Nov. 30….(MSNBC) A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God, including the Declaration of Independence. Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Cupertino, sued for discrimination on Monday, claiming he had been singled out for censorship by principal Patricia Vidmar because he is a Christian. "It's a fact of American history that our founders were religious men, and to hide this fact from young fifth-graders in the name of political correctness is outrageous and shameful," said Williams' attorney, Terry Thompson. "Williams wants to teach his students the true history of our country," he said. "There is nothing in the Establishment Clause (of the US Constitution) that prohibits a teacher from showing students the Declaration of Independence." Vidmar could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday in US District Court in San Jose and claims violations of Williams’ rights to free speech under the First Amendment. Phyllis Vogel, assistant superintendent for Cupertino Unified School District, said the lawsuit had been forwarded to a staff attorney. She declined to comment further.

Mr. Williams asserts in the lawsuit that since May he has been required to submit all of his lesson plans and supplemental handouts to Vidmar for approval, and that the principal will not permit him to use any that contain references to God or Christianity. Among the materials she has rejected, according to Williams, are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' "The Rights of the Colonists" and William Penn's "The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania." "He hands out a lot of material and perhaps 5 to 10 percent refers to God and Christianity because that's what the founders wrote," said Thompson, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedom. "The principal seems to be systematically censoring material that refers to Christianity, and it is pure discrimination." In June, the US Supreme Court refused to hear the case of a California atheist who wanted the words "under God" struck from the Pledge of Allegiance as recited by schoolchildren. The appeals court in California had found that the phrase amounted to a violation of church and state separation.

Nov. 30….(EU Business) The European Union hoped Monday to coax the Middle East peace process forward at EU-Mediterranean talks here that were due to witness a rare encounter between the Israeli and Palestinian foreign ministers. The two-day "EuroMed" meeting in The Hague comes at a moment of hope for the peace process as the Palestinians prepare to elect a new leader to succeed the late Yasser Arafat. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, confirming that he was shortly due to meet his Palestinian counterpart Nabil Shaath here at the request of the EU's Dutch presidency, said his government has "no preconditions" for the poll. "We would like to do everything possible to give the Palestinians the chance to have their own elections," he said, promising free movement of voters for the January 9 election. "We believe that this election is very important for the stability of the Palestinian Authority," Shalom said, adding that coupled with January polls in Iraq, it would "add stability to the region". EU officials led by Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot and foreign policy chief Javier Solana kicked off The Hague meeting with a bilateral contact with Shalom, before a scheduled meeting with the Arab ministers including Shaath. "We will try and use this Euromed meeting and all the bilaterals in the margins to discuss the window of opportunity that there is now in the peace process," an aide to Solana told AFP. "For the EU the priority is the presidential election and to ensure that everything is done so that it goes ahead smoothly," he said. Following Arafat's death this month, the United States and Europe are both enthusiastically supporting the election, for which the moderate new chief of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Mahmud Abbas, is the frontrunner. The Euromed process itself, in the EU's boast, is the only regional forum where Israel and its Arab neighbors sit together for dialogue, albeit anchored on Mediterranean nations' trade and political ties with the EU. The meeting was also being attended by foreign ministers or their deputies from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. Libya, although not yet a member of the EU's "Barcelona Process" of dialogue with Mediterranean nations, attended as a guest of the Netherlands in another sign of its re-emergence onto the global stage. On the wider Euromed agenda, the EU is finalizing a trade and political "association agreement" with Syria after a delay owing to differences on a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) clause. Once Syria is on board, one more obstacle will have been removed from the goal of a EuroMed free-trade pact by 2010, which along with anti-terrorism cooperation and cultural dialogue were also being discussed at The Hague. Libya remains outside the Barcelona Process but has been coming in from the international cold after Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi renounced his own WMD program.

Nov. 30….(Jerusalem Post) PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) met recently with the head of the Palestinian Broadcasting Authority and asked him to check all programs aired on state television to prevent the broadcast of inciting material, a Palestinian official said Monday. However, they stopped short of an order to stop incitement in the Palestinian media, a key Israeli demand, the official said, with Palestinians and Israelis differing over what constitutes incitement. The Palestinian Authority has always claimed that the Israeli media also incites. On Monday, the London-based Arabic daily A-Sharq al-Awsat reported that the Palestinian leadership had ordered PA-controlled media to stop all incitement against Israel and Jews. The directive applies to video clips, songs and music videos calling for the continuation of the armed intifada, the paper reported. The report was not mentioned in the Palestinian press, nor was it made public in any official Palestinian announcement. "If Abu Mazen wanted to issue such an order, he would announce it here, and not through a London-based paper," a source close to Abbas said. Israel has deemed an end to incitement as a sine qua non of its relationship with the new Palestinian leadership. Last week, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would consider Palestinian efforts to stop incitement against Israel as a sign of goodwill sufficient to restart political negotiations, dropping a previous demand for an immediate crackdown on Palestinian armed groups. But Israelis who monitor Palestinian television said Monday it was premature to tell if any real changes were in the works to stop Palestinian media incitement. "It's really too early to say," said the director of Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Yigal Carmon. "This is something that needs to be watched over time." Carmon noted that the only sign of change he had seen so far was that a weekly televised Palestinian sermon, which he labeled "the mother of all incitement," was not broadcast last week for the first time in more than four years. Itamar Marcus, the head of the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Media Watch, said Monday that the only shift he has detected in the Palestinian media since Yasser Arafat's death two weeks ago was from incitement to violence to incitement to hatred. He noted that the incitement to hatred now being broadcast, along with the glorification of Arafat as a super-shahid, was similar to that which existed before the outbreak of the intifada four years ago, which, he said, was no less dangerous than incitement to violence. "The incitement to hatred is what created the infrastructure for four years of violence," he said. In a broadcast last week, Marcus said, a history professor interviewed on Palestinian television likened Israel to a parasite that kills a snail and goes and lives in its shell.

Nov. 30….(Worthy News) Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a videotape broadcast Monday al Qaeda would continue to attack the United States until Washington changed its policies toward the Muslim world.

(FOJ Note: That mans the US should change its position of support for Israel) We are a nation of patience and we will continue fighting you (United States) until the last hour," Zawahri said in the excerpts of the tape aired on Arab television Al Jazeera. (FOJ Note: The “last hour” to the Islamic terrorists means the last days when the Mahdi returns to destroy Israel and the infidels!) "Our final advice to America, although I know they will not heed it: You must choose between two methods in dealing with Muslims. Cooperate with them with respect and based on mutual interests or deal with them as free loot, robbed land and violated sanctity," he said. Egyptian-born Zawahri is Osama bin Laden's right hand man and has been pictured traveling with the al Qaeda leader through Afghanistan. He is on the FBI's list of its 22 "most wanted terrorists." The latest video, in which Zawahri was wearing a white turban and sitting with an automatic rifle next to him, appeared to have been taped before the US presidential polls because he said it did not matter to al Qaeda whether Americans chose President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry. Zawahri mentioned in passing Iraq's polls which are due to be held in January. "As for the American elections, the two candidates are competing for Israel's favor, that is, competing for the crime against the Muslim nation in Palestine which has lasted for 87 years to continue." "This proves that there is no solution with America except to force it to submit to what is right through force," he said. Al Jazeera last month aired a videotape from bin Laden warning of possible new Sept. 11-style attacks. He said in a full Internet broadcast of the video that Bush had dragged the United States into a quagmire in Iraq and warned of retaliation for Iraqi deaths. Fighters loyal to Washington's top foe in Iraq, Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, recently pledged allegiance to the al Qaeda leader. Zarqawi's group has claimed the bloodiest attacks in Iraq and hostage beheadings. Zawahri said Arab and Muslim states would share Baghdad's fate if they gave up jihad (holy war) and reiterated Al Qaeda's aim to "purify our countries from aggressors and stand up to whoever attacks us, violates our sanctities or robs our riches."

Nov. 29….(AP) A top US commander is warning Iran and others against thinking they can exploit the US military because its ground troops are fighting two major missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me," Army Gen. John Abizaid, the head of US Central Command, said in an interview on the way to his headquarters here from Afghanistan. Some members of Congress, including Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, have expressed concern that there is a shortage of US troops and such a scenario might tempt nations such as Iran and North Korea to increase terrorist activity or develop weapons of mass destruction. Abizaid, the top commander for Afghanistan and Iraq, said any nation perceiving a weakness in the US military should think twice. "We can generate more military power per square inch than anybody else on Earth, and everybody knows it," Abizaid said. "If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give everybody the clear understanding that there is no power that can match the United States militarily." The United States has 138,000 troops in Iraq, 20,000 in Kuwait, 18,500 in Afghanistan and 1,300 in Africa to combat terrorism, in addition to deployments in Japan, Korea, Germany and Bosnia. Abizaid said there is no need for a major expansion of the military at this time, even to provide security for Iraqi elections Jan. 30. And the need for such a large US overseas deployment will diminish over time as Iraqi and Afghan forces take over, Abizaid said. "There are plenty of troops to fight the war on terrorism," he said, referring to US and foreign forces. Getting other nations to commit troops "is not a military problem in my mind as much as a political problem. Nations have to come to the conclusion that it is a fight worth fighting." General Abizaid said large operations are not the only way to win battles. He pointed to the recent battle in Fallujah, where 10,000 troops backed by precision air-strikes launched from US ships provided overwhelming force. The US military will however need to be restructured to fight long wars against terrorists and insurgents over the next 20 years, Abizaid said.

Nov. 29….(My Way) A spokesman for Sharon said Israel would try to use a summit with Abbas "to exploit a window of opportunity" created by the death of Yasser Arafat and move with the Palestinians toward reviving a violence-stalled peace "Roadmap." "When they would like to meet, we will meet," Sharon told Newsweek magazine, when asked whether he was ready to hold talks with Abbas, a moderate former prime minister seen as a potential peacemaker by Israel and the United States. Sharon also suggested he would try to discuss with the Palestinians his plan to remove unilaterally next year all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank. In a separate Newsweek interview, Abbas said: "After the elections, I'm ready to meet at any time with Sharon." Abbas, who took over from Arafat as leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, is the leading candidate to replace him as president in the ballot in the Palestinian territories. "There's nothing to prevent a meeting with Ariel Sharon or the Israeli government but it is essential to take the necessary time to convene such a meeting," Abbas told reporters in Cairo, where he was speaking at the Arab League. Israel rejected any talks with Arafat, accusing the late president of fomenting bloodshed in a Palestinian uprising that began in 2000. Since Arafat's death, Sharon has softened his opposition to Palestinian Authority involvement in the planned pullout from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, saying he hoped to avoid a withdrawal under fire from militants. "I am going to make every effort to coordinate our disengagement plan with the new Palestinian government, one that can assume control over areas we evacuate," Sharon said. Abbas said the Palestinians were not yet ready to handle security in Gaza but hoped it would be possible. We are ready to take Gaza when we rebuild our security apparatus, but as of now we have no security apparatus. Sharon pledged Israel would keep its troops away from Palestinian towns during the January election. Israel "will take all the necessary steps to enable them to conduct their elections with as little interference as possible, by opening the roads and taking our forces out of their towns," Sharon said. Looking ahead toward a new Palestinian leadership, Sharon's spokesman, Raanan Gissin, said there could be no quick fixes in getting the peace process back on track. "There can be no way that we can advance on the road map to peace if the Palestinians try to bypass it or take short cuts, without really stopping terrorist activity or dismantling terrorist organizations," Gissin said.

Nov. 29….(Jerusalem Post) An al-Qaida attack on the US with non-conventional weapons is virtually "inevitable," and the organization is likely "tying up the knots" for such an attack, Yossef Bodansky, former director of the US Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. "All of the warnings we have today indicate that a major strike, something more horrible than anything we've seen before is all but inevitable," he said. Bodansky, in Israel for the second annual Jerusalem Summit, an international gathering of conservative thinkers, added that "the primary option" for the next al-Qaida attack on US soil would be one that would use weapons of mass destruction. "I do not have a crystal ball, but this is what all the available evidence tells us, we will have a bang," Bodansky said. He said that al-Qaida has not carried out a second major attack on the US until now for internal psychological and ideological reasons, but after the reelection of President George W. Bush, it has gotten "the green light" to do so from leading Islamic religious luminaries, as well as from "the elites of the Arab world." According to Bodansky's reading of Osama bin Laden's mind-set, after the elaborate attacks of 9/11 there was no need for the "bin Ladens of the world" to carry out a second major attack in the US, both because the target audience of the attacks, the Arab and Islamic world had gotten the message that America could be penetrated, and because a second attack would necessarily have to be more grandiose. Following the attacks and the US-led war on terror, a debate started within the operational arm of the organization over the potential use of weapons of mass destruction, Bodansky said. If, in pre-9/11 days, the theme used by bin Laden was that perpetual confrontation and jihad against the US was the only way to protect Islam, the argument now used is the ability to punish American society, Bodansky said. "Just as the West was challenging the quintessence of Islam by means of the globalization era, there was a parallel need by Islamic extremists to strike at, and hurt the core of American society, this time with weapons of mass destruction," Bodansky said. A subsequent theological debate emerged within the organization, and its supporters in the Arab world, he said, over whether the mass killing of innocents is permissible. While bin Laden and his associates argued that by virtue of their participation in US democracy, US citizens were enabling their rulers to fight, other Islamic luminaries contended that this does not permit such massive attacks, Bodansky said. The reelection of Bush in November, he said, was viewed by bin Laden and his cohorts as a decisive answer to this deliberation, with Americans now "choosing" to be the enemies of Islam. In bin Laden's mind-set, he said, the stage was set for a non-conventional attack. Bodansky said that while there may still be some vestiges of debate and doubt within Islamic circles, he believes that planing for such an attack is finished. "They got the kosher stamp from the Islamic world to use nuclear weapons," he said. Moreover, Bodansky said that America is losing the war against terrorism, noting the number of recruits bin Laden is able to count on, as his call to arms gains widespread support throughout the Muslim world. In the pre-9/11 world, Bodansky said, jihadists could count on 250,000 individuals trained and willing to die, and 2.5 million–5 million people willing to help them in one way or another. He cited intelligence estimates from this summer that suggest that as many as 500,000-750,000 people are willing and trained to die, 10 million are willing to actively support them, short of killing, while another 50 million are willing to support such a movement financially.

FOJ Note: Bin Laden’s video-taped message released just prior to the US presidential election gave us some insights into the Al Qaeda-Islamic terrorist thinking. If Mr. Bodansky’s theories are correct, and the Bin Laden statements are legitimate, it may be deduced that Islamic radicals are indeed bent on attacking the conservative heartland of America. The Big question that will arise in the event that America comes under another attack is, “will America continue to be bold enough to support Israel in the face of such threats?”

Nov. 29….(CBN/By Chris Mitchell) Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is considered by some the number one foreign policy decision facing President George Bush. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been debating whether to refer Iran's nuclear program to the United Nations Security Council. And for the tiny nation of Israel, a nuclear Iran also represents a mortal danger. Iran has been branded by the US as the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world, and it might be just months away from developing nuclear weapons. The countdown to a nuclear Iran is on. "This year and the year 2005 will be dominated by an American effort to define a powerful and effective policy on Iran, being defined as one of containing and stemming and reversing the Iranian drive to have nuclear weapons," said Dr. Uzi Arad, an expert on Iran's nuclear program. Dr. Arad is the head of the Herzylia Institute on Counter Terrorism near Tel Aviv. "They have their own ambitions, they have a very elaborate network of nuclear facilities and they are pursuing the nuclear option with tremendous momentum," he said. That means Teheran is closing in on a nuclear weapon. CBN News has learned that by Israeli intelligence estimates, Iran is six months away from the nuclear point of no return. Caroline Glick of “The Jerusalem Post” said, "That means even if they don't have a nuclear arsenal, they'll be at the point where they will be able to develop nuclear weapons whenever they wish, because they have completed the nuclear fuel cycle, because they have enough enriched uranium to make bombs anytime they wish." Yuval Steinitz, chairman of Israel's Knesset Defense Committee, said, "I think it is the most serious and devastating threat to Israel, the Middle East and to the entire world." Steinitz is aware of the strategic threat if Iran develops nuclear weapons. "They would be able in a few years time to have a stockpile of several hundred nuclear warheads with missiles that can take those warheads not only to the Middle East or to Israel but also to Western Europe. Iran is aiming not to becoming a regional nuclear power but a global nuclear superpower." Iran's threat grows from a regional to a global threat when it combines its nuclear and missile technologies, a development US Secretary of State Colin Powell noted recently. Iran's new missiles, the Shahab 4 and 5, could soon reach London with a nuclear warhead. For Israel, the threat is a lot closer. "We have to understand that 80 percent of Israel's population is located in a very small strip of coastal land, the coastal plain,” Glick said. “A strike against Israel, even one nuclear weapon, would be devastating. Israel would not be able to survive such an attack. So from an Israeli perspective, a nuclearized Iran is a threat we can't live with. "If Iran joins the world's exclusive nuclear club, it would become its most aggressive anti-Israel member. Just two years ago, a leading Iranian mullah pledged Iran would use nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. But the threat extends beyond Israel. A nuclear Iran would shift the balance of power in the Middle East, threaten the flow of oil from the Gulf states, pose a threat to US troops in Iraq, and raise the specter of Iranian-supported groups like Al-Qaeda or Hezbollah acquiring nuclear weapons. Dr. Arad said, "Iran represents a hostile, reactionary, fundamentalist, Islamic form of policy, and any acquisition of nuclear weapons by this kind of regime is a throwback to Medieval times." But can diplomacy restrain a return to the Dark Ages? Some European powers hope so. England, France and Germany recently negotiated a deal where Iran agreed to stop enriching uranium, for a time, in exchange for some incentives. However, some analysts say diplomacy with Iran is like dealing in a "Persian bazaar." Soon after the signing, Iran said it would not be bound by some of the agreement. "So it was absolutely clear while they were negotiating it that the plan, that the accord would have no chance of ending Iran's nuclear weapons program or even stopping it," explained Glick. So what about a military option? Analysts say it would be more difficult for Israel to take out Iran's nuclear program today than it was to destroy Iraq's nuclear facility as it did in 1981. Dr. Arad said, "Well, the Iranians have dispersed their facilities, they have a lot of redundancy, they have camouflage. They have buried, they have hardened some of their facilities in tunnels and underground, so as to make it difficult for the United States and other to hit those targets." Unlike the 1981 Israeli strike on Iraq, Israel's leaders and analysts believe the US needs to take the lead against Iran. Steinitz said, "It's up to the free world, under the leadership of the United States of America to address this global threat." Dr. Arad agreed. "I think this is a test of American leadership, of American resolve, this would be a test of the American administration of the President. But it need not be conducted alone. There should be a coalition, an alliance of like-minded nations, and I trust, when done judiciously and effectively, it would have the desired result." Despite the formidable diplomatic and military challenge, the US, Israel and the world will have to decide if stopping a nuclear Iran, whatever the consequences, is worth the cost. Many believe the cost of not stopping Iran would be much higher.

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 21 THROUGH NOVEMBER 25

 

Arafat’s Path: Destroy Israel Through ‘Peace’

Nov. 24….(JNEWSWIRE) A respected Arab newspaper editor and Yasser Arafat-confidante said at the weekend the deceased PLO chief had signed the so-called “Oslo Accords” in order to drive the Jews from the Middle East.
Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi , recalled an important meeting he had with Arafat at the PLO’s Tunis headquarters in 1994, just days before it was allowed triumphantly enter the Gaza Strip.
"Arafat told me, 'Listen, Abdel Bari, I know that you are opposed to the Oslo Accords, but you must always remember what I'm going to tell you. The day will come when you will see thousands of Jews fleeing Palestine. I will not live to see this, but you will definitely see it in your lifetime. The Oslo Accords will help bring this about.'"

Atwan also revealed that it was Arafat who had personally established his Fatah party’s Al Aqsa Brigades “military” wing, a group featured prominently on the US State Department’s list of known terror groups. "President Arafat was the one who established the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in response to the attempt to marginalize him after the failure of the Camp David summit," he said. Atwan said Arafat rejected the unprecedented offers made by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak at Camp David “because he wasn't prepared to sign a final agreement with the Jewish State.”

Just hours after shaking Yitzhak Rabin’s hand on the White House lawn in 1993, Jordanian TV broadcast a pre-recorded message from Arafat to the Arab masses assuring them the agreement he had just signed was merely the first step in his phased plan to destroy Israel. During the speech, he reminded the Arabs of the PLO’s 1974 decision to establish sovereignty in any areas “from which the Israelis withdraw,” and use those areas as a launch pad for further “liberation.” A year later, while most Israelis were celebrating their newfound peace, Arafat admitted to congregants at a Johannesburg, South Africa mosque, in English, that the Oslo Accords had been a ruse. “This agreement, I am not considering it more than the agreement which had been signed between our prophet Mohammed and Quraish,” he said, referencing a deceptive “peace” treaty brokered by Islam’s founder. In 626, Mohammed signed the Hudaibiya Treaty with the Quraish tribe of Mecca. He promptly abrogated the agreement two years later after amassing enough strength to defeat and massacre the Quraish. The Hudaibiya Treaty is also known among Arabs as the “peace of the brave,” a term used often by Arafat to describe the Oslo peace process. Newly appointed PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas and the rest of the “new” PA leadership have pledged to continue in Arafat’s footsteps.

The newly empowered “moderate” PA leadership Tuesday pledged to remain true to Yasser Arafat’s platform of seeking to flood Israel with millions of Arab “refugees.” They also insisted there would be no final peace until the PLO flag was raised over a Jerusalem under “Palestinian” sovereignty. PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas reiterated the traditional “Palestinian” unwillingness to compromise knowing the status of Jerusalem and the so-called Arab “right of return” are deal breakers for Israel. That intractable position notwithstanding, Washington continued to tout the legitimizing of Mahmoud Abbas as overall “Palestinian” leader in the upcoming “democratic” PA election as the best chance for achieving peace in the region. "We will follow in the path of the late leader Yasser Arafat, and we will work toward fulfilling his dream," Abbas said during a special session of the Palestinian Legislative Council to commemorate the deceased arch-terrorist, and added there would be no peace with Israel until the “Palestinians” controlled at least half of Jerusalem. Ignoring the “new” leadership’s continued commitment to Arafat’s self-described “phased plan” for the destruction of Israel, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he believed big changes were in store that would lead to peaceful coexistence. “I think this is a moment of opportunity that should not be lost, and I think that what I have heard today suggests that the Palestinian Authority is committed to reform,” Powell said during a Jericho press conference after meeting with Abbas, Qureia and Fattouh yesterday. Attempting to allay “Palestinian” concerns following Arafat’s demise, Powell told reporters that “President George W. Bush’s commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state, hasn’t changed.” “What has changed is a new set of circumstances in the aftermath of Arafat’s passing. With new leaders coming forward from the Palestinian side, or a new arrangement of leaders on the Palestinian side, and with an election coming up, I think it gives us the opportunity to reenergize the roadmap process.”

FOJ Note: The eventual empire of the Antichrist will seek to fulfill the evil scheme that Yasser Arafat envisioned. The Antichrist will pledge safety and security to Israel, but will connive with the Arab world to enact their diabolical plan of exterminating the State of Israel. (Daniel 11:21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, [peace processes] and obtain the kingdom by flatteries—“through false promises”.) (Daniel 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.)

Anan: Israel Ready to Revive Peace Talks

Nov. 23….(Jerusalem Post) The coming Palestinian elections provide an opportunity to revive the Middle East peace process, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday, adding that Israel is ready for such a step. Annan spoke after talks among world leaders who came to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik for a conference on Iraq and held a side meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Annan said talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Colin Powell were dominated by the Jan. 9 elections for a Palestinian Authority president to replace the late Yasser Arafat. Secretary Powell held talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and assured them that US President George W. Bush intended to advance the peace process in his second term. Israeli leaders, who boycotted Arafat, told Powell they would ease travel restrictions on Palestinians to facilitate the PA election. "We are all encouraged," Annan said, adding the UN would provide election monitors. "There is an opportunity to move ahead with the roadmap," Annan said, referring to the peace plan sponsored by the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. "We believe the Israeli government is also ready." The host of the Iraq conference, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said the Israeli-Arab conflict was as much a threat to the region as the insurgency in Iraq. "Efforts to achieve stability in Iraq cannot be separated from strenuous efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East," Aboul Gheit said. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the conference his government was committed to holding "full, free and fair elections across the country for the first time in our history." Referring to the recent campaign against insurgents strongholds in cities such as Fallujah and Mosul, Zebari said: "We must guarantee that all sectors of the Iraqi electorate have an equal chance to cast their vote free from intimidation, terror and fear spread by an extreme minority, a lethal mix of Saddamists, foreign terrorists and criminal gangs." Zebari defended the US-led forces in Iraq, which are widely viewed in the Arab world as an army of occupation. "The contribution of the multinational force is essential to help secure necessary conditions for voting and to support our security forces in stabilizing the country," Zebari said. Iran and Syria voiced criticism of the US-led military campaign against the insurgents. The conference has steered away from setting a deadline for withdrawing US-led forces from Iraq, despite a push by France and some Arab countries. The draft communique, though, does say the mandate of foreign forces is "not open-ended." In what could be the most contentious part of the conference, Iraq has said it will ask neighboring states to tighten their borders against the infiltration of would-be insurgents and to share information about groups supporting the militants. Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi told the AP on Monday that neighboring countries had not pulled their weight against the insurgency. The conference brought together Iraq's six neighbor, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, plus Egypt and other Arab countries, China, and regional bodies such as the Group of Eight, the United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference

 

Bush Puts Onus On Palestinian Leaders To Lead Peace Efforts

Nov. 23….(Bill Koenig) (www.watch.org) No other issue may impact Americans more over the next four years than President George W. Bush's role in establishing a Palestinian state. President Bush has said that he intends to use the next four years to spend the capital of the United States on establishing a free, democratic Palestinian state bordering Israel. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair last Friday stood side by side in their support for the so-called disengagement plan where Israel voluntarily gives up land to the Palestinians in preparation for this free, democratic state dedicated to peace and the rule of law. The first step in this process, both men said, is the Palestinian people choosing a new President. Former President Yasser Arafat's body hardly cold, and already the first terrorist attack was made in a mourners' tent against interim President Mahmoud Abbas, killing two, wounding six, but sparing Abbas. The Palestinian Authority is under attack by three rival terrorist factions wanting control of the Palestinian movement; all formerly supported by Arafat; Fatah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad; and all dedicated to the eradication of Israel. There are many people who believe the only way to peace in the Middle East is the establishment of a Palestinian state carved out of Israel's current borders. In fact, much of the Christian church believes that since the Jewish people rejected Christ that the modern Christian church has replaced Israel as God's chosen people. This is grave and erroneous thinking. God has said in Zechariah 2:8 that he who touches Israel, "touches the pupil of God's eye." And the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 11:17, 18 that Christian Gentiles were grafted into God's people, and to "remember that you do not bear the root, but the root bears you." Insider's Take: The Middle East peace initiative impacts Americans because the peace plan requires that Israel give up her covenant land. Israel was reestablished in 1948 in fulfillment of God's word and those who attempt to divide the land of Israel face judgment. If President Bush intends to support a plan to divide Israel to establish a Palestinian state, he will bring judgment upon the United States. God says in the prophecy of Zechariah 12:3, "I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone to all the peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces." Once again there is a warning--take heed that you are not deceived in these times. Pray for the peace of Israel.

Powell Resigned over Bush’s Israel Policy

Nov. 23….(FOJ) Outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell was asked to step down after telling President George W. Bush he wanted more power to confront Israel over the peace process, according to London's Sunday Telegraph. At the same time, the Sunday Times reported that Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice is convinced Yasser Arafat's death has created a unique opportunity and she believes the revival of the peace process leading to a Palestinian state will be her top priority. Powell was widely rumored to be ready to resign after four years of conflict with Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. However, the Telegraph quoted "friends" as saying he changed his mind because he saw the chance of progress on the peace process and wanted to see through the Iraqi elections. He was reported to have made an unsuccessful pitch to remain in office for at least one more year during British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to Washington earlier this month. The paper noted that while Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day of his meeting with Bush. White House officials were quoted as saying that Powell was not asked to stay on. Briefing reporters later, Powell said he and Bush had had "fulsome discussions," diplomatic code for disagreements. "The clincher came over the Mideast peace process," a recently-retired State Department official reportedly said. "Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and get the peace process going. He was wrong." Among those who lobbied against Powell were Cheney and Undersecretary of State John Bolton, both of whom want the administration to focus primarily on Iran's nuclear ambitions and the fight against Islamic terrorist groups. Cheney and Bolton, who will be Rice's deputy, were said to fear that Powell would back away from a confrontational approach. They are also frustrated that Britain, France, and Germany are still seeking a diplomatic deal with Teheran rather than backing an immediate UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran and threatening sanctions. Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reported that Rice is said to be sympathetic to the Palestinians' plight and has said she will work tirelessly for a democratic settlement. Rice's style of diplomacy will be very different from that of Powell. "She believes in old-fashioned diplomacy, where you get on a plane and you go to the capital and meet your counterpart. Rice's met with Natan Sharansky and assured him that bringing democracy to the Middle East would be "the centerpiece" of US foreign policy over the next four years. Sharansky was in Washington to promote his latest book, The Case for Democracy, on how to beat terrorism. Rice told him, "You know why I am reading your book? Because the President is reading your book and he thinks I should read it."

FOJ Note: Democracy is nice, but what the people of the Middle East need the most is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It will bring true liberty to the Arab world, and the nature to live in peace with Israel.

UN Employees: No Confidence in Annan

Nov. 22….(World Net Daily) Could Kofi Annan be forced from his perch as United Nations secretary-general before his second term expires in 2006? That's the buzz around UN headquarters in New York as the global organization's employees recorded a vote of no-confidence, citing "upper management" at the world body, but clearly aiming at Annan. The UN staff revolt reached a peak when Annan gave a pass to official Dileep Nair, who had been accused of sexual harassment of employees and hiring favoritism. The UN staff had called for a formal probe of Nair's behavior. Annan is being called a "cover-up artist" by some sources within the UN. The latest scandal comes on the heels of last month's revelation that Annan aide Benon Savan, the man behind the Oil-for-Food program, previously ran a relief operation for war-torn Afghanistan in the 1980s and '90s that was likewise riddled with waste, fraud and abuse. In fact, only a last-minute switch of tactics by the UN employees caused them to make their no-confidence vote less personal. Originally, the plan was to record the vote against Annan himself, rather than upper management. "Kofi Annan's tenure as secretary-general is running on borrowed time," said Tom Kilgannon of Freedom Alliance, a group that serves as a watchdog on the UN "He is presiding over a corrupt and failed institution and the professional bureaucrats at the UN understand that the best chance they have of saving their jobs and their beloved UN is to dump Mr. Annan overboard. Should they do so, Mr. Annan will join Kurt Waldheim and Boutros-Boutros Ghali in the annals of history as disgraced and failed UN leaders." There is talk within UN circles of replacing Annan with a more charismatic, high-profile figure before his second term lapses in 2008. One of the names frequently mentioned is former President Bill Clinton. "Mr. Annan has been criticized by his own people for stonewalling independent investigations into the Oil-for-Food scandal; for failing to provide adequate security to UN staff in Iraq last year, and failing to hold accountable those who were in charge of Iraq security operations; and for pardoning Dileep Nair, the UN's top oversight official, who UN employees accused of sexual harassment and violating UN rules governing employment practices," said Kilgannon. He continued: "Kofi Annan is in deep trouble. His leadership is tainted and his own people have lost faith in him. It will be difficult for him to remain secretary-general and be effective in the job. This is also an opportunity for the Bush administration "to rid themselves of Kofi Annan who has fostered anti-American sentiment and stymied US plans to liberate Iraq.

 

Everybody Wants Abbas – Except the Palestinians

Nov. 22….(Debka) Most world leaders are tabbing Mahmoud Abbas as Yasser’ Arafat’s punitive political successor and great white hope for a brighter future and an end to a dismal conflict, yet every intelligence report predicts he will be tripped up before the election by the Palestinians themselves. Most analysts would not be surprised if he was even assassinated by terror groups bankrolled from Tehran and the Lebanese Hizballah or by terrorist factions in his own Fatah. Inside the Fatah, the Tanzim fighting wing launched Sunday, November 21, a campaign to collect 250,000 signatures for the nomination in his stead of jailed West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti as the party’s candidate. The fiery Barghouti is serving a life sentence in Israel for staging terrorist murders of dozens of Israelis. To avoid a Fatah split, there is also a proposal for him to stand as Abbas’s running mate. Should Abu Mazen steps aside, Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia could quickly step forward to replace him. In a show of no-confidence, Hamas, the Palestinian “Fronts” and left-wing groups are shopping for nominees capable of beating Abbas. Most analysts consulted by Debkafile are of the opinion that even if Abu Mazen won the election, he would not last long. His radical enemies remain up in arms at his rejection of the Arafat doctrine of terror, (Prime Minister Qureia has never repudiated the use of terror like Abbas did) and they wield the destabilizing threat of violent riots, terror and mayhem, especially in the Gaza Strip. Local terrorist chiefs and militia commanders will flaunt their rejection of his authority. Once Abu Mazen is disposed of, the Palestinian Authority is expected to implode internally; paramilitary groups subsisting on terrorism, protection rackets and armed robbery will reduce the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank to warring fiefdoms. While Ariel Sharon persists in publicly offering Abu Mazen assistance, he places little trust in his chances of assuming office and any real control. In fact, Sharon has told insiders he expects the next two months to bring serious outbreaks of terror and deepening chaos in Palestinian areas. The weakness at the new Palestinian helm is clearly visible in several ways.

1. A week after Abu Mazen was surrounded in the Gaza Strip by three dozen gunmen shooting in the air, no arrests have been made and no punishments meted out, because neither the Palestinian police nor security services are prepared to act on his behalf, or even for his protection. There was a literal firefight between rifle-toting Fatah militants and Mazen’s bodyguards at a mourning tent in Gaza City, which left two PA security men dead and their startled charge running for cover. The November 14^th exchange of bullets came just minutes after the armed activists marched into the tent while chanting that the newly crowned PLO chief was a “traitor” to Arafat’s sacred cause. The incident was clearly staged to show Abbas that Hamas could eliminate him in a moments notice.

2. Hamas and other radical groups are threatening to boycott the January election.

3. The week Abbas and Qureia spent in Gaza ended in fiasco and humiliation. Hamas sent them packing back to Ramallah because they are seen as endorsers of the Middle East roadmap and Abbas’s condemnation of terrorism offered publicly at the June 2003 Aqaba summit with President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon does not sit well with the Hamas or Islamic Jihadists.

4. The French government’s coyness in handing over the medical files covering Arafat’s last days in the Percy military hospital has piled on new trouble for the Abbas-Qureia duo. Some rumors running rife in the Palestinian street not only accuse Israel of poisoning him but suggest that his would-be successors may be complicit in the crime. The PA set up an official inquiry panel to find out the truth and sent the dead leader’s nephew Nasser al-Kidwa, the Palestinian UN delegate, to Paris to claim the documents. Before he arrived, the widow Suha Arafat took possession of the precious files and absconded with them to Tunis. Still, as a close kinsman, al-Kidwa hopes the French authorities will grant him access on Monday, November 22. Suha is holding onto the records both as warranty for her safety and her promised “pension” and as a weapon to hang over the heads of the moderates preparing to step into her husband’s shoes, or even place them at the disposal of his radical Palestinian opponents, such as Kaddoumi.

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15 THROUGH NOVEMBER 21

 

Iran, China Forming Major Alliance

Nov. 19….(Newsmax) Just as the foreign policy team of the United States is getting a major overhaul with the resignation of Secretary of State Colin Powell comes new word of a major, growing alliance between "axis of evil" member Iran and communist China. The relationship, which has been nurtured by both countries for decades, is growing exponentially now, primarily out of China's insatiable energy needs (FOJ has documented China’s growing dependency on Arab oil) and Iran's increasing hunger for consumer goods, as the economies of both countries continue to expand. What that means for the United States in the short term is an inability to pressure the Islamic republic into following policies beneficial to Washington. What it could mean for the long haul is a stronger, more menacing Iran and China, each buoyed by needs being met by the other. According to the Washington Post, China's energy needs have climbed nearly 40 percent in the first months of 2004. Meanwhile, Iran, whose population has doubled since the 1979 revolution is increasing meeting those needs in exchange for access to China's burgeoning low-cost manufacturing industry. For all intents, the match is a natural. But things weren't always rosy between the two nations. Before the Islamic revolution, the last Chinese official to meet with the late Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was Chinese Communist Party chief Hua Kuo-feng. The meeting "left a very strong negative feeling about China among Iranians," Abbas Maleki, director of the Caspian Institute, a Tehran research organization, told the Post. Ties have improved greatly since then, however. In August 2001, Iranian Ambassador to China Mohammad Hossein Malaek held a reception in Beijing to mark "the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Iran and China," China's People's Daily reported. "In terms of economic relations, China has become one of the most important trade partners of Iran," said the paper. In March 2002, Wu Yi, a member of China's State Council, made a visit to Iran to meet with President Mohammad Khatami. Again, the focus of the visit was to improve trade and economic ties. "The bilateral trade between China and Iran has increased fast in recent years, with trade volume reaching some 3.3 billion US dollars last year, several times higher than that some 10 years ago," People's Daily reported. In August 2003, the Iran's IRNA reported that Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi traveled to Beijing for more economic talks with Wu, giving precedence to "transportation, construction of dams, power plants, petrochemical industry along with gas and oil projects." And in July of this year, Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel praised the Sino-Iranian relationship, highlighting Beijing's support for Iran's nuclear programs. Economically, the cooperation between both nations now amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars over many years. For instance, said the Post, in October "the two countries signed a preliminary accord worth $70 billion to $100 billion by which China will purchase Iranian oil and gas and help develop Iran's Yadavaran oil field, near the Iraqi border." And, "earlier this year, China agreed to buy $20 billion in liquefied natural gas from Iran over a quarter-century," the paper continued. For Iran, however, more is better when it comes to China. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said this month, according to China Business Weekly, "Japan is our number one energy importer for historical reasons, but we would like to give preference to exports to China." That position, no doubt, will not set well with Japan, which has seen its relationship with China cool in recent years. Just last week Japan detected a Chinese nuclear submarine in its territorial waters, perhaps not ironically near underwater natural gas fields and several islands surrounded by rich fishing waters claimed by Japan. China and Iran are currently cooperating on about 100 different projects, many of them infrastructure- and energy-related.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the growing Iran-China alliance is the Islamic republic's access to the improving technology being developed, deployed and utilized by the People's Liberation Army. Nowhere are US concerns greater than in the area of ballistic missile technology. American officials have sanctioned Chinese companies for improperly transferring such technology in January 2002 and as recently as early this year, but that hasn't stopped the transfers, experts and analysts believe. And now, as Iran continues to develop its nuclear program, US, and Israeli officials worry Iran is using the missile technology to build better weapons – weapons that eventually could carry nuclear warheads. In terms of its nuclear weapons ambitions, the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has determined that China, along with Pakistan and Russia, have probably provided nuclear technology to Tehran.
Some analysts speculate the growing influence, military and economic power of the United States, along with NATO's eastern expansion into central Asia, is fueling new alliances, among them Iran and China.

Politically, the two countries share a common interest in checking the inroads being made by NATO and the US in Asia. And, as the US moves to contain China, along with the two remaining "axis of evil" countries, the name given to Iraq, Iran and North Korea by President Bush in his first term, the China–Iran alliance is only likely to strengthen. According to the CIA, the most likely threats to the US in the future, besides terrorism, are Iran and China. In an ominous February 2001 warning, months before the 9/11 attacks, the CIA warned that Osama bin Laden and his associates continued to pose the most immediate danger to Americans, former CIA Director George Tenet told lawmakers. But in addition to bin Laden, a threat which has been borne out, Iran and China also made the list. "Never in my experience has American intelligence had to deal with such a dynamic set of concerns affecting such a broad range of US interests. Never have we had to deal with such a high quotient of uncertainty," Tenet told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Iran posed a dual threat because of its propensity to sponsor terrorism and its pursuit of first-rate conventional military might. US intelligence analysts and Bush administration officials have expressed concern that, with the help of terrorist-sponsoring nations like Iran, al Qaeda or another terror group could eventually acquire a nuclear weapon or other weapon of mass destruction to use against the continental United States.

 

Iran: Top Issue For Bush’s Second Term

Nov. 19….(FOJ) While he is assembling a new National Security team, (Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State) President Bush is also grappling with having to confront what could become the second biggest challenge of his second term: how to contain the threat of an Iranian-terrorist nuclear bomb, and the threat a nuclear Iran poses to Israel. The first challenge will be formulating a Biblical position for America as Europe and the UN push the Administration towards implementing the Peace Roadmap between Israel and the Palestinians. That quagmire has dire consequences for the President, and for America. But as the President keeps one eye on the Iranian nuclear ball, he must also be concerned about the Euphrates River Valley hornets nest that is the burdensome terror-insurgency war in Iraq. During the 90’s, the Clinton Administration coerced Israel into making peace with the world’s most notorious terrorist. (Yasser Arafat) and Israel paid a terrible cost in lives, economic ruin, and political blackmail. According to Bible prophecy, the continuation of diplomatic arm-twisting on Israel will only result in a curse and terror backlash upon America. I have no doubts that the war experience for America in Iraq will descend into a terrorist nightmare on the order of that experienced by Israeli’s during the 90’s as they tried to make peace with Arafat, and struggled to combat his terrorist infrastructure. All the while Israel attempted to put down the PA terror war on Israel, the world’s elitist core of international diplomatic leadership made life intolerable for Israel. They have already begun such a media campaign against the Bush Administration, as evidenced in the recent presidential campaign, and reflected in the geo-political hypocrisy of the UN and the EU. Many people question the wisdom of going into Iraq by the Bush Administration, but as we look on the geo-political horizon and envision the next tactic in the global war on terror, it makes sense to have taken down Iraq. One quick glance at a map of the Middle East shows that America and its coalition of anti-terrorist friends have Iran completely encircled! It is undoubtedly hoped that Iran will change its behavior, as far as its nuclear ambitions and its venomous support for Islam terrorism. But prophecy portends that Iran will not change its ambitions to destroy Israel, but that they will ultimately look to Russia for help in forging a coalition of nations to intrude into the Arab-Israeli Conflict. The question is timing, and the fact that we are seeing Iran take its predicted course already shows that we are indeed in the Last Days.

ACLU Threatens Louisiana Abstinence Program

Nov. 19….(World Net Daily) The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue the state of Louisiana because a state website promoting abstinence mentions God. In a six-page letter, the ACLU claims the state abstinence program has violated a 2002 court settlement by invoking the name of God and quoting biblical passages on the program's taxpayer-funded website, reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The legal group says it will take the Governor's Program on Abstinence back to federal court in 30 days if religious references are not removed from the site. Even so, the site, AbstinenceEdu.com continues to mention God, with one personal testimony from a girl who said she thanked God after she chose not to have sex. "We've been monitoring the website for a while," Joe Cook, the executive director of the Louisiana ACLU, told the New Orleans paper. "We thoroughly researched it, and we made the determination that the GPA had not only failed to correct the errors of its ways, as pointed out two years ago in the settlement, but in fact had gone out of its way to use taxpayer money to layer religious content upon religious content." A spokesperson for Gov. Kathleen Blanco's office, Roderick Hawkins, said the website was being reviewed. "Our concern is that the site comply with the agreement and the settlement of 2002," Hawkins told the paper. "That's what we're doing right now, making sure the site complies." On the site's message board, one teenager poster mentioned God in her testimony: "Virginity is something very special which we have been given by God and we can only have it once. When you give it to someone, it'll be gone and you can never get it back no matter how rich you are. I'm so thankful to God for being with me and giving me the wise choice, to abstain. I'm 15 and so proud to be a virgin and I won't be sorry for that. I think one day my future husband will be very happy for the decision which I made and he'll respect me, trust me and feel secure with me."

US: Evidence Shows Syria is Aiding Iraq Insurgency

Nov. 18….(MENL) The United States has quietly determined that Syria helped finance the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. Officials said the regime of President Bashar Assad has used the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria to relay hundreds of millions of dollars to Saddam Hussein loyalists in Iraq. They said the money has been employed to finance the insurgency against the US-led coalition primarily in Iraq's Sunni Triangle. The Commercial Bank of Syria held more than $1 billion in Saddam regime accounts on the eve of the US-led war in Iraq in March 2003, officials said. Most of that money stemmed from Iraqi arms and oil smuggling as well as illegal commissions obtained from Iraqi oil sales overseen by the United Nations. Officials said that over the last 18 months Damascus transferred up to $800 million of Saddam's assets to senior aides of the former president, several of whom have been based in Syria. They said much of the money was believed to have been transferred to ex-Iraqi Vice President Izzet Ibrahim Al Douri, identified as the chief financier of the Sunni insurgency.

Iran Trying to Equip Missiles With Nukes

Nov. 18….(USA Today) The United States has intelligence indicating Iran is trying to fit missiles to carry nuclear weapons, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said. Powell partially confirmed claims by an Iranian opposition group that Tehran is deceiving the United Nations and is attempting to secretly continue activities meant to give it atomic arms by next year. "I have seen intelligence which would corroborate what this dissident group is saying," Powell told reporters, and it should be of concern to all parties." Powell said the intelligence indicates that Iran "had been actively working on delivery systems" capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. Powell said there is no evidence to suggest that Iran has developed the technology to make a nuclear weapon, but suggested that the regime is working overtime to adapt missiles for nuclear warheads. "I'm talking about information that says that they not only had these missiles, but I'm aware of information that suggests they were working hard as to how to put the two together," Powell said. A senior official for the National Council for Resistance in Iran said Tuesday that a bomb diagram, along with an unspecified amount of weapons-grade uranium was provided to Iran by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced former head of Pakistani's nuclear development which was tied to both Iran and Libya. He said the designs were handed to the Iranians between 1994 and 1996, while Khan delivered HE, highly enriched uranium in 2001. Banned in the United States as a terrorist organization, the group was instrumental in 2002 in revealing Iran's enrichment program in the central city of Natanz, based on what it said was information provided by sources in Iran. The opposition group says a facility at Lavizan-Shian northeast of Tehran was part of a secret nuclear weapons program. Powell declined comment on Khan, but said "for 20 years the Iranians have been trying to hide things from the international community." Iran says its sole interest is to generate nuclear fuel through low-level uranium enrichment, but the United States suspects Iran wants to produce weapons-grade enriched uranium. Enrichment does not violate the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty but the International Atomic Energy Agency and most of its members want Iran to scrap enrichment plans as a confidence building measure. Iran announced suspension of enrichment last week, and the agency said it would police that commitment starting next week, in advance of a Nov. 25 IAEA board meeting. The pledge reduced Washington's hopes of having the board refer Iran to the UN Security Council for alleged violations of the Nonproliferation Treaty. Tehran has not dropped plans to run 50,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium for what it says will be the fuel requirements of a nuclear reactor to be finished next year. It currently possesses less than 1,000 centrifuges. But if it added 500 centrifuges, experts say Iran would be able to make enough weapons-grade uranium to make a bomb annually.

 

White House Reacts With Caution to Russia

Nov. 18….(AP) The White House reacted cautiously Wednesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that his country is developing a nuclear missile," of the kind that other nuclear powers do not and will not have." White House press secretary Scott McClellan said it wasn't news to the Bush administration, that President Bush and Putin had discussed the issue previously. He emphasized US-Russia agreements in place to reduce the two countries' nuclear arsenals and Washington's view of Moscow as a crucial partner in the anti-terror battle. "This is not something that we look at as new," he said. "We are very well aware of their long-standing modernization efforts for their military. We are allies now in the global war on terrorism." McClellan suggested that close ties between Bush and Putin makes alarm unnecessary, but that it doesn't eliminate Washington's concern. "We have a very different relationship than we did in the Cold War," he said. "The fact that we do have a good relationship enables us to speak very directly to our Russian friends." Putin said earlier Wednesday that Russia is researching and successfully testing new nuclear missile systems, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. "I am sure that they will be put in service within the next few years and, what is more, they will be developments of the kind that other nuclear powers do not and will not have," Putin was quoted as saying

 

Detained Christian Leader in Iran May Face Death Penalty

Nov. 18….(The Christian Post) One of the ten evangelical church leaders of the Assemblies of God Church in Iran reportedly released from detention by police authorities on Sept. 12 may possibly be charged with “espionage” and face the death penalty, sources reported today. According to Italy-based Asia News, Reverand Hamid Pourmand, a Protestant convert from Islam, was moved by Iranian authorities to a military prison, and may possibly be tried by a military tribunal. “Chances that Hamid Pourmand will be sentenced to death are growing,” Asia News reported. “His conversion alone, which a friend said he never kept secret, is ground for the death penalty for, under Islamic law, apostasy is a capital crime.” Born a Muslim, Pourmand converted to Christianity 25 years ago. On September 9, Pourmand and 85 other evangelical church leaders were arrested as they gathered for the first day of the annual general conference of Assemblies of God in Iran at the church’s denominational center in Karaj, 18 miles west of the capital Tehran. Sources say shortly before the meeting began, police burst in, arresting everyone in attendance. After being interrogated, all those detained were released by nightfall except for ten pastors and elders. When the pastors were released separately late on the night of Sept. 12, they were strictly warned not to contact one another or other members of the church. As a result, it was not until the morning Sept. 15 that the Assemblies of God leadership discovered that Pourmand was in fact still missing. Since then, Pourmand was presumed to still be under police arrest in the Karaj-Tehran area. Now, as Iranian authorities have still refused to give any reason for Pourmand’s arrest and prolonged detention, concern has been growing among Iran’s evangelical community for the safety of the lay pastor. According to Asia News, government officials have in recent months repeatedly denounced “foreign religions”, which they accuse of threatening national security. Several former Muslims who converted to Christianity have been executed by court order on “espionage” charges.

Since the government-ordered execution of convert pastor Hussein Soodmand in Mashhad in December 1990, the Islamic Republic of Iran has enacted a harsh crackdown against the country’s evangelical churches and various house-church movements accused of evangelizing Muslims. In July 1994, Assemblies of God pastor Mehdi Dibaj, another long-term convert to Christianity, was murdered six months after completing a nine-year prison sentence for refusing to recant his Christian faith and return to Islam. In another incident two years later, the body of Pastor Mohammed Bagher Yusefi was found hanging in the forest near his home in Sari, in northern Iran’s Mazandaran province. Survived by his wife and two children, 34-year-old Yusefi had converted to Christianity 10 years earlier. Asia News reports that over the past decade, local Protestant congregations have been harshly suppressed by the Iranian authorities for allowing Muslims to visit their services or for being suspected of baptizing former Muslims converting to Christianity. There are about 360,000 Christians in Iran out of a population of 65 million. Of these, 335,000 are Protestants.

UN Oil-for-Food Money Went to Palestinian Bombers' Families

Nov. 17….(Fox News) Money from the United Nations Oil-for-Food program helped pay the families of Palestinian homicide bombers, the House Committee on International Relations is expected to reveal Wednesday during a hearing on corruption in the Iraqi relief program. Investigators working for Illinois Republican Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the panel, are expected to say they have traced funds from former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's kickback scheme through a Jordanian bank and into the hands of families of bombers who attacked Israeli citizens. It has long been established that Saddam paid bounties of $15,000 to $25,000 to the Palestinian families of the murderers. Hyde's committee will reveal at the hearing that some of the reward money was deposited from illegal profits Saddam made by demanding 10 percent kickbacks on all the contracts of companies that did business with the UN's Oil-for-Food program. Those funds were then deposited with other Iraqi money, such as Jordanian Oil-for-Food oil payments, into the Central Bank of Iraq account in the Rafidain Bank in Amman, Jordan. The funds were then transferred to another account in the bank controlled by Iraq's ambassador to Jordan Sabah Yaseen. It was from Yaseen's account that Saddam's officials would cut and hand out checks to the homicide bombers' families.

 

Palestinian Militants Reject Abbas’s Pre-election Truce

Nov. 17….(MSNBC) Islamic militant groups behind many suicide bombings dismissed on Tuesday a call from interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to halt attacks ahead of a Jan. 9 election to replace long-time leader Yasser Arafat. Abbas, who is trying to work out a deal with rival Palestinian groups on a cease-fire and possible power-sharing, resisted a call by the groups for a share of power despite their planned boycott of the Jan. 9 election. Hamas and Islamic Jihad do not accept the presence of a Jewish state in the Middle East. Abbas, 69, is the leading candidate in the race to replace Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority, but he won’t run unopposed. Younger members of his Fatah movement favor Marwan Barghouti, the West Bank Fatah leader serving five life terms in an Israeli prison. At least two independent candidates are considering running as well.

Oil Supply I: The Arabs look to the East

Nov. 16….(International Herald Tribune) Saudi Arabia is looking for new friends and finding them, in Asia. (more specifically in China) The oil-rich kingdom feels spurned and disliked by its traditional close allies in the West; ties that have never been quite as warm since Sept. 11, 2001. Saudi Arabia sits on about a quarter of the world's reserves of crude oil, and Asia needs oil. A lot of oil! China is already the second-largest energy consumer after the United States, and last year it overtook Japan as the world's second-largest consumer of petroleum products. This explains why Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's largest oil company, now does almost half of its business in Asia and has more offices there than anywhere else in the world. "We consider Asia a strategic market with growth potential, and believe it will become even more so, especially with the growing energy demands of China and India," says Ali Bakhsh, regional vice president for Saudi Aramco in Singapore. Recently, the Saudi government awarded a natural-gas prospecting concession to Sinopec, a major Chinese oil company. Saudi Aramco says it is currently in discussions about the expansion of an oil refinery in China's Fujian Province, and earlier this summer, a major deal was concluded with Shell to acquire an interest in Showa Shell, a large Japanese refining company. Saudi Aramco also has an agreement with Sumitomo Corp. of Japan for a feasibility study to upgrade another refinery on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, Saudi Aramco holds significant equity interest in Petron Corp. in the Philippines and in South Korea's S-Oil Corp. For China of course, securing a reliable energy supply has become a key policy imperative. This explains why Beijing put its international credibility on the line in September to fend off UN sanctions against Sudan, where China hopes to secure close to 10 percent of its oil imports in the coming year. It also explains why Chinese oil executives are risking their lives to secure oil concessions in Iraq. There are of course political implications that stem from closer Asia-Middle East contacts. Asia's historical ties with the Middle East are complex and sophisticated. While Europe sought to conquer the Arab lands, Asia was itself the target of Arab conquest, which led to the Mongul Empire and the bringing of Islam and aspects of Arab culture all the way to remote islands in the Indonesian archipelago. As a result of Arabian-inspired missionary and trade activity, Asia is home to the world's largest Muslim population, and its earliest trade networks owe their establishment to links with the Middle East. This familiarity with the Middle East, although dormant since the rise of European power in the 18th century, could easily be nurtured back to life, using oil trade as the basis for a re-integration of West Asia with East Asia.
FOJ Note: Arab oil-producing states are looking more and more to invest in China, and not with the US, whom it views more and more as an infidel nation.

 

Pentagon OKs Boy Scout Ban for God Connection

Nov. 16….(Newsmax) The Pentagon has agreed to warn military bases worldwide that they should not directly sponsor Boy Scout troops, partially resolving claims that the government has improperly supported a group that requires members to believe in God. The settlement, announced Monday, came in a 1999 lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which says American military units have sponsored hundreds of Boy Scout troops. "If our Constitution's promise of religious liberty is to be a reality, the government should not be administering religious oaths or discriminating based on religious beliefs," said ACLU attorney Adam Schwartz. The Pentagon said it has long had a rule against sponsorship of non-federal organizations and denied the rule had been violated. But it agreed to send a message to posts worldwide warning them not to sponsor Boy Scout troops or other such groups. Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said the message that will be sent to bases represents "a clarification of an existing rule that DOD personnel cannot be involved in an official capacity in anything that promotes belief in God."

 

Saddam Made $21B From UN Program

Nov. 16….(My Way) Saddam Hussein's regime made more than $21.3 billion in illegal revenue by subverting the UN oil-for-food program and other sanctions, more than double previous estimates, according to congressional investigators. New figures on Iraq's alleged surcharges, kickbacks, and oil-smuggling dating back to 1991, are based on troves of new documents obtained by the US Congressional committee's investigative panel. The documents illustrate how Iraqi officials, foreign companies and sometimes politicians allegedly contrived to allow the Iraqi government vast illicit gains. The findings also reflect a growing understanding by investigators of the intricate schemes Saddam used to buy support abroad for a move to lift UN sanctions. The Committee’s Senator Coleman said he is angry that the United Nations has not provided documents and access to officials that investigators need to move ahead. Officials must get to the bottom of the allegations because, among other things, it will help the international community to better design future sanctions programs, some senators said. "That humanitarian program was corrupted and exploited, for the most horrible and aggressive purpose" of raising money for Saddam's military, said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. Previous estimates, one from the General Accountability Office and the other by the top US arms inspector Charles Duelfer, concluded that Saddam's government brought in $10 billion illicitly from 1990 to 2003, when sanctions were in place. But congressional investigators found that vastly more oil, totaling $13.7 billion was smuggled out of Iraq than previously thought.

 

Europe Compelling US to Gang up on Israel

Nov. 16….(JNEWSWIRE) In the wake of US President George W. Bush’s reelection, Washington and the European Union are set to mend fences by launching a joint initiative to jumpstart the drive for a Palestinian State in the heartland of biblical Israel. The effort is being driven by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sees American support for the swift implementation of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict as the best means to heal rifts created in Europe by the war in Iraq. Mr. Blair wants President Bush to make the Middle East “peace” process the focus of his second term. Alongside Blair’s maneuvering, EU foreign policy czar Javier Solana last week released his own “action plan” aimed at using Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza retreat to revitalize stalled implementation of the Middle East Roadmap. Sharon has insisted the Gaza pullout is a unilateral move being taken because there is no partner on the “Palestinian” side, and that the Road Map, while still accepted by Israel, must be temporarily frozen until the Arabs stop murdering Jews. The EU, meanwhile, is said to be drafting plans to deploy a peacekeeping force to the Gaza Strip following Israel’s withdrawal, making future IDF anti-terror incursions next to impossible. So, Israel on the chopping block. The American-led war in Iraq has created deep rifts between Washington and its British ally and the rest of Europe. Following Bush’s reelection last week, Blair made it clear the president’s second term must be focused on healing those rifts by making common cause of the Israeli-Arab conflict. “I have long argued that the need to revitalize the Middle East peace process is the single most pressing political challenge in our world today,” Blair said. Coming dangerously close to using the so-called “Israeli occupation” to legitimize Muslim violence, Blair urged relentlessness in both “our war against terrorism and in resolving the conditions and causes on which the terrorists prey.” Analysts concur that the best route towards reconciliation would be for the US to join Europe in a unified drive to “solve” the Israeli-Arab conflict by establishing a Palestinian state on ancient biblical Jewish lands. It is widely believed that had he won the election, John Kerry would have quickly sacrificed Israel’s national interests in order to realize his deep desire to realign with France and Germany. Supporters of the Jewish State now fear Bush may take a page from Kerry’s playbook as he looks to maintain amicable ties with Blair. Israeli government spokesman Ra’anan Gissin noted that the only stumbling block to implementing the Road Map is the PA’s ongoing failure to curb the terrorist murder of Israel’s Jews.

Bush Plans to Expend US Capital on PLO State

Nov. 15….(JNEWSIRE) US President George W. Bush intends to use his second four-year term as leader of the free world to expend America’s “capital” on birthing a Palestinian Arab state on ancient Jewish lands. So he said in a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair Friday at the White House. Blair was in Washington to push Bush into joining a new initiative to impose “peace” on Israel and the “Palestinians,” the ultimate aim of which is to cool international tempers following the American and British invasion of Iraq. Chief among Blair’s concerns was a disgruntled Europe, where France is clamoring for the immediate creation of a Palestinian Arab state to offset growing Islamic displeasure with the West. A top “Palestinian” official, meanwhile, said not to expect anytime soon to see the PA curb anti-Jewish terror, Israel’s primary prerequisite to restarting meaningful negotiations with the Arabs. President Bush’s statement that he plans “to use the next four years to spend the capital of the United States” on helping to finalize the Muslim re-conquest of Israel’s biblical heartland may have come as a surprise to millions of those who voted for him. Bush is believed to owe his presidency to the tens of millions of American Evangelical Christians, a sector of society that clings firmly to its belief in the Bible and the Israel-centered plan of divine redemption outlined therein. The president attempted to counterbalance any frustration over his drive for a Palestinian Arab state by playing to another passion among his conservative constituents, the love of democratic freedom. The goal of solving the Israeli-Arab conflict by creating a Palestinian Arab state “can be reached by only one path: the path of democracy, reform, and the rule of law,” he told reporters. “We're committed to the success of the upcoming PA elections, and we stand ready to help. We look forward to working with a Palestinian leadership that is committed to fighting terror and committed to the cause of democratic reform.” “I believe that the responsibility for peace is going to rest with the Palestinian people's desire to build a democracy. I don't think there will ever be lasting peace until there is a free, truly democratic society in the Palestinian territories that becomes a state,” he continued during a Q&A session. Bush’s comments, coupled with his refusal to send an official envoy or convene a new peace summit until after the PA had proven itself, were largely seen as a return to the policies laid out in his June 2002 speech, when he demanded the replacement of the current “Palestinian” leadership with one untainted by terrorism and corruption. That the “Palestinians” failed to meet his demands, however, did not stop President Bush from endorsing the Roadmap “peace” plan and pushing for more Israeli concessions. Instead, Bush, along with the rest of the West, pointed to the change in title of one of the PLO’s old “terror-tainted” officials, Mahmoud Abbas (Aka, Abu Mazen), as progress. It remains to be seen if the president will hold fast to his latest demand for “Palestinian” democracy, or will continue to allow the perpetuation of the PLO regime and his failure to end the terrorist onslaught against Israel’s Jews. Either way, by his own admission, Bush is more determined than ever to see the establishment of a sovereign Islamic state on lands explicitly promised to the Jewish people by the Almighty. “I think it is fair to say that I believe we've got a great chance to establish a Palestinian state, and I intend to use the next four years to spend the capital of the United States on such a state,” he stated. “I'd like to see it done in four years. I think it is possible.” ‘We want Palestine now!’ France, meanwhile, signaled its desire to move much faster toward the goal of “Palestine.” "I think it is possible to go faster. The sooner the better, even before the end of Bush's mandate," French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told Europe-1 radio. Barnier said the US and Europe should consider creating immediately, “perhaps even with temporary borders, this Palestinian State, which is one of the conditions for peace and security for all the countries in this region.” Back in London, Blair has been under intense pressure to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict as a means of atoning for his “sin” of joining Bush’s invasion of Iraq, a move that has proven widely unpopular among the public and his own Labour Party. It was against this backdrop that the British Prime Minister traveled to Washington last week with the hope of persuading Bush to join an accelerated initiative to establish a PLO-headed state. But despite all the talk of democratic reforms, the primary demand of most Israelis remains a full cessation of “Palestinian” anti-Jewish terror. “As long as the Palestinian Arabs continue not taking real steps towards clamping down on terrorist organizations, there would be no change in Israel’s policy,” Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told a gathering in Tel Aviv Thursday night. It does not appear that demand will be met anytime soon. The Palestinian Arabs “are building a new house now from the foundations. That is the first task,” and not putting an end to the four-year terrorist war against Israel’s Jews, former PA security chief Mohammed Dahlan told Israel’s Ynet on Saturday. “If you want, there will be a cease-fire. If you don’t want, there won’t be. The key is in your hands,” he said, clearly indicating the PA’s ability to end the violence if it so chose. A moment later Dahlan conjured up the long-held assertion that the PA was unable to end the terror because Israel had destroyed its capability to do so. “Whoever thinks that in a month or two we can send forces against the terror groups is living with an illusion. Our regime is destroyed.” While Dahlan does not currently hold any official position in the PA, he enjoys a loyal and well-armed following in the Gaza Strip.

Bush: We Will Spend Our Capitol on Palestinian State

Nov. 15….(FOJ) Speaking Last week after the death of Yasser Aafat, and in a press briefing with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Bush remarked in response to a question about whether or not the Bush Administration would now work to reinvigorate the Roadmap peace plan. The President stated; “We will spend the capitol of the US on a new Palestinian State.” The President was likely referring to the political clout that is now his as a result of winning the presidential election, and not the wealth of the nation. But, in any event, it is a dangerous gambit to expend the capitol of the US on establishing a new Palestinian State. The President has been resolute in affirming that Democracy is the wave of the future for the Middle East, and that democracy is vital for peace to be had in the region. But in truth, while democracy is certainly more preferable to the totalitarian dictatorships that have dominated the region, it is not the cure-all for peace in the region. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can quicken the lives of people to compel them to desire true peace, and to cherish the institution of Divine liberty. As long as the region is held under the hammer of Islam, the region can never realize the value of freedom. Political bondage is one thing, but religious bondage is quite another, and it can only be penetrated by the light of the word of God. If the President should submit (as his statement seems to indicate) to European pressure to expend the power and prestige of America to partition the Promised Land and to divide the city of Jerusalem between Jews and Arabs, then it will place America in opposition to God concerning the dilemma of Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:2-3 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.)

 

Bordering On Nukes?
(New accounts from al-Qaeda to attack the US with weapons of mass destruction)

Nov. 15….(Time) A key al-Qaeda operative seized in Pakistan recently offered an alarming account of the group's potential plans to target the US with weapons of mass destruction, senior US security officials tell TIME. Sharif al-Masri, an Egyptian who was captured in late August near Pakistan's border with Iran and Afghanistan, has told his interrogators of "al-Qaeda's interest in moving nuclear materials from Europe to either the US or Mexico," according to a report circulating among US government officials. Masri also said al-Qaeda has considered plans to "smuggle nuclear materials to Mexico, then operatives would carry material into the US," according to the report, parts of which were read to TIME. Masri says his family, seeking refuge from al-Qaeda hunters, is now in Iran. Masri's account, though unproved, has added to already heightened US concerns about Mexico. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge met publicly with top Mexican officials last week to discuss border security and smuggling rings that could be used to slip al-Qaeda terrorists into the country. Weeks prior to Ridge's lightning visit, US and Mexican intelligence conferred about reports from several al-Qaeda detainees indicating the potential use of Mexico as a staging area "to acquire end-stage chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear material." US officials have begun to keep a closer eye on heavy-truck traffic across the border. The Mexicans will also focus on flight schools and aviation facilities on their side of the frontier. And another episode has some senior US officials worried: the theft of a crop-duster aircraft south of San Diego, apparently by three men from southern Mexico who assaulted a watchman and then flew off in a southerly direction. Though the theft's connection to terrorism remains unclear, a senior US law-enforcement official notes that crop dusters can be used to disperse toxic substances. The plane, stolen at night two weeks ago, has not been recovered.

 

Former Head of CIA'S Osama Bin Laden Unit Says the Al Qaeda Leader has Secured Religious Approval to use a Nuclear Bomb Against America

Nov. 15….(Drudge Report) Osama bin Laden now has religious approval to use a nuclear device against Americans, says the former head of the CIA unit charged with tracking down the Saudi terrorist. The former agent, Michael Scheuer, spoke to Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes Sunday, on the CBS Television Network. Scheuer was until recently known as the "anonymous" author of two books critical of the West's response to bin Laden and al Qaeda, the most recent of which is titled Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror. No one in the West knows more about the Qaeda leader than Scheuer, who has tracked him since the mid-1980s. The CIA allowed him to write the books provided he remain anonymous, but now is allowing him to reveal himself for the first time on Sunday's broadcast; he formally leaves the Agency today. Even if bin Laden had a nuclear weapon, he probably wouldn't have used it for a lack of proper religious authority, authority he has now. "Bin Laden secured from a Saudi sheik., a rather long treatise on the possibility of using nuclear weapons against the Americans," says Scheuer. "The treatise found that he was perfectly within his rights to use them. Muslims argue that the United States is responsible for millions of dead Muslims around the world, so reciprocity would mean you could kill millions of Americans," Scheuer tells Kroft. Scheuer says bin Laden was criticized by some Muslims for the 9/11 attack because he killed so many people without enough warning and before offering to help convert them to Islam. But now bin Laden has addressed the American people and given fair warning. "They're intention is to end the war as soon as they can and to ratchet up the pain for the Americans until we get out of their region. If they acquire the weapon, they will use it, whether it's chemical, biological or some sort of nuclear weapon," says Scheuer. As the head of the CIA unit charged with tracking bin Laden from 1996 to 1999, Scheuer says he never had enough people to do the job right. He blames former CIA Director George Tenet. "One of the questions that should have been asked of Mr. Tenet was why were there always enough people for the public relations office, for the academic outreach office, for the diversity and multi-cultural office? All those things are admirable and necessary but none of them are protecting the American people from a foreign threat," says Scheuer. And the threat posed by bin Laden is also underestimated, says Scheuer. "I think our leaders over the last decade have done the American people a disservice, continuing to characterize Osama bin Laden as a thug, as a gangster," he says. "Until we respect him, sir, we are going to die in numbers that are probably unnecessary, yes. He's a very, very talented man and a very worthy opponent," he told Kroft.

 

 

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 7 THROUGH NOVEMBER 14

 

Bush, Blair Agree to 'Finish the job' in Iraq, Mideast

Nov. 12….(MSNBC) Wrapping up talks at the White House, President Bush and his main Iraq war ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, agreed Friday to "finish the job" of establishing a free Iraq and promoting democracy across the Middle East. That includes nurturing a democratic Palestine, President Bush told reporters at a joint news conf