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Ed Henry on CNN from Brazil says the White House is telling him that Obama is "ferociously working behind the scenes" to prop up faltering Arab League support for the bombing campaign in Libya.Henry says Obama specifically called Jordan's King Abdullah.

The Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, deplored the broad scope of the U.S.-European bombing campaign in Libya on Sunday and said he would call a new league meeting to reconsider Arab approval of the Western military intervention. Moussa said the Arab League’s approval of a no-fly zone on March 12 was based on a desire to prevent Moammar Gaddafi’s air force from attacking civilians and was not designed to embrace the intense bombing and missile attacks—including on Tripoli, the capital, and on Libyan ground forces—that have filled Arab television screens for the last two days. “What is happening in...

CAIRO - The Arab League on Sunday criticized Western military strikes on Libya, a week after urging the United Nations to slap a no-fly zone on the oil-rich North African state. "What has happened in Libya differs from the goal of imposing a no-fly zone and what we want is the protection of civilians and not bombing other civilians," Arab League secretary general Amr Mussa told reporters. On March 12, the Arab League urged the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone on Libya and said Moammar Gadhafi’s regime had "lost legitimacy" as it sought to snuff out a rebellion...

The call by the Arab League for Western military intervention in an Arab state — in this case asking that a UN “no-fly zone” be imposed over Libya – is not only without precedent but it puts in formal terms what Governor Palin stated three weeks ago should have been America’s response to the political and humanitarian crisis now unfolding there. The former GOP vice presidential candidate was being interviewed on February 23rd on national television by Sean Hannity on a range of issues. On the Libya crisis, she proposed a no-fly-zone to protect the armed and un-armed opposition to...

I respectfully dissent from Wendesday’s NRO editorial, which urges that the United States go to war with Libya. The editorial doesn’t put it that way. Indeed, it doesn’t call for President Obama to seek a congressional declaration of war, or at least an authorization for the use of military force, as the Bush administration understood was required before commencing combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In this case, complying with the Constitution is almost certain to result in a resounding “no” vote from the people’s representatives — and if you think getting the Patriot Act reauthorized was uphill, figure getting...

"The international community cannot simply watch from the sidelines as this quest for democracy is met with raw violence," said Kerry, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, in a lengthy policy speech today. The Massachusetts Democrat said the Arab League's endorsement this weekend of a no-fly zone over Libya is unprecedented. "The Security Council should act now, in my judgment, to heed the Arab League's call" and to avert a humanitarian disaster, said Kerry, in remarks to a room packed with foreign journalists at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank. Kerry's call for action on a...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab states must intervene in Libya or risk unwanted foreign intervention, Oman's foreign minister told an Arab League meeting on Saturday. European states hope the Arab League will take the lead in shaping policy towards the revolt that has divided Libya. The League has suspended Libya for its crackdown on an uprising against Muammar Gaddafi but has not severed all ties to Tripoli. Gulf states including Oman have voiced strong criticism of Gaddafi and called for a no-fly zone over Libya, but the position of other Arab League states is not clear. Analysts doubt its members will...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned Friday that it would be madness for the United States and its NATO allies to go to war in Libya to try to topple Moammar Gadhafi. Chavez, a friend and ally of Gadhafi, criticized President Barack Obama for expressing support for the Libyan opposition. "Right now they are preparing a war, the Yankees and their NATO allies," Chavez said in a televised speech. He predicted a larger war in Libya could push world oil prices to $200 a barrel, and he echoed Gadhafi's warnings that a foreign military intervention would unleash much more bloodshed. "If...

The Arab League has backed the idea of a no-fly zone over Libya, reports say, as rebels continue to be pushed back by Colonel Gaddafi's forces. A special meeting in Cairo voted to ask the UN Security Council to impose the policy, diplomats told news agencies.

As Colonel Gaddafi’s jets and tanks continued to gain ground against rebels in the east of the country, ministers from the 22-nation League agreed to call for action after emergency talks in Cairo. Officials said the body had already been in touch with the rebels about the situation on the ground. Before the meeting, Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League and one of its most influential diplomats, had thrown his weight behind the air exclusion zone, saying it was the only way to protect Libyans from Gaddafi’s “disdainful” regime. In a statement after a six-hour long meeting,...

LIBYA: Two top Libyan envoys have resigned from their posts in solidarity with pro-democracy demonstrations against the country’s ruler Muammar Gaddafi’s authoritarian regime. Libyan envoy to the Arab League Abdel Moneim al-Honi and the country’s ambassador to China resigned Sunday to join the protests. “I have submitted my resignation in protest against the acts of repression and violence against demonstrators and I am joining the ranks of the revolution,” al-Honi said. Libyan envoy to China has also said that he was not “honored to represent a regime that kills its people.” He has also called on the army to intervene...

In a press conference held on Monday afternoon in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit responded to criticism by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday, saying that "They have practically declared war on Egypt via several satellite stations. The Egyptian people reject and opposes this declaration." "They want for there to be chaos in Egypt as there is in their country," Gheit said of Hizbullah. "I tell this man [Nasrallah]: No, no! Our armed forces can defend our homeland from people like you. Your interest in creating chaos is not in the best interest of...

Forward to the Past- Moslem progress The Moslem world sprawls around half the east, from the Pacific across Asia and Africa to the Atlantic, along one of the greatest of trade routes; in its center is an area extremely rich in oil; over it will run some of the most strategically important air routes. With few exceptions, the states which it includes are marked by poverty, ignorance, and stagnation. It is full of discontent and frustration, yet alive with consciousness of its inferiority and with determination to achieve some kind of general betterment.Two basic urges meet head-on in this area,...

Senior Palestinian Authority negotiator Nabil Shaath has announced that the PA will never accept Israel as a Jewish state. In addition, he threatened war if the PA fails to obtain its demands through negotiations, saying, “A Palestinian state will arise, either through negotiations or through armed resistance.” The Arab League voted last week to support PA Chairman Abbas' refusal to recognize Israel as Jewish. The PA has demanded that no Jewish residents remain in the territory it claims as the location of a future Arab state, including any Israelis in Judea and Samaria who would be willing to become PA...

Before delving into the question of what follows the death of the two-state solution we must get a certificate of death. This may prove to be more difficult than getting a certificate of live birth for President Obama. Everyone prefers to kick a dead horse, so to speak, than to acknowledge it is dead. The Arabs were against the creation of Israel in the first place. They opposed the Palestine Mandate, The Partition Plan, The Declaration of Independence by Israel and Resolution 242. In 1968 they decided at the Khartoum Conference on the three “no’s”; no recognition, no negotiation and...

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/readout-presidents-call-with-president-abbas-palestinian-authority-0 Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release July 09, 2010 Readout of the President's Call with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority The President spoke with Palestinian Authority President Abbas today. The President expressed strong support for President Abbas's leadership on behalf of the Palestinian people and his commitment to peace. The President noted the positive momentum generated by the recent improvements on the ground in Gaza and in the West Bank, the restraint shown by both sides in recent...

SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) – As governments consider the divisive issue of remodeling the United Nations Security Council to reflect 21st century realities, Pakistan has reiterated its view that the council should include seats earmarked for the world’s Islamic and Arab states. Pakistan’s ambassador, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, told a closed meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York this week that the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab League “have clear demands for representation in an enlarged council,” according to reports in Pakistani media. “In line with new realities, it is important to increase interaction with and to embed the...

SNIPPET: "Majlis National Security Committee chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Egyptian parliament, Muhammad Al-Fiqi, has authorized the members of the Iranian flotilla, which is to arrive via the Suez Canal, to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. Boroujerdi clarified that this flotilla, which includes Majlis members, is distinct from the one being organized by the Iranian Red Crescent."

ISTANBUL – Arab league chief Amr Moussa accused Israel on Thursday of continued "atrocity and assault" in the Middle East in violation of human rights and international law. Moussa, speaking at an economic forum between Turkey and Arab nations, said "Israel is the main reason for the black hole in the region."

SNIPPET: "Free Palestine Movement, Reporters with Borders say plan to send ship carrying dozens of activists, European MPs to Gaza as early as next weekend" SNIPPET: "The Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara ship and the Irish-owned Rachel Corrie ship are not alone: Two non-governmental Lebanese organizations announced Saturday that the plan to send an aid vessel of their own to the Gaza Strip as early as next weekend. In a press conference in Beirut, the Free Palestine Movement and Reporters without Borders organization announced that the ship, which will be carrying humanitarian aid, will include passengers interested in expressing their solidarity, as...