Free Republic

CNN founder Turner regrets equating IDF actions with terrorism By News Agencies CNN founder Ted Turner, reacting to criticism of his comments to a London newspaper about violence in the Middle East, said Tuesday he regretted "any implication that I believe the actions taken by Israel to protect its people are equal to terrorism." "My comments were part of a long and extensive interview that I gave two months ago when I was condemning the loss of human life," said Turner, vice chairman of CNN's parent company, AOL Time Warner. "The violence in the Middle East has reached an intolerable...

Egypt, Jordan opposes 'interim' Palestinian state AMMAN - Jordan and Egypt cast doubt on Wednesday on proposals for a provisional Palestinian state being considered by the United States and criticized Israel's threat to reoccupy Palestinian land in response to new suicide attacks. The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab states with peace treaties with Israel, rejected any talk of a provisional Palestinian state and called for a timetable for an end to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Their comments were made in Amman following talks between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's...

Cherie Blair apologizes for comments on suicide bombers By News Agencies A spokeswoman for the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair apologized on her behalf Tuesday for saying that young Palestinian suicide bombers feel that they have no hope but to blow themselves up. "If any offense has been taken from the interpretation of her comments, then Mrs. Blair is obviously sorry," said the spokeswoman on customary condition of anonymity. "She did not, and never would she, ever condone suicide bombers or say they had no choice." "As long as young people feel they have got no hope but to...

BUSH TO POSTPONE POLICY SPEECH DUE TO TERROR ATTACK By HERB KEINON US President George W. Bush has apparently decided to postpone his planned Middle East policy speech due to Tuesday's terror attack, a diplomatic source says. The statement, expected to have been made today or tomorrow, will likely not be made until the weekend or next week, the source adds. The delay will give Bush a chance to compile a tougher statement, says the source. According to media reports, Bush has been expected to outline a process for granting Palestinians interim statehood

Illinois Plans to Invest $10 Million in Israel Bonds, Angering Arab-Americans SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - In a move that has angered some Arab-Americans, the state plans to invest $10 million in Israel bonds, the state treasurer's office said. The move was made possible by legislation signed into law last week that allows state investment in the securities of foreign governments, as long as the governments involved have never defaulted on their obligations. "This is one more tool to help our state to manage its resources wisely," said Rep. Jeff Schoenberg, a Democrat from Evanston who co-sponsored the bill. "But more...

Daschle Favors Arafat Replacement WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Sunday that the Palestinian movement should replace Yasser Arafat ( news - web sites) to increase the chances of bringing about peace in the Middle East. Daschle, D-S.D., said Arab allies of the United States, although publicly supportive of Arafat, worry about the direction the Palestinian leadership is taking. "They'd like to see more constructive leadership," Daschle said on "Fox News Sunday." "Our admonition to them is `Help us get it.'" While Daschle said Arafat's departure is necessary, he said it must happen from within the Palestinian...

Egypt rejects interim Palestinian statehood By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CAIRO Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher dismissed the idea of creating a provisional Palestinian state. Such a state "might exist today but not tomorrow. It is something vague," Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted Maher as saying Sunday. "There are provisional governments but I have never heard of an interim state existing in the world." In an interview last week with the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell floated the idea of creating a provisional Palestinian state as a preliminary step toward an independent Palestine. It appears to...

34th Zionist Congress to focus on rejuvenation of Zionist Movement By GREER FAY CASHMAN The 34th Zionist Congress scheduled to open Sunday evening in Jerusalem seems quite timely, coming amid a resurgence of the problems that sparked the very first such gathering more than a century ago. According to Yehuda Weinraub of the Jewish Agency's Communications and Information Unit, some 1,500 delegates, and other activists from 33 countries are expected to attend. For the first time this year, 25% of the delegates will be under the age of 30. "We want to ensure the rejuvenation of the Zionist Movement," Weinraub...

Arab Leader Warns U.S. on Terror War VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The United States and its allies should not pursue "hidden agendas" in their widening war on terror because the campaign is not the world's overriding concern, the head of the Arab League said Friday. Rather, the Arab world's major worry is "the Israeli military occupation of Arab territories and the infringement of the rights of Palestinians," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said. Moussa warned Washington and its allies against using their worldwide hunt for terrorists for "settling accounts and imposing a different world order" - an apparent reference to...

<p>BADGER - A group of African-American Muslims whose schools are being investigated for possible misuse of public funds, and whose leaders have been tracked by federal authorities looking into connections to an alleged domestic terror group, has quietly abandoned its secluded community in the foothills east of Fresno, officials confirmed this week.</p>

We won't deny our consciences Prominent Americans have issued this statement on the war on terror Friday June 14, 2002 The Guardian Let it not be said that people in the United States did nothing when their government declared a war without limit and instituted stark new measures of repression. The signers of this statement call on the people of the US to resist the policies and overall political direction that have emerged since September 11 and which pose grave dangers to the people of the world. We believe that peoples and nations have the right to determine their own...

Evangelical Christian boosting Israel's morale with TV spots By ETGAR LEFKOVITS An American Evangelical Christian is launching a series of television commercials on Channel 2 to voice his support for the people of Israel during these trying times. "For the first time in this country's history, television spots will begin airing to announce to the people of Israel that the vast majority of American Christians recognize Israel as their friend and ally," said Earl G. Cox of Charleston, South Carolina, reading a statement during a press conference at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl Military Cemetery. A former US government official and political...

Bush Refuses To Meet Syrian Minister, Report Says By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - President Bush refused to meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara following last week's deadly car bombing in Israel, and that has prompted Shara to cancel his trip to Washington, Israel Radio reported on Friday. Islamic Jihad, which is headquartered in Damascus, claimed responsibility for the attack a few days before Syria was due to take up the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Israel knew that the attack at Megiddo junction had been carried...

US gives green light to destroy Palestinian Authority: Abed Rabbo RAMALLAH, West Bank - The United States has given Israel the green light to complete the destruction of the Palestinian Authority and its leadership, Palestinian information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said on Wednesday. He said US President George W. Bush gave the nod to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during talks Monday at the White House as Israeli tanks again rumbled into Ramallah, where Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat is based. "President Bush gave his approval to Sharon to pursue Israel's occupation of Ramallah and Yasser Arafat's headquarters for a long...

<p>ST. LOUIS (AP) A leading Islamic group demanded Tuesday that the Southern Baptist Convention condemn ''bigoted'' and ''hate-filled'' statements made by one of its pastors.</p> <p>During a pastors' conference Monday evening, the Rev. Jerry Vines, pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla., told conventioneers that many of this country's problems can be blamed on religious pluralism.</p>

Bush: Mideast summit not in the near future By JANINE ZACHARIA WASHINGTON President Bush said after meeting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the White House this morning that conditions were not yet ripe for a ministerial Middle East summit aimed at achieving peace "because nobody has confidence in the emerging Palestinian government." Bush and Sharon met for an hour in the Oval Office yesterday and then had lunch together at the White House. Sharon had requested the meeting to try to persuade Bush that it would be a misstep to lay out a detailed timetable for Palestinian statehood, something the...

Bush meets Mubarak, says no timetable for Palestinian state By Daniel Sobelman, Ha'aretz Correspondent and agencies U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday sidestepped Arab pleas to impose a deadline for Palestinian statehood while Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak defended Yasser Arafat and urged, "Give this man a chance." Ending weekend talks on the Mideast crisis, Bush and Mubarak agreed that the Palestinian Authority must enact political reforms to give Israel the confidence to negotiate peace. But they parted at the Camp David presidential retreat still divided over whether Arafat is the man to deliver those changes. "Chairman Arafat, as far...

U.S. Marines studying Israeli urban warfare methods at Jenin Thursday, June 6, 2002 The U.S. Marine Corps and Israeli military commanders are studying the capture of the Palestinian refugee camp outside the West Bank city of Jenin. The three-day battle left 23 Israelis and more than 50 Palestinians dead. The marines want to learn from the Israeli experience in urban warfare and the recent massive search-and-destroy operations for Palestinian insurgents in the West Bank. Marine Lt. Col. Dave Booth, who oversees the Marine Corps-Israeli Defense Force exchanges, said his service meets with commanders from Israel and other countries to exchange...

42 US Govenors declare: America stands firmly with Israel's people By MELISSA RADLER NEW YORK Forty-two of the nation's 50 governors signed declarations today that express support for Israel, endorsing its right to live in peace and security, Gov. George Pataki of New York announced. "Today, governors from around the country send a powerful message that America stands firmly with the people of Israel, united in our belief that a true and lasting peace in the Middle East can only come with a safe and secure Israel," Pataki said. In an effort headed by Pataki, a Republican, and Gov. Gray...

Bush appears to shift away from Arafat By Kathy A. Gambrell WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- In the wake of a suicide bombing in Israel Wednesday that killed 17, the White House appeared to be shifting away from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, pointedly telling reporters that President George W. Bush is less focused on dealing with any particular individual in the Palestinian Authority. Asked whether the White House would yet again ask Arafat to tamp down terrorist bombings among his people, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said Wednesday that Bush was "less focused" on dealing with "any one individual,"...