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:: Thursday, September 14, 2006 ::

Kissinger warns of possible "war of civilizations" - Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger warned that Europe and the United States must unite to head off a "war of civilizations" arising from a nuclear-armed Middle East.

In an opinion column in the Washington Post, the renowned foreign policy expert said the potential for a "global catastrophe" dwarfed lingering transatlantic mistrust left over from the
Iraq war.

"A common Atlantic policy backed by moderate Arab states must become a top priority, no matter how pessimistic previous experience with such projects leaves one," Kissinger wrote.

"The debate sparked by the Iraq war over American rashness vs. European escapism is dwarfed by what the world now faces.

"Both sides of the Atlantic should put their best minds together on how to deal with the common danger of a wider war merging into a war of civilizations against the background of a nuclear-armed Middle East."

Kissinger wrote that the big threat lay in the erosion of nation states and the emergence of transnational groups.
Iran was at the centre of the challenge, he said, with its support for Hezbollah, radical Shiite groups in Iraq and its nuclear program.

Washington must accept that many European nations were more optimistic about talks designed to convince Iran to halt uranium enrichment -- a process Tehran denies is aimed at making weapons, he wrote.

:: Dataghost 5:33 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Lining up to enrich uranium - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune:

Never underestimate the potential for erratic policy when economic and political interests collide, even when the policy involves preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

This happened last month when, in rapid succession, Argentina, Australia and South Africa joined a growing list of countries interested in enriching uranium for commercial purposes.

That is the same activity that Iran claims as its inalienable right, and that the United States, the European Union, Russia and China insist must be halted in the interest of nonproliferation.

Is it fair or feasible to allow some countries to enrich uranium while attempting to prevent others from doing it?

The answer is not simple. It turns on a number of technical, economic and political considerations.

The technical dimension is most straightforward. It pertains to the dual purpose of uranium enrichment: to produce fuel for civilian reactors and explosive material for nuclear weapons.

It is not surprising, therefore, that most of the countries that have an active or latent uranium-enrichment industry also possess, once made, or tried to acquire nuclear weapons.

Today, most of the arguments in support of new enrichment capacity are couched in economic terms, generally linked to the buzz about major global expansion in nuclear energy.

Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Africa, for example, portray their renewed interest in terms of projected domestic consumption and new export opportunities.

In fact, current global enrichment capacity exceeds demand. The projected boom in nuclear-energy development in most countries has yet to be matched by major new orders, and the ability of newcomers to supplant the entrenched suppliers is problematic.

Moreover, the financial costs of reviving antiquated and previously uneconomical enrichment facilities in Argentina and South Africa are likely to be enormous.

So other factors are at play. Almost all the new and prospective entrants in the enrichment business appear anxious to establish their credentials as having existing technology in place.

Driving this process, in part, is the perception that all countries will soon be divided into uranium enrichment "haves" (suppliers) and "have-nots" (customers) under various proposals to establish multinational nuclear fuel centers and fuel-supply arrangements.

These proposals include President George W. Bush's call two years ago for the Nuclear Suppliers Group to refuse to sell enrichment technology to any state that did not already possess a full-scale, functioning enrichment plant, and the idea promoted about the same time by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, for a five-year moratorium on new enrichment plants in order to buy time for developing more equitable means to ensure fuel supplies while stemming proliferation.

More recently, the United States and Russia have proposed that a small set of countries would serve as enrichment providers while all others would forego such technology.

But the basis for becoming an approved enricher remains unclear. While the United States opposes allowing Iran to enrich uranium, Dennis Spurgeon, the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, recently said that "special rules" apply to Australia and Canada because they "have the majority of economically recoverable uranium resources."

These rules appears founded more on political grounds that distinguish between allies and adversaries. Such a policy of exceptionalism is at odds with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. It is also a recipe for failure, as the history of U.S.-Iranian nuclear cooperation in the 1970s should make clear, since today's friend could become tomorrow's foe.

There is no foolproof means of promoting peaceful nuclear energy while preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Perhaps the best way of resolving the conundrum is to provide inducements to all states that voluntarily forsake uranium enrichment.

These inducements should include guaranteed access to nuclear fuel for all states in good standing with the nonproliferation treaty - an approach that will be explored this month at a special IAEA conference in Vienna on "Assurances of Fuel Supply and Nonproliferation."

To be effective, these assurances will have to be nondiscriminatory and consistent with the nonproliferation treaty. Such an approach will not guarantee an end to abuse of sensitive nuclear technology, but it should reduce the number of states joining the uranium enrichment queue.

Charles D. Ferguson is a fellow for science and technology at the Council on Foreign Relations. William C. Potter is director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. They are the principal authors of "The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism."

Never underestimate the potential for erratic policy when economic and political interests collide, even when the policy involves preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

This happened last month when, in rapid succession, Argentina, Australia and South Africa joined a growing list of countries interested in enriching uranium for commercial purposes.

That is the same activity that Iran claims as its inalienable right, and that the United States, the European Union, Russia and China insist must be halted in the interest of nonproliferation.

Is it fair or feasible to allow some countries to enrich uranium while attempting to prevent others from doing it?

The answer is not simple. It turns on a number of technical, economic and political considerations.

The technical dimension is most straightforward. It pertains to the dual purpose of uranium enrichment: to produce fuel for civilian reactors and explosive material for nuclear weapons.

It is not surprising, therefore, that most of the countries that have an active or latent uranium-enrichment industry also possess, once made, or tried to acquire nuclear weapons.

Today, most of the arguments in support of new enrichment capacity are couched in economic terms, generally linked to the buzz about major global expansion in nuclear energy.

Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Africa, for example, portray their renewed interest in terms of projected domestic consumption and new export opportunities.

In fact, current global enrichment capacity exceeds demand. The projected boom in nuclear-energy development in most countries has yet to be matched by major new orders, and the ability of newcomers to supplant the entrenched suppliers is problematic.

:: Dataghost 12:14 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Iran Proposes Negotiations on Nuclear Stand-Off - washingtonpost.com:

PARIS, Sept. 12 -- Iran has proposed extensive negotiations with Western powers to resolve the stand-off over its nuclear program, but it is threatening to cut off talks and other cooperation if the case against it proceeds in the U.N. Security Council, as advocated by the United States.

In a detailed and sometimes rambling response given to Western powers three weeks ago in reply to a set of proposals made by them last June, Iran stops short of rejecting demands to halt its nuclear enrichment program, saying the issue can be resolved in negotiations. The response was made public on a Web site Tuesday.

:: Dataghost 11:05 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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HIR | Understanding the US position (Israel v. Lebanon - 2006):

As shown in this series, Hezbollah is not a ‘militia,’ as much of the media would have you believe: it is an antisemitic terrorist army of extermination.[1] A year ago exactly, the Philadelphia Inquirer explained the tremendous symbolic importance that Hezbollah has for the terrorist enemies of Israel:

“Hezbollah now controls the south [of Lebanon]. It is viewed throughout the region as the one armed Arab group that has defeated Israel by suicide bombers and guns [because Hezbollah claims that Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 chased out by Hezbollah’s terrorism].”[2]

Consistent with this, the same article explained that “the United States labels Hezbollah a terrorist organization.” This -- in combination with the oft-repeated US claim to love and support Israel -- leads some to conclude that the United States ruling elite must be opposed to Hezbollah. However, government officials routinely conceal the truth with public statements -- we all know this. Therefore, the public statements of government officials are not a reliable guide for the social scientist.

Happily, the social scientist can examine the foreign policy behaviors of states, and in these behaviors the ruling elites that control state policy reveal their true values and goals. To understand the US ruling elite’s real attitudes toward both Israel and Hezbollah, then, let us first take a look at how US officials have reacted to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in the past, and then at how they are reacting this time.

The history
___________

A decade ago exactly, in 1996, Hezbollah escalated dramatically its rocket attacks against Israeli civilians. When Israel retaliated, there were casualties, including civilians at a UN base in Qana, in southern Lebanon. Consistent with the general anti-Israeli thrust of the media, Israel rather than Hezbollah was blamed for this, even though 1) it was Hezbollah that attacked first; 2) it is Hezbollah that as a matter of principle targets civilians when it attacks; and 3) Hezbollah had fired its rockets against Israeli civilians from “a position close to the UN post, thus drawing the errant Israeli artillery fire” to the UN base.[3]

An ally of Israel would have blamed the terrorists who endanger both the civilians they attack and the civilians they hide among. Instead, the US used the worldwide diplomatic attack on Israel in order to produce a state of affairs that defies belief:

“For 10 days, Warren Christopher, then the secretary of state, bounced between Damascus, Beirut and Jerusalem until he finally was able to get the 1996 cease-fire arrangement that restricted Israel and Hezbollah to fighting each other without terrorizing civilian populations.”[4]

In other words, a decade ago, the United States went out of its way 1) to restrain Israel from crossing over and destroying Hezbollah; and 2) to guarantee Hezbollah’s ability to attack Israel, even though Hezbollah’s ideology, as HIR has shown, is simply to destroy the Jewish state through genocide![5]

:: Dataghost 1:42 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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HIR | Why Jewish patriots should thank Hezbollah (Israel v. Lebanon - 2006):

Dear Readers,

I have seen much pessimism from Jewish patriots in the wake of the ‘cease-fire’ that the United States and the United Nations have sought to impose in order to protect Hezbollah, and which Israel’s leaders have accepted. Many have characterized the result as one where Israel lost the war, and they have lamented what they perceive as the damage to the earlier perception that Israel was invincible, with negative consequences to the deterrence of Israel’s enemies.

My own view is less pessimistic.

It is certainly true that Ehud Olmert lost the war by agreeing to a ‘cease-fire’ that, like previous US and UN-brokered cease-fires in southern Lebanon, will protect the antisemitic terrorists and allow them to re-arm. But in my view Ehud Olmert was going to lose whatever war he was called upon to wage. I don't think he is a patriot. So the question for Jewish patriots is this: Which war would you rather have Ehud Olmert lose?

Remember that Ehud Olmert was rushing to cleanse the Jews out of the West Bank -- like his mentor, Ariel Sharon, had done with the Jews who lived in Gaza -- in order to turn this territory over completely to the terrorists. For those paying attention to geopolitical realities, as opposed to the pro-Oslo propaganda statements of US and Israeli officials, the probable outcome of Ehud Olmert’s policies was not difficult to foresee. Relatively low-level but constant Hezbollah attacks from the north, and PLO/Hamas attacks from Gaza in the south, would have made the relocation of the evacuated West Bank Jews to the north and south of Israel impractical, particularly given that a stream of Jews native to those areas would be fleeing the Hamas/Hezbollah attacks towards the relative safety of the Tel-Aviv-Yafo area (as indeed many have now fled). Tel-Aviv-Yafo already contains about half of all Israeli Jews, and as a result of Olmert’s ‘convergence’ and the terrorist attacks from north and south the Israeli Jews would have been further concentrated there.

Now, the West Bank and Gaza, according to a 1967 Pentagon study done immediately after the Six Day War, are strategic territories that, if relinquished, will guarantee the destruction of Israel.[1] This Pentagon study was not carried out for Israel’s benefit and Israel was not informed of its conclusions. It was kept secret and made public only many years later because somebody filed suit to have it released under the Freedom of Information Act. That the US ruling elite did not share with the Israelis its view of the vulnerability of the Jewish state, but instead pressured Israel to participate in the Oslo process that has for purpose to hand over precisely these indispensable territories to the antisemitic terrorists, is consistent with the entire history of US foreign policy towards the Jewish people and state, which has been a constant sponsoring of Israel’s enemies and sabotaging of Israeli self-defense.[2]

:: Dataghost 1:41 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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USATODAY.com - Iran to continue pursuing nuclear technology, supreme leader says: "TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's supreme leader (Emperor Darth Sidious) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that Tehran will continue to pursue nuclear technology, despite a U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment by the end of the month or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

'The Islamic Republic of Iran has made its own decision and in the nuclear case, God willing, with patience and power, will continue its path,' Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television.

He accused the United States of putting pressure on Iran despite Tehran's assertions that its nuclear program was peaceful. 'Arrogant powers and the U.S. are putting their utmost pressure on Iran while knowing Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons,' he said.

Khamenei's declaration came on the eve of Iran's self-imposed Aug. 22 deadline to respond to a Western incentives package for it to roll back its nuclear program."

:: Dataghost 10:25 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Turkey halts Lebanon-bound aircraft from Iran, Syria - Haaretz - Israel News: "Turkish authorities have prevented five Iranian airplanes and a Syrian aircraft from flying into Lebanon, suspecting them of transporting arms to Hezbollah, Haaretz learned on Monday.

The Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported on Monday that one of the aircraft that Turkish authorities forced to land at the Diyarbakir airport in eastern Turkey belongs to a private Iranian airline.

According to Hurriyet and other reports in Turkish media, the aircraft was not allowed leave Diyarbakir for Lebanon, after American intelligence reports indicated the plane carried three missile launchers and containers with Chinese C-802 land-to-sea missiles, identical to the missile that hit an Israel Navy battleship in July.

The detained aircraft entered Turkish airspace after having been prevented from flying over Iraq.

Turkish authorities would not elaborate on whether these actions are part of a new policy.

But analysts believe that Ankara has acquiesced to American and Israeli requests to impose stricter surveillance on the passage of Iranian aircraft and their cargo. Syria's status in relation to the new surveillance procedures is still unclear."

:: Dataghost 10:19 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Olmert rules out peace talks with Syria: "KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday ruled out a resumption of negotiations with Syria at this time, saying Damascus must first end its support for militant groups.

Olmert spoke just hours after a minister in his Cabinet urged a resumption of negotiations and said Israel should give back the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Syria.

Israel accuses Syria and Iran of arming and supporting Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas who fired nearly 4,000 rockets at Israel in the 34-day war that ended last week. However, during the war, Israel went to great lengths to keep Syria out of the conflict, apparently to avoid opening another front or closing future peace options.

After the war, Syrian President Bashar Assad signaled he is moving closer to Iran. He delivered a hardline speech in praise of Hezbollah and warned that future Arab generations might succeed with force where peace talks have failed so far - a reference to the Golan Heights, the plateau Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War."

By refusing to enter peace negotiations Olmert sends a distinct message to Syria...He's for war!!

:: Dataghost 8:14 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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'Don't accuse all Asians of being terrorist': "LONDON, AUGUST 21: Muslim leaders in Britain have condemned the forcible removal of two men from a Manchester bound flight from Malaga in Spain after fellow passengers raised fears that they might be terrorists.

Some passengers of the monarch airlines flight had on Wednesday staged a mutiny and forced airline staff to escort off the plane the two men who looked Asian, apparently spoke Arabic and had reportedly with their heavily layered dress and behaviour raised suspicions.

Describing the incident as 'hugely irrational,' Muslim MP Khalid Mahmood was quoted on Monday in the Guardian as saying, 'people need to get their senses back into order. You can't just accuse anybody who's of Asian appearance and treat them like a terrorist'.

'If somebody is threatening anybody it's understandable, but when they are just travelling for their own needs it's not. People just need to calm down,' said the Labour MP for Birmingham.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission said 'ever-increasing Islamophobia' related to the 'war on terror' was to blame for the removal of the men, who were questioned by police and forced to fly back to Manchester later in the week, the paper said.

Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, of the Muslim Parliament of Britain, described the incident as 'sad and shocking' and said, 'we have got to find a better way where somebody's look is not the basis for this kind of action - it has to be more intelligence-led'."

:: Dataghost 6:52 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Capital News 9 | 24 Hour Local News | HEADLINES | Talking with a former terrorist: "Walid Shoebat travels the country speaking to church groups and college campuses about America's role in the Middle East. He brings a unique perspective to the conversation.

Shoebat said he's a former PLO terrorist who has served time in Jerusalem for attacks against Israel.

'As a child I was raised on Jihad. We wanted to destroy Israel. We blew ourselves up in buses, we killed civilians, we planted bombs,' Shoebat says.

Even though he renounced those ideas after leaving the Muslim religion in 1993, Shoebat said Islamic terrorists throughout the world, even here in the United States, continue to use extremist forms of religion to recruit followers and gain power over governments. This is something, he said, has played out during the seemingly democratic Iraqi elections.

'People are voting. When in reality you're seeing the Shiite are going to vote and the Sunni boycotting the vote because they see the writing on the wall that the Shiite government is going to take over,' Shoebat said."

:: Dataghost 6:07 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Mirror.co.uk - News - WEARING A COAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE A TERRORIST: "MUSLIM leaders yesterday blasted British passengers who staged a mutiny on a holiday jet after accusing two innocent Asian men of being terrorists.

The packed flight from Malaga to Manchester was delayed more than three hours after worried trippers stormed off and refused to fly until the British-born Muslims were removed.

The pair - later cleared by police - aroused suspicions by speaking Arabic and wearing heavy overcoats in the Mediterranean heat.

But yesterday angry Muslim elders slammed airline chiefs for over-reacting. Muslim Association of Britain spokesman Ismail Farhat said: 'Wearing a coat in summer doesn't make someone a terrorist. It's absolutely disgraceful.

'These two innocent young men were treated like terrorists for no reason. It's just racist prejudice.'

The drama unfolded last Wednesday on the 3am Monarch flight from Malaga. Several passengers, many with young families, refused to board after spotting the two Asian men in coats and jumpers in the departure lounge.

And more stormed off the Airbus 320 shortly before take-off when word spread that they had been overheard talking in Arabic. The men - in their 20s - were then escorted off flight ZB613 by armed Spanish airport police and quizzed before later being cleared to return to Britain."

Rule Number One: If you're Arab and don't want to end up accused of being something you're not, then don't act suspiciously...by acting in a manner that's suspect and then to bellyache about it is just as preposterous and assinine as being accused...

:: Dataghost 6:05 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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::PeaceJournalism.com - The Peace Media Research Center's e-magazine::: "For many years the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has advocated the global elimination of nuclear weapons. This advocacy is consistent with the moral position adopted by nearly all major religions as well as with the dictates of international law. It is also consistent with the security interests of all states, including the current nuclear weapons states. Nonetheless, many Americans cling tenaciously to the idea that the US is more secure with nuclear weapons than it would be without them."

:: Dataghost 6:00 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Are U.S. Ports Open To Nuclear Attack?, Study Finds Nightmare Scenario For Los Angeles-Area Shipping Facilities - CBS News: "(CBS) To a country now focused on the threat of 'liquid' terror in the sky, Wednesday's bomb scare at the port of Seattle was just a brief blip on the radar.

But what turned out to be a false alarm was eerily similar to a nightmare scenario outlined by the Rand Corporation, a security think tank.

The Rand study explored what might happen if a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb – the size of the one dropped on Hiroshima – was hidden by terrorists in a cargo container and detonated at the port of Long Beach, Calif.

'Sixty thousand people probably would be killed in the immediacy of the blast or would die from severe radiation sickness,' Rand's Michael Wermuth said.

The nearby port of Los Angeles would also be destroyed. Almost 200,000 people could be exposed to deadly radiation while 2 to 3 million southern Californians could be forced to relocate.

'We made it clear that we do not think this is the next likely attack,' Wermuth said.

But the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are tempting economic targets. More cargo moves through these two ports than nearly every other major U.S. port combined."

:: Dataghost 5:59 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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All Headline News - Iran Says No One Will Stop Nuclear Program - August 21, 2006: "Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - With a UN-imposed deadline looming ever closer, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that no one would prevent his nation from obtaining nuclear capabilities.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution at the end of July demanding that Iran halt its uranium-enrichment efforts by August 31 or face possible international sanctions.

But in an interview with London's Guardian newspaper published over the weekend, Ahmadinejad insisted that 'no one can impose anything on the Iranian people. They will not succeed.'

Amid growing speculation in Tehran that its defiance of international diplomatic efforts may lead to US or Israeli military action against the nation's nuclear facilities, Iran launched its largest war games military exercise ever, Friday.

According to state-run Iranian television, the opening stages of the exercise included a simulated Israeli air strike on the southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchistan."

:: Dataghost 5:58 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST / Danger doesn't deter Jews from moving to Israel: "The recent bloodletting in the Middle East threw Evan Goldstein into a fog of questions about his safety should he immigrate to Israel. But then his reasons became clear.

Israelis 'need to see that there are people who believe in Israel's right to exist and still believe in a future there,' said Goldstein, 27, of Walnut Creek, who landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. 'I realized now is the time to go.'

Nili Molvin went to Haifa in northern Israel two weeks ago, just days after a rain of Hezbollah rockets ripped into that city.

'It really gives courage to the Jews that live in the diaspora that people like them are still willing to go,' said Molvin, 22, a San Mateo resident until this journey. 'It helps the state to gain support.'

Goldstein and Molvin are among the thousands of Jews from around the world who immigrate annually to Israel, the world's only Jewish state. The most recent crisis has made their decision a more serious matter. Over the past two weeks, more than 400 Americans, including at least nine Bay Area residents, have moved to Israel, according to Nefesh B'Nefesh, a nonprofit organization that provides placement assistance to Jews seeking to move to Israel, including Goldstein and Molvin. The organization charters planes for these immigrants."

:: Dataghost 5:56 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Lebanon demands Hezbollah keep peace: "BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora accused Israel of 'crimes against humanity' during a tour of a devastated Beirut suburb on Sunday, while the Lebanese defense minister warned of harsh punishment for Hezbollah militants who violate the fragile, week-old truce that ended a month of combat.

The cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was shaken over the weekend by an Israeli commando raid in eastern Lebanon, prompting the United Nations to intensify efforts to assemble an international peacekeeping force that would act as a buffer between the warring parties. France, which commands the existing peacekeeping force, called for a meeting of European Union countries to volunteer troops.

Negotiations with other countries hit a snag, however, when Israel announced Sunday that it would reject forces from nations with which it doesn't have diplomatic relations. That condition would rule out Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia — among the few countries that have volunteered to help enforce the cease-fire along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

The U.N. cease-fire resolution does not explicitly give Israel authority to block countries from joining the peacekeeping mission, but it does say the force should 'coordinate its activities ... with the government of Lebanon and government of Israel.'

Until an international force is in place, the Lebanese military is standing guard in the south as part of a historic deployment to villages that had been firmly under Hezbollah's control and off-limits to the government. Lebanon's army is a weak force that's outgunned by Hezbollah and isn't authorized to search for the militant group's weapons. The eventual disarmament of Hezbollah is a condition of the U.N. resolution."

:: Dataghost 5:54 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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PLO Plans to Reactivate Peace Process, Arab League to Take Conflict with Israel to UN Security Council in September: "The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Saturday discussed the possibility of announcing a plan “to reactivate the peace process and the final status negotiations” with Israel, a day ahead of a meeting in Cairo on Sunday of the Arab foreign ministers to pave the way for an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia planned for later this month, amid reports that the Arab countries are putting together a peace plan to present to the U.N. Security Council next month.

The PLO Executive Committee studied the “possibility of announcing a political plan to reactivate the peace process and the final status negotiations, particularly after the collapse of the (Israeli) unilateral and one-sided solutions.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas chaired the meeting of the PLO Executive Committee in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Saturday.

“It is becoming clear, in more than one arena, that reaching a comprehensive peace in the region and ending the era of wars requires in essence a settlement of the question of Palestine in accordance with the United Nations resolutions and an end to the occupation of all the Lebanese and Syrian territories,” the PLO said, according to the official news agency WAFA.

Members of the PLO Executive Committee (EC) “praised (President Abbas) Abu Mazen’s efforts to convene an international conference to end the dispute in the region,” member of the EC Saleh Ra’fat, told the AFP.

Abbas “briefed the meeting on his consultations with the leaders of the Arab countries to move in the UN Security Council with the aim of convening an international conference to end the Arab – Israeli dispute,” Ra’fat said.

On Thursday Mahmoud Abbas announced in Gaza that he was working on a new plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding the initiative will be submitted at the September session of the U.N. Security Council."

:: Dataghost 5:53 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Dichter: Ceding Golan legitimate price for a true peace with Syria - Haaretz - Israel News: "Public Security Minister Avi Dichter of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party said Monday that in return for a genuine peace with Syria, it would be legitimate for Israel to cede the Golan Heights.

Also Monday morning, Vice Premier Shimon Peres sent a contradictory message, saying the time is not right for Israel to engage in talks with Syria.

Asked if in exchange for a genuine peace with Damascus, he would be willing to return the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War, Dichter told Army Radio:

'In return for a true peace with Syria or with Lebanon, over those issues that from the standpoint of the land have a history, which we know and the Syrians know and the Lebanese know, I think that what we did with Egypt and with Jordan is legitimate here as well.'

Dichter said that meant a return to the internationally recognized border.

The terms of Israel's 1979 peace treaty with Egypt were a full normalization of relations in exchange for return of all of the Sinai peninsula, taken in the 1967 war. Jordan also restored full relations with Israel, in a 1994 treaty that included some return of territory but did not include the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the rights to which Jordan had formally relinquished to the Palestinians."

:: Dataghost 5:52 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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People's Daily Online -- Palestine appeals for Nigeria's involvement in Mideast peace process: "The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria Azmi Al Daqqa at the weekend appealed to Nigeria to be involved in the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestine crisis.

Al Daqqa told reporters in the capital Abuja that the appeal became necessary because Nigeria had 'significant weight both regionally and internationally.'

'In addition, Nigeria has good relations with both Palestinians and Israelis, so its involvement in the efforts to bring both parties to the negotiating table is very important,' he added.

Al Daqqa said Palestinians were suffering because of the continued Israeli occupation of their land, adding that the only way to end the suffering was to prevail on Israel to vacate the occupied territories.

The ambassador said 10,000 Palestinians were currently in Israeli jails and some of them had spent more than two decades in jails.

Of the number, he said, 450 were under 18 and 250 women, reminding the international community of the suffering of the families of the jailed Palestinians.

He said it was the responsibility of the international community to intervene 'to stop aggression against the Palestinian people.'"

Polarization of sides for a war? Quite possibly...we'll be watching the details for further developments

:: Dataghost 5:50 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Business Day - News Worth Knowing: "SA’s national cricket team arrived back in SA at the weekend after a fatal bomb blast close to the hotel where they were staying in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo last week made it impossible to guarantee their safety.

The Indian cricket team has decided to stay but SA’s cricket authorities were nervous that the players could be caught in the 20- year-old civil war in which the Tamils are fighting for their own homeland.

A day after the Colombo bomb attack — which unsuccessfully targeted Pakistan’s envoy but killed seven people — SA’s cricket management decided to withdraw the team.

During the war, an estimated 64000 people have been killed and more than a million others displaced."

:: Dataghost 5:48 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Lebanese Peace- Recipe For Armageddon: "I do not think that anyone that is at least partially sane actually believes that the U.N cease fire imposed upon Israel and Hezbollah will stop the fighting. But what I fear many do not realize is that the way the cease fire has been set up by the United Nations actually presents the greatest potential scenario for the biblically prophesied 'final battle' of Armageddon that has ever existed.

First, for those who may have never read the biblical account, or heard of this, let me give just a brief background. Biblical scholars, particularly eschatologists (students of last things or end times) have for centuries believed that a final war would take place in the Valley of Megiddo AKA Armageddon. This battle is to precede the return of Christ. The bible has several references to a place where all of the armies of the world shall gather for a 'final battle.' This place is called in modern language Armageddon, but in earlier times it refers to Megiddo or valley of Megiddo. The modern city of Megiddo lies at the edge of Valley of Jezreel, the modern name for the valley. And where is this Valley of Jezreel (Megiddo)? It is about 20 mile south of the Lebanese border and about 15 miles from Haifa.

So much for the location; how about the participants? While the bible states that 'all the kings' or armies of the world will be gathered there for this battle, it specifically (Ezek.38) mentions several by name as the initiation of the conflict. These are the surrounding Arab nations and some African nations. After an escalation, Russia has a prominent place in this battle."

:: Dataghost 7:12 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Weekend Reading: Packing a Nuclear Punch: "Good Sunday morning. I hope you're enjoying what should be an excellent final round of golf's PGA Championship. As always, here are some articles and papers worth reading. First, however, a look back at the week that just finished, and a look forward to the week ahead.

It was an impressive week of gains for the major markets. The big indices advanced all five days this past week, and the S&P 500 and the Dow are now at three-month highs. The Dow gained 2.65%, while the S&P 500 was up 2.81% and the Nasdaq rose 5.16%. Click here for the weekly performance.

It will be another week about oil and Iran. While oil prices fell again last week, there is still plenty of nervousness about the commodity. Market participants will closely watch news from Iran regarding its nuclear program, which could goose up oil prices considerably. Tehran has said it will respond by Aug. 22 to a set of incentives from U.N. members aimed at encouraging it to discontinue its nuclear program. While few expect Iran to play nicely, there is still some hope that it will at least offer hints that it will become more accommodative."

:: Dataghost 6:19 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Iran to offer 'multifaceted response' to Western nuclear incentives package: "TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran braced for more confrontation with the West on Sunday, as its Foreign Ministry said it wouldn't even consider abiding by a UN resolution that calls for a freeze of uranium enrichment and the Iranian army tested a new missile during large military manoeuvres.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi confirmed however that Iran would offer on Tuesday a 'multifaceted response' to a western package of incentives aimed at persuading Tehran to suspend enrichment activities, but insisted it would not cease enriching uranium altogether.

Asefi said a compromise would have to be reached during future negotiations.

'We won't suspend (uranium enrichment). Everything has to come out of negotiations. Suspension is not on our agenda,' Asefi told a press conference Sunday.

The UN Security Council resolution passed last month gives Tehran until Aug. 31 to freeze uranium enrichment or face political and economic sanctions.

Iran has repeatedly stated it would ignore it, but the heightening of regional tensions after weeks of war in Lebanon seemed to have led the Islamic Republic to harden its position."

:: Dataghost 6:17 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Israel preparing for 'next round' of Lebanon conflict: "JERUSALEM - Israel will examine the mistakes it made during the month-long Lebanon offensive in preparation for the 'next round' of war, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Sunday.

'We will examine the issues that have been pointed out as failures,' a senior government official quoted Peretz as telling the weekly cabinet meeting.

'We will put everything on the table. Our duty is to prepare for the next round,' he said, without elaborating.

Israel`s military and political leadership has faced rising criticism that it mismanaged the war in Lebanon, which left 161 Israelis dead, most of them soldiers.

Despite a UN-brokered ceasefire that took effect on the ground in Lebanon last Monday, many in Israel believe that the country has not fought its last war."

:: Dataghost 3:35 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Yesha Rabbinical Council: During time of war, enemy has no innocents - News from Israel, Ynetnews: The Yesha Rabbinical Council announced in response to an IDF attack in Kfar Qanna that 'according to Jewish law, during a time of battle and war, there is no such term as 'innocents' of the enemy.'

All of the discussions on Christian morality are weakening the spirit of the army and the nation and are costing us in the blood of our soldiers and civilians,' the statement said. (Efrat Weiss)"

I'd like to congratulate the Yehsa Rabbinical Council upon their justifying of the Nazi German people for the attrocities committed by them known popularly as the Holocaust!

:: Dataghost 10:42 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Did Baby Boomers Sell Their Souls to the Devil? - Baby Boomers At 60 - MSNBC.com: "July 24, 2006 - My cohort of early baby boomers has been called a lot of names in its nearly six decades of existence—we were the insolent teenagers of the 1950s; the self-centered Yuppies of the 1980s; now we are the aging spendthrifts who will bust the federal budget and bankrupt our children with unreasonable demands for creature comfort in old age.

But maybe it would be more appropriate to think of us as the Faustian generation. We didn't exactly sell our souls to the devil—not collectively, anyway—but as we jog toward senior status, it's hard to escape the sense that we were complicit in our own unique kind of unholy bargain.

Most of us born in the early years after World War II grew up in a world of stability and order: lasting marriages, moms at home, fathers with permanent employment, local merchants who knew us and watched us, neighborhoods where the people next door were ever-present and predictable. The three television networks ran essentially the same programs; the bread and soup and cereal all tasted alike. It was snug; it was also, as we all know, widely perceived as monotonous and a little claustrophobic, as well as unfair to many members of society.

'The dull ache will not depart,' Faust says in the first part of Goethe's epic, as he laments the cozy tedium of his cloistered life. 'I crave excitement, agonizing bliss.' That does pretty well as a mantra for the best and brightest of the early baby boomers as they reached mid-adolescence in the early 1960s."

:: Dataghost 7:32 PM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Northeast Intelligence Network - News: "26 July 2006: An especially vitriolic editorial appeared on the opinion section of al Jazeera’s web site yesterday, condemning the content of Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s speech he gave at the National Press Club last Wednesday.

The blistering criticism was written by Pennsylvania resident Mohammed KHAKU, who is also the past president of the Al-Ahad Islamic Center and the Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat of Pennsylvania (SIJPA). KHAKU is associated with the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley, of which the Stroudsburg Islamic Center is also associated. His writings have appeared on the web site of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a top Wahhabi organization with numerous ties to radical Islam.

During his speech on Wednesday, July 19, 2006, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum called for regime change in Iran and described 'Islamic fascism' as the 'great test' of this generation, as threatening to the United States as last century's German Nazism and Soviet communism.

In response to the speech by Senator Santorum, KHAHU described the statements as “prejudicial remarks (that) were derogatory, and highly unbecoming for a member of US senate. KHAKU added, “The Senator rhetoric in a public forum demeans both himself and the party he represents, particularly at a time when entire Middle East is in turmoil. Muslim of Lehigh Valley strongly condemned Senator remarks outrageous, inflammatory and un-American. The Senator's inflammatory comments do nothing to advance America's role in the world as the leading voice for tolerance and religious freedom and should be soundly condemned as election rhetoric and appeasing the neo-conservatives and American extremism…”"

:: Dataghost 11:29 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Rice Turns Diplomatic Focus to Gaza Crisis: "Secretary meets Palestinian President Abbas, calls for sustainable peace

By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shifted the focus of her diplomatic efforts from the crisis in Lebanon to the ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza July 25 as she met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

“[E]ven as the Lebanon situation resolves we must remain focused on what is happening here in the Palestinian Territories, on our desires to get back on a course that will lead ultimately to … President Bush's vision, but indeed the vision of President Abbas, of two states living side by side in peace,” Rice said at a press availability following her meeting with the Palestinian leader.

Israel has been carrying out military operations in Gaza since militants linked to the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Hamas party tunneled into Israel June 25, attacked an Israeli military post near the Gaza border and abducted an Israeli soldier. Israel has called for the immediate release of Corporal Gilad Shalit while the soldier’s captors have demanded the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners as well as all Palestinian women and children in Israeli jails first."

:: Dataghost 11:26 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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Iran Faces Increased World Isolation, U.S. Official Says: "Needs to suspend nuclear program, negotiate, State's Simons adds

By Kathryn McConnell
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Iran faces greater international isolation if it does not suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and enter into international negotiations as proposed by a group of six countries, says a senior State Department official.

If Iran does not give a 'positive, concrete response' to a proposal advanced in June by six partner countries known as P5+1 to voluntarily suspend such activities, the countries will have 'no other choice' than to ask the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution making a suspension mandatory, said Paul Simons, deputy assistant secretary for economic and business affairs. (See related article.)

The P5+1 group comprises the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China -- plus Germany.

Simons testified July 25 before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.

The P5+1 proposal includes an offer to cooperate with Iran in the development of a civilian nuclear program, Simons said. But, he added, the proposal states that Iran's nuclear energy program should conform with the country's obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran's 'long history of deception and noncompliance' with the NPT and with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obligations has created 'a loss in confidence in Iran's [stated] intentions' that it seeks to develop nuclear energy only for domestic purposes, Simons said."

:: Dataghost 11:25 AM[+] ::worlds_end.blogspot.com

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