"20 YEARS LATER, NO PEACE, Mideast accords of 1993 see little hope of reality.

The Waterbury Republican-American today (Friday, September 13, 2013) published an article about the failed Oslo Accords: "20 YEARS LATER, NO PEACE, Mideast accords of 1993 see little hope of reality." This article provides an opportunity to write letters in response similar to a letter, also included below, published today in The Boston Globe. We also include a copy of the excellent op-ed to which that letter responded; both have plenty of ideas that may be used in a letter to the Waterbury Republican-American, which may be sent by email to .

We include the article along with some comments and the excellent letter and op-ed in The Boston Globe.

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Waterbury Republican-American
September 13, 2013

20 YEARS LATER, NO PEACE
Mideast accords of 1993 see little hope of reality

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ABU DIS, West Bank - In 1993, the words rang hopeful and historic. Israel and the PLO agreed "it is time to put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict," live in peaceful co-existence and reach a "just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement."

Twenty years later, the words that launched Israeli-Palestinian talks on dividing the Holy Land into two states ring hollow to many on both sides. Negotiators say mistakes they made then are causing damage to this day.

Palestinians seem no closer now than they were 20 years ago to a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, and some argue they are worse off. The number of Israeli settlers has doubled. East Jerusalem is cut off by an Israeli barrier. Gaza, ruled by the Islamic militant Hamas since 2007, is turning into a distinct enclave.

Many Israelis, scarred by Palestinian suicide bombings and rocket fire from Gaza, are skeptical of the other side's intentions and believe the politically divided Palestinians cannot carry out a peace deal.

An Unthinkable 9/11: War in Support of al Qaeda

Diana West 

Back in 2004, when a NYFD chief reminded the 9/11 Commission that it was never in "anyone's consciousness" that the Twin Towers would fall, he underscored a terrible truth.

 After 9/11, we entered the Age of the Unthinkable. Seared into our collective consciousness is that the Twin Towers could and did fall. So could the U.S. Capitol, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Superdome. Our children know that which we as children never before imagined -- passenger planes may become guided missiles, and skyscrapers may turn into smoking, twisted rubble. This age of Islamic jihad against the West has indeed expanded our consciousness.

Or has it? Did these previously unthinkable acts of violence and mass murder sharpen our thinking, make us vigilant and more protective of our constitutional liberties under attack?

There was a time when I actually thought this was so. Re-reading my first column written after 9/11 today, one dozen 9/11s later, I find that it forecasts a new era of black and white, good and evil -- a new relationship with countries that were "with us or against us." I guess I have always been a lousy prognosticator. Still, that was the message coming out of the Bush White House early on.

The IPT Update

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

General security, policy
1.  Iran's Rouhani says wants nuclear issue resolved, but draws lines; N. Korea appears to restart plutonium reactor
2.  Chinese national sentenced in Boston for illegally exporting military electronics components
3.  Inside the Ring: FBI targets Syrian hackers; China ratchets up tensions
4.  Al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri urges 'lone-wolf' attacks on US
5.  ODNI report:  Number of released Gitmo detainees returning to terrorism increases
6.  Lawmakers, activists seek info from Administration on Benghazi anniversary
7.  In-laws of accused Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev appear before grand jury; Two friends of Boston bomber plead not guilty to cover-up charges
8.  Herald-Tribune joins suit asking FBI for Saudi documents
9.  Texas senators seek 'terrorist' label for Fort Hood shootings
10. Abu Hamza 'lieutenant' Haroon Aswat cannot be extradited to US, European judges say
11. US-born 'jihadist rapper' Omar Hammami reportedly killed in Somalia
12. Fairfax man, Atal Bashar, charged with building bomb
13. Christie signs law requiring notification before out-of-state counter-terrorism investigations in NJ

Syria: Jihadists massacre 22 in revenge for Assad's alleged chemical attack

Jihad Watch

Good thing we are intervening to help these al-Qaeda jihadists murder more old men and young children. "Syria Massacre? Nusra Front Fighters Reportedly Kill Women, Children, Elderly Men In Alawite Village," from Reuters, September 12:

BEIRUT, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The death toll from an alleged massacre in an Alawite village in central Syria has risen to 22, including women, children and elderly men, a rights monitoring group said on Thursday. The minority Alawite sect to which President Bashar al-Assad and most of Syria's elite belong is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam whose members have increasingly been targeted by radical fighters among the Sunni Muslim-dominated opposition in the 2-1/2-year revolt against Assad.
Fighters from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front shot dead 16 Alawites and six Arab Bedouins on Tuesday after storming the village of Maksar al-Hesan, east of the city of Homs, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is opposed to Assad.
The British-based Observatory said the victims included seven women, three men over the age of 65, and four children under the age of 16, citing residents and medics.

My poem : In a manna of speaking

(again, the italics for emphasis)

At times it can be – oh- such fun

Rewriting stories long past done

To illustrate I'll mention here a sample.

Let's travel back away in time

And I'll present it here in rhyme ~

The Exodus is one such good example!

What Elisheva Goldberg Thinks of Me

 My Right Word
I'm a

power-house activist

That's what Elisheva Goldberg wrote of me.

She attended the annual general meeting of the Friends of Israel's Media Watch.  I'm Vice-Chairman.

Goldberg published it as "The Dubious Successes of Israel's Media Watch" at Peter Beinart's Open Zion.

What bothers her is

- ostensible lack of vim and vigor
- their success comes from their willingness to consider the long haul.
- Their scrutiny of the Israel Broadcasting Association (IBA) has always been meticulous, and while their criticism is not terribly sharp, it is certainly sharply felt
- despite crude logic in order to advance a far-right agenda, IMW manages to be operational and successful.
- these guys have a bone to pick.
- they’ve been on the inside of a battle to get the blatantly racist, Caroline Glick-run satire show Latma (“slap in the face” in Arabic) on Israeli public television
- They have argued for better internal hasbara,
- Of the guests, almost all were in their 60s. One gentleman came in with a walker 
- Pollak himself clearly has an agenda

As for the rest of the post, besides the sniping, the petulant commentary, her cynical ignorance, the nastiness towards older people (isn't that post-modern racism?), all she does is disagree with IMW's views.

She does not prove we are factually wrong.

Or that we misinterpret the laws regarding media bias.

Or the principles of media critiquing.

Muslim Persecution of Christians: June, 2013

Raymond Ibrahim
Gatestone Institute

http://www.meforum.org/3609/muslim-persecution-of-christians-june-2013

The degradation of Christian women living in the Islamic world continued in the month of June. In Syria, after the al-Qaeda linked rebel group conquered Qusair, a city of the governate of Homs, 15-year-old Mariam was kidnapped, repeatedly gang raped according to a fatwa legitimizing the rape of non-Sunni women by any Muslim waging jihad against Syria's government, and then executed.
According to Agenzia Fides, "The commander of the battalion 'Jabhat al-Nusra' in Qusair took Mariam, married and raped her. Then he repudiated her. The next day the young woman was forced to marry another Islamic militant. He also raped her and then repudiated her. The same trend was repeated for 15 days, and Mariam was raped by 15 different men. This psychologically destabilized her and made her insane. Mariam became mentally unstable and was eventually killed."
In Pakistan, Muslim men stormed the home of three Christian women, beat them, stripped them naked and tortured them, and then paraded them in the nude in a village in the Kasur district. Days earlier, it seems the goats of the Christian family had accidentally trespassed onto Muslim land; Muslims sought to make an example of the Christian family, who, as third-class citizens, must know their place at all times.

My response to NY Sun re suggestion that Kerry resign

I receive the NY Sun daily on the internet; following is the link and the beginning of the article to which I responded.  If you go into the piece you can continue reading the rest.   My response is below.

Chana

 

Time for Kerry To Resign

Editorial of The New York Sun | September 12, 2013

http://www.nysun.com/editorials/time-for-kerry-to-resign/88407/

At this point the best thing that could happen in the Syria crisis would be for Secretary of State Kerry to resign. He’s one of the logical persons to take the fall for this fiasco, given that we don’t live under a parliamentary system and the constitutional concept in respect of the president, any president, is for the decision to be made by voters once in four years. It was Mr. Kerry who made the blunder that has put the administration on track for a classic appeasement.  (The link above will access the complete article.)

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Response to NY Sun re suggestion that Kerry  resign – Sept. 12, 2013

The recent confusing statements by the President and Sec'y of State Kerry expose the bumbling chaos that has been characteristic of the Obama administration.   Today the subject is Syria and its WMDs that have exterminated more than 100,000 of her citizens by sarin gas.   One must wonder why the deaths themselves did not demand international intervention rather than the 'means'.   In contrast to the Obama-Kerry team effort to reassure that an attack on Syria would be  'brief and benign' , (boo!) Assad's response to such an action was an alarming threat of strong  retaliation.  

The Mandate For Palestine Still Relevant Nearly A Century Later

Eli E. Hertz

Israelis and friends of the Jewish State alike are accustomed to the never-ending scorn that the United Nations heaps on Israel, the Middle East’s only free democracy; never mind its desire for peace with all of its Arab neighbors. It may seem unfathomable then, that the very same institution was ultimately responsible for its creation.

The roots of the “Mandate for Palestine”– a legally binding document published by the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations – can be traced back to both the founding of modern Zionism in 1897 by Theodor Herzl, and the Balfour Declaration of November 1917.

After witnessing the spread of anti-Semitism around the world, Theodor Herzl felt compelled to create a political movement with the goal of establishing a Jewish National Home in historic Palestine, and assembled the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in August 1897. During World War I, Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour simply expressed Great Britain’s view with favor and sympathy for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”

A New Muslim Brotherhood Symbol: R4BIA

Dawn Perlmutter
FrontPageMagazine.com

http://www.meforum.org/3608/r4bia-muslim-brotherhood

There is a new Islamist symbol appearing in protests, on social networking sites and at demonstrations throughout the Middle East. The symbol allegedly originated as a four-fingered hand sign by pro-Morsi protesters during demonstrations in Egypt's Rabia al-Adawiya Square. The hand gesture quickly evolved into an image of the hand commonly depicted in black on a bright yellow background. It is called the "R4BIA sign." In English it is officially spelled in capital letters and the letter "A" is replaced with the number 4. It has become the symbol of the massacre of pro-Morsi supporters in Rabia al-Adawiya Square on August 14, 2013. This new sign already has its own history, legend and mysticism and it contains all the attributes that Islamists favor in their symbology, particularly martyrdom.

The Degradation of Christian Women under Islam

Raymond Ibrahim
September 11, 2013 

Meanwhile, in Egypt, U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson was urging Christian Copts not to protest Muslim Brotherhood rule, even though they would suffer under it most. Al Azhar, the world's oldest Islamic university, called on the new Catholic Pope, Francis I, to declare that Islam is a religion of peace.

The degradation of Christian women living in the Islamic world continued in the month of June. In Syria, after the al-Qaeda linked rebel group conquered Qusair, a city of the governate of Homs, 15-year-old Mariam was kidnapped, repeatedly gang raped according to a fatwa legitimizing the rape of non-Sunni women by any Muslim waging jihad against Syria's government, and then executed.

Lavrov Helped Obama Dodge the Syrian Bullet

Noah Beck

Any diplomatic initiative on Syria coming from Russia, whose UN votes have perpetuated Assad's killing machine for over two years, should be viewed with extreme suspicion. Nevertheless, the latest Russian proposal merits serious consideration.



Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's proposal, which exploited an offhand remark by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, calls for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal in exchange for a cancellation of the U.S. military action against Syria being debated by Congress. Syria has "accepted" the proposal with alacrity. Russian national interests underlie this proposal: helping Russia's last Mideast client state to survive, reinforcing the image of Russia as a Mideast power broker, and diminishing the perception that Russia supports chemical weapons use. But these interests intersect with US interests insofar as a diplomatic solution decreases the odds of an Islamist takeover of Syria (should U.S. strikes actually alter the balance of power between the Syrian regime and the opposition) while possibly removing the need for potentially risky and costly U.S. military action -- without further undermining U.S. credibility.

Syria and Obama

Thomas Sowell

I cannot see why even a single American, a single Israeli or a single Syrian civilian should be killed as a result of a token U.S. military action, undertaken simply to spare Barack Obama the embarrassment of doing nothing, after his ill-advised public ultimatum to the Syrian government to not use chemical weapons was ignored.

Some people say that some military response is necessary, not to spare Obama a personal humiliation, but to spare the American presidency from losing all credibility -- and therefore losing the ability to deter future threats to the United States without bloodshed.

There is no question that the credibility of the presidency -- regardless of who holds that office -- is a major asset of this country. Another way of saying the same thing is that Barack Obama has recklessly risked the credibility of future presidents, and the future safety of this country, by his glib words and weak actions.

Some people who disagree with Obama's issuance of a public ultimatum to the Assad regime in the first place, and who also disagree with his recent threat of military action against Syria, nevertheless say that we must back up that threat now, simply to forestall future dangers from a loss of American credibility in the eyes of other countries, including both our enemies and our allies.

Time Favors Israel

The Resilient Jewish State

by Efraim Inbar
Middle East Quarterly
Fall 2013, pp. 3-13

http://www.meforum.org/3607/time-favors-israel

The Jewish state has always attracted the attention of pundits and prognosticators. In recent years, a burgeoning literature of gloom that highlights Israel's imaginary or real flaws, and even questions its future, has emerged both within and outside the country.[1] Most concerned is the radical Israeli Left, which argues that there is great urgency in solving the Arab-Israeli conflict and that, in the absence of a peaceful solution, the Jewish state is doomed to disappear. Moreover, Israel's democratic character, its international legitimacy, and its ability to withstand protracted conflict are questioned.

‘Plan B’ for Syria?

Arnold Ahlert

The Syrian crisis has taken another curious turn. Yesterday, before President Obama made his case to the public for some sort of military strike against the regime of Bashar Assad, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that his nation would push the Syrian government to put its chemical weapons cache under international control. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem claimed his nation agrees with the idea. “Syria welcomes the Russian proposal out of concern for the lives of the Syrian people, the security of our country and because it believes in the wisdom of the Russian leadership that seeks to avert American aggression against our people,” he said.

Syria's Chemical Weapons - The Terrorism Threat

International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) Report September 8, 2013
Background
Since the uprising began in Syria in March 2011, more than 100,000 people have been killed, 2 million people have fled the country becoming refugees, and 4.25 million people are internally displaced.
The will of Assad’s forces to fight is still there, but they are struggling to combat the Syrian rebel’s gains until recently. It is believed that the al-Assad regime is desperate enough to use anything in its power to stay the ruling government, including use of any of its poisonous gases, as was the case this past March through May.
Besides the use of chemical warfare by the Syrian government there is a real and immediate threat that chemical weapons, agents or precursors could fall in the hands of terrorist organizations, be it Hezbollah (in which case the regime itself could be willing to provide them to its staunch ally), pro-Syrian Palestinian organizations, the Free Syrian Army and its local units or the various Islamist and jihadists factions like Jabha al-Nusra.
This report is the first part of an ICT project intended to evaluate the threat of proliferation of Syrian chemical weapons to local and regional terrorist organizations and beyond. The report includes information on the status of chemical weapons in Syria and their use updated to mid-June 2013 and an addendum presenting the main points of the United States and French intelligence communities' evaluation concerning the August 21, 2013 chemical attacks in the suburbs of Damascus.1
The Syrian chemical arsenal
After its defeats in its wars against Israel, Syria began to develop a chemical weapons program as a way to deter the Israeli military might.
Syria was heavily dependent on outside help in procuring important precursor chemicals and equipment from Russia, Egypt, West Germany, France, Iran, North Korea, and possibly other countries over a period of 20 years. However Syria, which refused to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention and after 1973 began to produce its own chemical weapons, further intensified its program after the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty in 1979. It is believed Syria started producing locally mustard gas as well as sarin in the 1980s.

Overrated: Hassan Rouhani

Iran's new president is seen by many as a moderate. In fact he is an unrepentant hardliner

Emanuele Ottolenghi

 

 

Since his surprise victory in Iran's presidential elections in June, Hassan Rouhani has enjoyed undeserved popularity among Western policymakers and opinion-formers alike. Though hardly a reformist, Rouhani has immediately won the label of moderate from all corners of the transatlantic political spectrum.

The Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt — the most likely candidate to replace Catherine Ashton as the European Union's High Representative for foreign affairs next year and thus to be the lead negotiator with Iran — tweeted on June 15:
"We should be open and see what changes election of Hassan Rouhani as new President of Iran might bring. We need to engage with Iran."

A Friendlier Australian Government

Isi Leibler
http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=4793

Australia’s election results are good news for the Israel-Australia relationship. Labor party incumbent Kevin Rudd, who held office for less than three months following a coup against former PM Julia Gillard, lost in a landslide, bringing an end to six years of Labor Government. Rudd is a political chameleon who abandoned Australia’s long-standing pro-Israel position when he previously served as Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010.

The victorious Tony Abbott of the center-right Liberal party is an outspoken friend of the Jewish State. He has pledged to improve relations with Israel, toughen the government’s approach toward terrorist organizations and end financial support for organizations connected to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign against Israel.

J Street Won’t Back Obama On Syria Resolution

A pro-Israel group seen as close to the White House says it has decided not to decide where it stands on Obama’s plan to strike Syria.

WASHINGTON — Liberal pro-Israel advocacy group J Street has decided not to take a position on the White House’s Syria resolution currently being debated in Congress, the group’s director confirmed to BuzzFeed on Sunday.

“We are not taking a position on the Congressional resolution,” J Street’s executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami said in an email. “Our statement on Syria from August 29th stands.”

The group’s August 29th statement condemns the Syrian regime for its use of chemical weapons against civilians and calls for the United States and the international community to “hold President Assad and all responsible for this heinous crime fully accountable.”

Report: Hezbollah, Iran Would Lead Syrian Counter-Attack

Maayana Miskin

An intelligence report prepared by a European country has found that Syrian President Bashar Assad has handed control of missile installations over to foreign fighters, Lebanon’s A-Nahar reports.

Assad has reportedly put control into the hands of Hezbollah and Iranian units.

Those two groups would be in charge of leading a counter-attack if the United States or other Western nations attack in Syria in response to recent chemical weapons use within the country.

The revelations come a week after reports from Lebanon which indicated that Hezbollah has mobilized many of its veteran fighters, presumably in anticipation of an upcoming US-led strike on Syria.

Has Syria Got a Prayer?

Kathryn Jean Lopez
National Review Online
 http://www.meforum.org/3603/syria-attacks-christian-churches 

On his website, Raymond Ibrahim, author of Crucified Again, posts a video of what appear to be Islamic extremists attacking Christian churches in Syria — St. Elias Church and St. Grace Church in the Christian village of Maaloula near Damascus – where villagers still speak Aramaic, the language Christ spoke.
KJL: Do a lot of people still speak Aramaic? How many of their lives are in danger right now?
IBRAHIM: Not a lot, but they are out there, mostly in Syria and eastern regions of Turkey. And in both regions both communities are under attack: in Syria, via U.S.-supported al-Qaeda (whatever else Assad is, he is certainly not a persecutor of his nation's indigenous Christians), and by the Islamist government of Turkey. For example, the existence of the oldest functioning Christian monastery in the world, the fifth-century Mor Gabriel Monastery, inhabited by a few dozen Christians dedicated to learning the monastery's teachings, including the ancient Aramaic language spoken by Jesus, is at risk. The highest appeals court in Ankara ruled that the land that had been part of the monastery for 1,600 years is not its property, absurdly claiming that the monastery was built over the ruins of a mosque — even though Muhammad was born 170 years after the monastery was built.

Egypt Now Opposes Obama’s Syrian War

Daniel Greenfield


It’s almost like they have some mysterious reason for not wanting the Muslim Brotherhood to take over Syria. And it’s almost like alienating a country has geopolitical consequences.

Or as the New York Times puts it, “Fearful of the Islamist-dominated Syrian rebels, the new Egyptian government installed by Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi has gone further to oppose the strikes than any other ostensible American ally in the region. It has broken with the pattern of reliable cooperation with Washington shown by former President Hosni Mubarak and also, for the most part, by Mr. Morsi.”

Somehow I doubt Mubarak would have backed a Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Syria either. Morsi did, but then again he was Brotherhood.

How severe are the consequences of Obama’s failed Muslim Brotherhood regime change operation in Egypt? Severe enough that Egyptian officials are routinely tweaking His Majesty Barack I.

Eurocrisis Haunts German Politics

Peter Martino

Saving the euro would cost Germany so much money that it would bankrupt itself. " Germany cannot save the Eurozone. Those who believe that [it can] are denying reality." — German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble

All of a sudden the Loch Ness Monster of German politics has raised its ugly head. The eurocrisis, which so far had not been a theme in the campaign for the September 22^nd general elections, has become its central issue. At the same time, the campaign has turned nasty and violent.

Last week, a rally of Alternative for Germany (AfD), a conservative party established in February by a group of conservative economists, was attacked by a gang of thugs. Some 25 masked individuals stormed onto the stage, knocked down AfD leader Bernd Lucke behind his lectern and pepper-sprayed the public. 16 people attending the rally were injured, including two children. The attackers also stabbed an AfD sympathizer with a knife.

A sovereign Palestinian state in temporary borders is still a sovereign state.

Dr. Aaron Lerner

A sovereign Palestinian state in temporary borders is still a sovereign state.

And once such a sovereign Palestinian state comes into existence, it continues to exist as a sovereign Palestinian state even if it opts to violate or ignore whatever term, conditions and understandings were tied to the creation of that sovereign Palestinian state.

Yes, Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly proclaimed that the Palestinians would not accept a sovereign Palestinian state in temporary boundaries, but keep in mind that in apparent sharp contrast to Israelis, the Arabs haggle at the negotiating table with the same skills and determination that Israelis seem to set aside when engaged in diplomacy instead of business. So it could very well turn out that Mahmoud Abbas might be willing to make the tremendous sacrifice of agreeing to the formation of a sovereign Palestinian state in temporary borders and without reaching a final agreement on various issues in return for a flood of Israeli concessions.

Video shows two men firing RPGs at ship transiting Suez Canal

By REUTERS

 

Clip carries a logo featuring a black Islamist flag and the name of the "al-Firqan Brigade."

CAIRO- A video posted on YouTube and circulated on Thursday shows two men firing rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at a container ship that was attacked on Saturday in the Suez Canal.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video and there were no claims of responsibility for the attack on Islamist websites.

Click here to view video

The video carries a logo featuring a black Islamist flag and the name of the "al-Firqan Brigade". It shows two men, dressed in civilian clothes, firing RPGs into the side of the ship, where they explode.

The ship carries the name "COSCO" on its side and appears to match pictures of the reported target of the attack, the Panamanian-registered Cosco Asia.

A Hot Turkish Autumn

Robert Ellis

Since the Taksim events, Erdogan's behavior has seemed closer to that of an old-style Arab military ruler who considers any opposition or disagreement with his opinion a conspiracy." — Jihad al-Zein, former AKP supporter.

Mustafa Balbay, a Turkish journalist who has been sentenced to 34 years and 8 months imprisonment for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government, has predicted a politically hot autumn. [1]
The Gezi Park protests, which spread to 79 out of Turkey's 81 provinces, represent to date the most serious threat to Prime Minister Erdoğan's rule. A report by the Eurasia Global Research Centre (AGAM), a Turkish think tank, concludes that the handling of the crisis was "a strategic mistake" and that the lack of dialogue caused the protests to escalate. [2]
In contrast to President Abdullah Gül, who said that the protesters' message had been received, Erdoğan embarked on a series of mass rallies and vilified the demonstrators as marauders, terrorists and pitiful rodents in language reminiscent of Der Stürmer. This only served to reinforce his image as a Kasımpaşalı kabadayı (tough guy from the Istanbul district of Kasımpaşa) among the masses, and increase the polarization that already existed in Turkey.

Turkey's Prime Minister Erdoğan at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, 2009. (Photo credit: World Economic Forum)

Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek has stated there is no culture of compromise in Turkey's intellectual and political circles; according to one Turkish commentator, it is not in Erdoğan's character to back off and admit he has made a mistake. On the contrary, the aftermath of Gezi Park has been marked by various reprisals, in which the Prime Minister has demonstrated what the Financial Times has called "paranoid intolerance." [3]

Duke Prof's Recipe for Restoring Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood

Cinnamon Stillwell

Beware Middle East studies professors offering advice. In the wake of the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) ouster from Egypt's presidency, South African-born Duke University Islamic studies professor Ebrahim Moosa has joined South Africa's ambassador to the United States Ebrahim Rasool to co-author a Washington Post op-ed advising Egypt to adopt a "multi-pronged strategy" overseen by "an internationally constituted group of eminent persons" to avoid civil war.


The authors recommend that the MB and "leaders from countries trusted by the Muslim Brotherhood" be included in this "group of eminent persons," which ignores both the popular rebellion that threw the Islamist party out of office, and the anti-democratic, despotic measures that sparked its downfall. In other words, it's a recipe for the restoration and strengthening of the Brotherhood.

Shape-Shifting on Syria

Shoshana Bryen

To expect people in the Middle East to do what the United States demands -- without the expenditure of American political and military resources on behalf of allies and against adversaries -- is the biggest wishful thinking of all.

The United States has not made the case that the national security interest of the United States requires the use of military force in Syria. Others have made the case for regime change, punishment, and deterrence against future use of non-conventional weapons by Syria, Iran or North Korea; and some of those cases are compelling. But the Administration has articulated no outcome toward which it is willing to commit substantial military resources and political capital.
The Administration has cast its goals primarily in the negative: no regime change, no tip toward the rebels, and no boots on the ground. In the affirmative: a shot across the bow and an exercise in American credibility presumably to influence both Syria and Iran. President Obama asserted that he would decide -- with or without Great Britain (now without), with or in defiance of the UN (now in defiance of), with or without Congress (now with) -- what he thinks is best. In fact, the Administration has been clearer, more definitive and more adamant about its prerogatives as than it has been about what outcome it seeks.

Adrift: The United States and the Middle East

ANDREW E. HARROD 

John Bolton and Michael Ledeen presented a disturbing picture of Obama Administration national security policy adrift amidst a continually crisis-laden Middle East on August 28, 2013.  In particular, these two leading foreign policy experts foresaw no truly effective international policy to stop Iranian nuclear weapons proliferation, leaving Israel to confront this existential danger unilaterally.

Bolton and Ledeen appeared at the briefing "Who is the Real Rouhani?" at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. The Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), described by its founder and president Sarah Stern as "unabashedly pro-American and pro-Israeli," sponsored the event.  Stern introduced Bolton and Ledeen by discussing how Hassan Rouhani had appeared to American media as a "great moderate" following his June 14, 2003, election to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Yet Ledeen described the "big difference" between Rouhani and his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as being "exactly the same as the difference between Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola."  In contrast to Ahmadinejad, Rouhani "is more charming," his "face is prettier," and "he knows the West" due to his Western education.  Such attributes, though, simply reminded Ledeen of how some Western observers had expectantly noted Yuri Andropov as a "jazz fan" after this KGB chief succeeded Leonid Brezhnev as the Soviet Union's leader in 1982.  Rouhani's exposure to the West, rather than moderating his views, seems to have instilled anti-Western vitriol in Rouhani, just as other Islamist leaders like the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) ideologue Sayyid Qutb "learned to hate America in America."

New York Times Indicts Israel With Charges of Racism, Again

CAMERA

An article by Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren was published on the front page of The New York Times on Aug. 29. Entitled “Amid Chaos, Israelis Take a Stoic View,”the article contained no breaking news from Israel, nor was it an in-depth analysis of a current issue. It was about Israeli reaction to the turmoil in Egypt and Syria. And, it was the fifth article by Rudoren this year to include accusations of Israeli societal racism or sexism. You've got to hand it to the reporter. She certainly knows where to turn for quotes that impugn Israeli society.

In January she turned to Nadim Nashef, whom she described simply as “the director of Baladna, a Haifa-based youth organization,” to discuss the Arab vote in Israeli national elections.  In fact, Baladna is known for fostering a culture of grievance and separatism among Arab-Israeli youth. For example, it launched a campaign opposing national service by Arab citizens of Israel (who are exempt from military service, if they choose not to serve) with the argument that such service is “a branch of the occupation army, which has always acted against the Arab-Israeli population and the Palestinian people in general.” 

No John, “Allah Akbar” Does Not Mean “Thank God” and It Matters

What’s in a word?

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday for questioning members of a Syrian opposition groups’ use of the phrase “Allahu Akbar” after what Kilmeade said “looks like a fighter jet being shot out of the sky.”
“I have a problem helping those people screaming that after a hit,” Kilmeade said.
McCain criticized Kilmeade for his skepticism of the phrase, which means “God is greater” or “God is the greatest” in Arabic.
“Would you have a problem with an American person saying ‘Thank God? Thank God?’” McCain said. “That’s what they’re saying. Come on! Of course they’re Muslims, but they’re moderates and I guarantee you they are moderates.”

They’re not saying Thank God. They’re not even saying Thank Allah. If they wanted to praise Allah for surviving, they would say “Alhamdulillah”.
The difference is significant. Allah Akbar is a proclamation of Islamic superiority in line with its Koranic mission of making Islam superior over all religions.
Koran 61:9. “He it is who has sent his Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it victorious over all religions even though the infidels may resist.”
It’s not merely a praise of their deity, Allah. It’s a mission statement.

Turning Point: Obama and Israel, The Next Three Years

Barry Rubin

...the war on terrorism has been turned into the war for terrorism.

It is not every day that one can announce a shift in world history, but this day is today. And we are now in a new era in the Middle East and the world. This is not a joke--definitely not a joke--and as you will see, it is not an exaggeration. 

Let me explain. For the last seven weeks I have been in the United States, mostly in Washington D.C. I have spoken and listened to many people. As a result, I am in a position to describe for you with a high degree of accuracy what the policy will be for the next 3.5 years, and perhaps for many more.

The administration has crossed a line to, in simple terms, backing the "'bad guys."

This is literally true in Egypt, Syria, Sudan, the Palestinian Authority, Bahrain (with its support for the opposition), Qatar, and Turkey.

And in some ways, as we will see, the war on terrorism has been turned into the war for terrorism.

"Rosh Hashana"

 

Credit: mymorningmeditations

 

Tomorrow night begins the two-day holiday of Rosh Hashana, a time of repentance and renewal.  I do not expect to post again until after the Shabbat following Rosh Hashana.

 

I extend my heartfelt wishes for health and fulfillment for each of you.  And for all of Israel the blessings of peace.  May our prayers reach Heaven.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

I provide here a beautiful rendition by Israeli singer David D'Or of Avinu Malkheinu -- a prayer traditionally recited on Rosh Hashana and on Yom Kippur.

 

http://www.thejerusalemconnection.us/blog/2013/03/07/video-avinu-malchenu.html

 

Obama Vetoed Israeli Strike on Iran, Israel’s former NSC chief says

David P. Goldman (Spengler)
President Obama stopped Israel from launching an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities a year ago, according to the then head of Israel’s National Security Council, Gen. Giora Eiland. Gen. Eiland spoke with Israeli journalist Rotem Sella, a former senior writer for the daily Ma’ariv, at the Daily Capitalist blog on the “Mida” online news site. Some quickly-translated extracts from Sella’s report are below:

Exclusive: Prime – Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was about to order an attack on Iran in September 2012, but canceled the operation in response to U.S. pressure, the former head of Israel’s National Security Council said last month. Gen. Giora Eiland (retired) added that Israel “has a real ability to destroy Iran’s nuclear program,” and that it is possible that the American veto was related to the presidential election then in progress.

“At the time [September 2012] the Prime Minister thought that we had gotten to a critical point on the Iranian issue and planned to carry out attacks,” Gen. Eiland said at a closed-door conference held on August 19, adding that “Israel did not have in principle approval of U.S. military operations, unless Americans require one – cut prevented any action. ” According to Eiland, the issue was raised at a meeting between Netanyahu and the Americans, who said that the planned attack was out of the question for them, which led to its cancellation.

Reflecting

A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine that America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves.

Pause a moment, reflect back.

These events are actual events from history.

They really happened!!!

Do you remember?

1. In 1968 , Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male.

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacredby Muslim males.

3. In 1972 a Pan Am 747 was hijacked and eventually diverted to Cairowhere a fuse was lit on final approach and it was blown up shortly after landing by Muslim males.

4. In 1973 a Pan Am 707 was destroyed in Rome, with 33 people killed, when it was attacked with grenades by Muslim males.

5. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim males.

6. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanonby Muslim males.

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7. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim males .

8. In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim males.

9. In 1985, TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim males.

Time to designate Muslim Brotherhood as terror group?

Fox News

http://www.meforum.org/3597/muslim-brotherhood-terror-group

Multimedia for this item

Click Image to View Video

Cynthia Farahat appeared on Fox News earlier to discuss the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) terroristic policies and activities in Egypt. Farahat stated that the MB gatherings cannot be described as protests, comparing the MB "protestors" to the Boston bombers. The MB have publicly threatened Christians with terrorists attacks, setting improvised explosives and burning them alive.
As for the U.S. policy, Farahat pointed that the United States can still have leverage if it decided to ally with the Egyptian people in their war against terrorism, given the fact that it might get designated as a terrorist organization in Egypt.

My personal message for the New Year:

To all my family and friends ~

My prayers Heaven sent

The heart speaks with simplicity

To G-d –Omnipotent ~

Good health to those I care about

Restore it to the ill ~

May loving thoughts and peace prevail ~

I ask this be Thy will!

May those who must be comforted ~

May those who are alone ~

Find solace as we pray to You

And for our sins atone.

May  prayers from Jerusalem

The City that we love

Ascend from here directly to

The One who reigns above.

                    ~

Chana Givon

in beloved Jerusalem

Rosh HaShana -5774

Forcing Obama’s Hand in Syria

Vali Nasr

For the past two years the Obama administration has resisted entanglement in Syria, but now this grisly civil war has become an unavoidable international problem and a defining moment for American foreign policy.

Having concluded “with high confidence” that the Syrian government carried out a deadly chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus on Aug. 21, the Obama administration has no choice but to enforce the “red line” the president laid out a year ago. To maintain American credibility — and his own — President Obama has to do so quickly and decisively. He also has to explain to the American people and to the world what is at stake in Syria and how the United States will lead in ending this crisis. 

"It's Not 'Just' Attack with Gas"

The "just" is being employed advisedly, of course.  But the fact of the matter is that there is more than one horrendous way for Assad to attack civilians associated with rebel forces. 

 

This past Thursday, information came out from Syria via BBC journalists that was picked up by very few news sources. I would have thought it would have been screamed from the rafters, but either it is "ho hum" or is simply running under the radar. 

 

My betting is that you haven't heard about this:

 

It was the end of a school day in the north of Syria, and, reportedly, a fighter jet overhead flew back and forth looking for a target (i.e., place where a group of people is assembled).  The one the pilot decided upon was the yard of a high school, where groups of teenagers just dismissed from a day at school were lingering.

 

What he dropped on the kids was some sort of "napalm-like" incendiary bomb that caused horrendous burning.  Ten young people were dead and many more injured, "writhing in agony."

 

The aftermath of the attack was filmed.

 

The BBC link is here although I advise you not to look at the video portion unless you have a strong stomach. 

Obama’s bread and circuses

CAROLINE B. GLICK

Over the past week, President Barack Obama and his senior advisers have told us that the US is poised to go to war against Syria.

US President Barack Obama. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Over the past week, President Barack Obama and his senior advisers have told us that the US is poised to go to war against Syria. In the next few days, the US intends to use its airpower and guided missiles to attack Syria in response to the regime’s use of chemical weapons in the outskirts of Damascus last week.

The questions that ought to have been answered before any statements were made by the likes of Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel have barely been raised in the public arena. The most important of those questions are: What US interests are at stake in Syria? How should the US go about advancing them? What does Syria’s use of chemical weapons means for the US’s position in the region? How would the planned US military action in Syria impact US deterrent strength, national interests and credibility regionally and worldwide? Syria is not an easy case. Thirty months into the war there, it is clear that the good guys, such as they are, are not in a position to win.