Israel PM meets Blair as Quartet pushes peace
– Mon Feb 28, 1:57 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Monday with Quartet envoy Tony Blair, as negotiators sought to coax Israel and the Palestinians into dialogue.Israeli officials confirmed the two had met but refused to give details of what was discussed, as media reports suggested the premier was shying away from sending his chief negotiator to Brussels to meet representatives of the Middle East Quaret.Later, Netanyahu cautioned lawmakers from his hardline Likud party that Israel was facing intense international pressure over the construction of settlements in the West Bank.We are currently making efforts to maintain the existing construction, but we must understand that we are (faced with) a very difficult international reality, the Haaretz daily quoted him as saying.His comments came amid protests from the lawmakers over the destruction of a building in a wildcat West Bank settlement outpost early Monday by Israeli forces.Netanyahu said Israel needed to act with restraint, citing the new reality in the Middle East and noted that getting the United States to veto a recent UN Security Council resolution condemning settlement construction took great effort.We could keep banging our heads against the wall, but that's not how I do things, he said.
Direct peace talks between the two sides broke down late last year over Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.Israel refused to extend a 10-month partial settlement freeze and the Palestinians, who say they will not negotiate while Jewish settlers build on land they want for a future state, refused to continue with the talks.Since then the international community has been searching in vain for a way to get them back to the negotiating table.The Quartet chiefs -- EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN head Ban Ki-moon -- who last met in Munich on February 5, are due to meet again in Paris at an unspecified date in March.
Ahead of the principals' meeting, their Middle East envoys are to hold separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Brussels on March 2, according to EU officials.Officials at Blair's office in Jerusalem confirmed that Quartet envoys were holding a series of meetings in Brussels this week and were expected to meet both Israeli and Palestinian representatives.But reports in two Israeli newspapers said Netanyahu had not yet given the green light to his chief negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, to attend the talks later this week.Netanyahu has voiced his reservations to the meeting, fearing that by agreeing he would open the door to international influence on the terms of the renewed talks.Specifically, the premier is worried of being forced to resume talks toward a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, the Haaretz newspaper said.Quoting sources in Netanyahu's office, the paper said he had been trying to find out from Washington more about the aim and goals of the Brussels session, before making a decision.Briefing the UN Security Council last week, UN peace envoy Robert Serry said Quartet officials understood that there was a need for much clearer parameters in order for the two sides to negotiate properly.
It is becoming increasingly clear that a more concrete and substantive basis would have to be laid out for the parties to engage. The Quartet must play its full role in this regard, he said. Meanwhile, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and two others were in Brussels for a round of talks with Quartet officials, sources in Ramallah said.Erakat resigned on February 12 over the theft from his office of thousands of confidential documents on peace talks with Israel, which were subsequently leaked to Al-Jazeera and the London Guardian. However, his resignation was never formally accepted by Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas.
Iran FM: Iran's protests unlike recent uprisings By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press – Mon Feb 28, 1:42 pm ET
GENEVA – Iran's top diplomat on Monday praised the popular uprisings roiling the Arab world, but dismissed protests in his own country as unjustified.Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran has only experienced a few manipulated protests, while mass movements in the nations in the region are authentic, popular and people's movements.Speaking to several reporters in Geneva, he said: There is absolutely no comparison between what is happening in the countries in the region and what has happened in Iran in a few incidents.The protests that swept Iran after its disputed June 2009 presidential election grew into a larger movement opposed to Iran's ruling system. Hundreds of thousands peacefully took to the streets, but a heavy military crackdown crushed the protests.Salehi, who is in Geneva for a meeting of the Human Rights Council, said his government was shocked by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi resorting to extreme force against civilians and hopes that the power is transferred through legal means to the people.In Tehran, Iran's state prosecutor said Monday that authorities have cut all outside contact with the country's two senior opposition leaders, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, as part of a campaign to silence dissent.Salehi said of Karroubi's arrest that it must come based on provocation of certain rule of law. In the case of Mousavi, Salehi said that if there is any charge, this charge has to be raised from the side of the judiciary and not the Foreign Ministry.
Human rights advocates said Sunday the two opposition leaders and their wives were in grave danger after security forces apparently took them from their homes, where they had been under house arrest.Two years have already passed since the last presidential election in Iran and they have been living a normal life and they have asked people to come into the streets, which we think are manipulated protests, because there was absolutely no justification for that, Salehi said. They had to yield and be satisfied with the results.
Al-Qaeda's Zawahiri warns of US influence in Mideast
– Sun Feb 27, 10:33 pm ET
NICOSIA (AFP) – Al-Qaeda's Egyptian-born number two Ayman al-Zawahiri has said the United States is installing sympathetic new regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, demanding Muslims rise up against whippers and invaders.The SITE monitoring service said Monday that Zawahiri had released the third of a series of audio messages on uprisings in the Arab world, recorded between the fall of Tunisia's regime and Hosni Mubarak's government in Egypt.Railing against Washington, Zawahiri also said Tunisians should resist the French occupier and establish a rule that will be a role model of counselling and justice for your brothers.The United States had abandoned Tunisia's long-time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in mid-January when it became clear that he had become a liability, the fugitive deputy to Al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden said.However, the reins of the affairs remain with America's men, its agents and their soldiers... Zawahiri said.
The same thing was happening in Egypt, he said in the message, recorded before Mubarak was ousted by the military on February 11 following more than two weeks of mass protests.Zawahiri said a secular alternative was emerging in the shape of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former Vienna-based UN atomic chief.I don't know where will be the headquarters of this transitional government -- in Cairo or in Vienna or in New York? he said.He is an alternative that is in harmony with the international system, fulfilling its interests and giving the poor and weak some freedoms and some liberty, his message said.But Egypt will remain a base for the Crusader campaign and a primary partner in America's war on Islam under the name of war on terror, and protector of the southern border for the Zionist Entity (Israel).Addressing the free, honourable ones in Egypt, Tunisia, and all Muslim nations, Zawahiri said: Know that the road is still long in order to free our Ummah (Islamic community) from its whippers and its invaders.
Israeli inquiry clears officials in 2002 Gaza raid
– Sun Feb 27, 12:48 pm ET
JERUSALEM – An Israeli inquiry into the killing of a Hamas militant nine years ago has ruled the airstrike legal, despite withering international criticism.An Israeli plane dropped a one-ton bomb on the Gaza house of Hamas bombing mastermind Salah Shehadeh in 2002. He was killed along with 14 others, including several children.The Israeli government report issued Sunday called the strike legal according to international law, clearing Israeli officials. It blamed faulty intelligence for the civilian deaths.The airstrike came during a Palestinian uprising, with Hamas suicide bombings.The incident led pro-Palestinian groups to call for criminal charges against Israeli officials involved in the airstrike. Such charges still interfere with their travel.
Rocket fired from Gaza hits Israel, no casualties
– Sun Feb 27, 3:55 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit Israeli territory on Sunday morning, raising Israel's alert level but causing no damage or casualties, according to Israel's military and police.The latest rocket, which the military's spokeswoman said struck a field in the Eshkol region in southern Israel, comes after a string of Israeli air raids targeting militant training camps across the Gaza Strip on Saturday night.A first set of strikes hit two camps belonging to Islamic Jihad, while a second raid targeted two camps belonging to the Ezzedine al-Qassem Brigades, the armed wing of Gaza's ruling Hamas movement, in the southern city of Rafah.The second raid wounded four people including a toddler, Palestinian officials and medics said.A third air strike blasted an Islamic Jihad facility west of Khan Yunis, witnesses said.The military said the attacks targeted a number of terror hubs... in response to recent rocket fire into Israel.The air raids came after tensions rose along the Israel-Gaza border this week following clashes in which an Islamic Jihad gunman was killed and a rocket attack on the Israeli city of Beersheba hit a house but caused no casualties.
It was the first rocket to reach the city since the devastating offensive Israel waged against Gaza December 2008 to January 2009, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn the territory's militants not to test the Jewish state.Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Sunday that the country's alert level had been raised in response to the renewed rocket fire and regional instability.The police examined the security situation and decided to raise the alert level on Israeli territory for a week, Rosenfeld said.The security examination was undertaken after the new Palestinian rocket fire on Sunday and because of the continued unrest in the Arab and Muslim world, he said.It is not unusual for Israel to raise its security alert level in response to a perceived increase in the risk of attacks.
Russia vows to sell missiles to Syria
by Dmitry Zaks – Sat Feb 26, 11:56 am ET
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia vowed Saturday to fulfil its contract to supply Syria with cruise missiles despite the turmoil shaking the Arab world and Israel's furious condemnation of the deal.The contract is in the implementation stage, news agencies quoted Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov as saying.Russia initially agreed to send a large shipment of anti-ship Yakhont cruise missiles to Syria in 2007 under the terms of a controversial deal that was only disclosed by Serdyukov in September 2010.
The revelation infuriated both Israel and the United States and there had been speculation that Russia would decide to tear up the contract amid the current turmoil plaguing north Africa and the Middle East.Israel -- which is still technically in a state of war with Syria and fears its close ties with Iran -- suspects that the shipment is ultimately aimed at supplying Hezbollah militants in neighbouring Lebanon.The disputed sale is believed to be worth at least $300 million (218 million euros) and is meant to see Syria receive 72 cruise missiles in all.
Russia has not officially confirmed making any Yakhont deliveries to date.But Interfax cited one unnamed military source as saying that Russia had already sent Syria two Bastion coastal defence systems that can include up to 36 Yakhont missiles each.The feared complex can only operate when equipped with radar and target detection helicopters and it was not clear from Serdyukov's comments which supplies -- if any -- had already been received by Syria.The Israeli ambassador to Moscow confirmed that his country was primarily worried the missiles would end up in the hands of the Shiite Hezbollah movement that receives strong backing from Syria.The question of these missiles' deliver to Syria really has triggered a negative reaction in Israel, Dorit Golender told the Interfax news agency.And this is understandable since Hezbollah has repeatedly used weapons that they received either from Lebanon or Syria.Serdyukov's statement comes amid Russian efforts to keep its military supply lines open to the Middle East despite the wave of revolutions and social unrest sweeping the region.A source in the Russian arms exports industry said this week that the fall of the region's regimes may see the country lose about $10 billion dollars in contracts.Serdyukov himself confirmed that the unrest may force Russia to give up some of its Soviet-era clients in the Arab world.There is a chance we might lose something, the defence minister said on a visit on visit to Russia's Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
But I hope that the main weapons and military equipment agreements will be fulfilled, Serdyukov said.Russia's sales to Syria have come under particularly close scrutiny because of fears that Moscow may be also be covertly assisting Damascus' nascent nuclear programme.The head of the country's arms export corporation in October denied that Russia had also signed an agreement to supply Syria with its latest range of MiG-31 fighter jets.But the same agency confirmed in May that Russia was in the process of supplying Syria with a less advanced fighter jet version -- the Mig-29 -- along with short-range air defence systems and various armoured vehicles.Russia is the world's second-largest arms exporter behind the United States and its sales are crucial to the country's efforts to keep alive a creaking defence industry whose reforms have dragged on for years.
Hundreds of thousands protest across Arab world By BEN HUBBARD and KARIN LAUB, Associated Press – Fri Feb 25, 3:44 pm ET
CAIRO – Hundreds of thousands poured out of mosques and staged protests across the Arab world Friday, some trying to shake off autocratic rulers and others pressuring embattled leaders to carry out sweeping reforms.In the Libyan capital of Tripoli, protesters reported coming under a hail of bullets and said they saw at least seven people killed. In Iraq, troops opened fire in several cities to push back crowds marching on government offices, killing at least 12. Scuffles were reported in Yemen, while pro-reform marches in Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan were largely peaceful.
The large crowds signaled that the push for change in North Africa and the Middle East continues to build momentum. The first anti-government protests erupted several weeks ago, toppling rulers in Tunisia and Egypt and quickly spreading to other countries.The situation remained most volatile in Libya, where longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi has cracked down hard on an 11-day-old rebellion after losing control over large chunks of the country.In Tripoli, where Gadhafi remains in charge, protesters staged the first significant anti-government rallies in several days, trying to march from several districts to the central Green Square.Protesters said they came under fire from pro-Gadhafi militias. One man among a crowd of thousands said gunmen on rooftops and in the streets opened fire with automatic weapons and even an anti-aircraft gun. In the first wave of fire, seven people within 10 meters (yards) of me were killed. Many people were shot in the head, the man, who was marching from Tripoli's eastern Tajoura district, told The Associated Press. It was really like we are dogs.Across cities that have come under control of the rebels, tens of thousands held rallies to support their comrades in Tripoli.
Iraq saw its biggest and most violent anti-government protests since the wave of regional unrest began. Thousands marched on government buildings and clashed with security forces in several cities, an outpouring of anger that left 12 people dead.
The protests were fueled by frustration over corruption, chronic unemployment and shoddy public services.We want a good life like human beings, not like animals, said Khalil Ibrahim, 44, one of about 3,000 protesters in the capital, Baghdad. Demonstrators knocked down blast walls, threw rocks and scuffled with club-wielding troops who chased them down the street.Many Iraqis rail against a government that locks itself in the highly fortified Green Zone, home to the parliament and the U.S. Embassy, and is viewed by most of its citizens as more interested in personal gain than public service.Iraq's deadliest clashes Friday were reported in the northern city of Mosul, where hundreds rallying outside a provincial council building came under fire from guards. Officials said five people were killed. The other deaths were reported in four other cities.Huge crowds also turned out in Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen, but with very different goals.In Egypt, where an 18-day uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, tens of thousands jammed Cairo's Tahrir Square to keep up the pressure on the country's military rulers to carry out reforms.
Demonstrators said they are worried the army is not moving quickly enough on reforms, including repealing emergency laws, releasing political prisoners and removing members of Mubarak's regime from power.Thousands chanted that they won't leave until they see Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, one of the Mubarak-era holdovers, removed from office. Some waved flags of Libya to show support for the uprising next door.We made Mubarak step down and we must make Shafiq also step down, said Safwat Hegazy, a protester from the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest and best-organized opposition group.Since Mubarak's fall, the military rulers have disbanded both houses of parliament and promised constitutional reforms that will allow wider participation in elections, to be held within six months. They have also promised to repeal emergency laws that give security forces largely unchecked powers, though only when conditions permit — a caveat that worries protesters. In Bahrain, the first Gulf state to be thrown into turmoil by the Arab world's wave of change, tens of thousands rallying in the central square demanded sweeping political concessions from the ruling monarch.
Security forces made no attempt to halt the marchers, an apparent sign that Bahrain's rulers do not want more bloodshed denunciations from their Western allies. In the early stage of the two-week-old rallies, troops had used lethal force. The unrest is highly significant for Washington. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which is the Pentagon's main counterweight against Iran's widening military ambitions. Bahrain's Sunni monarchy, meanwhile, is under pressure from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf rulers not to yield to the Shiite-led protesters, fearing it could open footholds for Shiite powerhouse Iran.In the Arab world's poorest country, Yemen, tens of thousands marching in the capital of Sanaa demanded that their U.S.-backed president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, step down. It was one of the largest crowds since protests erupted earlier this month.A Muslim preacher who led Friday's prayer told protesters it was their religious duty to topple Saleh, describing him as a devil who has driven us to the stone ages. Shouts from the crowd of Allahu akbar, or God is great, accompanied his words.We are coming to take you from the presidential palace,activist Tawakul Kermal told the gathering, addressing Saleh. Yemen has a weak central government and an active branch of al-Qaida. Saleh has promised to step down after elections in 2013, but the demonstrators want him out now. Activists have been digging in, setting up encampments in some public areas.A record crowd turned out Friday in Jordan, where Jordan's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has warned that citizens' patience is wearing thin with the government's slow moves toward reform.Hamza Mansour, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, called for quicker steps to give Jordanians a bigger say in politics and to have them elect their prime minister — now selected by King Abdullah II. Mansour spoke to 4,000 Jordanian protesters, the largest crowd yet to take to the streets of downtown Amman for the pro-reform cause.Associated Press writers Paul Schemm in Benghazi, Libya, Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, and Adam Schreck in Manama, Bahrain, contributed reporting.
Gaza's Islamist rulers hounding secular community By DIAA HADID, Associated Press – Fri Feb 25, 3:31 am ET
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – After nearly four years of Hamas rule, the Gaza Strip's small secular community is in tatters, decimated by the militant group's campaign to impose its strict version of Islam in the coastal territory.Hamas has bullied men and women to dress modestly, tried to keep the sexes from mingling in public and sparked a flight of secular university students and educated professionals. Most recently, it has confiscated novels it deems offensive to Islam from a bookshop and banned Gaza's handful of male hairdressers from styling women's hair.The Hamas push toward religious fundamentalism is especially striking at a time of great change in the Middle East. With the Iranian-backed group firmly entrenched in power, Gaza seems unlikely to experience the type of pro-democracy unrest that has swept through much of the region.In Gaza, defense of human rights and democracy has traditionally been the role of people whose world view is not shaped solely by Islam. Their shrinking influence could undermine those values.Some argue that the case of Gaza could also be a warning sign for those pushing for quick democratic reforms in the region. Hamas rose to power in part by winning internationally backed parliamentary elections held in 2006.Hamas officials say claims that they are trying to Islamize Gaza are meant to help deter the international community from recognizing their rule. This isn't true, said Yousef Rizka, senior Hamas government official. We respect freedom.Gaza, a tiny sliver of land squeezed between Egypt and Israel, always had a significant Islamic flavor, but once tolerated bars and cinemas, especially during Egyptian rule from 1948 to 1967. A conservative religious movement began to take hold in the 1980s, as part of a larger, region-wide religious awakening and because of intensifying conflict with Israel, which occupied the territory from 1967 to 2005.
The trend accelerated with the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in 1987, which coincided with the founding of Hamas. In June 2007, Hamas seized control of Gaza after ousting forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.In Gaza, whose 1.5 million people are overwhelmingly devout Muslims, liberal and secular are loose, interchangeable terms. They apply to women who exchange modest Muslim headscarves for Western clothes, men who don't observe obligatory Muslim prayers, as well as those who call for separation of faith and politics.Because the terms are used loosely, it's hard to know how many Gazans are actually secular. They dominate Gaza's human rights organizations, art collectives and youth groups.Since the Hamas takeover, their numbers appear to have shrunk. There are no firm statistics, but their public profile has certainly diminished. Many left to study abroad and never returned. Others obtained refugee visas in Europe or found work in the Gulf.In the end, the people who think differently are leaving, said Rami, a 32-year-old activist in one of Gaza's few secular groups. He refused to give his last name, fearing retribution.The Gallery Cafe, one of Gaza's last secular spots, is a freeze-frame of their lonely fortunes.About a dozen chain-smoking men and three women swigged nonalcoholic beer and sugary mint tea on a recent night as they debated the protests sweeping the Arab world. They huddled on plastic chairs under a marquee, pummeled by chilly wind.
The trend toward religious fundamentalism preceded the Hamas takeover. In recent years, hard-liners have burned down the cinemas. Their charred remains are still visible in Gaza City. Militants blew up the last bar in 2005.Gaza women, whose attire once varied from Western pants and skirts to colorful traditional embroidered robes, began donning ankle-length loose robes. Women with face veils, once rarely seen in Gaza, are now a common sight.After winning the 2006 election, Hamas vowed it wouldn't impose Islamic law. But within two years, bureaucrats began ordering changes that targeted secular Gaza residents.During the summer of 2009, plainclothes Interior Ministry officials on beach patrols ordered men to wear shirts. Today, plainclothes officers sometimes halt couples in the streets, demanding to see marriage licenses. Last year, the Interior Ministry banned women from smoking water pipes in public. Islamic faith does not ban women from smoking, but it is considered taboo in Gaza society.In November, officials shuttered the U.N.-funded Sharek Youth Forum, Gaza's largest youth organization and a popular hangout for secular youth.
Sharek employees say they were interrogated over pornography found on some staff computers. They said it was the personal material of some employees and offered to punish them for inappropriate behavior.In January, the Culture Ministry confiscated two novels from Gaza City's dusty Ibn Khaldoun bookshop. They said residents complained the books offended Islamic values.One described the lives of Egyptian immigrants in the U.S. and has been criticized for portraying a romantically involved unmarried couple. The other, an 18-year-old book by Syrian writer Haidar Haidar called A Banquet for Seaweed, was deemed blasphemous in parts of the Muslim world because it contains phrases describing God as a failed artist and the Prophet Muhammad as a womanizer.Pockets of dissent remain. Gaza human rights groups frequently and publicly denounce Hamas campaigns.One group of Gaza youth issued a call for support on Facebook, raging against their Hamas rulers, the U.N., and Israel. Most people who joined the effort live abroad.Jamal Sharif, an English-language lecturer, said many Gazans live two lives: They submit to Hamas rules on the streets, but keep their own, more secular, ideas alive at home through the Internet and satellite TV.That's where we learn to be cultured,Sharif said.
Quartet tries new Israeli-Palestinian peace bid By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press – Thu Feb 24, 6:09 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS – Envoys from the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia are hoping to hold separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to try to revive peace talks, the U.N.'s Mideast coordinator said Thursday,Robert Serry said the so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators has proposed meetings with the two sides on all core issues blocking a peace settlement. They include borders of a Palestinian state, security arrangements, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.I hope very soon the Quartet envoys will be meeting separately with the parties — that is something new, he told reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council.We are at the moment seeking confirmation from both sides that they are willing to meet the Quartet envoys next week in Brussels.Serry said the separate meetings would precede a meeting of Quartet leaders in mid-March, probably in the margins of a meeting in Paris.He again warned the council that the credibility of the international community including the Quartet is at stake in 2011.Serry said it is urgent that the Quartet respond and engage the parties in serious talks, including on substance, and support them in finding ways back to the negotiation table.The United States has tried but failed to get the two sides back to face-to-face negotiations that would culminate in a peace settlement and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Both sides have agreed to President Barack Obama's target date of September 2011 for an agreement, but negotiations collapsed weeks after they restarted in September because Israel ended a 10-month moratorium on settlement construction.The Palestinians insist they will not resume peace talks until Israel halts settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war which the Palestinians want for their future state.With many Mideast countries preoccupied by anti-government protests, Serry said the Israelis and Palestinians may want to wait to see what kind of a new Middle East emerges.But he said we want to hold the parties to their commitment to reach an agreement by September.Asked what the Quartet could do that the United States and its mediator George Mitchell couldn't do to revive negotiations, Serry said, I believe we can help the parties by bringing some suggestions to them which could be a basis for those negotiations.He refused to provide any details of the suggestions saying the Quartet wants to discuss them first with the Israelis and Palestinians.As the only Quartet envoy actually based in the Mideast, Serry said he sees developments on the ground that can complicate a two-state solution.Therefore, he said, the mediators must stress the urgency of finding a solution because the two-state solution is not a solution that is going to be there forever ... and I think the Quartet as a whole has a responsibility here.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
Syria may have built atom site near Damascus: report
– Thu Feb 24, 11:08 am ET
VIENNA (Reuters) – Western intelligence agencies suspect Syria may have been building a secret nuclear-related site near Damascus, a German daily said, and a U.S. think-tank suggested it could be linked to a site bombed by Israel in 2007.If confirmed, Thursday's report by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper would add to Western fears that the Arab state had engaged in covert nuclear activity before the Israeli attack and may increase pressure for action by the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in Jerusalem:The international authorities as well as intelligence organisations know this information, and the International Atomic Energy Agency is working to gain access to inspect this place, and this is the right thing.The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a Washington-based think-tank, said the operational status of what it suspected was a small uranium conversion facility near the town of Marj as Sultan was not known.
However, there is suspicion that Syria may have emptied the buildings prior to mid-2008 and taken steps to disguise previous activities at the site, it said in an analysis issued alongside the German newspaper report.For more than two years Syria has refused to allow U.N. inspectors to revisit a site destroyed by Israel in September 2007, which U.S. intelligence reports said was a nascent North Korean-designed nuclear reactor intended to produce bomb fuel.Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it had obtained photographs supposed to have been taken from inside two buildings at another location, near Marj as Sultan, about 15 km (9 miles) east of the capital and bordering a military site.It was not known exactly when they were taken, it said, adding the equipment was partially installed at the time.But together with other information they allow for the first time the credible suspicion that Syria was in the process of setting up a facility for so-called uranium conversion -- a preliminary stage for producing fuel rods which could be used in the suspected reactor, it said.The paper said it had decided not to publish the photographs in order to protect its sources.
SPECIAL INSPECTION?
ISIS said the Marj as Sultan complex may have been functionally linked to the Dair Alzour facility, also known as al-Kibar, attacked by Israel more than three years ago.There is a strong suspicion that was a uranium conversion facility related to the process of making fuel for the al-Kibar reactor, ISIS research analyst Paul Brannan told Reuters.Syria, an ally of Iran, denies ever harboring an atom bomb program and says the IAEA should focus on Israel instead because of its undeclared nuclear arsenal.There was no immediate comment on Thursday from Syria's mission to the U.N. atomic body, the Vienna-based IAEA.Syria has repeatedly rebuffed requests by the IAEA for follow-up access to Dair Alzour and three sites related to it, saying they are non-nuclear, military installations.ISIS said satellite images from July 25, 2008, showed considerable activity at the Marj as Sultan facility, which it believes is one of the three additional sites. What I see as most significant is the actions that Syria takes to throw a roadblock in the way of the IAEA. It knew that the IAEA was going to want to visit these sites, Brannan said. The IAEA is due to issue its quarterly reports about Iran and Syria ahead of a March 7-11 meeting of the Vienna-based body's 35-nation governing board.The United States has suggested that the IAEA may need to consider invoking its special inspection mechanism to give it authority to look anywhere necessary in Syria at short notice. Some diplomats in Vienna have cautioned against any such move, saying it would distract attention from the more pressing issue of Iran, which Western powers suspect is trying to develop nuclear weapons capability. Tehran denies this.(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl and Michael Shields in Vienna and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Jon Hemming)
Iranian warships arrive in Syria, witness says By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press – Thu Feb 24, 10:17 am ET
DAMASCUS, Syria – A witness said two Iranian warships docked in Syria on Thursday, completing a voyage that has raised tensions with Israel during a time of upheaval in the Middle East.The ships arrived at Syria's Latakia seaport, after sailing through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean — the first such trip in at least three decades. A witness confirmed the ships' arrival, but asked that his name not be used because of the sensitivity of the issue.The chief of Iran's navy, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, said the frigate Alvand and the supply ship Kharq are in Syria for a training mission. He rejected Israeli criticism that the trip was provocative.
Iran's foray into the Mediterranean came as the Middle East was reeling from an unprecedented wave of anti-government rebellions. Some observers said the voyage through the Suez Canal was as a test of Egypt, which is the gatekeeper of the strategic waterway that links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.Egypt's new military rulers, who took power from ousted President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, appeared to have no choice but to allow the passage. An international convention regulating shipping says the canal must be open to every vessel of commerce or of war.Analysts believe Iran wanted to see whether Egypt's new rulers will stick to the pro-Western line of the Mubarak government. Some said the voyage also signals that Iran is ready to come to the aid of regional allies, including Syria and Iranian proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Egyptians, Tunisians try to help Libyan neighbors By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press – Thu Feb 24, 10:52 am ET
CAIRO – Having successfully toppled their own autocratic rulers, Egyptian and Tunisians are rushing to the aid of their Libyan neighbors with hastily organized blood drives, field hospitals and convoys of food and medicine.Volunteers say they couldn't remain indifferent to the suffering next door after having just fought their own battles for freedom.It made us feel that we can do something, said Momen El-Husseiny, an architecture student.In Libya, hundreds are believed to have been killed in the 10-day uprising against dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Large areas of Libya have fallen to rebels opposing his 42-year rule, but Gadhafi remains in control in and around the capital Tripoli and has vowed to fight to the death.While Libya was initially sealed off from the world, its border with Egypt has become porous in recent days and more details of Gadhafi's brutal crackdown have emerged, such as mercenaries firing on unarmed protesters.Hospitals in eastern Libya, now under rebel control, have sent appeals for supplies. While ad hoc volunteers and charities try to meet those needs, physicians from Egypt and elsewhere are headed to the region.
The Cairo-based Union of Arab Doctors said it has already managed to send 12 tons of drugs and medical supplies, 30 tons of food and 1,000 blood portions into Libya. Fifty-five Egyptian doctors have reached towns in eastern Libya, including Benghazi, Tobruk and Beyida, said Dr. Ibrahim Zafran, a coordinator for the group.The Egyptian and Tunisian armies have set up field hospitals on both sides of the border.And more help is on the way. Libyan exiles and worldwide Muslim charities have also launched aid drives, with one group reporting it raised tens of thousands of dollars in just two days.A Turkish ferry loaded with food and medicine was heading toward Libya on Thursday before mooring at Crete due to high seas. Turkey was expected to send more aid ships in coming days, and the United Arab Emirates also promised to help.Young veterans of the Egyptian uprising that pushed out President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11 set up a Facebook page to coordinate aid efforts. Within a few days, they had thousands of members and donations rolled in, they said.The activists said they felt special kinship with the Libyans and were emboldened to take quick action because of their own success. We have energy, we're fast, and the government bureaucrats are just trying to follow up, El-Husseiny said.
On Wednesday, activists staffed an impromptu collection point outside a mosque in Cairo's Mohandeseen neighborhood.Donated flour, rice, sugar, and medicines were stacked along a sidewalk. Passers-by gave blood in mobile units parked nearby, and volunteers handed out flyers showing pictures of bloodied corpses in Libya to passing motorists to spur them to make donations.Since earlier this week, the goods have been loaded onto trucks every night and driven to the Libyan border, a 17-hour journey from Cairo.Dr. Ahmed Sharif, an Egyptian physician who grew up in London, said he was preparing to travel with the next convoy to the border town of Salloum. Sharif, 34, said he is taking sutures, antiseptics, IV fluids, bandages and other emergency medical supplies that Libyan medical officials have requested.Zafran, the coordinator for the Union of Arab Doctors, said shipments are loaded from Egyptian to Libyan vehicles at the border. There is no danger is in the eastern zone of Libya he said, but doctors don't dare venture west of Benghazi, into areas still under Gadhafi's control.Ramzi Eltajoury, a Libyan expatriate in London, said he established a medical charity after returning from a trip to Benghazi several days ago. He said his group manage to raise tens of thousands of dollars in just two days. The situation is dire in the hospitals, he said. While aid is reaching Libya from Egypt, the border between Egypt and Tunisia remains largely impenetrable, doctors involved in the aid effort said. As of Wednesday, about 2,500 Tunisians, 300 Egyptians and a few Libyans fleeing the chaos in Libya had managed to cross into Tunisia, but people injured in fighting were not among them, the doctors said.They (the injured) are prevented from exiting the country, and stopped long before they reach the border, Dr. Mourad al-Ayashi, a Tunis-based doctor, said Thursday.It's really frustrating for all the volunteers because they're ready, with tons of supplies and blood and everything, but they can't put any of it into practice, though we know there's an enormous need inside Libya.The Tunisian army has set up a field hospital with a capacity of 5,000 beds and 20 surgeons near the Libyan border, doctors said.The physicians hope that a humanitarian corridor will eventually be established to get the wounded into Tunisia, the nation that triggered the wave of uprisings in the Arab world when it kicked out its longtime ruler in mid-January.
After what we've seen on TV, it's impossible to remain indifferent to the fate of our neighbors, al-Ayashi said earlier this week. We went through a similar situation just recently, and we suffered, but in Libya, the suffering is immense.Associated Press writers Jenny Barchfield in Paris and Ben Hubbard in Cairo contributed to this report.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
MORE ON THE BACKSTAB OF OPEC-ARAB-MUSLIMS
BACK IN THE 70's THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND THE ARAB-MUSLIM NATIONS MADE AN AGREEMENT THAT IF AMERICA WOULD BUY THE OIL FROM OPEC,ARAB-MUSLIMS.THE OPEC,ARAB,MUSLIMS WOULD IN RETURN BUY A PERCENTAGE OF AMERICAS DEBT IN TREASURY-BILLS.AND OTHER BILLS.AS THE OIL GETS MORE EXPENSIVE,THEN AMERICA WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET ALL THE OIL FROM THESE OPEC,MUSLIM,ARABS.WHICH IN TURN WILL KILL THE DOLLAR,WHICH MEANS ALL THE TREASURY BILLS AND OTHER SECURITIES BOUGHT BY THESE OPEC,MUSLIM,ARAB COUNTRIES WILL BE WORTHLESS AS AMERICA WILL OPEN ALL THEIR WELLS IN ALASKA ETC IN AMERICA AND INSTANTLY STOP THE OIL FROM THE MIDEAST.THIS WILL BACKSTAB THE OPEC,MUSLIMS,ARABS AS THE T-BILLS,SECURITIES WILL BE WORTHLESS AND ALL THE MIDEAST COUNTRIES INVOLVED WILL LOSE ALL THE CASH THEY PUT INTO AMERICAS DEBT SINCE THE 70'S.http://rss.nfowars.net/20110223_Wed_Alex.mp3
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US TREASURY DEPARTMENT
http://www.treasury.gov/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.wisegeek.com/where-does-the-us-oil-supply-come-from.htm
Biggest Holders of US Gov't Debt
As the US government spends an unprecedented amount of money to fix the nation's economy, there is an equally great need to raise the cash to pay for it. This is accomplished through borrowing, whereby Uncle Sam sells Treasury securities of varying maturity.For investors, the government bills, notes and bonds are considered a safe financial product because they have a guaranteed rate of return, based on faith in future US tax revenues. The government has been partially funding operations via Treasury securities for decades.This borrowing adds to the national debt, which has recently surpassed the $14 trillion mark and is rising every day. The amount of debt is quickly approaching the federal debt ceiling, a legal limit to borrowing which currently stands at $14.294 trillion.Much of that debt is held by private sector, but about 40 percent is held by public entities, including parts of the government. Here's who owns the most.By Paul Toscano
Data summary MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES
$bn at end of period. Click heading to sort table. Download this data Country Oct 2010. Oct 2009. Oct 2008. % change, Oct 2008-Oct 2010 SOURCE: US Treasury
http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/mfh.txt
China, Mainland 906.8 938.3 684.1 32.6
Japan 877.4 742.9 629.6 39.4
United Kingdom 477.6 105.7 133.2 258.6
Oil Exporters 213.9 209 176.7 21.1
All Other 161 158 149.1 8.0
Brazil 177.6 164.9 141 26.0
Carib Bnkng Ctrs 133.7 114 203.5 -34.3
Hong Kong 139.2 137.8 69.8 99.4
Taiwan 131.2 115.6 65.9 99.1
Russia 131.6 145.9 110.8 18.8
Switzerland 101.3 85.2 62 63.4
Canada 125.2 44.8 14 794.3
Luxembourg 78.5 79.5 100.8 -22.1
Thailand 66.2 28 34 94.7
Germany 60.1 47.9 53.7 11.9
Singapore 63.6 36.3 34 87.1
Ireland 41.4 42.6 35.1 17.9
Korea, South 41.1 43.3 36.2 13.5
India 41.1 35.8 18.3 124.6
Mexico 34.9 26.5 32.2 8.4
France 35.1 29.1 20.5 71.2
Belgium 15.7 16.9 15.8 -0.6
Egypt 34.9 14.3 16.7 109.0
Turkey 27.6 30.3 27.9 -1.1
Poland 26.3 21.9
Italy 21 21.6 15.3 37.3
Norway 18.7 7.3 11.5 62.6
Netherlands 14.6 20.5 15.7 -7.0
Colombia 17.3 18.3 11.3 53.1
Israel 17.9 14.5 12.4 44.4
Sweden 15 15.3 13.5 11.1
Philippines 12.9 11.4 12.1 6.6
Chile 13.6 12.4 15 -9.3
Australia 11.8 12.8
Malaysia 11.6 11.7 8.6 34.9
Spain 13.1
Grand Total 4310.2 3573.1 2980.3 44.62
MONEY MARKETS-U.S. Treasury hikes 4-week bill issuance size
Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:09pm EST
* New sale will be $5 billion larger than last auction * Rise in 4-week issuance eases pressure on short rates * Auctions of 3-month, 6-month bills stop on the screws
(Adds U.S. information, changes byline, dateline, previous LONDON) By Emily Flitter
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday it would increase the amount of short-term paper it was issuing, taking some of the demand pressure off of Tuesday's auctions of three-month and six-month T-bills. Sales of the bills on Tuesday drew high yields that matched the yields at which comparable securities traded simultaneously in the open market, a sign that demand was still strong. But a market analyst said interest from money managers and other
buy-side firms was slightly weaker. There was a slightly weaker buyside demand in the
three-month auction,said Tom Simons, money-market economist at Jefferies & Co. in New York. We had a big increase in supply announced this morning in the front end of the bill sector.The Treasury said it would issue $40 billion in four-week bills in an auction set for Wednesday. The auction size is $5 billion larger than the previous week's four-week bill sale and $15 billion larger than the maturing issue of four-week bills. The increase in short-term supply may slightly dampen the
downward trend in short-term yields, but Simons said that was not Treasury's motivation for increasing the bill supply.
Cash balances at Treasury are starting to look like they're going to run low in the next few weeks what with the tax refunds, he said. You've just got a classic cash
management issue.Tuesday's three-month bill US3MT=RR auction drew a high yield of 0.110 percent, while the six-month bill US6MT=RR auction's high yield was 0.155 percent. Euro zone markets, meanwhile, on Tuesday brought forward their expectations for when the European Central Bank would raise interest rates after fresh ECB policymaker comments added to recent hawkish central bank rhetoric on inflation.
Luxembourg's Yves Mersch and Nout Wellink of the Netherlands said the ECB is ready to fight inflation by increasing interest rates when needed. For more see [ID:nLDE71L13A]. Interest rate futures ECBWATCH showed investors had brought forward their expectations of a 25 basis points rate hike to the ECB's Aug. 4 meeting. On Monday the first hike was not seen fully priced in until September. Euro zone Purchasing Managers' Index surveys on Monday came in above forecast while also highlighting the upturn is driving prices higher. [ID:nLDE71K0YV] Euribor futures <0#FEI:> fell across the 2011/12 strip, implying an expected rise in Euribor interbank rates, and
short-dated German bond yields climbed, flattening the euro zone benchmark bond yield curve. The benchmark three-month euro interbank Libor rate EUR3MFSR= rose for the first time in eight sessions, hitting 1.03875 percent. The equivalent Euribor rate EURIBOR3MD= also edged up.(Additional reporting by William James in London; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Arab American Business: How America and the Arab World Do Business Togetherhttp://www.arabamericangiving.org/
The business relationship between the Arab World and America has a long history that has been very beneficial and important for both regions, in numerous ways. Although the relationship is a complex one, and even though it varies on a country by country basis, there are some common patterns in the way that America and the Arab World do business together. One of the most important aspects of the relationship, for both parties, is the export of oil from the Arab World to the US. The United States is very dependent on its supply of oil from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia. It requires oil to provide power for domestic and industrial use, as well as fuel for transport. Meanwhile, many Arab countries have economies that are largely based on oil, although many parts of the Arab World are making efforts to diversify their economies. Exports of oil are responsible for much of the wealth and development of many countries in the Arab World, and America has been one of the most important destinations for exported oil.Trade between the Arab World and America does not consist solely of oil, however. Many companies in both the US and Arab countries rely on imports and exports between these two regions. The US is one of the most important trading partners for many Arab countries, and trade with the Arab World also plays an important role in the US economy. Other products that are frequently traded between America and the Arab World include vehicles, consumer goods and machinery.
The most important destinations in the Arab World for American goods are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia is the main source of Arab imports into the US, largely due to the oil industry, but other Arab countries and products are also important imports in the US.Many multinational companies are based in both America and the Arab World, although there are also many smaller businesses in both the US and the Arab World that depend on the business relationship between these two regions. Many people rely on Arab American business for their livelihoods.The Arab World is a region with a rapidly growing and diversifying economy. Some parts of the region have suffered during the recent global economic crisis, but others have remained far more stable than the rest of the world, making the financial and investment sector in the Arab World increasingly important.There is still huge potential for growth in the Arab World, and this means that the Arab business relationship with the US is likely to continue to be important for both countries. The US is the largest trading nation in the world, making it an important partner for the expanding Arab economies, while the rapidly growing economies of the Arab World are likely to continue to be an attractive and important market for the US.If you are interested in finding out more about the business relationship between the United States and the Arab World then you may want to spend some time exploring the arabamericangiving.org website, where you can find out more about the roles which Arab countries and the US play in each other's economies.
HERES INFO ABOUT THE PLO AND MOST OTHER MUSLIM COUNTRIES FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT ISRAEL.JUST THINK WHAT HAPPENS AS AMERICA BACKSTABS THE OPEC,MUSLIM,ARABS.JUST THINK HOW ALL THE ARAB ,MUSLIMS, RUSSIA, CHINA WILL WANT TO GO AFTER ISRAEL FOR AMERICA DESTROYING THEIR OIL FLO,MONEY COMING IN,OWNING ALL THAT AMERICAN DEBT AND IT WILL BE WORTHLESS AS AMERICA KILLS THE DOLLAR.
Palestinian Liberation Organization
PLO 12/12/2006
The Palestinian Liberation Organization, known by the acronym PLO, is one of the world's most successful political, religious, and paramilitary terrorist enterprises. It was conceived at a Cairo Summit by the Arab League at the behest of Egyptian President Nasser in 1964. The Palestinian Liberation Organization first convened in Jerusalem on May 29th, 1964.On June 2nd the PLO announced: The right of the Palestinian Arab people to its sacred homeland Palestine and affirming the inevitability of the battle to liberate the usurped part from it, and its determination to bring out its effective revolutionary entity and the mobilization of the capabilities and potentialities and its material, military and spiritual forces. It was a declaration of holy war.The Palestinian Liberation Organization's charter called for the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel, calling it illegal. Their means would be the constant application of terror. The PLO was and remains committed to replacing the Israeli community with an Islamic nation called Palestine.
The PLO and its member groups are controlled, funded, and equipped by the Islamic governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, and Iraq and by America and Europe. The Palestinian Liberation Organization is by far the richest terrorist club on earth with nearly $10 billion in assets. According to the United Kingdom's National Criminal Intelligence Service, the PLO has an annual income of $2 billion from charitable Islamic donations, OPEC funding, American and European Union Aid, extortion, payoffs, illegal arms dealing, drug trafficking, money laundering, and fraud. Before his death, the Economist confirmed that Yasser Arafat alone had personally confiscated $900 million. The Daily Telegraph reported in 1999 that the Palestinian Liberation Organization had $50 billion invested around the world. In the PLO, OPEC and Islam coalesced into a terrorist machine of considerable prowess.
An International Monetary Fund report titled Economic Performance and Reforms under Conflict Conditions, stated that Arafat had diverted $900 million of public P.A. funds into his own private accounts from 1995 to 2000. During this time this thief was the most frequent international guest to the Clinton White House. And a considerable portion of the money he stole came from American taxpayers. The U.S., however, did not stop or even diminish its aid to the Palestinian Authority despite the massive fraud.The PLO has become a conglomerate composed of many Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic political and religious groups and terrorist organizations. According to its founder,The PLO's goal is to drive the Jews into the sea. Their vision of Palestine is an exclusive Arab/Muslim enclave that includes all of present-day Israel from Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from the Sinai to Lebanon. Today, the PLO is indistinguishable from the political party Fatah, the governmental entity known as the Palestinian Authority, the secret police unit Force 17, the PFLP, and the terrorist group al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The five organizations share common leadership, members, and ambitions.
Ahmad Shukeiri was the PLO's first Chairman, reigning from 1964 through 1967. He was born in Lebanon to a Turkish mother and became the Syrian delegate to the United Nations in the late 1940s, unraveling the myth of being a Palestinian. Shukeiri was Secretary General for the Arab League from 1950 to 1956, and Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1957 to 1962 - which means Shukeiri had to share the Saud's Wahhabi/Salafi fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.
On May 28, 1964, Ahmad Shukeiri nominated representatives from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza (which was part of Egypt), Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq to attend his Palestinian Conference in East Jerusalem. His attendees all wore badges, similar to the PLO logo today, that showed all of Israel under their control along with a mission statement which read: We Shall Return. The reason for return, rather than stay was emblazoned on their badges was that in 1948 the Secretary General for the Arab League had told the Muslims living in what had become the state of Israel, to leave the land so that Islamic Arab armies could sweep in and slaughter Jews more efficiently and effectively.The introductory address at Ahmad Shukeiri's Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian, Iraqi, and Turkish Liberation Organization gala was made by King Hussein of Jordan - the man responsible for killing more Palestinians than anyone on earth. In his foundational speech, Shukeiri lied, telling delegates that the Palestinians had experienced 16 years of misery and it was time they relied on themselves and liberated Palestine from the Israelis. The reason I said he lied was because at the time he spoke those words the so-called Palestinian people were the most free, best educated, and most prosperous Muslims on the planet. Integrated into the free society of Israel and isolated from the oppressiveness of Islam, they had thrived. But thanks to the Palestinian Liberation Organization, that relative success would soon be a fleeting memory.
Following the Six Day War in 1967, the Islamic states which had created the PLO lost much of their legitimacy. Having failed at war, they turned to terror. Yasser Arafat, one of the five founders of the terrorist organization and political party al-Fatah (the Victorious Conquest), took advantage of the resulting power vacuum and became Chairman of the PLO in 1969. (That story is chronicled in the Islamic Clubs' account of Fatah and is worth reading.).Since Yasser Arafat remained in control of Fatah, the two organizations essentially merged. In the years which followed the PLO also absorbed the Palestine Liberation Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian Democratic Union, the Palestinian People's Party, the Hawari Group, the Abu Abbas Faction, the Arab Liberation Front, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, the Palestinian Arab Front, Force 17, Black September, and the Palestinian Authority. Collectively, the combined enterprise became very adept at killing Americans and Jews, with Robert Kennedy becoming their most famous victim.
As detailed in its charter, the PLO was founded to destroy the Israeli state and to kill as many Jews as possible in the process. While there are those who say that the PLO has significantly altered its rhetoric and goals, all evidence is to the contrary. Facilitating an appreciation of this harsh reality is one of the many purposes of the Islamic Terrorism Timeline.There are those who claim that the PLO amended their Charter in 1988 to accommodate the land for peace process touted by America, but that is not accurate. A committee without authority recommended an alteration so that the PLO would continue to receive American and European aid, but the amendment was never voted upon and the Charter itself remains unchanged. And frankly, the words on the page would be meaningless to the Islamic community and would have no effect on terror.
In the guise of the Palestinian Authority, the PLO in its addresses to English-speaking audiences has on occasion postured the notion that Israel has the right to exist so long as an independent Palestinian state is carved out of her territory. But that too is merely a ploy. The PLO's strategy, confirmed by Yasser Arafat's own admission, was based upon Muhammad's example at Hudaybiyah. There, over 1,300 years ago, Muhammad who at the time possessed insufficient arms to conquer his hometown of Mecca, promised to stop terrorizing his kin for ten years so long as the Meccans would allow him to visit Allah's rock pile of idols known as the Ka'aba. The merchants of Mecca honored the agreement but the Muslims violated the treaty a dozen times in the first 12 months according to their own witness. Then, at the end of the year, once the Meccans had been lulled into a false sense of security, Muhammad and the first Muslims roared into town with an army more than twice the size of the Meccan population and conquered the place, imposing Islam under the shade of their blood-drenched swords.But since Muhammad was supposed to be Allah's Messenger, and thus a man of his word, Islam's lone prophet revealed a situational scripture in the 9th surah of the Qur'an. It states that any treaty between Muslims and Infidels is not binding on the Muslims. If you are not familiar with this treaty, or the concept of the legal lie in Islam, please read The Tormented Terrorist,Blood & Booty, and Legacy of Terror chapters of Prophet of Doom - Islam's Terrorist Dogma in Muhammad's Own Words. Until you possess an appreciation of the fact that deception is not only permissible in Islam, but essential to the religion, you should not engage in any discussion relative to thwarting Islamic terrorism.By way of example, when Yasser Arafat stood with Yitzhak Rabin in 1993 at the conclusion of Bill Clinton's Oslo Accords and said that he conditionally recognized Israel's right to exist and promised to stop terrorizing Jews for Israeli concessions, including control over autonomous regions and access to considerable funding, several things occurred. The Jews honored the agreement and the Muslims did not. In his next speech in Arabic, Arafat told his Muslim audience that he had signed the agreement with the Infidels in the spirit of Hudaybiyah. The politicians and media yawned and innocent people started to die in unprecedented numbers. It was just like American's failed War On Terror, which served to geometrically increase terrorism rather than reduce it.
Article 18 of the Palestinian Liberation Organization Covenant reads: The claims of historic and spiritual ties between Jews and Palestine are not in agreement with the facts of history or with the true basis of sound statehood.... The Jews are not one people with an independent personality because they are citizens to their states.What they were saying was that since the Qur'an was incompatible with the historical record and with rational spiritual revelation (i.e., the Bible), history and scripture were wrong. The basis of statehood in their mind was the anti-Semitic religion of Islam, or Submission in Arabic.More to the point, by denying the Jewish historical and spiritual links to the land, the Palestinian Liberation Organization was staking their claim. In his opening remarks at the PLO's convening summit, the first chairman announced: the PLO is to the official representative of the Palestinian people.What was also interesting in this initial maneuvering is that the founders of the PLO, who represented Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, didn't see fit to give the Palestinians any of their land. And yet they had all gained control over it the same way the Jews had - by way of allocations from Britain following the defeat of the murderous abomination of the Islamic Ottoman Empire in World War I.Israel represented less than 0.2% of the Middle Eastern territory controlled by the surrounding Islamic nations. It is no richer or better, and because it is insignificant in size, the motivations behind the PLO's agenda had to be other than the liberation of this tiny swath of rocky and barren earth.What's also telling in this regard was that at their initial meeting, the PLO stated: This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip (governed by Egypt), or on the Himmah Area (controlled by Syria). Remember, this was prior to the Six Day War so the PLO's sponsors controlled the territory upon which the overwhelming preponderance of Palestinians lived. Therefore, the PLO and its sponsors wanted what belonged to the Jews, nothing more, nothing less. With this in mind, those who promote the idiotic proposition of Israel trading land (which it has too little of and Islam has too much of) to Muslims for peace (which Islam has never known) are morally, judgmentally, and intellectually handicapped.
What is ironic regarding the PLO's assertion that a Palestinian state must be established on the historic lands of Palestine is that the last of the Palestinians, a name derived from the Philistines of Gaza, were annihilated by the Assyrians and Babylonians (from today's Iran and Iraq) in the seventh century BCE. So there are no Palestinians, and there haven't been any for 2,600 years. To refer to people as Palestinians simply perpetuates a purposely deceptive marketing myth. Prior to 1948, the Muslims who lived in Israel called themselves Muslims, Arabs, Egyptians, Syrians, and Jordanians. But now, by calling themselves Palestinians, and the land Palestine, those who are ignorant of history can be compelled to believe that the place is theirs and that the Jews must have stolen it from them.There is no historic land of Palestine either. The oldest name for the region is Canaan, and that name is only found in the Torah. If you want to use it, then you'd be wise to see what else Yahweh's revelation has to say about this place. But that aside, the Canaanites no longer exist as a people. Nor do the Hittites or Phoenicians who also occupied portions of today's Israel. The land became known as Judea and as Israel following the Exodus in 16th century BCE - 3,600 years ago. The place at the crossroads of civilizations continued to be known as Judea (actually Yahuwdah (meaning belongs to Yah), named after one of Ya'aqob's sons, who in turned was named after and Abraham's God: Yahweh) and Israel (actually, Yisra'el, meaning those who live with and are empowered by God) for 1,700 years. With the exception of a couple of forced time outs in Assyria and Babylon due to bad behavior, Jews (actually Yahuwdym, meaning those who are related to and belong to Yah, or Yahweh) called this land home.
But then in the second century CE, a very bad man, the founder of the Jewish religion, Rabbi Akiba, annulled the Torah and established a new religious and political order based upon the decrees of enlightened men called rabbis, meaning those who are exalted. In 133 CE, Rabbi Akiba, in his lust for power, doomed the Jewish people and put the pieces in place that led to the Holocaust and to the PLO. He, knowing that it was a Yowbel or Jubilee Year, announced the arrival of the Messiah, a revolting warlord known as Bar Kokhba. Together they led a revolt against Rome that caused the Romans in 135 CE to change the name of the land from Judea to Palestina. In the process the Romans killed a million Jews and expelled all remaining Yahuwdym from the land, enslaving most of them. This created the Diaspora. To add insult to injury, the Romans salted Judea as they had Carthage so that no one would be able to live in the Promised Land for centuries. Therefore, no Akiba, no Diaspora. No Diaspora, no Holocaust. No Akiba, no Rabbinical Judaism, Oral Law, or Talmud. No Rabbinical Judaism, Oral Law, or Talmud, no Islam as the Qur'an was a twisted variant of them. No Akiba, no Palestine. No Palestine, no PLO.
The history of the Palestinian Liberation Organization is intertwined with that of Yasser Arafat and al-Fatah. For a greater understanding of terror's richest and most effective killing machine, you'll want to pay close attention to them as we move through time.
While the Muslim Brotherhood gave birth to terrorist organizations like the PLO and Fatah, like HAMAS and al-Qaeda, it's appropriate that the Islamic Terror Timeline opens with the founding of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The PLO and its allied franchises were responsible for the successful exportation of Islamic terrorism, serving as role models to aspiring jihadists. The PLO was the first terrorist association to successfully target Jews since Muhammad and the first Muslims had annihilated them in Saudi Arabia. And the PLO was the first Islamic enterprise to effectively attack Americans. As a result, the PLO became the cause celeb of the Islamic world and the genesis of the Islamic Terror Timeline.
Their first successful attack was the bombing of an Israeli school bus on March 18, 1968. Their last attack will occur during the Magog War - just over twenty years into our future.
Without American and Islamic OPEC support, the PLO and its derivatives would have died an ugly death a very long time ago. But their reign of terror continues because of deceptive public declarations, like the one given on Wednesday evening, October 11th, 2006. George Bush's Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said: Palestinians deserve to live better than they do, and to be free of the humiliation of occupation in a state of their own. She was therefore saying that Palestinian Muslims were the victims of humiliating oppression and terror rather than the oppressors and terrorists - the opposite of what is actually true. She was also fabricating history. Before the PLO intifada against Israel, back when Muslims were integrated into the Israeli society, the Palestinian people were the most free, least oppressed, least victimized, best educated, and most prosperous Muslims in the world. But after their violent terrorist uprising, the Palestinians who were now separated from Israel became as indoctrinated, oppressed, humiliated, impoverished, hatful, and violent as all of the other Muslims who surround Israel's oasis of relative civility.But worse than all of her revisionism and deceit, there is the moral issue. To say that the Palestinians deserve...a state of their own is to say that terrorism is a valid and justified political strategy. The Palestinians are second only to the Pakistanis in the application of terror. And the only moral response to terror is rebuke, not reward.America's second most prolific and deadly liar went on to tell the audience of Palestinians: I promise you my personal commitment to that goal. At the dinner marking the third anniversary of the American Task Force on Palestine, Rice preached: "There could be no greater legacy for America.The following day, George Bush endorsed Secretary Rice's dream. As a result, the legacy of looting Israel, of thinning the nation at its waist, of giving her land to her enemy, was vividly portrayed by the prophet Isaiah. He said that such a nation will be pruned back and that its cities would be laid waste.
Mother Tongue Transliteration:
Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah
Translated Meaning:
Palestinian National Council (PNC)
Allies:
Fatah, Al-Fatah, Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC), Palestinian National Authority (PA), Arab League, Palestinian Arab Front (PAF), Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF), Palestine Democratic Union (Fida), As-Sa'iqa, Arab Liberation Front (ALF), Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), Palestinian People's Party (PPP)
Leaders:
Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen
Base of Operation:
Israel
http://rss.nfowars.net/20110222_Tue_Alex.mp3
RELATED TO THIS STORY
http://israndjer.blogspot.com/2011/02/ken-fromm-linsey-williams-future-of-oil.html
http://www.iraniumthemovie.com/
US TREASURY DEPARTMENT
http://www.treasury.gov/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.wisegeek.com/where-does-the-us-oil-supply-come-from.htm
Biggest Holders of US Gov't Debt
As the US government spends an unprecedented amount of money to fix the nation's economy, there is an equally great need to raise the cash to pay for it. This is accomplished through borrowing, whereby Uncle Sam sells Treasury securities of varying maturity.For investors, the government bills, notes and bonds are considered a safe financial product because they have a guaranteed rate of return, based on faith in future US tax revenues. The government has been partially funding operations via Treasury securities for decades.This borrowing adds to the national debt, which has recently surpassed the $14 trillion mark and is rising every day. The amount of debt is quickly approaching the federal debt ceiling, a legal limit to borrowing which currently stands at $14.294 trillion.Much of that debt is held by private sector, but about 40 percent is held by public entities, including parts of the government. Here's who owns the most.By Paul Toscano
Data summary MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF TREASURY SECURITIES
$bn at end of period. Click heading to sort table. Download this data Country Oct 2010. Oct 2009. Oct 2008. % change, Oct 2008-Oct 2010 SOURCE: US Treasury
http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/mfh.txt
China, Mainland 906.8 938.3 684.1 32.6
Japan 877.4 742.9 629.6 39.4
United Kingdom 477.6 105.7 133.2 258.6
Oil Exporters 213.9 209 176.7 21.1
All Other 161 158 149.1 8.0
Brazil 177.6 164.9 141 26.0
Carib Bnkng Ctrs 133.7 114 203.5 -34.3
Hong Kong 139.2 137.8 69.8 99.4
Taiwan 131.2 115.6 65.9 99.1
Russia 131.6 145.9 110.8 18.8
Switzerland 101.3 85.2 62 63.4
Canada 125.2 44.8 14 794.3
Luxembourg 78.5 79.5 100.8 -22.1
Thailand 66.2 28 34 94.7
Germany 60.1 47.9 53.7 11.9
Singapore 63.6 36.3 34 87.1
Ireland 41.4 42.6 35.1 17.9
Korea, South 41.1 43.3 36.2 13.5
India 41.1 35.8 18.3 124.6
Mexico 34.9 26.5 32.2 8.4
France 35.1 29.1 20.5 71.2
Belgium 15.7 16.9 15.8 -0.6
Egypt 34.9 14.3 16.7 109.0
Turkey 27.6 30.3 27.9 -1.1
Poland 26.3 21.9
Italy 21 21.6 15.3 37.3
Norway 18.7 7.3 11.5 62.6
Netherlands 14.6 20.5 15.7 -7.0
Colombia 17.3 18.3 11.3 53.1
Israel 17.9 14.5 12.4 44.4
Sweden 15 15.3 13.5 11.1
Philippines 12.9 11.4 12.1 6.6
Chile 13.6 12.4 15 -9.3
Australia 11.8 12.8
Malaysia 11.6 11.7 8.6 34.9
Spain 13.1
Grand Total 4310.2 3573.1 2980.3 44.62
MONEY MARKETS-U.S. Treasury hikes 4-week bill issuance size
Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:09pm EST
* New sale will be $5 billion larger than last auction * Rise in 4-week issuance eases pressure on short rates * Auctions of 3-month, 6-month bills stop on the screws
(Adds U.S. information, changes byline, dateline, previous LONDON) By Emily Flitter
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday it would increase the amount of short-term paper it was issuing, taking some of the demand pressure off of Tuesday's auctions of three-month and six-month T-bills. Sales of the bills on Tuesday drew high yields that matched the yields at which comparable securities traded simultaneously in the open market, a sign that demand was still strong. But a market analyst said interest from money managers and other
buy-side firms was slightly weaker. There was a slightly weaker buyside demand in the
three-month auction,said Tom Simons, money-market economist at Jefferies & Co. in New York. We had a big increase in supply announced this morning in the front end of the bill sector.The Treasury said it would issue $40 billion in four-week bills in an auction set for Wednesday. The auction size is $5 billion larger than the previous week's four-week bill sale and $15 billion larger than the maturing issue of four-week bills. The increase in short-term supply may slightly dampen the
downward trend in short-term yields, but Simons said that was not Treasury's motivation for increasing the bill supply.
Cash balances at Treasury are starting to look like they're going to run low in the next few weeks what with the tax refunds, he said. You've just got a classic cash
management issue.Tuesday's three-month bill US3MT=RR auction drew a high yield of 0.110 percent, while the six-month bill US6MT=RR auction's high yield was 0.155 percent. Euro zone markets, meanwhile, on Tuesday brought forward their expectations for when the European Central Bank would raise interest rates after fresh ECB policymaker comments added to recent hawkish central bank rhetoric on inflation.
Luxembourg's Yves Mersch and Nout Wellink of the Netherlands said the ECB is ready to fight inflation by increasing interest rates when needed. For more see [ID:nLDE71L13A]. Interest rate futures ECBWATCH showed investors had brought forward their expectations of a 25 basis points rate hike to the ECB's Aug. 4 meeting. On Monday the first hike was not seen fully priced in until September. Euro zone Purchasing Managers' Index surveys on Monday came in above forecast while also highlighting the upturn is driving prices higher. [ID:nLDE71K0YV] Euribor futures <0#FEI:> fell across the 2011/12 strip, implying an expected rise in Euribor interbank rates, and
short-dated German bond yields climbed, flattening the euro zone benchmark bond yield curve. The benchmark three-month euro interbank Libor rate EUR3MFSR= rose for the first time in eight sessions, hitting 1.03875 percent. The equivalent Euribor rate EURIBOR3MD= also edged up.(Additional reporting by William James in London; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Arab American Business: How America and the Arab World Do Business Togetherhttp://www.arabamericangiving.org/
The business relationship between the Arab World and America has a long history that has been very beneficial and important for both regions, in numerous ways. Although the relationship is a complex one, and even though it varies on a country by country basis, there are some common patterns in the way that America and the Arab World do business together. One of the most important aspects of the relationship, for both parties, is the export of oil from the Arab World to the US. The United States is very dependent on its supply of oil from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia. It requires oil to provide power for domestic and industrial use, as well as fuel for transport. Meanwhile, many Arab countries have economies that are largely based on oil, although many parts of the Arab World are making efforts to diversify their economies. Exports of oil are responsible for much of the wealth and development of many countries in the Arab World, and America has been one of the most important destinations for exported oil.Trade between the Arab World and America does not consist solely of oil, however. Many companies in both the US and Arab countries rely on imports and exports between these two regions. The US is one of the most important trading partners for many Arab countries, and trade with the Arab World also plays an important role in the US economy. Other products that are frequently traded between America and the Arab World include vehicles, consumer goods and machinery.
The most important destinations in the Arab World for American goods are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia is the main source of Arab imports into the US, largely due to the oil industry, but other Arab countries and products are also important imports in the US.Many multinational companies are based in both America and the Arab World, although there are also many smaller businesses in both the US and the Arab World that depend on the business relationship between these two regions. Many people rely on Arab American business for their livelihoods.The Arab World is a region with a rapidly growing and diversifying economy. Some parts of the region have suffered during the recent global economic crisis, but others have remained far more stable than the rest of the world, making the financial and investment sector in the Arab World increasingly important.There is still huge potential for growth in the Arab World, and this means that the Arab business relationship with the US is likely to continue to be important for both countries. The US is the largest trading nation in the world, making it an important partner for the expanding Arab economies, while the rapidly growing economies of the Arab World are likely to continue to be an attractive and important market for the US.If you are interested in finding out more about the business relationship between the United States and the Arab World then you may want to spend some time exploring the arabamericangiving.org website, where you can find out more about the roles which Arab countries and the US play in each other's economies.
HERES INFO ABOUT THE PLO AND MOST OTHER MUSLIM COUNTRIES FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT ISRAEL.JUST THINK WHAT HAPPENS AS AMERICA BACKSTABS THE OPEC,MUSLIM,ARABS.JUST THINK HOW ALL THE ARAB ,MUSLIMS, RUSSIA, CHINA WILL WANT TO GO AFTER ISRAEL FOR AMERICA DESTROYING THEIR OIL FLO,MONEY COMING IN,OWNING ALL THAT AMERICAN DEBT AND IT WILL BE WORTHLESS AS AMERICA KILLS THE DOLLAR.
Palestinian Liberation Organization
PLO 12/12/2006
The Palestinian Liberation Organization, known by the acronym PLO, is one of the world's most successful political, religious, and paramilitary terrorist enterprises. It was conceived at a Cairo Summit by the Arab League at the behest of Egyptian President Nasser in 1964. The Palestinian Liberation Organization first convened in Jerusalem on May 29th, 1964.On June 2nd the PLO announced: The right of the Palestinian Arab people to its sacred homeland Palestine and affirming the inevitability of the battle to liberate the usurped part from it, and its determination to bring out its effective revolutionary entity and the mobilization of the capabilities and potentialities and its material, military and spiritual forces. It was a declaration of holy war.The Palestinian Liberation Organization's charter called for the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel, calling it illegal. Their means would be the constant application of terror. The PLO was and remains committed to replacing the Israeli community with an Islamic nation called Palestine.
The PLO and its member groups are controlled, funded, and equipped by the Islamic governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, and Iraq and by America and Europe. The Palestinian Liberation Organization is by far the richest terrorist club on earth with nearly $10 billion in assets. According to the United Kingdom's National Criminal Intelligence Service, the PLO has an annual income of $2 billion from charitable Islamic donations, OPEC funding, American and European Union Aid, extortion, payoffs, illegal arms dealing, drug trafficking, money laundering, and fraud. Before his death, the Economist confirmed that Yasser Arafat alone had personally confiscated $900 million. The Daily Telegraph reported in 1999 that the Palestinian Liberation Organization had $50 billion invested around the world. In the PLO, OPEC and Islam coalesced into a terrorist machine of considerable prowess.
An International Monetary Fund report titled Economic Performance and Reforms under Conflict Conditions, stated that Arafat had diverted $900 million of public P.A. funds into his own private accounts from 1995 to 2000. During this time this thief was the most frequent international guest to the Clinton White House. And a considerable portion of the money he stole came from American taxpayers. The U.S., however, did not stop or even diminish its aid to the Palestinian Authority despite the massive fraud.The PLO has become a conglomerate composed of many Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic political and religious groups and terrorist organizations. According to its founder,The PLO's goal is to drive the Jews into the sea. Their vision of Palestine is an exclusive Arab/Muslim enclave that includes all of present-day Israel from Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from the Sinai to Lebanon. Today, the PLO is indistinguishable from the political party Fatah, the governmental entity known as the Palestinian Authority, the secret police unit Force 17, the PFLP, and the terrorist group al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The five organizations share common leadership, members, and ambitions.
Ahmad Shukeiri was the PLO's first Chairman, reigning from 1964 through 1967. He was born in Lebanon to a Turkish mother and became the Syrian delegate to the United Nations in the late 1940s, unraveling the myth of being a Palestinian. Shukeiri was Secretary General for the Arab League from 1950 to 1956, and Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1957 to 1962 - which means Shukeiri had to share the Saud's Wahhabi/Salafi fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.
On May 28, 1964, Ahmad Shukeiri nominated representatives from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza (which was part of Egypt), Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq to attend his Palestinian Conference in East Jerusalem. His attendees all wore badges, similar to the PLO logo today, that showed all of Israel under their control along with a mission statement which read: We Shall Return. The reason for return, rather than stay was emblazoned on their badges was that in 1948 the Secretary General for the Arab League had told the Muslims living in what had become the state of Israel, to leave the land so that Islamic Arab armies could sweep in and slaughter Jews more efficiently and effectively.The introductory address at Ahmad Shukeiri's Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian, Iraqi, and Turkish Liberation Organization gala was made by King Hussein of Jordan - the man responsible for killing more Palestinians than anyone on earth. In his foundational speech, Shukeiri lied, telling delegates that the Palestinians had experienced 16 years of misery and it was time they relied on themselves and liberated Palestine from the Israelis. The reason I said he lied was because at the time he spoke those words the so-called Palestinian people were the most free, best educated, and most prosperous Muslims on the planet. Integrated into the free society of Israel and isolated from the oppressiveness of Islam, they had thrived. But thanks to the Palestinian Liberation Organization, that relative success would soon be a fleeting memory.
Following the Six Day War in 1967, the Islamic states which had created the PLO lost much of their legitimacy. Having failed at war, they turned to terror. Yasser Arafat, one of the five founders of the terrorist organization and political party al-Fatah (the Victorious Conquest), took advantage of the resulting power vacuum and became Chairman of the PLO in 1969. (That story is chronicled in the Islamic Clubs' account of Fatah and is worth reading.).Since Yasser Arafat remained in control of Fatah, the two organizations essentially merged. In the years which followed the PLO also absorbed the Palestine Liberation Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian Democratic Union, the Palestinian People's Party, the Hawari Group, the Abu Abbas Faction, the Arab Liberation Front, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, the Palestinian Arab Front, Force 17, Black September, and the Palestinian Authority. Collectively, the combined enterprise became very adept at killing Americans and Jews, with Robert Kennedy becoming their most famous victim.
As detailed in its charter, the PLO was founded to destroy the Israeli state and to kill as many Jews as possible in the process. While there are those who say that the PLO has significantly altered its rhetoric and goals, all evidence is to the contrary. Facilitating an appreciation of this harsh reality is one of the many purposes of the Islamic Terrorism Timeline.There are those who claim that the PLO amended their Charter in 1988 to accommodate the land for peace process touted by America, but that is not accurate. A committee without authority recommended an alteration so that the PLO would continue to receive American and European aid, but the amendment was never voted upon and the Charter itself remains unchanged. And frankly, the words on the page would be meaningless to the Islamic community and would have no effect on terror.
In the guise of the Palestinian Authority, the PLO in its addresses to English-speaking audiences has on occasion postured the notion that Israel has the right to exist so long as an independent Palestinian state is carved out of her territory. But that too is merely a ploy. The PLO's strategy, confirmed by Yasser Arafat's own admission, was based upon Muhammad's example at Hudaybiyah. There, over 1,300 years ago, Muhammad who at the time possessed insufficient arms to conquer his hometown of Mecca, promised to stop terrorizing his kin for ten years so long as the Meccans would allow him to visit Allah's rock pile of idols known as the Ka'aba. The merchants of Mecca honored the agreement but the Muslims violated the treaty a dozen times in the first 12 months according to their own witness. Then, at the end of the year, once the Meccans had been lulled into a false sense of security, Muhammad and the first Muslims roared into town with an army more than twice the size of the Meccan population and conquered the place, imposing Islam under the shade of their blood-drenched swords.But since Muhammad was supposed to be Allah's Messenger, and thus a man of his word, Islam's lone prophet revealed a situational scripture in the 9th surah of the Qur'an. It states that any treaty between Muslims and Infidels is not binding on the Muslims. If you are not familiar with this treaty, or the concept of the legal lie in Islam, please read The Tormented Terrorist,Blood & Booty, and Legacy of Terror chapters of Prophet of Doom - Islam's Terrorist Dogma in Muhammad's Own Words. Until you possess an appreciation of the fact that deception is not only permissible in Islam, but essential to the religion, you should not engage in any discussion relative to thwarting Islamic terrorism.By way of example, when Yasser Arafat stood with Yitzhak Rabin in 1993 at the conclusion of Bill Clinton's Oslo Accords and said that he conditionally recognized Israel's right to exist and promised to stop terrorizing Jews for Israeli concessions, including control over autonomous regions and access to considerable funding, several things occurred. The Jews honored the agreement and the Muslims did not. In his next speech in Arabic, Arafat told his Muslim audience that he had signed the agreement with the Infidels in the spirit of Hudaybiyah. The politicians and media yawned and innocent people started to die in unprecedented numbers. It was just like American's failed War On Terror, which served to geometrically increase terrorism rather than reduce it.
Article 18 of the Palestinian Liberation Organization Covenant reads: The claims of historic and spiritual ties between Jews and Palestine are not in agreement with the facts of history or with the true basis of sound statehood.... The Jews are not one people with an independent personality because they are citizens to their states.What they were saying was that since the Qur'an was incompatible with the historical record and with rational spiritual revelation (i.e., the Bible), history and scripture were wrong. The basis of statehood in their mind was the anti-Semitic religion of Islam, or Submission in Arabic.More to the point, by denying the Jewish historical and spiritual links to the land, the Palestinian Liberation Organization was staking their claim. In his opening remarks at the PLO's convening summit, the first chairman announced: the PLO is to the official representative of the Palestinian people.What was also interesting in this initial maneuvering is that the founders of the PLO, who represented Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, didn't see fit to give the Palestinians any of their land. And yet they had all gained control over it the same way the Jews had - by way of allocations from Britain following the defeat of the murderous abomination of the Islamic Ottoman Empire in World War I.Israel represented less than 0.2% of the Middle Eastern territory controlled by the surrounding Islamic nations. It is no richer or better, and because it is insignificant in size, the motivations behind the PLO's agenda had to be other than the liberation of this tiny swath of rocky and barren earth.What's also telling in this regard was that at their initial meeting, the PLO stated: This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip (governed by Egypt), or on the Himmah Area (controlled by Syria). Remember, this was prior to the Six Day War so the PLO's sponsors controlled the territory upon which the overwhelming preponderance of Palestinians lived. Therefore, the PLO and its sponsors wanted what belonged to the Jews, nothing more, nothing less. With this in mind, those who promote the idiotic proposition of Israel trading land (which it has too little of and Islam has too much of) to Muslims for peace (which Islam has never known) are morally, judgmentally, and intellectually handicapped.
What is ironic regarding the PLO's assertion that a Palestinian state must be established on the historic lands of Palestine is that the last of the Palestinians, a name derived from the Philistines of Gaza, were annihilated by the Assyrians and Babylonians (from today's Iran and Iraq) in the seventh century BCE. So there are no Palestinians, and there haven't been any for 2,600 years. To refer to people as Palestinians simply perpetuates a purposely deceptive marketing myth. Prior to 1948, the Muslims who lived in Israel called themselves Muslims, Arabs, Egyptians, Syrians, and Jordanians. But now, by calling themselves Palestinians, and the land Palestine, those who are ignorant of history can be compelled to believe that the place is theirs and that the Jews must have stolen it from them.There is no historic land of Palestine either. The oldest name for the region is Canaan, and that name is only found in the Torah. If you want to use it, then you'd be wise to see what else Yahweh's revelation has to say about this place. But that aside, the Canaanites no longer exist as a people. Nor do the Hittites or Phoenicians who also occupied portions of today's Israel. The land became known as Judea and as Israel following the Exodus in 16th century BCE - 3,600 years ago. The place at the crossroads of civilizations continued to be known as Judea (actually Yahuwdah (meaning belongs to Yah), named after one of Ya'aqob's sons, who in turned was named after and Abraham's God: Yahweh) and Israel (actually, Yisra'el, meaning those who live with and are empowered by God) for 1,700 years. With the exception of a couple of forced time outs in Assyria and Babylon due to bad behavior, Jews (actually Yahuwdym, meaning those who are related to and belong to Yah, or Yahweh) called this land home.
But then in the second century CE, a very bad man, the founder of the Jewish religion, Rabbi Akiba, annulled the Torah and established a new religious and political order based upon the decrees of enlightened men called rabbis, meaning those who are exalted. In 133 CE, Rabbi Akiba, in his lust for power, doomed the Jewish people and put the pieces in place that led to the Holocaust and to the PLO. He, knowing that it was a Yowbel or Jubilee Year, announced the arrival of the Messiah, a revolting warlord known as Bar Kokhba. Together they led a revolt against Rome that caused the Romans in 135 CE to change the name of the land from Judea to Palestina. In the process the Romans killed a million Jews and expelled all remaining Yahuwdym from the land, enslaving most of them. This created the Diaspora. To add insult to injury, the Romans salted Judea as they had Carthage so that no one would be able to live in the Promised Land for centuries. Therefore, no Akiba, no Diaspora. No Diaspora, no Holocaust. No Akiba, no Rabbinical Judaism, Oral Law, or Talmud. No Rabbinical Judaism, Oral Law, or Talmud, no Islam as the Qur'an was a twisted variant of them. No Akiba, no Palestine. No Palestine, no PLO.
The history of the Palestinian Liberation Organization is intertwined with that of Yasser Arafat and al-Fatah. For a greater understanding of terror's richest and most effective killing machine, you'll want to pay close attention to them as we move through time.
While the Muslim Brotherhood gave birth to terrorist organizations like the PLO and Fatah, like HAMAS and al-Qaeda, it's appropriate that the Islamic Terror Timeline opens with the founding of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The PLO and its allied franchises were responsible for the successful exportation of Islamic terrorism, serving as role models to aspiring jihadists. The PLO was the first terrorist association to successfully target Jews since Muhammad and the first Muslims had annihilated them in Saudi Arabia. And the PLO was the first Islamic enterprise to effectively attack Americans. As a result, the PLO became the cause celeb of the Islamic world and the genesis of the Islamic Terror Timeline.
Their first successful attack was the bombing of an Israeli school bus on March 18, 1968. Their last attack will occur during the Magog War - just over twenty years into our future.
Without American and Islamic OPEC support, the PLO and its derivatives would have died an ugly death a very long time ago. But their reign of terror continues because of deceptive public declarations, like the one given on Wednesday evening, October 11th, 2006. George Bush's Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said: Palestinians deserve to live better than they do, and to be free of the humiliation of occupation in a state of their own. She was therefore saying that Palestinian Muslims were the victims of humiliating oppression and terror rather than the oppressors and terrorists - the opposite of what is actually true. She was also fabricating history. Before the PLO intifada against Israel, back when Muslims were integrated into the Israeli society, the Palestinian people were the most free, least oppressed, least victimized, best educated, and most prosperous Muslims in the world. But after their violent terrorist uprising, the Palestinians who were now separated from Israel became as indoctrinated, oppressed, humiliated, impoverished, hatful, and violent as all of the other Muslims who surround Israel's oasis of relative civility.But worse than all of her revisionism and deceit, there is the moral issue. To say that the Palestinians deserve...a state of their own is to say that terrorism is a valid and justified political strategy. The Palestinians are second only to the Pakistanis in the application of terror. And the only moral response to terror is rebuke, not reward.America's second most prolific and deadly liar went on to tell the audience of Palestinians: I promise you my personal commitment to that goal. At the dinner marking the third anniversary of the American Task Force on Palestine, Rice preached: "There could be no greater legacy for America.The following day, George Bush endorsed Secretary Rice's dream. As a result, the legacy of looting Israel, of thinning the nation at its waist, of giving her land to her enemy, was vividly portrayed by the prophet Isaiah. He said that such a nation will be pruned back and that its cities would be laid waste.
Mother Tongue Transliteration:
Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah
Translated Meaning:
Palestinian National Council (PNC)
Allies:
Fatah, Al-Fatah, Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC), Palestinian National Authority (PA), Arab League, Palestinian Arab Front (PAF), Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF), Palestine Democratic Union (Fida), As-Sa'iqa, Arab Liberation Front (ALF), Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), Palestinian People's Party (PPP)
Leaders:
Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen
Base of Operation:
Israel
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
EUROPE LONGS TO BACK MIDEAST CHANGE
ITS 12:15PM FEB 23,2011 AND OIL IS $99.49 A BARREL.UP $3.00 FROM THE OPEN.
Oil Prices Skyrocket After Williams’ Latest Revelations
Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com February 23, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFqEICw8jU0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-kmI1hzbI0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa2zhJh2s3E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4DrVAHVNXA&feature=player_embedded
On the day after pastor Lindsey Williams went on the Alex Jones Show and talked about the globalist plan to destroy the dollar and jack up oil prices through the stratosphere in an effort to wreck the economy, the price of oil went up to just short of $100 per barrel. Sources inside the oil industry told Williams the price will ultimately reach between $150 and $200 per barrel. Williams also told Alex Jones the oil producers Saudi Arabia and Iran will be targeted.Analaysts are predicting that the situation unfolding in Libya may spread to Saudi Arabia and other oil producers in the region and this will result in radical price fluctuations as sharp as those in the 1970s when an OPEC embargo produced serious gasoline shortages in the United States.In Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery went up 74 cents at $96.16 a barrel, the highest since October 2008. The contract skyrocketed to $5.71, or 6.4 percent, and settled at $95.42 on Tuesday.Reports indicate Gaddafi’s security forces may sabotage the country’s oil industry. Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities. They will start by blowing up several oil pipelines, cutting off flow to Mediterranean ports. The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya’s rebellious tribes: It’s either me or chaos, writes Ismail Zitouny for Reuters.
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa. It is the world’s 15th-largest crude exporter at 1.2 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration.Earlier in the week the Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF suspended operations in Libya. Other oil companies – including Italy’s Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, U.K.-based BP and Germany’s Wintershall – have started transporting employees out of the country.The corporate media is getting Americans accustomed to the prospect of gas at $5 or more a gallon. If this thing escalates and there’s a good chance that there’d be a shift in supplies, $5 gas isn’t out of the question, Darin Newsom, senior analyst at energy tracker DTN, told USA Today.Every 10-cent increase in gas prices translates to an additional $14 billion per year out of consumers’ pockets, Peter Boockvar, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak, wrote in a research note in January. Americans spend $1 billion per day on gas, according to the Washsington Post.The massive U.S. deficit and national debt have worked to undermine the dollar and threaten its status as the world’s reserve currency. A weaker dollar also drives up the price of oil.Oil is traded in dollars and a weak dollar means foreign investors can buy more oil, which in turn drives up the price.
Israeli fire targets militants after mortar attack
FEB 23,11 11AM
GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli tank fire wounded two Palestinian militants and two civilians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, medical officials and a militant group said.The Israeli military said its troops shot at a group of militants after an explosive device exploded near an Israeli patrol along the frontier and mortar bombs were fired at the soldiers and into Israel.The Islamic Jihad militant group said two of its members were wounded by tank shells after firing a projectile. Medical officials in the Gaza Strip said two civilians also were hurt.(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Writing by Jeffrey Heller)
Europe longs to back Mideast change, fears chaos
By MELISSA EDDY, Associated Press - FEB 23,11
BERLIN – Revolutions hurtling through the Middle East have inspired millions of Europeans, who recall the awe they felt when communist regimes crumbled across the former Soviet bloc. But along with excitement come questions, fears and doubts — as the flames of revolt shoot up on the continent's very doorstep.Europe has long seen itself as a champion of democracy, and its ideals are being tested by the real life consequences of democratic change sweeping a region that supplies a great part its immigrant population, one that has become increasingly restive in recent years.Many fear a flood of refugees hitting European shores, a concern made urgent by the crush of thousands of Tunisians who turned up in Italy after the North African country overthrew its autocrat, and signs that Libya — long a gateway of illegal emigration to Europe — is on the verge of implosion.Questions are also emerging about whether the spirit of revolt might also take root among Europe-based Arabs, who often accuse their host countries of racism and blame the colonial past for many of their woes.
All of these problems that led to revolutions in the Arab world are also daily life in France and are more and more unbearable, Yacine Djaziri, whose Bondy Blog chronicles life in immigrant-heavy Paris suburbs that exploded in riots in 2005, wrote recently.How do we fix it? Do we need to set ourselves on fire? Be resigned? Get angry? Revolt? Balanced with fears are calls for hope and solidarity: some European officials on Monday proposed a Marshall Plan for the Middle East, drawing an explicit parallel to the continent's U.S.-funded reconstruction after World War II that testifies to the magnitude of the drama unfolding across the Mediterranean.
But Europeans ask: who's going to pay when they're engulfed in a debt crisis that threatens to darken the future of an entire generation? Germany pumps enough money into foreign countries already, said Marcel Mueller, 27, who works in the service industry.Germans can well imagine the burden they might shoulder to help fund a Marshall Plan for the Arab world: 20 years after reunification, they are still charged an extra solidarity tax to subsidize reconstruction in the former communist east — estimated at some euro1.3 billion ($1.78 billion).European Investment Bank President Philippe Maystadt estimated Tuesday that to support a transition to democracy in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries in the region it would need to lend euro6 billion ($8.2 billion) over the next three years.Images of boatloads of migrants, mostly from Tunisia, washing up on the tiny Sicilian fishing village of Lampedusa struck many as a harbinger of mass-scale flight to the European Union. The explosion of revolt in Libya — this time countered by a bloody crackdown — has compounded fears of a migration crisis.It's a problem that worries us all, because the situation spurred many to arrive, said Alberto Brizzi, a waiter at a Rome trattoria. The people take off thinking that they'll find something better than in their country. But that's not so.As Tunisians flooded Lampedusa earlier this month, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, of the anti-immigrant Northern League, stoked fears that terrorists and al-Qaida supporters could have mingled among what he described as a biblical exodus of migrants.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has urged leaders to recognize the unique opportunity right now to promote democracy, human rights and civil liberties in our neighborhood.But Europe has been struggling for years with its most high-profile project to foster partnership with a neighboring Muslim nation: EU membership negotiations with Turkey, widely viewed as a model of how Islam and democracy can flourish together, have all but fallen apart — largely due to hostility from Germany and France.The promise of EU membership was a key factor in Turkey implementing the democratic, judicial and economic reforms that have transformed the nation into an emerging power. Now, with Europe an increasingly distant dream, it has been forging closer ties with Iran, Russia, and others often at odds with the West.A recent survey by Germany's ARD public broadcaster showed 43 percent of those polled said they are worried about the upheaval in the Middle East, compared with 41 percent who said they feel optimistic, according to the survey of 1,000 Germans. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 to 3.1 percentage points.The top fear was instability and chaos, with 47 percent listing it a concern, followed by 25 percent who worried about a stream of migrants hitting Europe's shores, and 21 percent who fear Islamists will take over power.Last week the European Union promised euro258 million ($347 million) in aid to Tunisia from now until 2013. In Brussels Monday, EU foreign ministers pledged support to the peoples of the south Mediterranean and their legitimate hopes and aspirations for democratic change, social justice and economic development.The call for an ambitious reconstruction program, however, comes at a time when EU countries are already smarting from having to bail out both Greece and Ireland from the verge of bankruptcy. Protracted wrangling over those rescues shows how difficult it will be to achieve any meaningful plan for the Middle East. Experts say Europe is viewing democratic change in the Middle East much more cautiously than the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, naming the threat of Islamic fundamentalism as the continent's major concern.New leaders could take power whose policies would not be favorable to the goals of EU and NATO,said Tomas Karasek, an analyst with the Association for International Affairs in Prague.This is a major threat.Other Europeans say the world must embrace a historic opportunity in the Middle East — regardless of the risks.We should make it clear that we are on the same side as the democracy movement, Danish lawmaker Naser Khader said.We should not let ourselves be threatened by reports of refugee flows. It is in our interest that North Africa, that the Arab world becomes democratic.Associated Press Writers Raf Casert in Brussels, Valentina Chiarini, Alba Tobella, and Frances D'Emilio in Rome, Jan Olsen in Copenhagen, Angela Doland in Paris and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.
US tries to reassure Gulf allies shaken by revolts
by Mathieu Rabechault - FEB 23,11
ABU DHABI (AFP) – Washington's highest-ranking military officer and its top Middle East diplomat are touring the Gulf this week to reassure allies in oil-rich nations, as bloody uprisings rock the region.Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week as part of a tour that was scheduled well before the uprisings.Members of is entourage said he may also stop in Bahrain -- home of the US Fifth Fleet -- which has been gripped by a popular revolt challenging the rule of the Sunni dynasty in power for over 200 years.The top US diplomat for the Middle East Jeffrey Feltman has also embarked on a tour of oil-rich Arab Gulf states Tuesday and is expected to visit Bahrain as well.The State Department said Feltman would also visit Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the UEA to press for political and economic reform, saying there was a critical need to address such calls for change.
Mullen has said his trip aimed to reassure, discuss and understand what's going on and has called for a peaceful resolution to confrontations between opposition groups and governments in the Arab world.This a time of enormous change that needs to be resolved peacefully without violence and leaders have to step forward in that regard, he said.Mullen praised the decision of Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman Ben Hamad Al-Khalifa to hold talks with demonstrators saying it had relieved a number of leaders (he spoke to during his tour) in terms of easing tensions.US President Barack Obama's chief military adviser has also met with counterparts in the region to convey support from Washington, which also has military bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.Seven people have been killed in Bahrain since the revolt was unleashed on February 14 in the small Sunni-ruled kingdom with a Shiite majority.
The unrest has bolstered fears that Iran's Shiite regime will take advantage of the crisis.But Mullen has said he did not see Tehran's hand behind Manama's protests.
Iran, I still believe, is a country that continues to foment instability in the region, take advantage of every opportunity... (but) from my perspective that has not been the principal focus of what happened in Egypt or what happened in Bahrain or any of these other countries,he said.About 4,200 US troops are stationed in Bahrain to protect the Gulf's maritime oil routes supplying US operations in Afghanistan.Manama and Washington are bound by a 1991 defense pact which stipulates bilateral consultations in cases of security threats against Bahrain, Middle East expert Kenneth Katzman said in a Congress report.What could be at stake here is an ability to have forces in the Gulf to reassure our allies... that they will be protected from Iran, David Aaron, a senior fellow at the RAND Corporation think-tank, told AFP.Saudi Arabia, irritated by outside interference from Washington during the revolt against Egyptian Hosni Mubarak, remains at the heart of US strategy in the region.From the outbreak of unrest, Riyadh has offered unwavering support to Bahrain, fearing protests could destabilise its oil-rich eastern provinces and agitate the Shiite communities living there, a potential boon for Iran. Bahrain is a proxy battleground in the broader geopolitical struggle between Saudi Arabia, the United States and Iran, says the US firm Stratfor, which specializes in intelligence.
PM urges Arab reform not repression
– Wed Feb 23, 3:25 am ET
KUWAIT CITY (AFP) – David Cameron has said that reform -- not repression holds the key to stability in the Arab world, as protests across the region overshadowed his trade visit to Kuwait.A day after he became the first foreign leader to visit Cairo since the February 11 fall of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak, Cameron said on Tuesday that the Arab uprisings gave the region a precious moment of opportunity for reform.For decades, some have argued that stability required highly controlling regimes, and that reform and openness would put that stability at risk, the prime minister said in a speech to Kuwait's parliament.But this was a false choice, he argued. As recent events have confirmed, denying people their basic rights does not preserve stability, rather the reverse.Cameron said the most resilient societies possessed key democratic building blocks such as government accountability, freedom to communicate and freedom to learn and work.In short, reform -- not repression -- is the only way to maintain stability, he said.Cameron was accompanied by 36 business leaders on his visit to the Gulf for what had long been planned as a trade trip. A stop in Cairo was added at the last minute following the fall of Mubarak.
The premier agreed with Kuwait on Tuesday to double two-way trade and investment, which currently stands at $3.2 billion, by 2015.But the inclusion of defence firms Thales, BAE Systems and QinetiQ in his delegation prompted critics at home to question if Britain should be trying to sell arms in a region where governments were cracking down on protests.The defence industry is crucially important to Britain but many people will be surprised that the prime minister in this week of all weeks may be considering bolstering arms sales to the Middle East, Kevan Jones, defence spokesman for the opposition Labour party, told The Guardian newspaper.Denis MacShane, a former Labour Foreign Office minister, told the paper: It shows insensitivity and crassness of a high order for the prime minister to take arms salesmen with him on his Middle East trip.But Cameron rejected the criticism, noting that his visit to Kuwait was timed to coincide with events marking the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War, sparked by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's invasion of the country.I seem to remember we spent a lot of effort and indeed life in defending and helping to defend Kuwait, Cameron told reporters travelling with him.So the idea that Britain should not have defence relationships with some of these countries, I don't understand. It is quite right that we do, the premier insisted.In Cairo, Cameron met Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt's de facto leader, just 10 days after Mubarak stood down in the face of an unprecedented popular uprising.
Cameron, in front of Kuwait's national assembly, also renewed his condemnation of the appalling crackdown on anti-regime protesters by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's security forces.Violence is not the answer to people's legitimate aspirations. Using force cannot resolve grievances, only multiply them, he said.The British premier said reform could also play its part in countering Islamist extremism, saying people often turned to violence when they were denied a voice or employment. The protests since January which have overthrow the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia were not driven by ideology but by an expression of aspiration from a new generation hungry for political and economic freedoms.Cameron stressed that reform was a key part of the antidote of the extremism that threatens the security of us all.
Iran ships pass via Suez, Israel says provocation
By Yusri Mohamed – Tue Feb 22, 3:42 pm ET
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) – Two Iranian naval ships passed through Egypt's Suez Canal into the Mediterranean on Tuesday heading for Syria, a source at the canal authority said, a move that Israel condemned as a provocation.Iran appears to be testing the state of affairs in the Middle East after the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. A longstanding peace treaty with Egypt is crucial to Israel's regional security.Washington said it was monitoring the ships' movement.The ships entered the canal at 5.45 a.m. (10:45 p.m. EST on Monday) on Tuesday and passed into the Mediterranean at 3.30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. EST), the Suez Canal Authority source told Reuters.Their return is expected to be on March 3, the source said.The Suez Canal cuts through Egypt and allows shipping to pass from the Middle East to Europe and vice versa without going around the southern tip of Africa.The canal's northern mouth, Port Said, is around 100 km (60 miles) from Israel, but the ships' route would take them into the Mediterranean along Gaza and the Israeli coast. The vessels, the first Iranian navy ships to enter the canal since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, are a frigate and a supply ship.
Israel is anxious about political upheaval in Egypt and other Arab states aligned with its ally the United States. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said he would take a grave view of the passage of Iranian naval ships.Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon told Israel's Channel 2 television on Tuesday: It's an Iranian provocation. When you look at the Middle East, wherever the Iranians weigh in, the situation is not good.He added: It certainly does not bode well, but these two ships are not an immediate threat against us.Israeli media have quoted unnamed navy officials as saying the Iranian vessels would be tracked, but not confronted.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said: We the United States have for a long time supported freedom of navigation, so the decision to allow them to transit the Canal is a decision between Iran and Egypt.Obviously we have concerns about Iran's behavior in the region, we'll be watching carefully,he said.
GLOBAL ARROGANCE
Iran's deputy commander of the army, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was quoted by the official Irna news agency on Tuesday as saying that Israel was astonished by the presence of Iranian naval vessels in the canal.Using a term by which Iran refers to the United States, he added: "The global arrogance must know that the Islamic Republic of Iran's army is fully prepared to defend its goals.The world should know that the presence of Iranian warships in the Suez Canal has taken place ... through the deep guidance of the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and our young and brave personnel's self-confidence.A recently completed Israeli war game, the first since Mubarak quit Egypt's presidency, concluded it would boost military preparations but try to avoid confrontation unless it sees a greater threat from Iran.Separately, Israel announced on Tuesday that its Arrow II missile shield had aced its latest live trial, shooting down a target missile off a U.S. military base on the California coast.Israeli defense official Arieh Herzog said the test marked Arrow's upgrade to contend with new and additional threats in the Middle East.Arrow can intercept all of the weapons arrayed against it in the region, including those that are liable to come from Iran,Herzog told reporters.Egypt's ruling military council, facing its first diplomatic headache since taking power on February 11, approved the Iranian vessels' passage through the canal, a vital global trading route and major source of revenue for the Egyptian authorities.
The decision was difficult for Egypt's interim government. Cairo is an ally of the United States while its relations with Iran have been strained for more than three decades.Analysts say Iran sees itself benefiting from the upheaval across the Middle East. Dislodgement and weakening of leaders sympathetic to the United States are likely to embolden Tehran, and lessen the chances of it making concessions on its nuclear program. Iran denies it intends to build atomic weapons.(Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Zahra Hosseinian in Tehran and Dina Zayed in Cairo; Writing by Edmund Blair, Maria Golovnina and Sarah Mikhail; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
PM Fayyad proposes unity government with Hamas
– Tue Feb 22, 12:00 pm ET
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad has proposed forming a unity government with Hamas, under which the Islamist group would have responsibility for security in Gaza.Speaking to Palestinian journalists late on Monday, Fayyad said the security concept applied by Hamas in Gaza, where the group has sought to enforce a ceasefire with Israel, could provide common ground.The security concept practised by Hamas in the Gaza Strip should be brought under an official framework because it is not different from what is practised by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Fayyad said.After a national unity government is formed, it can take on the task of supervising a security agreement based on the institutions in place in the West Bank and Gaza.The compatibility between the policy adopted by the Palestinian leadership and that applied by Hamas on the ground in Gaza... opens the way for a national unity government to immediately manage affairs of state, he added.Fayyad's proposal, which comes as he seeks to form a new government, would not vastly change the situation on the ground in Gaza or the West Bank. But it could pave the way for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.Longtime bitter rivals, the tensions between the two groups boiled over in 2007, a year after Hamas won legislative elections. Bloody clashes between the two saw Hamas oust Fatah from the Gaza Strip and take control.
The West Bank, which is under the control of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, has been effectively cut off from the Gaza Strip ever since.Repeated attempts at reconciliation between the groups have led nowhere, and the collapse of the Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak, which played a key role in reconciliation efforts, has created new uncertainty.The issue of control of the security forces has been a key stumbling block in each round of reconciliation talks, with both sides refusing to cede authority over their security apparatus.Hamas responded to the latest calls for unity with suspicion.These declarations lack seriousness and credibility, they make no sense in light of the continued arrests and torture (of Hamas members) in Fatah prisons in the West Bank, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Monday.The only real way towards reconciliation is to stop the arrests, free the detainees and allow the movement's charities to start helping the Palestinian people again, he told AFP.Hamas and Fatah have carried out periodic arrests of each other's members, often holding detainees without charge or trial and routinely trading allegations of prisoner abuse.The formation of a national unity government can only be achieved in the context of an all-encompassing national solution and not a partial one, Abu Zuhri said, referring to calls for the establishment of a coalition which would rule until parliamentary elections can be held at some point before September.
Israel conflict not linked to Arab turmoil: FM
– Tue Feb 22, 10:04 am ET
BRUSSELS (AFP) – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said Tuesday there was no linkage between turmoil in the Arab world and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the EU pressed for quick progress on peace talks to ensure stability.The Israel-Palestinian conflict is not the main issue, not the main problem, Lieberman said after talks in Brussels on EU-Israeli ties.The main reason for instability is poverty, misery, inefficient government, he said at a press conference briefly interrupted by a protestor shouting Free Palestine! Israel is a criminal state.I don't see linkage between Israel-Palestine and unrest in Egypt, Bahrain or Egypt and Libya, Lieberman added.Hungary's Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, however, said the situation across the Middle East called for quick progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks.The dramatic changes, the regional instability which result from them ... make progress on the peace process more imperative and more urgent than ever before.The time is pressing, he added.In Brussels for a 10th round of talks on the EU-Israel Association agreement, which covers trade and cooperation in a wide range of fields, Lieberman nevertheless said it was very important to see progress in the peace process.Urging the EU to help bring the Palestinian side to the negotiating table, Lieberman said It's crucial to keep the political process alive and expressed hopes that new governments in the region would respect all the agreements signed in the past.
I don't see any peace process without direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, he added.We're ready for direct talks any place at any time.With the EU currently Israel's leading commercial partner, both sides pledged to move forward in the 11-year partnership that involves trade, agriculture, R&D and police and judicial cooperation.It's a solid and vibrant partnership,said Martonyi.
Egypt delays stock market's reopening By Tarek El-tablawy, Ap Business Writer – Tue Feb 22, 9:08 am ET
CAIRO – Egypt's stock exchange postponed its already long-delayed reopening until next week and markets in the Gulf Arab region posted their third consecutive day of declines as unrest in Libya and elsewhere in the region battered already fragile investor confidence in the Mideast.Standard & Poor's, meanwhile, became the second credit agency in as many days to cut Libya's ratings, citing the kind of violence that has been unseen in Moammar Gadhafi's nearly 42-year leadership of that OPEC member state.The Egyptian Exchange's decision to postpone its relaunch would mean that the market will have been closed for a month, assuming it restarts on Feb. 27. The exchange, in an e-mailed statement, said the decision followed consultations with the Egyptian Financial Services Supervisory Authority and brokerage houses. It did not specify a date for the relaunch.The decision appeared to reflect that continued anxiety in Egypt about the country's economic woes following 18 days of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak were being compounded by broader unrest in the region.Unrest also has hit Yemen and Bahrain, putting the demonstrations on the other side of a causeway from Saudi Arabia.The Dubai Financial Market's main index closed down 2.44 percent, to 1,479 points, while Saudi Arabia's TASI index rebounded from losses of over 1 percent earlier in the day. But the TASI still closed down 0.35percent, or 6,277 points.
You've got a political risk that is being leveled on local and regional equity markets. It's increasing day by day as we see more violence, particularly in Libya, said Haissam Arabi, chief executive of Gulfmena Alternative Investments, a fund management firm in Dubai.This is a situation where sentiment takes precedence over science and fundamentals, Arabi said.In Dubai, Emaar Properties, the developer behind Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, closed down 2 percent, hitting 2.92 Emirati dirhams. Courier Aramex, meanwhile, saw its shares slide 7.36 percent to 1.51 dirhams.Abu Dhabi's benchmark index closed down 1.57 percent, to 2,579 points, with the construction and real estate sectors recording the biggest declines.
Qatar's exchange was off 3.57 percent, bringing its year-to-date losses to more than 5.3 percent. The country, which is poised for a construction boom as it prepares to host the World Cup in 2022 and has some of the world's biggest natural gas reserves, has been one of the few in the region able to post staggering GDP growth figures, even during the global financial meltdown.While Arabi said the region's markets are driven largely by retail investors, big institutional buyers overseas are also spooked by the continuing unrest.Foreign investors feel as though they really can't tell the difference between countries in the Middle East and North Africa, he said. The level of awareness, especially when it comes to politics, is really only what people see on CNN.As long as the unrest keeps up, Arabi believes there could be further pressure to sell off stocks in the region.The declines built on losses that have accrued since Sunday and come as ratings agencies take an increasingly critical look at the financial fundamentals of many of the countries in the region.A day after Fitch cut Libya's ratings, S&P followed suit. The agency cut Libya's long-term sovereign credit rating to BBB+ from A-, placed all of its Libya ratings on credit watch negative and warned that additional cuts could be in the offing.S&P said the cuts reflect our reappraisal of political risks in Libya, and that it expects the violence to continue.In our view, the longer the unrest continues, the higher the risk of political instability spreading across the country, S&P said.So far, credit agencies have cut ratings for several Arab nations, including Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, citing the ongoing unrest and its potential impact on the countries' respective economies.AP Business Writers Adam Schreck in Dubai and Pan Pylas in London contributed.
Saudi says can cover crude shortfalls
– Tue Feb 22, 8:34 am ET
CAIRO – Saudi Arabia's oil minister says the oil powerhouse has ample spare capacity to offset any supply disruptions.
Tuesday's comments by Ali Naimi came as Libya unrest sent oil markets surging for a second day.The official Saudi Press Agency quoted Naimi as saying that Saudi's production capacity of 12.5 million barrels per day can help compensate for any shortage in international supplies. Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, currently produces around 8 million barrels per day.The U.S. benchmark crude futures contract surged over $7 per barrel to almost $94 on electronic trade in the New York Mercantile Exchange while the London-based Brent benchmark was above $106 per barrel.
EU urges Israel to resume talks with Palestinians
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press – Tue Feb 22, 7:15 am ET
BRUSSELS – The EU told Israel on Tuesday that growing instability in the Middle East makes it imperative to resume the stalled peace process with the Palestinians.
Israel agreed that direct peace talks should resume, but said the pro-democracy unrest in Arab nations such as Libya, Egypt and Tunisia is unrelated to the Israel-Palestinian situation.Hungary's Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, whose country currently chairs the EU, said: These are core issues. They are the heart of the matter. We all have to understand that time is pressing. He said, The dramatic changes and regional instability which results from them, make the progress on the peace process more imperative and more urgent than ever before.Martonyi was speaking at a press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is holding talks with the European Union as part of a decade-old association agreement.
Lieberman said it is important to resume direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. But he said poverty and misery are the main reasons for the unrest in Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and that there is no link between that turmoil and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.Palestinians insist they will not resume talks with Israel until it halts settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their capital.The Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed just weeks after they restarted in September because Israel ended a 10-month moratorium on settlement construction.As Lieberman entered the press room in Brussels on Tuesday, an unidentified protester stood in front of him and said he wanted to perform a citizens arrest, shouting that Lieberman should stand trial for war crimes. The demonstrator was quickly ushered out of the press room by security personnel.Relations between the EU and Israel have been uneasy since Israel's war in Gaza in early 2009, when the bloc froze a proposed upgrade of its relations with Israel.The 27-nation EU has repeatedly condemned as illegal the building of Israeli settlements in occupied territory, especially in the eastern parts of Jerusalem.Last week, all four EU members of the U.N. Security Council — France, Britain, Portugal and Germany — backed a Palestinian resolution denouncing the settlements as illegal. Washington vetoed the measure.The EU also has demanded that Israel go beyond its recent easing of its Gaza blockade and guarantee the unconditional opening of the border into the territory, which is run by Hamas, the militant Palestinian group.
Oil Prices Skyrocket After Williams’ Latest Revelations
Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com February 23, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFqEICw8jU0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-kmI1hzbI0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa2zhJh2s3E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4DrVAHVNXA&feature=player_embedded
On the day after pastor Lindsey Williams went on the Alex Jones Show and talked about the globalist plan to destroy the dollar and jack up oil prices through the stratosphere in an effort to wreck the economy, the price of oil went up to just short of $100 per barrel. Sources inside the oil industry told Williams the price will ultimately reach between $150 and $200 per barrel. Williams also told Alex Jones the oil producers Saudi Arabia and Iran will be targeted.Analaysts are predicting that the situation unfolding in Libya may spread to Saudi Arabia and other oil producers in the region and this will result in radical price fluctuations as sharp as those in the 1970s when an OPEC embargo produced serious gasoline shortages in the United States.In Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery went up 74 cents at $96.16 a barrel, the highest since October 2008. The contract skyrocketed to $5.71, or 6.4 percent, and settled at $95.42 on Tuesday.Reports indicate Gaddafi’s security forces may sabotage the country’s oil industry. Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities. They will start by blowing up several oil pipelines, cutting off flow to Mediterranean ports. The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya’s rebellious tribes: It’s either me or chaos, writes Ismail Zitouny for Reuters.
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa. It is the world’s 15th-largest crude exporter at 1.2 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration.Earlier in the week the Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF suspended operations in Libya. Other oil companies – including Italy’s Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, U.K.-based BP and Germany’s Wintershall – have started transporting employees out of the country.The corporate media is getting Americans accustomed to the prospect of gas at $5 or more a gallon. If this thing escalates and there’s a good chance that there’d be a shift in supplies, $5 gas isn’t out of the question, Darin Newsom, senior analyst at energy tracker DTN, told USA Today.Every 10-cent increase in gas prices translates to an additional $14 billion per year out of consumers’ pockets, Peter Boockvar, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak, wrote in a research note in January. Americans spend $1 billion per day on gas, according to the Washsington Post.The massive U.S. deficit and national debt have worked to undermine the dollar and threaten its status as the world’s reserve currency. A weaker dollar also drives up the price of oil.Oil is traded in dollars and a weak dollar means foreign investors can buy more oil, which in turn drives up the price.
Israeli fire targets militants after mortar attack
FEB 23,11 11AM
GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli tank fire wounded two Palestinian militants and two civilians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, medical officials and a militant group said.The Israeli military said its troops shot at a group of militants after an explosive device exploded near an Israeli patrol along the frontier and mortar bombs were fired at the soldiers and into Israel.The Islamic Jihad militant group said two of its members were wounded by tank shells after firing a projectile. Medical officials in the Gaza Strip said two civilians also were hurt.(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Writing by Jeffrey Heller)
Europe longs to back Mideast change, fears chaos
By MELISSA EDDY, Associated Press - FEB 23,11
BERLIN – Revolutions hurtling through the Middle East have inspired millions of Europeans, who recall the awe they felt when communist regimes crumbled across the former Soviet bloc. But along with excitement come questions, fears and doubts — as the flames of revolt shoot up on the continent's very doorstep.Europe has long seen itself as a champion of democracy, and its ideals are being tested by the real life consequences of democratic change sweeping a region that supplies a great part its immigrant population, one that has become increasingly restive in recent years.Many fear a flood of refugees hitting European shores, a concern made urgent by the crush of thousands of Tunisians who turned up in Italy after the North African country overthrew its autocrat, and signs that Libya — long a gateway of illegal emigration to Europe — is on the verge of implosion.Questions are also emerging about whether the spirit of revolt might also take root among Europe-based Arabs, who often accuse their host countries of racism and blame the colonial past for many of their woes.
All of these problems that led to revolutions in the Arab world are also daily life in France and are more and more unbearable, Yacine Djaziri, whose Bondy Blog chronicles life in immigrant-heavy Paris suburbs that exploded in riots in 2005, wrote recently.How do we fix it? Do we need to set ourselves on fire? Be resigned? Get angry? Revolt? Balanced with fears are calls for hope and solidarity: some European officials on Monday proposed a Marshall Plan for the Middle East, drawing an explicit parallel to the continent's U.S.-funded reconstruction after World War II that testifies to the magnitude of the drama unfolding across the Mediterranean.
But Europeans ask: who's going to pay when they're engulfed in a debt crisis that threatens to darken the future of an entire generation? Germany pumps enough money into foreign countries already, said Marcel Mueller, 27, who works in the service industry.Germans can well imagine the burden they might shoulder to help fund a Marshall Plan for the Arab world: 20 years after reunification, they are still charged an extra solidarity tax to subsidize reconstruction in the former communist east — estimated at some euro1.3 billion ($1.78 billion).European Investment Bank President Philippe Maystadt estimated Tuesday that to support a transition to democracy in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries in the region it would need to lend euro6 billion ($8.2 billion) over the next three years.Images of boatloads of migrants, mostly from Tunisia, washing up on the tiny Sicilian fishing village of Lampedusa struck many as a harbinger of mass-scale flight to the European Union. The explosion of revolt in Libya — this time countered by a bloody crackdown — has compounded fears of a migration crisis.It's a problem that worries us all, because the situation spurred many to arrive, said Alberto Brizzi, a waiter at a Rome trattoria. The people take off thinking that they'll find something better than in their country. But that's not so.As Tunisians flooded Lampedusa earlier this month, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, of the anti-immigrant Northern League, stoked fears that terrorists and al-Qaida supporters could have mingled among what he described as a biblical exodus of migrants.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has urged leaders to recognize the unique opportunity right now to promote democracy, human rights and civil liberties in our neighborhood.But Europe has been struggling for years with its most high-profile project to foster partnership with a neighboring Muslim nation: EU membership negotiations with Turkey, widely viewed as a model of how Islam and democracy can flourish together, have all but fallen apart — largely due to hostility from Germany and France.The promise of EU membership was a key factor in Turkey implementing the democratic, judicial and economic reforms that have transformed the nation into an emerging power. Now, with Europe an increasingly distant dream, it has been forging closer ties with Iran, Russia, and others often at odds with the West.A recent survey by Germany's ARD public broadcaster showed 43 percent of those polled said they are worried about the upheaval in the Middle East, compared with 41 percent who said they feel optimistic, according to the survey of 1,000 Germans. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 to 3.1 percentage points.The top fear was instability and chaos, with 47 percent listing it a concern, followed by 25 percent who worried about a stream of migrants hitting Europe's shores, and 21 percent who fear Islamists will take over power.Last week the European Union promised euro258 million ($347 million) in aid to Tunisia from now until 2013. In Brussels Monday, EU foreign ministers pledged support to the peoples of the south Mediterranean and their legitimate hopes and aspirations for democratic change, social justice and economic development.The call for an ambitious reconstruction program, however, comes at a time when EU countries are already smarting from having to bail out both Greece and Ireland from the verge of bankruptcy. Protracted wrangling over those rescues shows how difficult it will be to achieve any meaningful plan for the Middle East. Experts say Europe is viewing democratic change in the Middle East much more cautiously than the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, naming the threat of Islamic fundamentalism as the continent's major concern.New leaders could take power whose policies would not be favorable to the goals of EU and NATO,said Tomas Karasek, an analyst with the Association for International Affairs in Prague.This is a major threat.Other Europeans say the world must embrace a historic opportunity in the Middle East — regardless of the risks.We should make it clear that we are on the same side as the democracy movement, Danish lawmaker Naser Khader said.We should not let ourselves be threatened by reports of refugee flows. It is in our interest that North Africa, that the Arab world becomes democratic.Associated Press Writers Raf Casert in Brussels, Valentina Chiarini, Alba Tobella, and Frances D'Emilio in Rome, Jan Olsen in Copenhagen, Angela Doland in Paris and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.
US tries to reassure Gulf allies shaken by revolts
by Mathieu Rabechault - FEB 23,11
ABU DHABI (AFP) – Washington's highest-ranking military officer and its top Middle East diplomat are touring the Gulf this week to reassure allies in oil-rich nations, as bloody uprisings rock the region.Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week as part of a tour that was scheduled well before the uprisings.Members of is entourage said he may also stop in Bahrain -- home of the US Fifth Fleet -- which has been gripped by a popular revolt challenging the rule of the Sunni dynasty in power for over 200 years.The top US diplomat for the Middle East Jeffrey Feltman has also embarked on a tour of oil-rich Arab Gulf states Tuesday and is expected to visit Bahrain as well.The State Department said Feltman would also visit Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the UEA to press for political and economic reform, saying there was a critical need to address such calls for change.
Mullen has said his trip aimed to reassure, discuss and understand what's going on and has called for a peaceful resolution to confrontations between opposition groups and governments in the Arab world.This a time of enormous change that needs to be resolved peacefully without violence and leaders have to step forward in that regard, he said.Mullen praised the decision of Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman Ben Hamad Al-Khalifa to hold talks with demonstrators saying it had relieved a number of leaders (he spoke to during his tour) in terms of easing tensions.US President Barack Obama's chief military adviser has also met with counterparts in the region to convey support from Washington, which also has military bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.Seven people have been killed in Bahrain since the revolt was unleashed on February 14 in the small Sunni-ruled kingdom with a Shiite majority.
The unrest has bolstered fears that Iran's Shiite regime will take advantage of the crisis.But Mullen has said he did not see Tehran's hand behind Manama's protests.
Iran, I still believe, is a country that continues to foment instability in the region, take advantage of every opportunity... (but) from my perspective that has not been the principal focus of what happened in Egypt or what happened in Bahrain or any of these other countries,he said.About 4,200 US troops are stationed in Bahrain to protect the Gulf's maritime oil routes supplying US operations in Afghanistan.Manama and Washington are bound by a 1991 defense pact which stipulates bilateral consultations in cases of security threats against Bahrain, Middle East expert Kenneth Katzman said in a Congress report.What could be at stake here is an ability to have forces in the Gulf to reassure our allies... that they will be protected from Iran, David Aaron, a senior fellow at the RAND Corporation think-tank, told AFP.Saudi Arabia, irritated by outside interference from Washington during the revolt against Egyptian Hosni Mubarak, remains at the heart of US strategy in the region.From the outbreak of unrest, Riyadh has offered unwavering support to Bahrain, fearing protests could destabilise its oil-rich eastern provinces and agitate the Shiite communities living there, a potential boon for Iran. Bahrain is a proxy battleground in the broader geopolitical struggle between Saudi Arabia, the United States and Iran, says the US firm Stratfor, which specializes in intelligence.
PM urges Arab reform not repression
– Wed Feb 23, 3:25 am ET
KUWAIT CITY (AFP) – David Cameron has said that reform -- not repression holds the key to stability in the Arab world, as protests across the region overshadowed his trade visit to Kuwait.A day after he became the first foreign leader to visit Cairo since the February 11 fall of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak, Cameron said on Tuesday that the Arab uprisings gave the region a precious moment of opportunity for reform.For decades, some have argued that stability required highly controlling regimes, and that reform and openness would put that stability at risk, the prime minister said in a speech to Kuwait's parliament.But this was a false choice, he argued. As recent events have confirmed, denying people their basic rights does not preserve stability, rather the reverse.Cameron said the most resilient societies possessed key democratic building blocks such as government accountability, freedom to communicate and freedom to learn and work.In short, reform -- not repression -- is the only way to maintain stability, he said.Cameron was accompanied by 36 business leaders on his visit to the Gulf for what had long been planned as a trade trip. A stop in Cairo was added at the last minute following the fall of Mubarak.
The premier agreed with Kuwait on Tuesday to double two-way trade and investment, which currently stands at $3.2 billion, by 2015.But the inclusion of defence firms Thales, BAE Systems and QinetiQ in his delegation prompted critics at home to question if Britain should be trying to sell arms in a region where governments were cracking down on protests.The defence industry is crucially important to Britain but many people will be surprised that the prime minister in this week of all weeks may be considering bolstering arms sales to the Middle East, Kevan Jones, defence spokesman for the opposition Labour party, told The Guardian newspaper.Denis MacShane, a former Labour Foreign Office minister, told the paper: It shows insensitivity and crassness of a high order for the prime minister to take arms salesmen with him on his Middle East trip.But Cameron rejected the criticism, noting that his visit to Kuwait was timed to coincide with events marking the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War, sparked by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's invasion of the country.I seem to remember we spent a lot of effort and indeed life in defending and helping to defend Kuwait, Cameron told reporters travelling with him.So the idea that Britain should not have defence relationships with some of these countries, I don't understand. It is quite right that we do, the premier insisted.In Cairo, Cameron met Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt's de facto leader, just 10 days after Mubarak stood down in the face of an unprecedented popular uprising.
Cameron, in front of Kuwait's national assembly, also renewed his condemnation of the appalling crackdown on anti-regime protesters by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's security forces.Violence is not the answer to people's legitimate aspirations. Using force cannot resolve grievances, only multiply them, he said.The British premier said reform could also play its part in countering Islamist extremism, saying people often turned to violence when they were denied a voice or employment. The protests since January which have overthrow the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia were not driven by ideology but by an expression of aspiration from a new generation hungry for political and economic freedoms.Cameron stressed that reform was a key part of the antidote of the extremism that threatens the security of us all.
Iran ships pass via Suez, Israel says provocation
By Yusri Mohamed – Tue Feb 22, 3:42 pm ET
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) – Two Iranian naval ships passed through Egypt's Suez Canal into the Mediterranean on Tuesday heading for Syria, a source at the canal authority said, a move that Israel condemned as a provocation.Iran appears to be testing the state of affairs in the Middle East after the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. A longstanding peace treaty with Egypt is crucial to Israel's regional security.Washington said it was monitoring the ships' movement.The ships entered the canal at 5.45 a.m. (10:45 p.m. EST on Monday) on Tuesday and passed into the Mediterranean at 3.30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. EST), the Suez Canal Authority source told Reuters.Their return is expected to be on March 3, the source said.The Suez Canal cuts through Egypt and allows shipping to pass from the Middle East to Europe and vice versa without going around the southern tip of Africa.The canal's northern mouth, Port Said, is around 100 km (60 miles) from Israel, but the ships' route would take them into the Mediterranean along Gaza and the Israeli coast. The vessels, the first Iranian navy ships to enter the canal since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, are a frigate and a supply ship.
Israel is anxious about political upheaval in Egypt and other Arab states aligned with its ally the United States. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said he would take a grave view of the passage of Iranian naval ships.Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon told Israel's Channel 2 television on Tuesday: It's an Iranian provocation. When you look at the Middle East, wherever the Iranians weigh in, the situation is not good.He added: It certainly does not bode well, but these two ships are not an immediate threat against us.Israeli media have quoted unnamed navy officials as saying the Iranian vessels would be tracked, but not confronted.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said: We the United States have for a long time supported freedom of navigation, so the decision to allow them to transit the Canal is a decision between Iran and Egypt.Obviously we have concerns about Iran's behavior in the region, we'll be watching carefully,he said.
GLOBAL ARROGANCE
Iran's deputy commander of the army, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was quoted by the official Irna news agency on Tuesday as saying that Israel was astonished by the presence of Iranian naval vessels in the canal.Using a term by which Iran refers to the United States, he added: "The global arrogance must know that the Islamic Republic of Iran's army is fully prepared to defend its goals.The world should know that the presence of Iranian warships in the Suez Canal has taken place ... through the deep guidance of the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and our young and brave personnel's self-confidence.A recently completed Israeli war game, the first since Mubarak quit Egypt's presidency, concluded it would boost military preparations but try to avoid confrontation unless it sees a greater threat from Iran.Separately, Israel announced on Tuesday that its Arrow II missile shield had aced its latest live trial, shooting down a target missile off a U.S. military base on the California coast.Israeli defense official Arieh Herzog said the test marked Arrow's upgrade to contend with new and additional threats in the Middle East.Arrow can intercept all of the weapons arrayed against it in the region, including those that are liable to come from Iran,Herzog told reporters.Egypt's ruling military council, facing its first diplomatic headache since taking power on February 11, approved the Iranian vessels' passage through the canal, a vital global trading route and major source of revenue for the Egyptian authorities.
The decision was difficult for Egypt's interim government. Cairo is an ally of the United States while its relations with Iran have been strained for more than three decades.Analysts say Iran sees itself benefiting from the upheaval across the Middle East. Dislodgement and weakening of leaders sympathetic to the United States are likely to embolden Tehran, and lessen the chances of it making concessions on its nuclear program. Iran denies it intends to build atomic weapons.(Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Zahra Hosseinian in Tehran and Dina Zayed in Cairo; Writing by Edmund Blair, Maria Golovnina and Sarah Mikhail; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
PM Fayyad proposes unity government with Hamas
– Tue Feb 22, 12:00 pm ET
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad has proposed forming a unity government with Hamas, under which the Islamist group would have responsibility for security in Gaza.Speaking to Palestinian journalists late on Monday, Fayyad said the security concept applied by Hamas in Gaza, where the group has sought to enforce a ceasefire with Israel, could provide common ground.The security concept practised by Hamas in the Gaza Strip should be brought under an official framework because it is not different from what is practised by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Fayyad said.After a national unity government is formed, it can take on the task of supervising a security agreement based on the institutions in place in the West Bank and Gaza.The compatibility between the policy adopted by the Palestinian leadership and that applied by Hamas on the ground in Gaza... opens the way for a national unity government to immediately manage affairs of state, he added.Fayyad's proposal, which comes as he seeks to form a new government, would not vastly change the situation on the ground in Gaza or the West Bank. But it could pave the way for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.Longtime bitter rivals, the tensions between the two groups boiled over in 2007, a year after Hamas won legislative elections. Bloody clashes between the two saw Hamas oust Fatah from the Gaza Strip and take control.
The West Bank, which is under the control of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, has been effectively cut off from the Gaza Strip ever since.Repeated attempts at reconciliation between the groups have led nowhere, and the collapse of the Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak, which played a key role in reconciliation efforts, has created new uncertainty.The issue of control of the security forces has been a key stumbling block in each round of reconciliation talks, with both sides refusing to cede authority over their security apparatus.Hamas responded to the latest calls for unity with suspicion.These declarations lack seriousness and credibility, they make no sense in light of the continued arrests and torture (of Hamas members) in Fatah prisons in the West Bank, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Monday.The only real way towards reconciliation is to stop the arrests, free the detainees and allow the movement's charities to start helping the Palestinian people again, he told AFP.Hamas and Fatah have carried out periodic arrests of each other's members, often holding detainees without charge or trial and routinely trading allegations of prisoner abuse.The formation of a national unity government can only be achieved in the context of an all-encompassing national solution and not a partial one, Abu Zuhri said, referring to calls for the establishment of a coalition which would rule until parliamentary elections can be held at some point before September.
Israel conflict not linked to Arab turmoil: FM
– Tue Feb 22, 10:04 am ET
BRUSSELS (AFP) – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said Tuesday there was no linkage between turmoil in the Arab world and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the EU pressed for quick progress on peace talks to ensure stability.The Israel-Palestinian conflict is not the main issue, not the main problem, Lieberman said after talks in Brussels on EU-Israeli ties.The main reason for instability is poverty, misery, inefficient government, he said at a press conference briefly interrupted by a protestor shouting Free Palestine! Israel is a criminal state.I don't see linkage between Israel-Palestine and unrest in Egypt, Bahrain or Egypt and Libya, Lieberman added.Hungary's Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, however, said the situation across the Middle East called for quick progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks.The dramatic changes, the regional instability which result from them ... make progress on the peace process more imperative and more urgent than ever before.The time is pressing, he added.In Brussels for a 10th round of talks on the EU-Israel Association agreement, which covers trade and cooperation in a wide range of fields, Lieberman nevertheless said it was very important to see progress in the peace process.Urging the EU to help bring the Palestinian side to the negotiating table, Lieberman said It's crucial to keep the political process alive and expressed hopes that new governments in the region would respect all the agreements signed in the past.
I don't see any peace process without direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, he added.We're ready for direct talks any place at any time.With the EU currently Israel's leading commercial partner, both sides pledged to move forward in the 11-year partnership that involves trade, agriculture, R&D and police and judicial cooperation.It's a solid and vibrant partnership,said Martonyi.
Egypt delays stock market's reopening By Tarek El-tablawy, Ap Business Writer – Tue Feb 22, 9:08 am ET
CAIRO – Egypt's stock exchange postponed its already long-delayed reopening until next week and markets in the Gulf Arab region posted their third consecutive day of declines as unrest in Libya and elsewhere in the region battered already fragile investor confidence in the Mideast.Standard & Poor's, meanwhile, became the second credit agency in as many days to cut Libya's ratings, citing the kind of violence that has been unseen in Moammar Gadhafi's nearly 42-year leadership of that OPEC member state.The Egyptian Exchange's decision to postpone its relaunch would mean that the market will have been closed for a month, assuming it restarts on Feb. 27. The exchange, in an e-mailed statement, said the decision followed consultations with the Egyptian Financial Services Supervisory Authority and brokerage houses. It did not specify a date for the relaunch.The decision appeared to reflect that continued anxiety in Egypt about the country's economic woes following 18 days of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak were being compounded by broader unrest in the region.Unrest also has hit Yemen and Bahrain, putting the demonstrations on the other side of a causeway from Saudi Arabia.The Dubai Financial Market's main index closed down 2.44 percent, to 1,479 points, while Saudi Arabia's TASI index rebounded from losses of over 1 percent earlier in the day. But the TASI still closed down 0.35percent, or 6,277 points.
You've got a political risk that is being leveled on local and regional equity markets. It's increasing day by day as we see more violence, particularly in Libya, said Haissam Arabi, chief executive of Gulfmena Alternative Investments, a fund management firm in Dubai.This is a situation where sentiment takes precedence over science and fundamentals, Arabi said.In Dubai, Emaar Properties, the developer behind Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, closed down 2 percent, hitting 2.92 Emirati dirhams. Courier Aramex, meanwhile, saw its shares slide 7.36 percent to 1.51 dirhams.Abu Dhabi's benchmark index closed down 1.57 percent, to 2,579 points, with the construction and real estate sectors recording the biggest declines.
Qatar's exchange was off 3.57 percent, bringing its year-to-date losses to more than 5.3 percent. The country, which is poised for a construction boom as it prepares to host the World Cup in 2022 and has some of the world's biggest natural gas reserves, has been one of the few in the region able to post staggering GDP growth figures, even during the global financial meltdown.While Arabi said the region's markets are driven largely by retail investors, big institutional buyers overseas are also spooked by the continuing unrest.Foreign investors feel as though they really can't tell the difference between countries in the Middle East and North Africa, he said. The level of awareness, especially when it comes to politics, is really only what people see on CNN.As long as the unrest keeps up, Arabi believes there could be further pressure to sell off stocks in the region.The declines built on losses that have accrued since Sunday and come as ratings agencies take an increasingly critical look at the financial fundamentals of many of the countries in the region.A day after Fitch cut Libya's ratings, S&P followed suit. The agency cut Libya's long-term sovereign credit rating to BBB+ from A-, placed all of its Libya ratings on credit watch negative and warned that additional cuts could be in the offing.S&P said the cuts reflect our reappraisal of political risks in Libya, and that it expects the violence to continue.In our view, the longer the unrest continues, the higher the risk of political instability spreading across the country, S&P said.So far, credit agencies have cut ratings for several Arab nations, including Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, citing the ongoing unrest and its potential impact on the countries' respective economies.AP Business Writers Adam Schreck in Dubai and Pan Pylas in London contributed.
Saudi says can cover crude shortfalls
– Tue Feb 22, 8:34 am ET
CAIRO – Saudi Arabia's oil minister says the oil powerhouse has ample spare capacity to offset any supply disruptions.
Tuesday's comments by Ali Naimi came as Libya unrest sent oil markets surging for a second day.The official Saudi Press Agency quoted Naimi as saying that Saudi's production capacity of 12.5 million barrels per day can help compensate for any shortage in international supplies. Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, currently produces around 8 million barrels per day.The U.S. benchmark crude futures contract surged over $7 per barrel to almost $94 on electronic trade in the New York Mercantile Exchange while the London-based Brent benchmark was above $106 per barrel.
EU urges Israel to resume talks with Palestinians
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press – Tue Feb 22, 7:15 am ET
BRUSSELS – The EU told Israel on Tuesday that growing instability in the Middle East makes it imperative to resume the stalled peace process with the Palestinians.
Israel agreed that direct peace talks should resume, but said the pro-democracy unrest in Arab nations such as Libya, Egypt and Tunisia is unrelated to the Israel-Palestinian situation.Hungary's Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, whose country currently chairs the EU, said: These are core issues. They are the heart of the matter. We all have to understand that time is pressing. He said, The dramatic changes and regional instability which results from them, make the progress on the peace process more imperative and more urgent than ever before.Martonyi was speaking at a press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is holding talks with the European Union as part of a decade-old association agreement.
Lieberman said it is important to resume direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. But he said poverty and misery are the main reasons for the unrest in Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and that there is no link between that turmoil and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.Palestinians insist they will not resume talks with Israel until it halts settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their capital.The Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed just weeks after they restarted in September because Israel ended a 10-month moratorium on settlement construction.As Lieberman entered the press room in Brussels on Tuesday, an unidentified protester stood in front of him and said he wanted to perform a citizens arrest, shouting that Lieberman should stand trial for war crimes. The demonstrator was quickly ushered out of the press room by security personnel.Relations between the EU and Israel have been uneasy since Israel's war in Gaza in early 2009, when the bloc froze a proposed upgrade of its relations with Israel.The 27-nation EU has repeatedly condemned as illegal the building of Israeli settlements in occupied territory, especially in the eastern parts of Jerusalem.Last week, all four EU members of the U.N. Security Council — France, Britain, Portugal and Germany — backed a Palestinian resolution denouncing the settlements as illegal. Washington vetoed the measure.The EU also has demanded that Israel go beyond its recent easing of its Gaza blockade and guarantee the unconditional opening of the border into the territory, which is run by Hamas, the militant Palestinian group.
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