Palestinians give honorary citizenship to child murderers

This is a tough one to swallow.

Frankly, it's items like this that reinforce my basic conviction that the Israelis made a mistake of biblical proportions not only in ever agreeing to the idea a Palestinian state but in allowing these people to continue to live next to them...plotting and cheering on the next atrocity.

I've mentioned Samir Quntar and Sultan Al-Ajaluni before on the site, as the bosum pals and companions of convicted terrorist murderer Marwan Barghouti. This week the Palestinian Authority has announced that it is granting honorary citizenship to these two Arab terrorists, a Lebanese and a Jordanian respectively. Both are serving life sentences in Israeli jails.

Here's why...and this will give you an idea of what the Palestinian death culture is all about.

One night in April, 1978, Kuntar and three accomplices landed at the Israeli coastal town of Nahariya from the sea, seized Danny Haran, 28, and his daughter Einat, 4, from their home. They shot Danny dead in front of his child and then smashed the child’s head on a rock. Danny’s wife Smadar survived but while hiding in a closet from the killers, she accidentally smothered to death their 2-year old daughter, Yael. Police Sgt. Eliahu Sassar rushed to the rescue and was shot dead.

Smadar Haran, wife and mother of the murder victims, described the murder in the Washington Post in 2003 in these words:

"It was a murder of unimaginable cruelty. It had been a peaceful Sabbath day. My husband, Danny, and I had picnicked with our little girls, Einat, 4, and Yael, 2, on the beach. Around midnight, the terrorists burst into our building. Danny helped our neighbor climb into a crawl space above our bedroom; I went in behind her with Yael in my arms. Danny grabbed Einat and was dashing out the front door when the terrorists came crashing into our flat. They held Danny and Einat . I will never forget the joy and the hatred in the terrorists voices as they swaggered about hunting for us, firing their guns and throwing grenades. As I lay there, I remembered my mother telling me how she had hidden from the Nazis during the Holocaust. "This is just like what happened to my mother, I thought.

The terrorists took Danny and Einat down to the beach. There, according to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat so that his death would be the last sight she would ever see. Then he smashed my little girl's skull in against a rock with his rifle butt. That terrorist was Samir Quntar."[Smadar Haran Kaiser, Washington Post, May 18, 2003]

There is something indescibably savage and rotten in a culture that not only produces such wanton cruelty, but celebrates it.And, as I show above, educates the next generation to emulate the same murderous evil.

You can tell a lot about a culture by what it chooses to reward and the heroes it honors.

A hat tip to THE AUTONOMIST for bringing this to my attention.

What Bush needs to do to come back

There's no sense in the White House living in denial any more. President Bush has been seriously damaged politically, and frankly he deserves it, in my opinion.

That being said, the last thing I want to see is damaged leadership during war time.

The failed Dubai Ports deal was a watershed event in the Bush Presidency, and emphasized what a lot of Americans who initially supported the president have felt for a very long time, even if they haven't articulated it; that he is simply too close to the Saudis and other Sunni Arab autocracies to conduct what he refers to as the `War on Terror' in the way it needs to be waged. The Ports deal was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Another aspect of this, of course is the political failure of the administration to prepare the ground properly by briefing congressional leaders before attempting to push this through the system. If in fact a strategic quid pro quo was involved with the Saudis and/or the UAE and the president was able to sufficiently justify it, things might have been different.

To be fair, President Bush from the day he was elected has faced unreasonable hostility from his partisan political opponents. And he has had to face challenges no one anticipated and that were not of his making. Nevertheless, he has consistently seemed to take only half measures in addressing those challenges, and been less than adequate in one of the main tasks of leadership..to make policy and sell that policy to the electorate.

If I had the opportunity to sit down with President Bush for a few minutes of conversation, here's what I'd tell him:

The biggest plus you have, Mr. President, is your image with the average American as a regular guy, and not one of the elites. People perceived this as an inside deal that was cooked up for the benefit of your Arab pals at the expense of America's security. And I don't think many people bought the line that you were unaware of it until it was a done deal.

Neither did they agree with you that the UAE is a loyal ally against Islamic terrorism. Or our `eternal friends' the Saudis, for that matter. Most Americans get a foul taste in their mouths every time you utter that turgid little phrase. The Saudis and the other Sunni autocracies might be useful at keeping the oil taps turned on at record high prices, or reassuring allies like India that the oil flow will continue no matter what happens with Iran, but friends? Uh uh.

Let's not confuse a relationship of convenience with friendship, Mr. President. Real alliances come out of shared values, not convenience.

This is an ideological war as much as anything else, and you owe the American people some candor in that regard.

The Saudis have been exporting hardline Wahabi-style Islam with its jihadist rhetoric to the US for years through the co-opting of America's mosques, madrassahs and mideast studies departments in our universities, and do it to this day. The roster of ex-US legislators and diplomats on the Arab payroll as lobbyists is astounding and pervasive. And virtually every radical Islamic group in the USA receives funding from these people.

So for a start, Mr. Bush, that sorry state of affairs needs tending. Most Americans are not aware of the fact that you sent both Condi Rice and your personal envoy Karen Hughes to Saudi Arabia to ask them to curtail the export of radical Islam into America, and that the Saudis politely told them to go pound sand. But you're aware of it, and need to take steps to stop it here at home. And if that means legal restrictions on foreign gifts to presidential libraries and speaking fees, or on ex-legislators and government employees acting as lobbyists for foreign governments, so be it.

If it means legislation forbidding foreign funding of religious institutions in America and a hard line on radical mosques, imams and madrassahs, then that's what needs to happen, if you want to start convincing Americans that we really are in a war and that you personally are not corrupted by your cozy relationship with certain Arab countries.

And I would urge you to reach out to American Muslims, urge them to take sides in this war and to give them a platform to fight the takeover of their religious institutions by radical Islam. Many of them came here to flee exactly the kind of Islamist tyranny represented by your Saudi friends. So far, the only American Muslims you've given the time of day to have been Islamists like CAIR.

You also need to stop accomodating these Arab regimes by backdoor funding of Arab terrorists that target Israel and stop winking at their breaking of US law by funding terrorist groups like Hamas and boycotting Israel. You may think you can curry favor with your pal Abdullah of Saudi Arabia by funneling cash through the World Bank instead of US Aid, but it doesn't fool anybody that's paying attention, it isn't helping the war effort and makes you look like a hypocrite. Believe it or not, Dubbyah, Israel is kind of popular with Evangelical Christians as well as a lot of other Americans who voted for you. And they didn't appreciate you shilling for the UAE once the UAE's involvement in things like this came out. You once said something about us opposing countries that harbor and finance terrorism. I respectfully suggest you revisit the Bush Doctrine and begin practicing it. It would restore a lot of lost credibility.

Towards that end, you might want to do more than just talk about our dependence on Arab oil. Level with your fellow Americans, put the country on a war footing if you have to, and rev up America's domestic energy creation. Give your fellow Americans credit for being willing to endure a few sacrifices for victory. They might just surprise you. In any event, it needs to happen regardless.

I would also advise you to figure out what you're planning on doing about Iran, if you haven't already. Iran was not problem of your making, but it popped its ugly head out two years ago, during your watch, and thus far the only action you seem to have taken has been to let the EU3 muddle around in useless negotiations and to push for the referral of Iran to the UN for sanctions that would be meaningless even if you managed to get past a Russian veto. This is not the kind of problem that can be deferred to the next administration without a major risk to America's security.

This is the sort of leadership the American people re-elected you for, Mr. President. And I sincerely think you have it in you to deliver.

Step up to the plate, Mr. President. The comeback starts today. And I'm rooting for you.

Moussaoui update

As I reported here, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema had considered throwing out the death penalty case after discovering that a government lawyer had improperly coached and shared testimony with witnesses.Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide
After a day-long hearing, she decided to resume on Monday the sentencing phase of the trial that will determine if Moussaoui, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in connection with the hijacked airliner attacks, will be executed.

But Brinkema handcuffed the Government's case by disallowing the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration witnesses who had been contacted by government lawyer Carla Martin. They will not be able to testify and evidence from them would not be allowed.

"I am removing from this case any and all witnesses and evidence dealing with the aviation component," Brinkema said.

"What we have in this case ... is that six witnesses -- two for the government and four potential defense witnesses, were tainted," she said.

The prosecution had argued the witnesses were vital, with that portion of the government's argument representing about half of the evidence of Moussaoui's guilt.

The government is trying to prove that if Moussaoui had not lied to the FBI when he was arrested three weeks before Sept. 11, the FAA would been able to thwart the attacks through increased security measures on airplanes.

Martin, a veteran attorney, e-mailed transcripts of the trial and tried to coach potential witnesses on how to respond to questions.

"I don't think in the annals of criminal law there has ever been a case with this many significant problems," Brinkema said.

Martin appeared briefly in court but did not testify because she did not have a lawyer to represent her. "I was unable to get counsel at all," Martin said. "This is an adversarial proceeding, but I am not represented."

Brinkema advised Martin of her Miranda rights, which are read to crime suspects arrested in the United States, and warned her she might be held in civil or criminal contempt.

After a conference with lawyers from each side, Brinkema approved a postponement of the trial until Monday to give prosecutors time to consider whether to appeal Brinkema's decision, the court said in a statement.

CAIRful!

CAIR: Islamists Fooling the Establishment - Middle East Quarterly - Spring 2006

Myths of Iraq

Ralph Peters tells it like it is, as usual:

"During a recent visit to Baghdad, I saw an enormous failure. On the part of our media. The reality in the streets, day after day, bore little resemblance to the sensational claims of civil war and disaster in the headlines.

No one with first-hand experience of Iraq would claim the country's in rosy condition, but the situation on the ground is considerably more promising than the American public has been led to believe. Lurid exaggerations and instant myths obscure real, if difficult, progress.

I left Baghdad more optimistic than I was before this visit. While cynicism, political bias and the pressure of a 24/7 news cycle accelerate a race to the bottom in reporting, there are good reasons to be soberly hopeful about Iraq's future."

read the rest here:Myths of Iraq

UN Security Council deadlocked over Iran

NITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States, Britain and France moved a dispute over Iran's nuclear weapons program to the full U.N. Security Council after failing on Tuesday to win Russia and China's support for a proposal to pressure Tehran.

The British-French draft calls on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment efforts, end its violations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and end its ambitions on nuclear weaponry. It would ask the IAEA for a quickprogress report.

The five permanent members met for a fourth time on Tuesday morning in search of a deal but broke off after failing to reach an agreement after an hour and a half of talks.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the five would meet again on Wednesday. "We're going to keep talking about this. We think it is important to keep 'perm five' unity," Bolton told reporters. "We are united in our determination to ensure that Iran does not achieve a nuclear weapons capability."

Russia and China did not want the Security Council involved, because it has the authority to impose sanctions; they wanted the IAEA to retain control.

The United States wants Mohamed ElBaradei, the director-general of the IAEA, to report to the council within 14 days on Iran's compliance. Russia and China want a six-week deadline and want the report to go to the IAEA rather than to the Security Council.

If the split continues, the Western powers may decide to drop the idea of a Security Council statement, which requires the consent of all 15 members. Instead they are considering putting a resolution to a vote and forcing Russia and China to abstain or veto.

Iran rejected an offer from Russia to enrich Iranian uranium on Russian soil. But it then wanted to reopen the talks, which Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said would happen soon...just like all the other talks for the past two years while the mullahs works towards nuclear weapons, dispersing and hiding their facilities and improving their air defences.

Israeli forces take assassins of Israeli minister Rehavam Zeevi into Israeli custody from Jericho jail

The IDF went into Jericho today and forcibly removed several prisoners, to prevent an Israeli minister’s assassins escape from jail after the American and British monitors posted there under an international agreement signed by the Palestinian Authority abandoned their watch. The men they were guarding are Ahmed Sadaat, head of the PFLP who ordered the murder of the Israeli tourism minister in 2001, his four gunmen and the Ahmed Shoubaki, financier of the Karin-A illegal arms ship.

After Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi was assasinated in 2001, the Palestinian assassins,PLFP leader Ahmed Sadaat and his men were confined under an agreement between the Quartet, Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Jericho under American and British monitors.

The American and British monitors evacuated their posts after a U.S.-UK letter to Abbas was sent to the Palestinian Authority accusing them of failing to abide by international agreements or provide the guards with proper security.

Both Hamas and Chairman Abbas had promised to free them after the Palestinian elections, and Abbas apparently gave the order while he was in Europe.

The IDF moved in this morning with Nahal Brigade troops along with the police's special anti-terror unit and broke into the facility amidst reports of explosions and heavy gunfire. PA sources said two Palestinians were killed - one policeman and one inmate - while three others were wounded in the gun battle that ensued.

(I wonder how `jailed' prisoners ended up with firearms, unless the PA supplied them after the British and Americans left?)

Aside from the six, some 200 prisoners surrendered to IDF troops and were taken to the nearby Jewish town of Vered Jericho for interrogation. According to the IDF, anyone who was of interest to Israeli security forces would be kept in Israeli custody. Seventy-six others who didn't make the all star team were returned to the custody of the PA.

The IDF took a hard-line stance throughout the day. One officer said, "We want to take them out alive, but if they threaten us we won't hesitate to kill them.

The Palestinians went berserk afterwards, taking hostages, rioting and burning buildings in the style all of us have come to know and expect. They attacked offices linked to the United States and Europe and torched the British Council building in Gaza City. They kidnapped 21 foreigners throughout Gaza and the West Bank, including an American university professor, a Swiss employee of the Red Cross and three journalists from France and South Korea, plus a handful of aid workers.

The American, an english teacher at American University was later released.

Hamas sets its agenda

The freely elected Palestinian government of Hamas has now officially laid out its agenda.

Hamas designated prime minister Sheikh Ismael Haniyeh transferred the document to Abbas,and it was made public on Saturday night, after being leaked to journalists.

These are the Hamas' founding principles. Let's take a look:


"To respect the blood of martyrs and sacrifices of the Palestinian people for the safeguarding of the national rights of the Palestinians, which cannot be given up, for the sake of carrying on the struggle to remove the occupation, and safeguarding the right of return, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as it capital. We announce that the founding principles of our government will be based on the following points.

By `martyrs', Hamas means homicide bombers and terrorists guilty of murdering innocent Israeli civilians. And you will note that this document refers a couple of times to `an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as it capital'. And there is no mention of a Jewish presence in even part of Jerusalem or of a Jewish State.

1. The expulsion of the occupation and the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Like I said, no mention of a Jewish State or any part of Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignity.

2. A commitment to the right of return of Palestinians to their homes and property. We believe that the right of return is a private and collective right that can't be given up.

In other words, Israel is to be flooded with hostile Arabs who claim to have resided in what is now Israel prior to 1948 and their decendants! And Hamas, of course, will not entertain the rights of return for Jews forced to leave their homes due to Arab ethnic cleansing after 1948.

3. Resistance in all its formed is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people in its path to put an end to the occupation and the reinstatement of its national rights.

In other words, all forms of violence and terrorism are fair game.

4. The start of a wide reform process in the Palestinian Authority's institutions. These institutions should be based on the principles of democracy, justice, the rule of law, political pluralism, and the principle of the separation of authorities and the guarding human rights and private property.

In other words, no more Arafat-style mafia. And human rights are all very well provided they don't conflict with the stated goal of Hamas of instituting Islamic sharia law. Hamas will undoubtedly look to its sponsors, Iran and Saudi Arabia as models of the types of `human rights' it plans to institute.

5. The Palestinian government will address the reality created following previous agreements between the Authority and the occupation and it is the right of the government to reassess these agreements on the basis of international law and in accordance with the rights of the Palestinians people.

In other words, Hamas will keep the agreements it feels like keeping, when it feels like keeping them.

6. The Palestinian government will protect the independence of the choice Palestinian people and its institutions, and will safeguard its sovereignty in this matter.

The good ol' green hats at Hamas are in charge, Bubba. Get used to it, or someone could get hurt.

7. The government will emphasize the Arab and Islamic character of the Palestinian issue and will act to enlist Arab and Islamic support for the Palestinian people in every sector.

Sharia law is coming your way. If you happen to be a Christian, I'd either get used to bowing in the direction of Mecca and wearing a burkha real quick, or make some travel plans.

8. The government will hold friendly and positive relations on the basis of mutual respect with Arab and Muslim countries and with the countries of the world.

We'll take aid from the Saudis, the UAE and Iran and continue to enlist the support of the Muslim world in the War Against the Jews.

9. In principle, we will be prepared to continue with the current calm, which is a path to obtain national goals, and not a goal. The calm does not mean a cancellation of the right to resist and the right to respond to Israeli violations. The calm is stipulated on the end of all Israeli aggression and the release of prisoners."

Hamas will keep a temporary `truce'-which doesn't preclude our using Islamic Jihad, al Aksa or other `martyrs' to make terrorist attacks or to shoot Qassam missles against Israel-for as long as we need to build up our forces for the next phase of the war...maybe until we get better, more accurate missles from our friends inIran. Enjoy it while you can.

PA Chairman Abbas is abroad just now, but Hamas said that they're expecting talks with Abbas to resume after the PA chairman returns. As if Abbas has anything to say about it!

The Road Map is a dead issue. And Israel had better start preparing for the next phase of this war. The emotionally satisfying fairy tale of `disengagement' may feel good, but it is not reality.

Happy Purim!

Today, in honor of Purim, the world's largest ever hamentaschen was baked by Friends of the IDF volunteers and Angel Bakery in Israel. It weighed in at 650 kg!

Hamentaschen are tri-cornered shaped pastries traditonally associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates the Jewish defeat of Hamen, the evil minister of the King of Persia who planned to exterminate them.

Will a certain Ahmadinejad turn out to be another Hamen? Stay tuned..and Happy Purim!

Trial of 9/11 hijacker Moussaoui runs into roadblock

The trial of self-confessed al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was recessed today by an angry federal judge who is considering a mistrial in the sentencing portion of the trial because of a major government error involving alleged coaching of witnesses.

A mistrial would mean that Moussaoui would not be eligible for the death penalty and he would receive life in prison.

A Transportation Security Administration lawyer allegedly sent transcripts of the opening statements and some trial testimony to potential government witnesses, apparently trying to coach them.

"This is the second significant error by the government affecting the constitutional rights of the defendant and the criminal justice system in this country in the context of a death case," U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema told lawyers in the case outside the presence of the jury.

Defense attorney Edward MacMahon moved to have the judge dismiss the death penalty as a possible outcome, saying "this is not going to be a fair trial." In the alternative, he said, at least she should excuse the coached government witnesses from the case. I guess that's what defense lawyers do, even if your client is an al Qaeda terrorist.

Federal Prosecutor David Novak replied that removing those witnesses would "exclude half the government's case." Novak said that the problem could be addressed in cross-examination by the defense.

Brinkema said she would need time to study what to do.

"In all the years I've been on the bench, I have never seen such an egregious violation of a rule on witnesses," she said.

It's hard to know where to draw the line on this one. Moussaoui, a French citizen, is the only person charged in the United States with the 9/11 attacks. He pleaded guilty in April to conspiring with al Qaeda, and also says he was training for a possible future attack.

To say he's not getting a fair trial after already confessing to being involved is really pushing the envelope, even for a Leftist Clinton appointee like Brinkema.

But as much as I hate to admit it, she may be right on this one.

Even prosecutor Novak admitted that the witness coaching was "horrendously wrong."

It was, and it's yet another screwup by the Bush Justice Department in prosecuting Islamic terrorists.

Before the trial was recessed by Brinkema, the jury was scheduled to hear from the FBI agent who arrested Moussaoui — perhaps the key witness in the trial.

Special Agent Harry Samit's testimony is equally important to prosecutors and the defense at Moussaoui's sentencing trial. Samit has already testified in the trial for the prosecution was scheduled for cross-examination.

Prosecutors are taking the position that Samit and the FBI would have foiled the Sept. 11 attacks had Moussaoui confessed his membership in the al Qaeda terror network and his plans to hijack an airplane after he was arrested on Aug. 16, 2001, and interrogated by Samit.

To obtain the death penalty, prosecutors must first prove that Moussaoui's actions — specifically, his lies- were directly responsible for at least one death on Sept. 11.

Dubya Talk

Dry Bones is a long running comic strip that is the work of Yaakov Kirschen..and he sure hit the bullseye with this one!

Check out more of his work here: the Dry Bones Blog

Russia proposes March 20th Date for new talks on Iran

Once again. that ominous March 20th date pops up.

According to diplomatic sources, Russia has proposed that new talks on Iran's nuclear program take place on March 20 - most likely in Vienna - with the United States, China, France and Britain - the other four permanent members of the Security Council.Jerusalem Post | Russia proposes March 20 for new talks on Iran

The Russians also want the participation of the IAEA's own Inspecter Clouseau, Mohamed ElBaradei, and of Germany, which, along with France and Britain, the other members of the so-called EU 3 broke off talks with Iran after two years of futility once the Mullahs decided to go ahead with work on uranium enrichment.

Remember, as I reported that March 20 coincides with the Persian New Year, Noruz and that the same group of Iranian dissidents who first outed Teheran's hidden nuclear weapons program claim to have reliable information that an Iranian nuclear weapons test is sceduled for that date.
J O S H U A P U N D I T: Iran planing nuke test...
It's obvious to me that the Russians are trying to buy as much time for the mullahs as they can. Will the West go along with it?

Stay tuned...

Slain American hostage shot, tortured.

Tom Fox, a 54-year-old member of Christian Peacemaker Teams from Clear Brook, Va., was found dead near a railroad line in Baghdad with gunshots to his head and chest and signs of torture on his body, Iraqi police said.

There's no news on his fellow hostages, a Briton and two Canadians
who were last seen in a video dated Feb. 28 and broadcast Tuesday, March 7 on Jihad TV, AKA Al-Jazeera.

The Islamic group Swords of Righteousness Brigades claimed responsibility for kidnapping the four Christian Peacemaker Teams members--Fox, Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, and Briton Norman Kember, 74. They disappeared Nov. 26.

Fox's Chicago-based group said: "We mourn the loss of Tom Fox, who combined a lightness of spirit, a firm opposition to all oppression, and the recognition of God in everyone."

"In response to Tom's passing, we ask that everyone set aside inclinations to vilify or demonize others, no matter what they have done," Christian Peacemaker co-directors Doug Pritchard and Carol Rose said in a statement.

Well, maybe.

My heart goes out to Mr. Fox's loved ones, and I'm sorry he died in this fashion. But I also can't forget that this so-called Christian Peacemaker Teams organization is little more than a bunch of apologists for Islamic terrorism. Fox's previous stint as a `peacemaker' involved shilling for Palestinian terrorists who target Jews in Israel and have the blood of Fox's fellow Americans on their hands..just like the terrorists in Iraq who ended up adding Fox to their list of kaffir victims.

Sometimes, when you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas, as the old saying goes. And sometimes those fleas end up killing you.

Saudis to continue to aid Hamas

Hamas Politbureau Chief Khaled Meshaal was all smiles after talks in Riyadh with Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal and Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz, the Saudi intelligence chief.Hamas says gets Saudi promise on continued aid - Yahoo! News

"They affirmed that political and financial aid to the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian people would continue," delegation member Ezzat El-Resheq told al-Reuters news agency in Riyadh.

Condi Rice had asked the Saudis pretty please not to fund the terrorist group, but as always when it comes to Islamic terrorism, our `eternal friends' to quote President Bush told her politely to go pound sand.

This is an interesting little waltz because of the Saudi connections with the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas' parent organizaton and their long time funding of fundamentalist groups like Hamas. Among other Muslim Brotherhood offshoots that the Saudis fund is the American Islamist groups CAIR and the Muslim Students Association.

After all, it the Saudis wouldn't comply with Rice and Bush envoy Karen Hughes' request to quit exporting jihad to America, why would they stop funding jihad directed against Israel? J O S H U A P U N D I T: Pretty Please?? Hughes asks Saudis to curb hate literature in US mosques.

One interesting thing is that the Saudis made Hamas do an audit..and found 37,000 fictitious positions on the Palestinian Authority payroll! Now I wonder where that money ended up...

Former IDF Chief of Staff Yaalon: Israel can neutralize Iran's threat

Speaking at the conservative think tank The Hudson Institute in Washington Thursday, Gen. Moshe Yaalon said strategic targets spread across Iran could be struck by means other than an air force attack. Because they are stationary, they can be hit with greater accuracy than Israeli air force attacks on terrorists , who are usually traveling in vehicles.

This was the first explicit reply to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahamdinejad’s repeated threats to wipe Israel off the map and its nuclear delegate’s warning to inflict “pain and harm” on the United States.

Yaalon, who was IDF Chief of staff until he fell out with Sharon over the Gaza withdrawal nine months ago said it would be preferable for other nations to do the job, “but you can’t rule out Israel.”

Indeed.

The general appears to have contradicted statements by acting prime minister Ehud Olmert and former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon that Israel cannot deal with the Iranian nuclear threat alone and must work with the United States and the international community.

Students of recent history might remember how the late Likud prime minister, Menahem Begin, ordered a successful Israeli air force strike against Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor in 1981...also right before an election.

Yaalon says Israel could expect an Iranian counter-attack to an Israeli knockout blow to its nuclear installations. They might shoot missiles, but would more likely activate Hizballah in Lebanon which has 12,000 rockets supplied by Tehran which are capable of striking inside Israel. However, the joint venture Israeli/American Arrow anti-missile system is fully deployed and operational, Yaalon revealed, and capable of intercepting the missiles, either from Iran or Hezbollah.

He further predicted the Iranians could have enough know-how for building a nuclear device within the next six to 18 months and produce one within three to six years.

I personally think he's optimistic, and that a nuclear-capable Iran is a lot closer than that.

The Islamintern

Baron Bodissey of the excellent blog 'Gates of Vienna' has a scintillating piece on how the current Islamist movement resembles the Communist assault on Western freedom
Gates of Vienna: The Islamintern

The Baron and his cohort Dymphna are involved in something called the `Bloody Borders' project..tracking the attacks of violent Jihad on the world map.

The Baron writes:

"The Islamofascists bear more than a passing resemblance to the Communists of the mid-20th century. Consider:

* They are international in scope, transcending national boundaries and languages.
* Their clandestine networks are guided and funded by shadowy, secret central groups abroad.
* The dissemination of propaganda and disinformation is a central strategy for their cause.
* They are aided and abetted by apologists and fellow travelers in the West.
* One of the prime vectors for the spread of their contagion is the Academy."

Indeed, as the Baron points out this is very much a war of ideas, and will be won or lost in the arena of public opinion in the West.

The Jihadists very much mirror the strategy of the Communists. They are spread out, funded and supported by a few sources but operate more or less independently, cooperating on the shared goal of subjucating the West.

The Baron writes:

"As soon as Communism consolidated power in Soviet Russia, it began its preparation for the World Revolution by establishing the Communist International. For the next sixty years or so the dedicated cadres and willing dupes of the Comintern took Soviet money, propaganda, and materiel, and used them to undermine and overthrow governments all over the world.

But Stalin did not directly command most of these operations. Even at the apogee of Soviet power, the Kremlin could only enforce its ukases in the Soviet Union itself and the “near abroad,” those communist vassals immediately contiguous with Soviet territory.

Tito, Hoxha, Mao, and Castro all followed Soviet guidelines when its suited their interests, and departed from them when required. But all of them were acting in the name of Communism, and all were intent on establishing their version of its soul-destroying totalitarianism.

And so it is with militant Islam. The Islamists are not directly controlled by bin Laden or King Abdullah or the mullahs of Iran; but they work towards a common purpose, co-operating with each other out of self-interest and deferring the cutting of each other’s throats until the opportune moment arrives.

Look at the Sunni-Shiite division as a parallel between Soviet Communism and Maoism. Give Zarqawi the role of Josip Broz Tito, with his propensity to ignore central direction and follow his own plans. The Communists had the KGB to spread money and disinformation; the Islamofascists have the Saudi “charities” to perform the same functions."

Such a comparison of Sunni and Shia Islam would not have occurred immediately to me, but the Baron's analysis holds water when when looks at the relationship between Sunni and Shia Islamists and compare it, as he does, to the competition between the Soviets and Mao.

As for the role of appeasors in this war, again, the Baron's historical parallels apply:

"The Comintern, of course, was aided in its efforts by all the fools and shills in the West.

The 1930s had George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, Walter Duranty, and The New York Times.

In the 21st century, the Islamintern has Dan Rather, Cindy Sheehan, Jimmy Carter, and The New York Times.

Every generation has its useful idiots."

Indeed. And every generation has it clearsighted individuals who apply the lessons of history as well.

Iraq hangs 13 terrorists

Patrick at Clarity and Resolve has a great piece on Iraq's new place as a role model for dealing with Islamic terrorists. Clarity & Resolve: "Iraqi Government Makes Mujahideen Pay to Play

These are the first terrorists executed in Iraq since the US-led invasion.

As he says, if innocent Americans are murdered again on our shores to the sound of hearty cries of `Allahu akbar!' you can expect a wide consensus among Americans for quick military tribunals, followed by what our British friends refer to as the Tyburn Jig.

Only thing missing is the pigskin shroud!

Hamas plays `Show me the money!'

The former US envoy to the Middle East, General Zinni, famously compared dealing with the Palestinian Authority to dealing with the mafia, with Arafat as the capo del tutti. Looks he wasn't far wrong.

Today, Forbes ran a story about Hamas trying to get its bloody little hands on part the stash of the late Yasir Arafat that was skimmed off of `aid money' to the supposedly destitute Palestinian people.Hamas Goes For The Gold - Forbes.com

Ol' Yasir set up a whole slew of off-the-books investments in a slush fund culled from the aid money. before he died in 2004, Selim Fayyad, then the finance minister before Abbas got rid of him for being a little too honest and efficient, managed to locate and latch onto some of this slush fund and consolidate it into something called the Palestine Investment Fund. It even published audited financials showing that it held over $1 billion at the end of 2004, including a big chunk of Egyptian cell company Orascom Telecom and PALTEL, a Palestinian telecommunications company...a company in which Israeli peacenik and perpetual appeasor Shimon Peres has a half stake!

Arafat made the investments by diverting $900 million from Authority bank accounts, according to a 2003 International Monetary Fund report.

This fund now has assets worth $1.4 billion...and it is by no means the only one.

So much for the lies Special Envoy James Wolfensohn was telling about how the Palestinian Authority could go bankrupt within weeks if they didn't get that $42 million grant the World Bank released on Tuesday, supposedly to pay 'public-sector salaries'.

The Palestinian Authority is running a deficit of $500 million per year, mostly in payroll; Abbas raised salaries across the board including on those 37,000 non-existent jobs on the payroll I reported on here. Abbas got the money by taking out loans against the assets of the investment fund, after the EU froze donor money because of what was politely labled `lack of transparency and accountability'.

At this point, there's a fight ging on over what's left of the Fund, which was set up by Fayyad to fund long-term economic development projects and provide economic stimulus to the West Bank and to Gaza. It was never intended to fund government budgets, and was originally designed to be out of the reach of the Palestinian Authority president so that Arafat could not tap into it.

At this point, Both Abbas and Hamas are fighting over control of the money. Hamas could draft new legislation to give its government control of the fund, or it could swipe it outright.

What no one mentions is that this is stolen aid money that was supposed to go to the Palestinian people for humanitarian purposes.

And of course,no one is talking about bringing suit for embezzlement against Abbas or against the estate of Arafat.

Negative perception of Islam in US higher than after 9/11

According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, nearly half of the US population has a negative view of Islam, 7% higher than polls taken after 9/11. And a majority now say that Muslims are `disproportionately prone to violence'.Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing

According to the poll, the proportion of Americans who believe that Islam helps to stoke violence against non-Muslims has more than doubled since the attacks, from 14 percent in January 2002 to 33 percent today.

Personally, I think the numbers are even higher.

As I've written here before, one of President Bush's biggest failures in this war was in not defining jihad and Radical Islam as the enemy until recently and by not calling on loyal American Muslims to take sides in this war and help combat Islamism.

US to close Abu Ghraib detention center

The US has announced that it will close Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison 'in three months'.

Its 4,500 prisoners are to be transferred to other jails in Iraq, a military spokesman said.US to close Iraq's prison 'in three months' - Top stories - Breaking News 24/7 - NEWS.com.au

"We will transfer operations from Abu Ghraib to the new Camp Cropper once construction is completed there," Lieutenant Colonel Keir-Kevin Curry said.

"No precise dates have been set, but the plan is to accomplish this within the next two to three months," said Col. Curry, spokesman for US detention operations in Iraq.

Camp Cropper is a detention facility in the US military headquarters base at Baghdad airport, not far from Abu Ghraib. And probably more convenient for air transpo to Club Gitmo or other points.

About 127 major detainees, including Saddam Hussein are housed at Abu Graib (how's THAT for irony!). Camp Cropper supposedly will provide better conditions and security for terrorist prisoners.