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RABAT, Morocco (AP) - Officials from more than 20 Islamic countries said Saturday that political, economic and social reforms must go hand in hand with steps toward settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The commitment to reforms came during a four-hour meeting that included those Muslim nations, industrialized democracies, the Arab League and other groups. The United States, a driving force behind the conference, sees the changes as a way to make these societies less of a breeding ground for political extremism. At a news conference after the discussions, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was not disappointed that the Muslim...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnam has prohibited an outspoken U.S. Congresswoman from visiting the communist country, saying a trip "would not serve Vietnam-U.S. relations," officials said Friday. Rep. Loretta Sanchez from Santa Ana, California, was told in a letter sent via the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi that her visa application was rejected because she "altogether lacks objectivity and goodwill toward Vietnam," according to a statement from her office. "The Vietnamese National Assembly and Vietnamese public opinion share the view that a visit to Vietnam by Ms. Loretta Sanchez would not serve Vietnam-U.S. relations," according to a reprinted version of the...

On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel's security barrier was a violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law. Eleven days later, the United Nations General Assembly voted 150-6 to condemn Israel and demand removal of the barrier. All twenty-five members of the European Union supported the motion.[1] The EU position would not have been so offensive had it not then undertaken an act of stunning hypocrisy. In August 2004, the EU put out tenders for companies to construct a European separation fence to prevent migration into the EU from countries excluded from...

Editors' preface: A noted historian of the Middle East has said the following about the legacy of scholars who devoted their careers to the study of the region: The giants of the recent past tend to be largely forgotten as soon as they are dead if not before, especially if what they have written isn't what is now considered fashionable or central … They are criticized when they are in error, but their achievements are forgotten.[1] While this is largely true in the English-speaking countries, it is not true in France, where a few French "giants" of Islamic and Arab...

DALLAS (AP) - A federal jury on Wednesday convicted five Middle Eastern brothers of illegally selling computers to countries that supported terrorism. The men, who ran a computer company called InfoCom Corp, were convicted of conspiracy to violate export regulations and sanctions against Libya and making false statements on export shipping documents. The jury of nine women and three men deliberated nearly three days after a four-week trial. The brothers faced a total of 23 counts. One was convicted of all 23 charges; the others were acquitted on some allegations. Each charge carried a maximum penalty of five or 10...

Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that one or more countries may follow Spain's lead and withdraw peacekeeping troops from Iraq "based on their own political situation." Hours later, Honduras said it was pulling out its 370 soldiers. ... Powell dismissed Woodward's suggestion that Bush already had made up his mind by Jan. 11 last year to go to war against Iraq and that Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar, had been informed of the decision that day.

Countries unite in swoop on Turkish terrorists By Amberin Zaman in Ankara and Bruce Johnston in Rome (Filed: 02/04/2004) Dozens of suspected members of a far-Left Turkish terrorist group - including two reported to be linked to plans for suicide attacks - were arrested yesterday in co-ordinated dawn raids across Europe. Italian police arrested five Turkish terror suspects Police in Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium took at least 49 suspected extremists belonging to the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) into custody amid fears that they were planning a wave of attacks on western businessmen and diplomats. Turkish interior...

I saw a letter to editor in the Jan. 26 edition of TIME magazine which I thought went right along what Bush said about not ignoring the sacrifices made by the other countries. The 4th letter on the 10th page was written by Marek Witko from London who expressed that he was "extremely upset" that TIME selected the American Soldier as the Person of the Year. He noted that Italy, Spain, Britain, and Poland all have lost guys in Iraq and asks "Why weren't their lives and sacrifices recognized as noble and noteworthy like the Americans?" Here is a citizen...

Poor Baby Axis of WeaselBarred from Iraq Contracts By Andrew L. Jaffee, December 10, 2003 Home   Search   Forum   Terms The U.S. today barred Axis of Weasel countries (like Russia, Canada, France, and Germany) from bidding on $18.6 billion in contracts for rebuilding Iraq. These countries all opposed the U.S.-led coalition's liberation of Iraq. It seems only reasonable for U.S. taxpayer money to be spent on countries that support the U.S. in bringing democracy to the Middle East. French, Canadian, Russian, and German soldiers aren't being killed in Iraq now. Remember how vociferously these countries defended Saddam? Why should they be rewarded for...

WASHINGTON, September 22 (IslamOnline.net) - U.S. Presidential hopeful Wesley Clark, the former general who led NATO forces during the Kosovo campaign, revealed on Monday, September 22, that the Bush administration had set-up a five-year plan to invade seven Muslim countries after the 9/11 attacks, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and finally Sudan. In his book "The Clark Critique" excerpts of which were published by this week's Newsweek edition, the four-star retired general wrote that following the September attacks, the U.S. administration became preoccupied with the idea of "state sponsorship" and "draining the swamp" of terrorism. "In...

Source: University Of California - Berkeley Date: 2003-06-13 SARS Death Rate Lower In Countries Responding Aggressively To Initial Outbreak Berkeley - Three months after SARS began its spread out of southern China, it is clear that a country's response to the epidemic can have a major impact on the percentage of infected people who die, according to epidemiologists at the University of California, Berkeley. An analysis accepted for August publication in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases indicates that countries that quickly initiated control measures against SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) saw a slower spread and a lower fatality rate. "The...

No Big May Day Celebrations in Lithuania TodayBy Andrew L. Jaffee, May 1, 2003 You won't find any big May Day celebrations today in downtown Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. This country suffered brutal Russian communist occupation for 46 years. How many other peoples suffered (or are still suffering) under "socialism?" Why aren't Lithuanians celebrating May Day? There are still those die-hards clinging to the Marxist dream of a proletarian paradise. Today, those dreamers are celebrating May Day. In Berlin and London today, the dreamers got violent. Strange that people in developed, democratic societies overloaded with social programs and...

SECRETARY of State Colin Powell has said 45 nations are backing the United States in the coalition that may soon go to war with Iraq. Powell: we are not alone Powell said 30 of those countries - who had offered troops, overflight rights, logistical support and assistance and Iraqi reconstruction projects - were willing to be named publicly, while 15 preferred to remain anonymous for the present. "Thirty nations have publicly said they can be included," he said in a State Department interview with international news agencies. The 15 others "will be known in due course". The department later released...

Dozen countries now fear fatal pneumonia 18:55 17 March 03 NewScientist.com news service The spread of a highly infectious and deadly pneumonia continued around the globe on Monday, with the number of countries with confirmed or suspected cases rising to 12. Unconfirmed cases have now emerged in the UK, Australia, Switzerland and Slovenia, all connected with travel to the Far East. Health authorities on all continents are taking the risk of importing the disease extremely seriously. The US, South Africa and Russia, amongst others, have put their health authorities on nationwide alert. Eight cases in Canada, including two deaths, and...

I have a simple question... What countries have agreed to stand by us if we decide to attack Iraq without UN consent? Is there a list of countries somewhere that shows who our allies are as of right now? I'd love to see a list... or some sort of map too. I like pictures. :) Anyway, someone help start a list or post one. Thanks!!! :)

'To countries allied with the Americans. . .' (Filed: 14/11/2002) The following are extracts from a tape purported to contain the words of Osama bin Laden, broadcast by al-Jazeera television.From the worshipper of God, Osama bin Laden, to the people of the countries that are allied with the unjust American government: the road to safety starts with stopping aggression and it is only fair to establish equal treatment. The events since the New York and Washington raids until today - such as the killing of Germans in Tunisia and the French in Karachi, the blowing up of the French supertanker...

“Ten weddings and two funerals”: this is the formula used in the Brussels circles to describe the current path in the enlargement process. Ten candidate countries are on the way to signing their accession to the European Union by the end of the year, and join in 2004. Two other candidate countries, Romania and Bulgaria, are expected to be told they have to work more to improve their economic performance before being accepted. However, Bucharest and Sofia are set to fight to transform the funeral into an engagement. Roadmap and entry date The two countries will seek to get a...