Free Republic

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday accused the Israeli government of following "the policies of escalation and extremism," making the Middle East a more dangerous place.In a speech at a banquet honoring Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Assad turned to Syria's recurring theme that Israel and its occupation of war-conquered Arab lands were at the core of Palestinian-Israeli violence and turmoil throughout the region. Assad accused Israel of rejecting an Arab willingness to make peace. He claimed that tension throughout the region was due to "the policies of escalation and extremism the Israeli government...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Five people, including two Americans, were killed and more than 40 others wounded Sunday in a grenade attack at a church in Islamabad, Pakistan. CNN Correspondent Ash-har Quraishi surveyed the unsettling scene inside the church and reported the following from Islamabad: QURAISHI: The attack occurred just after 10 a.m. local time in the Protestant International Church in Islamabad. Now, that's located in a diplomatic area considered to be very safe. Two attackers apparently entered the church as services were being carried out there and threw a number of grenades at parishioners inside the church. Two of...