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June 8, 2006
Central Asian Bloc Considering Iran For MembershipIraqis
Meet Zarqawi's Death With Joy, Fear
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A Baghdad baker gave out free bread and a school teacher
in rebellious Falluja expressed hope the killing of al Qaeda leader Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi would halt Iraq's
"rivers of blood."
US
Waits For Iran's Formal Response To Nuclear Offer
Asking not to be identified because of the
sensitivity of the diplomacy, he also told Reuters that the comments by Iran's
president gave no sign that Tehran is prepared to suspend uranium...
Israel
Braces For New Terror War
Israel is headed toward a major, violent confrontation with the Palestinians
while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan to withdraw from most of the West Bank
will "not help" to decrease the terrorism, according to an Israeli
army assessment.
Israel's
Olmert Meets Jordan King Over West Bank...
AMMAN (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met Jordan's
King Abdullah on Thursday in a visit aimed at reassuring him that plans to
reshape the occupied West Bank would not destabilize the Hashemite Kingdom.
Jordan is pressing Israel to resume peace talks with the Palestinians and is worried about the consequences of chaos on its doorstep should the Jewish state unilaterally impose final borders in the West Bank.
Jordan, which has a large Palestinian population, also has strained ties with Hamas, an Islamic militant group that now runs the Palestinian government.
Palestinian
Authority Teeters Toward Shutdown...
''''The Palestinian Authority is collapsing. Even if we show up
at work, there''s nothing for us to do. I will soon stop coming to the
office,'''' he told Reuters.
Since it was set up under the 1993 Oslo peace accords, the Authority has needed foreign help to stay afloat.
It employs 165,000 people, whose salaries support a quarter of the Palestinian population of 3.8 million dollars people in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a thin poor coastal territory from which Israel withdrew troops last year.
Hamas took over the Authority in March after beating the long-dominant Fatah movement of moderate President Mahmoud Abbas in January elections. Despite the embargo, it has refused to soften its stance toward Israel, which it seeks to destroy.
China,
Russia Warn Against Deploying Space Weapons
Jun 08 10:10 AM US/Eastern
GENEVA (Reuters) - China and Russia on Thursday
warned that space-based weapons would pose a threat as great as weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) and called for global negotiations to...
Comments
al Qaeda terror leader Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi was killed in an early morning (U.S. time) air strike.
The bombing was carried out by two F-16 warplanes which dropped two 500-pound
bombs on a hideout north of Baghdad where he was holding a meeting with seven
other top level militants. There were no survivors from the blast.
"Bush hailed Zarqawi's death as a "severe blow to Al-Qaeda" and a victory in the war on terror, adding that it presented "an opportunity for Iraq's new government to turn the tide on this struggle." http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060608/wl_mideast_afp/iraqzarqawi_10;_ylt=AsOT_2Xzr1Jls9MK_dsgC5JX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
I applaud the death of any terrorist whether it be by American or other forces in the fight against terrorism. I do however feel it's time to start scaling back troops from the region if it is possible, but certainly, I do not have access to the information that is necessary to make such a call. I can only shake my head at the civilian armchair military analysts around the world who pretend to think they know what's best in this crucial fight. The truth is, this is a very wicked world where difficult decisions are made every day. Not only can't we handle the truth, if we knew it, it would simply scare us to death. Whether you like President Bush or not you have to respect the fact that he is fighting a war that no other president has had to fight.
As far as this being a major blow to terrorism...terrorist come and go and somebody else will step into Mr. Zarqawi's shoes. Don't look for a prolonged halt to insurgent attacks.
A reader of mine sent me a recent article that claims Iran is about to join a military and political bloc that will ultimately challenge the U.S. This is long overdue and prophetic, and will likely be the bloc that will attack Israel in the last days (Ezekiel 38 & 39). Here is an excerpt from the article:
"U.S. analysts think Russia and China already are using the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- which links the two with four Central Asian neighbors -- to try to squeeze the United States out of the region.
SCO foreign ministers said at an earlier meeting that consideration is being given to extending membership to four countries with observer status -- Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to attend the summit on June 15 in Shanghai.
Expansion of the organization into Iran and other countries could make it "an enormous power," said David Wall, a professor at the University of Cambridge's East Asia Institute." http://www.washtimes.com/world/20060604-103052-2402r.htm
This is certainly no partnership the U.S. or any other nation should take lightly. Look for this bloc of nations to develop very quickly into a major political and military force. This alliance could even change the plans of U.S. and/or Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear facilities.
Pastor Malone