AIPAC, meet INAPAC. Sumin Palit and Yossi Klein Halevi, among others, have pointed out the growing fondness between India and Israel, and these folks are taking advantage of the opportunity.
UPDATE: India and Israel make helicopter love. (via Winds of Change)
Kesher Talk
Saturday, January 26, 2002
Friday, January 25, 2002
Seeing Sharon: Arlynn Nellhaus tells The Idler about his first time seeing Ariel Sharon, fending off shark-like reporters.
Jewish World Review: I have always been confused as to the point of JWR. They published some of my articles over the last couple of years, but I never understood any rhyme or reason for why one was chosen over another. Nor why almost every columnist you have ever heard of is published there as well. I think that Rod Dreher (writing on the Wall Street Journal Taste page) is being too fawning. But maybe he sees something that I don't. JWR is good for the occaisional interesting Rabbinical column, but most of the columnists are found elsewhere. I never really "got" what made it distinctly Jewish. Well, now I know it is run by an Orthodox Jew (and he would probably have the same criticisms about Kesher Talk). But I still am not convinced...
Love is all you need...? JTA has an odd piece on a Jewish woman's visit to her sister-in-law's divorce court proceedings.
Oh, Satan? OpinionJournal.com notes that the ACLU, in Inglis, Fla., is standing up for the Dark Prince. "The ACLU has sent a letter to Mayor Carolyn Risher that said it will file a federal lawsuit unless she removes anti-Satan proclamations from four posts that sit at the town's entrances. The proclamation bans Satan within the town limits. The ACLU, naturally, is threatening to sue, but would it have standing to do so? Or has the group actually signed up as a plaintiff?"
I just wanted to relay my experience. I volunteered for the ACLU in Pittsburgh in my early years of high school. On the days when I was left to answer the phone, I took a lot of phone calls from a fellow calling himself "Satan," asking to sue some local yobbo or another for discrimination. I guess he finally got through to someone a bit more sympathetic than myself!
I just wanted to relay my experience. I volunteered for the ACLU in Pittsburgh in my early years of high school. On the days when I was left to answer the phone, I took a lot of phone calls from a fellow calling himself "Satan," asking to sue some local yobbo or another for discrimination. I guess he finally got through to someone a bit more sympathetic than myself!
Powell defends Arafat... CNN says "Secretary of State Colin Powell is said to favor keeping some form of contact." (courtesy of OpinionJournal.com)
Meanwhile, Sunday's 60-minutes will showcase Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzook, whose group is "building missiles with a six-mile range, which would enable the Palestinian militants in the West Bank to hit Israeli neighborhoods in Jerusalem."
Yup, Hamas are just "militants" and "revolutionaries," not "terrorists."
More profiling: It looked like Southwest Airlines were profiling passengers last weekend when we flew to Buffalo from BWI. Only single, young passengers were being sent aside to have their bags scanned by the nineteenth-century-esque monstrosity. But the Wall Street Journal laments, "If only it were so. Instead, U.S. policy seems to be to search just about everyone except Arabs and Muslims, the very groups most likely to belong to the terrorist al Qaeda network."
Meanwhile, Sunday's 60-minutes will showcase Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzook, whose group is "building missiles with a six-mile range, which would enable the Palestinian militants in the West Bank to hit Israeli neighborhoods in Jerusalem."
Yup, Hamas are just "militants" and "revolutionaries," not "terrorists."
More profiling: It looked like Southwest Airlines were profiling passengers last weekend when we flew to Buffalo from BWI. Only single, young passengers were being sent aside to have their bags scanned by the nineteenth-century-esque monstrosity. But the Wall Street Journal laments, "If only it were so. Instead, U.S. policy seems to be to search just about everyone except Arabs and Muslims, the very groups most likely to belong to the terrorist al Qaeda network."
Being good Jews, going to shul tonight: My fiancee and I have been bumbling around for a long time, undecided on which synagogue we should join. Tonight, she is taking me to a conservative shuel she has been to before in Herndon, Beth Emeth. It is in a sensible location, since we move to Vienna next month.
Do animals have souls? An interesting question tackled in Aish's "Jewish Ethicist."
The explanation really relates to why man should not be buried with his animals, but it plainly addresses the concept of "stewardship" - animals have a spiritual identity of sorts, but not souls. We are their stewards.
Let's start with the Bible. On the one hand, the Torah clearly distinguishes man from the animals, and explicitly states that man only was created in the Divine image, and that man was given dominion over the animals. (Genesis 1:26.)
On the other hand, the command to give rest to our beasts on Shabbat (Exodus 20:9) suggests that they are capable of appreciating their rest and enjoying the Shabbat on their own level. And the Prophets suggest that beasts are capable of ethical perfection, for Isaiah prophesies that in the time of the complete future Redemption, predatory animals will lose their aggressive character: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fattened lamb together; and a small lad shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6.)
The explanation really relates to why man should not be buried with his animals, but it plainly addresses the concept of "stewardship" - animals have a spiritual identity of sorts, but not souls. We are their stewards.
Litvak torahs: "Lithuania has ended six years of controversy by deciding to turn over more than 300 Torah scrolls to world Jewry, JTA has learned.
Religious liberties: The Fall 2001 American Outlook magazine (not yet functional at Hudson's website) has a good article from Kenneth Weinstein called "Conscience and Fanaticism."
This does not mean that we are anti-religion. It just means keeping religion from hijacking the state, and vice versa. Weinstein emphasizes the role of the evolution of conscience as it related to religious affairs:
Meaning that conscience used to be determined by Church dictat. However, once political liberalism hit the stage,
So, all the better for the West. Trouble is, the Arab/Islamic world saw no such reformation. So the Arabs stagnated and the West took off.
So much of the Islamic world just doesn't get the concept of a free conscience. Diana West writes today in The Washington Times that she saw the problem illustrated at a recent inter-faith gathering.
... Thomas Hobbes... was determined to end England's bloody wars of religion. Hobbes promoted civil power over and above all religious authority, and he and his Enlightenment followers encouraged the notion of religious tolerance that is now integral to Western civilization.
This does not mean that we are anti-religion. It just means keeping religion from hijacking the state, and vice versa. Weinstein emphasizes the role of the evolution of conscience as it related to religious affairs:
The traditional Christian notion of conscience, derived in good part from Saint Thomas Aquinas, was that one had to obey one's conscience because it is the voice of God.
Meaning that conscience used to be determined by Church dictat. However, once political liberalism hit the stage,
the criteria of what constituted conscience shifted. Adherence to the voice of God meant adherence to one's own understanding of scripture. Dogma was no longer sacrosanct; conscience itself, instead, was king. Sincerity thus replaced orthodoxy.
This new understanding fostered toleration and discouraged persecution. Forcing someone to accept an opinion that contradicted his conscience came to be seen as the moral equivalent of forcing him to disobey God.
So, all the better for the West. Trouble is, the Arab/Islamic world saw no such reformation. So the Arabs stagnated and the West took off.
In particular, the "closing of the gates of intepretation" in nith-century Sunni Islam marked the beginning of the rejection of non-Islamic intellectual authority... [which] led to a rejection of reaon and scientific enlightenment...
So much of the Islamic world just doesn't get the concept of a free conscience. Diana West writes today in The Washington Times that she saw the problem illustrated at a recent inter-faith gathering.
Green Judaism... So I participated last year in my first TuB'Shvat seder. JEws are a primarily Lefty bunch, so finding that they are soft greens is nothing special. And a holiday which I orginally believed was simply the predecessor of Arbor Day turns out to be a bit more complex. It also is the biggest day on the calendar for environmentalist Jews. JTA has a fawning piece on using a Greenie Haggadah to "educate" children.
This year, YPK tried to mush together a couple of events, combining the TuB'Shvat seder with our AFC/NFC playoff gathering. The seder will be at half-time. Luckily, reason has encroached, and it should only interrupt the beer-swilling for a few minutes...
This year, YPK tried to mush together a couple of events, combining the TuB'Shvat seder with our AFC/NFC playoff gathering. The seder will be at half-time. Luckily, reason has encroached, and it should only interrupt the beer-swilling for a few minutes...
Not so good humor: Courtesy of my friend Howard S., I have this mediocre joke:
As I said, quite cheesy...
The Governors of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi would like to announce that they have made a disturbing discovery in their states. Apparently, a small number of terrorists have become romantically involved with the locals. The result was not pretty and we now have the sad task of reporting a new sector of the human race: ISLAMABUBBAS. So far, only a smattering of actual births have been reported and we are hard at work trying to isolate and seal them off. To date, we have identified the following:
Mohammed Billy Bob Abba Bubba
Mohammed Jethro Bin Thinkin Boutit
Mohammed Forrest Gumpa Bubba
Mohammed Rubba Dub Dubba Bubba Bobbie Joe
Bubba Charlene Atat
Betty Jean Hasbenna
Badgurl Cleavie Daba Hava Tampa
Linda Sue Bin There Dunthat
Not surprisingly, they all seem to have sprung from one couple:
Mohammed Whoozyadaddy and Yomamma Bin Lovin.
As I said, quite cheesy...
Could the U.S. punish Arafat?: "The Bush administration, furious at Yasser Arafat for allegedly trying to buy weapons from Iran, is weighing punitive steps that could go as far as suspending ties with his Palestinian Authority," USA Today reports. Bush's foreign policy advisers will meet today to "recommend a course of action."
Wow, they might suspend ties... yeah, you show him who's boss...
Wow, they might suspend ties... yeah, you show him who's boss...
Corybantic: I've been waiting quite a while to find a useful word that was new to me from "The Word of the Day." Finally, here it is.
corybantic \kor-ee-BAN-tik or kahr-ee-BAN-tik\ (adjective)
: like or in the spirit of a Corybant; especially : wild, frenzied
Bush tells Arafat, "Go to your room and stay there": The White House backed Israel´s confinement of Yasser Arafat to a compound in Ramallah. "The president understands the reason that Israel has taken the action that it takes, and it is up to Chairman Arafat to demonstrate the leadership to combat terrorism," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Thursday. Israel has said Arafat will remain confined in Ramallah, where he has been under virtual house arrest since December, until he arrests the Palestinians who assassinated Israel´s tourism minister, Rehavam Ze´evi, in October. (JTA - Global Jewish News)
Thursday, January 24, 2002
My American Friends... The International Zionist Conspiracy rears its head in this kooky letter to America in ArabNews.com.
Sum of all fears: Reuters explains that Collateral Damage is not the only formerly spiked movie set to appear on a screen near you soon. "Paramount's "The Sum Of All Fears" has come under new scrutiny since September 11."
I am a big fan of Clancy's books (the ones he actually writes, featuring Jack Ryan, not the tawdry ghost written garbage series he endorses on the side). Sum of All Fears featured a group of Islamofascist terrorists blowing up the SuperBowl with a small nuke, nearly sparking a Cuban-Missile-Crisis nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the then-Soviet Union. This of course comes in response to the farcical Middle East peace settlement of Jerusalem becoming an internationally-governed city, guarded by the Swiss...
"When studios began wringing their hands about terrorist movies after September 11, it was already too late to rewrite "Sum of All Fears" and excise the nuclear blast, as principal photography on the Mace Neufeld production wrapped in June. Paramount had made just one concession to political correctness: the terrorists are neo-Nazis, not Arabs. But a studio spokesman said there have been no reshoots and the film, which opens in summer, is testing well -- further evidence perhaps that even in a skittish political climate, doomsday scenarios ripped from the headlines haven't lost their mass-market appeal."
PC crap. Neo-nazis with nukes?!
I am a big fan of Clancy's books (the ones he actually writes, featuring Jack Ryan, not the tawdry ghost written garbage series he endorses on the side). Sum of All Fears featured a group of Islamofascist terrorists blowing up the SuperBowl with a small nuke, nearly sparking a Cuban-Missile-Crisis nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the then-Soviet Union. This of course comes in response to the farcical Middle East peace settlement of Jerusalem becoming an internationally-governed city, guarded by the Swiss...
"When studios began wringing their hands about terrorist movies after September 11, it was already too late to rewrite "Sum of All Fears" and excise the nuclear blast, as principal photography on the Mace Neufeld production wrapped in June. Paramount had made just one concession to political correctness: the terrorists are neo-Nazis, not Arabs. But a studio spokesman said there have been no reshoots and the film, which opens in summer, is testing well -- further evidence perhaps that even in a skittish political climate, doomsday scenarios ripped from the headlines haven't lost their mass-market appeal."
PC crap. Neo-nazis with nukes?!
U.S. Ambassador steps in it big time: The Jerusalem Post reports that
OpinionJournal.com has the best rejoinder: "Well, America pulled out of Vietnam. Is Kurtzer suggesting that Israel should pull out of the Middle East?"
US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer publicly angered the government for the second time in a month yesterday as he advised students at Givat Haviva to pressure the government toward more "reconciliation" and "reasonable compromise."
"You're the people, you are the ones who choose your government, and you're the ones who define who rules and who doesn't rule," he said in response to questions from students at the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace, who asked why the US does not do more to pressure the government. "They need to hear from you that you want peace, that you want reconciliation, that you want reasonable compromise."
Kurtzer told the students that political change in the US is brought about by action.
"My generation used to take over offices of college deans," he said. "I don't recommend that. Let me make clear that I am not recommending that. But it was a kind of political action that let the power structure know we wanted a change, that we wanted to see a different way of conducting the affairs of the university, of the state, that we wanted to see political change - and it worked, over time."
OpinionJournal.com has the best rejoinder: "Well, America pulled out of Vietnam. Is Kurtzer suggesting that Israel should pull out of the Middle East?"
Arafat's end game: The Telegraph sketches Arafat's dismal outlook:
Months of increasingly bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinians have reached the endgame, with Israeli politicians openly discussing how to remove Yasser Arafat from the scene.
Even the doveish foreign minister, Shimon Peres, warned Mr Arafat yesterday that his survival was at stake. "If he doesn't stop the terror, the terror will stop him. That's why we ask Arafat to be a leader," he said yesterday.
Mr Arafat's office in Ramallah looks like a corner of a chess board in the final moves of a game. He is boxed into a few squares, with Israeli tanks inching ever closer.
Diplomats agree that the Palestinian leader is in the direst situation in a career of almost 40 years. He has lost all credibility with Washington and even the Europeans - who have kept his self-rule government afloat - are begging him to change course.
But there is little sign of any change in the offing. "He does not seem to realise how serious his predicament is," said a recent visitor to his office.
Our "ally" in the war on terrorism?: Our buddy Araft released a Hamas terrorist from prison in Nablus on Tuesday, supposedly under duress.
Defening America abroad: Pondering anti-Americanism, I am always drawn to the movie Barcelona. The Americans in the film are always trying to maneuver around the wretched anti-Americanism of the Spaniards, and always feel they must explain themselves and appologize for America.
But the movie's pinnacle comes from the American consul, late in the film. When the main characters tried earlier in the film to describe American foreign policy to a bunch of Spaniards at a picnic using ants as a metaphor, it failed miserably. But the consul hits it right on the nose.
The U.S. is a giant ant farm. The problem is that the only way the rest of the world can observe us or know anything about us, is through the media. Unfortunately, all the media members hate ants.
Defending America abroad, punditwise: William Safire declares today that "A year ago, "unilateral" described the Bushites and "multilateral" the old Clintonites. But we have shown by our willingness to go it alone that we need not go it alone. Angered and injured, we turned resolute, and lo! anticipated opposition melted away."
Jonah Goldberg wrote yesterday: "I don't mind the U.S. being held up to a higher standard than other countries — we're better (that's right, better) than most other nations and have a responsibility to lead. But, those who criticize the U.S. for not living up to their (always unattainable) expectations must be expected to have a similar standard for other cultures as well."
But the movie's pinnacle comes from the American consul, late in the film. When the main characters tried earlier in the film to describe American foreign policy to a bunch of Spaniards at a picnic using ants as a metaphor, it failed miserably. But the consul hits it right on the nose.
The U.S. is a giant ant farm. The problem is that the only way the rest of the world can observe us or know anything about us, is through the media. Unfortunately, all the media members hate ants.
Defending America abroad, punditwise: William Safire declares today that "A year ago, "unilateral" described the Bushites and "multilateral" the old Clintonites. But we have shown by our willingness to go it alone that we need not go it alone. Angered and injured, we turned resolute, and lo! anticipated opposition melted away."
Jonah Goldberg wrote yesterday: "I don't mind the U.S. being held up to a higher standard than other countries — we're better (that's right, better) than most other nations and have a responsibility to lead. But, those who criticize the U.S. for not living up to their (always unattainable) expectations must be expected to have a similar standard for other cultures as well."
Maddy says Bush Mid-East policy all wrong: Erstwhile Secretary of State Madeline Albright vented to an audience in Toledo, Ohio that President Bush was just not as good as the nobel-prize-hunting former President Bill Clinton at pacifying the Middle East. The Toledo Blade quotes her:
Perhaps Maddy would have us continue to direct the Israeli car off a cliff, like her administration tried to do? She continued to blather:
There's that "cycle of violence" phrase again.
Actually, Maddy, we do have a choice and so do the Israelis. The people that had no choice were the Palestinians, when the U.S. effectively installed Arafat into his current dictatorial position. That is soon to change, no thanks to you and Bill.
"I do think that they made a mistake in deliberately doing the opposite of what we had done in the Middle East, which is [for the Bush administration] to have a hands-off approach to it," she said.
"It is necessary for the United States to be involved in the Middle East, not necessarily driving the car but certainly being in it and helping the parties to get together," she said.
Perhaps Maddy would have us continue to direct the Israeli car off a cliff, like her administration tried to do? She continued to blather:
... The United States must play the role of peacemaker by "trying to assess the situation from a very honest perspective. It is a cycle of violence that has to be broken, and I think we have to be involved in it," she said.
There's that "cycle of violence" phrase again.
... "Arafat is the leader of the Palestinian people. They are the ones that chose him. It is not up to us to choose the leader of the Palestinian people, and you have to deal with the people in power. You don't have a choice," she said.
Actually, Maddy, we do have a choice and so do the Israelis. The people that had no choice were the Palestinians, when the U.S. effectively installed Arafat into his current dictatorial position. That is soon to change, no thanks to you and Bill.
Billy Bob Joe Jim Explains the World: I was a big fan of Joe Bob Briggs back in the eighties, when he hosted late night B-movies on The Movie Channel and generally made an ass of himself. UPI recently put him up as a columnist, and he has a great explanation of the Enron debacle, from the perspective of the international trade in mules.
The Corner: The gang over at National Review Online have just started their own weblog called "The Corner", although Jonah Goldberg refuses to call it that.
The Corner: The gang over at National Review Online have just started their own weblog called "The Corner", although Jonah Goldberg refuses to call it that.
Cycle of violence? I still have trouble explaining to my fiancee why the mere mention of the phrase "cycle of violence" makes me blow steam. Grasshoppa luckily linked to an LA times piece by Yossi Klein Halevi explaining why there is no cycle of violence. Yossi has become an enjoyable regular at the New Republic. Plus, I just like his name, since Israeli theater director Yossi Yzraely is a good friend of mine.
NPR, enemy radio: Every morning, we wake up to NPR's Morning Edition. It is always interesting, if not infuriating. I used to wake up to CSPAN (those of us in range of Washington, DC get to hear it on the radio, not just on cable TV), but CSPAN mornings were pure politics and loaded with nauseating call-ins. So NPR is a step up.
But... I have to agree with Jonah Goldberg's longtime designation of National Public Radio as "enemy radio." I think he referred to it that way originally as meaning they were lefty and he was righty, but that is not the case anymore. NPR is anti-American, case-closed.
Of course, part and parcel of being anti-American is being anti-Israeli (and borderline anti-Semitic, though that is an argument for another day of blogging). And this morning was yet another case of that. After decrying the state of terrorist prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, NPR moved to the story about the murdered Lebanese Christian militiamen. That allowed them to talk about the alleged massacre by his Phalange militia - except that they implied that it was Sharon that committed the massacre, not the Phalange. Hence, why he is being brought up on war crimes charges in the Hague.
My fiancee questioned me about the story, and ended in exasperation, asking "How can they get away with that?!" Welcome to enemy radio.
NPR, enemy radio: Every morning, we wake up to NPR's Morning Edition. It is always interesting, if not infuriating. I used to wake up to CSPAN (those of us in range of Washington, DC get to hear it on the radio, not just on cable TV), but CSPAN mornings were pure politics and loaded with nauseating call-ins. So NPR is a step up.
But... I have to agree with Jonah Goldberg's longtime designation of National Public Radio as "enemy radio." I think he referred to it that way originally as meaning they were lefty and he was righty, but that is not the case anymore. NPR is anti-American, case-closed.
Of course, part and parcel of being anti-American is being anti-Israeli (and borderline anti-Semitic, though that is an argument for another day of blogging). And this morning was yet another case of that. After decrying the state of terrorist prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, NPR moved to the story about the murdered Lebanese Christian militiamen. That allowed them to talk about the alleged massacre by his Phalange militia - except that they implied that it was Sharon that committed the massacre, not the Phalange. Hence, why he is being brought up on war crimes charges in the Hague.
My fiancee questioned me about the story, and ended in exasperation, asking "How can they get away with that?!" Welcome to enemy radio.
Clown Mubarak: "How can I meet with Sharon while houses are being blown up and people are being evicted from their homes?"
-- Egypt Pres. Hosni Mubarak saying no to a request to meet with Ariel Sharon (Ha'aretz, 1/23).
So are all the Palestinian terrorist attacks just part of my beleaguered imagination? Must be. Here is the Christian Science Monitor piling on.
Burma wants to glow? A bit of unrelated but disturbing info on the dictatorship in Burma (they call themselves Myanmar now).
AFP reports, the "military regime of Myanmar is planning to build a nuclear research reactor and is in negotiations with Russia over the facility." In a 1/21 statement, Dep. Foreign Min. Khin Maung Win "said the junta had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its intention to construct the reactor which would be used 'for peaceful purposes.'" From the statement: "All our neighboring countries, with the exception of Laos, are already reaping the benefits from nuclear research reactors operating in their countries. In this age of globalization it is imperative that developing countries such as Myanmar actively seek to narrow the development gap so as not to be marginalized." The development "is likely to raise concerns" among western gov'ts who view Myanmar "as a pariah regime due to its poor human rights record and refusal to make democratic reforms" (1/23).
Libya looking to strike a bargain: The U.S. and Libya "are close to a deal that could remove Libya from a U.S. list of terrorist sponsors" and require Moammar Gadhafi's gov't "to pay as much as" $6B in compensation for the '88 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, a U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said Libya "understood the need" to accept responsibility for the bombing, which killed 270 people. The official said the final decision about removing U.S. sanctions "rests with" Pres. Bush. Lee Kreindler, atty for the Pan Am relatives suing Libya: "I am optimistic about a settlement." Asst. Sec/State William Burns "met twice in London in recent months with a Libyan delegation." Movement toward a deal has "upset" some Bush officials "who say they fear Gadhafi is still trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction." But "Libya experts counter" it could show that the U.S. "will reward a Muslim country for changing its behavior" (Slavin, USA Today, 1/23). (courtesy of The Hotline World Extra)
Ex-Christian militia leader assassinated:
-- Egypt Pres. Hosni Mubarak saying no to a request to meet with Ariel Sharon (Ha'aretz, 1/23).
So are all the Palestinian terrorist attacks just part of my beleaguered imagination? Must be. Here is the Christian Science Monitor piling on.
Burma wants to glow? A bit of unrelated but disturbing info on the dictatorship in Burma (they call themselves Myanmar now).
AFP reports, the "military regime of Myanmar is planning to build a nuclear research reactor and is in negotiations with Russia over the facility." In a 1/21 statement, Dep. Foreign Min. Khin Maung Win "said the junta had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its intention to construct the reactor which would be used 'for peaceful purposes.'" From the statement: "All our neighboring countries, with the exception of Laos, are already reaping the benefits from nuclear research reactors operating in their countries. In this age of globalization it is imperative that developing countries such as Myanmar actively seek to narrow the development gap so as not to be marginalized." The development "is likely to raise concerns" among western gov'ts who view Myanmar "as a pariah regime due to its poor human rights record and refusal to make democratic reforms" (1/23).
Libya looking to strike a bargain: The U.S. and Libya "are close to a deal that could remove Libya from a U.S. list of terrorist sponsors" and require Moammar Gadhafi's gov't "to pay as much as" $6B in compensation for the '88 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, a U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said Libya "understood the need" to accept responsibility for the bombing, which killed 270 people. The official said the final decision about removing U.S. sanctions "rests with" Pres. Bush. Lee Kreindler, atty for the Pan Am relatives suing Libya: "I am optimistic about a settlement." Asst. Sec/State William Burns "met twice in London in recent months with a Libyan delegation." Movement toward a deal has "upset" some Bush officials "who say they fear Gadhafi is still trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction." But "Libya experts counter" it could show that the U.S. "will reward a Muslim country for changing its behavior" (Slavin, USA Today, 1/23). (courtesy of The Hotline World Extra)
Ex-Christian militia leader assassinated:
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Former Lebanese Christian militia leader Elie Hobeika was killed Thursday in a car bombing at his house in Beirut's eastern suburbs, according to security sources and witnesses.
A witness, who spoke to United Press International on condition of anonymity, said a car loaded with explosives exploded as Hobeika was driving near his house in Hazmieh. Hobeika and four of his bodyguards were killed.
Police said several other people were wounded and have been taken to local hospitals.
Hobeika, 45, a former warlord and leader of a Christian political group, served as minister of electricity after the Lebanese 1975-90 civil war ended.
His name was linked to the September 1982 massacres at Sabra and Chatilla, where Israeli-allied Lebanese Christian militiamen allegedly killed about 2,000 Palestinian refugees. Hobeika had repeatedly denied any link with the massacre.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon continues to face a possible war crimes trial in Belgium for the massacres. Sharon was defense minister in 1982, when he oversaw Israel's invasion of Lebanon.
The complaint filed in June demanded that Sharon be indicted for crimes against humanity. A Belgian court is expected to rule on March 6 on whether Sharon should stand trial.
The complaint did not mention Hobeika's role.
Taxing fundamentalist Imams: Iran's efforts to keep its beleaguered economy afloat took a step forward recently, with the approval of a tax on the Islamic charitable foundations that control large sections of the economy. As an economic measure, the tax won't solve all of Iran's problems. Politically, however, it may be intended as means of curbing the country's religious extremists. (STRATFOR.com)
Riots in Jordan could imperil economic progress... blah blah blah: Stratfor.com reports at "least one person was killed and 15 people were injured when rioting broke out Jan. 20 in the city of Maan in southern Jordan. Clashes between protesters and police began after a teen arrested on robbery charges died in police custody. Calm returned only after tribal leaders and local dignitaries intervened. Amman deployed extra security forces to the city, and quiet prevailed early Jan. 23. The boy's family charged that he had been tortured while in police custody and called for an independent autopsy. ... Mounting unrest in Jordan's provincial areas could create a host of difficulties for the government of King Abdullah II, which has focused on developing the country's economy and attracting foreign investment."
Riots in Jordan could imperil economic progress... blah blah blah: Stratfor.com reports at "least one person was killed and 15 people were injured when rioting broke out Jan. 20 in the city of Maan in southern Jordan. Clashes between protesters and police began after a teen arrested on robbery charges died in police custody. Calm returned only after tribal leaders and local dignitaries intervened. Amman deployed extra security forces to the city, and quiet prevailed early Jan. 23. The boy's family charged that he had been tortured while in police custody and called for an independent autopsy. ... Mounting unrest in Jordan's provincial areas could create a host of difficulties for the government of King Abdullah II, which has focused on developing the country's economy and attracting foreign investment."
Wednesday, January 23, 2002
EU Terrorist funding: OpinionJournal.com notes that
the European Union is bellyaching about property damage in recent Israeli strikes: "Israel was blamed yesterday for destroying more than €17m (£11m) [$15 million] of European Union-funded property in Palestine, including a school building programme, the airport, a seaport, broadcasting studios and an irrigation scheme."
Arutz Sheva quotes Palestinian Authority cabinet secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman as saying: "The PA now sees itself exempt from all its obligations towards Israel." Hmm, maybe the EU belongs on the list of organizations that give financial support to terrorists.
Diverse Israel? The Jerusalem Post reports that there are more Arabs in the civil service than last year. "The proportion of Arabs working in the Civil Service increased by half a percent last year to 5.7 percent, Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander told a subcommittee of the Knesset Law Committee yesterday."
Don't Look a Gift Terrorist in the Mouth, or something like that:
Iraq working on WMDs: Lauren Mylroie passed on this story from the January 18th CBS News.
Saddam Husseyn reportedly received the "Al-Qari'a" (Day of Judgment) terrorist organization as a gift from his eldest son, Uday, for his 63rd birthday in April 2000, reported the Kurdish newspaper "Regay Kurdistan" on 1 January, as reported in "Iraq Kurdistan Dispatch" on 10 January. The newspaper was quoting a defector, Abu Zaynab Qariri, a former brigadier general in the Iraqi intelligence service. The newspaper claims that Qariri was one of the founders of the Al-Qari'a organization.
"Regay Kurdistan" said that members of the organization specialized in sabotage, urban warfare, hijacking, and kidnapping. It added that each of the 1,200 members held false United Arab Emirates passports, and that they were linked to the 11 September attacks in the U.S.
Qariri is currently briefing U.S. intelligence officials somewhere in the Middle East. (REF/RL Iraq Report)
Iraq working on WMDs: Lauren Mylroie passed on this story from the January 18th CBS News.
Those seeking to extend the war on terrorism to Iraq are very interested in what Adnan Ihsan Saeed al-Haideri has to say.
Al-Haideri is a construction engineer who recently fled Baghdad. And he claims that since U.N. weapons inspectors were expelled from Iraq in 1998, Saddam Hussein has begun a new crash program to develop biological, chemical even nuclear weapons - a program of which al-Haideri was an unwitting part.
"Heavy work is beginning and concentrated works and they are working day and night," said al-Haideri.
With an eye toward the U.S. bombing campaign of four years ago, Al-Haideri says the Iraqis had him build high-tech, leak-proof research and storage facilities in places where they would be hard to find and difficult to destroy - in hospitals, under Saddam Hussein's presidential
palaces and deep in wells on farms outside Baghdad, reports CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips.
Unlike the munitions, which are easy for inspectors to check, the wells and other facilities, Haideri says, were designed to avoid detection, if Saddam ever allows the U.N. investigators back into the country. It's a highly-mobile program, he says, where materials, which he admits he never actually saw, can be moved frequently from place to place, frustrating those looking for them. ...
Religious Leaders Call for Non-Military Terrorism Response: That's cute, some "religious leaders" are non-violent. Nice for them, but some of us have to live in the real world. When they have constructive alternatives to putting a gun to my own head, I might listen.
Speaking of religious leaders... Why does the Reform Judaism movement insist on having a policy position on absolutely everything? I realize that some Reform Jews are much less interested in their religion than in politics, but the organization as a whole needs to straighten out its priorities.
Here is what they released yesterday: "Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and leader of the North American Reform Movement, today strongly condemned the terrorist attack in downtown Jerusalem that is reported to have left more than 46 people wounded."
OK, so they strongly condemned it. Why is it their particular place to do that? The UAHC seems on a particular mission to be political rather than religious. They sometimes feel like an extension of the Democratic Party in their activities, except where they relate to Israel.
I have many family and friends who are Reform, and I think they would agree with Yoffie's sentiments, as I do. The question is, do they feel that Yoffie might have more important things to do at the moment? Something Jewish, perhaps?
Speaking of religious leaders... Why does the Reform Judaism movement insist on having a policy position on absolutely everything? I realize that some Reform Jews are much less interested in their religion than in politics, but the organization as a whole needs to straighten out its priorities.
Here is what they released yesterday: "Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and leader of the North American Reform Movement, today strongly condemned the terrorist attack in downtown Jerusalem that is reported to have left more than 46 people wounded."
OK, so they strongly condemned it. Why is it their particular place to do that? The UAHC seems on a particular mission to be political rather than religious. They sometimes feel like an extension of the Democratic Party in their activities, except where they relate to Israel.
I have many family and friends who are Reform, and I think they would agree with Yoffie's sentiments, as I do. The question is, do they feel that Yoffie might have more important things to do at the moment? Something Jewish, perhaps?
Iran and Syria, together at last? Laurie Mylroie provided this latest news from the IRNA, Iran's state-run news agency:
I wonder if any Iranian or Syrian flights will be jeopardized when we invade Iraq...
Direct Iran-Syria Air Link Via Iraq to Start Soon
Tehran IRNA in English 1250 GMT 23 Jan 02
[FBIS Transcribed Text]
Tehran, Jan 23, IRNA -- Iran and Syria is to set up a direct air link
through Iraqi airspace soon, the Islamic Republic's Deputy Transport Minister Behzad Mazaheri told participants of a conference in southern Kish Island.
The Iranian State Aviation Organization (SAO) on Wednesday further cited the official as saying that Tehran will also formally resume flights into neigboring Iraq for the first time since the end of the eight-year Iran- Iraq war.
... The decision to open air links between Tehran-Damascus via Iraq was made in the wake of successful talks conducted by Iran's Transport Minister Ahmad Khorram with his Iraqi counterpart, Ahmad Murtada Ahmad Khalil who visited the Islamic Republic last week, Mazaheri, the head of the SAO, said.
The two ministers last week stressed transport cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad with ties obviously improving after they were strained by the imposed war.
Ahmad Khalil, who arrived in Tehran last Sunday on a five-day visit to grace the inauguration of a joint transport committee of the two countries, termed his visit a positive step toward opening a new chapter in ties between the Islamic Republic and Iraq.
I wonder if any Iranian or Syrian flights will be jeopardized when we invade Iraq...
Possession is still nine-tenths of the law: Robert Locke writes on FrontPage Magazine that "Israel was founded upon conquest, a bald fact that no verbal manipulation of history can disguise. Let’s just admit it. So was the United States. So were most nations. It is time, that is, to squarely confront the ancient and time-honored political doctrine of the right of conquest."
Why terror? Jack Beatty answers in Atlantic Unbound that "The autocratic regimes of Saudi Arabia and Egypt distract their citizens from repression at home by directing their anger toward the U.S." He concludes that the most important targets in the war on terror are the dictatorships in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Why terror? Jack Beatty answers in Atlantic Unbound that "The autocratic regimes of Saudi Arabia and Egypt distract their citizens from repression at home by directing their anger toward the U.S." He concludes that the most important targets in the war on terror are the dictatorships in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Osama not guilty, say Arabs: On the way back from Kabul, I passed through Pakistan, the Persian Gulf, London and Belgium, where I had a variety of talks with Arab and Muslim journalists and business people and Muslim community leaders in Europe. All of them were educated, intelligent and thoughtful — and virtually none of them believed that Osama bin Laden was guilty. (Thomas Friedman in the NYT
Collateral Damage: Saw another preview of this Arnold Shwarzanegger flick last night, and was left wondering - why was the film spiked after 9/11, only to be released months later? It is about a man who takes revenge on a group of terrorists who murdered his family. What could be a more appropriate storyline than that?
Jonah on our guests in Cuba: Osama bin Laden & co. are not Muslims. In fact, calling them Muslims is actually offensive to Muslims -- and the U.S. president. So why on God's green earth should any of us give a rat's patoot about whether or not these guys in Guantanamo get to keep their beards? We've spent the last 100 days convincing the entire world and, more importantly ourselves, that these guys aren't Muslims. And now, all of a sudden, the Defense Department is taking flak for not treating these guys like Muslims. (Jonah Goldberg)
Our comrade Russkies: STRATFOR.com relays yet more disturbing news about Russia's foreign dealing. Sudan signed a production-sharing agreement with Russia's state-owned Slavneft oil company Jan. 15, part of a larger agreement worked out last year in which Khartoum will pay Moscow for the right to manufacture Russian battle tanks in exchange for oil concessions. Well, that makes me feel safer, eh?
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
Leaving Saudiland: STRATFOR.com relays that "The U.S.-Saudi alliance has been the foundation of both Washington's strategy in the Persian Gulf and the Saudi grand strategy since the 1950s."
True.
"The Saudis have no interest in becoming involved in a war with Iraq and less of an interest in becoming an integral part of a U.S. war on radical Islam. The goal of the Saudi royal family is to survive and prosper."
True.
"It is politically and morally impossible to abandon the war on al Qaeda. Therefore, in the long run, a split with the Saudis will occur. There is nothing of substance holding these two nations together any longer, and increasingly, there is much that drives them apart. No one wants to admit this publicly, for good and obvious reasons, but the fact is there."
True.
"For the United States, the split will be a wrenching geopolitical shift."
Wrenching, yes, but not in the long run. It is just part of America's awakening sense of priorities. Propping up an ungrateful Arab dictatorship which supports (tacitly and/or openly) America's enemies is just not one of those priorities...
True.
"The Saudis have no interest in becoming involved in a war with Iraq and less of an interest in becoming an integral part of a U.S. war on radical Islam. The goal of the Saudi royal family is to survive and prosper."
True.
"It is politically and morally impossible to abandon the war on al Qaeda. Therefore, in the long run, a split with the Saudis will occur. There is nothing of substance holding these two nations together any longer, and increasingly, there is much that drives them apart. No one wants to admit this publicly, for good and obvious reasons, but the fact is there."
True.
"For the United States, the split will be a wrenching geopolitical shift."
Wrenching, yes, but not in the long run. It is just part of America's awakening sense of priorities. Propping up an ungrateful Arab dictatorship which supports (tacitly and/or openly) America's enemies is just not one of those priorities...
Instant corrections: The wonders of blogging. I get instantly corrected by John "Akatsukami" Braue when my history is not up to scratch. And then I correct myself by posting
Abd al-Aziz ibn Sa'ud (the man who put the "Sa'udi" in "Sa'udi
Arabia") actually ran the Hashemites (the clan from which stems
Abdallah II of Jordan) out of the Hijaz -- where THEY had been
installed as kings by the British (the British loved them so much that
they also made them kings of Iraq and emirs of Transjordania).
Whilst this doesn't excuse anything that the Sa'ud clan has done (let
along everything that they have done), ibn Sa'ud doesn't deserve to be
labelled as an effete British puppet (THAT was Hussein ibn Ali,
Abdallah's great-great-grandfather).
Saudi royalty syndrome: Andrea Harris at Ye Olde Blogge wonders why people insist on emphasizing Saudi royal titles.
In fact, they were installed as royalty by the British Empire. Had that not happened, they would be just another bunch of sand-packers in the Arabian wasteland.
I mean, we know they aren't really "Princes," "Kings," and "Princesses," etc., not in the European sense of those terms anyway. (Heck, I believe that I can buy a title if I want -- with enough money.) ... Anyway, I think the point I'm trying to make is that the way the media and intelligentsia fawn all over the "Royal House of Saud," you'd tink [sic] the Saudis had reigned since the Age of Pericles. It must be some form of Princess Di Syndrome.
In fact, they were installed as royalty by the British Empire. Had that not happened, they would be just another bunch of sand-packers in the Arabian wasteland.
Arafat the martyr? Arafat has expressed his wish to be a martyr. Advanced preparation for coming events, I guess. Heretical Ideas wryly observes that "Arafat has vowed that he will continue fighting for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. I guess he regrets turning it down when Barak offered it, huh?"
Not so fast... Grasshoppa thinks "the point is not so much that Jews would somehow defile a mosque, it's that the Mufti doesn't even recognize that mount upon which his sacred mosque is built is holy to Jews."
You're right, Geoff. Shows me up for being an impulse blogger who doesn't take the time to fully explain anti-semitic stupidity.
You're right, Geoff. Shows me up for being an impulse blogger who doesn't take the time to fully explain anti-semitic stupidity.
Open to interpretation? This lecture given at Ithaca College, on October 29th (and posted on FreeRepublic.com) asks just how exceptional is Islam compared to other religions, when it comes to poor interpretations.
Us defiling Jews: The AFP helpfully relays the demands of Jerusalem Mufti Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, who warned Sunday that Jews and other non-Muslims should not be allowed to enter the Haram Al Sharif Mosque compound. “We oppose in the name of believers that the doors of the Haram Al Sharif are opened to non-Muslims because the general situation does not permit it,” Sheikh Sabri told official Palestinian radio. (pointed out by Rantburg)
In plain English, 'Jews are evil and they cannot be allowed to defile my mosque by their mere presence.'
Us defiling Jews: The AFP helpfully relays the demands of Jerusalem Mufti Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, who warned Sunday that Jews and other non-Muslims should not be allowed to enter the Haram Al Sharif Mosque compound. “We oppose in the name of believers that the doors of the Haram Al Sharif are opened to non-Muslims because the general situation does not permit it,” Sheikh Sabri told official Palestinian radio. (pointed out by Rantburg)
In plain English, 'Jews are evil and they cannot be allowed to defile my mosque by their mere presence.'
Had to happen sooner or later: Hamas will commence a total war against Israel, the organization's leadership in the Gaza Strip said this afternoon in a released statement. The statement said Hamas will make use of all possible means to attack Israeli targets and will operate on all fronts, Israel Radio reported. The statement was made in the wake of an IDF commando raid in Nablus in which four senior Hamas operatives were shot dead in a gunbattle. (The Jerusalem Post)
Understanding Islam: David Brooks writes in the Weekly Standard that "We are four months into a conflict with some sort of foe, but there is no clear conception, amongst elite opinion at least, about the nature of our enemy or the stakes of the fight."
It's clear that the main ideological battle in the United States will be to define the nature of the enemy. I suspect most Americans would think that Sam Huntington errs in giving too little weight to the ideological threat Osama bin Laden represents. The terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon--political, not religious, targets. While it's true they may not have worked out a political program for taking over the world, the way, say, the Communists and fascists did, they clearly despise political pluralism, democracy, and the economic and political might that emerges from Western power relations. Hating a political system is a political act.
Many will also have a hard time accepting Mottahedeh's rosy picture of moderate reformers gaining the upper hand in the Arab world. It doesn't square with widespread support for terror organizations, the rabid rhetoric in the Middle Eastern media, the relatively sullen response to America's gains in Afghanistan. Recently, a State Department official who had spent his career in the Arab world came up to me and confessed that he hoped never to return there. He had concluded that many of the people he had tried to engage in dialogue were not interested in looking honestly at evidence and logic--some deeper set of passions had come to interfere with reason.
Nor does Hoffman's primarily political explanation satisfy. It too obviously leaves out, for example, the power of resentment and shame. If you are a proud citizen of the Arab world, you see all these culturally inferior civilizations racing ahead in political power and standard of living. The Jews in Israel come to your region and within a short while (by Middle Eastern standards) they are enjoying not only political and cultural freedoms, they have a per capita GDP that is 10 to 18 times higher than yours. Naturally you burn with shame and envy.
Take on the PA: Ami Horowitz writes in National Review Online that "the Palestinian Authority begs to be a target in the war on terror." She says that "the PA's brazen attempt to smuggle weapons is a clear indication that Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorist organizations are attempting to cooperate in creating a terrorist super-organization." She concludes that we "are dealing with a monster that is growing in size and sophistication on a daily basis. The triumvirate of terror — the Palestinians, Hezbollah, and Iran — feel that there are no real consequences to their terrorist actions despite the administration's war efforts. Hopefully, the next phase of the war against terror will disabuse them of that notion."
When makes religion a media event? The Jerusalem Post reports that this weekend's meeting of Christians, Jews and Muslims in Egypt which denounced terrorist acts as offenses to God, which got all sorts of press coverage internationally, received essentially no coverage in Egypt.
In the major Egyptian press the conference - which opened Sunday - only received mention in the mass circulation Al-Akbar, and there only as a brief on Page 9.
On the same page there was a wire photo of a Palestinian sweeping in Rafah in front of a wall that had a Magen David and the swastika linked by an equal sign. The same page also featured a photo of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres over a caption that read: "The butcher and the fox."
The near absence of media attention on the event, according to an Israeli diplomatic official, indicates that President Hosni Mubarak was not interested in the conference making any noise internally, but rather was interested in sending a signal abroad - especially to Washington - that he is doing whatever he can to help further the diplomatic process.
Terrorist opens fire in downtown Jerusalem: The latest horrors in Israel. The Jerusalem Post reports that
Surprise, surprise -- the terrorist is reported to belong to the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade.
A Palestinian terrorist opened fire at civilians in downtown Jerusalem near Kikar Zion a short while ago.
Policemen shot and killed the terrorist, Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Mickey Levy said.
He said the terrorist fired in all directions on Rehov Jaffa, not far from Rehov King George, before policemen converged on him after a short chase. The terrorist was unable to change clips, preventing a worse tragedy, Levy said.
Four civilians were seriously wounded, three suffered moderate wounds, and approximately 20 were lightly wounded from fragments or suffered shock.
One women was taken to Shaare Zedek Hospital in very serious condition.
Surprise, surprise -- the terrorist is reported to belong to the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade.
Saudi Arabia's time is coming, fast: David Pryce-Jones writes in the Wall Street Journal Europe that the confused Saudi regime in the Gulf is not just in flux - it is on its last legs.
David also explains why the Saudis are stupid to kick out their American protectors.
Of course, he does not acknowledge the warbloggers' sentiment, that the terroritory should be given over to the Turks...
There are intimations of revolutionary rift with the United States, and with it the possible collapse of what has hitherto been one of America's indispensable allies in the Middle East. Overall, the desert kingdom bears on it the manufacturer's stamp "Made in Britain, about 1925," and that is no guarantee of endurance.
The country and its ruling family have had a bad war. Relations with the United States have been tested and found wanting. Though continuing to speak politely through tight lips, the Bush administration is far from pleased. It senses that the Saudi rule is being pushed to break point by the internal inconsistencies of the family. Sources inside the administration report that the princes' utterances have become even more mystically opaque than usual.
All of this has an impact on the continuation of the American bases in Saudi Arabia. They exist in the country as a protection against invasion and occupation by Saddam Hussein, and although the Saudi regime sided with the United States verbally after September 11, in practice it placed restrictions on the full use of these facilities for operations in Afghanistan, obliging the American military to improvise far-flung and expensive alternatives.
David also explains why the Saudis are stupid to kick out their American protectors.
As the ruling princes meet in secret family conclaves in their Riyadh palaces, they will have another consideration to bear in mind. They know that they have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on military equipment, but to no avail. The Saudi army is not an effective fighting force, and many, if not most, of the airforce pilots are only mercenaries on hire from other Islamic countries such as Pakistan. Maintenance and morale are equally poor. In their one and only experience of battle, Saudi soldiers ran away from the Iraqis during Desert Storm in 1991. Had the American military not been present, Saddam Hussein could have captured Saudi Arabia as swiftly and easily as Kuwait.
The withdrawal of American bases consequently would expose Saudi Arabia once more to that existential threat. And just over the horizon is Iran, acquiring weapons of mass destruction as busily as Iraq, and just as committed to seeing an end to the Saudi family. The Saudi rulers may well prefer to have America with them when the time comes to confront these dangers. They are in the process of weighing up whether they are most afraid of bin Laden's shadow, and so need to propitiate their people by removing the American presence; or whether they are most afraid of Saddam Hussein and Iran and so must keep the American protective shield. Fear is famously a bad counselor, particularly for a body of timorous old men with a long track record of misjudgment. One last consideration for them: Iraq or Iran could well precipitate a crisis in which the United States would have no choice but to occupy at least Hasa, the Saudi province where the oil fields are, putting on the country the new manufacturer's stamp of "Made in America."
Of course, he does not acknowledge the warbloggers' sentiment, that the terroritory should be given over to the Turks...
Monday, January 21, 2002
Deciphering Islam: Rabbi Mark Solomon dissects the different strains in Islam and what we can learn from disputes over the Koran.
JP says rise in French anti-semitism means Jews should "come home": The Jerusalem Post editorializes that, given the unchecked rise in French anti-semitism, "as comfortable as life might be along the Riviera or in the arrondissements of Paris, it is time for the Jews of France - like their brethren in Argentina, Russia, and elsewhere - to come home."
Israeli strategy:Anne Applebaum writes in Slate that she finds the current Israeli strategy pointless:
The destruction of airstrips in Gaza simply means that the European Union or the United Nations will once again have to come up with the money to rebuild them. The destruction of Arafat's "air force"—a couple of helicopters—simply means that someone else will have to buy him or his successor new ones. Whether they want to call it an independent state or not, the Israelis are going to have to live with Palestine in some form or another, and there isn't much point in making it even poorer than it is. Why destroy its pathetic airports and its administrative buildings?
Last weekend's destruction of the Voice of Palestine broadcasting center, however, belongs in a different category. Although, again, I can't quite see the point of destroying the building—the radio went off the air for a few hours but began broadcasting again from another set of studios—the official Palestinian media is the right place for Israel to focus its ire. In fact, in the reporting of the Middle East conflict, which almost always focuses on yesterday's violence and today's body count, the crucial role of the Voice of Palestine—the official broadcasting arm of the Palestinian Authority—has often been overlooked. Nor is the problem just radio and television. If you want to understand why the Oslo peace process failed, or where suicide martyrs come from, it is worth taking a closer look at all the Palestinian Authority's official media.
How to quell Iran Paul Kengor and Jacob Smith write in The Washington Times that Ronald Reagan's "cowboy" approach was the key to beating Iran 20 years ago.
It was Nov. 4, 1980. Ronald Reagan had just been elected president. For Col. Charles W. Scott, the day marked a full year in captivity at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
Col. Scott recalls the reaction of his captors to Mr. Reagan's victory: "I remember specifically when one of the guards came in and said, 'Reagan is now the new president. What do you think will happen when he comes into office?' I didn't say a word, I just went 'boom.' And they said, 'Really?' And I said 'Yeah, the first day he's in office after the Inaugural ceremony, he'll go back to the White House and say, 'OK, tell the Iranians if they don't let those hostages go by midnight tomorrow night, its war.' "
A few weeks later, literally as Mr. Reagan was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 1981, the 52 hostages were released. That was a little more than 20 years ago. President Jimmy Carter deserves to be commended for his agonizing efforts on behalf of the hostages. His hard work helped gain their release.
Twenty years later, however, it is more clear than ever that Mr. Reagan was a crucial factor as well. Or, better put, the threat of Mr. Reagan was a factor.
Iran says 9-11 all about U.S. hegemony: Thanks to Scott Rubush, I discovered this cute bit of news from Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency: "Interim Friday Prayer leader of this northeast Iranian province said, "September 11 U.S. terrorist incidents were designed and carried out by the U.S. secret agencies in order to assure exertion of America's full hegemony over the whole world."
Well, at least they didn't blame the Jews this time...
I never would have expected this... about Derby? I never knew Derby was that backward. It seems the town in central England had a 700-year old charter that barred "any Jew or Jewess from ever living" in the city. The charter has been renounced and a letter and check has been sent to the Zionist Federation as an appology.
NYT says Syria poses no threat to Israel: Smartertimes.com scoffs at today's New york Times report on Syria:
Well, at least they didn't blame the Jews this time...
I never would have expected this... about Derby? I never knew Derby was that backward. It seems the town in central England had a 700-year old charter that barred "any Jew or Jewess from ever living" in the city. The charter has been renounced and a letter and check has been sent to the Zionist Federation as an appology.
"Seven hundred years ago the burgesses of Derby paid the king ten marks, equivalent to almost" $4,300 today, "for a charter to exclude any Jew or Jewess from ever living or being remembered in Derby," Pickup wrote.
"We feel we have now cut off the injustice of 700 years with much prayer and repentance," the letter said. "We now feel as a token of our respect and to bring a closure motion on the past that we would like to give the equivalent amount of money to a Jewish cause. I hope you will accept this gift with our love, apologies, honours and prayers." (JTA)
NYT says Syria poses no threat to Israel: Smartertimes.com scoffs at today's New york Times report on Syria:
A dispatch from Damascus in the international section of today's New York Times reports: "Lacking any credible military threat as a result of
its creaky Soviet hardware and with no means of tempering Israeli measures against the Palestinians, Syria instead maintains its hard-line credentials by acting as host to radical Palestinian groups and ramping up its tough talk."
It's just ostrich-like to pretend that Syria does not pose "any credible military threat" to Israel. According to an unclassified summary of a December 2001 National Intelligence Estimate prepared by the U.S. government, "Syria maintains a ballistic missile and rocket force of hundreds of FROG rockets, Scuds, and SS-21 SRBMs. With considerable foreign assistance, Syria progressed to Scud production using primarily locally manufactured parts." The same U.S. government report says that Syria "has developed" chemical weapons warheads for its Scud missiles and also has an offensive biological weapons program.
One wonders what it would take -- short of a full-scale chemical obliteration by Syria of the population of an Israeli or American city
-- for the New York Times to acknowledge that Syria presents a credible military threat.