Wake up Europe:The Jihadists want to capture territories from Andalucia to Iraq...

Remember the Battle of Tours/Poitiers & Charles Martel...

From the US Central Command



What Extremists are Saying

On July 27 2006, Al-Jazirah TV broadcast Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Al-Qa'ida Organization second-in-command, warning that he will not remain silent over what the Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon are facing. Al-Zawahiri said that what is happening in Palestine and Lebanon proves that what the Muslims are facing is a Crusader-Zionist war.

The following is a full translation of the audio tape:

The current serious events in Gaza and Lebanon prove to every sane person that the Crusader-Zionist war does not respect any ties or kinship. Nobody cared about the 10,000 prisoners in Israel's prisons while the world went into uproar after three Israeli soldiers [were kidnapped]. The war with Israel is not about a treaty, a cease-fire agreement, Sykes-Picot borders, national zeal, or disputed borders. It is rather a jihad for the sake of God until the religion of God is established. It is jihad for the liberation of Palestine, all Palestine, as well as every land that was a home for Islam, from Andalusia to Iraq. The whole world is an open field for us. As they attack us everywhere, we will attack them everywhere. As their armies got together to wage war on us, our nation will get together to fight them. The shells and missiles that tear apart the bodies of Muslims in Gaza and Lebanon are not purely Israeli. Rather, they come from and are financed by all countries of the Crusader alliance. Thus, all those who took part in the crime should pay the price. We cannot just stand idly by in humiliation while we see all these shells fall on our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon. How can we remain silent while we are the sons of Abu-Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Hamzah, Ja'far, Ali, Al-Husayn, Sa'd, Khalid, Talhah, Al-Zubayr, Ikrimah, Salah-al-Din, Yusuf Bin-Tashfin, and Muhammad al-Fatih [names of caliphs and Prophet Muhammad's companions]. We are the sons of those who fought the apostates, conquered the world, moved the people from the darkness of polytheism to the light of monotheism and from worshipping slaves to worshipping the God of slaves, put out the fire of the Magians, and conquered Constantinople. We are back to the field again, with the favor of God.

End of translation.

Al-Zawahiri said that what is happening in Palestine and Lebanon confirms the significance of what is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Start of next translation.

I do not wish to move your feelings with an over-zealous speech or with an emotional address. But I ask you by God Almighty; by your love for God's messenger, may God's peace and blessings upon him; and by the obligation of jihad, which is a duty on every Muslim, to rise and seek martyrdom to hurt the Crusaders and the Zionists. The events that are taking place now show the significance of the two jihad fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq. All Muslims must support them in order to drive out the forces of America from them, paralyzed and powerless, and push them back to their country and make them pay the price for their aggression against the Muslims and their support for Israel.

Iraq is characterized with its proximity to Palestine. The Muslims must support its mujahidin so that a mujahid Islamic emirate can be established there which can, with the will of God, move jihad to the borders of Palestine. Then, the mujahidin inside and outside Palestine can unite and the great conquest will arrive, God willing.

Perhaps, the events of the Crusader-Zionist aggression on the Muslims may push the traitors in Iraq to end their disgrace and treason and stop justifying and supporting the US-Crusader presence in Iraq.

End of translation.

In the new videotape, Al-Zawahiri called for forging an alliance for those whom he described as the oppressed people in the world.

Start of next translation.

O My Muslim nation, it has become known to you without doubt that the governments of the Arab and Muslim states are not only helpless, but also involved in collusions [against you]. The institutions are paralyzed and defeatist and you are le ft in the field alone. Put your trust in God and do not rely but on Him. Battle your enemies, the worshippers of the world, with death-loving weapons.

Almighty God says: " Then fight in Allah's cause - Thou art held responsible only for thyself - and rouse the believers. It may be that Allah will restrain the fury of the Unbelievers; for Allah is the strongest in might and in punishment." [Koranic verse]

As for you, the oppressed and wronged people in the world, the victims of the Western oppressive civilization led by America: Stand by Muslims in the face of this injustice which the humanity has never witnessed before. Support us as we are supporting you against injustice and tyranny that was forbidden by God in His book: "The blame is only against those who oppress men and wrong-doing and insolently transgress beyond bounds through the land, defying right and justice: for such there will be a penalty grievous." [Koranic verse]

Stand by us so that rights can be returned to their owners and the symbol of injustice in the history of human beings would collapse.

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On 1 July 2006, Al-Mu'taz bi al-Isalm, a participant in the Ana al-Muslim Forum posted on the forum several links to a new audio recording by Usama Bin Ladin addressed "To the nation, in general, and the mujahidin in Iraq and Somalia, in particular." The full audio, which is produced by Al-Qa'ida-affiliated Al-Sahab Media Organization, can be found on their site.

The following is a full translation of the audio tape:

Praised be God. We praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. God save us from our evils and bad deeds. Whoever is guided by God, no one can mislead him, and whoever deviates no one can guide him. I certify that there is no god, but Allah and that He has no partner. I also certify that Muhammad is His subject and messenger.

My present talk is to the Islamic nation in general and our kinfolk and brother mujahidin in Iraq and Somalia in particular.

May the peace and blessings of God be upon you.

To our brother mujahidin in Baghdad, the seat of the Caliphate, and its vicinity: The continuation of your courageous operations against the Americans and their collaborators has filled Muslims with joy and happiness. You have raised the heads of Muslims high by your good deeds, which delight the sad and bereaved. May God give you the best reward.

The eyes of your Islamic nation are focused on you and its tongues pray for you. It is happy for your happiness and sad for your sadness. Its hopes are pinned, after God, on you. It considers you God's devout soldiers and believes that your victory is a victory for its religion, dignity, and honor. With your victory, God willing, it will be liberated from the slavery and subservience to the Crusaders and their allies in our country. You will eradicate humiliation, fear, tyranny, and injustice, establish right and justice, spread prosperity and security, and spend the earth's treasures on its people and deserved ones in building the country and meeting the people's needs instead of most of these treasures going to the Crusaders and their agents.

I also say to the people of Iraq: Whoever ponders the great calamities that befell the land of the two rivers will find that the main cause is the Crusaders' entry and occupation of the country in connivance with the leaders of the parties that encouraged them to invade Iraq and that called on their followers to join the services of the renegade governments, which were installed by America, such as the governments of Allawi, Al-Ja'fari, and Al-Maliki so as to fight their cousins in Baghdad, Mosul, Diyala, and Al-Anbar who refused to succumb to the Crusader occupier. They also named the freedom fighters as terrorists. They fought them and bombed their houses--hence the reaction to the tribes and the parties that preferred treason and became allies for Crusader America.

I tell you that the first step that needs to be taken to ensure the stability in Iraq is the expulsion of the crusader armies through fighting them, and then punishing the leaders of the parties, as those belonging to Al-Ja'fari, Al-Hakim, Allawi, and Tariq al-Hasahimi who lied to the people and told them that way to driver the occupiers out of Iraq is through participating in the political process. Here is Malawi's government gone without the occupier leaving, and then Al-Ja'fari government gone also without the occupier leaving. The traitor and renegade government of Al-Maliki is following the suit of Al-Ja'fari's government because it is another face of that government.

In short, southern Iraqis cannot participate with the United States and its allies in invading Al-Fallujah, Al-Ramadi, Ba'qubah, Mosul, Samarra, Al-Qa'im and other towns and villages while their areas remain safe from reprisal and harm.

I also tell our Islamic nation that despite the heroic operations carried out by the mujahidin against the Americans and their renegade agents, killing their men, dissipating their funds, inflicting more wounds on them, scattering their allies, lowering their prestige, and disgracing them until they accepted withdrawal as the booty, the defenseless people of Islam in the land of the two rivers are facing genocide by the gangs of rancor and treachery, which were spread in all sensitive areas in Al-Ja'fari's previous government. They exist today also in the present government of Al-Maliki.

Therefore, the leaders of the Association of Muslim Scholars have warned and appealed for help from the people of Islam due to the grievous genocide to which they are exposed. Foremost among these leaders is Shaykh Bashar al-Faydi, Shaykh Abd-al-Salam al-Kubaysi, and Shaykh Harith al-Dari, who stated clearly a while ago that they are being exposed to annihilation and that over 40,000 were kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the crusader forces and the renegade Al-Ja'fari's forces. From God we come and to whom we return.

Therefore, it behooves Muslims to rush to the help of their brothers in the land of the two rivers with men and money so as to save them from the aggression of the Crusaders and renegades. I assure our Muslim kinfolk in Iraq that they must know full well that there can be no peace with the Crusaders and renegades and no half solutions and that their only way to salvation is by holding to God's tether, getting together, avoiding disunity and conflict, and upholding jihad. I tell them: Your swords are your fortresses. Beware of being deceived by the parties and groups that entered and participated in these governments. The matter is serious. These governments and political participations are only deceptions. These people's swords are dripping with your blood daily. Only iron will blunt iron. Whoever hopes to persuade these renegades by any other way than arms to stop fighting the people of Islam in Baghdad and its vicinity, will be like the stupid man who tries to persuade the wolves to stop devouring the sheep. This can never happen.

The harm by these Crusader infidels and renegades can only be stopped through fighting. If you abandoned your God's order to you to fight them, you would be disappointed and routed and you would have disobeyed. God said: "Then fight in God's cause--Thou art held responsibly only for thyself--and rouse the Believers. It may be that God will restrain the fury of the Unbelievers; For God is the strongest in might and in punishment. [Koranic verse]

Stick to fighting, join the ranks of the mujahidin, and listen to and obey the jama'ah.

I also address my speech to our kinfolk in Somalia. I tell them: The Somalis agreed on Islam and enjoyed guidance, light, security, and peace. The Somalis then scattered away when Siad Barri rejected Islam, upheld communism, and burned honorable scholars--may their souls rest in peace--in public squares. You can survive only by upholding Islam and being one hand with the Islamic Courts, which seek to establish an Islamic state. You should also know that the gang, which the agent General Abdullahi Yusuf formed is a traitor and collaborator gang. A sufficient proof that they are agents is the fact that they have called for international forces to occupy the country. The representatives who opposed this decision are not excused of responsibility unless they repent and resign from this unjust gang and disavow it. Every Muslim in Somalia must know that anyone who helps the renegade Abdullahi Yusuf and the invading international forces will be considered an infidel and a deviant from the creed. There will be no prayer at his funeral and he will not be buried in a Muslim cemetery. His wife will be divorced from him and he will have no right to inheritance.

I also hail the mujahidin in Somalia and pray to God to make you hold firmly, aim your shots, and make you triumph over your enemy.

Beware of the ploys of the infidels for they are many and twisted. An example to this is Ali Abdallah Salih's call on you and your adversaries to hold dialogue in Sanaa. He is an obedient US agent. Don't you remember that he was caught red-handed supplying fuel to the US destroyer Cole which was on its way to besiege the Iraqi people? He also cooperated with the Americans and allowed them to bomb with their aircraft the mujahidin Abu-Ali al-Harithi and his brothers on the land of Yemen. These and other acts contradict Islam.

Yet, the misguided scholars of evil and some Islamic action leaders there claimed that he is a Muslim ruler. They lied and they were misguided and they misled many people. God is our judge on them.

There must be no dialogue with Abdullahi Yusuf and his collaborators except with the sword. Don't waste your time. Fight them immediately. Don't let him escape as he did before. The faithful is not bitten twice from the same hole.

As for the international forces, their issue is easy, God willing. Their soldiers lack a fighting ideology. They do not have a cause to fight for. Seek God's help and prepare the necessary means, especially tank mines and anti-armor RPG's. Be patient like your brothers in Iraq and Afghanistan in this world crusade against our Islamic nation. You have seen several years ago the defeat of the United States and its allies on your land. This time victory will be easier, God willing.

I also tell my Islamic nation we have lost the Caliphate state, which has been fragmented and fell under the Crusader occupation almost a century ago. Ever since, the Crusaders have been trying to prevent us from reinstating the Caliphate state or even establishing any Islamic state. For this reason, they invaded Afghanistan and applied pressure on Sudan until it retracted plans to establish an Islamic state. Preparations for sending military forces to Somalia upon America's instructions are part of this context, claiming that is meant to help the people of Somalia and to establish security there. By saying so, they would be lying.

Somalia has been suffering from tribal feuds since the defeat of the United States in it several years ago. Can any sensible person believe that they have discovered this tragedy today? Or is the real reason that the Islamic Courts have controlled the capital and imposed its influence on most of the important areas and are now striving to establish an Islamic state.

We cannot possibly understand the reason for the arrival of any military forces in Somalia from whatever state, even if it is claimed that they are Islamic, other than that it is a continuation of the Crusade against the Islamic World. We warn all countries of the world against responding to America by sending international forces to Somalia.

We pledge God Almighty that we will fight their soldiers on the land of Somalia with His help and assistance. We will also reserve our right to punish them on their own territory and everywhere possible at the right time and using the method we deem most appropriate. I also urge the Muslim youths and merchants to sacrifice their cherish and dearest things to secure the needs of the mujahidin through the trustworthy mediators, especially in Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Sudan. Take notice that the situation in Iraq is dangerous. So, fear God in yourself and in your brothers. If you leave Baghdad today, then you will leave Damascus, Amman, the Gulf, and Riyadh tomorrow. The matter is so serious and can never tolerate any jesting. The entire region is in jeopardy. Those who read history can learn its lessons.

God's prophet, may God's peace and prayers be upon him, said: "If one lets down a Muslim when his honor is violated and his sanctity is desecrated, then God will fail him when God's support is direly needed. If one supports a Muslim when his honor is violated and his sanctity is desecrated, then God will support him when God's support is direly needed."

Be cautious of the consequences of procrastination which some Muslims suffered when they failed to support the Muslim state in Afghanistan. This is a precious opportunity and a duty on all those who can afford it. So, do not miss this opportunity to establish the first nucleus of the caliphate state, God willing.

In conclusion, we have heard that the mujahid brothers in Al-Qa'ida Organization have chosen the dear brother Abu-Hamzah al-Muhajir as their leader [amir] to succeed their amir, Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, God have mercy on him. I pray God to make him the best successor for the best predecessor. I urge him and myself to be patient and pious and continue jihad until the word of God is exalted to the heights. I also urge him to strongly remain in the Mujahidin Shura Council . Disagreement is full of evil. Union is mercy, but division is nothing but a plight. I also urge him to concentrate his fight against the Americans and their supporters in their war on Muslims in Iraq. I beseech God to bless his jihad and the jihad of the mujahidin in general in Iraq and to guide them toward liberating the land of the two rivers from the crusaders and hypocrites and establish the state of Islam with Almighty God's help.

Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire.

O Lord, show as the truth as truth, and grant us the blessing of following it, and show as falsehood as falsehood, and grant us the blessing of staying away from it.

O Lord, bring the hearts of Muslims together, reunite them, and unify their ranks and file, have mercy on their weakness, and heal their wounds.

O Lord, grant this nation a guiding command, by which those who obey you are strengthened and those who disobey you are degraded, in which the good is commanded and the evil is forbidden.

O Lord, make faith dear to our heart and beautify it in our hearts, and make us hate unbelief, corruption, and disobedience.

O Lord, expand the chest of our youth and make us pious and chaste.

Our Lord, bestow on us endurance, make our foothold sure on the day when the feet slip down.

O Lord, make us and the mujahidin everywhere steadfast, especially in Palestine, Iraq, Kashmir, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Somalia, Algeria, and the land of the two holy mosques

O Lord, guide them toward their targets, make them steadfast, instill courage in their hearts, and provide them with Your aid, and grant them victory over their and Your enemy. They and we have no supporter but You. You have power and can carry out Your will. "Allah hath full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not." [part of Koranic verse]

Our last call is praised be God, the Lord of the two worlds, peace and prayers be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his household and companions.

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On 28 June, "Al-Khansa'a" posted to the Islamic Renewal Organization website a statement announcing a 10-minute, 22-second audio statement from Abu-Hamzah Al-Baghdadi, head of the Legal Committee of Al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers, entitled "Lifting Morale." In his statement, Al-Baghdadi reminded the mujahidin who are handling the media of the importance of their role as "a window to the Muslim nation" and asked them to remain strong and determined. The audio was not accompanied by a signed statement from Al-Qa'ida in the Land of the Two Rivers nor was it posted on the usual jihadist sites.

The Islamic Renewal Organization is the website of the Saudi dissident group headed by Muhammad al-Mas'ari and based in the United Kingdom.

A translation of the statement follows:

"Praise be to God, Lord of all creation. The outcome belongs to the righteous and aggression only upon the unjust. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and that He has no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, whom God sent to smile in the face of the believers and fight the infidels. Prayers and peace be upon him and upon all of his family and companions until Judgment Day.

“To the ambassadors of jihad who are responsible for the media all over the world: May God's peace, mercy, and blessings be with you. Dear brothers, God honored you when He chose you to bring the news to the nation of Islam and made you the mouthpiece for the jihad of your brothers in the Land of the Two Rivers against the country of the Crusaders and its follower, the government of the rejectionist Al-Ja'fari. You compete with the infidels and the hypocrites in their own countries to spite them and to satisfy the hearts of the believers. The Almighty said, 'They do not trod paths to raise the ire of the Unbelievers, or receive any injury whatever from an enemy: for Allah suffers not the reward to be lost of those who do good, nor could they spend anything - small or great- nor cut across a valley, but the deed is inscribed to their credit: that Allah may requite their deed with the best' [Koranic verse, incorporating part of Sura 9:120 plus Suras 9:121 -- 122].

“By God, brothers, be patient, be patient. It is only a matter of days before the eagle's banner flies high. Oh heroes, your determination when you are in the land of the infidels and the hypocrites and your steadfastness oh mujahidin bring stability to the word of the Muslims and messes up the craftiness of the Crusaders, who have tasted the bitterness of defeat and retreat at the hands of your muhajirin [immigrants] and Ansar [supporters] brothers. You are our window to the Muslim nation and the sword of jihad which is aimed at the throats of the enemies of God and the prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, in the land of the infidels, east and west, north and south. I swear by God that America has already crumpled, its dreams are ruined, and its throne is destroyed. This was made possible first by the grace of God and by the bravery of a group of enduring and believing mujahidin. With your patience and courage, the voice of your brothers the mujahidin carries to the children of our nation good tidings and comes to the enemies of God as a blow to their morale. The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, said, 'Use your property, your persons and your tongues in striving against the polytheists' [Quoted from the Muslim text Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 14, Number 2498]. And in the past it was said, 'One of the two swords is the tongue.' If you are suffering hardships dear brothers, [remember that] your brothers in the Land of the Two Rivers wrap their bodies with explosive belts and carry out their defensive operations against the enemies of God Almighty who are waiting to harm your mujahidin brothers. 'But Allah will not allow but that His light should be perfected, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it)' [Koranic verse, Sura 9:32].

“God bless your brothers and God bless your jihad. The Almighty says, 'And slacken not in following up the enemy: If ye are suffering hardships, they are suffering similar hardships; but ye have Hope from Allah, while they have none. And Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom' [Koranic verse, Sura 4:104]. We ask the Almighty to keep you firm and to strengthen your hearts. May He give you solid faith and endless blessings, and may He bless you with the company of the prophet in the highest heaven.

“May God's prayers be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions.

“May God's peace, mercy, and blessings be with you."



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On 27 June, the Islamic Renewal Organization posted a statement issued by The Mujahidin Shura Council in Iraq [Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin fi al-Iraq] in which the group posted its response to the national reconciliation initiative presented by Iraqi Prime Minster Nuri Al-Maliki. In it, the terrorists rant about their violent perversion of Islam, saying, "We will not compromise our faith. The infidels should wait for nothing from us other than sounds of weapons and explosions until God's word is held high. This is our demand; we live for it and die by it."

The Islamic Renewal Organization is the website of the Saudi dissident group headed by Muhammad al-Mas'ari and based in the United Kingdom.

A translation of the statement follows:

"In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

"'Say O Muhammad (peace be upon him) Say: O ye that reject Faith. I worship not that which ye worship, nor will ye worship that which I worship, And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship, Nor will ye worship that which I worship, To you be your Way, and to me mine' [Koranic verse, Sura 109].

"All praise be to God, Lord of all creations. Most certainly the reward will be for the most righteous. We seek no aggression but against the transgressors. May God's peace and prayers be upon the imam of the mujahidin, our Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his companions.

"Lately, the servant of the cross Nuri Al-Maliki came up with his new project and evil plan through which he seeks to save his Crusader Masters and their surrogates the apostates from sinking deeper into the quagmire of the Land of the Two Rivers [i.e. Iraq]. The Crusader enemy, having failed after three years of using all means at their disposal aiming to break the mujahidin, starting with besieging cities, random arrests which have impacted Sunni innocent people, assassinating jihad leaders, allowing the malicious pigs of the rejectionist security forces to have a free hand in the Sunni areas, and other ways and tricks that are no longer secret, here we see him today asking dwarfs for support hoping that they might save his sinking army, save his ugly face, ease up the impact of the defeat which is a reality by God's permission. The presentation of these old projects is but a mere attempt by the administration of the obeyed fool [President Bush] seeking to absorb some lessons from the Vietnam War.

"In May 1969, a statement coming from the White House quoted President Nixon saying, 'If the US wants to stop violence in Vietnam, the US should bring forward a new political alternative giving all prominent political groups a real opportunity to participate in the political process in the country.' It resembles very much the Crusaders' current efforts in creating an apostasy state in the Land of the Two Rivers.

"Another aspect of similarity between Iraq and Vietnam is that upon the inauguration of US President Richard Nixon, he presented his plan called 'Vietnamization.'

"That plan required the pro-American South Vietnamese to assume more fighting duties and more responsibilities in launching war against the resisting North Vietnamese. The US President hoped that such policy would enable him in the end to gradually withdraw his forces which had already sunk in the Vietnamese quagmire.

"The scenario that took place in Bosnia, which murdered the Algerian revolution and buried the Palestinian uprising, is needed to be played one shot followed by another in Iraq. The theory is, 'Let imperialists leave and allow the hypocrites among us to rule.'

"It is no coincidence that the moment this evil plan was presented, the malicious rejectionist militias' pigs were allowed in a number of innocent Sunni Districts in Baghdad, killing, taking into custody, burning, and confiscating Sunni properties as their apostate brothers, supporters of the Crusaders, watched. Are the lives and blood of the Sunni people permissible to those rejectionists? Have defending the Sunni people and confronting their enemies become terrorism and blood-letting? It is no surprise to see some of the apostates who are supposed to be Sunni Muslims sitting at the tables of the blasphemy and apostasy applauding the alleged initiative, and not even condemning the attacks of those apostates in the regions of the Sunni people.

"The announcement of the initiative also coincided with the ambassador of blasphemy Zalmay's [US ambassador in Iraq] call to those he called 'armed Iraqis' to join in the blasphemous political process. There was also the statement of the commander of the Crusader's army about substantially reducing the number of US forces by the end of the current year, all of which reinforces the belief that the main objective behind this evil plan is to circumvent the mujahidin and most especially the jihadist groups that have clear guidelines regarding blasphemy and its charter of democracy. The jihadist groups have managed, by the grace of the Almighty God, to attract the pioneers of this nation of immigrants and the best of yields of the Iraqi wombs. There is an attempt to circumvent the mujahidin by collaborating with some of those who are considered to be Sunni, those whose faith is weak, to disfigure the mujahidin and their leaders, describing them with heinous epithets. They claim that the mujahidin are attacking those who are supposed to be protected and that they are spilling innocent blood and that they are dishonored resistance because they do not believe in Sikes-Pico, which is the equivalent of the doctrine of loyalty and disloyalty to those people.

"In this respect, we can but remind our mujahidin brothers everywhere, those who have borne the burden in the long path of jihad, with two core recommendations set forth by mujahid Sheik Yusif Al-Aai'iri, God's mercy to the mujahidin.

"First Recommendation:

"The most important meaning of defeat in a war is relying on the enemies; flatter them, rely on them, and follow their way of life. God said: 'So (O Muhammad (peace be upon him) obey not the deniers, the Oneness of Allah, and the Messenger of Muhammad (peace be upon him)). They wish that you should compromise with them so they would compromise with you' [Koranic verse, including Suras 68:8-9].

"Compromise here means being soft. Abu al-Muzhafar al-Sama'ani, may God's mercy be upon him, in his paraphrasing of this verse, said: 'It means being soft and weak and to be meek and agree to everything they present. When a Muslim becomes an apostate and declares his following the Jewish or Christian way of life or any other blasphemous trend, secularity, or democracy, either partly or totally, this is considered the highest degree of defeat, even if the follower has achieved some type of gaining of complacency with the Jews, Christians, or other groups and has achieved a degree of leadership and status he would not have achieved without following their ways.'

"Second Recommendation:

"Victory is not merely military success. When the mujahidin stick to the way of jihad and its principles despite the frustrations and sufferings even if it results in total annihilation of the jihadist group, it is considered a victory, and God said: 'Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world (i.e. they will keep on worshipping Allah Alone and none else), and in the Hereafter. And Allah will cause to go astray those who are Zalimun [a word referring to the Devil or evil-doers], and Allah does what He wills' [Koranic verse]. Therefore, whosoever perseveres and sticks to the path of jihad, despite all difficulties, and has become a true representation of this verse is in itself the greatest victory. By God, yes. How many victories have been achieved in the battlefields and yet they suffered defeat of their principles and their convictions changed and they served their interests by obtaining earthly gains. How often have they apologized and let their people down? Isn't that pure defeat while holding fast to principles is true victory?

"We in the Mujahidin Shura Council will continue our jihad with God's permission. We are not fighting for a piece of land; rather, we are fighting for a doctrine and faith. No conciliation with infidels. No disarming; our faith is running deep in our body and soul. The blood of our brothers and sheiks are boiling in our hearts. Let the whole world bear witness that the Crusaders will be vanquished sooner rather than later; we implore the Almighty God to allow this on our hands.

"Peaceful 'capitulation' dialogue and negotiations that would lead to interference with God's laws and compromising will certainly bring about great disaster and an undesirable infliction to those who accept it, and that will not help them in the sight of God, even if they own the entire earth. By God, to live for one moment under the laws of God on a span of earth is by far much better than living for centuries owning wealth on earth where the laws of God are not applicable.

"Finally, we say it candidly to the world:

"We will not accept anything other than Islam as a religion. We will not compromise our faith. The infidels should wait for nothing from us other than sounds of weapons and explosions until God's word is held high. This is our demand; we live for it and die by it. God said: 'Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practice their religion, that which He has chosen for them. And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they worship Me and do not associate anything with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqun [i.e. wicked]' [Koranic verse, Sura 24:55].

"God is great. 'Glory be to God, His messenger, and the believers; However, the hypocrites do not know' [Koranic verse, excerpted from Sura 63:8]."



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On 22 June, "Abu-Hanifah" posted to the Islamic Renewal Organization website several links to a new video statement by Ayman al-Zawahiri, second-in-command of Al-Qa'ida. Also, other links were posted to the text of the statement in the Arabic, Pashtu, and Farsi languages. The video is produced by Al-Sahab Media Productions, an underground media organization that produces Al-Qa'ida audio and video tapes. The Islamic Renewal Organization is the website of the Saudi dissident group headed by Muhammad al-Mas'ari and based in the United Kingdom.

The videotape begins with the following screen caption:

"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Warning: We do not allow airing this videotape with music; we urge everybody to abide."

Then, a screen caption reads: "Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri, may God protect him: The Crimes of the Americans in Kabul." The following Koranic verse is recited at the same time: "Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion." [Sura 2:120]

Then, a screen caption reads "Al-Sahab Media Productions, Jumada al-Ula, 1427 hegira [the month of Jumada al-Ula started on 29 May 2006]."

The video then shows Al-Zawahiri wearing a loose, grey garment and a white turban, sitting, with a rifle behind him against a completely black background.

The following is a translation of the full Al-Zawahiri statement:

“In the name of God, praise be to God, and God's peace and blessings be upon the prophet, his household, companions, and followers.

“Brother Muslims everywhere: God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.

“I address my statement today to my Muslim brothers in Kabul, who lived the bitter incidents yesterday and saw with their own eyes a new proof of the US forces' crimes against the Afghan people.

“My Muslim brothers in Kabul, the latest US aggression against you was preceded by a long series of the killing of innocent people in Kabul, Khost, Uruzgan, Helmand, Kandahar, and Konar. This aggression was also preceded by torturing Muslims in Kandahar and Bagram and at the prison of darkness in Kabul. This was also preceded by insulting the holy Koran in Bagram and Guantanamo and by the Danish, French, and Italian mocking of the noblest prophet, God's peace and blessings be upon him.

“Yesterday's incidents were also preceded by [former US President Bill] Clinton's and [former British Prime Minister Margaret] Thatcher's honoring of [Satanic Verses author] Salman Rushdie, to reward him for offending the prophet, may God's prayers and blessings be upon him and his chaste household. Therefore, I appeal to Muslims in Kabul in particular and throughout Afghanistan in general to sincerely stand against the infidels' forces, which have invaded Muslim lands, for the sake of God. These forces filled Kabul's sky with their flags of every color and shape. I appeal to my Muslim brothers in Kabul in particular, and throughout Afghanistan in general, to [defend] Islam. I also appeal to them to glorify the great Koran and love the noble prophet, God's peace and blessings be upon him. I urge them to demonstrate chivalry, gallantry, and pride. I urge them to demonstrate the Afghan people's zeal and dignity, and their rejection of injustice. I also urge them to remember the history of their fathers in resisting invaders. I urge them to do that and to resist this infidel, oppressive, and unjust occupation of Muslim lands.

“I appeal to the young people of Islam at schools and universities in Kabul to carry out their religious duty in defense of their religion, honor, sanctities, and homeland.

“My Muslim brothers in Kabul: God says, ‘Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion.’ [Koranic verse, Sura 2:120]

“God also says, ‘Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can.’ [Koranic verse, excerpted from Sura 2:217]

“Do not trust those infidel invaders or their treasonous agents, who want to turn you into a humiliated and enslaved people in order to achieve their ambitions and gains.

“My Muslim brothers in Kabul in particular and throughout Afghanistan in general: Stand united by the mujahidin until the invading forces are expelled, Muslim Afghanistan is liberated, the glorious shari'ah is implemented, and sanctities are preserved and until security and justice prevail.

“God says, ‘Truly Allah loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure.’ [Koranic verse, Sura 61:4]

“Our last prayer is praise be to God, Lord of the universe, and God's peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad and his household and followers.”

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On 20 June, the Hanin Net forum posted a statement issued by The Mujahidin Shura Council in Iraq in which the group claimed responsibility for killing two kidnapped US soldiers.

The "Issues of Iraq and the Nation" forum on Hanin Net is dedicated to news on jihad and Iraqi insurgent groups.

A translation of the statement follows:

"In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

“Oh God, guide our aim and keep our feet firm.

“All praise be to God, Lord of all creations. May God's peace and prayers be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his companions.

“We are presenting the good news from the lions of wilderness to the nation of Islam. To cool your chests, we have executed the Exalted Almighty God's verdict on the two Crusader infidels we captured, by slaughtering them. The Exalted Almighty Has favored Abu-Hamzah Al-Muhajir (may God save him) with the honor to execute the decision of the Islamic legal council.

“God is great. Glory be to God, His messenger and the believers, however the hypocrites do not know.

“The Media Commission of The Mujahidin Shura Council."

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The Mujahidin News posted a statement on 13 June from Abu-Hamzah Al-Muhajir, the new amir of Al-Qa'ida in the Land of the Two Rivers. In his first statement since his succession of Al-Zarqawi, Abu-Hamzah al-Muhajir vowed to maintain attacks and follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, and pledged allegiance to Al-Qa'ida leader Usama Bin Ladin.

A translation of the statement follows:

“In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.

“'Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs.' [Koranic verse, Sura 54:45]

“'And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and polytheism] and the religion will all be for Allah alone. But if they cease, then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.' [Koranic verse, Sura 8:39]

“'They want to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths, but Allah will not allow except that His Light should be perfected even though the disbelievers hate it. It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it superior over all religions even though the polytheists hate it.' [Koranic verse, Sura 9:32]

“From Abu Hamzah Al-Muhajir to my dear nation:

“The ferocious war that is taking place in Iraq between the soldiers of truth and the soldiers of evil from the Crusaders and the apostate rejectionists is no secret to you. Three years have passed and your mujahidin sons are making the enemies taste the bitterness of defeat and disgrace. God willing, your sons have reached a decisive stage and our enemy is literally about to show us his back.

“Your sons in the Land of the Two Rivers are doing well. Today, they are stronger, more firm and more courageous than any time before. No matter how allied and how numerous the unbelievers are, they are defeated and vanquished and their nose is bleeding, as admitted by their leaders.

“Every day during these three years, they claim that the battle is about to be over to raise the hopes of their people. Then came the strikes and the entire world witnessed the conquests of the mujahidin to confirm to them that the mujahidin are advancing step by step and that the camp of the unbelievers is continuously retrogressing and falling apart. 'Say the Truth has come, and the Falsehood can neither create nor resurrect anything.' [Koranic verse, Sura 34:49]

“My dear nation:

“You have seen how your Crusader enemy is begging the forces of his allies not to withdraw and leave him alone on the battle field. He now turned to the European countries and the tyrants of the Arab states asking them for their help and rescue from what has come to be known as 'The Iraqi Quagmire.'

“As for the apostate and hypocrite puppets, he no longer knows what to do with them. Sometimes he would put them in the front and some other time he would send them to the back. He first came up with 'a governed' Governing Council, then he came up with a Transitional Government and now he came up with the democracy game and the election which brought him his rejectionist servants and the so-called Sunnis who betrayed God and the Prophet. He exhausted all his options and now he has to admit that he is in a critical situation to which he was driven and thrown by a plot from God, the Most Grand.

“This is the final stage and no matter how numerous they are, their forces will be of no avail to them against God.

“Your children today are rejoicing in the blessings and favor which God bestowed on them, when he chose them for jihad, and favored them with defeating His enemies...'Fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame, help you [to victory] over them, heal the breasts of Believers.' [Koranic verse, Sura 9:14].

“It was narrated by Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Allah guarantees either the Garden or a safe return to his home with whatever he has obtained of reward or booty, for the one who does jihad in His way, if it is solely jihad and trust in his promise that brings him out of his house.' [Hadith, Malik’s Muwatta, Book 21 verse 1:2]

“My beloved nation:

“We say to those who have let you down from the Sunnis, who sold their souls to the Crusaders and put their hands in the hands of the hateful rejectionists, for unfounded claims, and false interpretations:

“Newspaper with the picture of Al-Zarqawi near a damaged house in Baghdad

You shall witness, God willing, what we have in store for you as a result of your betrayal and apostasy. Our swords are aimed at your necks, and they will not distinguish between one apostate and another. 'Are your Unbelievers, [Oh, Quraysh], better than they? Or have ye immunity in the Sacred Books?' [Koranic verse, Sura 54:43].

“God has exposed you when you extended the rope of safety to the rejectionists, even though you knew the extent of their hatred for the Sunnis, and the magnitude of their daily crimes against the Sunni general public of women and children, in addition to the elderly and the young. You committed the greatest evil and despicability when you appointed the slaughterer of the city of glory, Al-Fallujah, to the position of the Minister of Defense.

“The day of punishment is near, even your towers which are built up strong and high inside the Green Zone will not protect you from us...'But if they have treacherous designs against thee, they have already been in treason against Allah, and so hath He given [thee] power over them, and Allah so He Who hath [full] knowledge and wisdom.' [Koranic verse, Sura 8:71].

“To the grandchildren of Al-Alqami we say: Oh, you polytheists, who insulted the honor of the best of Messengers, cursed the venerated companions, and devoted yourselves to serve the Crusaders. We shall implement on you the verdict of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq in his fight with the apostates, and we shall continue what our Shaykh Abu Mus'ab, may God have mercy on him, has started with you. We shall fight you until the word of monotheism is supreme and the word of your idols becomes worthless.

“As for you, oh Crusaders! Between you and us there will be days that will turn your children's hair white, and battles that will reveal the falsity of your power and the weakness of your soldiers, and expose your biggest liar.

“Do not get carried away with joy over the killing of our Shaykh Abu Mus'ab, may God have mercy on him, because he left behind lions whom he raised in his ways and trained in his den. They are people of ideology and religion. They fight not but for God, and with the help of God. 'Say: Can you expect for us other than one of two glorious things [martyrdom or victory]? But we can expect for you either that Allah will send his punishment from Himself, or by our hands. So wait; we too will wait with you.' [Koranic verse, Sura 9:52]. 'Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil: So fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.' [Koranic verse, Sura 4:76].

“Oh, nation of Islam and legions of jihad:

“Here are the enemies of God Almighty preparing their equipment and taking steps towards attacking the city of honor, the frontline city of Al-Ramadi - known for its noble people and tribes - where are you from these preparations against our people there?

“Most certainly we are no good, should they be allowed to advance towards them while we still have a pulsing artery. Let us all get to fight the enemies of the Almighty God, and foil their plot against our brothers, protect our mosques and our women.

“Our sheikh and Amir Abu-Abdullah Usama Bin Ladin:

“God has been very generous and bountiful, by granting us gallant and hospitable brothers who have gathered with us in the Mujahidin Shura Council and have given the best example and have become the best support. We have taken our vows to support each other and have committed to follow the path of the righteous of the Prophet's followers, may God be pleased with them all. May God reward them on our behalf and on behalf of all Muslims.

“Our sheikh and Amir Abu-Abdullah Usama Bin Ladin:

“We are waiting for your directives and we are at your disposal. The good news is that the morale of your soldiers is very high. They are very proud to be serving under your banner as the beams of victory started to appear at the horizon by the permission of the Almighty.

“'And Allah has full power and control over His affairs, but most of men know not.' [Koranic verse, excerpted from Sura 12:21].

“Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir

Amir of al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers

“'Glory be to God, His messenger, and the believers, however the hypocrites do not know.'” [Koranic verse, excerpted from Sura 63:8]

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[US Central Command]
[Israel]
[Iraq]
[Islam]
[Iran]
[terrorism]

Chavez & Ahmadinejad: Worms of a skin squirm together...

Charming. Cuando le van a dar a Hugo una patada ...???

Iran awarded Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday the country's highest medal of honor for his support for Iran's nuclear program, the official IRNA new agency reported.

"The medal was given to President Chavez for his support for Iran's stance on its nuclear case at international circles, especially Venezuela's vote against an anti-Iranian resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," the IRNA said.

Venezuela opposed an IAEA decision to report Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council in February. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad awarded the medal to Chavez in Tehran University. "He is the one who has stood against imperialism for years and has defended the interests of his and other Latin American countries," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the state television.

Chavez arrived in Tehran on Saturday for his fifth visit to the Islamic republic since he came to power in 1999. During his talk with Ahmadinejad on Saturday, Chavez said he was pleased with the current economic cooperation between Venezuela and Iran.

"We can defeat imperialism only when we are united, and we will be defeated if we are separated. And this is something proved in history," said Chavez. The Venezuelan president also met with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei later Saturday.


[Iran]
[Ahmadinejad]

[Islam]

[Hugo Chavez]

Eric Hoffer revisited"Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us"

Today I received by e-mail, from one of my friends, the following quote from Eric Hoffer, dating back to 1968. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Eric Hoffer ( (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) an American social writer. He authored ten books and won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983 from President Ronald Reagan. His first book, The True Believer, published in 1951, was widely recognized as a classic. This book, which he considered his best, established his reputation. He remained a successful writer for most of his remaining years.

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.

Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it, Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese-and no one says a word about refugees.

But in the case of Israel the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab. Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis. Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace .

Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world. Other nations when they are defeated survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967] he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews. No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on .

There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Blacks are executed in Rhodesia. But when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one remonstrated with him. The Swedes, who are ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we do in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troop trains to Norway.

The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources. Yet at this moment Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer [1967] had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.

I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us.

Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us.

[Eric Hoffer]
[Israel]
[West]
[Nazis]
[Arabs]

The Vatican & Israel...

The Vatican and Israel: Policy Ordered More to Balance than Impartiality
by Vittorio Emanuele Parsi


Can we really define the Vatican's policy on the Middle East conflict as an impartial one? [...] Even when recognizing that pro-Arab prejudice persists in some noteworthy exponents within Vatican hierarchy, it seems more suitable to use the concept of balance as opposed to impartiality as a basis for such opinion.

Regarding the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Vatican's political stance has been and remains directed by a cornerstone and long-held principle within Church tradition: that is, attention must be given to peoples and not their governments. [...] It is obvious, even to the Holy See, that the current situation is characterized by the existence of a Jewish state and the inexistence of a Palestinian one. This fact, in most people's opinion, is one of the main long-term obstacles to Israel´s very security; in the meantime, it is the source of enormous suffering as well as injustice and humiliation for Palestinians. And it is by the side of this oppressed populace that the Vatican has decided to stand firm, without its choice implying any anti-Israeli discrimination. Nor much less so does this decision implicate any justification of choices often censurable by Palestinian leaders nor, for much higher reasons, the slightest legitimization or tolerance of attacks reeking havoc among the Israeli citizen population.

Even if this position can be used as a partisan instrument, John Paul II himself reaffirmed (at a June 2003 audience with Oded Ben-Hur during his presentation of credentials as new Israeli ambassador to the Holy See) that while it is undeniable that "people have a right to live in safety" this right "carries with it an inherent duty: respect for the rights of others". Thus, after clearly reiterating "terrorist acts must always be condemned as crimes against humanity" and that each state has the "inalienable right to defend herself against terrorism", the pope reminded those in attendance "this right must always be exercised with respect to the moral and legal boundaries of the means" used to achieve the former. He underscored that it is essential that Israelis and Palestinians are able to live in "two independent and sovereign states".

In reality, the cause for division between the Vatican and Israeli positions is not so much a question of reaching a conclusion on a peace process that both parties deem necessary. Not even in Jerusalem does it take much convincing that, sooner or later, a Palestinian state must be installed aside its Jewish neighbor. The disagreement is found in the way in which to achieve the desired result as well as who Israel believes to be "valid" and "cooperative" interlocutors.

RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE

Regarding what is precisely meant by a "right to self-defense", the positions of both parties remain rather distant from each other. It is true that for some years now the Holy See has made explicit use of such a term and evidently to Israel's satisfaction; yet when facing agreement on the basis of principle, the divergent opinions that result nearly nullify the basic consensus. [...]

The Vatican´s concept of security is by definition one which refers to the notion of collective safety and multi-lateral ways of its realization. In addition, this notion tends toward a criteria of balance that, from Rome´s perspective, is an irrefutable aspect of middle eastern policy. What´s more, for the Holy See, security must be achieved while respecting the norms of international law.

Israel, on the other hand, holds that security must be a prerequisite for any further step toward achieving a solution to the conflict and can be unilaterally guaranteed with all necessary means. In terms of international law, Jerusalem then is seen to have assumed an increasingly open critical position over the years. Such a position takes its shape by not respecting principles when the latter jeopardize a shield against lethal blows threatening the survival of the Jewish state and its people.

Upon closer look, there could be no two positions that are more different. And their dissimilarity has increased since the Gulf War of 1990-91 during which there was a clear clash between international laws and institutions, on one hand, and the demands of international policy on the other. Since then the Vatican has directed its own political stance toward an ever more uncompromising condemnation of the use of force, even when legitimized by U.N. resolutions, and demonstrating a certain flexibility, as in the Balkans and East Timor. It must not be forgotten that one of the reasons for the Vatican's opposition to the war in 1990-91 (entirely legal and politically legitimate) most likely rested on its deep conviction that the new world order (made possible since the fall of communism) must not be based upon war. In the very same period, Israel intensified unscrupulous activity in terms of its own security policy, striking wherever enemy targets lay hidden and exacerbating retaliatory measures against terrorist attacks.

PREVENTIVE WAR

The Bush administration's post-September 11 adoption of the preventive war concept is a constitutional element of his national security doctrine. It has, in many respects, radicalized the differences between the two protagonists. For the Holy See, any concession in such a direction indeed risks producing two rather feared consequences.

The first is that of further relativization of the role of international law and multilateral institutions in the architecture of global security - not only in practice of that which is said and done, but also in theory and form.

The second is that of the so-called "clash of civilizations", a scenario which verges upon the apocalyptic and whose coming to be would render in vane decades of the Holy See's work toward emphasizing elements of inherent collaboration between religious faiths. This has not been so easy a task, when for centuries it is improperly used religion that has hoisted its ideological banners in bloody conflicts.

From their own perspective, Israel sees in Bush's doctrine the highest testimony to the fact that when national security is threatened by the vile instrument of terrorism, there is no international law or borderline free from violation. If having observed the facts with reasonable objectivity in recent years after September 11, it is clear that Israel feels justified in accentuating its unilateral and unabashed character in its own fight against terrorism, while seeking constant connection with George W. Bush's proclaimed "war on terror".

Even this year's war against Saddam Hussein's regime has generated tension between the Vatican and Israel, as the former vigorously opposed the conflict while the latter openly supported it. Officially, this difference of opinion has created no major problems - witnessed by the absence of documents of accusation or reciprocal recrimination. On the other hand, it is no small secret that for some time Israel has considered Iraq a potential aggressor; and it was effectively attacked by Iraq during the 1990-91 Gulf War. However, the 2003 conflict in Iraq seems to have strengthened the Vatican party favoring a greater openness to Islamic affairs - the same party objectively weakened by the events of September 11.

CONDEMNATION OF TERRORISM

Development in this direction also jeopardizes the very point on which both parties share deep alliance: the firm and unequivocal condemnation of terrorism. As the pontiff himself resoundingly expressed in his January 1, 2002 World Peace Day message (his first after the Twin Towers attack), no case whatsoever of injustice in the world could be used as pretexts for terrorism.

At any rate, the second "intifada", with systematic recourse to suicide attacks, the harsh Israeli retaliations as well as the increasing use of selective elimination of terrorists and their political backers, is endangering substantial agreement on the concept of terrorist activity. Episodes such as when Israeli tanks besieged Bethlehem's Basilica of the Nativity (where Palestinian terrorists took refuge) as well as the very behavior of important local prelates (such as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, believed by some members of the Curia as too close to Hamas and whose words are too little criticized) contribute to the loss of significance of a common condemnation of terrorism. This is crucial when such condemnation still represents a determining factor in the Vatican's middle eastern policy. It is worth repeating that this is ever the more true, as the Vatican views a consensual condemnation of terrorism as the indisputable starting point for the birth of a fully sovereign Palestinian state aside Israel. This objective still appears to be far - much too far - off in the distance.

SYRIA AND LEBANON

Strictly related to the divergence of opinion on the relation between force and law and to a successful "road map" solution to the Middle East crisis is the issue of rapport with regional partners. As is known, Israel has achieved peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, while the same has not been possible with Syria and Lebanon. In fact, recently the latter two countries have been objects of military retaliations by the Jewish army in response to terrorist actions begun in the former security zone north of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Attributed to Hezbollah militia (whose sanctuary lies in the Bekaa valley, currently under Syrian occupation), such actions have managed to escalate burning tensions already felt in the region.

It must be said the Lebanon is considered by Israel simply as a Syrian protectorate, especially because of the openly managerial role Damascus has played for more than two decades in Lebanon. For Israel, once the Syrian issue is resolved, the logical result will be the end of interference in Lebanon. For the Vatican as well, both Lebanon and Syria are connected, but in the sense that its strategy is to consolidate Lebanese integrity and independence in the Arab world with the goal of safeguarding the conspicuous Christian presence in the region. Perhaps it is in this sense that we can understand why the Vatican has maintained particularly prudent relations with Damascus - which, in actual fact, violates Lebanese sovereignty much more than Jerusalem does.

IRAN

An ulterior, related point of friction between Jerusalem and the Vatican is their rapport with Tehran. Israel maintains that the Islamic republic is even a more serious threat than was Saddam Hussein's regime. What is alarming to the Israeli government is not so much Iran's support of Hezbollah militia as much as it is the Iranian nuclear program. The latter, it fears, just might be a cover for military intentions and, if carried out, could well bring about that which was once only a terrible threat: elimination of the "Zionist presence" in the Middle East.

The Holy See appears, however, much more inclined toward Iran. Above all, it is particularly careful to exploit reformist efforts as well as president Khatami's openness to inter-religious dialog. At the same time, the Vatican greatly fears that Israel may opt for a preventive strike against Iranian nuclear reactors, thus provoking widespread conflict arising from unforeseeable consequences.

WHAT DEGREE OF INTERNATIONALIZATION

It is indeed a question over the degree of internationalization needed to resolve the complex Middle East situation that is cause for disagreement between Israel and the Vatican. The support that the two protagonists give to realizing a "road map" solution, albeit for diverse reasons, must not aim at deceiving. Until such solution is deemed vital, both Rome and Jerusalem's motives for sustaining it will be completely different.

In fact, the Vatican sees the quartette (the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations) involved in realizing the "road map" solution as taking a step in the right direction, one which is ever longed for in terms of internationalization of responsibility in the Middle East crisis. Objectively speaking, such a strategy would reduce the weight of Israel's political and military power and would permit a re-shifting of the crisis in favor of the Palestinians (whose temporary governing powers pay poor testimony to themselves).

JERUSALEM

The strategy of international involvement is the same position sought by the Holy See for the city of Jerusalem, whose annexation to the Jewish state continues to be contested. In this regard, particularly significant were the words of then Vatican foreign minister, Jean-Louis Tauran, when he recalled: "The Holy See has always accepted which was set by Resolution 181 on 29 November 1947 - which declared that Jerusalem must be the object of special regime under the auspices of the international community". In this way, the Holy See has always taken care to distinguish the territorial aspect (the subject of a bilateral agreement between Israel and Palestine, on the basis of the international resolutions and conferences held in Madrid and Oslo) as well as the multilateral aspect deriving from "the city's religious and cultural dimensions". For the protection of the latter, Vatican opinion is still that "a special internationally guaranteed statute acts as the only valid means for future avoidance that one of the parties take exclusive control over the holy city´s sanctuaries and the related heritage while under pressure of political happenings and changes".

The Israeli government, from its point of view, accuses the Vatican of not ever having made explicit the formalities of its position - by not defining what it means by "holy places", the exact significance of "special statute", and furthermore, whose specific duty it would be to guarantee internationally such a statute and what instrument of power it would use. At its second round of Camp David meetings in the summer of 2000, Israel claims that it requested the Vatican to commence informal dialog so as to better comprehend Rome's position. And yet, it has not obtained any response from her. Beyond the more or less fortuitous or desired misunderstandings, the unilateral proclamation of Jerusalem, on behalf of Israel, as the eternal capital of the Jewish state renders the agreement an extremely difficult one. Moreover, it is the very failure of the second Camp David meetings which defines the insurmountable limit of concessions that any Israeli government could ever impose on the holy city.

THE REFUGEES

The fear that the internationalization of the crisis may conceal more than one trap for Israel´s very survival is reinforced by the fact that the Vatican says a return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland is a veritable "right" from all previous wars since 1948. It appears clear that, if accepted, such a statement would spell doom for the Jewish state, even more so when considering that no reciprocity for millions of Jewish refugees from the region could ever be seriously proposed.

On this specific point, it remains perplexing the Vatican does not take its own impracticability into consideration and appears much less careful than usual of history´s course of events. One must only bear in mind that if the very same principle were applied to all wars (even limitedly to the twentieth century and Europe), it would mean the repatriation of hundreds of millions of human beings to their homelands, with unimaginable consequences for countries not only of historical significance but whose borders have tended to move over time as in Poland, Germany, Italy and the former Republics of Yugoslavia.

[Israel]
[the Vatican]
[Palestine]
[anti-semitism]
[Hezbollah]
[Iraq]
[Iran]

UN: MORAL CORRUPTION from INACTION

"It is well past time that the United States takes the initiative in closing the history book on this ineffective and dangerous organization of ideologues, do-nothings, bureaucrats and criminals."


Time to Create a Legitimate World Organization
Author: Frank Salvato
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.


July 28, 2006

As Israel continues to battle Hezbollah and Hamas (the proxy warriors of Syria and Iran) in a struggle for their very existence, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has publicly accused the Israeli Defense Forces of “deliberately” targeting a UN observation post in Lebanon with a missile strike that took the lives of four UN peacekeepers. That a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, established in 1978 to assure peace in the region, has failed should not come as a surprise; that Kofi Annan should invite scrutiny of the UN in the face of its many failures does.

When the United Nations was established in 1945, there was great hope that it would serve to stave off future world conflicts through the facilitation of dialogue between nations. In theory, this concept – that ingenuous nations might be able to rationally meet in the spirit of compromise and negotiation – seemed sensible and noble. But as moral relativism and corruption manifested at the roots of the organization, ingenuousness disappeared and the organization fell to those possessing a globalist agenda, the victims of this ideological coup being innocents around the globe and the notion that there is good and evil in the world.

Beginning with the fact that nations that harbor terrorist groups, along with those who routinely ignore the basic tenants of human rights, are seated on the UN Human Rights Commission, it is easy to see how behind the scenes politics and the idea of inclusion at all costs has corrupted the very spirit of the organization. When nations such as Communist China, Syria and Vietnam can sit in judgment of others regarding their approach to human rights, the validity of the commission stands in question. And when Sudan, a leaderless country currently unable to prevent the ethic cleansing of it own people, is counted among those charged with examining the human rights practices of other nations, the commission’s credibility lay shattered.

Illustrating the decades of ineptitude and backroom political corruption is the tenure of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. To say that Annan’s “leadership” has been a miserable failure would be the epitome of an understatement.

Annan served as the Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations from 1993 to 1994. Under this command, UN Peacekeepers were denied their repeated requests for authorization to intervene in the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. Annan’s inaction – and the inaction of the UN Security Council – is responsible for the genocidal massacre of an estimated 1,071,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

In 2002, reports that UN Peacekeepers were sexually abusing refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo came to light. Claims of pedophilia, rape and prostitution at a UN site in Bunia were dismissed by a UN investigation into the charges. It wasn’t until film surfaced validating the allegations that any action was taken. Still, Annan decided to downplay the atrocities stating that, he was, “…glad to say that the allegations concern only a small number of UN personnel.”

To date, the crisis in Darfur, Sudan receives little else but rhetoric as the number of those killed in what the United Nations cannot bring itself to call genocide approaches 500,000. While the UN Security Council has passed a peacekeeping resolution for Darfur, in which the African Union would transfer its 7,300-member peacekeeping force stationed there to UN control by the end of September, precious time is running out as radical Islamists flock to Sudan in an effort to reconstitute a base of operations lost in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The UN and Kofi Annan, assisted by the progressive-left and the mainstream media, continue to ignore that mass murder, ethnic cleansing and human rights atrocities were the primary reason given for the US-led liberation of Iraq. These were but a few of many reasons – including Iraq’s WMD programs and its links to terrorist organizations including al Qaeda – that were presented by President Bush in an address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 12, 2002. Yet Annan and his cohorts on this failing world body continue to characterize the liberation of over 31 million people from the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein as “an illegal war,” doing so in the face of the corrupt Oil-for-Food Program that saw UN officials lining their pockets with Saddam’s blood money.

Time after time the United Nations has been given the opportunity to “do what was right” in the eyes of the innocent and tortured, the threatened and the oppressed existing throughout the world. And time after time they have chosen a politically influenced globalist ideology over action and inaction over saving lives.

It is well past time that the United States takes the initiative in closing the history book on this ineffective and dangerous organization of ideologues, do-nothings, bureaucrats and criminals.

The US should assemble an exclusive coalition of functioning democratic governments from around the world and enjoin them in forming a legitimate world body whose tenants place liberty, freedom, human rights and justice above a globalist ideology that employs moral relativism and political corruption. Once this new and legitimate world body has been assembled the United States should immediately withdraw from the United Nations and cease all funding to the organization, declaring it corrupt beyond repair.

As the impotent UN stands in the shadow of its inability to define “terrorism,” and as the world stands witness to the on-going aggression of radical Islamofascism, an aggression reminiscent of the Nazi uprising, the only question to be asked is whether the world can continue to afford the ineptitude, in-action and corruption of the United Nations. To that extent, it’s only the survival of the world that hangs in the balance.



[ISRAEL]

[UNITED NATIONS]

[KOFI ANNAN]



[CORRUPTION]

Eurabia and the destruction of Israel.

I hope Victor Davis Hanson's chilling comments do not forewarn what's to happen with Europe.

If tomorrow more powerful rockets hit Tel Aviv armed with Syrian chemicals or biological agents, or Iranian nukes, the “international” community would urge “restraint” — and keep urging it until Israel disappeared altogether. And the day after its disappearance, the Europeans and Arabs would sigh relief, mumble a few pieties, and then smile, “Life goes on.”

And for them, it would very well.

[Foreign Affairs] [Israel][War on Terror][anti-semitism][Europe]

Mayor Bloomberg: PLEASE send the UN packing... This club of COWARDS does not belong in the USA

Rocket Scientist Jan Egeland is screaming that Israel's actions are creating a generation of hatred. This generation of hatred has been brewing for several hundred years... just in case he did not notice. All he and his colleagues care about is a comfortable life in New York City. (Mayor Koch should have gotten rid of the UN when its members refused to pay parking tickets). Mr. Egeland represents the worst of human dignity. With friends like Egeland, who needs enemies!

He regrets that for 1 Israeli killed there are 10 Lebanese killed. SIR: Berlin was destroyed in WWII, and probably a lot of innocent people died.. but it had to be done... to eradicate the DEVIL, alias HITLER...

He rants about proportionality..blah, blah. CHRISTIANS in Lebanon should be thankful that ISRAEL is taking a stand against the islamist terrorists!.


Thank you Israel, again.


UN aid chief says Israel has 'created a generation of hatred'


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HILARY LEILA KRIEGER AND TOVAH LAZAROFF, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 27, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

United Nations humanitarian chief Jan Egeland accused Israel on Wednesday of committing "catastrophic mistakes" in its attack on Hizbullah, which have caused civilian casualties and alienated the Lebanese public.

"It will create a generation of hatred," he said in an interview held with The Jerusalem Post after he had concluded tours of northern Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.
"I'm talking more as a friend of Israel than as an aid worker," said Egeland, who noted that he studied at Jerusalem's Hebrew University as a Truman Fellow, while his brother lived on a kibbutz.

The UN's under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Egeland called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. "The rockets have to stop. The terror has to stop. But please remember that for every civilian killed in Israel there are more than 10 killed in Lebanon. It has to stop on both sides." He charged that Israel had used "excessive" and "disproportionate" force in violation of international humanitarian law, and dismissed Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's contention that proportionality is measured in relation to the threat posed by a force.

"You cannot invent new kinds of proportionalities. I've never heard that the threat is supposed to be proportional to the response," he said. "Proportionality is there in the law. The law has been made through generations of experience on the battlefield. If you kill more civilians than military personnel, one should not attack," he said.

Egeland reiterated his condemnations of Hizbullah's tactics. "Armed men should not cowardly hide among civilians. It will inflict civilians casualties," he said, calling Hizbullah's cross-border kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers "a mega-catastrophe."

But, he stressed, "Civilians must be protected, and when there are many more dead children than armed men, something is fundamentally wrong, not only with how the armed men behave and where they seek hiding, but also in the response."

He criticized Israel for telling residents of southern Lebanon to flee but destroying the roads that would let them escape.

At a press conference held earlier Wednesday, Egeland said the UN was distributing more than 100 tons of medical supplies and would be sending additional convoys on Friday, Sunday and Monday. He called on the international community to come up with the $150 million in aid money he estimated would be needed to get through the next three months.

While agreement in principle had been reached on a sea route, he said, the UN was still waiting to establish an air channel.

Egeland placed the current number of displaced Lebanese at upward of 600,000 and said he expected it to soon top a million people. He indicated he could not provide a figure for displaced Israelis because Israel hadn't asked the UN for assistance. The Government Press Office puts the number at 250,000 individuals.

He said he was deeply struck by what he had observed first-hand during his tour of the region, particularly the "Christians, Druse, Maronites, Sunnis, who all hated Israel" when before they had hated Hizbullah, and the rubble of Beirut, which he said looked "a little bit like the end of the Second World War. It was block after block after block down in some kind of a carpet bombing."

While the results of the attacks might be different, Egeland said that Israelis and Lebanese suffered "the same sense of terror." He described his distress by the scene that had greeted him in Haifa.

"I remember Haifa as a city of moderation and reconciliation and peace, and now to see people running to shelters and see many of its citizens being wounded is just terrible," he said. "It's heartrending to hear the stories."

Egeland toured Haifa with Livni and the city's mayor Yona Yahav.

Egeland was taken to the site of a apartment in the city's coastal area that had been destroyed by a missile and to a lookout point on top of the hill where the police and army observe the location of rocket hits.

Livni later told reporters that she had wanted to meet in him Haifa so that he could see first-hand what life was life for residents in the North suffering under the daily barrage of Hizbullah rockets.

Yahav said he had showed Egeland the small metal pellets that are packed into the rockets so he would understand the lethal potential of each missile.

Egeland got a taste of daily life in Haifa when several warning sirens shrieked across the city during his visit.

Egeland told Yahav and Livni that both Israelis and Lebanese were paying a high price for the violence that had to be stopped.

Yahav said he thought the visit had gone well.

"I had a profound feeling that I succeeded in converting him. He was able to see the reality in front of him and what it means. I asked him what he would have said if I had given shelter to a terrorist group in my city. He said, 'You are right,'" reported Yahav.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1995-2006 The Jerusalem Post - http://www.jpost.com/

[United Nations][ISRAEL][Christians][Lebanon][Islamist terrorists][Anti-semitism]

CHILLING VIDEO: WTC Tower collapses while man is on the phone.

That man's name was Kevin Cosgrove who had a wife and children and died in a horrible way. We cannot forget and must work together to eradicate this plague. The islamists are bent on destroying the west. Mr. Kofi Annan, please stop pointing an accusatory finger at ISRAEL and clean up your own organization. Apparently Hezbollah soldiers were cavorting with your own in Lebanon...

SEE CLIP HERE

[WTC] [JIHAD]
[ISLAM] [Terrorists]
[World Trade Center]

On the MEDIA, FERN SIDMAN writes....

ISRAEL'S JUST WAR...on three fronts

Fern Sidman said...
THE THIRD FRONT

BY: FERN SIDMAN

While Israel is engaged in heavy fighting with Hezbollah terrorists on the northern front and Hamas terrorists on its southern front, it would appear that Israel's proverbial nemesis, better known as the media, has opened a third front with its incessant assaults on Israel.

While the media may not be launching Katyusha or Kassam rockets aimed at Israeli cities, the rockets that the media launches are instrumental in degrading Israel in the war of public opinion. Case in point would be the drastic difference in the content and modality of reporting between the two major cable networks, CNN and Fox News.

To the average viewer, it would appear that CNN and Fox are reporting the news from two different planets. While it is true that the Ted Turner owned CNN, has its own left wing agenda along with the perfunctory anti-Israel bias that goes with that territory, and Roger Ailes' Fox News has a more conservative, pro-Republican platform, the stark and extreme contrasts cannot be missed. To state that their coverage of the current war between Israel, Hezbollah and Hamas is diametrically opposed would be a gross understatement.

One need only press the button on their television remotes for a period of an hour or so, to gain tremendous insight into the world of media propaganda, distortions and lies. For a truly mercurial experience, just spend an evening with Anderson Cooper and Larry King of CNN and then visit with Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly over at Fox.

The story according to CNN is the following: Israel is murdering Lebanese children and civilians en masse, Israel is not making a dent in Hezbollah's power, Israel is not forthcoming in opening up a corridor for humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, Israel is causing a refugee crisis amongst the Lebanese population, Israel is using phosphorus in its weaponry, Israel refuses to agree to a cease fire, Israel's retaliation against Hezbollah has been "disproportionate", Israel refuses to engage in negotiations with Hezbollah over a prisoner exchange. CNN's conclusion is: World opinion will turn against Israel because of its actions. One can only scratch their heads and ask, is there a pattern developing here???

As we watch Anderson Cooper taking us for tours of hospitals in Lebanon showing the burnt and mangled faces of Lebanese children, while giving platforms to Hezbollah supporters who spew forth their party line which includes accusations against Israel for starting this conflict by occupying Palestine, to scared and trapped Americans who blame Israel for the destruction of Beirut. Repetitive images of Israeli tanks and gun ships shooting missiles into Lebanon fill our screens ad infinitum, while there is never a image of a Hezbollah terrorist shooting a Katyusha rocket into Israel.

If this weren't enough one sided and biased journalism, we are also treated to an hour of Larry King, who gives more than ample time to Hezbollah journalists, Syrian ambassadors, and a whole host of other Israel bashers. King allows them to make hate filled speeches riddled with inaccuracies and grandiose distortions about Israel and her role in this current conflict, while never challenging them in any kind of meaningful and significant manner.

In marked contrast to CNN's coverage of the war, there is a definitely a more "fair and balanced" coverage on Fox News. While far from being totally fair and balanced Fox News takes pains in researching new details from their reporters in the Middle East and presenting a more even handed account of the situation in Israel.

From Sean Hannity to Bill O'Reilly to Greta Van Susteren to Sheppard Smith, one can see that these journalists are dedicated to digging out the truth by ask searing questions concerning the facts of the situation, which are so very often buried under the propaganda and lies of Hezbollah and other Arab spokesmen who are allowed lengthy platforms for their vituperative and vitriolic rhetoric against Israel.

There is no question that Fox News is far from perfect and has on more than one occasion fallen prey to the CNN and New York Times syndrome of making Israel the scapegoat for the world's problems, but by in large, Fox has made a concerted effort, thus far, to reporting the news with a high degree of accuracy.

That is all that we can ask from the media. In general, they always have been instrumental in generating negative feelings towards Israel and have been the biggest asset of the cause of Hamas and Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in the region. Right now, they represent the third front that Israel must contend with. An enemy that is funded not by regimes predicated on terror but on corporate dollars. It is an enemy that never runs out of rockets or mortars or missiles, for their verbal missiles and subliminal messages are in infinite abundance and these fatal weapons shape a public image of Israel that is more deadly than rockets because they pervade the hearts and minds of their viewers.

For the Jewish people, this is an old story. Since Guttenberg invented his first printing press in the 1600s, words and thoughts have always been published against Jews. The media of today bares little difference to its more in-your-face predecessors. While the facts may be different, today's media is just re-hashing the same kind of Israel hating messages that is has done for close to six decades.

The media is a persistent and resilient foe, almost an implacable one, yet despite this most formidable enemy, we have borne witness to our continued existence as a nation. As with the Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, the Turks, the Nazis, the British, the Soviet Union, the PLO, Hamas and Hezbollah and all the other enemies that I may have forgotten to list, those who sought to vanquish and eradicate the Jewish nation and the Land of Israel, we tell them and the media that they have not succeeded in our destruction and with G-d's help they never will.

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are one in the same and they are a permanent part of and endemic to our society. With G-d's help, we will deal with the media as we have with our other enemies and may we take comfort in the fact that we are a people who fears and obeys only the Almighty G-d of Israel and does not fear the words of mortal enemies. World opinion will always be against the Jewish nation, and fearing it and cowering over the words and threats of world leaders is a futile exercise and a colossal waste of precious time.

Let us utilize our precious time in appealing to the Holy One Blessed Be He, who girds His nation Israel with strength, crowns His nation Israel in glory and gives strength to His weary nation. For in the end, the media is just another enemy in a huge litany of enemies. Let us turn to Hashem Yisborach at this critical juncture in time, for it is He who marches into battle with us and it is He who will conquer our enemies, if we only recognize His dominion and His glory.

And to the media, we say, just take your place on the back of a very long line. You're not our first enemy and you won't be our last.

May we our prayers reach the Almighty G-d of Israel and may we be zoche to the see our redemption, speedily in our days.


To the average viewer, it would appear that CNN and Fox are reporting the news from two different planets. While it is true that the Ted Turner owned CNN, has its own left wing agenda along with the perfunctory anti-Israel bias that goes with that territory, and Roger Ailes' Fox News has a more conservative, pro-Republican platform, the stark and extreme contrasts cannot be missed. To state that their coverage of the current war between Israel, Hezbollah and Hamas is diametrically opposed would be a gross understatement.

One need only press the button on their television remotes for a period of an hour or so, to gain tremendous insight into the world of media propaganda, distortions and lies. For a truly mercurial experience, just spend an evening with Anderson Cooper and Larry King of CNN and then visit with Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly over at Fox.

The story according to CNN is the following: Israel is murdering Lebanese children and civilians en masse, Israel is not making a dent in Hezbollah's power, Israel is not forthcoming in opening up a corridor for humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, Israel is causing a refugee crisis amongst the Lebanese population, Israel is using phosphorus in its weaponry, Israel refuses to agree to a cease fire, Israel's retaliation against Hezbollah has been "disproportionate", Israel refuses to engage in negotiations with Hezbollah over a prisoner exchange. CNN's conclusion is: World opinion will turn against Israel because of its actions. One can only scratch their heads and ask, is there a pattern developing here???

As we watch Anderson Cooper taking us for tours of hospitals in Lebanon showing the burnt and mangled faces of Lebanese children, while giving platforms to Hezbollah supporters who spew forth their party line which includes accusations against Israel for starting this conflict by occupying Palestine, to scared and trapped Americans who blame Israel for the destruction of Beirut. Repetitive images of Israeli tanks and gun ships shooting missiles into Lebanon fill our screens ad infinitum, while there is never a image of a Hezbollah terrorist shooting a Katyusha rocket into Israel.

If this weren't enough one sided and biased journalism, we are also treated to an hour of Larry King, who gives more than ample time to Hezbollah journalists, Syrian ambassadors, and a whole host of other Israel bashers. King allows them to make hate filled speeches riddled with inaccuracies and grandiose distortions about Israel and her role in this current conflict, while never challenging them in any kind of meaningful and significant manner.

In marked contrast to CNN's coverage of the war, there is a definitely a more "fair and balanced" coverage on Fox News. While far from being totally fair and balanced Fox News takes pains in researching new details from their reporters in the Middle East and presenting a more even handed account of the situation in Israel.

From Sean Hannity to Bill O'Reilly to Greta Van Susteren to Sheppard Smith, one can see that these journalists are dedicated to digging out the truth by ask searing questions concerning the facts of the situation, which are so very often buried under the propaganda and lies of Hezbollah and other Arab spokesmen who are allowed lengthy platforms for their vituperative and vitriolic rhetoric against Israel.

There is no question that Fox News is far from perfect and has on more than one occasion fallen prey to the CNN and New York Times syndrome of making Israel the scapegoat for the world's problems, but by in large, Fox has made a concerted effort, thus far, to reporting the news with a high degree of accuracy.

That is all that we can ask from the media. In general, they always have been instrumental in generating negative feelings towards Israel and have been the biggest asset of the cause of Hamas and Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in the region. Right now, they represent the third front that Israel must contend with. An enemy that is funded not by regimes predicated on terror but on corporate dollars. It is an enemy that never runs out of rockets or mortars or missiles, for their verbal missiles and subliminal messages are in infinite abundance and these fatal weapons shape a public image of Israel that is more deadly than rockets because they pervade the hearts and minds of their viewers.

For the Jewish people, this is an old story. Since Guttenberg invented his first printing press in the 1600s, words and thoughts have always been published against Jews. The media of today bares little difference to its more in-your-face predecessors. While the facts may be different, today's media is just re-hashing the same kind of Israel hating messages that is has done for close to six decades.

The media is a persistent and resilient foe, almost an implacable one, yet despite this most formidable enemy, we have borne witness to our continued existence as a nation. As with the Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, the Turks, the Nazis, the British, the Soviet Union, the PLO, Hamas and Hezbollah and all the other enemies that I may have forgotten to list, those who sought to vanquish and eradicate the Jewish nation and the Land of Israel, we tell them and the media that they have not succeeded in our destruction and with G-d's help they never will.

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are one in the same and they are a permanent part of and endemic to our society. With G-d's help, we will deal with the media as we have with our other enemies and may we take comfort in the fact that we are a people who fears and obeys only the Almighty G-d of Israel and does not fear the words of mortal enemies. World opinion will always be against the Jewish nation, and fearing it and cowering over the words and threats of world leaders is a futile exercise and a colossal waste of precious time.

Let us utilize our precious time in appealing to the Holy One Blessed Be He, who girds His nation Israel with strength, crowns His nation Israel in glory and gives strength to His weary nation. For in the end, the media is just another enemy in a huge litany of enemies. Let us turn to Hashem Yisborach at this critical juncture in time, for it is He who marches into battle with us and it is He who will conquer our enemies, if we only recognize His dominion and His glory.

And to the media, we say, just take your place on the back of a very long line. You're not our first enemy and you won't be our last.

May we our prayers reach the Almighty G-d of Israel and may we be zoche to the see our redemption, speedily in our days.


[Israel]
[Islam]
[Anti-semitism]
[Fern Sidman]
[Media]