The situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate. Fierce fighting has now broken out in the mountains east of the country’s capital, Beirut. The fighting is, at this moment, taking place between supporters of the pro-Western government and supporters and members of the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah. (more…)

For the second day in a row, government troops and Hezbollah terrorists clashed with each other in Lebanon, especially in the country’s capital Beirut. The Shiite terrorist organization ‘accused’ the government of declaring war on it, which sadly probably is not correct. (more…)

Sununu for Veep?

Via Maria, Obama’s biggest general election liability: His bitter half

On the stump, she warmed up (or rather, berated) supporters by complaining about how her husband is an underdog even after he keeps winning primary and caucus after primary and caucus. With a scowl etched on her face, she bellyached that “the bar is constantly changing for this man.” Call the waambulance, stat.

Reminds me of Teresa’s shifting bar.

Embedding with the enemy

But in fact my religious beliefs are entirely separate from my political beliefs: the only connection is that I’m willing to buck the trend in both arenas.

Two posts on Israel at 60:
Via the Astute Bloggers, Israel at 60: The Hope,
After 60 Years, The ‘Lamp Unto The Nations’ Flourishes

Two suspicious Seattle ferry riders were “just businessmen”

Vote for Mamacita.

Japan has no kids

From the Terror Finance Blog-A PDF of the Comprehensive Survey of U.S. Efforts Against Threat Financing-MUST READ

Franco had better things to do with his time.

“The threat of a new ice age must now stand alongside nuclear war as a likely source of wholesale death and misery for mankind”

Platypus genetic code unravelled, which reminds me of Ogden Nash

I like the duck-billed platypus
Because it is anomalous.
I like the way it raises its family
Partly birdly, partly mammaly.
I like its independent attitude.
Let no one call it a duck-billed platitude.

Cross-posted at Fausta’s blog

The New York Times reports that Afghan President Hamid Karzai was warned ‘that an attack was being planned on a military parade on Sunday, when he escaped an assassination attempt.’ The country’s intelligence chief told Parliament on Tuesday that two ‘groups of attackers were thwarted the same day, though a third succeeded in opening fire on the ceremony.’ (more…)

Although I’m a fervent critic of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, I’ve got to say that I appreciate his role as ‘Middle Eastern Mediator.’ Turkey is a unique country, in a unique decision. It’s a Muslim country, but focused on the West, modern and secular. It’s friends with most other Muslim countries - most of whom aren’t secular - but it’s also friends with European countries, the United States and, yes, Israel; the Jewish nation-state. (more…)

Hamid Karzai - the pro-Western leader of Afghanistan - escaped yesterday when his political enemies, Al Qaeda and the Taliban, tried to assassinate him. The Taliban tried to assassinate the president during the Afghan national day military parade in central Kabul. This event was meant to show the world, and Afghans specifically, that the country’s army and government are strong. Instead, the parade became a terrible embarrassment for the government. (more…)

Nice: a couple of years ago Hizbullah and Israel went to war with each other. The result was that the Shi’ite terrorist organization was severely weakened and had lost many of its fighters. Aside from that, though, the organization had also proved that it could fight back against Israel and that Olmer is a weak leader; he could’ve crushed Hizbullah, but instead he decided to give in to international pressure, and let Hizbullah off the hook. Hizbullah suffered, but it also learned an important lesson; next time, it would be even stronger, and better prepared. (more…)

Two separate sources in the Middle East and London told The Times, the five Britons who were kidnapped in Iraq last year, are held by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard… in Iran. ‘The hostages were handed over to the Revolutionary Guards by their Iraqi kidnappers last November, the sources believe. One of the sources said they were being held in the western Iranian city of Hamadan.’ (more…)

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations struck back hard at former US President Jimmy Carter, for meeting with leaders of the terrorist organization Hamas recently. In a luncheon brieving for reporters, sponsored by The Israel Project, Ambassador Dan Gillerman said that Carter “went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas.” (more…)

The Times (London) reports that shortly after the battle in Basra was lost, the situation in this Iraqi city has improved tremendously (more…)

The Los Angeles Times reports that ‘[i]nternational arms inspectors have brokered an agreement with Tehran to discuss alleged evidence of nuclear weapons experiments discovered on a laptop computer purportedly smuggled out of Iran and given to U.S. officials.’ (more…)

This should serve as a reminder to the Dutch that our troops are fighting a battle against a ferocious enemy in Afghanistan, and it should also remind Americans that they most certainly have allies in the war against terrorism. And those allies suffer. Several Dutchmen have been killed by the Taliban already, of course, but now the Taliban seem to have purposefully taken the life of the son of Dutch Military chief. (more…)

Iran’s main foreign policy goal is to ‘wipe Israel off the map.’ We all know that, yet many pretend that the reality of the situation is more ‘nuanced’ than it really is. Well, perhaps this news will make them realize that the situation is not nuanced, by quite simple: ‘Iran has stepped up its efforts to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip by using floatable devices that it drops near the waters off the Gaza coast to be picked up by Palestinian fisherman, senior defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post.’ (more…)

“An $833 million Iraqi arms deal secretly negotiated with Serbia has underscored Iraq’s continuing problems equipping its armed forces, a process that has long been plagued by corruption and inefficiency,” the New York Times reports. (more…)

The secret site where Iran is probably developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching Europe has been uncovered. (more…)

Fox News reports that former US President Jimmy “Israel is an Apartheid state” Carter may meet with the leadership of terrorist organization Hamas. Carter is reportedly planning to meet with Khaled Meshal, the exiled head of the Palestinian terror group, on April 18 of this year, during a trip to Syria. (more…)

” In a reprise of their testimony last September, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker plan to tell Congress today and tomorrow that security has improved in Iraq and that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has taken steps toward political reconciliation and economic stability,” the Washington Post reports. (more…)

The British newspaper the Telegraph - not exactly a left-wing newspaper - reports that British officials fear that US General David Petraeus has become more critical of Iran lately because he wants the US to take military action against the country ruled by the Mullahs. (more…)

Via Memeorandum (click on the link so we get more hits) comes the news that General David Petraeus is expected to tell US Congress later this week that Iranian forces were involved in the battle for Basra recently. According to US intelligence and military sources, the Iranians were supporting Shiite militias: they allegedly operated “at a tactical command level with the Shi’ite militias fighting Iraqi security forces.” (more…)

During the battle in Basra, approximately thousands Iraqi soldiers deserted / abandoned their posts or refused to fight. The group included at least two senior field commanders in the battle and dozens of officers. (more…)