by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross*

Al Qaeda’s allies in Somalia are on the verge of seizing the secular government’s last stronghold - opening the possibility of a “new Afghanistan” to shelter America’s enemies.

Somalia is at a critical juncture. In the coming days, the world will learn whether the transitional federal government is strong enough to fend off the terrorists’ assault. If it fails, al-Qaeda will win its first countrywide safe haven since 9/11.

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by Ira Stoll*

The deputy prime minister of Israel, Avigdor Lieberman, is calling for a tougher stance toward Israeli Arabs.

Mr. Lieberman outlined his views at a luncheon session in New York yesterday organized by the Middle East Forum, and afterward in an interview with The New York Sun and other journalists.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

We in the West are used to school closings due to inclement weather or an outbreak of the flu. In “Palestine,” schools are today being closed due to civil war, between Palestinians. Who will the terrorism apologists, like Jimma Carter, blame the internecine Palestinian fighting on this time? From Earthtimes.org:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

If there’s anything left of Iran’s “electoral” process, voters seem to be giving President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the message to cool it on his insane hate- and war-mongering — at least as interpreted by the AP. But I’ll go with this assessment, as this is the first time I’ve noticed the AP put the term “moderate conservatives” in quotes where referring to “reformers” inside the Iranian mullahcracy:

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by Daniel Pipes*

After nearly sixty years on the sidelines, Israel’s third and final enemy may be joining the battle.

Foreign states are Israel’s enemy no. 1. With the declaration of Israeli independence in May 1948, five foreign armed forces invaded Israel. All the major wars that followed – 1956, 1967, 1970, 1973 – involved Israelis at war with neighboring armies, air forces, and navies. Today, the greatest threat comes from weapons of mass destruction in Iran and Syria. Egypt increasingly presents a conventional arms danger.

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by Rachel Silverman*

Just this week, about 60 “scholars” from around the world gathered for a conference on Arab soil to debate the veracity of the Holocaust, and to call for more “proof” on the subject.

Had Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, been invited, he might have told them to simply look outside.

According to Satloff’s new book, Among the Righteous, not only did the Holocaust play out in Arab countries like Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, but Arabs themselves were involved — both as rescuers and perpetrators.

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by Steven Shamrak

President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to Palestinian statehood in a meeting with Indonesia’s president. “Both presidents stressed their support for the establishment of a viable, independent, democratic and sovereign Palestinian state that would live side-by-side in peace with Israel,” said a joint statement released Monday after Bush met with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during Bush’s Asian tour. (At least, we must face reality and realize that they are not true friends.)

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Jaafar Sheikh Idris says Muslims cannot serve in Congress, the Armed Forces, or any other position that requires loyalty to the Constitution.
by Bill Levinson

WorldNetDaily has reported that Jaafar Sheikh Idris, the founder of American Open University, says that Muslims are not eligible to serve in any position of public trust that requires an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

The reality is that the stability we thought we saw in the Middle East was a mirage.

- President George W. Bush, September 19, 2006

Hamas and Fatah, both terrorist factions of the Palestinian dysfunctional family, are on the verge of fighting a civil war. Believe it or not, this is a good thing, as people don’t usually change unless their backs are up against the wall. The Palestinian house is in dire need of a deep cleaning. So why is U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planning on maintaining the terrorist status quo, seeking to prop up one terrorist faction, Fatah, over another, Hamas?

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

I offer praise to the BBC’s correspondent Frances Harrison for calling Iran’s Holocaust denial conference for what it is: a collection of hypocritical, uneducated, hate-mongers hell-bent on undermining Israel’s legitimacy (or, for some, just indulging in anti-Semitism). Here’s a snippet, but you should read the whole article:

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By Fern Sidman

In these days before Chanukah, we sit and reflect on the tumultuous events that have unfolded with blinding speed over the past year. We have witnessed the rise of Hamas to power, the dismantling of the settlement of Amona along with the brutalization of its residents at the hands of the Israeli police, as well as the forced removal of Jews from their homes in Hevron and other settlements in the Shromron. We have witnessed the barbaric and inhumane treatment of Gush Katif refugees as well as the restriction of movement of settlement activists. We have witnessed the kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah and we have witnessed a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon that saw the devastating defeat of the once mighty and invincible Israeli army.

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by Canadian Coalition for Democracies

Ottawa, Tuesday, December 12, 2006 – As Canadians, we are deeply distressed by the suffering of Maher Arar, whose ordeal was, in the judgement of Justice Dennis O’Connor, triggered by sub-standard police and security work on the part of the RCMP. We recognize the difficulty in compensating Maher Arar and his family for the ordeal that followed his deportation to Syria.

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by Daniel Pipes*

The Iraq Study Group Report, cobbled together by ten individuals lacking specialized knowledge of Iraq, dredges up past failed U.S. policies in the Middle East and would enshrine them as current policy.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

I hope Pakistani President Musharraf keeps on fighting his country’s Islamists. I’ve sometimes wondered if he’s had the stomach for it, but he proved today he does. From the BBC:

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has blocked a fresh attempt to enact a Taleban-style law to enforce Islamic morality in North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

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Iran’s claim that Iraq killed millions of its people is a grossly-exaggerated hoax
by Bill Levinson

In light of the recent actions by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad–who was incidentally involved in the theocratic revolution of the late 1970s, and possibly the mass executions of Ayatollah Khomaini’s opponents–it is necessary to revisit and reassess the extent of Iraq’s alleged killings of Iranians during the 1980s.

No one denies that Saddam Hussein’s government killed Iranians during the war between the two countries, but it is quite likely that Iran’s mullahs and theocrats overstated Iraq’s role in causing these deaths. Not only that, the ayatollahs used Iraq’s actions as a coverup for murders and atrocities that they committed themselves. The infamous Katyn Forest massacre during the Second World War is a perfect example of this sort of thing.

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