Free Republic

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“…since the Republicans resounding victories at the polls the language of politics has changed. The Democrats are not talking so tough anymore. Gone are the days when a snarky Barack Obama’s tone toward the defeated Republicans dripped with, “We won. You Lost” during negotiations over his wasteful “economic stimulus” bill. At that point (January 2009) Doug Schoen, a Democrat strategist, explained Obama’s position with, “Ideally he wants bipartisanship. If that doesn’t work, [it becomes] ‘We won, you lost. You’re discredited. We’re not.’ That’s kind of his fallback position.” What a difference an election makes Just over three weeks after their...

A chill ran through me this month when I realized that September 2010 might be more than just another anniversary of the 2001 savagery. According to Islamic law, 2010 could be the start of the ninth year of a ten-year hudna. So what is a "hudna," and what is so special about the ninth year of an Islamic terror standoff? A "hudna" is a temporary peace entered into by an Islamic force when it is weaker than its enemy. Its purpose is to buy the Islamic side time to rearm and regroup. But don't think of it as a ceasefire...

Egyptian mediators have stepped up diplomatic pressure on rival Palestinian groups to form a unity government, setting a July 7 deadline for a deal to bridge internal divisions blocking peace talks with Israel.....Hamas Islamists running the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip are not prepared to recognize Israel and conclude a permanent peace. They will only go as far as a 10-year truce, which the Jewish state says is no substitute for a comprehensive peace...

A desire to understand the universe seems to be hard-wired into our brains.  However we need a worldview (from the German Weltanschauung which means, literally, "world view").  Continuing with the computer metaphor, a worldview corresponds to a disc operating system, a framework for receiving and processing data. Worldviews have changed over the course of history.  The ancient Greeks thought that otherwise inexplicable events such as thunderstorms and falling in love were the results of whimsical actions of Zeus and Cupid, respectively.  Shakespeare and his contemporaries believed in a heavenly harmony that was replicated here on earth.  Thus the sun ruled...

Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, has said their organization would be willing to offer Israel a 10-year truce if Israel were to remove itself from the lands it seized during the 1967 Middle East War. Mashaal has said he made the offer on Saturday while speaking with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and while the Hamas leader hinted that a Palestinian state would be limited to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem there was no outright declaration that they would recognize Israel. During Carter’s talk with Mashaal the Hamas leader said his organization would...

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 130 Muslim scholars from around the globe called on Thursday for peace and understanding between Islam and Christianity, saying "the very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake." In an unprecedented letter to Pope Benedict and other Christian leaders, 138 Muslim scholars said finding common ground between the world's biggest faiths was not simply a matter for polite dialogue between religious leaders. "If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace. With the terrible weaponry of the modern world; with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before,...

Muqtada al-Sadr's surprise decision to stand down his Mahdi Army for up to six months was designed to stop a Shiite-Shiite rift from spiraling out of control and to weed out infiltrators in his militia's ranks, according to aides of the radical Shiite cleric. Al-Sadr issued his surprise declaration last Wednesday following two days of deadly clashes in the holy city of Karbala between his Mahdi Army and the rival Badr militia of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the country's largest Shiite party and a U.S. partner. Involvement in inter-Shiite fighting has hurt the image of al-Sadr and his Mahdi...

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 BAGHDAD — Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered a six-month suspension of activities by his Mahdi Army militia in order to reorganize the force, and it will no longer attack U.S. and coalition troops, aides said Wednesday. The aide, Sheik Hazim al-Araji, said on Iraqi state television that the goal was to "rehabilitate" the organization, which has reportedly broken into factions, some of which the U.S. maintains are trained and supplied by Iran. "We declare the freezing of the Mahdi Army without exception in order to rehabilitate it in a way that will safeguard its ideological...

Page 1 of 2 Russia's hudna with the Muslim world By Spengler Janus-like, Russian President Vladimir Putin showed two faces toward Islam last week. In a historic and widely reported visit to Riyadh on February 11, Putin announced that "Russia is determined to enhance cooperation with the Islamic world". As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, he added, Russia has long experience in fostering cooperation between faiths and ethnicities, adding, "Russia is bent on pursuing this approach in all regions, including the Middle East and the Gulf." In an equally historic but little-reported action, on Thursday Putin installed as acting president...

Palestinian prime minister delivers speech on internal issues, accuses Abbas of isolating government. However, he also conveys message to Israel: If Palestinian state is established within 1967 borders, Hamas will aggress to long-term hudna. Meanwhile, Abbas calls for end to Gaza fighting Ali Waked Latest Update: 12.19.06, 19:12 Hamas is ready for a ceasefire with Israel if a Palestinian state is established, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said in a speech delivered Tuesday afternoon. Haniyeh's speech dealt mainly with internal issues. He responded to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for elections in the Palestinian Authority and called for unity in...

US envoy attacks British truce with Taliban By Tom Coghlan in Kabul and Damien McElroy in Washington Last Updated: 2:10am BST 25/10/2006 America's ambassador to Afghanistan yesterday expres-sed deep unease over the British military's ceasefire with the Taliban and subsequent withdrawal from a flashpoint town. British troops on operations in Helmand British troops moved out of the town of Musa Qala in north Helmand last week after a truce negotiated by tribal elders acting as intermediaries with the militia. After months of heavy fighting in which eight British soldiers and hundreds of Taliban fighters died, they handed over to an...

Palestinian militants have carried out nine suicide attacks in Israel and the West Bank since a Feb. 8, 2005, truce declaration. All but one attack have been carried out by Islamic Jihad, a violent group with close ties to Iran: • April 17, 2006: A bomber blows himself up at a Tel Aviv restaurant targeted previously, killing eight other people. • March 30, 2006: A bomber disguised as a Jewish hitchhiker blows himself up in a car outside a West Bank settlement, killing four Israelis who stopped to pick him up. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of...

Making a symbolic appeal to Israelis ahead of Tuesday's elections, incoming Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Sunday that the Islamic group wanted to end the crisis with Israel. "We don't seek a whirlpool of blood in this region," Haniyeh said. "We want rights and dignity for [the Palestinian] people, and to put an end to this decades-long complicated situation." Hamas' victory in January 25 Palestinian elections further strained Israeli-Palestinian relations that were already in tatters after more than five years of violence. Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide attacks, calls for the destruction of Israel. Israel...

An interview with Hamas's new prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh: "Do you accept the Oslo agreement signed by Yasser Arafat? Israel has stopped completely committing itself to Oslo. ... So you will not abide by past agreements made by the Palestinians and Israel? I have not said that. I have said that Israel . . . But you are not the prime minister of Israel. Will you abide by past agreements made by the Palestinian governments and Israel? We will review all agreements and abide by those that are in the interest of the Palestinian people. What agreements will you honor?...

Bin Laden Offers Truce in Purported Tape Terrorist Leader Threatens New Attacks Against U.S. By Yara Bayoumy, Reuters DUBAI (Jan. 19) -- Osama bin Laden warned that al-Qaida was preparing new attacks inside the United States, but said the group was open to a conditional truce with Americans, according to an audiotape attributed to him on Thursday. Al Jazeera television, which aired the tape, said it was recorded in the Muslim month that corresponded to December. "The operations are under preparation and you will see them in your houses as soon as they are complete, God willing," said the speaker...

As Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and Fatah's Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades announced an end to their self-declared truce of January 2005, under which they pledged to refrain from attacking Israeli targets, an annual summary of terror activities for 2005 released by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Sunday revealed that a total of 2,990 attacks were launched against Israeli targets. The attacks occurred after the truce was announced the report stated. According to the report, motivation among all the terror groups to attack Israel remains high with the number of monthly terror alerts averaging 57. There was a...

Many people have written many books, treatises and articles for the purpose of defining the role jihad is supposed to play in the lives of the Muslims. Most writers have tried, in their own ways, to come up with the [true] meaning of the Arabic word [Jihad,] others took circuitous routes to emphasize on what they believed was the purpose for which Allah has purportedly made the launching of jihad by Muslims an integral part of their lives. Until recently, my mind had remained in a state of dichotomy; it being the result of the inadequate attention, I admit, I...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers killed at least 29 guerrillas in western Iraq, the military said on Friday, after U.S. President George W. Bush vowed not to waver in his campaign against global Islamic extremism. Many Sunni leaders share the goals of some insurgents -- ending U.S. occupation and curbing the power of Shi'ite majority rule -- one prominent Sunni on Friday said U.S. forces and the militants should agree a ceasefire during Ramadan, which started this week, as a prelude to direct talks. "The fighting should stop," Saleh al-Mutlak, who represents the National Dialogue movement, told Reuters. "We have...

Qassam rockets meant for Sderot rally slam into Palestinian house Aaron Lerner Date: 2 August 2005 Ynet reports that two of three Qassam rockets fired by Hamas in Beit Hannoun towards Sderot shortly before the start of the anti-disengagement rally held in the Israeli border town slammed into a Palestinian home in Beit Hannoun killing a 3 year old boy and wounding six other Palestinians. The third rocket fell near Sderot, causing no Israeli injuries.

Cairo, 1 July (AKI) - The Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar mosque, Mohammed al-Tantawi, has made an appeal to Iraqi insurgents to halt their hostilities for a month. Only in this way, he said, can the occupying forces have the chance to withdraw from Iraq: "I tell you in all honesty and sincerity that if the killings and sabotages in Iraq were to be interrupted for a month, all the foreign forces could start to withdraw from your land and the whole world would be on your side" said al-Tantawi in a statement published in the Voice of al-Azhar newspaper....

Palestinian Official Says Militants Will Not Be Disarmed While Israeli Occupation PersistsBy Mohammed Daraghmeh Associated Press Writer Published: Jun 11, 2005 RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The Palestinian Authority has no intention of disarming militant groups as long as the Israeli occupation continues, the foreign minister said Saturday. Israel has long demanded the Palestinians crack down on the militant groups, but Palestinian officials have chosen instead to try to co-opt the militants. "The dismantling of armed organizations is not on the table because weapons are legal as long as the occupation exists," Foreign Minister Nasser Al Kidwa told Palestinian television,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Sunni Arab politician said Tuesday two insurgent groups were willing to negotiate with the government, possibly opening a new political front in embattled Iraq. But a string of coordinated deadly bombings signaled that militants remain fierce. The former Cabinet minister said he had established contact with the groups which account for a large part of the Sunni insurgents and were responsible for attacks against Iraqis and foreigners, including assassinations and kidnappings. It was the first public disclosure that such negotiations might be in the offing with specific groups, but independent confirmation was not possible. Al-Jaafari's government...

Security forces thwarted attempts by Islamic Jihad to launch double suicide bomb attacks in Jerusalem, including one that was to have occurred Wednesday. In recent days five cell members were arrested and two explosive belts that were to have been used in the attacks were blown up by sappers. The terrorists planned to target a coffee house, synagogue or bus in the capital's center as well as to launch an attack in the Ramot neighborhood. Some of the cell members were previously incarcerated in Israel and released in February, however security officials stressed that it was not in the framework...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Violence flared in Gaza with an Israeli airstrike on Palestinian rocket launchers just hours after Israel's Cabinet approved the release of 400 prisoners as a gesture to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The Israeli airstrike early Monday was a rare attack since a February truce. The Israeli military said the air force targeted rocket launchers just before an attack was to be launched from northern Gaza, and two launchers were destroyed. Hospital officials said a man and two women, apparently bystanders, were wounded by shrapnel. Palestinians said unmanned aircraft fired the missiles, but the military would...

A coalition of Palestinian militants threatened on Friday to resume attacks on Israelis despite a conditional truce agreed by other armed groups in talks with the Palestinian Authority. Mohammed Abdel-Al, a spokesman for the umbrella Popular Resistance Committees, said the Palestinian Authority had not invited the PRC to the negotiations in Egypt and the deal reached there on Thursday was not binding on it. "Our patience is over and it is time the Zionist entity be called to account by our fighters after the past two months (of calm)," Abdel-Al told a news conference. Before the current lull, the PRC...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Palestinian groups say they will reach an agreement today on a formal halt to attacks on Israelis, a step President Mahmoud Abbas hopes will persuade Israel to pull back from Palestinian towns. The Palestinian Authority and Egypt, which is hosting the meeting of several Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, want them to agree to an open-ended period of "calm", an Arabic term for the lowest level of truce. "We have an agreement in our hands now from all factions on the 'calm'," Samir Mashharawi, an official from Abbas's Fatah movement, told Reuters on Thursday. Mashharawi...

In Islam, lying or omissions for the 'greater good,' according to a strict or radical Islam/Islamist philosophy is not only acceptable, it is holy and blessed work. It is called al-Takeyya (or al-Taqiyya) and is a strategy outlined in the Hadiths and supported by various interpretations of some of the Suras in the Koran. We have just seen it in action and most people never even caught the whiff of mental ether the Islamists were pouring into the airways of the already comatose and choking non-Islamist world. Al-Takeyya is a policy whereby a Muslim may lie, deceive or omit critical...

Ramallah, West Bank — It was a strange chorus of condemnation heard in the bustling shops of downtown Ramallah, the offices of civic leaders and the dens where Palestinian militants take refuge from Israeli troops. Suicide attacks, like the one last month that killed five Israelis on the Tel Aviv beachfront, are no longer in the Palestinian national interest, went the argument. The Israeli army, which has used force and closures for the past four years to convince Palestinians of just the same argument, couldn’t have scripted it better. “The suicide attack is not correct at this specific time,” said...

$390MN TO ABU MAZEN DEFIES US GLOBAL POLICY by Yoram Ettinger 1. PRESIDENT BUSH's MEMORABLE SEPT. 20, 2001 SPEECH vs. $390MN TO ABU MAZEN. "Deliver to the US all the leaders of Al-Qaeda who hide in your land...Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, and hand over every terrorist...[But, Abu Mazen has stated that he would not fight, nor would he extradite, Palestinian terrorists. Palestinian terrorism - mostly masterminded by PA leaders and carried out by PA "security forces" - has evolved under the 1993-2005 Arafat-Abu Mazen regime into the largest terrorist base in the world]. "They...

Even as it announced it would maintain the current relative calm, Hamas was using the lull in Israel's offensive actions to stock up on Kassam rockets, mines and mortar shells in the Gaza Strip, defense sources said Sunday. To overcome a lack of raw materials, Kassam rocket makers have begun using pipes that held up street signs. Because of this there is a dearth of signposts in Gaza, military sources said. The sources said Hamas members and backers were working at a heightened pace in metal workshops to produce more weaponry, to be better prepared for an outbreak of hostilities...

The commander of Fatah's armed wing in Nablus said on Sunday that his group would continue to fight against Israel as long as the occupation exists and denied that his group was receiving financial aid from Hizbullah. "So far there's nothing new and we won't halt the resistance as long as the occupation continues," said Ala Sanakrah, commander of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Nablus who is wanted by Israel for his involvement in terrorist attacks. "We haven't heard yet from any Palestinian party that Israel is prepared to withdraw and stop its aggression against our people," he added. Sanakrah...

JERUSALEM - The Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said Saturday they will not attack Israeli targets, but they refrained from officially joining a Palestinian cease-fire with Israel agreed upon during last week's summit in Egypt. Leaders of both groups met Saturday with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is trying to keep the fragile cease-fire intact. A Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, told The Associated Press the group will wait to see whether Israel stops its military activities and targeted killings of Palestinian militants before deciding whether to join the truce agreed upon by Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel...

A Palestinian who planned to launch a suicide bombing attack in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of French Hill in the coming days was arrested on Thursday afternoon in a combined operation carried out by IDF and ISA (Israel Security Agency) forces in the West Bank city of Nablus. The man was identified as Mahran Shukat Abu-Hamis, 21, a resident of the Ein-Beit Ilma refugee camp in Nablus, who planned the attack in an attempt to derail the cease-fire declared during Tuesday's summit in Sharm e-Sheikh. Abu-Hamis was involved in a number of terror organizations. The planned French Hill attack was...

I am appalled at how quickly the United States is leaping at the same old bait offered by the Palestinians. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, following the orders of our dear but naive president, is shoving Israel toward a disastrous agreement to grant a Palestinian state. As everyone applauds the "valiant efforts" of Mahmoud Abbas to secure a "cease-fire" from a bunch of terrorist gangs that have sworn they will never have a permanent peace with Israel, it is time to review the sacred Muslim concept of "hudna." It began with Islam's most revered founder, Muhammad. He declared a 10-year...

Hamas says not bound by Palestinian ceasefire  Mideast - AFP GAZA CITY (AFP) - Palestinian Islamist militant movement Hamas said that it was not bound by the ceasefire announced by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas at a Middle East peace summit in Egypt. AFP/File Photo   Abbas's declaration "expresses only the position of the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites). It does not express the position of the Palestinian movements," said Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri. In Beirut, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdaneh said the ceasefire pledge "does not commit the Palestinian resistance." Hamas, which has been behind many of the deadliest anti-Israeli...

Foxnews is reporting that Sharon and Abbas are meeting, and that the announcement of a formal cease-fire is imminent. They said this is 'not the start of peace but the start of the process that will lead to peace'. Apparently Abbas and Sharon will continue peace talks throughout the day after the announcement.

Breaking on Fox... Israelis and Palestinians to declare a cease-fire effective tomarrow Another great step to peace!

PA leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) told the London-based al-Shark al-Awsat newspaper that he has arrived at a hudna ceasefire agreement with the various “factions”, referring to terror organizations. Abu Mazen reported that the PA and the factions have reached a mutual agreement, adding he now awaits a response from “the other side”, namely Israel.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) said he is "very close" to sealing a cease-fire with terror gangs in Gaza, which have stated they would agree to a "cooling down period" only if Israel releases Arab prisoners and leaves Gaza. Netanyahu went further than Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who limited his response by saying Israel would react in full force if terrorist attacks resume. "I do not believe that Israel must give something," the finance minister said in a radio interview from Florida where he is helping to raise money for Israel Bonds. "They are the side that...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says two other armed Palestinian groups are prepared to agree to a ceasefire with Israel. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine both set the condition that Israel also halt its aggression. Earlier today, Mr Abbas already convinced the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade to accept a mutual ceasefire with Israel. This organization is also demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Wanting to strike a tough pose, but not bloody Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's nose just yet, the security cabinet Wednesday authorized plans for a large-scale military action in Gaza, and then put those plans in the drawer for the time being. Some kind of message seems to have gotten across, however, as the Palestinian Authority – according to senior diplomatic officials – began deploying security forces Wednesday night in Gaza Strip areas from where Kassam and mortar rockets have recently been launched. Gaza Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi passed a message on to Palestinian security chief Moussa Arafat Wednesday...

Brian Williams on Fox reported that Iran was giving up its program for enriched uranium.

A little more on this tomorrow, but for now hat tip to reader JM, who links to an article describing the landing of large quantities of small arms by the Mindanao Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an act which may signal a resumption of hostilities against the Philippine Government. The Malaya reports that more than 1,000 rifles have been landed at two points in Mindanao (Marked in red flags on the map below. Click to expand) This may be followed by further shipments of mortars and machineguns. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also reports that Philippine officials suspect that the truce may...

Palestinian officials said Sunday that they are ready for a cease-fire with Israel as a first step toward reviving the stalled road map peace plan. Militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas told Egyptian mediators they are ready to commit to a cease-fire, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath said. Sha'ath said he made the cease-fire proposal during a meeting Saturday in Jordan with United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. "We told Powell that ... we are ready for such a cease-fire if the United States is able to bring an Israeli commitment to such an agreement," he said. Sha'ath said...

Jaws dropped, mouths drooled, and knees chattered -- hai! Ram!!, kya ho gaya yaar -- he'd done it again.Just when it seemed, that Pakistan was ready for friendly behavior, Musharraf threatened us with a deadline on Kashmir. 'Yet another U-turn' screamed the headlines; analysts overnight came up with well-adjudged reasons for it all -- 'the MNNA status given to Pakistan by the US has made them more confident,' they claimed. But the reality is that Musharraf has been making these threats for quite a few weeks now. As Asia Times told us many weeks ago: 'Lieutenant General Shahid Aziz, Corps Commander...

A third round of negotiations aimed at ending the fighting in the besieged city of Fallujah will be held Sunday, a US commander said. Arab TV stations reported that Sunni militants have agreed to a US offer of a cease-fire. Earlier, insurgents who kidnapped a US civilian Friday threatened to kill and mutilate him if Marines did not withdraw from Fallujah by 6 a.m. Sunday. The deadline passed with no word on his fate. Some media sources reported that the three Japanese hostages were released Sunday morning. Tokyo has not confirmed the reports. Two security agents for the German Embassy...

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US-led coalition and insurgents in Fallujah have agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire starting Sunday 0600 GMT to pave the way for US Marines to leave the town, an Iraqi mediator said. "The two sides have agreed to observe a 12-hour ceasefire tomorrow Sunday at 10:00 am (0600 GMT)," Hatem al-Husseini, a senior member of the Iraqi Islamic Party, told AFP. "This will pave the way for the gradual pullout of US Marine troops from Fallujah," Husseini said after a meeting with coalition officials following his return from mediation efforts in the troubled town. Husseini said he...

Terms set for brief truce in Wana * Jirga to negotiate peace deal today * 2 Chechens killed * Six militants’ bodies taken to Pindi for DNA tests By Iqbal Khattak PESHAWAR: Pakistani forces on Sunday declared a “temporary ceasefire” with suspected Al Qaeda fighters in South Waziristan to allow tribal elders to try to negotiate the militants’ surrender. The authorities agreed to allow passage to a tribal jirga into the battle zone near Wana to negotiate a peace deal, but insisted that they would not back off demands that the militants be handed over. The jirga would travel to...

Dec. 8, 2003 Israel not surprised Palestinian cease-fire talks failed By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH Israeli security officials said they were not surprised by the failure of the Egyptian-brokered efforts to secure a ceasefire between the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah and raised doubts as to whether new attempts by Palestinian Authority officials will succeed. Officials stressed that the attempts are an internal Palestinian affair. "The entire issue depends on the Palestinian Authority's decision to act once and for all and crack down on the terrorist infrastructure," a security official told the Jerusalem Post. And Dore Gold, spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel...