"Middle East peace talks got under way Thursday for the first time in nearly two years with a violent reminder sent by the Palestinian terror group Hamas that it will try to torpedo any agreement struck in Washington between Israelis and the Palestinian Authority. "
"Another drive-by shooting claimed by Hamas injured Moshe and Shira Morani from Maaleh Efraim at the Rimonim junction near Ramallah Wednesday night, Sept. 1. It was exactly the same as the attack which left four Israelis dead near Hebron Tuesday night - except that the couple saved their lives by fleeing their vehicle to a nearby wadi to escape a second round of point blank fire.When finally rescued, Moshe was in serious condition."
"The entire idea behind Iran’s proxy warfare is to have deniability so the regime can escape retribution and still position itself as the power broker that all must cater to. If the Iranians needed any reassurance that their strategy is working, they got it from Vice President Joe Biden on August 23."
"While Washington sounds an uncertain trumpet, Pacific Command has no illusions about the rise of China."
"To capitalize on the opportunity we have bought in Iraq with blood and treasure, President Obama has to do something much easier: resist a strategically witless urge to turn his back on Iraq as being merely the site of 'Bush’s war.'"
"In a must read article on rising weapons costs and defense spending, the Economist puts up an interesting chart from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) showing that China now has more warships than the U.S." And here is the Economist link.
"Earlier this month, two Chinese satellites met up in orbit. Depending on who you believe, it’s either a sign of China’s increasingly-sophisticated space program — or a sign of its increasingly-sophisticated space warfare program."
"What you might say ... on Iraq"
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome ‘Oh Lord,’ a homegrown Iranian search engine sure to highlight very high resolution photos of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the regretful testimony of green movement opposition activists."
"The living legacy of Muslim anti-Jewish hatred and violence remains firmly rooted in mainstream, orthodox Islamic teachings, not some aberrant vision of 'radical Islam.'"
"The growth of Lebanon's Hezbollah (Party of God) has gained considerable impetus through its patron Iran's own desire to dominate strategically the entire Middle East region. Hezbollah fits in neatly with Tehran's effort to reinstate the Persian preeminence in the ancient world reaching back centuries."
"Talks between Israelis and Palestinians should be mindful of the settlers' perspective."
"3rd generation of Fateh-110 has accurate guidance control system."
"Hamas is setting its sights on torpedoing the direct Israel-Palestinian negotiations Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are to launch in Washington on Sept. 2."
"Iranian Revolutionary Guards chief Gen. Mohamed Ali Jafari, who rarely leaves his country, paid a secret visit to Damascus a few hours before Tehran launched its first nuclear reactor at Bushehr Saturday, Aug. 21. With him were top Al Qods Brigades commanders in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. The group stayed only long enough to confer with Syrian president Bashar Assad and his military and intelligence chiefs on three topics . . . . This . . . Read more »
"‘Secularism can never enjoy a general acceptance in an Islamic society.” The writer was . . . Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual guide and a favorite of the Saudi royal family. . . . This was . . . the 'progressive' Muslim intellectual, much loved by Georgetown University’s burgeoning Islamic-studies programs. Like Harvard, Georgetown has been purchased into submission by tens of millions of Saudi petrodollars. Read more »
"The latest relaunch of Israeli- Palestianian talks has nothing to do with any realities spurring peace on the ground . . . . Rather, the ambitious timetable set by President Obama is tied to the US midterm elections this year and his own reelection in 2012 -- and will likely fail miserably for that reason."
"While much attention has been focused on . . . the Ground Zero mosque and the appropriateness of the State Department funding Ground Zero mosque imam . . . Rauf’s trip to the Middle East, little attention has been given to the fact that U.S. taxpayer money is funding mosque development around the world. . . ." Read more »
"Some experts say the similarities are no accident"
"Tehran is also eyeing rich spoils in Iraq's post-American era. The[ir] networks in Iraq . . . have joined forces with their Iraqi allies to take over the southern oilfields centering on the city of Basra, which account for about 60 percent of the country's oil output. This would be Iran's payback for the energy sanctions President Barack Obama imposed in July. . . . "
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