missing the key issue!!!
Steve Grossman, a former president of Aipac and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said that the administration’s approach on the settlements issue had caused “an enormous sense of anxiety” among many American Jews.
They are missing the point. the key issue is Iran, not the settlements and Obzma is doing nothing and therefore his inaction will allow them to get nuks, the worst indecisio in history!!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
host of Comedy Central's ever-popular Daily Show
Shalom CAMERA E-Mail Team:
Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's ever-popular Daily Show, has won a wide audience for his skillful use of a satiric comedy to cut to the essence of serious political issues. But on October 27, 2009, he waded into a deeply contentious issue and got in over his head. In a segment dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Stewart hosted Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti and anti-Israel agitator Anna Baltzer . Barghouti presented a familiar narrative of Palestinian grievances of the kind often heard. But it was the pairing with Baltzer that sparked indignation among many viewers. Fortunately, the segment's producers edited out much of Baltzer's misinformation about Israel, making the version actually broadcast substantially less objectionable.
Baltzer, a fellow traveler with extreme anti-Israel groups like the International Solidarity Movement, routinely invokes her Jewish heritage as a ploy to lend credibility to her defamatory anti-Israel message.
She portrays Israel as a criminal state, relying upon her audience's lack of familiarity with the facts. Immediately after the show's airing she sent out a call to flood the Daily Show with letters of support for her. A constant refrain of her supporters and sponsors is that she "has a right to be heard." Falsely portraying herself as a Jew who saw the light when she travelled to the West Bank, Baltzer's pretense to being an authentic voice does not give her the right to appear on major television shows to incite hatred of Israel.
In a rare occurrence, there was some outspoken negative audience reaction. A member shouted out "liar!" in response to Barghouti accusing Israel of "segregation." Later another disruption took place in reponse to Baltzer denying that Israeli measures were taken in self-defense.
Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's ever-popular Daily Show, has won a wide audience for his skillful use of a satiric comedy to cut to the essence of serious political issues. But on October 27, 2009, he waded into a deeply contentious issue and got in over his head. In a segment dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Stewart hosted Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti and anti-Israel agitator Anna Baltzer . Barghouti presented a familiar narrative of Palestinian grievances of the kind often heard. But it was the pairing with Baltzer that sparked indignation among many viewers. Fortunately, the segment's producers edited out much of Baltzer's misinformation about Israel, making the version actually broadcast substantially less objectionable.
Baltzer, a fellow traveler with extreme anti-Israel groups like the International Solidarity Movement, routinely invokes her Jewish heritage as a ploy to lend credibility to her defamatory anti-Israel message.
She portrays Israel as a criminal state, relying upon her audience's lack of familiarity with the facts. Immediately after the show's airing she sent out a call to flood the Daily Show with letters of support for her. A constant refrain of her supporters and sponsors is that she "has a right to be heard." Falsely portraying herself as a Jew who saw the light when she travelled to the West Bank, Baltzer's pretense to being an authentic voice does not give her the right to appear on major television shows to incite hatred of Israel.
In a rare occurrence, there was some outspoken negative audience reaction. A member shouted out "liar!" in response to Barghouti accusing Israel of "segregation." Later another disruption took place in reponse to Baltzer denying that Israeli measures were taken in self-defense.
Iran and terror
Does Iran sponsor terrorism?
In March 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, “Iran has been the country that has been in many ways a kind of central banker for terrorism in important regions like Lebanon through Hezbollah in the Middle East, in the Palestinian Territories, and we have deep concerns about what Iran is doing in the south of Iraq.” U.S. Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told CFR.org in June 2007 there is “overwhelming evidence” that Iran supports terrorists in Iraq and “compelling” evidence that it does the same in Afghanistan. For these reasons, news reports in August 2007 cited U.S. officials as saying that the United States would consider adding Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations. Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in helping attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How is Iran governed?
Since a 1979 revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini toppled the U.S.-backed regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the country has been governed by Shiite Muslim clerics committed to a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei serves as commander-in-chief of the armed and police forces; the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state ministry in control of television and radio; and leader of the country’s judiciary. The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), currently headed by Ali Larijani, doubles as Iran’s top negotiator on nuclear issues and enjoys close relations with Ayatollah Khamenei, who has final say over all SNSC decisions. The SNSC is composed mostly of top officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, intelligence, and interior, as well as military leaders from the army and the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s main security apparatus formed in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Revolutionary Guards are reported to be training, funding, and equipping Shiite militias in southern Iraq.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the popularly elected president, has aroused controversy by calling for Israel’s elimination but his power is checked by the Supreme Leader. He has vigorously supported the country’s nuclear energy program while denying any military connection, and has emerged as a strong anti-American voice globally.
What is the government’s stance on al-Qaeda?
In December 2005, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Agence France Presse that Iran had extradited all foreign members of al-Qaeda, and tried any Iranian suspects. Previously, Iran had refused to publicly identify or extradite the detainees on security grounds.
What terrorist groups are linked to Iran?
U.S. officials say Iran mostly backs Islamist groups, including the Lebanese Shiite militants of Hezbollah (which Iran helped found in the 1980s) and such Palestinian terrorist groups as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A few months after Hamas won the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections in early 2006, Iran pledged $50 million to the near-bankrupt PA. The United States, among other nations, has cut off aid to the PA because of Hamas’ terrorist ties.
Iran is suspected of encouraging Hezbollah’s July 2006 attack on Israel to deflect international attention from its nuclear weapons program. Iran was also reportedly involved in a Hezbollah-linked January 2002 attempt to smuggle a boatload of arms to the PA. Some reports also suggest that Iran’s interference in Iraq has included funding, safe transit, and arms to insurgent leaders like Muqtada al-Sadr and his forces.
What terrorist activities have been linked with Iran?
The U.S. government first listed Iran as a terrorist sponsor in 1984. Among its activities have been the following:
* Observers say Iran had prior knowledge of Hezbollah attacks, such as the 1988 kidnapping and murder of Colonel William Higgins, a U.S. Marine involved in a UN observer mission in Lebanon, and the 1992 and 1994 bombings of Jewish cultural institutions in Argentina.
* Iran still has a price on the head of the Indian-born British novelist Salman Rushdie for what Iranian leaders call blasphemous writings about Islam in his 1989 novel The Satanic Verses.
* U.S. officials say Iran supported the group behind the 1996 truck bombing of Khobar Towers, a U.S. military residence in Saudi Arabia, which killed nineteen U.S. servicemen.
Does Iran have weapons of mass destruction?
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency says Iran possesses chemicals that can induce bleeding, blistering, and choking, as well as the bombs and artillery shells to deliver these agents. U.S. officials say Iran also has an active biological weapons program, driven in part by its acquisition of “dual-use” technologies—supplies and machinery that can be put to either harmless or deadly uses. Weapons experts say the Iranian programs started after the country's forces were struck by Iraqi chemical attacks in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
With help from Russia, Iran is building a nuclear power plant, but U.S. officials say that Iran is more interested in developing a nuclear weapon than in producing nuclear energy. In April 2006, President Ahmadinejad announced Iran had successfully enriched uranium. Experts say Iran could have enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) to produce a bomb in three to ten years. The international community has called on Iran to stop its nuclear program.
Does Iran have missiles that can deliver weapons of mass destruction?
Yes. Iran has hundreds of Scuds and other short-range ballistic missiles. It has also manufactured and flight-tested the Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of 1,300 kilometers—enough to hit Israel or Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Iran is developing missiles with even greater range, including one that it says will be used to launch satellites but that experts say could also be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile. In March 2006, Iran claimed it had successfully tested a missile capable of evading radar and hitting multiple targets.
Daniel Poneman, senior fellow at the Forum for International Policy and former special assistant to the president and senior director for nonproliferation and export controls at the National Security Council, said at a CFR symposium on Iran that “They could use trucks for delivery systems. I think just as the bomb-making is easier than getting the HEU, the delivery is much easier than making a bomb.”
In March 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, “Iran has been the country that has been in many ways a kind of central banker for terrorism in important regions like Lebanon through Hezbollah in the Middle East, in the Palestinian Territories, and we have deep concerns about what Iran is doing in the south of Iraq.” U.S. Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told CFR.org in June 2007 there is “overwhelming evidence” that Iran supports terrorists in Iraq and “compelling” evidence that it does the same in Afghanistan. For these reasons, news reports in August 2007 cited U.S. officials as saying that the United States would consider adding Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations. Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in helping attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How is Iran governed?
Since a 1979 revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini toppled the U.S.-backed regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the country has been governed by Shiite Muslim clerics committed to a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei serves as commander-in-chief of the armed and police forces; the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state ministry in control of television and radio; and leader of the country’s judiciary. The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), currently headed by Ali Larijani, doubles as Iran’s top negotiator on nuclear issues and enjoys close relations with Ayatollah Khamenei, who has final say over all SNSC decisions. The SNSC is composed mostly of top officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, intelligence, and interior, as well as military leaders from the army and the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s main security apparatus formed in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Revolutionary Guards are reported to be training, funding, and equipping Shiite militias in southern Iraq.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the popularly elected president, has aroused controversy by calling for Israel’s elimination but his power is checked by the Supreme Leader. He has vigorously supported the country’s nuclear energy program while denying any military connection, and has emerged as a strong anti-American voice globally.
What is the government’s stance on al-Qaeda?
In December 2005, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Agence France Presse that Iran had extradited all foreign members of al-Qaeda, and tried any Iranian suspects. Previously, Iran had refused to publicly identify or extradite the detainees on security grounds.
What terrorist groups are linked to Iran?
U.S. officials say Iran mostly backs Islamist groups, including the Lebanese Shiite militants of Hezbollah (which Iran helped found in the 1980s) and such Palestinian terrorist groups as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A few months after Hamas won the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections in early 2006, Iran pledged $50 million to the near-bankrupt PA. The United States, among other nations, has cut off aid to the PA because of Hamas’ terrorist ties.
Iran is suspected of encouraging Hezbollah’s July 2006 attack on Israel to deflect international attention from its nuclear weapons program. Iran was also reportedly involved in a Hezbollah-linked January 2002 attempt to smuggle a boatload of arms to the PA. Some reports also suggest that Iran’s interference in Iraq has included funding, safe transit, and arms to insurgent leaders like Muqtada al-Sadr and his forces.
What terrorist activities have been linked with Iran?
The U.S. government first listed Iran as a terrorist sponsor in 1984. Among its activities have been the following:
* Observers say Iran had prior knowledge of Hezbollah attacks, such as the 1988 kidnapping and murder of Colonel William Higgins, a U.S. Marine involved in a UN observer mission in Lebanon, and the 1992 and 1994 bombings of Jewish cultural institutions in Argentina.
* Iran still has a price on the head of the Indian-born British novelist Salman Rushdie for what Iranian leaders call blasphemous writings about Islam in his 1989 novel The Satanic Verses.
* U.S. officials say Iran supported the group behind the 1996 truck bombing of Khobar Towers, a U.S. military residence in Saudi Arabia, which killed nineteen U.S. servicemen.
Does Iran have weapons of mass destruction?
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency says Iran possesses chemicals that can induce bleeding, blistering, and choking, as well as the bombs and artillery shells to deliver these agents. U.S. officials say Iran also has an active biological weapons program, driven in part by its acquisition of “dual-use” technologies—supplies and machinery that can be put to either harmless or deadly uses. Weapons experts say the Iranian programs started after the country's forces were struck by Iraqi chemical attacks in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
With help from Russia, Iran is building a nuclear power plant, but U.S. officials say that Iran is more interested in developing a nuclear weapon than in producing nuclear energy. In April 2006, President Ahmadinejad announced Iran had successfully enriched uranium. Experts say Iran could have enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) to produce a bomb in three to ten years. The international community has called on Iran to stop its nuclear program.
Does Iran have missiles that can deliver weapons of mass destruction?
Yes. Iran has hundreds of Scuds and other short-range ballistic missiles. It has also manufactured and flight-tested the Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of 1,300 kilometers—enough to hit Israel or Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Iran is developing missiles with even greater range, including one that it says will be used to launch satellites but that experts say could also be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile. In March 2006, Iran claimed it had successfully tested a missile capable of evading radar and hitting multiple targets.
Daniel Poneman, senior fellow at the Forum for International Policy and former special assistant to the president and senior director for nonproliferation and export controls at the National Security Council, said at a CFR symposium on Iran that “They could use trucks for delivery systems. I think just as the bomb-making is easier than getting the HEU, the delivery is much easier than making a bomb.”
Hezbollah violence
Timeline of Hezbollah Violence
Hezbollah and its history of international terrorism and violence:
1982: Israel invades Lebanon to drive out the PLO's terrorist army, which had frequently attacked Israel from its informal "state-within-a-state" in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, a Shiite group inspired by the teachings and revolution of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, is created with the assistance of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The group is called Hezbollah–or "party of God"– after initially taking responsibility for attacks under the name "Islamic Jihad." (Not to be confused with the Palestinian terror organization Islamic Jihad.)
July 19, 1982: The president of the American University in Beirut, Davis S. Dodge, is kidnapped. Hezbollah is believed to be behind this and most of the other 30 Westerners kidnapped over the next ten years.
April 18, 1983: Hezbollah attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut with a car bomb, killing 63 people, 17 of whom were American citizens.
Oct. 23, 1983: The group attacks U.S. Marine barracks with a truck bomb, killing 241 American military personnel stationed in Beirut as part of a peace-keeping force. A separate attack against the French military compound in Beirut kills 58.
Sept. 20, 1984: The group attacks the U.S. embassy annex in Beirut with a car bomb, killing 2 Americans and 22 others.
March 16, 1984: William F. Buckley, a CIA operative working at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, is kidnapped and later murdered.
April 12, 1984: Hezbollah attacks a restaurant near the U.S. Air Force Base in Torrejon, Spain. The bombing kills eighteen U.S. servicemen and injures 83 people.
Dec. 4, 1984: Hezbollah terrorists hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane. Four passengers are murdered, including two Americans.
Feb. 16, 1985: Hezbollah publicizes its manifesto. It notes that the group's struggle will continue until Israel is destroyed and rejects any cease-fire or peace treaty with Israel. The document also attacks the U.S. and France.
June 14, 1985: Hezbollah terrorists hijack TWA flight 847. The hijackers severely beat Passenger Robert Stethem, a U.S. Navy diver, before killing him and dumping his body onto the tarmac at the Beirut airport. Other passengers are held as hostages before being released on June 30.
Dec. 31, 1986: Under the alias Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Hezbollah announces it had kidnapped and murdered three Lebanese Jews. The organization previously had taken responsibility for killing four other Jews since 1984.
Feb. 17, 1988: The group kidnaps Col. William Higgins, a U.S. Marine serving with a United Nations truce monitoring group in Lebanon, and later murders him.
Oct. 22, 1989: Members of the dissolved Lebanese parliament ratify the Taif Agreement. Although the agreement calls for the "disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," Hezbollah remains active.
Feb. 16, 1992: Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah takes over Hezbollah after Israel kills the group's leader, Abbas Musawi.
March 17, 1992: With the help of Iranian intelligence, Hezbollah bombs the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 and injuring over 200.
July 18, 1994: Hezbollah bombs the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires–again with Iranian help–killing 86 and injuring over 200.
Nov. 28, 1995: Hezbollah bombards towns in northern Israel with volleys of Katyusha rockets in one of the group's numerous attacks on Israeli civilians.
March 30, 1996: Hezbollah fires 28 Katyusha rockets into northern Israeli towns. A week later, the group fires 16 rockets, injuring 36 Israelis. Israel responds with a major offensive, known as the "Grapes of Wrath" operation, to stop Hezbollah rocket fire.
Aug. 19, 1997: Hezbollah opens fire on northern Israel with dozens of rockets in one of the group's numerous attacks on Israeli civilians.
October 1997: The United States lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Dec. 28, 1998: Hezbollah opens fire on northern Israel with dozens of rockets in one of the group's numerous attacks on Israeli civilians.
May 17, 1999: Hezbollah opens fire on northern Israel with dozens of rockets in one of the group's numerous attacks on Israeli civilians.
June 24, 1999: Hezbollah opens fire on northern Israel, killing 2.
May 23, 2000: Israel withdraws all troops from Lebanon after 18 years patrolling the "security zone," a strip of land in the south of the country. The security zone was set up to prevent attacks on northern Israel.
June 2000: United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan certifies Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. Shortly thereafter, the U.N. Security Council endorses Annan's report. Hezbollah nonetheless alleges Israel occupies Lebanon, claiming the small Shebba Farms area Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 war as Lebanese territory.
Oct. 7, 2000: Hezbollah attacks an Israel military post and raids Israel, kidnapping three Israeli soldiers. The soldiers are later assumed dead. In mid-October, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah announces the group has also kidnapped an Israeli businessman. In 2004, Israel frees over 400 Arab prisoners in exchange for the business man and the bodies of the three soldiers.
March 1, 2001: The British government adds Hezbollah's "military wing" to its list of outlawed terrorist organizations.
April 9, 2002: Hezbollah launches Katyushas into northern Israeli town. This assault comes amidst almost daily Hezbollah attacks against Israeli troops in Shebba farms.
Dec. 11, 2002: Canada lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Aug. 10, 2003: Hezbollah shells kills 16-year-old Israeli boy, wound others.
June 5, 2003: Australia lists Hezbollah's "military wing" as a terrorist organization.
Sept. 2, 2004: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 calls for "the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," a reference to Hezbollah.
December 2004: Both the United States and France ban Hezbollah's satellite television network, Al Manar. A U.S. State Department spokesman notes the channel "preaches violence and hatred."
March 10, 2005: The European Parliament overwhelmingly passes a resolution stating: "Parliament considers that clear evidence exists of terrorist activities by Hezbollah. The (EU) Council should take all necessary steps to curtail them." The European Union nonetheless refrains from placing the group on its list of terror organizations.
July 12, 2006: Hezbollah attacks Israel with Katyushas, crosses the border and kidnaps two Israeli soldiers. Three Israeli soldiers are killed in the initial attack. Five more soldiers are killed as Israel launches operation to rescue the soldiers and push Hezbollah from its border. During the ensuing war, Hezbollah launches rockets at civilian targets across northern Israel.
Aug. 11, 2006: The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1701, which calls for a cessation of hostilities, the deployment of Lebanese and U.N. forces into southern Lebanon, and the disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon.
Hezbollah and its history of international terrorism and violence:
1982: Israel invades Lebanon to drive out the PLO's terrorist army, which had frequently attacked Israel from its informal "state-within-a-state" in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, a Shiite group inspired by the teachings and revolution of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, is created with the assistance of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The group is called Hezbollah–or "party of God"– after initially taking responsibility for attacks under the name "Islamic Jihad." (Not to be confused with the Palestinian terror organization Islamic Jihad.)
July 19, 1982: The president of the American University in Beirut, Davis S. Dodge, is kidnapped. Hezbollah is believed to be behind this and most of the other 30 Westerners kidnapped over the next ten years.
April 18, 1983: Hezbollah attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut with a car bomb, killing 63 people, 17 of whom were American citizens.
Oct. 23, 1983: The group attacks U.S. Marine barracks with a truck bomb, killing 241 American military personnel stationed in Beirut as part of a peace-keeping force. A separate attack against the French military compound in Beirut kills 58.
Sept. 20, 1984: The group attacks the U.S. embassy annex in Beirut with a car bomb, killing 2 Americans and 22 others.
March 16, 1984: William F. Buckley, a CIA operative working at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, is kidnapped and later murdered.
April 12, 1984: Hezbollah attacks a restaurant near the U.S. Air Force Base in Torrejon, Spain. The bombing kills eighteen U.S. servicemen and injures 83 people.
Dec. 4, 1984: Hezbollah terrorists hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane. Four passengers are murdered, including two Americans.
Feb. 16, 1985: Hezbollah publicizes its manifesto. It notes that the group's struggle will continue until Israel is destroyed and rejects any cease-fire or peace treaty with Israel. The document also attacks the U.S. and France.
June 14, 1985: Hezbollah terrorists hijack TWA flight 847. The hijackers severely beat Passenger Robert Stethem, a U.S. Navy diver, before killing him and dumping his body onto the tarmac at the Beirut airport. Other passengers are held as hostages before being released on June 30.
Dec. 31, 1986: Under the alias Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Hezbollah announces it had kidnapped and murdered three Lebanese Jews. The organization previously had taken responsibility for killing four other Jews since 1984.
Feb. 17, 1988: The group kidnaps Col. William Higgins, a U.S. Marine serving with a United Nations truce monitoring group in Lebanon, and later murders him.
Oct. 22, 1989: Members of the dissolved Lebanese parliament ratify the Taif Agreement. Although the agreement calls for the "disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," Hezbollah remains active.
Feb. 16, 1992: Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah takes over Hezbollah after Israel kills the group's leader, Abbas Musawi.
March 17, 1992: With the help of Iranian intelligence, Hezbollah bombs the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 and injuring over 200.
July 18, 1994: Hezbollah bombs the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires–again with Iranian help–killing 86 and injuring over 200.
Nov. 28, 1995: Hezbollah bombards towns in northern Israel with volleys of Katyusha rockets in one of the group's numerous attacks on Israeli civilians.
March 30, 1996: Hezbollah fires 28 Katyusha rockets into northern Israeli towns. A week later, the group fires 16 rockets, injuring 36 Israelis. Israel responds with a major offensive, known as the "Grapes of Wrath" operation, to stop Hezbollah rocket fire.
Aug. 19, 1997: Hezbollah opens fire on northern Israel with dozens of rockets in one of the group's numerous attacks on Israeli civilians.
October 1997: The United States lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Dec. 28, 1998: Hezbollah opens fire on northern Israel with dozens of rockets in one of the group's numerous attacks on Israeli civilians.
May 17, 1999: Hezbollah opens fire on northern Israel with dozens of rockets in one of the group's numerous attacks on Israeli civilians.
June 24, 1999: Hezbollah opens fire on northern Israel, killing 2.
May 23, 2000: Israel withdraws all troops from Lebanon after 18 years patrolling the "security zone," a strip of land in the south of the country. The security zone was set up to prevent attacks on northern Israel.
June 2000: United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan certifies Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. Shortly thereafter, the U.N. Security Council endorses Annan's report. Hezbollah nonetheless alleges Israel occupies Lebanon, claiming the small Shebba Farms area Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 war as Lebanese territory.
Oct. 7, 2000: Hezbollah attacks an Israel military post and raids Israel, kidnapping three Israeli soldiers. The soldiers are later assumed dead. In mid-October, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah announces the group has also kidnapped an Israeli businessman. In 2004, Israel frees over 400 Arab prisoners in exchange for the business man and the bodies of the three soldiers.
March 1, 2001: The British government adds Hezbollah's "military wing" to its list of outlawed terrorist organizations.
April 9, 2002: Hezbollah launches Katyushas into northern Israeli town. This assault comes amidst almost daily Hezbollah attacks against Israeli troops in Shebba farms.
Dec. 11, 2002: Canada lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Aug. 10, 2003: Hezbollah shells kills 16-year-old Israeli boy, wound others.
June 5, 2003: Australia lists Hezbollah's "military wing" as a terrorist organization.
Sept. 2, 2004: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 calls for "the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," a reference to Hezbollah.
December 2004: Both the United States and France ban Hezbollah's satellite television network, Al Manar. A U.S. State Department spokesman notes the channel "preaches violence and hatred."
March 10, 2005: The European Parliament overwhelmingly passes a resolution stating: "Parliament considers that clear evidence exists of terrorist activities by Hezbollah. The (EU) Council should take all necessary steps to curtail them." The European Union nonetheless refrains from placing the group on its list of terror organizations.
July 12, 2006: Hezbollah attacks Israel with Katyushas, crosses the border and kidnaps two Israeli soldiers. Three Israeli soldiers are killed in the initial attack. Five more soldiers are killed as Israel launches operation to rescue the soldiers and push Hezbollah from its border. During the ensuing war, Hezbollah launches rockets at civilian targets across northern Israel.
Aug. 11, 2006: The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1701, which calls for a cessation of hostilities, the deployment of Lebanese and U.N. forces into southern Lebanon, and the disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon.
The Muslim Brotherhood
The Truth about the Muslim Brotherhood By: Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, June 16, 2006
On October 28, 2005,[1] President George W. Bush denounced IslamoFascist movements that call for a “violent and political vision: the establishment, by terrorism, subversion and insurgency, of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom.”
The Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun)[2] also known as the Ikhwan is a good example of what the President described and what he must protect us against.
The Muslim Brotherhood (“MB”) organization describes itself as a political and social revolutionary movement; it was founded in March 1928 in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna, who objected to Western influence and called for return to an original Islam.[3]
The Brotherhood is an expansive and secretive society with followers in more than 70 countries, dedicated to creating a global Islamic order that would isolate women and punish nonbelievers. Its members and supporters founded al Qaeda, as well as one “of the largest college student groups in the United States.”[4]
The Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism, Juan Zarate, stated recently, “the Muslim Brotherhood is a group that worries us not because it deals with philosophical or ideological ideas but because it defends the use of violence against civilians.”[5] In fact, The MB 1982 secret plan, (the Project) recently exposed, instructs all members locally and globally “To channel thought, education and action in order to establish an Islamic power [government] on the earth.” [6]
The Muslim Brotherhood has historically and continues to actively pursue the establishment of a Muslim regime that will serve as the basis to re-establish the Caliphate, not only by defending violence against civilians, The current leader of the international Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammad Mahdi Akef,[7] “recently issued a new strategy calling on all its member organizations to serve its global agenda of defeating the West. He called on individual members of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide to not only join the “resistance” to the U.S. financially, but also through active participation.”[8] In the MB Project (1982), Point of Departure[9] instructs members,” To use diverse and varied surveillance systems, in several places, to gather information and adopt a single effective warning system serving the worldwide Islamic movement. In fact, surveillance, policy decisions and effective communications complement each other.”
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, June 16, 2006
On October 28, 2005,[1] President George W. Bush denounced IslamoFascist movements that call for a “violent and political vision: the establishment, by terrorism, subversion and insurgency, of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom.”
The Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun)[2] also known as the Ikhwan is a good example of what the President described and what he must protect us against.
The Muslim Brotherhood (“MB”) organization describes itself as a political and social revolutionary movement; it was founded in March 1928 in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna, who objected to Western influence and called for return to an original Islam.[3]
The Brotherhood is an expansive and secretive society with followers in more than 70 countries, dedicated to creating a global Islamic order that would isolate women and punish nonbelievers. Its members and supporters founded al Qaeda, as well as one “of the largest college student groups in the United States.”[4]
The Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism, Juan Zarate, stated recently, “the Muslim Brotherhood is a group that worries us not because it deals with philosophical or ideological ideas but because it defends the use of violence against civilians.”[5] In fact, The MB 1982 secret plan, (the Project) recently exposed, instructs all members locally and globally “To channel thought, education and action in order to establish an Islamic power [government] on the earth.” [6]
The Muslim Brotherhood has historically and continues to actively pursue the establishment of a Muslim regime that will serve as the basis to re-establish the Caliphate, not only by defending violence against civilians, The current leader of the international Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammad Mahdi Akef,[7] “recently issued a new strategy calling on all its member organizations to serve its global agenda of defeating the West. He called on individual members of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide to not only join the “resistance” to the U.S. financially, but also through active participation.”[8] In the MB Project (1982), Point of Departure[9] instructs members,” To use diverse and varied surveillance systems, in several places, to gather information and adopt a single effective warning system serving the worldwide Islamic movement. In fact, surveillance, policy decisions and effective communications complement each other.”
Hamas terror
Hamas capsule history
The Hamas has a 'military' wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, that engages in terrorist acts and a 'civilian' wing that supposedly confines itself to education and 'good works.' Hamas perpetrated numerous suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks, at first in order to sabotage the Oslo Accords and peace process, and then as part of the Second Intifada. Israel successively assassinated its leaders, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Sheikh Ahmed Rantissi, forcing the leadership underground. However, in January of 2006, candidates representing the Hamas swept to victory in Palestinian elections, overcoming the traditional leadership of the Fateh and PLO. In June of 2006, Hamas affiliates captured an Israeli soldier by tunneling across the border between Gaza and Israel In February of 2007, Hamas, Fateh and other factions entered a unity government in a deal brokered by Saudi Arabia and Egypt. However, in practice, Hamas ruled Gaza on its own. It formed the Executive Force over the protests of the Fatah and Palestinian Authority. The Executive force was a combination internal police force, political force to be used against Hamas opponents and terrorist group. In June of 2007, Hamas ousted Fatah forces from Gaza in a bloody coup, throwing Fatah members off the roofs of buildings after shooting them in the knees. At least one Fatah member was sliced into steaks that were sent to his family. Since Gaza had been totally evacuated by Israel in the unilateral disengagement of 2005, Hamas currently (2009) rules Gaza as a de facto state government. It has used Gaza as a base for launching rocket attacks against Israel. On June 19, 2008, Israel and Hamas concluded a "lull" or Tahdiya agreement that was brokered by Egypt. Hamas, but not Israel, declared that this truce was for a period of six months. Rocket fire from Gaza was reduced but not stopped. Hamas greatly stepped up smuggling of arms through tunnels beneath the Egyptian controlled Rafah crossing. Hamas dismissed the international monitors that were to have controlled the Rafah crossing, and then declared that Gaza is "under siege." Israel retaliated for rocket fire by closing the Israeli crossings periodically. On December 18, 2008, Hamas declared that they would not renew the truce. Thereafter, Hamas and associated organizations directed a rain of rocket and mortar fire at Israeli towns and cities, reaching as far as 45 KM away with Grad rockets that had been smuggled in during the lull period. On December 26, 2008, Israel launched operation Cast Lead, attacking the Hamas in Gaza at first by air and later in a limited ground invasion.
Click here for details of Hamas history.
Hamas Principles
The principles of the Hamas are stated in their Covenant or Charter, given in full below. Following are highlights.
"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).
"The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "
"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
"After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying."
The Hamas has a 'military' wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, that engages in terrorist acts and a 'civilian' wing that supposedly confines itself to education and 'good works.' Hamas perpetrated numerous suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks, at first in order to sabotage the Oslo Accords and peace process, and then as part of the Second Intifada. Israel successively assassinated its leaders, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Sheikh Ahmed Rantissi, forcing the leadership underground. However, in January of 2006, candidates representing the Hamas swept to victory in Palestinian elections, overcoming the traditional leadership of the Fateh and PLO. In June of 2006, Hamas affiliates captured an Israeli soldier by tunneling across the border between Gaza and Israel In February of 2007, Hamas, Fateh and other factions entered a unity government in a deal brokered by Saudi Arabia and Egypt. However, in practice, Hamas ruled Gaza on its own. It formed the Executive Force over the protests of the Fatah and Palestinian Authority. The Executive force was a combination internal police force, political force to be used against Hamas opponents and terrorist group. In June of 2007, Hamas ousted Fatah forces from Gaza in a bloody coup, throwing Fatah members off the roofs of buildings after shooting them in the knees. At least one Fatah member was sliced into steaks that were sent to his family. Since Gaza had been totally evacuated by Israel in the unilateral disengagement of 2005, Hamas currently (2009) rules Gaza as a de facto state government. It has used Gaza as a base for launching rocket attacks against Israel. On June 19, 2008, Israel and Hamas concluded a "lull" or Tahdiya agreement that was brokered by Egypt. Hamas, but not Israel, declared that this truce was for a period of six months. Rocket fire from Gaza was reduced but not stopped. Hamas greatly stepped up smuggling of arms through tunnels beneath the Egyptian controlled Rafah crossing. Hamas dismissed the international monitors that were to have controlled the Rafah crossing, and then declared that Gaza is "under siege." Israel retaliated for rocket fire by closing the Israeli crossings periodically. On December 18, 2008, Hamas declared that they would not renew the truce. Thereafter, Hamas and associated organizations directed a rain of rocket and mortar fire at Israeli towns and cities, reaching as far as 45 KM away with Grad rockets that had been smuggled in during the lull period. On December 26, 2008, Israel launched operation Cast Lead, attacking the Hamas in Gaza at first by air and later in a limited ground invasion.
Click here for details of Hamas history.
Hamas Principles
The principles of the Hamas are stated in their Covenant or Charter, given in full below. Following are highlights.
"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).
"The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "
"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
"After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying."
Islamic Jihad
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Photo: AFP
Jihad gunmen Photo: AFP
Photo: AFP
Abdullah al-Shami Photo: AFP
Photo: AP
Mohammed el-Hindi Photo: AP
Photo: AP
First to use female suicide bombers Photo: AP
The Islamic Jihad
Following the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas' lead, this ferocious militant group desires nothing more than to 'eliminate the Zionist entity,' as its a-political nature frees it from adhering to any ceasefire achieved between other militant groups and Israel
Ynetnews
Published: 12.22.07, 17:15 / Israel News
The Islamic Jihad, or as it is officially called The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, is a radical Muslim terror organization operating in the Middle East.
The organization's main goal is the elimination of Israel, which it calls "the Zionist entity", through Jihad – a holy war, and the establishment of an Islamic state "from sea to sea."
The Islamic Jihad's charter further calls for "Jihad against the Jewish existence in Palestine," and states that "the Jihad is the obligation of every Muslim and must be carried out immediately, regardless of the formation of an Islamic state." The holy war, continues the charter, is a vital step in rehabilitating the Islamic nation and will lead the nation back to its fundamental, original, Islamic values.
The Islamic Jihad is a significantly smaller organization than Hamas. Like Hamas, the Jihad's principles derive from those of the Muslim Brotherhood, but unlike it, it has no civil branch, nor does it work to benefit the Palestinian people; its main focus is on guerrilla warfare and terror activities.
The Jihad operates mainly in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but has also carried out attacks in Jordan and Lebanon
Funding and infrastructure
The Islamic Jihad has large cells in various Arab nations. Financed almost exclusively by Iran, the organization's leadership is located in Syria. Iran is said to funnel several million dollars a year to the Jihad, with nearly all funds going directly to terror activities, and some towards the organization's bureaucracy, maintaining offices, salaries, weapon purchases and aiding its members' families.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad was founded by Fathi Shaqaqi and Abd al-Aziz Awda in the 1970s, as a branch of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
In the early 1980s the two returned to Gaza and began recruiting men and funds, mostly through mosques and other religious establishments. The Jihad's Palestinian cell, known as the al-Quds Brigades, is said to have several hundred operatives, located mostly in Gaza.
Israel News
Israel Opinion
Israel Business
Israel Culture
Jewish
Israel Travel
Israel Activism
Shop
Ynetnews Lexicon
Photo: AFP
Jihad gunmen Photo: AFP
Photo: AFP
Abdullah al-Shami Photo: AFP
Photo: AP
Mohammed el-Hindi Photo: AP
Photo: AP
First to use female suicide bombers Photo: AP
The Islamic Jihad
Following the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas' lead, this ferocious militant group desires nothing more than to 'eliminate the Zionist entity,' as its a-political nature frees it from adhering to any ceasefire achieved between other militant groups and Israel
Ynetnews
Published: 12.22.07, 17:15 / Israel News
The Islamic Jihad, or as it is officially called The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, is a radical Muslim terror organization operating in the Middle East.
The organization's main goal is the elimination of Israel, which it calls "the Zionist entity", through Jihad – a holy war, and the establishment of an Islamic state "from sea to sea."
The Islamic Jihad's charter further calls for "Jihad against the Jewish existence in Palestine," and states that "the Jihad is the obligation of every Muslim and must be carried out immediately, regardless of the formation of an Islamic state." The holy war, continues the charter, is a vital step in rehabilitating the Islamic nation and will lead the nation back to its fundamental, original, Islamic values.
The Islamic Jihad is a significantly smaller organization than Hamas. Like Hamas, the Jihad's principles derive from those of the Muslim Brotherhood, but unlike it, it has no civil branch, nor does it work to benefit the Palestinian people; its main focus is on guerrilla warfare and terror activities.
The Jihad operates mainly in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but has also carried out attacks in Jordan and Lebanon
Funding and infrastructure
The Islamic Jihad has large cells in various Arab nations. Financed almost exclusively by Iran, the organization's leadership is located in Syria. Iran is said to funnel several million dollars a year to the Jihad, with nearly all funds going directly to terror activities, and some towards the organization's bureaucracy, maintaining offices, salaries, weapon purchases and aiding its members' families.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad was founded by Fathi Shaqaqi and Abd al-Aziz Awda in the 1970s, as a branch of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
In the early 1980s the two returned to Gaza and began recruiting men and funds, mostly through mosques and other religious establishments. The Jihad's Palestinian cell, known as the al-Quds Brigades, is said to have several hundred operatives, located mostly in Gaza.
Action on Goldstone
House Resolution Denounces
U.N. "Goldstone Report" on Gaza
Urge Representatives to Reaffirm Israel 's Right to Self-Defense
by Cosponsoring Ros-Lehtinen/Berman Resolution
On September 15, 2009 the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, led by Judge Richard Goldstone, released its report, commonly referred to as the "Goldstone Report." This report accuses Israel of committing "war crimes" during its defensive operation last winter against Hamas terrorists in Gaza . The notoriously anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council endorsed the Goldstone Report and recommended U.N. General Assembly consideration. Labeling the report "deeply flawed", the United States opposed this measure. Libya and the Palestinians are now pressing for U.N. Security Council action.
Members of the House of Representatives have introduced a resolution (H.Res. 867) urging the Obama administration to oppose "any endorsement or further consideration" of the Goldstone Report. The resolution was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY). The resolution denounces the "irredeemably biased" Goldstone Report and expresses support for Israel 's right to self-defense. The resolution is expected to be voted on by the full House of Representatives this coming Tuesday, November 3.
ACTION
Contact your House member and ask them to cosponsor the Ros-Lehtinen/Berman resolution (H.Res. 867):
EMAIL
* Click here to send an e-mail to your members of Congress through AIPAC's Take Action page.
PHONE
* Click here to find contact information for your House member. You will be prompted to enter your zip code. You can also reach your Representative through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121.
* Sample phone script: "I am calling to ask the Representative to cosponsor the Ros Lehtinen/Berman resolution, which opposes enforcement and further consideration of the Goldstone Report."
* You may have the opportunity to speak with a staff person or leave a message at your member's office. In most cases, the person who answers the phone will listen to your message and take notes, but not engage you in a lengthy conversation.
* If you have questions or feedback, please contact Julie Peretz at AIPAC: jperetz@aipac.org or (202) 639-5192.
talking points
* The report of the U.N.-appointed Goldstone Commission is a highly flawed and biased document that wrongly equates Israel 's defensive measures that thwarted attacks against its citizens with the very terrorism that forced Israel to take such steps.
* Rather than illuminating the real causes of the Gaza conflict—eight years of Hamas' unrelenting rocket attacks on Israeli civilians—the Goldstone commission merely rubber-stamped the U.N. Human Rights Council's predetermined conclusion that Israel had committed so-called "war crimes."
* Efforts by the Palestinians and Arab states to have the U.N. Security Council endorse the findings of the Goldstone report—which the Obama administration has described as "deeply flawed—only serve to isolate Israel and undermine U.S. peace efforts.
* This resolution voices Congress' strong support for the administration's rejection of the report's findings and its efforts to end Israel 's isolation at the U.N. and other international fora.
* The resolution also sends an important message to the world that Congress strongly supports Israel 's right to self-defense as others continue to criticize the Jewish state for taking defensive measures to protect its citizens.
CURRENT COSPONSORS (27)
American Samoa: Faleomavaega
California: Berman, Chu
Florida: Buchanan, Klein, Mack, Ros-Lehtinen
Illinois: Shimkus
Indiana: Burton
Kansas: Moran, Tiahrt
Michigan: McCotter
Minnesota: Bachmann, Paulsen
Missouri: Blunt
Nevada: Berkley
New Jersey: LoBiondo
New York: Ackerman, Crowley, Engel, McMahon, Towns
North Carolina: McHenry
Ohio: Latta
Tennessee: Roe
Texas: Sessions
Virginia: Cantor
U.N. "Goldstone Report" on Gaza
Urge Representatives to Reaffirm Israel 's Right to Self-Defense
by Cosponsoring Ros-Lehtinen/Berman Resolution
On September 15, 2009 the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, led by Judge Richard Goldstone, released its report, commonly referred to as the "Goldstone Report." This report accuses Israel of committing "war crimes" during its defensive operation last winter against Hamas terrorists in Gaza . The notoriously anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council endorsed the Goldstone Report and recommended U.N. General Assembly consideration. Labeling the report "deeply flawed", the United States opposed this measure. Libya and the Palestinians are now pressing for U.N. Security Council action.
Members of the House of Representatives have introduced a resolution (H.Res. 867) urging the Obama administration to oppose "any endorsement or further consideration" of the Goldstone Report. The resolution was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY). The resolution denounces the "irredeemably biased" Goldstone Report and expresses support for Israel 's right to self-defense. The resolution is expected to be voted on by the full House of Representatives this coming Tuesday, November 3.
ACTION
Contact your House member and ask them to cosponsor the Ros-Lehtinen/Berman resolution (H.Res. 867):
* Click here to send an e-mail to your members of Congress through AIPAC's Take Action page.
PHONE
* Click here to find contact information for your House member. You will be prompted to enter your zip code. You can also reach your Representative through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121.
* Sample phone script: "I am calling to ask the Representative to cosponsor the Ros Lehtinen/Berman resolution, which opposes enforcement and further consideration of the Goldstone Report."
* You may have the opportunity to speak with a staff person or leave a message at your member's office. In most cases, the person who answers the phone will listen to your message and take notes, but not engage you in a lengthy conversation.
* If you have questions or feedback, please contact Julie Peretz at AIPAC: jperetz@aipac.org or (202) 639-5192.
talking points
* The report of the U.N.-appointed Goldstone Commission is a highly flawed and biased document that wrongly equates Israel 's defensive measures that thwarted attacks against its citizens with the very terrorism that forced Israel to take such steps.
* Rather than illuminating the real causes of the Gaza conflict—eight years of Hamas' unrelenting rocket attacks on Israeli civilians—the Goldstone commission merely rubber-stamped the U.N. Human Rights Council's predetermined conclusion that Israel had committed so-called "war crimes."
* Efforts by the Palestinians and Arab states to have the U.N. Security Council endorse the findings of the Goldstone report—which the Obama administration has described as "deeply flawed—only serve to isolate Israel and undermine U.S. peace efforts.
* This resolution voices Congress' strong support for the administration's rejection of the report's findings and its efforts to end Israel 's isolation at the U.N. and other international fora.
* The resolution also sends an important message to the world that Congress strongly supports Israel 's right to self-defense as others continue to criticize the Jewish state for taking defensive measures to protect its citizens.
CURRENT COSPONSORS (27)
American Samoa: Faleomavaega
California: Berman, Chu
Florida: Buchanan, Klein, Mack, Ros-Lehtinen
Illinois: Shimkus
Indiana: Burton
Kansas: Moran, Tiahrt
Michigan: McCotter
Minnesota: Bachmann, Paulsen
Missouri: Blunt
Nevada: Berkley
New Jersey: LoBiondo
New York: Ackerman, Crowley, Engel, McMahon, Towns
North Carolina: McHenry
Ohio: Latta
Tennessee: Roe
Texas: Sessions
Virginia: Cantor
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Iranian democracy
Khamenei: Questioning Poll Is a Crime
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that questioning the results of Iran's June presidential vote is a crime, his strongest warning yet to opposition leaders.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that questioning the results of Iran's June presidential vote is a crime, his strongest warning yet to opposition leaders.
iraq bombs
BAGHDAD -- Iraq authorities said they have detained more than 60 army, police and other security-service officers in an investigation into Sunday's bombing attack, the latest move by Baghdad to contain fallout from the worst single act of violence here since 2007.
The officials are being investigated for possible negligence or complicity, said Baghdad operations command spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta. The detainees include 11 senior officials, he said.
An Iraqi policeman walked past the entrance of the destroyed Baghdad Governorate building on Oct. 27, 2009.
Two suicide vehicles detonated outside the Baghdad governorate offices and the ministry of justice in downtown Baghdad on Sunday, killing 155. The attacks triggered fresh criticism of security at government installations, including accusations of lax vigilance at checkpoints. Authorities said they would detain others in the probe, including police officers at more than a dozen checkpoints in the area.
The officials are being investigated for possible negligence or complicity, said Baghdad operations command spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta. The detainees include 11 senior officials, he said.
An Iraqi policeman walked past the entrance of the destroyed Baghdad Governorate building on Oct. 27, 2009.
Two suicide vehicles detonated outside the Baghdad governorate offices and the ministry of justice in downtown Baghdad on Sunday, killing 155. The attacks triggered fresh criticism of security at government installations, including accusations of lax vigilance at checkpoints. Authorities said they would detain others in the probe, including police officers at more than a dozen checkpoints in the area.
Oct 29 Taliban kill 100
Taliban groups killed more than 100 people in Pakistan and Afghanistan Wednesday, striking a Peshawar women's market and a Kabul guesthouse used by United Nations personnel, just as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the region.
Both attacks were extraordinary: Pakistan's was the country's deadliest in two years; Afghanistan's represented a shift by Taliban leaders toward targeting the U.N. because of its role in the country's election process.
Both attacks were extraordinary: Pakistan's was the country's deadliest in two years; Afghanistan's represented a shift by Taliban leaders toward targeting the U.N. because of its role in the country's election process.
F.B.I. Raid Kills Islamic Group Leader in Michigan
F.B.I. Raid Kills Islamic Group Leader in Michigan
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By NICK BUNKLEY
Published: October 28, 2009
Federal agents on Wednesday fatally shot a man they described as the leader of a violent Sunni Muslim separatist group in Detroit.
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Paul Sancya/Associated Press
Agents investigating on Wednesday at a warehouse where their fire killed a separatist leader.
Related
Loosening of F.B.I. Rules Stirs Privacy Concerns (October 29, 2009)
The 53-year-old man, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, was killed in one of three raids conducted in and around the city, in which six followers of his were taken into custody.
Mr. Abdullah, whom the agents were trying to arrest in Dearborn on charges that included illegal possession and sale of firearms and conspiracy to sell stolen goods, refused to surrender and began firing at them from a warehouse, according to a statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States attorney’s office in Detroit. He was shot in the return fire, the statement said.
Mr. Abdullah, the authorities said, led a faction of a group called the Ummah, meaning the Brotherhood, which advocates the establishment of a separate nation within the United States governed by Islamic laws. He was one of 11 men from Detroit and Ontario whom the authorities had charged with conspiracy to commit federal crimes.
Though none of the men were charged with terrorism, the statement said, “The 11 defendants are members of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years, and known to be armed.”
Seven of those charged, one of whom was already in prison, appeared in the Federal District Court in Detroit after the raids; four had given up without resistance at the warehouse where Mr. Abdullah was shot, the authorities said. Three men remained at large.
A 45-page complaint says that Mr. Abdullah trained his followers in the use of firearms, martial arts and sword fighting, and that he directed them to conduct an “offensive jihad” against the United States government and law enforcement.
*
o
Article Tools Sponsored By
By NICK BUNKLEY
Published: October 28, 2009
Federal agents on Wednesday fatally shot a man they described as the leader of a violent Sunni Muslim separatist group in Detroit.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Paul Sancya/Associated Press
Agents investigating on Wednesday at a warehouse where their fire killed a separatist leader.
Related
Loosening of F.B.I. Rules Stirs Privacy Concerns (October 29, 2009)
The 53-year-old man, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, was killed in one of three raids conducted in and around the city, in which six followers of his were taken into custody.
Mr. Abdullah, whom the agents were trying to arrest in Dearborn on charges that included illegal possession and sale of firearms and conspiracy to sell stolen goods, refused to surrender and began firing at them from a warehouse, according to a statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States attorney’s office in Detroit. He was shot in the return fire, the statement said.
Mr. Abdullah, the authorities said, led a faction of a group called the Ummah, meaning the Brotherhood, which advocates the establishment of a separate nation within the United States governed by Islamic laws. He was one of 11 men from Detroit and Ontario whom the authorities had charged with conspiracy to commit federal crimes.
Though none of the men were charged with terrorism, the statement said, “The 11 defendants are members of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years, and known to be armed.”
Seven of those charged, one of whom was already in prison, appeared in the Federal District Court in Detroit after the raids; four had given up without resistance at the warehouse where Mr. Abdullah was shot, the authorities said. Three men remained at large.
A 45-page complaint says that Mr. Abdullah trained his followers in the use of firearms, martial arts and sword fighting, and that he directed them to conduct an “offensive jihad” against the United States government and law enforcement.
Islam must be battled
Here is the speech of Geert Wilders, Chairman, Party for Freedom, the Netherlands , at the Four Seasons, New York ,
introducing an Alliance of Patriots and announcing the Facing Jihad Conference in Jerusalem .
Dear friends,
Thank you very much for inviting me.
I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe . This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe .
First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe . Then, I will say a few things about Islam. To close I will tell you about a meeting inJerusalem .
The Europe you know is changing.
You have probably seen the landmarks. But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world. It is the world of the parallel society created by �Muslim mass-migration.
All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighborhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighborhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe . These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe , street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city.
There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe . With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.
Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam , Marseille and Malmo in Sweden . In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighborhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.
In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims.
Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear 'whore, whore'. Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin.
In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin . The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity.
In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system..Many neighborhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels , because he was drinking during the Ramadan.
Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel . I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.
A � total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe . San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now.. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.
Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty toFrance . One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favor of a worldwide caliphate. Muslims demand what they call 'respect'. And this is how we give them respect. We have Muslim official state holidays.
The Christian-Democratic attorney general is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey .
Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behavior, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. I call the perpetrators 'settlers'. Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies, they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.
Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighborhoods, their cities, their countries. Moreover, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored. �
The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behavior is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages - at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad.
Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.
Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam 'the most retrograde force in the world', and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Quran. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel . First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.
This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia . Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.
The war against Israel is not a war against Israel . It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel , Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.
Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning... It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel , they can get everything.So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. In my country, the Netherlands , 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees I slam as the biggest threat. Yet there is a danger greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome , Athens and Jerusalem .
Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe 's children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.
introducing an Alliance of Patriots and announcing the Facing Jihad Conference in Jerusalem .
Dear friends,
Thank you very much for inviting me.
I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe . This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe .
First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe . Then, I will say a few things about Islam. To close I will tell you about a meeting inJerusalem .
The Europe you know is changing.
You have probably seen the landmarks. But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world. It is the world of the parallel society created by �Muslim mass-migration.
All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighborhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighborhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe . These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe , street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city.
There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe . With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.
Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam , Marseille and Malmo in Sweden . In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighborhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.
In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims.
Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear 'whore, whore'. Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin.
In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin . The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity.
In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system..Many neighborhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels , because he was drinking during the Ramadan.
Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel . I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.
A � total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe . San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now.. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.
Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty toFrance . One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favor of a worldwide caliphate. Muslims demand what they call 'respect'. And this is how we give them respect. We have Muslim official state holidays.
The Christian-Democratic attorney general is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey .
Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behavior, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. I call the perpetrators 'settlers'. Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies, they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.
Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighborhoods, their cities, their countries. Moreover, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored. �
The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behavior is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages - at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad.
Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.
Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam 'the most retrograde force in the world', and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Quran. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel . First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.
This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia . Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.
The war against Israel is not a war against Israel . It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel , Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.
Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning... It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel , they can get everything.So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. In my country, the Netherlands , 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees I slam as the biggest threat. Yet there is a danger greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome , Athens and Jerusalem .
Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe 's children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Oct 28 Yahoo news they never stop killing
*
Car bomb kills 100 in Pakistani city of Peshawar (AP)
*
Gunmen storm UN guest house in Kabul, 11 dead (AP)
Car bomb kills 100 in Pakistani city of Peshawar (AP)
*
Gunmen storm UN guest house in Kabul, 11 dead (AP)
Taliban acid in girls eyes for studying
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan authorities have arrested 10 Taliban militants in connection with this month's acid attack on schoolgirls, a provincial governor said Tuesday.
Schoolgirls visit a 17-year-old victim of this month's acid attack at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Schoolgirls visit a 17-year-old victim of this month's acid attack at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The militants confessed and said they were paid 100,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,265) to carry out the acts, said Rahmatullah Raufi, governor of Kandahar, where the November 12 attack occurred.
The men said high-ranking Taliban officials in Pakistan paid them to cross the porous border to carry out the attack, Raufi said.
The attackers used water pistols to spray acid on girls walking to school in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, blinding at least two of them, U.S. military officials said at the time.
Kandahar government spokesman Parwaz Ayoubi gave different figures on the number of girls injured, saying that six were burned, including one severely. He called the attackers "enemies of education."
Don't Miss
* Alleged Afghan militants killed in air raid
* Taliban reject Afghan peace overture
* Afghan schoolgirls blinded in acid attack
Girls were forbidden to attend school under the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when U.S.-led forces removed them from power.
Enlarge font Enlarge font
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan authorities have arrested 10 Taliban militants in connection with this month's acid attack on schoolgirls, a provincial governor said Tuesday.
Schoolgirls visit a 17-year-old victim of this month's acid attack at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Schoolgirls visit a 17-year-old victim of this month's acid attack at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The militants confessed and said they were paid 100,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,265) to carry out the acts, said Rahmatullah Raufi, governor of Kandahar, where the November 12 attack occurred.
The men said high-ranking Taliban officials in Pakistan paid them to cross the porous border to carry out the attack, Raufi said.
The attackers used water pistols to spray acid on girls walking to school in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, blinding at least two of them, U.S. military officials said at the time.
Kandahar government spokesman Parwaz Ayoubi gave different figures on the number of girls injured, saying that six were burned, including one severely. He called the attackers "enemies of education."
Don't Miss
* Alleged Afghan militants killed in air raid
* Taliban reject Afghan peace overture
* Afghan schoolgirls blinded in acid attack
Girls were forbidden to attend school under the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when U.S.-led forces removed them from power.
Taliban oct 28
M FAIEZ and AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writers Rahim Faiez And Amir Shah, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 50 mins ago
KABUL – Taliban militants wearing suicide vests and police uniforms stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early Wednesday, killing 12 people — including six U.N. staff. It was the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff election.
KABUL – Taliban militants wearing suicide vests and police uniforms stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early Wednesday, killing 12 people — including six U.N. staff. It was the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff election.
Oct. 28
Car bomb kills 91 in Pakistani city of Peshawar (AP)
AP - A car bomb struck a busy market in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 91 people — mostly women and children — as visiting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged U.S. support for Islamabad's campaign against Islamic militants.
AP - A car bomb struck a busy market in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 91 people — mostly women and children — as visiting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged U.S. support for Islamabad's campaign against Islamic militants.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
all is not well in the Arab world.
Holding a Harsh Mirror to the Arab World
IT IS NO SECRET, LEAST OF ALL TO THE ARAB PUBLIC,
that all is not well in the Arab world. As a whole, Arab states have
badly lagged behind much of the rest of the world in economic and
social development, even prior to the latest post-Cold War wave of
globalization. However, speaking frankly
about these matters, even taking the first step
towards amelioration has never been a simple
task.
Ruling Arab elites have long viewed nonofficial
intellectual endeavor with suspicion
and have acted to coopt, corrupt or repress
independent voices that might delegitimize
their authority and thus threaten their monopoly
on power.
This is at least one of the reasons, then,
that Arab political and intellectual life over
the last half-century has been severely
stunted, characterized by a dearth of selfcriticism,
with the preponderance of blame
for Arab societies’ shortcomings usually
being ascribed to pernicious foreign forces.
However, this is no longer entirely the
case, thanks in part to the series of Arab
Human Development Reports crafted by a
cross-section of Arab academicians from the
region and beyond. The fifth and latest one,
issued in late July, is entitled “Challenges to
Human Security in the Arab Countries.” (www.arab-hdr.org)
In more than 200 pages of data, vignettes and analysis, the report
paints a sobering portrait of contemporary Arab social and political realities.
As such, it promises to serve as a base-line reference point for all
upcoming policy discussions addressing the ills of the Arab world.
The conceptual emphasis of the report is on “human security,”
namely, “the liberation of human beings from those intense, extensive,
prolonged and comprehensive threats to which their lives and freedom
are vulnerable.” The threats to human security are analyzed according
to seven categories: 1) pressures on environmental resources; 2) the performance
of the state in guaranteeing or undermining human security;
3) the personal insecurity of vulnerable groups; 4) economic vulnerability,
poverty and unemployment; 5) food security and nutrition;
6) health and welfare; and 7) the systemic insecurity of occupation and
foreign military intervention.
Each section is extremely sobering. For example, with regard to the
environment, the total population of Arab countries will have increased
from 150 million in 1980 to 395 million in 2015, while renewable water
reserves are being depleted faster than they can be replenished, water pollution
is expanding, desertification is expanding and access to clean water
is declining, thus exposing children, in particular, to a range of diseases.
With regard to the State, the report suggests that it is a major part of
the problem, pointing to its authoritarian ways, the absence of democratic
democratic
governance, representative institutions and the rule of law, and a
failure to respect cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity.
Women are deemed among the most vulnerable of groups, and the
report pulls no punches in detailing the myriad ways in which women
are continuously exposed to family and institutionalized
violence, not only physical but
also as victims of cultural and social practices,
such as female genital mutilation and
child marriage, as well as human trafficking.
The Arab countries’ “fabled oil wealth”
masks, and in fact causes, serious structural
weaknesses of many Arab economies.
Hunger and malnutrition rates are rising,
according to the report; the only other region
where this is the case is sub-Saharan Africa.
In the health sphere, despite improvements,
health care systems available to most Arabs
are inadequate, with wide disparities in quality
both within and between countries.
Moreover, HIV/AIDS “represents a stubborn,
proximate and misunderstood danger.”
As for the role of occupation and military
intervention, the report details the damage to
all spheres of human security, particularly in
Iraq, the West Bank and Gaza, and Somalia.
Interestingly, it does not fail to note how both
extremist groups and Arab governments
exploit these situations to their own ends and thus perpetuate cycles of
destruction and oppressive rule.
Not surprisingly, the report’s findings
Not surprisingly, the report’s findings were not uniformly greeted with
applause. Strangely enough, its lead author, Cairo University Prof. Mustafa
Kamel El-Sayed, disassociated himself from it, declaring that his final draft
had been substantially altered by its United Nations publishers so as to
emphasize domestic factors at the expense of external causes, in order to
appease the U.S. and Israel. Samir Radwan, a former International Labor
Organization official, chimed in, calling the report’s emphasis on issues
like female genital mutilation and climate change a “flavor of the month”
approach, at the expense of the Iraq and Palestine issues.
In response, the former Director of the Al-Ahram Center for
Strategic and Political Studies, Abdel Moneim Said Aly, declared that it
was up to Arab political elites – rulers, the civilian bureaucracy, the military
establishment, and the culture and media agencies – to recognize
how bad things are and to take responsibility for changing them, as
other elites in other countries and regions have done in similar circumstances.
“At some point,” he stated, “our elites, who are brave and
smart, have to put two and two together and get four.”
Poignant advice indeed, and applicable elsewhere as well. • The author is the Marcia Israel Senior Research Fellow at the
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel
Aviv University.
IT IS NO SECRET, LEAST OF ALL TO THE ARAB PUBLIC,
that all is not well in the Arab world. As a whole, Arab states have
badly lagged behind much of the rest of the world in economic and
social development, even prior to the latest post-Cold War wave of
globalization. However, speaking frankly
about these matters, even taking the first step
towards amelioration has never been a simple
task.
Ruling Arab elites have long viewed nonofficial
intellectual endeavor with suspicion
and have acted to coopt, corrupt or repress
independent voices that might delegitimize
their authority and thus threaten their monopoly
on power.
This is at least one of the reasons, then,
that Arab political and intellectual life over
the last half-century has been severely
stunted, characterized by a dearth of selfcriticism,
with the preponderance of blame
for Arab societies’ shortcomings usually
being ascribed to pernicious foreign forces.
However, this is no longer entirely the
case, thanks in part to the series of Arab
Human Development Reports crafted by a
cross-section of Arab academicians from the
region and beyond. The fifth and latest one,
issued in late July, is entitled “Challenges to
Human Security in the Arab Countries.” (www.arab-hdr.org)
In more than 200 pages of data, vignettes and analysis, the report
paints a sobering portrait of contemporary Arab social and political realities.
As such, it promises to serve as a base-line reference point for all
upcoming policy discussions addressing the ills of the Arab world.
The conceptual emphasis of the report is on “human security,”
namely, “the liberation of human beings from those intense, extensive,
prolonged and comprehensive threats to which their lives and freedom
are vulnerable.” The threats to human security are analyzed according
to seven categories: 1) pressures on environmental resources; 2) the performance
of the state in guaranteeing or undermining human security;
3) the personal insecurity of vulnerable groups; 4) economic vulnerability,
poverty and unemployment; 5) food security and nutrition;
6) health and welfare; and 7) the systemic insecurity of occupation and
foreign military intervention.
Each section is extremely sobering. For example, with regard to the
environment, the total population of Arab countries will have increased
from 150 million in 1980 to 395 million in 2015, while renewable water
reserves are being depleted faster than they can be replenished, water pollution
is expanding, desertification is expanding and access to clean water
is declining, thus exposing children, in particular, to a range of diseases.
With regard to the State, the report suggests that it is a major part of
the problem, pointing to its authoritarian ways, the absence of democratic
democratic
governance, representative institutions and the rule of law, and a
failure to respect cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity.
Women are deemed among the most vulnerable of groups, and the
report pulls no punches in detailing the myriad ways in which women
are continuously exposed to family and institutionalized
violence, not only physical but
also as victims of cultural and social practices,
such as female genital mutilation and
child marriage, as well as human trafficking.
The Arab countries’ “fabled oil wealth”
masks, and in fact causes, serious structural
weaknesses of many Arab economies.
Hunger and malnutrition rates are rising,
according to the report; the only other region
where this is the case is sub-Saharan Africa.
In the health sphere, despite improvements,
health care systems available to most Arabs
are inadequate, with wide disparities in quality
both within and between countries.
Moreover, HIV/AIDS “represents a stubborn,
proximate and misunderstood danger.”
As for the role of occupation and military
intervention, the report details the damage to
all spheres of human security, particularly in
Iraq, the West Bank and Gaza, and Somalia.
Interestingly, it does not fail to note how both
extremist groups and Arab governments
exploit these situations to their own ends and thus perpetuate cycles of
destruction and oppressive rule.
Not surprisingly, the report’s findings
Not surprisingly, the report’s findings were not uniformly greeted with
applause. Strangely enough, its lead author, Cairo University Prof. Mustafa
Kamel El-Sayed, disassociated himself from it, declaring that his final draft
had been substantially altered by its United Nations publishers so as to
emphasize domestic factors at the expense of external causes, in order to
appease the U.S. and Israel. Samir Radwan, a former International Labor
Organization official, chimed in, calling the report’s emphasis on issues
like female genital mutilation and climate change a “flavor of the month”
approach, at the expense of the Iraq and Palestine issues.
In response, the former Director of the Al-Ahram Center for
Strategic and Political Studies, Abdel Moneim Said Aly, declared that it
was up to Arab political elites – rulers, the civilian bureaucracy, the military
establishment, and the culture and media agencies – to recognize
how bad things are and to take responsibility for changing them, as
other elites in other countries and regions have done in similar circumstances.
“At some point,” he stated, “our elites, who are brave and
smart, have to put two and two together and get four.”
Poignant advice indeed, and applicable elsewhere as well. • The author is the Marcia Israel Senior Research Fellow at the
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel
Aviv University.
kill protestors
n Iran, 2 get death sentences for post-election uprising
latimes.com — Iran announced Saturday that two people have been sentenced to death for joining the nationwide uprising after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection in June, when hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters clashed for weeks with police and paramilitary forces.
latimes.com — Iran announced Saturday that two people have been sentenced to death for joining the nationwide uprising after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection in June, when hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters clashed for weeks with police and paramilitary forces.
nazis and hamas
-Germans/Nazis killed 6 million Jews in WW2.Hamas in Gaza wants to kill 6 million Jews.
-To stop the Germans, who wore uniforms and fought conventional warfare, the allies bombed French cities, killing thousands of French civilians, to soften up the invasion landing for D Day. The world understood it was necessary.
Israel, had limited bombing targeting non-civilians in Gaza to stop the thousands of missiles shot by civilian clothes terrorists from Gaza at its neighborhoods inside Israel, where the Hamas fired from schools, mosques and hospitals. The UN condemnes, clearly meaning Israel has no right to defend itself.
-To stop the Germans, who wore uniforms and fought conventional warfare, the allies bombed French cities, killing thousands of French civilians, to soften up the invasion landing for D Day. The world understood it was necessary.
Israel, had limited bombing targeting non-civilians in Gaza to stop the thousands of missiles shot by civilian clothes terrorists from Gaza at its neighborhoods inside Israel, where the Hamas fired from schools, mosques and hospitals. The UN condemnes, clearly meaning Israel has no right to defend itself.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
HRA biased vs Israel by own admission
October 24, 2009
’Human Rights Watch’ Founder Denounces His Own Group as Anti-Israel
Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
IsraelNN.com
Oct 20, 2009
Israel received support from a most unlikely source Tuesday, with a harsh condemnation of the Human Rights Watch group by its own founder, Robert Bernstein. Writing for The New York Times, he charged the group with "issuing reports on the Israeli-Arab conflict that are helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state." HRW was in the forefront of accusing Israel of war crimes in the three-week Operation Cast Lead counter-terrorist campaign in Gaza, and has continually condemned Israeli retaliation for the thousands of Hamas rockets and other terrorist attacks on Israel.
Bernstein emphatically stated that "Hamas and Hezbollah…go after Israeli citizens and use their own people as human shields," a situation that was stated as largely unproven in the recent Goldstone report for the United Nations Human Rights Council. Bernstein accused his own group’s leaders of knowing that "Hamas and Hezbollah chose to wage war from densely populated areas, deliberately transforming neighborhoods into battlefields.
They know that more and better arms are flowing into both Gaza and Lebanon and are poised to strike again. And they know that this militancy continues to deprive Palestinians of any chance for the peaceful and productive life they deserve." Bernstein, who was chairman of the group until he stepped aside in 1998, pointed out that HRW has condemned Israel more than any other country.
Undermining the group’s anti-Israeli stance, he stated that the Jewish State "is home to at least 80 human rights organizations, a vibrant free press, a democratically elected government, a judiciary that frequently rules against the government, a politically active academia, multiple politicalparties. Meanwhile, the Arab and Iranian regimes rule over some 350 million people, and most remain brutal, closed and autocratic, permitting little or no internal dissent."
Bernstein echoed Israeli complaints that HRW has ignored "the plight of [Arab] citizens who would most benefit from the kind of attention a large and well-financed international human rights organization can provide." "These groups are supported by the government of Iran, which has openly declared its intention not just to destroy Israel but to murder Jews everywhere," he wrote.
"This incitement to genocide is a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide." In what was a virtual repetition of Israeli government statements from the past several years, he noted that, "There is a difference between wrongs committed in self-defense and those perpetrated intentionally. "
In Gaza and elsewhere, where there is no access to the battlefield or to the military and political leaders who make strategic decisions, it is extremely difficult to make definitive judgments about war crimes. Reporting often relies on witnesses whose stories cannot be verified and who may testify for political advantage or because they fear retaliation from their own rulers."
’Human Rights Watch’ Founder Denounces His Own Group as Anti-Israel
Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
IsraelNN.com
Oct 20, 2009
Israel received support from a most unlikely source Tuesday, with a harsh condemnation of the Human Rights Watch group by its own founder, Robert Bernstein. Writing for The New York Times, he charged the group with "issuing reports on the Israeli-Arab conflict that are helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state." HRW was in the forefront of accusing Israel of war crimes in the three-week Operation Cast Lead counter-terrorist campaign in Gaza, and has continually condemned Israeli retaliation for the thousands of Hamas rockets and other terrorist attacks on Israel.
Bernstein emphatically stated that "Hamas and Hezbollah…go after Israeli citizens and use their own people as human shields," a situation that was stated as largely unproven in the recent Goldstone report for the United Nations Human Rights Council. Bernstein accused his own group’s leaders of knowing that "Hamas and Hezbollah chose to wage war from densely populated areas, deliberately transforming neighborhoods into battlefields.
They know that more and better arms are flowing into both Gaza and Lebanon and are poised to strike again. And they know that this militancy continues to deprive Palestinians of any chance for the peaceful and productive life they deserve." Bernstein, who was chairman of the group until he stepped aside in 1998, pointed out that HRW has condemned Israel more than any other country.
Undermining the group’s anti-Israeli stance, he stated that the Jewish State "is home to at least 80 human rights organizations, a vibrant free press, a democratically elected government, a judiciary that frequently rules against the government, a politically active academia, multiple politicalparties. Meanwhile, the Arab and Iranian regimes rule over some 350 million people, and most remain brutal, closed and autocratic, permitting little or no internal dissent."
Bernstein echoed Israeli complaints that HRW has ignored "the plight of [Arab] citizens who would most benefit from the kind of attention a large and well-financed international human rights organization can provide." "These groups are supported by the government of Iran, which has openly declared its intention not just to destroy Israel but to murder Jews everywhere," he wrote.
"This incitement to genocide is a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide." In what was a virtual repetition of Israeli government statements from the past several years, he noted that, "There is a difference between wrongs committed in self-defense and those perpetrated intentionally. "
In Gaza and elsewhere, where there is no access to the battlefield or to the military and political leaders who make strategic decisions, it is extremely difficult to make definitive judgments about war crimes. Reporting often relies on witnesses whose stories cannot be verified and who may testify for political advantage or because they fear retaliation from their own rulers."
Oct 26 * Twin suicide car bombs in Baghdad kill 136 (AP
* Twin suicide car bombs in Baghdad kill 136 (AP)
AP - Two powerful suicide car bombs blew up outside the Justice Ministry and city government offices in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 136 people in the deadliest attack in more than two years. Iraqi leaders said the attacks aimed to disrupt political progress in the months leading up to January's crucial elections.
AP - Two powerful suicide car bombs blew up outside the Justice Ministry and city government offices in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 136 people in the deadliest attack in more than two years. Iraqi leaders said the attacks aimed to disrupt political progress in the months leading up to January's crucial elections.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Taliban threaten voters
Taliban threaten Afghan voters in November runoff
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Afghan runoff ballots getting delivered Play Video AP – Afghan runoff ballots getting delivered
* Afghanistan Slideshow:Afghanistan
* Opium tears poor Afghan families apart Play Video Video:Opium tears poor Afghan families apart AFP
* Obama mulls Afghan war strategy Play Video Video:Obama mulls Afghan war strategy Reuters
U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat AP – U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, fire mortars at …
By HEIDI VOGT and ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writers Heidi Vogt And Robert H. Reid, Associated Press Writers – 45 mins ago
KABUL – Taliban militants threatened Afghans with violence Saturday if they vote in the Nov. 7 runoff presidential election, as President Hamid Karzai's campaign ruled out any power-sharing deal to avoid another ballot.
Supporters of Karzai's challenger, meanwhile, urged the country's top three election officials to step down — alleging they were involved in rigging the first round of fraud-marred voting in August and should not be responsible for organizing the upcoming vote.
President Barack Obama's administration is hoping the runoff will produce a legitimate government after massive ballot-rigging sullied the first-round vote Aug. 20. Another flawed election would cast doubt on the wisdom of sending tens of thousands more U.S. troops to support a weak government tainted by fraud.
The Taliban issued their warning on the first official day of campaigning for the runoff, denouncing the contest between Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah as "a failed, American process."
They said fighters would "launch operations against the enemy and stop people from taking part" in the election, warning that anyone who casts a ballot "will bear responsibility for their actions."
Taliban fighters killed dozens of people during the August balloting, firing rockets at several provincial cities and cutting off voters' ink-stained fingers that indicated they had cast ballots.
The new threat adds pressure on U.S. and Afghan commanders to protect voters — one of the manifold challenges facing Afghanistan's government and its international partners in organizing another election in less than three weeks. American commanders say the Afghans will bear the primary responsibility, with U.S. and NATO forces advising and standing by in case they're needed.
AP
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Buzz up!
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Afghan runoff ballots getting delivered Play Video AP – Afghan runoff ballots getting delivered
* Afghanistan Slideshow:Afghanistan
* Opium tears poor Afghan families apart Play Video Video:Opium tears poor Afghan families apart AFP
* Obama mulls Afghan war strategy Play Video Video:Obama mulls Afghan war strategy Reuters
U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat AP – U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, fire mortars at …
By HEIDI VOGT and ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writers Heidi Vogt And Robert H. Reid, Associated Press Writers – 45 mins ago
KABUL – Taliban militants threatened Afghans with violence Saturday if they vote in the Nov. 7 runoff presidential election, as President Hamid Karzai's campaign ruled out any power-sharing deal to avoid another ballot.
Supporters of Karzai's challenger, meanwhile, urged the country's top three election officials to step down — alleging they were involved in rigging the first round of fraud-marred voting in August and should not be responsible for organizing the upcoming vote.
President Barack Obama's administration is hoping the runoff will produce a legitimate government after massive ballot-rigging sullied the first-round vote Aug. 20. Another flawed election would cast doubt on the wisdom of sending tens of thousands more U.S. troops to support a weak government tainted by fraud.
The Taliban issued their warning on the first official day of campaigning for the runoff, denouncing the contest between Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah as "a failed, American process."
They said fighters would "launch operations against the enemy and stop people from taking part" in the election, warning that anyone who casts a ballot "will bear responsibility for their actions."
Taliban fighters killed dozens of people during the August balloting, firing rockets at several provincial cities and cutting off voters' ink-stained fingers that indicated they had cast ballots.
The new threat adds pressure on U.S. and Afghan commanders to protect voters — one of the manifold challenges facing Afghanistan's government and its international partners in organizing another election in less than three weeks. American commanders say the Afghans will bear the primary responsibility, with U.S. and NATO forces advising and standing by in case they're needed.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Here is what israel does. What do the Muslioms do besides kill?
New Israeli Developments
1. Scientists in Israel found that the brackish water, drilled from underground desert aquifers, hundreds of feet deep, could be used to raise warm-water fish. The geothermal water, less than one-tenth as saline as sea water, free of pollutants, and a toasty 98 degrees on average, proves an ideal environment.
2. Israeli-developed designer-eyeglasses, promise mobile phone and iPod users, a personalized, high-tech video display. Available to US consumers next year, Lumus-Optical’s lightweight and fashionable video eyeglasses, feature a large transparent screen, floating in front of the viewer’s face that projects their choice of movie, TV show, or video Game.
3. When Stephen Hawkins recently visited Israel, he shared his wisdom with scientists, students, and even the Prime Minister. But the world’s most renown victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, also learned something, due to the Israeli Association for ALS’ advanced work in both embryonic and adult stem cell research, as well as its proven track record with neurodegenerative diseases. The Israeli research community is well on its way to finding a treatment for this fatal disease, which affects 30,000 Americans.
4. Israeli start-up, Veterix, has developed an innovative new electronic capsule that sits in the stomach of a cow, sheep, or goat, sending out real-time information on the health of the herd, to the farmer via Email or cell phone. The e-capsule, which also sends out alerts if animals are distressed, injured, or lost, is now being tested on a herd of cows, in the hopes that the device will lead to tastier and healthier meat and milk supplies.
5. The millions of Skype users worldwide will soon have access to the newly developed KishKish lie-detector. This free Internet service, based on voice stress analysis (a technique, commonly used in criminal investigations), will be able to measure just how truthful that person on the other end of the line, really is.
6. Beating cardiac tissue has been created in a lab from human embryonic stem cells by researchers at the Rappaport Medical Faculty and the Technion- Israeli institute of Technology’s biomedical Engineering facility. The work of Dr. Shulamit Levenberg and Prof. Lior Gepstein, has also led to the creation of tiny blood vessels within the tissue, making possible its implantation in a human heart.
7. Israel’s Magal Security Systems, is a worldwide leader in computerized security systems, with products used in more than 70 countries around the world, protecting anything from national borders, to nuclear facilities, refineries, and airports. The company’s latest Product, DreamBox, a state-of-the-art security system that includes Intelligent video, audio and sensor management, is now being used by a major water authority on the US east coast to safeguard the utility’s sites.
8. It is common knowledge that dogs have better night vision than humans and a vastly superior sense of smell and hearing. Israel’s Bio-Sense Technologies, recently delved further, and electronically analyzed 350 different barks. Finding that dogs of all breeds and sizes, bark the same alarm w hen they sense a threat, the firm has designed the dog bark-reader, a sensor that can pick up a dog’s alarm bark, and alert the human operators. This is just one of a batch of innovative security systems to emerge from Israel , which Forbes calls ‘the go-to country for anti-terrorism technologies.’
9. Israeli company, BioControl Medical, sold its first electrical stimulator to treat urinary incontinence to a US company for $50 Million. Now, it is working on CardioFit, which uses electrical nerve stimulation to treat congestive heart failure. With nearly five million Americans presently affected by heart failure, and more than 400,000 new cases diagnosed yearly, the CardioFit is already generating a great deal of excitement as the first device with the potential to halt this deadly disease.
10. One year after Norway’s Socialist Left Party launched its boycott Israel campaign, the importing of Israeli goods has increased by 15%, the strongest increase in many years, Statistics Norway reports.
In contrast to the efforts of tiny Israel to make contributions to the world so as to better mankind, one has to ask what have those who have strived to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth done other than to create hate and bloodshed ? ? ?
1. Scientists in Israel found that the brackish water, drilled from underground desert aquifers, hundreds of feet deep, could be used to raise warm-water fish. The geothermal water, less than one-tenth as saline as sea water, free of pollutants, and a toasty 98 degrees on average, proves an ideal environment.
2. Israeli-developed designer-eyeglasses, promise mobile phone and iPod users, a personalized, high-tech video display. Available to US consumers next year, Lumus-Optical’s lightweight and fashionable video eyeglasses, feature a large transparent screen, floating in front of the viewer’s face that projects their choice of movie, TV show, or video Game.
3. When Stephen Hawkins recently visited Israel, he shared his wisdom with scientists, students, and even the Prime Minister. But the world’s most renown victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, also learned something, due to the Israeli Association for ALS’ advanced work in both embryonic and adult stem cell research, as well as its proven track record with neurodegenerative diseases. The Israeli research community is well on its way to finding a treatment for this fatal disease, which affects 30,000 Americans.
4. Israeli start-up, Veterix, has developed an innovative new electronic capsule that sits in the stomach of a cow, sheep, or goat, sending out real-time information on the health of the herd, to the farmer via Email or cell phone. The e-capsule, which also sends out alerts if animals are distressed, injured, or lost, is now being tested on a herd of cows, in the hopes that the device will lead to tastier and healthier meat and milk supplies.
5. The millions of Skype users worldwide will soon have access to the newly developed KishKish lie-detector. This free Internet service, based on voice stress analysis (a technique, commonly used in criminal investigations), will be able to measure just how truthful that person on the other end of the line, really is.
6. Beating cardiac tissue has been created in a lab from human embryonic stem cells by researchers at the Rappaport Medical Faculty and the Technion- Israeli institute of Technology’s biomedical Engineering facility. The work of Dr. Shulamit Levenberg and Prof. Lior Gepstein, has also led to the creation of tiny blood vessels within the tissue, making possible its implantation in a human heart.
7. Israel’s Magal Security Systems, is a worldwide leader in computerized security systems, with products used in more than 70 countries around the world, protecting anything from national borders, to nuclear facilities, refineries, and airports. The company’s latest Product, DreamBox, a state-of-the-art security system that includes Intelligent video, audio and sensor management, is now being used by a major water authority on the US east coast to safeguard the utility’s sites.
8. It is common knowledge that dogs have better night vision than humans and a vastly superior sense of smell and hearing. Israel’s Bio-Sense Technologies, recently delved further, and electronically analyzed 350 different barks. Finding that dogs of all breeds and sizes, bark the same alarm w hen they sense a threat, the firm has designed the dog bark-reader, a sensor that can pick up a dog’s alarm bark, and alert the human operators. This is just one of a batch of innovative security systems to emerge from Israel , which Forbes calls ‘the go-to country for anti-terrorism technologies.’
9. Israeli company, BioControl Medical, sold its first electrical stimulator to treat urinary incontinence to a US company for $50 Million. Now, it is working on CardioFit, which uses electrical nerve stimulation to treat congestive heart failure. With nearly five million Americans presently affected by heart failure, and more than 400,000 new cases diagnosed yearly, the CardioFit is already generating a great deal of excitement as the first device with the potential to halt this deadly disease.
10. One year after Norway’s Socialist Left Party launched its boycott Israel campaign, the importing of Israeli goods has increased by 15%, the strongest increase in many years, Statistics Norway reports.
In contrast to the efforts of tiny Israel to make contributions to the world so as to better mankind, one has to ask what have those who have strived to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth done other than to create hate and bloodshed ? ? ?
Jordan
Fifteen years after making peace with Israel, Jordanians hold nearly unanimously negative attitudes toward Israel and by a 2-1 margin support the use of rocket attacks against the Jewish state
Anniversary of Peace Treaty Between Israel and Jordan
Key Findings from Two National Surveys
On the fifteenth anniversary of peace between Israel and Jordan, a new poll commissioned by The Israel Project (TIP) shows intense Jordanian hostility toward the Jewish state. The poll, face-to-face interviews of 250 Jordanians, was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR) as part of a larger study for TIP that included interviews with 250 Gazans, 250 people in the West Bank and 500 Egyptians.
The poll found that the Jordanian public, comprised largely of Palestinians, is opposed to accepting and engaging Israel. Not a single respondent gives Israel a favorable rating, a level of rejection that GQRR has never seen toward anyone or any entity in its 29-year history as a firm. In Jordan, Israel gets 99 percent very cool ratings (ratings bet
Anniversary of Peace Treaty Between Israel and Jordan
Key Findings from Two National Surveys
On the fifteenth anniversary of peace between Israel and Jordan, a new poll commissioned by The Israel Project (TIP) shows intense Jordanian hostility toward the Jewish state. The poll, face-to-face interviews of 250 Jordanians, was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR) as part of a larger study for TIP that included interviews with 250 Gazans, 250 people in the West Bank and 500 Egyptians.
The poll found that the Jordanian public, comprised largely of Palestinians, is opposed to accepting and engaging Israel. Not a single respondent gives Israel a favorable rating, a level of rejection that GQRR has never seen toward anyone or any entity in its 29-year history as a firm. In Jordan, Israel gets 99 percent very cool ratings (ratings bet
Oct 23
Blasts at Pakistan air base, wedding bus kill 24
AP
*
Pakistan blasts kill 2 dozen Play Video AP – Pakistan blasts kill 2 dozen
By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer Asif Shahzad, Associated Press Writer – 50 mins ago
ISLAMABAD – A suicide bomber killed seven people near a major air force complex in northwest Pakistan on Friday, while an explosion killed 17 on a bus heading to wedding elsewhere in the region, the latest in a surge of militant attacks this month.
The bloodshed has coincided with the run-up and first week of a major army offensive in a Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold along the Afghan border. About 200 people have died as the insurgents have shown they can strike in a variety of ways and places in the nuclear-armed, U.S.-allied nation.
The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra is the country's major air force maintenance and research hub.
Some foreign military experts have mentioned it as a possible place to keep planes that can carry nuclear warheads, but the army, which does not reveal where its nuclear-related facilities are, strongly denies that the facility is tied to the program in any way.
A lone suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up at a checkpoint on a road leading to the complex, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the capital, Islamabad. Police officer Akbar Abbas blamed the Taliban for the attack.
The seven dead included two troops. Some 13 people were wounded.
Hours later, a blast struck the bus, which was traveling in the Mohmand tribal region. Four women and three children were among the 17 killed, said Zabit Khan, a local government official, who said the exact cause of the blast was still not certain.
"It appears to be a remote-controlled bomb, and militants might have hit the bus mistakenly," Khan told The Associated Press.
Mohmand, like other parts of Pakistan's tribal belt, has been a magnet for Taliban militants. The military has carried out operations there in the past aimed at clearing out insurgents but trouble still flares.
Also Friday, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot of a recreational facility in Peshawar, the main city in the northwest. Fifteen people were wounded. The facility includes a restaurant, a swimming pool, a health club and a marriage hall.
"It is part of the violence we are seeing across Pakistan these days," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the region's information minister.
There have been at least nine major militant attacks this month, most against police or army targets.
Some have been explosions, while others have involved teams of gunmen staging raids. In one of the most brazen attacks, gunmen attacked the army headquarters close to the capital and held hostages inside the complex for 22 hours.
Pakistan is under intense pressure to eliminate Islamist militant groups sheltering in its northwest that also attack U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. The military has battled them in various districts, losing hundreds of soldiers, but questions remain about its overall strategic commitment to the fight.
It began its current offensive in the South Waziristan tribal region seven days ago.
A military statement Friday reported two more soldiers were killed, bringing the army's death toll to 20, and that 13 more militants were slain, bringing their death toll to 142. Reporters are blocked from entering the region, meaning verifying information is all but impossible.
The army has previously moved into South Waziristan three times since 2004. Each time it has suffered high casualties and signed peace deals that left insurgents with effective control of the region. Western officials say al-Qaida now uses it and neighboring North Waziristan as an operations and training base.
___
Associated Press writers Ashraf Khan in Islamabad, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Habib Khan in Khar and Zarar Khan and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan contributed to this report.
AP
*
Pakistan blasts kill 2 dozen Play Video AP – Pakistan blasts kill 2 dozen
By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer Asif Shahzad, Associated Press Writer – 50 mins ago
ISLAMABAD – A suicide bomber killed seven people near a major air force complex in northwest Pakistan on Friday, while an explosion killed 17 on a bus heading to wedding elsewhere in the region, the latest in a surge of militant attacks this month.
The bloodshed has coincided with the run-up and first week of a major army offensive in a Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold along the Afghan border. About 200 people have died as the insurgents have shown they can strike in a variety of ways and places in the nuclear-armed, U.S.-allied nation.
The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra is the country's major air force maintenance and research hub.
Some foreign military experts have mentioned it as a possible place to keep planes that can carry nuclear warheads, but the army, which does not reveal where its nuclear-related facilities are, strongly denies that the facility is tied to the program in any way.
A lone suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up at a checkpoint on a road leading to the complex, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the capital, Islamabad. Police officer Akbar Abbas blamed the Taliban for the attack.
The seven dead included two troops. Some 13 people were wounded.
Hours later, a blast struck the bus, which was traveling in the Mohmand tribal region. Four women and three children were among the 17 killed, said Zabit Khan, a local government official, who said the exact cause of the blast was still not certain.
"It appears to be a remote-controlled bomb, and militants might have hit the bus mistakenly," Khan told The Associated Press.
Mohmand, like other parts of Pakistan's tribal belt, has been a magnet for Taliban militants. The military has carried out operations there in the past aimed at clearing out insurgents but trouble still flares.
Also Friday, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot of a recreational facility in Peshawar, the main city in the northwest. Fifteen people were wounded. The facility includes a restaurant, a swimming pool, a health club and a marriage hall.
"It is part of the violence we are seeing across Pakistan these days," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the region's information minister.
There have been at least nine major militant attacks this month, most against police or army targets.
Some have been explosions, while others have involved teams of gunmen staging raids. In one of the most brazen attacks, gunmen attacked the army headquarters close to the capital and held hostages inside the complex for 22 hours.
Pakistan is under intense pressure to eliminate Islamist militant groups sheltering in its northwest that also attack U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. The military has battled them in various districts, losing hundreds of soldiers, but questions remain about its overall strategic commitment to the fight.
It began its current offensive in the South Waziristan tribal region seven days ago.
A military statement Friday reported two more soldiers were killed, bringing the army's death toll to 20, and that 13 more militants were slain, bringing their death toll to 142. Reporters are blocked from entering the region, meaning verifying information is all but impossible.
The army has previously moved into South Waziristan three times since 2004. Each time it has suffered high casualties and signed peace deals that left insurgents with effective control of the region. Western officials say al-Qaida now uses it and neighboring North Waziristan as an operations and training base.
___
Associated Press writers Ashraf Khan in Islamabad, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Habib Khan in Khar and Zarar Khan and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan contributed to this report.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Oct 21
Man Arrested in U.S. on Terror Charges - Spencer S. Hsu (Washington Post)
Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury near Boston, has been arrested for conspiring to support terrorists by seeking training from Islamic extremist fighters overseas, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Mehanna allegedly conspired from 2001 to May 2008 with Ahmad Abousamra and others to carry out attacks abroad, including on U.S. soldiers in Iraq, the Justice Department said.
Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury near Boston, has been arrested for conspiring to support terrorists by seeking training from Islamic extremist fighters overseas, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Mehanna allegedly conspired from 2001 to May 2008 with Ahmad Abousamra and others to carry out attacks abroad, including on U.S. soldiers in Iraq, the Justice Department said.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
new arrest
Terror Suspect Defiant in Court
Tarek Mehanna, charged with plotting to kill 2 U.S. politicians, refused to stand in court when ordered by the judge.
Tarek Mehanna, charged with plotting to kill 2 U.S. politicians, refused to stand in court when ordered by the judge.
Oct 21 more death
Blasts at Jakarta Ritz, Marriott kill 9, wound 50 (AP)
AP - Suspected suicide bombers set off explosions that ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta Friday, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more, ending a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least 18 foreigners were among the dead and wounded.
AP - Suspected suicide bombers set off explosions that ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta Friday, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more, ending a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least 18 foreigners were among the dead and wounded.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
women in Islam
The Women of Islam
By Lisa Beyer Sunday,
o
For
his day, the Prophet Muhammad was a feminist. The doctrine he laid out as the revealed word of God considerably improved the status of women in 7th century Arabia. In local pagan society, it was the custom to bury alive unwanted female newborns; Islam prohibited the practice. Women had been treated as possessions of their husbands; Islamic law made the education of girls a sacred duty and gave women the right to own and inherit property. Muhammad even decreed that sexual satisfaction was a woman's entitlement. He was a liberal at home as well as in the pulpit. The Prophet darned his own garments and among his wives and concubines had a trader, a warrior, a leatherworker and an imam.
Of course, ancient advances do not mean that much to women 14 centuries later if reform is, rather than a process, a historical blip subject to reversal. While it is impossible, given their diversity, to paint one picture of women living under Islam today, it is clear that the religion has been used in most Muslim countries not to liberate but to entrench inequality. The Taliban, with its fanatical subjugation of the female sex, occupies an extreme, but it nevertheless belongs on a continuum that includes, not so far down the line, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and the relatively moderate states of Egypt and Jordan. Where Muslims have afforded women the greatest degree of equality--in Turkey--they have done so by overthrowing Islamic precepts in favor of secular rule. As Riffat Hassan, professor of religious studies at the University of Louisville, puts it, "The way Islam has been practiced in most Muslim societies for centuries has left millions of Muslim women with battered bodies, minds and souls."
Part of the problem dates to Muhammad. Even as he proclaimed new rights for women, he enshrined their inequality in immutable law, passed down as God's commandments and eventually recorded in scripture. The Koran allots daughters half the inheritance of sons. It decrees that a woman's testimony in court, at least in financial matters, is worth half that of a man's. Under Shari'a, or Muslim law, compensation for the murder of a woman is half the going rate for men. In many Muslim countries, these directives are incorporated into contemporary law. For a woman to prove rape in Pakistan, for example, four adult males of "impeccable" character must witness the penetration, in accordance with Shari'a.
Family law in Islamic countries generally follows the prescriptions of scripture. This is so even in a country like Egypt, where much of the legal code has been secularized. In Islam, women can have only one spouse, while men are permitted four. The legal age for girls to marry tends to be very young. Muhammad's favorite wife, A'isha, according to her biographer, was six when they wed, nine when the marriage was consummated. In Iran the legal age for marriage is nine for girls, 14 for boys. The law has occasionally been exploited by pedophiles, who marry poor young girls from the provinces, use and then abandon them. In 2000 the Iranian Parliament voted to raise the minimum age for girls to 14, but this year, a legislative oversight body dominated by traditional clerics vetoed the move. An attempt by conservatives to abolish Yemen's legal minimum age of 15 for girls failed, but local experts say it is rarely enforced anyway. (The onset of puberty is considered an appropriate time for a marriage to be consummated.)
Wives in Islamic societies face great difficulty in suing for divorce, but husbands can be released from their vows virtually on demand, in some places merely by saying "I divorce you" three times. Though in most Muslim states, divorces are entitled to alimony, in Pakistan it lasts only three months, long enough to ensure the woman isn't pregnant. The same three-month rule applies even to the Muslim minority in India. There, a national law provides for long-term alimony, but to appease Islamic conservatives, authorities exempted Muslims.
Fear of poverty keeps many Muslim women locked in bad marriages, as does the prospect of losing their children. Typically, fathers win custody of boys over the age of six and girls after the onset of puberty. Maryam, an Iranian woman, says she has stayed married for 20 years to a philandering opium addict she does not love because she fears losing guardianship of her teenage daughter. "Islam supposedly gives me the right to divorce," she says. "But what about my rights afterward?"
Women's rights are compromised further by a section in the Koran, sura 4:34, that has been interpreted to say that men have "pre-eminence" over women or that they are "overseers" of women. The verse goes on to say that the husband of an insubordinate wife should first admonish her, then leave her to sleep alone and finally beat her. Wife beating is so prevalent in the Muslim world that social workers who assist battered women in Egypt, for example, spend much of their time trying to convince victims that their husbands' violent acts are unacceptable.
By Lisa Beyer Sunday,
o
For
his day, the Prophet Muhammad was a feminist. The doctrine he laid out as the revealed word of God considerably improved the status of women in 7th century Arabia. In local pagan society, it was the custom to bury alive unwanted female newborns; Islam prohibited the practice. Women had been treated as possessions of their husbands; Islamic law made the education of girls a sacred duty and gave women the right to own and inherit property. Muhammad even decreed that sexual satisfaction was a woman's entitlement. He was a liberal at home as well as in the pulpit. The Prophet darned his own garments and among his wives and concubines had a trader, a warrior, a leatherworker and an imam.
Of course, ancient advances do not mean that much to women 14 centuries later if reform is, rather than a process, a historical blip subject to reversal. While it is impossible, given their diversity, to paint one picture of women living under Islam today, it is clear that the religion has been used in most Muslim countries not to liberate but to entrench inequality. The Taliban, with its fanatical subjugation of the female sex, occupies an extreme, but it nevertheless belongs on a continuum that includes, not so far down the line, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and the relatively moderate states of Egypt and Jordan. Where Muslims have afforded women the greatest degree of equality--in Turkey--they have done so by overthrowing Islamic precepts in favor of secular rule. As Riffat Hassan, professor of religious studies at the University of Louisville, puts it, "The way Islam has been practiced in most Muslim societies for centuries has left millions of Muslim women with battered bodies, minds and souls."
Part of the problem dates to Muhammad. Even as he proclaimed new rights for women, he enshrined their inequality in immutable law, passed down as God's commandments and eventually recorded in scripture. The Koran allots daughters half the inheritance of sons. It decrees that a woman's testimony in court, at least in financial matters, is worth half that of a man's. Under Shari'a, or Muslim law, compensation for the murder of a woman is half the going rate for men. In many Muslim countries, these directives are incorporated into contemporary law. For a woman to prove rape in Pakistan, for example, four adult males of "impeccable" character must witness the penetration, in accordance with Shari'a.
Family law in Islamic countries generally follows the prescriptions of scripture. This is so even in a country like Egypt, where much of the legal code has been secularized. In Islam, women can have only one spouse, while men are permitted four. The legal age for girls to marry tends to be very young. Muhammad's favorite wife, A'isha, according to her biographer, was six when they wed, nine when the marriage was consummated. In Iran the legal age for marriage is nine for girls, 14 for boys. The law has occasionally been exploited by pedophiles, who marry poor young girls from the provinces, use and then abandon them. In 2000 the Iranian Parliament voted to raise the minimum age for girls to 14, but this year, a legislative oversight body dominated by traditional clerics vetoed the move. An attempt by conservatives to abolish Yemen's legal minimum age of 15 for girls failed, but local experts say it is rarely enforced anyway. (The onset of puberty is considered an appropriate time for a marriage to be consummated.)
Wives in Islamic societies face great difficulty in suing for divorce, but husbands can be released from their vows virtually on demand, in some places merely by saying "I divorce you" three times. Though in most Muslim states, divorces are entitled to alimony, in Pakistan it lasts only three months, long enough to ensure the woman isn't pregnant. The same three-month rule applies even to the Muslim minority in India. There, a national law provides for long-term alimony, but to appease Islamic conservatives, authorities exempted Muslims.
Fear of poverty keeps many Muslim women locked in bad marriages, as does the prospect of losing their children. Typically, fathers win custody of boys over the age of six and girls after the onset of puberty. Maryam, an Iranian woman, says she has stayed married for 20 years to a philandering opium addict she does not love because she fears losing guardianship of her teenage daughter. "Islam supposedly gives me the right to divorce," she says. "But what about my rights afterward?"
Women's rights are compromised further by a section in the Koran, sura 4:34, that has been interpreted to say that men have "pre-eminence" over women or that they are "overseers" of women. The verse goes on to say that the husband of an insubordinate wife should first admonish her, then leave her to sleep alone and finally beat her. Wife beating is so prevalent in the Muslim world that social workers who assist battered women in Egypt, for example, spend much of their time trying to convince victims that their husbands' violent acts are unacceptable.
the danger
The Essence of Islam
Now let's move to the essence of Islam. Islam was born with the idea that it should rule the world.
Let's look, then, at the difference between these three religions. Judaism speaks about national salvation - namely that at the end of the story, when the world becomes a better place, Israel will be in its own land, ruled by its own king and serving God. Christianity speaks about the idea that every single person in the world can be saved from his sings, while Islam speaks about ruling the world. I can quote here in Arabic, but there is no point in quoting Arabic, so let me quote a verse in English. "Allah sent Mohammed with the true religion so that it should rule over all the religions."
The idea, then, is not that the whole world would become a Moslem world at this time, but that the whole world would be subdued under the rule of Islam. When the Islamic empire was established in 634 AD, within seven years - 640 - the core of the empire was created. The rules that were taken from the Koran and from the tradition that was ascribed to the prophet Mohammed, were translated into a real legal system. Jews and Christians could live under Islam provided they paid poll tax and accepted Islamic superiority. Of course, they had to be humiliated. And Jews and Christians living under Islam are humiliated to this very day.
Mohammed Held That All the Biblical Prophets Were Moslems Mohammed did accept the existence of all the Biblical prophets before him. However he also said that all these prophets were Moslems. Abraham was a Moslem. In fact, Adam himself was the first Moslem. Isaac and Jacob and David and Solomon and Moses and Jesus were all Moslems, and all of them had writings similar to the Koran. Therefore, world history is Islamic history because all the heroes of history were Moslems.
Furthermore, Moslems accept the fact that each of these prophets brought with him some kind of a revelation. Moses, brought the Taurat, which is the Torah, and Jesus brought the Ingeel, which is the Evangelion or Gospel - namely the New Testament.
The Bible vs. the Koran
Why then is the Bible not similar to the Koran?
Mohammed explains that the Jews and Christians forged their books. Had they not been changed and forged, they would have been identical to the Koran. But because Christians and Jews do have some truth, Islam concedes that they cannot be completely destroyed by war [for now].
Nevertheless, the laws a very clear - Jews and Christians have no rights whatsoever to independent existence. They can live under Islamic rule provided they keep to the rules that Islam promulgates for them.
Islamic Rule and Jihad
What happens if Jews and Christians don't want to live under the rules of Islam? Then Islam has to fight them and this fighting is called Jihad. Jihad means war against those people who don't want to accept the Islamic superior rule. That's jihad. They may be Jews; they may be Christians; they may be Polytheists. But since we don't have too many Polytheists left, at least not in the Middle East - their war is against the Jews and Christians.
A few days ago, I received a pamphlet that was distributed in the world by bin Laden. He calls for jihad against America as the leader of the Christian world, not because America is the supporter of Israel, but because Americans are desecrating Arabia with their filthy feet. There are Americans in Arabia were no Christians should be. In this pamphlet there is not a single word about Israel. Only that Americans are desecrating the home of the prophet.
Two Houses
The Koran sees the world as divided into two - one part which has come under Islamic rule and one part which is supposed to come under Islamic rule in the future. There is a division of the world which is very clear. Every single person who starts studying Islam knows it. The world is described as Dar al-Islam (the house of Islam) - that's the place where Islam rules - and the other part which is called Dar al-Harb - the house of war. Not the "house of non-Muslims," but the "house of war." It is this house of war which as to be, at the end of time, conquered. The world will continue to be in the house of war until it comes under Islamic rule. This is the norm. Why? Because Allah says it's so in the Koran. God has sent Mohammed with the true religion in order that the truth will overcome all other religions.
Islamic Law
Within the Islamic vision of this world, there are rules that govern the lives of the Moslems themselves, and these rules are very strict. In fundamentals, there are no differences between schools of law.
However, there are four streams of factions within Islam with differences between them concerning the minutiae of the laws. All over the Islamic world, countries have favored one or another of these schools of laws. The strictest school of law is called Hanbali, mainly coming out of Saudi Arabia. There are no games there, no playing around with the meanings of words. If the Koran speaks about war, then it's war.
There are various perspectives in Islam with different interpretations over the centuries. There were good people that were very enlightened in Islam that tried to understand things differently. They even brought traditions from the mouth of the prophet that women and children should not be killed in war. These more liberal streams do exist, but there is one thing that is very important for us to remember. The Hanbali school of law is extremely strict, and today this is the school that is behind most of the terrorist powers. Even if we talk about the existence of other schools of Islamic law, when we're talking about fighting against the Jews, or fighting against the Christian world led by America, it is the Hanbali school of law that is being followed.
Islam and Territory
This civilization created one very important, fundamental rule about territory. Any territory that comes under Islamic rule cannot be de-Islamized. Even if at one time or another, the [non-Moslem] enemy takes over the territory that was under Islamic rule, it is considered to be perpetually Islamic. This is why whenever you hear about the Arab/Israeli conflict, you hear - territory, territory, territory. There are other aspects to the conflict, but territory is highly important.
The Christian civilization has not only been seen as a religious opponent, but as a dam stopping Islam from achieving its final goal for which it was created. Islam was created to be the army of God, the army of Allah. Every single Moslem is a soldier in this army. Every single Moslem that dies in fighting for the spread of Islam is a shaheed (martyr) no matter how he dies, because - and this is very important - this is an eternal word between the two civilizations. It's not a war that stops. This was is there because it was created by Allah. Islam must be the ruler. This is a war that will not end.
Islam and Peace
Peace in Islam can exist only within the Islamic world; peace can only be between Moslem and Moslem.
With the non-Moslem world or non-Moslem opponents, there can be only one solution - a cease fire until Moslems can gain more power. It is an eternal war until the end of days. Peace can only come if the Islamic side wins. The two civilizations can only have periods of cease-fires. And this idea of cease-fire is based on a very important historical precedent, which, incidentally, Yasser Arafat referred to when he spoke in Johannesburg after he signed the Oslo agreement with Israel.
Let me remind you that the document speaks of peace - you wouldn't believe that you are reading! You would think that you were reading some science fiction piece. I mean when you read it, you can't believe that this was signed by Israelis who are actually acquainted with Islamic policies and civilization.
A few weeks after the Oslo agreement was signed, Arafat went to Johannesburg, and in a mosque there he made a speech in which he apologized, saying, "Do you think I signed something with the Jews which is contrary to the rules of Islam?" (I have obtained a copy of Arafat's recorded speech so I heard it from his own mouth.) Arafat continued, "That's not so. I'm doing exactly what the prophet Mohammed did."
Whatever the prophet is supposed have done becomes a precedent. What Arafat was saying was, "Remember the story of Hodaybiya." The prophet had made an agreement there with the tribe of Kuraish for 10 years. But then he trained 10,000 soldiers and within two years marched on their city of Mecca. He, of course, found some kind of pretext.
Thus, in Islamic jurisdiction, it became a legal precedent which states that you are only allowed to make peace for a maximum of 10 years. Secondly, at the first instance that you are able, you must renew the jihad [thus breaking the "peace" agreement].
In Israel, it has taken over 50 years in this country for our people to understand that they cannot speak about [permanent] peace with Moslems. It will take another 50 years for the western world to understand that they have got a state of war with the Islamic civilization that is virile and strong. This should be understood: When we talk about war and peace, we are not talking in Belgium, French, English, or German terms. We are talking about war and peace in Islamic terms.
Cease-fire as a Tactical Choice
What makes Islam accept cease-fire? Only one thing - when the enemy is too strong. It is a tactical choice.
Sometimes, he may have to agree to a cease-fire in the most humiliating conditions. It's allowed because Mohammed accepted a cease-fire under humiliating conditions. That's what Arafat said to them in Johannesburg. When western policy makers hear these things, they answer, "What are you talking about? You are in the Middle Ages. You don't understand the mechanisms of politics."
Which mechanisms of politics? There are no mechanisms of politics where power is. And I want to tell you one thing - we haven't seen the end of it, because the minute a radical Moslem power has atomic, chemical or biological weapons, they will use it. I have no doubt about that.
Now, since we face war and we know that we cannot get more than an impermanent cease-fire, one has to ask himself what is the major component of an Israeli/Arab cease-fire. It is that the Islamic side is weak and your side is strong. The relations between Israel and the Arab world in the last 50 years since the establishment of our State has been based only on this idea, the deterrent power.
Wherever You Have Islam, You Will Have War
The reason that we have what we have in Yugoslavia and other places is because Islam succeeded into entering these countries. Wherever you have Islam, you will have war. It grows out of the attitude of Islamic civilization.
What are the poor people in the Philippines being killed for? What's happening between Pakistan and India?
Islamic Infiltration
Furthermore, there is another fact that must be remembered. The Islamic world has not only the attitude of open war, but there's also war by infiltration. One of the things which the western world is not paying enough attention to is the tremendous growth of Islamic power in the western world. What happened in America and the Twin Towers is not something that came from the outside. And if America doesn't wake up, one day the Americans will find themselves in a chemical war and most likely in an atomic war - inside the U.S.
End of Days
It is highly important to understand how a civilization sees the end of days. In Christianity and in Judaism, we know exactly what is the vision of the end of days. In Judaism, it is going to be as in Isaiah - peace between nations, not just one nation, but between all nations. People will not have any more need for weapons and nature will be changed - a beautiful end of days and the kingdom of God on earth.
Christianity goes as far as Revelation to see a day that Satan himself is obliterated. There are no more powers of evil. That's the vision.
I'm speaking now as a historian. I try to understand how Islam sees the end of days. In the end of days, Islam sees a world that is totally Moslem, completely Moslem under the rule of Islam. Complete and final victory.
Christians will not exist, because according to many Islamic traditions, the Moslems who are in hell will have to be replaced by somebody and they'll be replaced by the Christians.
The Jews will no longer exist, because before the coming of the end of days, there is going to be a war against the Jews where all Jews should be killed. I'm quoting now from the heart of Islamic tradition, from the books that are read by every child in school. They Jews will all be killed. They'll be running away and they'll be hiding behind trees and rocks, and on that day Allah will give mouths to the rocks and trees and they will say, "Oh Moslem come here, there is a Jew behind me, kill him." Without this, the end of days cannot come. This is a fundamental of Islam.
Now let's move to the essence of Islam. Islam was born with the idea that it should rule the world.
Let's look, then, at the difference between these three religions. Judaism speaks about national salvation - namely that at the end of the story, when the world becomes a better place, Israel will be in its own land, ruled by its own king and serving God. Christianity speaks about the idea that every single person in the world can be saved from his sings, while Islam speaks about ruling the world. I can quote here in Arabic, but there is no point in quoting Arabic, so let me quote a verse in English. "Allah sent Mohammed with the true religion so that it should rule over all the religions."
The idea, then, is not that the whole world would become a Moslem world at this time, but that the whole world would be subdued under the rule of Islam. When the Islamic empire was established in 634 AD, within seven years - 640 - the core of the empire was created. The rules that were taken from the Koran and from the tradition that was ascribed to the prophet Mohammed, were translated into a real legal system. Jews and Christians could live under Islam provided they paid poll tax and accepted Islamic superiority. Of course, they had to be humiliated. And Jews and Christians living under Islam are humiliated to this very day.
Mohammed Held That All the Biblical Prophets Were Moslems Mohammed did accept the existence of all the Biblical prophets before him. However he also said that all these prophets were Moslems. Abraham was a Moslem. In fact, Adam himself was the first Moslem. Isaac and Jacob and David and Solomon and Moses and Jesus were all Moslems, and all of them had writings similar to the Koran. Therefore, world history is Islamic history because all the heroes of history were Moslems.
Furthermore, Moslems accept the fact that each of these prophets brought with him some kind of a revelation. Moses, brought the Taurat, which is the Torah, and Jesus brought the Ingeel, which is the Evangelion or Gospel - namely the New Testament.
The Bible vs. the Koran
Why then is the Bible not similar to the Koran?
Mohammed explains that the Jews and Christians forged their books. Had they not been changed and forged, they would have been identical to the Koran. But because Christians and Jews do have some truth, Islam concedes that they cannot be completely destroyed by war [for now].
Nevertheless, the laws a very clear - Jews and Christians have no rights whatsoever to independent existence. They can live under Islamic rule provided they keep to the rules that Islam promulgates for them.
Islamic Rule and Jihad
What happens if Jews and Christians don't want to live under the rules of Islam? Then Islam has to fight them and this fighting is called Jihad. Jihad means war against those people who don't want to accept the Islamic superior rule. That's jihad. They may be Jews; they may be Christians; they may be Polytheists. But since we don't have too many Polytheists left, at least not in the Middle East - their war is against the Jews and Christians.
A few days ago, I received a pamphlet that was distributed in the world by bin Laden. He calls for jihad against America as the leader of the Christian world, not because America is the supporter of Israel, but because Americans are desecrating Arabia with their filthy feet. There are Americans in Arabia were no Christians should be. In this pamphlet there is not a single word about Israel. Only that Americans are desecrating the home of the prophet.
Two Houses
The Koran sees the world as divided into two - one part which has come under Islamic rule and one part which is supposed to come under Islamic rule in the future. There is a division of the world which is very clear. Every single person who starts studying Islam knows it. The world is described as Dar al-Islam (the house of Islam) - that's the place where Islam rules - and the other part which is called Dar al-Harb - the house of war. Not the "house of non-Muslims," but the "house of war." It is this house of war which as to be, at the end of time, conquered. The world will continue to be in the house of war until it comes under Islamic rule. This is the norm. Why? Because Allah says it's so in the Koran. God has sent Mohammed with the true religion in order that the truth will overcome all other religions.
Islamic Law
Within the Islamic vision of this world, there are rules that govern the lives of the Moslems themselves, and these rules are very strict. In fundamentals, there are no differences between schools of law.
However, there are four streams of factions within Islam with differences between them concerning the minutiae of the laws. All over the Islamic world, countries have favored one or another of these schools of laws. The strictest school of law is called Hanbali, mainly coming out of Saudi Arabia. There are no games there, no playing around with the meanings of words. If the Koran speaks about war, then it's war.
There are various perspectives in Islam with different interpretations over the centuries. There were good people that were very enlightened in Islam that tried to understand things differently. They even brought traditions from the mouth of the prophet that women and children should not be killed in war. These more liberal streams do exist, but there is one thing that is very important for us to remember. The Hanbali school of law is extremely strict, and today this is the school that is behind most of the terrorist powers. Even if we talk about the existence of other schools of Islamic law, when we're talking about fighting against the Jews, or fighting against the Christian world led by America, it is the Hanbali school of law that is being followed.
Islam and Territory
This civilization created one very important, fundamental rule about territory. Any territory that comes under Islamic rule cannot be de-Islamized. Even if at one time or another, the [non-Moslem] enemy takes over the territory that was under Islamic rule, it is considered to be perpetually Islamic. This is why whenever you hear about the Arab/Israeli conflict, you hear - territory, territory, territory. There are other aspects to the conflict, but territory is highly important.
The Christian civilization has not only been seen as a religious opponent, but as a dam stopping Islam from achieving its final goal for which it was created. Islam was created to be the army of God, the army of Allah. Every single Moslem is a soldier in this army. Every single Moslem that dies in fighting for the spread of Islam is a shaheed (martyr) no matter how he dies, because - and this is very important - this is an eternal word between the two civilizations. It's not a war that stops. This was is there because it was created by Allah. Islam must be the ruler. This is a war that will not end.
Islam and Peace
Peace in Islam can exist only within the Islamic world; peace can only be between Moslem and Moslem.
With the non-Moslem world or non-Moslem opponents, there can be only one solution - a cease fire until Moslems can gain more power. It is an eternal war until the end of days. Peace can only come if the Islamic side wins. The two civilizations can only have periods of cease-fires. And this idea of cease-fire is based on a very important historical precedent, which, incidentally, Yasser Arafat referred to when he spoke in Johannesburg after he signed the Oslo agreement with Israel.
Let me remind you that the document speaks of peace - you wouldn't believe that you are reading! You would think that you were reading some science fiction piece. I mean when you read it, you can't believe that this was signed by Israelis who are actually acquainted with Islamic policies and civilization.
A few weeks after the Oslo agreement was signed, Arafat went to Johannesburg, and in a mosque there he made a speech in which he apologized, saying, "Do you think I signed something with the Jews which is contrary to the rules of Islam?" (I have obtained a copy of Arafat's recorded speech so I heard it from his own mouth.) Arafat continued, "That's not so. I'm doing exactly what the prophet Mohammed did."
Whatever the prophet is supposed have done becomes a precedent. What Arafat was saying was, "Remember the story of Hodaybiya." The prophet had made an agreement there with the tribe of Kuraish for 10 years. But then he trained 10,000 soldiers and within two years marched on their city of Mecca. He, of course, found some kind of pretext.
Thus, in Islamic jurisdiction, it became a legal precedent which states that you are only allowed to make peace for a maximum of 10 years. Secondly, at the first instance that you are able, you must renew the jihad [thus breaking the "peace" agreement].
In Israel, it has taken over 50 years in this country for our people to understand that they cannot speak about [permanent] peace with Moslems. It will take another 50 years for the western world to understand that they have got a state of war with the Islamic civilization that is virile and strong. This should be understood: When we talk about war and peace, we are not talking in Belgium, French, English, or German terms. We are talking about war and peace in Islamic terms.
Cease-fire as a Tactical Choice
What makes Islam accept cease-fire? Only one thing - when the enemy is too strong. It is a tactical choice.
Sometimes, he may have to agree to a cease-fire in the most humiliating conditions. It's allowed because Mohammed accepted a cease-fire under humiliating conditions. That's what Arafat said to them in Johannesburg. When western policy makers hear these things, they answer, "What are you talking about? You are in the Middle Ages. You don't understand the mechanisms of politics."
Which mechanisms of politics? There are no mechanisms of politics where power is. And I want to tell you one thing - we haven't seen the end of it, because the minute a radical Moslem power has atomic, chemical or biological weapons, they will use it. I have no doubt about that.
Now, since we face war and we know that we cannot get more than an impermanent cease-fire, one has to ask himself what is the major component of an Israeli/Arab cease-fire. It is that the Islamic side is weak and your side is strong. The relations between Israel and the Arab world in the last 50 years since the establishment of our State has been based only on this idea, the deterrent power.
Wherever You Have Islam, You Will Have War
The reason that we have what we have in Yugoslavia and other places is because Islam succeeded into entering these countries. Wherever you have Islam, you will have war. It grows out of the attitude of Islamic civilization.
What are the poor people in the Philippines being killed for? What's happening between Pakistan and India?
Islamic Infiltration
Furthermore, there is another fact that must be remembered. The Islamic world has not only the attitude of open war, but there's also war by infiltration. One of the things which the western world is not paying enough attention to is the tremendous growth of Islamic power in the western world. What happened in America and the Twin Towers is not something that came from the outside. And if America doesn't wake up, one day the Americans will find themselves in a chemical war and most likely in an atomic war - inside the U.S.
End of Days
It is highly important to understand how a civilization sees the end of days. In Christianity and in Judaism, we know exactly what is the vision of the end of days. In Judaism, it is going to be as in Isaiah - peace between nations, not just one nation, but between all nations. People will not have any more need for weapons and nature will be changed - a beautiful end of days and the kingdom of God on earth.
Christianity goes as far as Revelation to see a day that Satan himself is obliterated. There are no more powers of evil. That's the vision.
I'm speaking now as a historian. I try to understand how Islam sees the end of days. In the end of days, Islam sees a world that is totally Moslem, completely Moslem under the rule of Islam. Complete and final victory.
Christians will not exist, because according to many Islamic traditions, the Moslems who are in hell will have to be replaced by somebody and they'll be replaced by the Christians.
The Jews will no longer exist, because before the coming of the end of days, there is going to be a war against the Jews where all Jews should be killed. I'm quoting now from the heart of Islamic tradition, from the books that are read by every child in school. They Jews will all be killed. They'll be running away and they'll be hiding behind trees and rocks, and on that day Allah will give mouths to the rocks and trees and they will say, "Oh Moslem come here, there is a Jew behind me, kill him." Without this, the end of days cannot come. This is a fundamental of Islam.
convert or die
Iraqi Christians Ordered to 'Convert or Die'...(England, France convert or die)
CLOSE [X]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 900 Christian families have fled Mosul in the past week, terrified by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face possible death, officials said Saturday.
Christians protest in Mosul last month ahead of elections. An official says protests may have led to the attacks.
CLOSE [X]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 900 Christian families have fled Mosul in the past week, terrified by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face possible death, officials said Saturday.
Christians protest in Mosul last month ahead of elections. An official says protests may have led to the attacks.
Training camp in Orgeon
Trial record provides account of Oregon jihad camp
(AP) – 1 day ago
BLY, Ore. — The trial of a man convicted of plotting to help recruit for al-Qaida has provided the fullest account yet of what went on a decade ago at a terrorism training camp in Oregon that never came to fruition.
According to the trial record, Oussama Kassir was enraged after first arriving at the Dog Cry Ranch near Bly, about 230 miles southeast of Portland, in December 1999.
He expected to be welcomed by Muslim recruits, eager to learn the ways of war. Instead, he got an Islamic leader from Seattle, a mentally impaired 18-year-old, and two women more interested in canning jars than jihad.
He expected access to a weapons armory. He got one pistol and a .22-caliber rifle.
Kassir recently was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the camp, which was intended to be an Islamic fighter training base but never fully materialized.
His alleged partners in the enterprise are awaiting extradition to the U.S.
(AP) – 1 day ago
BLY, Ore. — The trial of a man convicted of plotting to help recruit for al-Qaida has provided the fullest account yet of what went on a decade ago at a terrorism training camp in Oregon that never came to fruition.
According to the trial record, Oussama Kassir was enraged after first arriving at the Dog Cry Ranch near Bly, about 230 miles southeast of Portland, in December 1999.
He expected to be welcomed by Muslim recruits, eager to learn the ways of war. Instead, he got an Islamic leader from Seattle, a mentally impaired 18-year-old, and two women more interested in canning jars than jihad.
He expected access to a weapons armory. He got one pistol and a .22-caliber rifle.
Kassir recently was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the camp, which was intended to be an Islamic fighter training base but never fully materialized.
His alleged partners in the enterprise are awaiting extradition to the U.S.
oct 20
Blasts at Jakarta Ritz, Marriott kill 9, wound 50 (AP)
AP - Suspected suicide bombers set off explosions that ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta Friday, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more, ending a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least 18 foreigners were among the dead and wounded.
AP - Suspected suicide bombers set off explosions that ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta Friday, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more, ending a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least 18 foreigners were among the dead and wounded.
Oct 20
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Two suicide attackers bombed an Islamic university in the Pakistani capital Tuesday, killing four people and wounding 18 as the army pressed ahead with a critical offensive on a Taliban stronghold near Afghanistan, authorities said.
The near simultaneous blasts hit a women's cafeteria and a faculty building at Islamabad's International Islamic University. Its president said he suspected militants were responsible.
The near simultaneous blasts hit a women's cafeteria and a faculty building at Islamabad's International Islamic University. Its president said he suspected militants were responsible.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Turkey is lost
CAROLINE GLICK
Oct 15, 2009 20:04 | Updated Oct 15, 2009 21:22
Column One: How Turkey was lost
By CAROLINE GLICK [Recent columns]
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Once the apotheosis of a pro-Western, dependable Muslim democracy, this week Turkey officially left the Western alliance and became a full member of the Iranian axis.
Syrian President Bashar Assad...
Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, shakes hands with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Istanbul.
Photo: AP
It isn't that Ankara's behavior changed fundamentally in recent days. There is nothing new in its massive hostility toward Israel and its effusive solicitousness toward the likes of Syria and Hamas. Since the Islamist AKP party first won control over the Turkish government in the 2002 elections, led by AKP chairman Recip Tayyip Erdogan, the Turks have incrementally and inexorably moved the formerly pro-Western Muslim democracy into the radical Islamist camp populated by the likes of Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, al-Qaida and Hamas.
What made Turkey's behavior this week different from its behavior in recent months and years is that its attacks were concentrated, unequivocal and undeniable for everyone outside of Israel's scandalously imbecilic and flagellant media.
Until this week, both Israel and the US were quick to make excuses for Ankara. When in 2003 the AKP-dominated Turkish parliament prohibited US forces from invading Iraq through Kurdistan, the US blamed itself. Rather than get angry at Turkey, the Bush administration argued that its senior officials had played the diplomatic game poorly.
In February 2006, when Erdogan became the first international figure to host Hamas leaders on an official state visit after the jihadist group won the Palestinian elections, Jerusalem sought to explain away his diplomatic aggression. Israeli leaders claimed that Erdogan's red carpet treatment for mass murderers who seek the physical destruction of Israel was not due to any inherent hostility on the part of the AKP regime toward Israel. Rather, it was argued that Ankara simply supported democracy and that the AKP, as a formerly outlawed Islamist party, felt an affinity toward Hamas as a Muslim underdog.
Jerusalem made similar excuses for Ankara when during the 2006 war with Hizbullah Turkey turned a blind eye to Iranian weapons convoys to Lebanon that traversed Turkey; when Turkey sided with Hamas against Israel during Operation Cast Lead, and called among other things for Israel to be expelled from the UN; and when Erdogan caused a diplomatic incident this past January by castigating President Shimon Peres during a joint appearance at the Davos conference. So, too, Turkey's open support for Iran's nuclear weapons program and its galloping trade with Teheran and Damascus, as well as its embrace of al-Qaida financiers have elicited nothing more than grumbles from Israel and America.
Initially, this week Israel sought to continue its policy of making excuses for Turkish aggression against it. On Sunday, after Turkey disinvited the IAF from the Anatolian Eagle joint air exercise with Turkey and NATO, senior officials like Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and opposition leader Tzipi Livni tried to make light of the incident, claiming that Turkey remains Israel's strategic ally.
But Turkey wasted no time in making fools of them. On Monday, 11 Turkish government ministers descended on Syria to sign a pile of cooperation agreements with Iran's Arab lackey. The Foreign Ministry didn't even have a chance to write apologetic talking points explaining that brazen move before Syria announced it was entering a military alliance with Turkey and would be holding a joint military exercise with the Turkish military. Speechless in the wake of Turkey's move to hold military maneuvers with its enemy just two days after it canceled joint training with Israel, Jerusalem could think of no mitigating explanation for the move.
Tuesday was characterized by escalating verbal assaults on the Jewish state. First Erdogan renewed his libelous allegations that Israel deliberately killed children in Gaza. Then he called on Turks to learn how to make money like Jews do.
Erdogan's anti-Israel and anti-Semitic blows were followed on Tuesday evening by Turkey's government-controlled TRT1 television network's launch of a new prime-time series portraying IDF soldiers as baby- and little girl-killers who force Palestinian women to deliver stillborn babies at roadblocks and line up groups of Palestinians against walls to execute them by firing squad.
The TRT1 broadcast forced Israel's hand. Late on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry announced it was launching an official protest with the Turkish Embassy. Unfortunately, it was unclear who would be coming to the Foreign Ministry to receive the demarche, since Turkey hasn't had an ambassador in Israel for three weeks.
TURKEY'S BREAK with the West; its decisive rupture with Israel and its opposition to the US in Iraq and Iran was predictable. Militant Islam of the AKP variety has been enjoying growing popularity and support throughout Turkey for many years. The endemic corruption of Turkey's traditional secular leaders increased the Islamists' popularity. Given this domestic Turkish reality, it is possible that Erdogan and his fellow Islamists' rise to power was simply a matter of time.
But even if the AKP's rise to power was eminently predictable, its ability to consolidate its control over just about every organ of governance in Turkey as well as what was once a thriving free press, and change completely Turkey's strategic posture in just seven years was far from inevitable. For these accomplishments the AKP owes a debt of gratitude to both the Bush and Obama administrations, as well as to the EU.
The Bush administration ignored the warnings of secular Turkish leaders in the country's media, military and diplomatic corps that Erdogan was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Rather than pay attention to his past attempts to undermine Turkey's secular, pro-Western character and treat him with a modicum of suspicion, after the AKP electoral victory in 2002 the Bush administration upheld the AKP and Erdogan as paragons of Islamist moderation and proof positive that the US and the West have no problem with political Islam. Erdogan's softly peddled but remorselessly consolidated Islamism was embraced by senior American officials intent on reducing democracy to a synonym for elections rather than acknowledging that democracy is only meaningful as a system of laws and practices that engender liberal egalitarianism.
Oct 15, 2009 20:04 | Updated Oct 15, 2009 21:22
Column One: How Turkey was lost
By CAROLINE GLICK [Recent columns]
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Once the apotheosis of a pro-Western, dependable Muslim democracy, this week Turkey officially left the Western alliance and became a full member of the Iranian axis.
Syrian President Bashar Assad...
Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, shakes hands with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Istanbul.
Photo: AP
It isn't that Ankara's behavior changed fundamentally in recent days. There is nothing new in its massive hostility toward Israel and its effusive solicitousness toward the likes of Syria and Hamas. Since the Islamist AKP party first won control over the Turkish government in the 2002 elections, led by AKP chairman Recip Tayyip Erdogan, the Turks have incrementally and inexorably moved the formerly pro-Western Muslim democracy into the radical Islamist camp populated by the likes of Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, al-Qaida and Hamas.
What made Turkey's behavior this week different from its behavior in recent months and years is that its attacks were concentrated, unequivocal and undeniable for everyone outside of Israel's scandalously imbecilic and flagellant media.
Until this week, both Israel and the US were quick to make excuses for Ankara. When in 2003 the AKP-dominated Turkish parliament prohibited US forces from invading Iraq through Kurdistan, the US blamed itself. Rather than get angry at Turkey, the Bush administration argued that its senior officials had played the diplomatic game poorly.
In February 2006, when Erdogan became the first international figure to host Hamas leaders on an official state visit after the jihadist group won the Palestinian elections, Jerusalem sought to explain away his diplomatic aggression. Israeli leaders claimed that Erdogan's red carpet treatment for mass murderers who seek the physical destruction of Israel was not due to any inherent hostility on the part of the AKP regime toward Israel. Rather, it was argued that Ankara simply supported democracy and that the AKP, as a formerly outlawed Islamist party, felt an affinity toward Hamas as a Muslim underdog.
Jerusalem made similar excuses for Ankara when during the 2006 war with Hizbullah Turkey turned a blind eye to Iranian weapons convoys to Lebanon that traversed Turkey; when Turkey sided with Hamas against Israel during Operation Cast Lead, and called among other things for Israel to be expelled from the UN; and when Erdogan caused a diplomatic incident this past January by castigating President Shimon Peres during a joint appearance at the Davos conference. So, too, Turkey's open support for Iran's nuclear weapons program and its galloping trade with Teheran and Damascus, as well as its embrace of al-Qaida financiers have elicited nothing more than grumbles from Israel and America.
Initially, this week Israel sought to continue its policy of making excuses for Turkish aggression against it. On Sunday, after Turkey disinvited the IAF from the Anatolian Eagle joint air exercise with Turkey and NATO, senior officials like Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and opposition leader Tzipi Livni tried to make light of the incident, claiming that Turkey remains Israel's strategic ally.
But Turkey wasted no time in making fools of them. On Monday, 11 Turkish government ministers descended on Syria to sign a pile of cooperation agreements with Iran's Arab lackey. The Foreign Ministry didn't even have a chance to write apologetic talking points explaining that brazen move before Syria announced it was entering a military alliance with Turkey and would be holding a joint military exercise with the Turkish military. Speechless in the wake of Turkey's move to hold military maneuvers with its enemy just two days after it canceled joint training with Israel, Jerusalem could think of no mitigating explanation for the move.
Tuesday was characterized by escalating verbal assaults on the Jewish state. First Erdogan renewed his libelous allegations that Israel deliberately killed children in Gaza. Then he called on Turks to learn how to make money like Jews do.
Erdogan's anti-Israel and anti-Semitic blows were followed on Tuesday evening by Turkey's government-controlled TRT1 television network's launch of a new prime-time series portraying IDF soldiers as baby- and little girl-killers who force Palestinian women to deliver stillborn babies at roadblocks and line up groups of Palestinians against walls to execute them by firing squad.
The TRT1 broadcast forced Israel's hand. Late on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry announced it was launching an official protest with the Turkish Embassy. Unfortunately, it was unclear who would be coming to the Foreign Ministry to receive the demarche, since Turkey hasn't had an ambassador in Israel for three weeks.
TURKEY'S BREAK with the West; its decisive rupture with Israel and its opposition to the US in Iraq and Iran was predictable. Militant Islam of the AKP variety has been enjoying growing popularity and support throughout Turkey for many years. The endemic corruption of Turkey's traditional secular leaders increased the Islamists' popularity. Given this domestic Turkish reality, it is possible that Erdogan and his fellow Islamists' rise to power was simply a matter of time.
But even if the AKP's rise to power was eminently predictable, its ability to consolidate its control over just about every organ of governance in Turkey as well as what was once a thriving free press, and change completely Turkey's strategic posture in just seven years was far from inevitable. For these accomplishments the AKP owes a debt of gratitude to both the Bush and Obama administrations, as well as to the EU.
The Bush administration ignored the warnings of secular Turkish leaders in the country's media, military and diplomatic corps that Erdogan was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Rather than pay attention to his past attempts to undermine Turkey's secular, pro-Western character and treat him with a modicum of suspicion, after the AKP electoral victory in 2002 the Bush administration upheld the AKP and Erdogan as paragons of Islamist moderation and proof positive that the US and the West have no problem with political Islam. Erdogan's softly peddled but remorselessly consolidated Islamism was embraced by senior American officials intent on reducing democracy to a synonym for elections rather than acknowledging that democracy is only meaningful as a system of laws and practices that engender liberal egalitarianism.
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