Jihad in India
FrontPageMag 2007/11/29
...Our enemy is political Islam and a movement based upon it: the political Islamic movement. Political Islam holds that Islam should have a dominant say in governing the affairs of government. There are good reasons for this outlook, going back to Islamic scriptures.   Islamic trilogy, consisting of the Koran, Hadith and Sira, is the basis of political Islam. In the past few years sophisticated scientific analysis of the trilogy has been carried out. The Center for Study of Political Islam has published a series along these lines. Their analysis points to a very dominant political nature of the trilogy – i.e. domination of political deeds of Islam’s founder Mohammed – as opposed to spirituality. Hence it is very reasonable to conclude that political Islam is almost Islam.   In the context of the trilogy, inner political Islam prevents Muslims from acquiring new knowledge to create a better future for themselves; external political Islam commands them to wage a religious war (called jihad) with unbelievers until the whole humanity is converted to Islam.   Trilogy-based evidence and early Islamic history suggest that political Islam’s intent on absolute control of Muslim masses and channeling of their energies toward conquest gives an impression of an ideology that is primarily designed for extending the powerbase of Mohammed during his times and that of extended tribes of Saudis, non-Saudi Arab Muslims and non-Arab Muslims (in that order) subsequent to his death.   This strong political component also means that Islam may not be structurally amenable to reform or moderation. If one takes away this political component, there is no Islam.   Mosques not only bring trilogy to Muslim communities but they also function as social centers. Due to the political domination of the trilogy, clerics are naturally inclined toward political activism, including multi-front jihad directed at unbelievers. It is ascertained in my book that political Islam, through its socially networked nodes called mosques, is the swamp that creates mosquitoes called jihadis, radicals, militants and extremists, and importantly, gets Muslim populations to support them.   We should view political Islam, not radical or militant Islam, as our main enemy.   Any movement based on the political ideology outlined in the trilogy has to have powerful and resourceful backers in order to be successful. Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan have powerful political Islamic movements within that fuel movements elsewhere – both in other Muslim majority nations and in nations with Muslim minorities. These three nations are called, Axis of Jihad in my book.   Saudi and Iranian funding for mosques can be seen as the most efficient way of advancing jihad, by funding nodes of social network in Muslim communities. Also, the axis of jihad nations or political Islamic movements in these nations has created powerful proxies – be it Al-Qaeda, Afghan Taliban (by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) or Hezbollah (by Iran).   In this context we can now identify the weakness in American strategy in the war on terror. America is trying to neutralize proxies and radicals while doing little to neutralize the axis of jihad and the global political Islamic movement. While I agree with the initial assault on Saddam’s regime and the Taliban, the continued occupation of Iraq – and even Afghanistan appear to be expensive, time-consuming and draining diversions.   We are now further identifying the enemy: a political ideology of conquest that inspires terror, mosques as the nodes that spawn jihad and axis of jihad as the main backer nations of the ideology and the nodes.    ...The Koran was the first book of the trilogy to be put together, and that was done several decades after the death of Mohammed. In a Hadith it is said that Koranic verses were collected from bits of bone, stone, parchment, date palm leaves, and also from the memories of those who had memorized it.   Clearly, leaves, stones, bits of bone, and people’s memory are not reliable forms of note-taking or information storage when Mohammed delivered his “revelations”. This is common sense. For something as profound as God’s “revelations,” there shouldn’t be an iota of doubt about their authenticity. We can make a powerful assertion that available evidence makes the claim of associating these revelations with God not scientifically credible. ...

Jordan will vote this year, under a controversial law
The Daily Star 2007/4/27
Speculation was rife over the last several months that King Abdullah II would exercise his constitutional prerogative to delay Jordan's parliamentary elections, due to take place this year. Regional instability, Islamist governing parties in Iraq and Palestine, and discontent over Jordan's rising inflation and subsidy cuts were cited as potential reasons. Major national organizations and figures, however, including the National Center for Human Rights and the Council of Professional Association Presidents, came out strongly against a delay. King Abdullah ended the speculation on March 2, and against the advice of some of his closest advisors, declared that the elections will be held this year.   With elections on the way, Jordan's controversial electoral law is once more under scrutiny. Influential figures and organizations, including Islamic Action Front (IAF) secretary general Zaki Bani Irsheid and The Jordan Times, have called on the government to change the "one-vote" law used in parliamentary elections since 1993. That system allows each voter one vote, regardless of how many parliamentary seats represent the voter's district. The system puts political parties at a disadvantage, as they effectively cannot run slates or lists of candidates in each district because voters only get one choice. The law therefore benefits independent candidates with strong personal or tribal connections to a significant number (but not necessarily a majority) of the district's voters. ...

Arab and Asian Leaders Seek Common Values at Young Arab Leaders Global Action Forum
Dubai City Guide 2007/4/27
The Young Arab Leaders (YAL) launched the inaugural YAL Global Action Forum: Arab and Asian Dialogue today. Organised under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong of the Republic of Singapore, the 1½ day forum brings together over 150 government, business, academic and civil society leaders from Asia and the Middle East. ...His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein, in a speech delivered by HRH Prince Feisal Bin Al Hussein, expressed his keenness to support the Young Arab Leaders and stressed the importance of building trust between the Arab leaders and their Asian, European and American counterparts through dialogue and the exchange of ideas. ...

Strange bedfellows
Al-Ahram 2007/4/26
When Acting Israeli President Dalia Itzik (President Moshe Katsav has been suspended from office for allegedly committing sexual offences) met Jordan's King Abdullah II last week, the king reportedly told her and the accompanying delegation everything they loved to hear.   According to the Israeli media, the king told the visiting Israeli officials that, "we are in the same boat, we have the same problems, and we have the same enemies."   The Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that the king reiterated these comments a number of times and that "those at the meeting" understood the remarks as referring to "Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas".   The king also reportedly said at one point, "do you want Iran on the banks of the Jordan?"   More significantly, Abdullah II is said to have told the Israeli delegation that clauses in the Arab Peace Plan pertaining to the Palestinian refugees' right of return should be understood as referring to "compensation" not "repatriation", and that "everything will be consensual and that the Arab Peace Plan was not actually a plan but merely a talking point."   After former Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin, who took part in the meeting, reminded the king that Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa had referred to the plan as a "take-it-or-leave-it offer," the king reportedly told Rivlin, "leave him to me." ...Abdul-Sattar Qassem, professor of political science at An-Najah University in Nablus and former presidential candidate, argued that Palestinians would attach more credibility to the Hebrew press reports on the King's statements than to denials by Jordanian officials.   "It is true the Israelis lie a lot, but Arab leaders lie even more, they are inured to lying to their people and to deceiving and misleading them. ...There is no doubt that the Jordanian leadership, namely King Abdullah II, is very worried about the possible ramifications and turbulence that may engulf the region, especially its most vulnerable spots, such as Jordan, if the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is allowed to linger on without resolution. ...Hence, his desperate attempts to get Israel to accept the Arab Peace Plan.

King Condoles Syrian President
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/26
...King Abdullah II on Thursday sent a cable to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad condoling him in his name ...
? John 5:43 "I am come in my Father's name (HASHEM), and ye receive me not: if another shall come "in his own name" (HASHEMITE), him ye will receive.

King receives former Iraqi President
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/26
...The King reiterated Jordan’s support for all efforts seek to achieve Iraq's stability and security to restore its vital role in the region.   Al Yawir, for his part valued His Majesty King Abdullah’s historical role towards Iraq and its people.

DEBKAfile: Saudis uncover new al Qaeda ring backed by Iran. They detain 172 in air terror plot against oil sites
DEBKAfile 2007/4/27
Saudis and foreign nationals were among the detainees. They included terrorists trained to fly aircraft and carry out suicide attacks against “public figures, oil facilities, refineries and military zones” – some outside the kingdom, said the interior ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour al-Turki Friday, without elaborating.   One had planned to storm a prison and release the inmates.   "They had reached an advance stage of readiness and what remained only was to set the zero hour for their attacks," he said. ...

Olmert Warns Of Looming War With Syria
CrossRhythms 2007/4/27
Israeli officials decided to publicly warn during April that a major conflict may be looming with Syria in the coming months. This came after further evidence emerged that the Baathist regime ruling from Damascus is stepping up war preparations, along with allied Hizbullah militia forces in Lebanon. Meanwhile political fallout from last year's Second Lebanon War continued to swirl in Israel, with government cabinet ministers, legislators and regular citizens waiting for the release of the seminal Winograd Committee report on the conflict, expected in late April or early May. Many analysts predict the report could spell the end of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's public career, along with current Defense Minister Amir Peretz. ...
Another of many 'rumors of war'.

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Frontrunner as next Revolutionary Guards chief threatens US world interests and Israel if Iran is attacked
DEBKAfile 2007/4/26
Mohammad Baqer Solghadr, deputy interior minister, has been tagged for this top post by Iranian leaders engrossed in war preparations, according to DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources. He told the official Iranian news agency IRNA Thursday: “Nowhere would be safe for America with (Iran’s) long-range missiles… we can fire tens of thousands of missiles every day.” He added: “With long-range missiles Iran can also threaten Israel as America’s ally” and US Middle East bases.   DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Solghadr was not overstating Iran’s missile capabilities. The Islamic Republic’s expanded war preparations must be taken into account as encompassing Syria, the Lebanese Hizballah and the Palestinian Hamas, the Jihad Islami, the Fatah-al Aqsa Brigades and the Popular Resistance Committees. Tehran has armed and harnessed these allies and proxies for response to a US or Israeli attack on Iran which Tehran is certain is planned for the summer months.   They have been fed with an assortment of missiles of varying ranges by Iranian air and sea lifts. Putting together the missile arsenals piled up in Iran, Syria, and amassed by Hizballah and Palestinian groups yields a total that makes a daily barrage of several thousand missiles against Israel and US regional bases feasible. This deterrent, put in place over several months, allowed Zolghadr to issue his threat with confidence. ...
Another of many 'rumors of war'.

Syria's Ruling Party Wins in Vote
The Washington Post 2007/4/26
The government said Thursday that Syria's ruling coalition took an overwhelming majority of seats in parliamentary elections that were boycotted by the opposition as a farce.   The rubber-stamp legislature is likely to consolidate the rule of President Bashar Assad, who is expected to seek its nomination to run for a second seven-year term in July. There had been no doubt about the outcome, because the constitution guarantees the Baath Party and its allies a two-thirds majority in the parliament. ...Dissident Maamoun Homsi, a former lawmaker who was imprisoned before he fled abroad, scoffed at the results as forgeries.   "No parliament in the world today appoints two-thirds of its members without competition ... and allows the rest to be hand-picked by intelligence agencies," he said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press in Beirut. ...

Arab 'boycott Israel' conference held in Damascus
Israel Insider 2007/4/26
Fourteen Arab states gathered in Damascus this week for a four-day conference focused on boycotting Israel.   The event is being sponsored by the Arab League and marks the fourth time the representatives have met in the past 18 months.   So-called US allies Iraq and Saudi Arabia are among the countries represented at the conference, despite US pressure on the two countries to end their enforcement of the boycott, which bans business with Israel or business in Israeli-made goods. ..."The Arab boycott of Israel will remain an influential tool and strong backer of the Palestinian people until the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and the restoration of all the occupied Arab territories," Muhammad al-Ajami, director of the Syrian Office for the Boycott of Israel, said to the official Syrian news agency SANA. ...

Abbas opens Swiss museum exhibition on Gaza history
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/26
...Speaking to reporters after a tour of the archaeological treasures on display at Geneva's Museum of Art and History, Abbas declined to field questions from reporters about the viability of the Fatah-Hamas unity government, or the fragile state of a cease-fire agreed with Israel in the Gaza Strip.   Focusing on cultural issues, Abbas announced that his government was looking to build a new museum of Palestinian history in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. He said the project would complement a US$30 million archaeological museum planned in Gaza, where the objects currently on show in Geneva will be permanently housed. ...

Jordanian police arrest man for killing his sister, supposedly to uphold family 'honor'
International Herald Tribune 2007/4/26
Jordanian authorities arrested a man accused of killing his 30-year-old sister on suspicion that she had a love affair, even though he had earlier signed a pledge to the police that he would not harm her, a police official said Thursday.   The crime, which took place in the eastern industrial city of Zarqa on Wednesday, brings to eight the total number of women killed since January in what is known as "honor crimes."   An average of 20 women are killed by male relatives each year in Jordan, a largely conservative Muslim society where men have the final say in all family matters. Many here consider sex out of wedlock an indelible stain on a family's reputation. Some women in conservative circles of the society have been killed simply for dating.   The police official, insisting on anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press, said the suspect allegedly sprayed his sister with seven bullets in broad daylight and fled the crime scene. The woman died instantly of her wounds, the official said. ...

Siniora Praises Jordan’s Continued Support to Lebanon
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/25
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora expressed thanks and appreciation to Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II, for its continued support to Lebanon in various fields. ...

King stresses need to ensure quality of higher education
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/25
...King Abdullah II underlined the necessity to draw up a clear plan that could improve quality of higher education in the five coming years and ensure the right of the youth generation to acquire university education that helps them to compete in the world market. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Siniora Praises Jordan’s Continued Support to Lebanon
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/25
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora expressed thanks and appreciation to Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II, for its continued support to Lebanon in various fields. ...

Khaddam preaches democracy
Monsters & Critics 2007/4/25
...Speaking to United Press International from his heavily guarded luxurious villa in a fancy Parisian neighborhood, where he sought exile after losing favor with the current regime, Khaddam for 31 years was part of the established Baath Party he is now fighting to overthrow. ...As a next step, Khaddam, who has joined forces with the Muslim Brotherhood and other smaller parties opposed to Damascus who call themselves the National Salvation Front, plans to open a liaison office in Washington 'to inform the Syrian people and then to inform the U.S. administration and American institutions on what is really going on in Syria.'   By joining forces with the Muslim Brotherhood, Khaddam may have lit a very slow-ticking time bomb. But Khaddam brushes off these fears, saying they would never move towards an Islamic state in Syria. 'The aim of the opposition is to establish a democratic state in Syria, the principles of which have already been established and agreed upon with the Muslim Brotherhood as part of the pact of the National Salvation Front,' Khaddam told UPI. ...
? Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots

Jordan to host G-11 summit
MENAfn 2007/4/24
King Abdullah launched the G-11 in September last year, and the group its first summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.   During the launch, the Monarch said member states should adopt a common goal: To make foreign aid responsive to local needs, shift from loans to grants to keep countries from reaccumulating debt, lobby wealthy countries to open their markets to developing country production, especially in the agricultural sector, and channel savings from debt into strengthening education and public health sectors.   Jordan is the current secretary general of the group, and the Monarch will chair its meetings here, according to Bassem Awadallah, head of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Umniah and Save the Children Team up to support Young People in Jordan
MENAfn 2007/4/24
..."NAJAH" is a pilot program developed by Save the Children through the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Jordan and targets Jordanian youth aged between 18-24 in an effort to better link young people to their community and the economy.   The NAJAH program supports the national youth strategy envisioned by their majesties, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah to fight unemployment, poverty and illiteracy among Jordanian youth and children. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Interview: Khaddam cautions on Damascus
United  Press International 2007/4/24
Former Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam, now out of favor with President Bashar Assad's regime, spoke at length from his exile in Paris with UPI International Editor Claude Salhani. He cautioned that Damascus wants to thwart the international tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and intends to re-enter Lebanon.
? Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots
Continued and all the more justification for Assad's soon uprooting.

Mideast WEF and G11 to meet in Jordan
France24 2007/4/23
The World Economic Forum for the Middle East will be held in Jordan from May 18-20 in the presence of world and Arab politicians, an official said in Amman on Monday.   Representatives of the G11, grouping 11 developing countries, will meet on the sidelines of the gathering, Bassem Awadullah, vice president of the administrative council of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development, told a news conference. ...

King Receives Prince Khaled Al Faisal
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/23
...King Abdullah II on Monday received HRH Prince Khaled Al Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, Chairman of the Arab Thought Foundation, currently visiting Jordan to take part in the 4th Arab Education Forum, organized by the foundation.   King Abdullah praised Prince Khaled's efforts in supporting intellectual activities in the Arab world. These efforts have contributed to catering for creative Arab nationals and to enriching the Arab culture.   For his part, Prince Khaled Al Faisal expressed appreciation to King Abdullah for patronizing deliberations of the forum which will kick off in Amman on Tuesday. He pointed out that King Abdullah sets an example for the Arab leaders who support Arab intellectuals and think tankers.   He also paid tribute to the King’s efforts to support the Palestinian cause and promote peace and security in the region ...
? 1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

HM KING HAMAD HAILS TIES WITH JORDAN
Bahrain News Agency 2007/4/23
HIS MAJESTY THE KING, HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFA, TODAY HAILED THE DISTINGUISHED BAHRAINI-JORDANIAN TIES, STRESSING HIS KEENNESS TO BOLSTER THEM IN ALL FIELDS, ESPECIALLY THE MILITARY ONE.  ...

Review of the Arab press
United Press International 2007/4/23
Egypt's al-Ahram said it in a commentary it was surprised by comments attributed to Jordan's King Abdullah II on giving up the right of return for Palestinian refugees. The semi-official daily added it was as if the king was being more generous towards Israel by volunteering that the Arab countries will take part in paying compensation to the Palestinian refugees. "It's strange for an Arab official to sympathize with Israel and to forget the duty of sympathizing with the Palestinians who were forced into exile from their homes," it said. ...

Jordan to Chair Meeting for Arab Chiefs of Staff in Cairo
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/23
Jordan will chair at the Arab League Headquarter in Cairo on Wednesday, a meeting held for the first time in 25 years for Arab chiefs of staff.   Director of the Military Affairs Department at the Arab League, Marwan Al Gharabli said the two-day meeting will discuss issues related to enhancing Arab military cooperation, joint training, military sport activities and scientific research in military domains. ...Representatives of Arab chiefs of staff held a meeting yesterday that was chaired by Jordan to prepare for the chiefs of staff meeting, during which they discussed working papers presented by Arab countries.
This could be a major step towards building a joint Arab military force to combat terrorism.
? Revelation 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Japanese Grant of JD 16 million for Jordan
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/23
The Japanese Government provided Jordan with a grant of JD16 million to finance the “Developing of Jordan’s Civil Defense Appliances” project.   Minister of Planning Suheir Al-Ali noted during the exchange of notes ceremony on Monday at the Ministry of planning and International Corporation that signing the agreement comes as a response to His Majesty King Abdullah II's directives of modernizing and upgrading the capacities of the General Directorate of Civil Defense. ...It is worth noting that Japan, since the year 1999, provided Jordan with assistance in the value of US$321 million, of which US$60 million as a loan, in addition to the technical assistance program that is managed by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand
The money keeps pouring in to build his kingdom and empire.

Jordan king’s proposed visit to Israel hits snags
Khaleej Times Online 2007/4/23
...At least 30 deputies of the Jordanian lower house of parliament have submitted a memorandum urging an ‘immediate halt to all negotiations and meetings’ with Israel, parliamentary sources said.   The signatories, who included both Islamists and pro-government lawmakers, cited Israel’s ‘failure to abide by any truce with the Palestinians as well as its failure to implement any UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to the Palestinian question.’   Less than 24 hours after Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv reported on Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had extended an invitation to Abdullah to visit Israel, Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians in new attacks on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, house members said.   The Jordanian royal court confirmed that the Israeli premier had extended the invitation to the monarch during a telephone conversation on Wednesday, but said the king ‘has neither accepted nor refused the invitation’. ...

Is Islam Compatible With Democracy? Part I
Global Polititian 2007/4/23
“I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” — The Koran, 8.12   “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy)’” — Hadith of Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220   “He who strikes terror into others is himself in continual fear.” — Claudian, Roman poet   Occasionally I get annoyed over the fact that I am compelled to spend significant amounts of my time refuting Islam, an ideology that is flawed to the core and should be totally irrelevant in the 21st century. But then I try to see it from a positive angle: The good part about our confrontation with Islam is that it forces us to deal with flaws in our own civilization. It has already exposed a massive failure in our education system and our media, both filled with anti-Western sentiments and ideological nonsense. These legacies from the Western Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s have left us unable to recognize the Islamic threat for what it is. Thus, when we are confronted now with the question of whether or not Islam is compatible with democracy, we also have to ask under what conditions a democratic system is able to function. ...

Kuwaiti Crown Prince commends King Abdullah’s efforts in defending Arab and Muslim causes
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/22
Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah highly appreciated His Majesty King Abdullah II’s continued efforts and his wise and brave stand in defending Arab and Muslim causes at all levels. He also commended the close brotherly ties linking Jordan with Kuwait. ...

King Meets General Mufti of Jordan
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/22
...King Abdullah II said it was important to stand up against fatwas (religious edicts) that would run contrary to religious preaching, and build an integrated society that is free of intellectual, social and political misconduct.   During a meeting with the General Mufti of Jordan, Nooh Al Qudah, the King highlighted the important role of iftaa’ in addressing challenges facing the region and enhancing the ideal values called for by Islam. ...The King said it was important to regulate the process of issuing fatwas needed by citizens in their daily life based on the rules of religion and Islamic Shariaa to ensure equality and justice among all. ...
The king spares no effort to maintain control of the religion of Islam.

Jordan denies Israeli reports on king's remarks
People's Daily Online 2007/4/22
The Jordanian Royal Court denied remarks on the Palestinian issue attributed Friday to Jordan's King Abdullah II by the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, the Jordan Times reported on Sunday.   "What some Israeli newspapers quoted the king to have said during his meeting on Thursday with the Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Dalia Itzik, is completely baseless and false," Amjad Adayleh, head of the Media Department at the royal court, was quoted as saying in an official statement.   Ha'aretz, quoting Israeli lawmakers who attended the meeting, said King Abdullah had told Itzik that "Instead of talking about the Palestinian right of return (in an Arab peace initiative), it might be necessary to talk about the right to compensation." ...

Hamas demands Jordan clarify remarks
Dunton Springs Evening Post 2007/4/21
The militant group Hamas demanded Saturday that Jordan clarify its stance on the Palestinian right of return after an Israeli daily reported that the Jordanian king spoke in favor of paying compensation to Palestinian refugees instead.   The report Friday in the Haaretz newspaper claimed King Abdullah II had told a visiting Israeli parliamentary delegation this week that he favored the payments over granting Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants the right to return to Israel , as Palestinians have long demanded. Israel objects to the right of return, saying such an influx would mean the end of Israel‘s existence as a Jewish state.   Hamas, whose leader Khaled Mashaal is based in Syria , demanded an explanation from Amman because of the "seriousness" of the comments the paper had attributed to Abdullah.   Another Damascus-based radical Palestinian faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, denounced Abdullah‘s alleged comments, saying they reflected a "top alliance with the Zionist enemy." ...

Jordan Seizes Tape of Royal's Interview
WTOPNews.com 2007/4/21
Jordanian authorities on Saturday confiscated a videotape of an Al-Jazeera interview with the country's former crown prince in which the broadcaster said the Jordanian royal sharply criticized U.S. policies in the Middle East as "destructive."   Ghassan Ben Jeddou, Al-Jazeera's bureau chief in Beirut, Lebanon, interviewed Prince Hassan in Amman. On the tape, the journalist said the prince had also cited U.S. reports that a national security adviser in Saudi Arabia was financing Sunni militants to fight the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon.   The Qatar-based satellite broadcaster identified the Saudi official as Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former ambassador to Washington.   Ben Jeddou said in a statement the prince had criticized U.S. policies in the Middle East as "destructive." Jordan is considered one of Washington's closest allies in the Arab world.   The tape was confiscated as Ben Jeddou was about to leave the kingdom. No further details were immediately available.   Nasser Judeh, the chief Jordanian government spokesman, confirmed the confiscation but said it had nothing to do with the content of the interview with Prince Hassan, the uncle to Jordan's King Abdullah II and a one-time heir to the throne.   Ben Jeddou said Jordanian authorities informed Al-Jazeera's office in Amman that the seizure was "an official measure by Jordanian authorities" and that they have "no problem with Al-Jazeera." ...

Jordan's Abdullah tells Israel: We share same enemies
Haaretz 2007/4/21
Jordan's King Abdullah II yesterday told a delegation of Knesset members that "we are in the same boat, we have the same problem. We have the same enemies." The king reiterated the comments a number of times, which those at the meeting said referred to Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.   Abdullah also emphasized that he spoke not only for Jordan but for a group of states in the region. The king asked at one point: "Do you want Iran on the banks of the Jordan?" ...

French Magazine Describes King as Courageous Leader
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/20
A French magazine described His Majesty King Abdullah II as a courageous leader who works without rest to realize peace in the Middle East.   The magazine added that French President Jacque Chirac, who met with King Abdullah last week, hailed His Majesty and described him as a king of peace and progress in his country and the region.

Bishop Dawni Hails Jordanian Efforts in Preserving Islamic and Christian Holy Places
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/20
Bishop Suhail Dawni of the Episcopalian Church of Jerusalem, Jordan and Middle East hailed the Jordanian efforts being exerted to preserve the Islamic and Christian holy places in Palestine.   He called on followers of all religions to fight the Israeli excavations around the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. ...He added that they are honored with the Hashemite family and its role in preserving citizens and the Christianity existence, thanking His Majesty King Abdullah for his great efforts in looking for the holy places and preserving the coexistence.
It appears obvious to me that this so called Bishop has no regard for what God thinks about anyone dividing His land Israel, in that he honors King Abdullah II, the very one pushing the so called 'Arab peace plan' that will further split Israel.

Iraq may hold twice as much oil
Financial Times 2007/4/19
Iraq could hold almost twice as much oil in its reserves as had been thought, according to the most comprehensive independent study of its resources since the US-led invasion in 2003.   The potential presence of a further 100bn barrels in the western desert highlights the opportunity for Iraq to be one of the world’s biggest oil suppliers, and its attractions for international oil companies – if the conflict in the country can be resolved.   If confirmed, it would raise Iraq from the world’s third largest source of oil reserves with 116bn barrels to second place, behind Saudi Arabia and overtaking Iran. ...
Commments: Very high stakes indeed! And do you suppose that Russia and Iran aren't interested?
Article and comments contributed by Bob Anderson.

Pig fat to be turned into diesel A solution for the world's energy crisis may come in the form of a pig. BBCNews 2007/4/19 American oil company ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods, the world's biggest meat producer, have announced that they will produce diesel from pork fat.   Cows and chickens will also be transformed to power motor vehicles.   The companies say that this renewable source of energy will be cleaner than conventional diesel. It is hoped that it will be available at petrol stations by the end of the year.   "It is chemically equivalent to diesel itself," said Geoff Webster, who is managing the scheme for Tyson Foods, in an interview with the BBC World Service.   "It has lower Carbon Dioxide, it is zero sulphur, so many positive benefits for the environment."... Oh, how sweet it is!  Lower fuel prices finally, and with added benefits!!  Payback may really be hell to some though that believe in Jahannam such as Muslims.

Remember this one?

Prince Al Hassan: Achieving Justice on International Level Contributes in Global Democracy
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/19
...Prince Al Hassan Bin Talal said that democracy is a universal and relative concept, that no nation or society can claim ownership over the values and precepts of democracy.   Prince Hassan remarks came during the "US democracy strategy: An American-Jordanian dialogue" conference which kicked off today.   The prince added that democracy is a process and a condition, not merely the show of vote-casting, since there is confusion on the subject because there is rarely any clarification on the use of the word, as a process, as a state or condition, or as an outcome.   Prince Hassan stressed that the realization of international justice enhances not only peace, but also the internationalization of democracy, the sense of a more lawful and legitimate world order. ...
You can bet your bottom dollar that they will redefine democracy in their own image, and at the same time get US to buy into it, then force it down not only our but the rest of the world's throats.  And yu can bet your bottom dollar that it's new definition is in the image of Islam.

Separate But Equal
FrontPageMag 2007/4/17
In his recent address to Congress, King Abdullah II of Jordan dramatically quoted FDR’s famous “four freedoms speech” as a means to describe American foreign policy as freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. The goal of the speech was to call for greater US involvement in facilitating an Israeli-Palestinian peace process. What is significant about this call is the Palestinian conundrum that Adbullah himself faces in Jordan.   Unlike the Palestinian cause in the West Bank, Lebanon, or Syria, the cause in Jordanian refugee camps is not as plastered all over the place as in other Arab countries where Palestinians reside. Thanks in part to an efficient secret police force, the Hashemite cult of personality remains dominant, at least in public. But Jordan’s demographics continue to work against Abdullah and his dynasty. ...Although Jordan under Abdullah could serve as a positive example for how Palestinians could become assimilated in an Arab country, the desire to keep the Palestinians in their dire state is greater. In the end, the ongoing factional violence which includes kidnappings and assassinations now threatens to return the streets of Gaza to a state of war. And the so-called unity government is just a tactical truce to be held until one party believes unity no longer serves its interests.

Israel tells Syria to quit “ultimatums”
Khaleej Times Online 2007/2/17
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said on Tuesday that Syria had to stop using “the language of ultimatums” in its peace overtures to the Jewish state.   The time of using the language of ultimatums has passed... It is time that Syria seriously consider peace,” Peres told Israeli public radio.   He was responding to comments by Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal, who warned on Monday that Israel would face the alternative of “resistance” if it rejected Arab peace initiatives. ...
? Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots
Continued and all the more justification for Assad's soon uprooting.

Khaza’eleh: Jordan works to achieve King’s vision to be a center for technology
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/16
Minister of Industry and Trade Salem Al Khaza’leh said that Jordan is working hard, motivated by ambition to bring the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah II to reality by making the kingdom a center for science, technology and advanced industries. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Jordanian-Saudi Economic Forum Opened
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/16
Deputizing for His Majesty King Abdullah II, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Zeyad Fariz opened on Monday the Jordanian-Saudi Economic two-day Forum with the participation of 50 Saudi businessmen along with Jordanian businessmen and a number of officials and economists from both countries. ...Chairman of Jordan Chamber of Commerce Haider Murad said the forum comes as a fruit of joint efforts of the chambers of commerce to strengthen cooperation between the private sectors in both countries.   He called on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, especially that the two countries have a diversity of products which would expand the trade exchange throughout benefiting from the strong political relations between them.   During the forum, the establishment of the Jordanian-Saudi Company for Developing Projects was announced at a capital of US$0.5 billion to start investing in the fields of real estate, industry and finance. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

King stresses need for Arab mechanism to activate Arab peace initiative
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/16
...King Abdullah II underlined the necessity to set a working mechanism to reinvigorate the Arab peace initiative as a base for realizing just and durable that can be acceptable to parties in the region.   During a meeting with a group of Palestinian peace activists on Monday, King Abdullah noted the significant role of peace activists in the Palestinian areas, Israel and other countries concerned with the peace making in the region. Those groups are capable of convincing the silent majority in their countries and communities about the importance of peace for the present and future of the generations in this region, King Abdullah said.    He reiterated his commitment to care about peace teams in the region, stressing the importance of holding workshops by all peace powers to institutionalize and sustain their efforts tailored to promote peace and stability. ...During the open discussion at the meeting, members of the group affirmed Jordan’s vital role in supporting the Palestinian people and peace making efforts. They also commended King Abdullah’s speech before the US Congress and his unceasing diplomatic efforts at all levels to draw the world attention to the Palestinian problem, which is the core of conflict in the region. They said the King’s efforts have redirected the world political compass once again to the Palestinian issue.   They also valued King Abdullah’s effort to reconstruct Salah Eddin pulpit at Al Aqsa Mosque and described the step as part of the Hashemite family’s dedicated efforts to safeguard Islamic shrines in Jerusalem. ...

King Abdullah: Jordan to be model for others in the use of energy
IndianMuslims 2007/4/16
King Abdullah II expressed Jordan’s appreciation of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) support to Jordan’s initiative to benefit from nuclear energy for peaceful uses and for generating electricity and desalinating water.   During a meeting with visiting IAEA Chief, Mohammad Al Baradei, the King said that Jordan, in its capacity as member in the IAEA and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, will set a model for others in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and will seek to acquire nuclear energy in line with international standards and laws related to the use of nuclear energy.   The IAEA’s support to Jordan, he said, will guarantee success to Jordan’s nuclear program through its technical support and through building capacities and knowledge. ...
Perhaps it's the 'N' factor leads to the fulfillment of the following scriptures.
? Daniel 8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
? Daniel 8:25 ...and by peace shall destroy many

Gates begins tour of Middle East in Jordan
Los Angeles Times 2007/4/16
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates arrived in Jordan today, the first stop on a tour of several Middle Eastern countries designed to drum up support for Iraq's government and continue talks with American allies on how to counter Iranian influence in the region. ..."Jordan has always been a strong ally of the United States and I look forward to discussing with the King how we can contribute to his efforts and how the Jordanians can contribute to ours," Gates said. "Not only in Iraq, but Lebanon, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and so on." ...

Hinnawi new CEO of Batelco Jordan
AMEInfo 2007/4/16
Batelco Jordan, a Batelco Bahrain Group subsidiary, announced lately the joining of Ihab Hinnawi as its new Chief Executive Officer. ...As CEO of Batelco Jordan, realizing the Group's vision and positioning the Jordanian ICT sector as a leader by creating and supporting the appropriate infrastructure is my utmost objective. His Majesty King Abdullah II's vision of Jordan as a regional ICT hub is what Batelco will work on delivering. ' said Hinnawi.   'Batelco seeks to increase its investments in the telecommunication sector and plays a significant role in the development of the local economy. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Germany extends 27.5 million euros in soft loan, grant to Jordan
Jurnalo 2007/4/16
Two financial and technical cooperation agreements were signed Monday under which the German government pledged to extend 27.5 million dinars in soft loan and grant to Jordan for financing water management projects, the German embassy said in a statement. The accords, involving a 26. 5 million-euro soft loan and a grant of 1 million euros, provide for cooperation for improvement and better management of water supplies in Greater Amman and the central governorates, the statement added. ...Jordan is emerging as the "highest per capital recipient of German aid", the embassy said. Over the past four decades, German support to the Hashemite Kingdom exceeded 1. 1 billion euros in grants, soft loans and technical assistance, it added.
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

New study proposes alternatives for Jerusalem's 'historical basin'
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/16
International intervention in administering Jerusalem's holy sites is just one of several suggestions for solving the city's conflicts proposed in a new study of the problem by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.   The study, presented in a book to be published on Tuesday, examines "Jerusalem's historical basin - difficulties and alternative answers." It was conducted over a two-year period and headed by Israel Prize winner and international legal expert, Prof. Ruth Lapidoth.   The basin refers to the Old City of Jerusalem and the holy sites surrounding it, including the Mount of Olives. ...

Saudi Peace Plan Gains Arab Critics
All Headline News 2007/4/16
Israel remains only cautiously optimistic, the Western powers won't officially endorse it, and now the Saudi-authored Arab League regional peace initiative is gaining high-level critics among the Arabs themselves.   Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Sunday said the plan was doomed to fail because the Arab leaders behind it are "half-wits" who have no credibility in the Middle East, reported Ha'aretz.   Gaddafi said the Arabs had given Israel an offer it could only refuse. ...

Syria threatens to take Golan Heights by force
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/16
"Syria wishes to revive the peace process with Israel with the help of US and Russian mediators," the Syrian Information Minister was quoted as saying by Israel Radio, Monday.   The minister immediately added a threat that "If Israel rejects the Arab peace initiatives, the only way to get the Golan Heights back would be the way of resistance." ...

Olmert says his meetings with Abbas will not include key issues of conflict
The Journal Of Turkish Weekly 2007/4/16
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday said the regular meetings he plans to hold with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not include any discussion of the "core issues of the conflict," rejecting Palestinian calls to restart talks on a final peace settlement.   Speaking ahead of the first of the meetings, Olmert said the two leaders would discuss "moving ahead with the solution to our conflict with the Palestinians in the framework of establishing a Palestinian state," but added that they would not touch on the substantive issues that divide the sides. ...Instead, Olmert said the meeting would focus on the Palestinians' "fight against terror" and "arrangements to improve the quality of life" for Palestinians in the West Bank. ...

GCC Countries Complicate US' Iran Plans
Inter Press Service News Agency 2007/4/16
With members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) urging dialogue rather than war with Iran over its nuclear programme and reluctant to allow their territories to be used in any attack, Washington's pressure tactics against Tehran appear to be faltering.   This reluctance is seen as one factor in the Islamic Republic's defiant announcement, last week, of an expansion of its uranium enrichment programme to ‘industrial' levels which, the West fears, is a step away from producing a nuclear bomb. Tehran has consistently denied a weapons component to its nuclear programme.   On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a televised address from the city of Shiraz that Tehran ‘'will not retreat even one iota to preserve its nuclear right''. This was clearly a response to the United States' warning that further United Nations Security Council sanctions would be brought to bear upon Iran.   But beyond sanctions it would be hard for the U.S. to contemplate military action against Iran because of a lack of support from such GCC countries as Qatar which played host to the U.S. Central Command during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.   ‘‘We will not participate by any means to harm Iran from Qatar,'' first deputy premier and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al-Thani said as far back as on Mar. 15. ‘‘Let us hope to solve this diplomatically and through peaceful means,'' said Sheikh Hamad, who has since taken over as the premier. ...

Thirteen Arab States to Attend Cairo Meeting on Peace Initiative
Combined Jewish Philanthropies 2007/4/16
Thirteen Arab nations are to take part Wednesday in the meetings of the Riyadh summit offshoot's ministerial committee on activating the Arab peace initiative on Wednesday.   The meeting, due to take place at the Arab League headquarters and attended by Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa, will tackle ways to put into effect the Arab summit resolutions and calling on the UN Security Council to consider the initiative as a basis for negotiations between the Arab states and Israel.   The committee comprises Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Bahrain, Morocco, Yemen, Qatar, Tunisia, Algeria and Sudan.   The peace initiative stipulates asking Israel to reconsider its policies and resort to peace and calls for withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories including the Syrian Golan Heights until the borders of June 1967 and south Lebanon. ...

Israel backs U.S. plan to spend $59M rearming and training Abbas force
Israel Insider 2007/4/16
Diplomatic sources on Sunday said Israel supports the implementation of the Dayton plan for the training and arming of the Palestinian Presidential Guard, loyal to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.   With all due respect to General Dayton, the pessimistic prediction is that the weapons and the training he intends to give the "moderates" will ultimately be used to murder Israelis. And the basis for this prediction is none other than "moderate" Mahmoud Abbas's oft-repeated promise that he won't fight Palestinians. ...

Sadrists to Pull out of Cabinet; 50 Killed in Spate of Bombings
IndyBay 2007/4/16
The six cabinet members belonging to the Sadr Movement in Nuri al-Maliki's government are set to resign. The movement's 32 parliamentarians will continue to attend sessions of the legislature, but presumably would vote against the prime minister in a vote of no confidence. The Sadrists want the Iraqi government to insist on setting a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, and are annoyed that PM al-Maliki publicly rejected that approach recently when he was in Japan. ...

King receives US delegation
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/15
During a meeting with a US delegation from the American National War College on Sunday, King Abdullah called on the international community to intensify efforts in the coming phase to tackle the challenges that impede relaunching the peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis within a defined time frame to accomplish tangible results.   His Majesty said that Israel should realize that Arabs are serious in their peace offer and affirmed the importance of seizing the historical opportunity, embedded in the Arab Peace Initiative, that Arabs leaders re-adopted at the recently-held Arab Summit in Riyadh.   Regarding the Iraqi issue, the King expressed his support to all efforts aim at restoring peace and security to the country. He also stressed the importance of supporting national reconciliation among all Iraqi groups.   In response to a question on fighting terrorism in the region, His Majesty underlined that international community should join hands to fight this dangerous phenomenon. He condemned the anti-Islam campaign designed to associate Islam with terror.   King Abdullah pointed to the Amman Message that Jordan launched in 2004 to highlight the noble values of Islam. ...

More Mideast States Eyeing Nuclear Power
The Washington Post 2007/4/15
The chief U.N. nuclear watchdog on Sunday wrapped up a tour of the Middle East to offer support to nations interested in developing peaceful atomic energy programs despite the international faceoff with Iran over suspicions it is pursuing nuclear weapons. ...During a meeting Sunday, Jordan's King Abdullah II told Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, that his kingdom needs to diversify its sources of energy, especially with oil prices rising.   The king promised that Jordan, which imports nearly all of its oil, would be a model in the peaceful development of nuclear energy if it decided to go ahead.   The official Petra news agency quoted ElBaradei as saying his "agency was ready to help Jordan to benefit from nuclear energy for peaceful purposes." He said the IAEA would dispatch a team to Jordan next week to look into its plans. ...

Jordan to host Knesset speaker in peace push
Kuwait Times 2007/4/15
Jordan will host the speaker of the Israeli parliament and several US, Israeli, and Arab peace activists next week in a push to revive the Mideast peacemaking, palace officials said yesterday.   Jordan's ruler, King Abdullah II, is expected to hold talks with Israeli Knesset speaker Dalia Yitzik on Thursday in Jordan's capital, Amman. Yitzik will be the top Israeli official to visit Jordan since Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made a surprise visit to Amman at Abdullah's invitation last December. "Yitzik will visit Jordan at the King's invitation on Thursday for a few hours" to discuss efforts to revive the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Palace officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with palace protocol. Abdullah has been pushing for "reviving the peace process on the basis of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative" which last month won fresh backing during an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia. ...

Peres: Talks with Arab League on peace impossible
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/15
Vice-Premier Shimon Peres said Sunday morning that talking with the Arab League about the Saudi peace initiative was currently impossible because many members of the league do not recognize Israel.   "When the Arab League announces they recognize Israel, then the situation will be different," Peres said in an interview with Israel Radio. ...

DEBKAfile reports: Israeli government split on talks with Arab League members. All sides agree Olmert-Abbas dialogue has nowhere to go
DEBKAfile 2007/4/15
In the face of negative Arab responses, prime minister Ehud Olmert again proposed at the weekly cabinet session in Jerusalem Sunday, April 15, that Israel enter into talks with any available combination of Arab governments. That same morning, Dep. PM Shimon Peres said he objects to contacts with any of the Arab League members before they recognize Israel.   After the cabinet session, Olmert joined Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem for one of the regular meetings ordered by US secretary Condoleezza Rice in her drive last month for a “new political horizon.” Livni and defense minister Amir Peretz (Labor) were present for the first time.   Wednesday, 13 Arab League foreign ministers meeting Cairo will create working groups for the Saudi peace initiative first approved in 2002 and again at the 2007 Riyadh summit. Olmert and foreign minister Tsipi Livini accepted the Saudi blueprint in principle – again at Rice’s behest.   Sunday night, Livni is to meet Jordanian foreign minister Abdelelah al-Khatib on the Jordanian bank of the Dead Sea to discuss these groups.   DEBKAfile: Olmert, Livni and their aides are blowing hard to keep the wheels of peace rhetoric revolving, although there is nowhere for them to go. ...

The Barzani Chameleon
The Middle East Quarterly 2007/4/15
On September 11, 1961, Iraqi Kurds under the leadership of Mulla Mustafa Barzani, founder of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and father of the current Kurdish president Masoud Barzani, rose in rebellion against Iraq's central government. Kurds often portray the event as spontaneous.[1] It was not.   A declassified KGB document suggests Soviet involvement in the Kurdish rebellion was part of a Kremlin plan to disrupt Western interests in the Third World. ...How is this episode relevant today? Switching alliances is part of the Barzani family political culture, intertwining survival and power with Kurdish nationalism. Between 1980 and 1988, Masoud Barzani allied himself with Iran in its fight against Saddam, even as the revolutionary authorities in Iran turned their guns on Iranian Kurds. After long hostility to Turkey, in 1992, he allied with Ankara in its fight against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, PKK); in 1996, he allied with Saddam Hussein against rival Kurdish leader (and current Iraqi president) Jalal Talabani. In the wake of Iraq's liberation in 2003, Barzani has portrayed himself as a U.S. ally. For how long, though, remains unclear.
Contributed by Bob Anderson.

King condemns terror attacks in Morocco and Iraq
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/14
...King Abdullah II on Saturday condemned terror operations and suicide bombings designed to destabilize Morocco and terrorize innocent people in the country.   In a cable to King Mohammad VI of Morocco, King Abdullah affirmed Jordan’s stand by Morocco in facing all forms of cowardly terror acts which target the country’s stability and security. ...

Jordan's king to meet with Israeli, US, Palestinian peace activists
Monsters & Critics 2007/4/14
Jordan's King Abdullah II has invited politicians and peace activists from Israel, the United States and the Palestinian territories for discussions in Amman as part of an effort to push forward the stalled Middle East peace process, officials said Saturday.   Among Israeli politicians due to visit Jordan next week will be the speaker of the Israeli parliament or Knesset, Dalia Itzik.   The monarch plans to discuss 'means of reviving the peace process on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative' that was readopted in an Arab summit conference in Riyadh at the end of March, a senior royal court official said.   King Abdullah urged Israelis earlier this week to respond to the Arab blueprint, which he said provided a 'rare opportunity' for concluding peace between Israel and the Palestinians. ...

Bush's Plan for the Middle East: No Palestinian State, Iraqi Partition, Cooperation with Syria and Iran
URUKNet 2007/4/14
Over the past few months, the Bush administration in the backdrop of the Iraq Study Group's (ISG) report has announced its plan for Iraq-apart from the Presidents refusal to formally engage Iran and Syria- the plan broadly concurs with the recommendation laid out by the ISG. Furthermore, the US has mobilised its surrogates in Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the gulf countries to implement this plan and prepare the ground for the emergence of a new middle east. ...For over fifty-years the US has depended on the rulers and the resources of the Muslims world to achieve its status as the world's sole super power. Indeed without the support of rulers and resources of the Muslim world, America could not have won any of the gulf war or defeated the Soviets in Afghanistan and won the cold war. Ironically, while America's staunch allies like Israel and Europe are putting out the knives for the US, the Muslims rulers are pulling out all the stops to preserve America's hegemony over the Muslim ummah. How long America's primacy in the region continues on life-support depends entirely upon how quickly the Muslim world re-establishes the caliphate.

Egypt pours cold water on talk of "negotiations"
The Washington Post 2007/4/14
Egypt poured cold water on Saturday on speculation that an Arab League working group would start negotiations with Israel on a land-for-peace agreement. ...Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters on Saturday one of the working groups might contact the Israelis, but he did not expect any negotiations.   "These groups are not mandated to negotiate and I do not imagine that they will negotiate on behalf of anyone, whether the Palestinians, Syria or Lebanon," he said. ...

King Invites Palestinian, Israeli and US Officials to Discuss Peace Process
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/13
His Majesty King Abdullah II sent official invitation for Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and a number of Israeli peace supporters to visit Jordan and meet with King Abdullah by the end of this week.   This invitation comes within the efforts being exerted by His Majesty King Abdullah to move forward the peace process and support the Arab peace initiative, which was underlined during the recent Arab Summit in Riyadh as the choice to achieve peace in the region. ...

CUFI "wipes" mosques
Jewish Telegraphic Agency 2007/4/13
Christians United For Israel, a pro-Israel evangelical group, features on its website a photo of Jerusalem with the city's holiest mosques wiped out.   The photo-shopped view of the Western Wall and the Temple Mount is featured in a huge banner across every page of www.cufi.org. ...CUFI, headed by Texas preacher, Pastor John Hagee, has made inroads into Jewish reluctance to deal with evangelicals. Hagee spoke last month at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's policy conference. ...Joe Thurman, a spokesman for CUFI, said that "The photo is in fact not photo-shopped.  The camera angle used to focus on the beauty of the wall was too narrow to include the mosques."

Turkish forces drive into northern Iraq to destroy Kurdish PKK rebel bases in Iraqi Kurdistan
DEBKAfile 2007/4/12
They crossed at several points – 20 km deep to target PKK camps east of Zaho and 30-40 kms up to the rural areas of Haftanin, Sinaht and Pirbela provinces. The Turkish army is also clearing landmines that could impede its cross-border offensive against rebel Kurdish camps. DEBKAfile adds: Ankara accuses Iraqi Kurdistan of harboring the PKK terrorists, allowing them to stage cross-border raids into Turkey and run back for cover. ...

King returns home after visit to France
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/11
...King Abdullah affirmed Jordan’s keenness to strengthen ties with France particularly in economic spheres and appreciated France’s role in backing Jordan’s economic reform efforts and attracting more investment.
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Israel must quit Arab land: Jordan King
The Peninsula 2007/4/11
Jordan’s King Abdullah II urged Israel to end its occupation of Arab land to guarantee peaceful co-existence with the world’s Muslims and warned against a hasty US troop pullout from Iraq.   “Israel, the European states and the United States should realise that the Palestinian issue does not only concern the Palestinians but also has the sympathy of all Muslims from Indonesia to the Maghreb states,” he said. “If Israel wants to co-exist with more than a billion Muslims, it should end its occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands.” ...

Jordan King optimistic of Iran ties
PressTV 2007/4/11
 Jordan's monarch says that Arabs can build strong ties with Iran in light of the common bonds which unite the Arab world and the Islamic Republic.   "Arab states have communication channels with Iran, which we hope will be in the interest of the region and its stability," King Abdullah II told reporters in Amman Tuesday, when asked about the dialogue between Iran and the Arab world.   "We as Arabs can build strong ties with... Iran because what unites Iran and the Arab nations is much more than what divides them," he continued. ...

King holds talks with French President
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/11
...King Abdullah II on Wednesday held talks with French President Jacques Chirac focusing bilateral ties and the latest political developments in the Middle East.   During the meeting, King Abdullah affirmed Jordan’s keenness to boost relations with France in various spheres, particularly the economic relations and paid tribute the French role in helping Jordan achieve the economic reform and boost investments.   The King highly appreciated President Chirac's "honorable" stand in supporting Arab issues in the international fora, particularly the Palestinian cause. ...Chirac affirmed his country’s support geared to establish peace in the Middle East in accordance with the two-state solution ... He also praised the King’s efforts in supporting the peace process. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand
? Daniel 11:21 ...but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries

Jordan's king flies to Paris for talks with Chirac
Monsters & Critics 2007/4/11
Jordan's King Abdullah II left Amman for Paris on Wednesday for a brief visit and talks with French President Jacques Chirac on the 'latest political developments' in the Middle East, the Jordanian royal court announced.   The king was expected to discuss with Chirac the so-called Arab Peace Initiative for the Middle East which was readopted last week by the Arab summit conference in Riyadh, officials said.   The king said Tuesday that the Arab plan provided a 'rare opportunity' for forging peace between the Arab world and Israel and urged the Jewish state to accept it. ...

Jordan, Saudi investors to set up 700-million-dollar joint venture
EARTHtimes.org 2007/4/11
Jordanian and Saudi businesses planned to launch a 700-million-dollar joint venture during a gathering of leading figures from the private sectors of the two countries due to be held in Amman next week, a leading Jordanian businessman said Wednesday. The venture, The Development of Jordanian-Saudi Projects Company, will be set up at the behest of the Joint Saudi-Jordanian Business Council with participation from several investment funds in the two countries ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

King condemns terrorist blasts in Algeria
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/11
...King Abdullah II condemned the terrorist bombings in Algiers on Wednesday that claimed lives of innocent people. One of the bombing targeted the government headquarters.   In a cable to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Wednesday, King Abdullah described the bombing as “terrorist and cowardly acts that have nothing to do with Islam and Islamic ethics.” ...
It must be very obvious to the king that he knows they are not Islamic.  If this is so, the king should start cleaning house in the mosques where the Imams teach people it is right and good to do these things.  To me, this statement is nothing more than a message for the streets in the west.

Why is Islam afraid of history?
RenewAmerica.US 2007/4/11 (Pete Fisher)
...I have to wonder what is it about Islam that thinks it can destroy other religious artifacts, and make claim to sites that they never had any claim to? Just ask those in India who see a mosque sitting atop the site where their temple used to sit. I think Muslims are afraid of history because as it is will show them things they do not want to see. They do not want to see the holes in their own dogma. They do not want to see that the reason they kill Jews is no reason at all. They do not want to admit that the excuse they have been using all these years to exterminate Jews is based on falsehood. And they do not want to have to sit around and find another way to impose Islam on a global level beginning with the Jews.   I think history and archaeology have shown what the rest of the world never really doubted. That Israel has its history and its faith in Jerusalem and on that Temple mount. The heart and soul of Judaism rests in those places, and no matter how many artifacts you destroy, or how many fables you concoct to make people believe otherwise, that will never change the truth. It is similar to the lies of the Holocaust deniers. Their lies will never cover up the branded flesh and great loss of life.   Muslims can believe Mohammed was ignorant enough to visit a mosque that did not exist. They can believe the Jews never had a temple there. They can believe that Islam has the rights to that place. But in the end, it will never change the truth. ...

Saudi tells Iran, Syria don’t count on us if you don’t cooperate
YaLibnan 2007/4/11
Saudi Arabia has told Iran not to count on the kingdom's help if the international community imposes harsher measures on Tehran because of its refusal to abide by international requirements on the nuclear issue. ..."We told him, 'Don't come back to us and say you wish somebody had told you that,"' the official said. "Don't come back and ask for help."   The king was equally blunt with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom he met in Riyadh on the sidelines of the Arab summit last month.   Abdullah told Assad that if he wants to improve relations with Saudi Arabia - which are at an all-time low - he first has to prove his good intentions in Lebanon, according to the official. ...
? Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots

2007 a prophetic year?
WorldNetDaily 2007/4/11
In Genesis, God flooded the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and 40 days after the mountaintops became visible, Noah opened the ark's window and sent out a bird.   Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebecca, and his son Esau was 40 years old when he married Judith.   The judge Eli presided over the people of Israel for 40 years. Their first king, Saul, reigned for 40 years; their second king, David, reigned for 40 years; and their third king, Solomon, reigned for 40 years.   The number 40 is used a lot in the Bible, and it is sometimes – but not always – connected with punishment. Israel was made to wait 40 years in the desert to enter the Promised Land and was given a 40-year judgment under the Philistines for its misdeeds. Egypt had a 40-year sentence to serve under Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar. ...This year, 2007, commemorates the 40-year anniversary of the giveaway of the Temple Mount.   Now as before, Israel's enemies surround the city and beat their plowshares into swords. The ancient plateau still stands where old Abraham went to offer Isaac, where King David dreamed of the Temple his son Solomon would build, where12-year-old Jesus amazed the doctors of the law with his understanding. But now it is populated with monuments to a god the ancient Hebrews never knew, and the 40-year cycle has come around again.   Will the merciful God of Israel grant His people a pass on what some might consider one leader's lapse in judgment? Has the biblical 40-year phenomenon drawn to a close at this late date? Or will 2007 be another prophetic year?

Jordan: Israel must quit Arab lands
PressTV (Iran) 2007/4/10
Jordan's King Abdullah II has said that the Israel regime must end its occupation of Arab lands if it wants to co-exist with the world's Muslims.   In an interview with AFP on Tuesday, the King also called on the regime to accept an Arab peace initiative adopted at a summit in Saudi Arabia last month, saying it "reflects collective Arab will to build peace that puts an end to years of violence and suffering."   The Israeli people "should acknowledge that this is a unique opportunity in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and that it is time they work to convince their leaders of the need to resume peace negotiations in accordance with this initiative that guarantees security and stability for all." ...

Jordan king warns against Iraq pullout without timetable
AfricaAsia.com 2007/4/10
Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday warned in an interview with AFP that a US troop withdrawal from Iraq without a timetable could further increase the violence there.   "Withdrawal from Iraq without setting a timetable and without preparing the necessary conditions that would ensure a strong central government able to run the affairs of the state and an Iraqi force able to ensure security and stability, may only worsen the problem and contribute to increasing violence and conflict among Iraqis," the king said. ...For the Jordanian monarch "the problem with Iraq is that Iraqis themselves are divided between those supporting US-led coalition forces in their country, those rejecting and resisting them as occupation, and those that seek to disrupt the political process and national reconciliation efforts."   "This group also seeks to undermine the unity of Iraq by inciting sedition, sectarian strife and carrying out terrorist acts targeting Iraqi civilians," he said.   He insisted that the solution is in "helping the Iraqis achieve national reconciliation and involving all sectors of Iraqi society in the political process." ...

Assad Stifles the Christians of Syria and Lebanon
Assyrian International News Agency 2007/4/10
...The Nancy Pelosi trip to Syria has done more damage to the Christians of Syria and Lebanon than is obvious. By sitting with a dictator who oppresses the Lebanese and Syrian Christians, Pelosi is in fact giving Assad a green light to oppress further. Not a word was uttered by her in defense of any Syrian dissident fighting for freedom in their homeland; people like Michel Kilo, Aref Dalilah, Anwar al-Bouni, and Kamal Labwani.   Furthermore, Assad stands accused of killing Gibran Tueini, George Hawi, and Pierre Gemayel all Lebanese Christians who stood against oppression and Syrian hegemony in their homeland; in addition, the Assads were responsible for the disappearance of about 17,000 Lebanese prisoners mostly Christians who vanished right after Assad marched into Beirut in 1976.   Both Christian communities in Syria and Lebanon have been instrumental in creating an environment of openness and co-existence in the region. Much of their exuberance in building bridges with the west and in holding the Levant area to higher standards of cooperation and enlightenment are being stifled by the Assad dictatorship. Syria and Lebanon owe a lot to the Christian communities of both countries. ...
? Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots
Continued and all the more justification for Assad's soon uprooting.

Abdullah to Iran: Don't underestimate the US
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/10
...At a meeting in Riyadh last month, King Abdullah told visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran will have to "bear the consequences" of its actions, and that it should not underestimate the power, capabilities or will of the United States and the rest of the international community, according to a Saudi official.   "We told him, 'Don't come back to us and say you wish somebody had told you that,"' the official said. "Don't come back and ask for help." ...

Congress allows U.S. funds for Abbas security
ABC News 2007/4/10
The Bush administration has been given a green light by Congress to spend about $60 million to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' presidential guard and for other security expenses, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.   "We are good to go … we have addressed Congress's concerns and there is good political support for this," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ...

Russians insistent on U.S. Iran attack
WorldNetDaily 2007/4/9
..."Preparations to strike Iran's strategic facilities continue," Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems, a Russian think tank, told Moscow-based news service Interfax. "Three major groups of U.S. forces are still in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Altogether, they have up to 450 cruise missiles on alert."   "Military operations against Tehran will begin with the launch of at least two unexpected strikes using Tomahawk cruise missiles and air power in order to disable Iran's air-defense capabilities."   "According to our data, up to 150 aircraft are to be involved in each strike on Iran. Land-based air-defense systems will be disabled in the first place, then mobile short-range systems, which Tehran has (including some 30 new systems)," he said.   Ivashov also did not rule out the possibility of nuclear weapons being used against Iran.   "Combat nuclear weapons may be used for bombing. This will result in radioactive contamination of the Iranian territory, which could possibly spread to neighboring countries," he said.   A press conference Ivashov held in Moscow March 30 led to speculation the U.S. would strike Iran on April 4 in a military attack code-named "Operation Bite."   In his most recent warning, Ivashov stressed the release of the 15 British sailors and marines captured by Iran robbed the U.S. of the pretext planned for a military strike last week. Still, Ivashov warned the U.S. had not given up plans to launch a missile and air strike on Iran before the end of April. ...
Comment: Is this the same Russia that claims Iran's defensive capabilities are sufficient to defeat a US air/missile attack? Do you think they're trying to confuse us?
Article and comment contributed by Bob Anderson.

Bakhit congratulates Christian Communities on Easter
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/8
...“We, in Jordan Muslims and Christian present a genuine image of co-existence, fraternity and loveliness between followers of the two great religions,” Bakhit said.
He added the Hashemite vision of moderation and the positive conduct armed with the culture of hope have contributed to achieving what is impossible and building the model Jordan despite the scarcity of resources. ...
? Daniel 11:21 ...but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries
Just a reminder that Bakhit always speaks representing King Abdullah II.

Salah urges Muslims to defend al-Aksa
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/7
Speaking at a rally celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the northern branch of Israel's Islamic Movement, called for thousands of Muslims to rise, unite and defend Jerusalem and al-Aksa mosque.   At the event, which took place in Kafr Kanna on Friday night, Salah said that "even if Israel [banished] him to the moon, the Islamic movement will continue to chant - in blood and spirit we will redeem al-Aksa."   Salah was the main speaker at the gathering attended by tens of thousands of people, including the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein.   Shalah stated that Israel's presence in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount was a pivotal "disaster point" in Muslim history, and called on the Muslim world to declare a state of emergency in order to retrieve power over the Temple Mount. ...
I ask you, why aren't the muslim moderates, the likes of King Abdullah II of Jordan, decrying from the rooftops this extremist?  It is because they agree with him.

Irbid governorate's exports grow by 57.2%
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/7
Irbid governorate's exports to Arab and foreign markets rose 57.2 per cent during the first quarter of this year making $US123.7 m. compared to 78.7 m. for the same period in 2006.   Chairman of Irbid Chamber of Industry, Raed Samara, said exports during last March stood at US$39.7 million, reporting an increase of 20 percent compared with the same month in 2006.   He added that the US market dominated 75.5 percent of total exports of which the rest went to the Middle East and European markets. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Khazaleh: Jordan plays instrumental role to put Agadir Agreement into effect
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/7
...The agreement aimed at establishing a free trade area between Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco and it was seen as a possible first step in the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area envisaged in the Barcelona Process and expected to materialize in 2012. The Agreement could also be the stepping stone to the formation of a future Greater Arab Free Trade Area.   Member states to the agreement reached an agreement to unite their concepts related to rules of origin and they have set a common and united vision on the practical application of the Euro-Med rules of origin within the frame of the agreement particularly those related to agriculture products and manufactured agricultural goods.   Under the agreement, a free trade exchange zone will be established between the four countries and any other Mediterranean Arab country that later on joined the agreement, Kazaleh said. Lebanon and Syria expressed interest to join the agreement.   The agreement, he added also aimed to activate terms included in the association agreements with the European Union that could qualify these countries to export tariff-free product to the European market.
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Quake lifts Solomons island out of the sea
Yahoo News 2007/4/7
The seismic jolt that unleashed the deadly Solomons tsunami this week lifted an entire island metres out of the sea, destroying some of the world's most pristine coral reefs.   In an instant, the grinding of the Earth's tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).   Submerged reefs that once attracted scuba divers from around the globe lie exposed and dying after the quake raised the mountainous landmass, which is 32-kilometres (20-miles) long and 8-kilometres (5-miles) wide.   Corals that used to form an underwater wonderland of iridescent blues, greens and reds now bleach under the sun, transforming into a barren moonscape surrounding the island. ...
Comment: This is an environmental outrage. Irreplaceable coral reefs have been most cruelly murdered. Earthquakes and tsunami must be declared illegal!
Article and comment contributed by Bob Anderson.
Bob's comment spoken in sarcastic rage I presume.

Jordan's king to convene special Parliament session
International Herald Tribune 2007/4/6
Jordan's King Abdullah II has summoned Parliament to convene for a special session to vote on bills that include a nuclear energy draft law.   Abdullah, who wields considerable powers under the constitution, said in a Royal Decree that the 110-seat Chamber of Deputies would convene on April 15, the official Petra news agency reported Friday.   No details were made available on the Jordanian nuclear energy draft law, but in January, Abdullah said he wanted to develop Jordan's nuclear capabilities for peaceful purposes. Washington has indicated it had no objection to a peaceful Jordanian nuclear program. ...

A synagogue with a view
Israel Today 2007/4/6
Architects in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood are building a temple that will become the only Jewish house of worship with a view facing the Temple Mount.   The synagogue will be built 2 kilometers from the Temple Mount and will give prayers the illusion of being at, or at least really close to, the former temple’s site. The temple will serve the new neighborhood containing 475 apartments and a hotel with 150 rooms.   The 6-million shekel ($1.5 million) project called ‘Nof Zion’ (view of Zion) is run by the Digal Company and owned by Yehuda Levi and Meir Shamir.   The synagogue will consist of two 350-seat halls, one for Ashkenazi Jews and one for Sephardic Jews. ...
This article seems to equate a synagogue with the temple since they use the titles interchangeably.  However, the Jewish Temples in ancient times were, among other things such as worship, places where animals were sacrificed as an atonement for sin.  Synagogues are definitely no equivalent to a temple of old.

Mufti of Jerusalem: Israeli forces allow extremists to enter Al Aqsa Mosque under guise of tourism
Palestine News Network 2007/4/6
For three days dozens of fundamentalists from “Zion Christ,” stormed the courtyards of Al Aqsa Mosque under the heavy guard of Israeli police and special units. They went toward the Al Quds Funds and its Waqf through the corridors. Another extremist group calling itself the “Temple Mount Trustees,” also attempted to break into the grounds of the Muslim holy site, but residents near the gate were able to stop them.   The Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, and Bishop Atallah Hanna, denounced the Jewish fundamentalists and their Israeli police escorts. ...

Cheney criticizes Pelosi for Syria trip
Los Angeles Times 2007/4/6
Vice President Dick Cheney scolded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday for "bad behavior" in traveling to Syria, a country that he said promoted terrorism. ..."It was a non-statement, a nonsensical statement, and didn't make any sense at all that she would suggest that those talks could go forward as long as the Syrians conducted themselves as a prime state sponsor of terror," Cheney said. ...

’Damascus Nancy’ And Unlawful Diplomacy
Agora Vox 2007/4/6
Nancy Pelosi’s recent bumbling foray into foreign policy with Syria shows why diplomacy should be left to that branch of government - the executive branch - that actually has the authority to conduct it. Pelosi conveyed a ’peace message’ from Ehud Olmert to Bashar Assad that - woops! - the Israeli government says it never gave to Pelosi. Apparently Nuancy not only missed the shades of gray there, she missed the black and white as well.   Amateurish and embarassing, yes, but is it illegal also? There is a law called the Logan Act that forbids U.S. citizens from conducting diplomacy without approval from the government. The act, as amended in 2004, reads as follows:
18 U.S.C. § 953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.
Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. ...

Pelosi's pratfall in Damascus
Concord Monitor Online 2007/4/6
...Two weeks ago Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Bush of his authority as commander-in-chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.

Girl's Gone Wild
CNSNews 2007/4/6
It's Spring Break, a time when boys and girls, pretending to be adults, go to places they know they shouldn't; do things they wish they hadn't; and pray they don't show up in a "Girls Gone Wild" DVD later on.   It's one thing to be a college student, drunk on Jell-O shots, at the beach bar in Daytona, lifting your shirt for some dope with a video camera. It is something else to be the speaker of the House, drunk on power, making a fool of yourself by pretending to be a diplomat and going to the Syrian desert. ...

King Calls to Set Strategy to Develop Wadi Araba
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/5
...King Abdullah II on Thursday called to set up a strategy to develop Wadi Araba area based on the concept of comprehensive development to attract economic activities and improve services presented to the region. ...His Majesty stressed, during the meeting which was attended by Prime Minister Marouf Al Bakhit, on the importance of making this region as a hub for economic development, creating job opportunities for citizens of the region and the neighboring areas and improving their life standards. ...
? Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand

Israel says Assad not serious about peace unless he acts against militant groups
International Herald Tribune 2007/4/5
Syrian President Bashar Assad should illustrate his intentions toward coexistence with Israel through actions, even minor ones, if peace talks between the two nations are to be resumed, an Israeli Cabinet minister said Thursday.   The comments by Zeev Boim came after visits by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to both the Israeli and Syrian leaders.   Pelosi said Wednesday that she brought a message to Assad from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that Israel was ready for peace talks with Syria. However, Olmert's office said in a statement later this would only be possible if Assad stops supporting Hezbollah and Hamas, two militant groups fighting Israel.   "The fact that he is holding an olive branch in his beak still doesn't turn him into someone who really wants peace with Israel," Boim told Israel Radio. "We are not asking that he totally stop, just do something even minor that will show a real intention through some sort of action." ...
? Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots
Continued and all the more justification for Assad's soon uprooting.

Temple Mount activists protest near site
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/5
Members of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement arrived at the Kotel Thursday in order to prepare for their Pessah demonstration, in hope of ascending the Temple Mount to conduct holiday prayers.   Demonstrators dressed in orange and gripping national flags arrived at the Mughrabi Gate late in the morning.   Police had been deployed throughout the area and were preparing for sudden outbreaks of aggressive action. However, no violent clashes were reported. ...

Iraqi scholars open fifth conference in Amman
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/4
...During the two-day conference, Iraqi scholars and religious leaders will discuss ways to form a complex to issue fatwa (religious decree) and unite the efforts to address the situation in Iraq through a more realistic and moderate approach.   Addressing the opening session Chairman of the Dewan Ahmed Abdel Ghafur al-Samera’i thanked His Majesty King Abdullah II for his efforts in supporting Iraq and for hosting the conference. He said the convened their conference outside Iraq because of security reasons and to ensure lives of the Muslim scholars. ...

Queen Rania attends Night of Jordanian Treasures, meets with UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/4
In line with her efforts to promote Jordan and its culture and heritage abroad, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah patronized "The Night of Jordanian Treasures," in Paris, on Tuesday, and met with several UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors on the occasion of their annual meeting.   "Today, at a time when, too often, humanity is clashing instead of communicating, we need to promote [a] universal language and indivisible heritage," said Queen Rania. ...Queen Rania has said before that in order for different cultures to understand each other, they must let one and other into their homes, and see things first hand. Such cultural awareness nights serve to introduce members of different communities to some of Jordan's most special cultural secrets.   In talking about Jordan, Her Majesty said, "located at the crossroads of East and West, and in the cradle of humanity’s great religions, we [in Jordan] have carved out a special role as a link between regions and cultures. We know tradition and modernity can both find purchase in our soil, and we are eager to bring the world to Jordan, and bring Jordan to the world." ...

Fatah Threatens Attacks On Jews Outside Israel
The Bulletin 2007/4/4
A senior source in Israeli intelligence reports that the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah organization chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, has threatened to target Jewish institutions outside of Israel.   The threat was made with the condition of Jews continuing to "invade" the Al Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during this week's Passover holiday.   These groups are allowed to visit the Temple Mount grounds in small groups, although Jews are not allowed by the Israeli police to pray there, in accordance with the rules issued by the Islamic religious authority known as the WAKF.   The statement stated that "The Zionist conqueror bears full responsibility for this invasion and all Zionist targets are legitimate."   Although the Al Aksa remains on the active list of organizations defined by the United States government as a terrorist organization, the Clinton administration and now the Bush administration have issued a waiver every half year for the past 13 years to allow the Fatah to maintain a Washington office, which is represented by Edward Abington, former U.S. consul in Jerusalem. ...

Nancy Pelosi: Syria's Assad Wants Peace With Israel
NewsMax.com 2007/4/4
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad assured her of his willingness to engage in peace talks with Israel.   Pelosi said she and other members of her congressional delegation raised with Assad their concern about militants crossing from Syria into Iraq, as well the Israeli soldiers kidnapped by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas. ...
Comment: I fully expect her to return saying, "Peace in our time".
Article and comment contributed by Bob Anderson.

Pro-Khomeini imam to pray before Texas Senate
WorldNetDaily 2007/4/4
...According to an announcement by the Dallas-Forth Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the occasion will be broadcast live on the Texas Senate website and attended by a number of faith-based groups, including Texas Impact, Baptist General Convention of Texas' Christian Life Commission, Texas Conference of Churches and Texas Islamic Council.   "Don't miss the next milestone event for the Texas Muslim community!' DFW-CAIR's announcement read. "On April 4, 2007, the first Muslim imam will open the Texas Senate with an Islamic prayer." ...In 2004, Kavakci was a guest speaker at a seminar sponsored by Irving, Tex., Muslims paying "tribute to the great Islamic visionary," Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran's 1979 revolution.   Kavakci and others shared the roster with Mohammed Asi, a radical Washington imam whom, according to The Washington Post, U.S. officials suspect of being an Iranian agent. ...
Contributed by Bob Anderson.
What has happened to this country?

Jordan Islamists blast Olmert's Arab-Israeli summit proposal
Monsters & Critics 2007/4/3
Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Tuesday condemned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's proposal for holding an Arab-Israeli summit as a 'new trick' aimed at a 'free of charge' normalization with Arab states.   'Olmert's call is nothing more than a new trick designed to push the Arabs into the tunnel of settlement and normalization,' IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Ershaid said in a statement.   He was reacting to comments made at a joint press conference with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Jerusalem on Sunday in which Olmert expressed readiness to attend a meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and other 'moderate Arab leaders' to discuss the Arab Peace Initiative issued by the Arab summit in Riyadh last week. ...

The Arab League, Apple Pie and Indigestion  (originally titled "Jordan's King Abdullah, 'The 'Ham' In The Sandwich'"
Israel Hasbara Committee 2007/4/2
Jordan's King Abdullah is at it again repeating the mantra of the Arab League of which Jordan is a founding member: "The principal problem in the region is the Palestinian issue and, if it is not solved, it will be impossible to solve other problems." ...The Arab League has called for full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the West Bank and Israel's acceptance of an independent Arab State there with East Jerusalem as its capitol. ...Whilst the Arab League persists with this intransigent attitude there is indeed a problem, but one solely of the Arab League's choosing.   The Arab League presently is made up of 22 member States covering almost 14 million square kilometers in which almost 320 million Arabs reside.   It is incredible and completely false to continually advocate that a dispute over 6000 square kilometers housing 3 million Arabs must first be settled before all the other problems in the region can be resolved.   Yet this is precisely what the Arab League has sold to the Quartet - America, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. - and they have swallowed it hook line and sinker. ... The League's biggest problem involves a non Arab state - Iran - as it seeks leadership of the Islamic world through the supremacy of Shia Islam as the dominant Islamic religion over Sunni Islam , the religion of the majority of the Arabs.   This is the clash of ideologies, that must first take place before militant Islam can hope to achieve its aim of making Islam the world's dominant religion.   Islam can only have one leader not two to achieve this objective. Will that leader be Shia or Sunni? ...

King stresses importance of building on Arab Summit outcomes
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/2
...King Abdullah II stressed the importance of building on the outcomes of the recently-held Arab Summit in Riyadh which affirmed the keenness of Arabs to achieve a just and comprehensive peace to put an end to Arab-Israeli conflict. ...Regarding the crisis in Iraqi, King Abdullah reiterated Jordan’s support to all efforts aimed to restore security and stability to the country and rid it of the present state of anarchy. All Iraqis should work hand in hand to put an end to the violence ravaging their country away from foreign interference.

King Receives Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/2
...His Majesty said Jordan was keen to boost cooperation with Russia, particularly in the cultural and economic fields for the interest of both peoples.   Yeltsin hailed efforts being exerted by His Majesty to achieve peace in the region. He also expressed admiration of the archaeological sites he visited in Jordan, mainly the Dead Sea and the Baptism Site.

Al-Ali meets with US visiting Congress Staffers delegation
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/2
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali on Monday reiterated Jordan's appreciation for the US continued support to Jordan's development and reform efforts. ...On their part, the visiting Congressional Staffers Delegation expressed the high recognition that Jordan has received at the U.S. Congress, highlighting the key role that Jordan plays on the political and economic spheres both regionally and globally.

Iraqi Expo Opens in Amman on Tuesday
Jordan News Agency 2007/4/2
...Director of external coordination of the expo, Tareq Al Shara’ said the exhibition is held in Amman due to the good reputation that Jordan enjoys and the relevant trade and economic climate in the Kingdom.
All the more reason for the king to receive the crown when the timing is right.
? Revelation 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Damascus airport has become the hub for thousands of Hizballah, Hamas, Jihad Islami fighters heading out to Iranian training camps
DEBKAfile 2007/4/2
According to DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources, in the last several weeks, Damascus international airport main has become the main transport hub for a stream of Lebanese and Palestinian terrorists heading for Revolutionary Guards installations in Iran. Hence Israel military intelligence chief’s pessimistic briefing to the Israeli cabinet Sunday, April 1. ...Damascus airport is also the transit point for returning terrorists to gather and pick up their assignment for various Middle East countries, as well as Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Syrian military intelligence and Iranian RG officers have set up a joint depot at the Syrian airport for directing the incoming and outgoing traffic - much of it ferried by Syrian Airways. ...Syria’s high command and military intelligence are pivotal to the construction, administration and control of this new fighting-terrorist machine. The personal say-so of president Bashar Assad would have been necessary for this project. Damascus airport facilities are a pivotal link in the mechanism wiring Tehran to the terrorist groups and transporting them from training centers to operating bases ready to fight for the Islamic Republic. Without Damascus’ aid, the operation would have taken much longer. ...
? Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots
Continued and all the more justification for Assad's soon uprooting.

Israeli military intelligence chief predicts Iran-Hizballah-Syria attack on Israel in summer
DEBKAfile 2007/4/2
In his briefing to the Israeli cabinet Sunday, April 1, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, AMAN chief, reported that Iran, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas expect the United States to attack Iran in the summer and they are preparing to retaliate by going to war with Israel. In Yadlin’s view, a proliferation of players and the many imponderables could ignite a conflict, which none of the parties wants – as happened in the Six Day War of 1967.   DEBKAfile analysts note five salient points in Gen. Yadlin’s briefing ...

Pelosi's Tour Of Dhimmitude Continues
PipeLineNews 2007/4/2
Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi was today welcomed to Damascus, Syria.   A newspaper controlled by Bashar Assad's totalitarian regime was obviously pleased at the Dems' fomenting of disarray in American foreign policy, stating that "a lot of misunderstandings with the United States could be removed" as a result of Pelosi's meddling.   Escalating a publicity stunt tour which has been called "unbelievably harmful" by some, Pelosi seems more interested in re-establishing her bona fides among the party's MoveOn nut roots funders rather than having any concern regarding the potential harm her antics have posed for American security interests during a time of war. ...
This 'tour' of Pelosi's, in my opinion, is tantamount to 'Hanoi Jane's' (Jane Fonda) trip to Hanoi during the Vietnam war era.

Court prevents groups from sacrificing live animals at Temple Mount
Haaretz 2007/4/2
In their efforts to sacrifice a live animal at the Temple Mount, the New Sanhedrin Council adopted an almost underground modus operandi. Rabbis Adin Steinsaltz, Israel Ariel, Yishai Baved and their associates secretly located a butcher, found a Cohen hailing from a lineage 1,000 years old and worked out a plan to quickly erect an alter on the Temple Mount.   They tried to revive the customs of the ancient Sanhedrin tribunal, which was the highest judicial body for the Jewish people in Israel some 1,600 years ago. They sought to slaughter a sacrificial animal across from the Western Wall.   The activists, who belong to various religious circles such as the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement, also petitioned the High Court of Justice for the right to perform the ritual.   Their plans were thwarted on Sunday when the court rejected their request, ruling that "the rights of the petitioners to practice their faith are outweighed by other considerations such as public order and safety." ...

Olmert Invites Arab Leaders for Summit
Arab News 2007/4/2
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday invited Arab leaders to a regional peace conference to discuss their ideas for resolving the Middle East conflict.   Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently president of the European Union, Olmert said: “I would take advantage of this important opportunity of being here in Jerusalem with the president of the European Union to invite to a meeting all Arab heads of state, including, of course, the king of Saudi Arabia, whom I regard as an important leader, in order to engage in dialogue.”   He said each side would bring its own demands, and neither would try to dictate terms. ...

Israel requests that Pelosi tell Syria to stop terror support
AZCentral.com 2007/4/2
JERUSALEM - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will tell Syrian leaders when she visits Damascus this week on a trip criticized by the Bush administration that Israel will only engage in peace talks if Syria stops supporting Palestinian militants, Israel said Sunday.   The message came during her meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during the Israel part of her Mideast tour.   "Pelosi is conveying that Israel is willing to talk if they (Syria) would openly take steps to stop supporting terrorism," Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin said. "But at this point, the Syrian government, by openly backing terror all around the Middle East, is not a partner for negotiations." ...

Arab League to Create Group to Contact Israel
Prensa Latina 2007/4/2
The League of Arab Nations is to create a working group to negotiate with Israel in case it agrees to apply a Saudi peace plan to solve the Middle East conflict. ...On Sunday, Israel urged officials from Arab countries described as moderate to convene a regional conference about the conflict, a proposal criticized by Palestinian official media and Israeli politicians. ...

Abbas, Merkel Presses Israelis, Palestinians for Progress
The Toronto Daily News 2007/4/1
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are convinced that the beginning of a significant peace process between the Palestinians and Israel may happen in the nearest future.   "The talks have focused on the best ways to launch a meaningful political process," Abbas told reporters during a news conference with Merkel in Ramallah. ...Merkel arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday and held unofficial talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after a stop in Jordan, where she met King Abdullah II. She will also visit Lebanon.

UN nuclear chief to visit Jordan
France24 2007/4/1
UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to visit Amman this month for talks with officials on Jordan's aim to obtain nuclear energy for peaceful use, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.   ElBaradei, who heads the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is due to begin a three-day visit to Jordan on April 14, a spokeswoman told AFP.   His talks in Amman will focus on "Jordan's desire to obtain nuclear technology for peaceful means" and he will also tour some projects financed by the IAEA, the spokeswoman added.   Jordan's King Abdullah II has said his country wants to develop nuclear power for peaceful means.   "Our countries are in dire need of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, to enable us to build societies and update and modernise our fields of science, industry, agriculture and health," he told last week's Arab summit in Riyadh.   "We call for the establishment of an Arab centre for the peaceful use of atomic energy," King Abdullah said in a written speech to the March 28-29 summit in the Saudi capital. ...

Iran, Syria, Hizbullah preparing for war
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/1
Iran, Syria and Hizbullah are preparing their defenses for a war in the summer, and they are more worried about an attack by the US than from Israel, OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin told the cabinet on Sunday. ...

Jordan's King urges Germany to play key role in Mideast peace
People's Daily Online 2007/4/1
Jordan's King Abdullah II on Saturday called on Germany to play a key role in exerting the efforts to move the peace process forward, Jordan's news agency Petra reported.  ..."The Arab peace plan provides an ideal framework for political negotiations between Israel and the Arabs because it is capable of producing a comprehensive settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict, starting with the setting up of an independent and viable Palestinian state that lives in peace with Israel," he said, calling on Germany, as holder of the EU presidency, to push Israel to seize the opportunity emerged now.   "Joint action between the Arabs and Europe will ensure optimism and hope for the Palestinians that they can attain a better life," he added. ...

Merkel: Europe ready to promote talks
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/1
In her first Middle East trip as EU president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Europe's help in bringing Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, trying to build on a new burst of international efforts to restart peace talks.   Merkel, who met with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni early Sunday morning, said the Europeans are ready to offer support, but ultimately the sides must resolve their differences themselves.   "The Europeans must not assume that they could force a solution. We can't and I don't want to do it," she said in her speech. "Within my abilities, I would like to support the sides to walk the path toward peace." ...

Sheikh Salah Raed questioned for incitement
The Jerusalem Post 2007/4/1
Sheikh Salah Raed, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was questioned by police on Sunday over allegations of incitement to violence for recent remarks he made calling for a new intifada against the Jewish State, police said.   The three-hour long interrogation of Salah came 10 days after a Jerusalem court ordered the radical leader out of the city for violating a previous court order following a series of run-ins he had with police over a contested archeological excavation underway near the Temple Mount. ...

Note: Biblical prophetic scripture references following some news articles are noted only as possible partial fulfillment of the prophecies noted.

You read, and you watch the stage of history, then decide for yourself.

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