse under the new anti-trafficking laws.

Imagining U.S.-China Relations Under (President) Hillary Clinton

Should Hillary Clinton become president in 2016, her negative reputation in China might be a problem.

Over at the Wall Street Journal, Brookings Institution analyst Michael O’Hanlon looks at Hillary Clinton’s China policy. Clinton is presumed to be the frontrunner to be the Democratic candidate for president in 2016, although she has so far declined to confirm or deny that she will run. As O’Hanlon notes, the China policy of a hypothetical President Hillary Clinton deserves our attention, particularly as Clinton focused much of her attention on the Asia-Pacific region during her time as Secretary of State.

Many analysts have noted Clinton’s unusual emphasis on the Asia-Pacific, even for an administration that prided itself on its new focus on the region. Clinton was seen as one of the architects of the “pivot to Asia” — indeed, the policy was heralded by her October 2011 Foreign Policy article entitled “America’s Pacific Century.” Clinton was also the public face of the pivot (later dubbed the “rebalance”), traveling frequently to Asia and staking out American positions on regional issues. Most famously, in a speech at the 2010 ASEAN Regional Forum she declared U.S. national interests to be at stake in the South China Sea disputes. Clinton’s role in U.S. Asia-Pacific policy was so influential that Elizabeth Economy pointed to her departure as one of the major factors hindering the pivot to Asia in Obama’s second term.

Given this background, O’Hanlon notes that Clinton’s Asia-Pacific strategy, and particularly her thoughts on China, deserves more attention. He points to a “firmness” in Clinton’s remarks on China. O’Hanlon quotes from Clinton’s recent memoir, Hard Choices, in which Clinton notes the “lukewarm reception” President Obama received during his 2009 visit to China. Clinton’s emphasis on China’s military provocations, especially in the South China Sea, suggests that she agrees with those who wonder “whether we were seeing a new phase in the relationship, with an ascendant and assertive China no longer hiding its resources and enhanced military capabilities.” O’Hanlon writes that Clinton’s “respect for China and awareness of how assertive it can be—and the stakes for the U.S.–bode well for how she would handle Beijing as president.”

But there’s a flip side to Clinton’s “firmness” on China — she is remarkably unpopular among officials and scholars in China. In Beijing, Clinton takes the lion’s share of the blame for many of the Obama administration’s least popular moves during her term as secretary of state, from the more involved U.S. stance on regional territorial disputes to criticisms of China’s human rights violations. Clinton’s proclivity to take thinly veiled potshots at China during visits to other countries (such as her speeches in Mongolia in 2012 and Tanzania in 2011) also added to Chinese dislike of her on a personal level.

When Clinton stepped down, there was a palpable sense of relief in Beijing. An op-ed in China Daily summed up the prevailing attitudes by comparing new Secretary of State John Kerry to Clinton. “Clinton always spoke with a unipolar voice and never appeared interested in the answers she got. Kerry understands the true multipolar nature of the 21st century world. He listens to the answers he gets,” the article said. To many Chinese analysts, Clinton has come to symbolize the worst aspects of U.S. foreign policy: hypocritical preaching on human rights and democracy issues; U.S. meddling in regional affairs where it is not welcome, and, most importantly, a lack of respect for China and its “core interests.”

So what does this mean for U.S.-China relations under a hypothetical President Hillary Clinton? To some, Chinese dislike of Clinton is more of a badge of honor than a hindrance. Under this viewpoint, it is better to be feared than to be loved when it comes to relations to Beijing. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop seemed to subscribe to this view when she allegedly told Fairfax Media that “China doesn’t respect weakness” (according to Chinese media, Australia’s Foreign Ministry later denied the remarks). Bishop promised that Australia would “stand up to China,” risking China’s wrath in order to win China’s respect.

Some in the U.S. would welcome a similar attitude in the White House. As Bill Bishop, creator of the invaluable Sinocism Newsletter, puts it, it “increasingly appears that Beijing does not respect Obama and his second term foreign policy team.” To those who feel Obama has lost China’s respect, it would be preferable to have the tough-on-China Clinton in charge. Beijing might not like her, but perhaps Xi Jinping and his government would have more respect for her — with the implicit assumption that in this context “respect” directly correlates with the efficacy of American deterrence.

But it’s also a major detriment to scuttle the possibility of a good personal relationship between the Chinese and American presidents even before they officially meet. As Chinese blogger Yang Hengjun noted, the deepening relationship between Moscow and Beijing is based in part on the personal connection between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Political differences and geopolitics dictate that U.S.-China relations will never be smooth, but a personal relationship between top leaders may be the only thing that could help dismantle strategic distrust, which is at dangerously high levels. Strangely, though George W. Bush is not widely lauded for his foreign policy (to put it mildly), his cordial working relationship with Hu Jintao helped stabilize U.S.-China relations during their overlapping time in office.

Obama and his administration haven’t had this luxury, though not for a lack of trying. The Obama administration invested considerable time and energy in trying to forge a connection with Xi Jinping, both at the vice presidential and the presidential level. Their attempts were largely unsuccessful, and it shows in Xi’s new willingness to look beyond U.S.-China relations in crafting foreign policy. Should Clinton be elected, it would continue the trend of strained personal relations between Chinese and U.S. leaders — for better or for worse.

Taiwan’s Crippling Gas Explosion Caught On Camera

Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second largest city, is currently in a state of disarray due to blasts caused by a gas explosion. The number of casualties has now surpassed 250, with bodies continuing to be discovered as the day progresses.

Eruptions began around midnight Thursday and continued into the morning Friday. Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) announced that residents had been reporting smells of leaking gas to authorities prior to the explosions.

Investigations are currently underway to uncover how the blasts could have occurred and who was responsible. It is currently assumed that the cause was underground gas leaks from petrochemical pipelines built alongside the city’s sewer system.

A destroyed fire truck is seen overturned in the rubble after massive gas explosions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. A series of underground explosions about midnight Thursday and early Friday ripped through Taiwan's second-largest city, killing scores of people, Taiwan's National Fire Agency said. (Wally Santana—AP)

May the force be with her: Russian woman sneaks into missile factory... and discovered it looks just like a scene from Star Wars

These incredible pictures were taken by a young Russian woman after she crept inside a factory belonging to one of the world's top manufacturers of liquid-fuel rockets.

Lana Sator found her way into one of NPO Energomash's huge factories outside the Russian capital Moscow, without coming across a single security guard - or indeed any other employees at all. 

But she could now be in some serious trouble with the Russian government.

Lana Sator poses on machinery at the crumbling Energomash plant outside Moscow

You can't see me: Ms Sator poses cheekily next to a CCTV camera in the plant

Truth is stranger than (science) fiction: This picture looks like something from the Death Star, but is actually the inside of the Energomash plant

Out of service? These appear to be the exhaust pipes at the bottoms of two gargantuan space rockets

The lights are on... but nobody seems to be home: This photograph shows the heavy machinery that built liquid-fuel rockets used to send astronauts into space

Heavy industry: These heavy duty pipes and valves must, it appears, play a very important role in the factory, but were left completely unguarded

The young blogger and her friends were able to simply jump over the fence surrounding the complex, climb the ladders surrounding the outside, and find their way right into its heart through a series of gangways, tunnels and pipes.

But this apparently decrepit factory is far from abandoned. NPO Energomash builds rockets that power the modern Soyuz, the Zenit 3SL, and the Angara and Baikal launch vehicles.

Their RD-180 engine powers the first stage of the Atlas V, an American rocket, and they have strong ties to the Russian military - which has one of the biggest arsenals of nuclear armed ballistic missiles in the world

The Russian government has already responded to Ms Sator's adventures in the strategically important site. Officials have sent her letters warning that her situation will get 'much worse' if she keeps posting photos from the factory online.

For her part, Ms Sator has been undeterred and simply posted the letters on her own blog - lana.sator.livejournal.com - for the world to see.

Yet another mystery piece of equipment is pictured in a chamber within the Energomash site

Vertigo: This picture shows the snowy exterior of the plant from the top of one of its structures

Low security: The outside of the plant is marked by the absence of any guard hut

Far from out of service: The plant is pictured steaming away from a distance during the day time

Obama: Congress Left Town With Unfinished Business

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he's taking action on his own because Congress is doing so little for working families.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says the economy is improving. He says decisions made now can ensure things keep improving.

Obama says he's been pushing policies addressing jobs, student loans and wages. He says all of the policies would help families feel more stable, but all have been blocked by Republicans.

Obama says Congress left town for their August vacation with unfinished business. He says he hopes when lawmakers get back, Washington can join together in common purpose.

In the Republican address, Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon says Obama is disengaged when he should be leading. He says the midterm elections are a chance to deliver accountability.

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: www.nrcc.org

Chinese Hackers Target Israel’s Iron Dome

A PLA cyber unit targeted Israeli defense companies involved in developing the coveted Iron Dome missile defense system.

Chinese military hackers stole information relating to Israel’s much-touted Iron Dome missile defense system, according to a recent report by the cyber security website, Krebs on Security.

“Three Israeli defense contractors responsible for building the ‘Iron Dome’ missile shield currently protecting Israel from a barrage of rocket attacks were compromised by hackers and robbed of huge quantities of sensitive documents pertaining to the shield technology,” the report says, citing analysis by the Columbia, Md.-based threat intelligence firm Cyber Engineering Services Inc. (CyberESI).

The hackers penetrated the systems of three top Israeli defense firms — Elisra Group, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems — between October 2011 and August 2012, according to CyberESI (although the initial phishing emails went out in April 2011). CyberESI says that most of the information the Chinese hackers targeted was “intellectual property pertaining to Arrow III missiles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), ballistic rockets, and other technical documents in the same fields of study.” This and other information led CyberESI to conclude that the hackers were interested in Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system.

The timing of the cyber intrusions is also consistent with this conclusion. The Iron Dome was first deployed inMarch 2011 and intercepted its first missile from Gaza a month later. That same month is when the first phishing emails were sent to the firms.

According to CyberESI, the attacks against the Israeli firms “bore all of the hallmarks of the ‘Comment Crew,’” a now-infamous cyber unit in the People’s Liberation Army. The Comment Crew, which is officially designated PLA Unit 61398, first rose to public prominence when the Virginia-based cyber security firm Mandiant profiled it in a report it released in February of last year. The five PLA hackers whom the U.S. officially charged with crimes this spring were also members of Unit 61398, which is based out of Shanghai.

Israel’s mobile, all-weather Iron Dome missile defense system targets missiles with ranges between 4-70 kilometers, although Israel is currently trying to expand that range. The batteries all have sophisticated radars that allow them to determine the destination of the intended target. The system is therefore able to ignore missiles that are headed towards open fields or unimportant sites. Among the missiles it does target, however, it reportedly has an astonishing interception rate of as high as 90 percent. During the current Gaza War, the Iron Dome missile systems had an interception rate of 86 percent as of July 20, according to the Israeli military. This is why one military analyst has said that “Iron Dome is [possibly] the most-effective, most-tested missile shield the world has ever seen.”

Although the Iron Dome system was mostly developed by Israeli defense firms — first and foremost Rafael — it has largely been funded the United States. If the FY2015 U.S. defense budgets are approved, the U.S. will have given Israel nearly $1 billion in funding for the Iron Dome system over the last five years. By contrast, Israel has invested nearly $600 million. According to Yair Ramati, the head of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization, the U.S. has paid for seven of the eight Iron Dome batteries Israel currently deploys.

In contrast to the Iron Dome Missile System itself, the U.S. and Israel jointly developed the Arrow 3 missile that was also targeted by the PLA hackers. The head of CyberESI told Krebs on Security, “Most of the technology in the Arrow 3 wasn’t designed by Israel, but by Boeing and other U.S. defense contractors. We transferred this technology to them, and they coughed it all up. In the process, they essentially gave up a bunch of stuff that’s probably being used in our systems as well.”