Archive for April, 2009

I had pointed out an earlier Associated Press article last Friday, where a claim of Hezbollah moderation was tacked on to the end of an otherwise irrelevant story by the Associated Press. Now the Associated Press has a long form piece about how Hezbollah's moderation is set to win it the June Lebanese elections: With quiet campaigning and moderate talk, Hezbollah... »

Article from Islamist Watch about Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan, who, when he's not giving interviews to CNN about extending Sharia law to all of Pakistan, is a painter, who lived for a time in Boston: All of a sudden, what has been depicted in the media as the cancer of Taliban extremism half way around the world seems to hit perilously... »

Since the rise of the Islamist AKP, Turkey has increasingly been moving away from the kind of secular government that President Obama rightfully praised as a model for others in the Middle East. Instead, The Turkish government seems to be lining up with the anti-West faction, led by Iran. Consider some of the following stories breaking this week: Turkey, Syria to... »

(h/t Sarah Stern): Sarah pointed me to this article in the Wall Street Journal regarding Iran's targeting of Egypt: Tehran sees Egypt as its greatest rival in the region, and the most formidable Arab bulwark opposing its influence. It is in this context that Hezbollah actions in Egypt should be assessed. Acting as a front for Iranian objectives, Hezbollah is tasked... »

Not really news to anyone but the Associated Press, but it's nice of him to say so (From the Jerusalem Post): "It creates an atmosphere of intimidation in the context of the upcoming parliamentary elections. It also undermines the stability of the region, and is incompatible with the objectives of Resolution 1559," he added, referring to a 2004 resolution which called... »

The folks at MEMRI are reporting an Kuwaiti newspaper as reporting that authorities in the Caucus country have seized Hezbollah and Islamic Republic of Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorists in the midst of preparing for some kind of attack: According to the report, the two, Najim Al-Din and Ali Karki, were responsible for overseeing information gathering and for drawing up a... »

An article from Pakistani columnist Irfan Husain, where he takes the Pakistani army and political leadership to task for failing to successfully fight the Taliban insurgency. (h/t israpundit): One positive outcome of this atrocity  coming to public knowledge is that it has opened many eyes to the reality of the Taliban, and what they represent. The flogging has ignited protests across... »

An excellent piece from Palestinian Media Watch's Barbara Crook on the prevalance of hate-mongering in the Muslim world: The world reacted with outrage at the speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Durban Review Conference on Racism in Geneva. European countries stormed out of his talk and released an array of statements condemning his words. But the real problem is not... »

From the Jerusalem Post: An Iranian vessel loaded with weapons to transfer to Hamas via Sudan was recently sunk in the Red Sea by an unidentified missile ship believed to be Israeli, according to Arab media. The vessel was attacked by either an Israeli or American ship and destroyed, according to a report Sunday in the Egyptian weekly Al-Usbua. "The ship was... »

From the Chicago Tribune on Sunday comes the scary, but perhaps predictable story, of Obama administration officials lobbying congress to loosen terror finances rules for Hamas if that Islamist terror group joins a unity government with the Palestinian Authority. (h/t Daily Alert): The Obama administration, already on treacherous domestic political ground with its outreach to Iran, Cuba and others, has opened... »