40 Years Ago Today

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle


In the Jewish calendar today is Yom Kippur.  40 years ago on this date Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in the hope to destroy that nation.  They almost succeeded.

On October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the holiest day on the Jewish religious calendar, Egypt and Syria took advantage of optimal circumstances to launch attacks that took Israel by surprise. So complete was the element of surprise that when war erupted, Israel was only beginning to mobilize the reserve forces which form the bulk of the IDF. The thin forces stationed along the two fronts had to contain the invading armies until the IDF was prepared to meet them in force. The IAF was hampered by the dense anti-aircraft missile system which the enemy had deployed close to the front.

Egyptian forces succeeded in crossing the Canal and establishing beachheads on the Israeli-held east bank. On the Golan Heights, the Syrians pushed past the cease-fire lines and occupied a large area. They also seized the key Israeli intelligence- gathering position high on Mt. Hermon.

Within two days, the IDF, now fully deployed, blocked the Egyptian and Syrian

advances and took the offensive. Because of the huge quantitative superiority of the Syrian forces, a situation compounded by the proximity of Jewish settlements on the Syrians' path of advance, it was decided to give priority to the northern front. By October 10, the Syrians had been pushed back and the entire Golan was again in Israeli hands, except for the Hermon position, which was only recaptured toward the end of the war. Between October 11 and October 14, the IDF pushed the Syrian forces across the cease-fire lines and penetrated Syrian territory. An Iraqi expeditionary force dispatched to reinforce the Syrians was also successfully blocked.

On the southern front, an early Israeli counter-offensive failed. But Israeli units managed to overcome an attack by Egyptian tank forces, destroying 200 enemy tanks in the process. Shortly afterward, on 15 October, the IDF renewed the counter-offensive. The main thrust of the fighting now was to push across the Canal and strike at Egyptian forces on the other side.

A gap between the Egyptian 2nd and 3rd Armies was chosen as the crossing point. It was a difficult operation, preceded by heavy fighting to clear the approach lines. The Engineering Corps constructed a bridge across the Canal in the face of concerted Egyptian resistance. By October 19, Israeli troops were well established on the west bank. Until the first scheduled cease-fire on October 22, the IDF enlarged the territory under its control. Although the Egyptians had agreed to the cease-fire, it did not take effect at the designated time. By the time an effective cease-fire was actually implemented, on October 24, the IDF had completely surrounded the Egyptian 3rd Army.

On the northern front, the IDF regained control of the Hermon by October 22, removing the last Syrian forces from the area they had seized at the start of the war. The war ended on October 24 in a decisive victory for the Israeli Army. In the north, the Syrians failed to achieve any territorial gain, while the IDF had crossed the old cease-fire lines into Syrian territory, acquiring new vantage points on the Golan. The Syrian Army suffered major losses of manpower and equipment.

Lessons of the War
In the first months after the war, Egyptian and Syrian forces renewed the War of Attrition along the cease-fire lines. The IDF focused on building its force on an unprecedented scale. The enemy attempted to prevent the IDF from conducting a war of movement dominated by tank and air power. Arab armies made extensive use of infantry equipped with anti-tank weapons, exploiting their inherent numerical superiority. In response, the IDF took steps to upgrade and increase its manpower utilization. Extensive and intensive training programs were initiated, focusing on the doctrine of combined operations in which the various branches of the IDF were integrated in a harmonious whole.

A special central training base was established to advance this doctrine. Another lesson of the war was a renewed awareness of the importance of the Infantry. Rearmament continued apace, including the purchase of ground-to-ground and ground-to-air missile systems.

SOURCE

This was the last major war that Israel and her neighbors have fought.  The last war in which armies actually lined up and fought tank to tank, plane to plane and man to man.  Unlike her enemies, Israel held a commission to discover why they were unprepared for war.  And corrected the problems and vow never to be unprepared again.  The wars that Israel fights now are against terrorist and not "freedom fighters" and not an military.  They are fighting pseudo-military men.  Men who have no honor, no military skills and only want to kill civilians.  They can be defeated, but it takes the resolve to shake off the fake pictures of children killed.  The world screams when Israel defends itself.  No tears for dead Israeli children, but tears for dead terrorists.  It is no longer wrong to be an anti-Semite.  In fact it is a badge of honor.

Israelis cannot rely on others for their protection.  For 2000 years Jews have done that with disastrous results.  Such protection brought about rapes, murders, theft of property, dislocation from homes, with the final horror of the Holocaust.  All because Jews were told not to fight and let others protect them.

Once again Israelis are being told to let others protect them.  President Barack Hussein Obama has told Israel that he will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  Yet he has lifted some of the sanctions on Iran and Russia is sending Iran S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.  The meaning behind this is that Obama is happy with a nuclear Iran and with the idea of genocide against the Jews.  Israel has to realize that they have no friends and have to act alone in this matter.

If Israel acts soon she will be condemned by every nation on Earth.  But will have saved the Jewish people and the Middle East from Nuclear Annihilation by the hands of the Iranians.

Am Yisrael Chai!

List Of The Churches And Institutions That Have Been Destroyed By Muslim Brotherhood Supporters Today

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle


Hat Tip to Atlas Shrugs

Islamic supremacism in action. Muslim Brotherhood groups in the US like Hamas-CAIR are demanding that Obama support this violence and genocide.

CopticWorld regrets to inform you that today has been very destructive for Coptic Christians in Egypt. We are attempting to document all the destruction. You can see a list of the churches and institutions that have been destroyed at:

Tallying the destruction Coptic World Aug. 14, 2013, 10:15 p.m.

Please note that this situation is fluid and changing.

Churches
 Alexandria

1. Father Maximus Church

Arish

1. St George Church | Burned 

Assiut

1. Good Shepherds Monastery |  Nuns attacked
2. Angel Michael Church | Surrounded
3. St George Coptic Orthodox Church 
4. Al-Eslah Church| Burned 
5. Adventist Church | Pastor and his wife kidnapped 
6. St Therese Church 
7. Apostles Church | Burning 
8. Holy Revival Church | Burning 

Beni Suef

1. The Nuns School 
2. St George Church | al-Wasta

Cairo

1. St Fatima Basilica | Heliopolis | Attempted Attack

Fayoum (Five churches)

1. St Mary Church | El Nazlah 
2. St Damiana Church | Robbed and burned
3. Amir Tawadros (St Theodore) Church
4. Evangelical Church | al-Zorby Village | Looting and destruction
5. Church of Joseph | Burned 
6. Franciscan School | Burned 

Gharbiya

1. Diocese of St Paul | Burned 

Giza

1. Father Antonios
2. Atfeeh Bishopric

Minya

1. Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram | Delga, Deir Mawas 
2. St Mina Church | Abu Hilal Kebly, Beni Hilal 
3. Baptist Church | Beni Mazar 
4. Deir Mawas Bishopric
5. Delga Church | Attacked 
6. The Jesuit Fathers Church | Abu Hilal district
7. St Mark Church | Abu Hilal district
8. St Joseph Nunnery 
9. Amir Tadros Church 
10. Evangelical Church 
11. Anba Moussa al-Aswad Church
12. Apostles Church 

Qena

1. St Mary’s Church | Attempted Burning

Sohag

1. St George Church 
2. St Damiana | Attacked and burned 
3. Virgin Mary | Attacked and burned 
4. St Mark Church & Community Center
5. Anba Abram Church | Destroyed and burned 

Suez

1. St Saviours Anglican Church 
2. Franciscan Church and School | Street 23 | Burned 
3. Holy Shepherd Monastery and Hospital 
4. Good Shepherd Church (molotov cocktail thrown)- Relationship with Holy Shepherd Monastery unknown.
5. Greek Orthodox Church 

Christian Institutions

• House of Father Angelos (Pastor of Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram) | Delga, Minya | Burned 
• Properties and Markets of Copts | al-Gomhorreya Street, Assiut
• Seventeen Coptic homes | Delga, Minya | Burned
• YMCA | Minya| Burned 
• Coptic Homes | Qulta Street, Assiut | Attacked
• Offices of the Evangelical Foundation & Oum al-Nour | Minya
• Coptic-owned shops, pharmacy, and hotels | Karnak and Cleopatra Streets, Luxor | Attacked and Looted
• Dahabeya Nile Boat | Minya| Church-owned 
• Bible Society bookshop | Cairo | Burned 
• Bible Society | Fayoum 
• Bible Society | al-Gomohoreya Street, Assiut 

Blasphemous video was a cover for Islamic violence

First posted: 17th September 2012

The blind sheikh who looks like something that has crawled out from the pit of hell

Foreword: A warning was issued by Al Qaeda and affiliated groups in Egypt prior to September 11th stating that the American Embassy in Cairo would be attacked unless the blind sheikh and other jihadi prisoners were released from prison.

The blasphemous video was then released on the 11th which then gave a pretext for all American Embassies around the World to be attacked, after the one in Cairo was first attacked which was already a target of Al Qaeda prior to the 11th for completely different reasons.

Al Qaeda have a well known Libyan wing who have been sending suicide bombers to Iraq over the years, and this group immediately followed suite obviously following orders from higher up the hierarchy, galvanising support on the ground under the guise of the video and then successfully storming the Embassy and assassinating the sitting American Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The video that was released in Egypt, that was created by an Egyptian Coptic Christian living in America who has endangered the lives or all Coptic's in that Country was somehow timed perfectly to Al Qaeda's own timescale in Egypt and set the stage for a well orchestrated global response by fundamentalist jihadi elements throughout the Islamic World.

Al Qaeda said they were going to target the American Embassy in Cairo, the video was released so they attacked it under this pretense and the Islamic World followed suite under the guise of the video, while all along the leadership of Al Qaeda and affiliated groups were directing the proceedings from the beginning that now sees American Embassies around the World ransacked, burning and staff murdered.

How are things going to look when the violent protesting stops?

Al Qaeda might not control the Governments of Islamic Nations but they do control large numbers of moslems on the streets who are ideologically aligned to their religious philosophy as has been shown.

Article: Raymond Ibrahim blogJihadis Threaten to Burn U.S. Embassy in Cairo

by Raymond Ibrahim • Sep 10, 2012 at 3:58 pm

Jihadi groups in Egypt, including Islamic Jihad, the Sunni Group, and Al Gamaa Al Islamiyya have issued a statement threatening to burn the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to the ground. According to El Fagr, they are calling for the immediate release of the Islamic jihadis who are imprisonment and in detention centers in the U.S. including Guantanamo Bay: "The group, which consists of many members from al-Qaeda, called [especially] for the quick release of the jihadi [mujahid] sheikh, Omar Abdul Rahman [the "Blind Sheikh"], whom they described as a scholar and jihadi who sacrificed his life for the Egyptian Umma, who was ignored by the Mubarak regime, and [President] Morsi is refusing to intervene on his behalf and release him, despite promising that he would. The Islamic Group has threatened to burn the U.S. Embassy in Cairo with those in it, and taking hostage those who remain [alive], unless the Blind Sheikh is immediately released."

Muslim Persecution of Christians: August, 2012

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

While many people are regularly persecuted by Islam's blasphemy law, one particular case made August headlines: a 14-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan, Rimsha Masih, was arrested, accused of burning pages of a Quran. Rioting Muslims destroyed Christian homes and churches, tore Bibles to pieces and broke crosses, while calling for the death penalty against her. Because this story made it to the mainstream media, widespread international condemnation caused Pakistani authorities to release her recently, not by annulling Pakistan's blasphemy law, but by finding loopholes, from characterizing the girl as retarded—Islamic law does not mandate punishment for blasphemers if they are retarded—to the unprecedented exposure of a Muslim cleric who framed her.

Because this incident prompted a widespread rampage against Pakistan's Christians, thousands have deserted their homes and are dispossessed. The Christians from Rimsha's neighborhood, including women and children, fled into the woods in fear of Muslim retribution, while others were evicted by their Muslim landlords. A few Christians sleeping overnight on the ground just miles away from Pakistani government buildings decided to build a church there and make it their permanent dwelling place. "Here it is not anybody's home, nobody's land. Let us live here in safety," said one. Another said: "We have cleared this place with our hands, and we have laid the first foundation of a small church here. Although this is a mere skeleton made of tree branches, this is the holy home of God. This should be respected."

Categorized by theme, August's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and in country alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity.

Jihad Killings and Christian Displacement

Iraq: What Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors, characterized as "religicide," continues unabated in the nation that was liberated by U.S. forces a decade ago: "Christians in cities like Baghdad and Mosul are gripped by terrorism. They are fleeing in droves. Today [August 16] it was reported that at least 20 people died in blasts and shootings across the country." Before the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Mosul was home to some 75,000 Christians, but now the number has dropped to around 25,000. Christian homes are set on fire, bombs placed in their cars; other Christian families are receiving letters threatening them to leave Iraq or be kidnapped or killed.
Ivory Coast: As part of the civil war, Muslim rebels "massacred hundreds and displaced tens of thousands" of predominantly Christian supporters of Laurent Gbagbo. Since the attack, when their homes were taken by rebels, some 5,000 predominantly Christian ethnic Guere have been forced to flee into the ungoverned, inhospitable bush, or to the Catholic mission in Duekoue. The priest there reported that the mission has also been threatened by "crowds of angry youths."
Mali: As many as 200,000 Christians are fleeing to Algeria and Mauritania, where they are seeking a safe haven from Islamic terrorists linked to al-Qaeda, who have become increasingly active in the northern regions of the nation.
Nigeria: The Islamic terrorist organization Boko Haram [Western Education is a Sin] continued its jihad [holy war] to purge north Nigeria of all Christians. In one instance, gunmen murdered a 57-year-old evangelist of a Pentecostal church. When threatened earlier, he had said "I leave everything in the hands of God."
Syria: Some 12,000 people were blockaded in the predominantly Christian town of Rableh by anti-government forces; they killed several people trying to leave and refused the entry of food and medical supplies. Government forces had reportedly driven out the opposition by August 24. Christians were also given an ultimatum to leave the nearby cities of Qusayr and Homs, which has been almost entirely cleansed of its 50,000-60,000 Christian population. The predominantly Christian part of Aleppo was also hit by heavy fighting earlier this month; and a car bomb was detonated in the predominantly Christian area of Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus, as "a crowd of faithful, families, elderly people, women and children, were heading to the cemetery to bury two young people who had died a day earlier, on August 27, also victims of an IED. Twelve died (other sources say as many as 27), including five children, and injuring more than 50 people." Further, "a family of Armenian Christians was found murdered, and all members of the family horribly decapitated."

Church Attacks

Azerbaijan: The highest appeals court upheld the decision to close Greater Grace Church, "the first religious community to be liquidated by a court since the country's harsh new religion law came into force in 2009." The church, registered since 1993, had provided a place for Christian worship and teaching for almost 20 years; and with a congregation of nearly 500, was one of the larger Protestant churches in the country.
Indonesia: Two churches were the latest to be forcibly closed in West Java: First, a "large tent" used for services by St. Johannes Baptista Church in Bogor was sealed off by authorities on August 7. The congregation had been using the tent since 2006 as a temporary location while they awaited a permit for a proper building, for which it had applied in 2000. Police threatened to "tear down" the tent if the Christians continued to use it; the church leader suspects the hostility is linked to the growth of the congregation, which now numbers around 500. Second, Batak Karo Protestant Church in Bandung was sealed off by protesters who claimed that the congregation had earlier agreed not to use the building, even though it now has all necessary permits to hold service.
Kenya: After a fight ensued between the supporters of a Muslim cleric who had died and the police, a church near the mosque where the funeral was being held was set on fire, and another church was attacked. Separately, another church was attacked and looted "by an armed mob," believed to be sympathizers of the al-Shabaab terrorist organization. In the words of the pastor who witnessed the pillage, "attackers armed with guns stormed the compound and immediately began pulling down one iron sheet after another, and soon 60 iron sheets were gone. It was a terrible sight to watch the walls of the church come down, [but] I could not shout for help because the attackers could gun me down. Shocked and dismayed, the church's 60 congregants arrived for worship the next day to find their church building in ruins." Police were told that there were threats of an attack and that local Muslims were saying things such as "we do not want infidels in this area," but did nothing. These latest attacks "came only one week after al-Shabab militants hurled grenades into the African Inland Church of Garissa, in eastern Kenya, and opened fire on congregants, killing 17 people, including 15 worshipers. Grenades were also thrown at the local Catholic church." More than 14 churches have been attacked in Kenya since April.
Nigeria: Gunmen, probably connected with the jihadi organization Boko Haram, "stormed the Deeper Life Church, where Christian worshippers were gathered in prayer, and surrounded the church in the middle of a worship service and opened fire with AK-47 assault rifles on the worshippers." At least 19 of them were killed, including the pastor. The following day, an unexploded bomb was discovered at Revival Church.
Syria: Gunmen attacked the Catholic monastery of Mar Musa, which dates from the 4^th century, and is located north of Damascus. None of the monks was hurt, although the monastery was, in the words of Father Dall'Oglio, "sacked," and "gunmen stole everything they could steal," including tractors and other agricultural tools.

Apostasy, Blasphemy, Proselytism

Egypt: A Christian man accused of defaming Islam was arrested after a complaint in which he was accused of posting opinions in Facebook which insulted Muhammad. Insults to Islam and the prophet are considered crimes in Egypt under Article 98(f) of the Penal Code, which states: "Confinement for a period of not less than six months and not exceeding five years… shall be the penalty inflicted on whoever makes use of religion in propagating, either by words, in writing, or in any other means, extreme ideas for the purpose of inciting strife, ridiculing or insulting a heavenly religion or a sect following it, or damaging national unity."
Pakistan: After a Pakistani flag with the name of "Allah" on it accidentally blew from a Christian's property to a Muslim's, the Muslim accused the Christian of deliberately trying to blaspheme the name of Allah. This accusation was advertised in the local mosques, and prompted enraged Muslims to threaten to burn down the homes of the 15 Christian families in the area. Also, a Christian pastor, who had preached among Muslims, some of whom showed interest in converting, was threatened and subsequently kidnapped.
Tanzania: A 17-year-old girl, Eva Abdullah, who had abandoned Islam three years ago to convert to Christianity, was sentenced to two years in prison after being accused of desecrating the Quran. Her parents had disowned her and "a group of radicals" tried to "persuade" her to renounce her Christian faith. When she refused, they falsely accused her of desecrating a Quran.
Tunisia: The nation's ruling Islamist party filed a bill to criminalize offenses against "sacred values." "Crimes" would mandate prison terms and fines for broadly worded offenses, such as insulting or mocking the "sanctity of religion." Among other things, the bill also codifies the levels of offense to religious feelings, including "insults, profanity, derision and representation of Allah and Mohammed."

Dhimmitude

[General Abuse, Debasement, and Suppression of Non-Muslims as "Tolerated" Citizens]

Egypt: The nation's jihad organizations dropped leaflets calling on Muslims to kill Christians wherever they found them. Coptic shop owners who sell Christian icons and statues received threatening letters. Muslim "gangs" plundered and kidnapped for ransom Christians. Islamists in the Constituent Assembly demanded that the Coptic Church's funds be placed under state financial control, a measure categorically rejected by Copts: the state in no way funds the Church, even though mosques are funded by taxpayers, including Christians. Condemning the proposal, the acting Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church said the demand has only one meaning: "that Copts are clearly persecuted." Despite promising greater representation for Egypt's Copts, President Morsi broke his word and allowed only one Copt, a female, to represent the nation's 10-14% Christians in the newly formed Cabinet: "We had expected an increase in the representation of Copts especially after the number of ministries increased to 35. But the formation ignored all the known rights and concepts of citizenship," said the acting Patriarch: "It is not right that Copts get treated in this way." When Egypt's Constituent Assembly proposed a law to criminalize "forced labor, slavery, the trafficking of women and children, human organs, and the sex trade," from which Christians, especially females, would benefit, the Islamist party complained.
Iran: According to Mohabat News, authorities "raise[d] unsubstantiated charges" against five arrested converts to Christianity to "pressure" and "intimidate" them, including by falsely accusing them of desecrating the Quran, and holding them for indefinite periods. "Although their situation is still unclear six months after their arrest, there is no doubt that the Christians' only crime is related to their faith in Jesus Christ."
Pakistan: Eleven Christian student nurses were poisoned with mercury in their tea. It is believed that the Christian women were targeted as punishment for drinking tea while their Muslim colleagues were fasting during the month of Ramadan. And a 56-year-old Christian woman at the Karachi Press Club recounted how she and her family were enslaved and forced to work without pay, and tortured and beaten. Muslim "feudal lords" are threatening her and her extended family, with, among other charges, accusations of blasphemy: "Please protect us," they said. "We don't want to go back."
Saudi Arabia: The last of the 35 Ethiopian Christians held in detention since December after being arrested for holding a prayer meeting in a private home was deported home: "We have arrived home safe," one of the released said: "We believe that we are released as the result of the pressure exerted by ICC and others. The Saudi officials do not tolerate any religions other than Islam. They consider non-Muslims unbelievers. They are full of hatred towards non-Muslims."
Syria: A number of Melchite Greek Catholic priests, including the archbishop, fled to Lebanon after their offices were ransacked. According to Fides, "unidentified groups who want to feed a religious war and drag the Syrian population into sectarian conflicts" attacked the Christian area in the old quarter of Aleppo. A Byzantine Christian museum and an office of the Maronite Christian faith were also damaged.
Turkey: The chairman of Parliament's education committee is accusing the French government of "planting seeds of hate" with its move to include the Armenian genocide in history and geography books used in French secondary schools. Armenia, backed by many historians, says that about 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during World War I in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the Ottoman government.
Uzbekistan: A 26-year-old Christian woman, paralyzed from youth, and her mother were violently attacked by six men with sticks who broke into their home at 4 a.m. The men ransacked the home, confiscating icons, bibles, religious calendars and prayer books. When the paralyzed woman furtively tried to phone for help, she was beaten again. They were all taken to the police department, where the woman was "offered to convert to Islam." She refused, and the judge eventually "decided that the women had resisted police and had stored the banned religious literature at home and conducted missionary activities. He fined them 20 minimum monthly wages each."

About this Series

Because the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching epidemic proportions, "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:

1. To document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, Muslim persecution of Christians.
2. To show that such persecution is not "random," but systematic and interrelated—that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Sharia.

Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; apostasy and blasphemy laws that criminalize and punish with death those who "offend" Islam; theft and plunder in lieu of jizya (financial tribute expected from non-Muslims); overall expectations for Christians to behave like dhimmis, or second-class, "tolerated" citizens; and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination.
Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the West, to India in the East, and throughout the West wherever there are Muslims—it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle


On February 26, 1993, a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, NY. The 1,336 lb (606 kg) urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower (Tower One) into the South Tower (Tower Two), bringing both towers down and killing thousands of people. It failed to do so, but it did kill six people and injured more than a thousand. The attack was planned by a group of conspirators including Ramzi Yousef, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad Salameh, Nidal A. Ayyad, Abdul Rahman Yasin and Ahmad Ajaj. They received financing from Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, Yousef's uncle. In March 1994, four men were convicted of carrying out the bombing: Abouhalima, Ajaj, Ayyad and Salameh. The charges included conspiracy, explosive destruction of property and interstate transportation of explosives. In November 1997, two more were convicted: Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind behind the bombings, and Eyad Ismoil, who drove the truck carrying the bomb.

Today it has become known that the US State Department (Under the leadership of Huma Abedin.) is negotiating with Egypt to Free The Blind Sheik.

The U.S. State Department is currently in negotiations with the Egyptian government for the transfer of custody of Omar Abdel-Rahman, also known as “the Blind Sheikh,” for humanitarian and health reasons, a source close to the the Obama administration told The Blaze.

The negotiations are allegedly part of the ongoing discussions with the Egyptian government to resolve the crisis plaguing the Middle East, the source told The Blaze. Calls to the State Department for comment referred us to the Department of Justice, and nothing has been confirmed.

The Blind Sheikh is serving a life sentence in American prison for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. His release has been called one of the top priorities of the new Islamist administration in Egypt. Many have pinpointed the cause of last week‘s unrest in Egypt to be protests over the Blind Sheikh’s release– not an anti-Islam YouTube video.

Citing the handling of the current crisis in the Middle East, and how the administration’s explanation that an anti-Islamic video is to blame, Beck warned that the administration may be trying to initiate a “Bubba effect.”

“If this is true, and we believe it to be true,” he explained, “I believe this administration is trying to initiate a ‘Bubba effect.’ That is, the average person turning against the government, collectively…because no one trusts them.”

“No matter how bad a citizen may be behaving, the citizen’s reaction is worse in the Bubba effect. We have to be very careful America…because it’s going to get tougher from here on out.”

Source

We have we heard the line before?:

For humanitarian and health reasons

Oh yes with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.  The Mastermind behind the Lockerbie bombing.  It was sworn in court that he had 3 months at the most to live.  He died 3 years later.

Now this time the US government isn't even going to ask the victims if he should be released.  He will just do it.  That will stop the riots in Egypt.

How about we start to riot here in the US?  If he does.  There is no stopping this traitor is there?  Imagine what he will do if he gets another term?

Ask yourself this:  Can we afford another 4 years of an Obama Regime?

Prelude To War

By Findalis

From Wikipedia:

World War 1:

In the 19th century, the major European powers had gone to great lengths to maintain a balance of power throughout Europe, resulting by 1900 in a complex network of political and military alliances throughout the continent. These had started in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria. Then, in October 1873, German Chancellor Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors (German: Dreikaiserbund) between the monarchs of Austria–Hungary, Russia and Germany. This agreement failed because Austria–Hungary and Russia could not agree over Balkan policy, leaving Germany and Austria–Hungary in an alliance formed in 1879, called the Dual Alliance. This was seen as a method of countering Russian influence in the Balkans as the Ottoman Empire continued to weaken. In 1882, this alliance was expanded to include Italy in what became the Triple Alliance.

After 1870, European conflict was averted largely through a carefully planned network of treaties between the German Empire and the remainder of Europe orchestrated by Bismarck. He especially worked to hold Russia at Germany's side to avoid a two-front war with France and Russia. When Wilhelm II ascended to the throne as German Emperor (Kaiser), Bismarck's alliances were gradually de-emphasised. For example, the Kaiser refused to renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia in 1890. Two years later, the Franco-Russian Alliance was signed to counteract the force of the Triple Alliance. In 1904, the United Kingdom sealed an alliance with France, the Entente Cordiale, and in 1907, the United Kingdom and Russia signed the Anglo-Russian Convention. This system of interlocking bilateral agreements formed the Triple Entente.

German industrial and economic power had grown greatly after unification and the foundation of the Empire in 1871. From the mid-1890s on, the government of Wilhelm II used this base to devote significant economic resources to building up the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy), established by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, in rivalry with the British Royal Navy for world naval supremacy.[19] As a result, each nation strove to out-build the other in terms of capital ships. With the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906, the British Empire expanded on its significant advantage over its German rival. The arms race between Britain and Germany eventually extended to the rest of Europe, with all the major powers devoting their industrial base to producing the equipment and weapons necessary for a pan-European conflict. Between 1908 and 1913, the military spending of the European powers increased by 50 percent.

Austria-Hungary precipitated the Bosnian crisis of 1908–1909 by officially annexing the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878. This angered the Kingdom of Serbia and its patron, the Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russian Empire. Russian political maneuvering in the region destabilised peace accords that were already fracturing in what was known as "the powder keg of Europe".

In 1912 and 1913 the First Balkan War was fought between the Balkan League and the fracturing Ottoman Empire. The resulting Treaty of London further shrank the Ottoman Empire, creating an independent Albanian State while enlarging the territorial holdings of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece. When Bulgaria attacked both Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913, it lost most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece and Southern Dobruja to Romania in the 33-day Second Balkan War, further destabilising the region.

On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian-Serb student and member of Young Bosnia, assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo, Bosnia.[24] This began a period of diplomatic maneuvering among Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France, and Britain called the July Crisis. Wanting to finally end Serbian interference in Bosnia, Austria-Hungary delivered the July Ultimatum to Serbia, a series of ten demands intentionally made unacceptable, intending to provoke a war with Serbia.[25] When Serbia agreed to only eight of the ten demands, Austria-Hungary declared war on 28 July 1914. Strachan argues, "Whether an equivocal and early response by Serbia would have made any difference to Austria-Hungary's behavior must be doubtful. Franz Ferdinand was not the sort of personality who commanded popularity, and his demise did not cast the empire into deepest mourning".

The Russian Empire, unwilling to allow Austria–Hungary to eliminate its influence in the Balkans, and in support of its longtime Serb proteges, ordered a partial mobilization one day later. When the German Empire began to mobilize on 30 July 1914, France, resentful of the German conquest of Alsace-Lorraine during the Franco-Prussian War, ordered French mobilization on 1 August. Germany declared war on Russia on the same day. The United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, following an "unsatisfactory reply" to the British ultimatum that Belgium must be kept neutral.

From Wikipedia:

World War 2:

The main causes of World War II were nationalistic tensions, unresolved issues, and resentments resulting from the World War I and the interwar period in Europe, plus the effects of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

The culmination of events that led to the outbreak of war are generally understood to be the 1939 invasion of Poland by Germany and Soviet Russia and the 1937 invasion of the Republic of China by the Empire of Japan.

These military aggressions were the result of decisions made by the authoritarian ruling Nazi elite in Germany and by the leadership of the Kwantung Army in Japan. World War II started after these aggressive actions were met with an official declaration of war and/or armed resistance.

I could go on for many wars.  The main thesis is that posturing and beating of the chests will only cause others to prepare for war instead of becoming scared of the idiot with the aggressive behavior. This was true all through out history and is true today.

The IDF has deployed Armored forces near the Israel-Egypt border, moving tanks closer to the fence, Ynet has learned. The unusual move followed Monday's terror attack on defense contractor crews building the new security fence.

The attack claimed the life of Said Phashpashe, 36, from Haifa. Golani soldiers who were scrambled to the area killed two terrorists.

Ynet was able to document the presence of Israeli tanks in close proximity to the border – maneuvers which are barred by Jerusalem's peace treaty with Cairo. The last time the IDF boosted its front-line combat vehicle presence in the sector was in August 2011, following a murderous terror attack by the Islamic Jihad, which left nine Israelis dead.

At the time, the military deployed several armored personnel carriers along the border, as part of the heightened security measures in the sensitive area.

Ynet's chief military commentator Ron Ben Yishai noted that several months ago, Israel and Egypt arrived at an agreement by which Cairo would be able to deploy 20 tanks near the border, to ward off attacks by Bedouins on Egyptian forces, despite the fact that such a move contradicts the peace treaty.

It is likely that the deal also allowed Israel to do the same in favor of increased protection for the area's communities.

Gaza Division Southern Brigade Commander Col. Tal Harmoni held a press briefing Monday, following the terror attack: "We are in a race against the clock to close the border," he told reporters. "We have to seal off the border as soon as we can to prevent exactly these kinds of attacks."

Harmoni added that as tragic as the attack's result were, "It could have been far worse – a large-scale attack was prevented.

"The IDF has strong ties with the Egyptians forces, who are working tirelessly to thwart such incidents," he concluded.

Source

Every day there is an attack or attempted attack on Israel from the Sinai.  The military claims that they don't have jurisdiction to arrest the terrorist.  The Muslim Brotherhood is stirring the people of Egypt towards war with Israel.  A war the Egyptian military doesn't want and the Israelis dread the war and the loss of life it will bring.

It seems that only the Muslim Brotherhood want war with Israel.  A War of Liberation they are calling it.  A war in which they believe they will not only liberate Jerusalem but turn it into the Capital of Egypt.  A war in which both military and civilian in their nation will pay the price.

Israel has placed some of its tanks on the border with Sinai.  The IDF is preparing war plans to defend the nation.  Planes are standing by and Rabbis are beginning to pray for the nation.  Egypt is too confident, too cocky.  Egypt can be hurt, damaged, destroyed if necessary.  The women of Egypt will cry to G-d in anger and pain.  This will be a war that could be averted but not with the Leadership we now have in the White House.

Would Jew Believe This?

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

A young boy returned home from Hebrew school, washed his hands and sat down to dinner.

His father asked him what he learned that day in school.

The boy replied that the Rabbi told his class the most amazing story of how the Jews were rescued from the Land of Egypt and brought to the Land of Israel.

His father smiled and asked his son to relate the story the Rabbi told them.

"Sure Dad," the boy said.  "Now this story happened a long time ago, before the time of CNN.  Before the time of computers, and cell phones.  Before even TV.  I think it was in the 1920s or so it happened.

"Egypt was ruled by this guy named Pharaoh.  I think it means "Nasty Egyptian". And we Jews were his slaves. We didn't like being slaves and prayed to G-d to set us free. G-d heard our prayers and sent us a miracle.

"G-d  sent the IDF back in time to rescue the Children of Israel (I think they rescued the parents too.).  The Commandos diverted the Egyptian Army while the Children and their parents fled to the Red Sea (It was red because G-d turned the water to blood like in Zombie Killers 3.).  There the IDF built Pontoon bridges across the Red Sea for the people to go across.  When the Egypt Army tried to follow, the IDF blew up the bridges.

"Then this guy named Moshe Dayan (He is the head of the IDF, I think. Rabbi said he was G-d's greatest profits.) lead the Children of Israel (and their parents) to Mount Sinai where Moshe lays down the law, destroys the Golden Calf and leads them to Israel.

"But it took them 40 years because nobody had a GPS and Moshe would not ask for directions."

His father had a look upon his face that was a cross between total astonishment and WTF.  "Is this what the Rabbi taught you?"

"No Dad,"  the boy said.  "But you wouldn't believe the crazy story he did tell."

Here is that crazy story:

From Chabad

After many decades of slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, during which time the Israelites were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, G‑d saw the people's distress and sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: "Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me." But despite numerous warnings, Pharaoh refused to heed G‑d's command. G‑d then sent upon Egypt ten devastating plagues, afflicting them and destroying everything from their livestock to their crops.

At the stroke of midnight of 15 Nissan in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), G‑d visited the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. While doing so, G‑d spared the Children of Israel, "passing over" their homes-hence the name of the holiday. Pharaoh's resistance was broken, and he virtually chased his former slaves out of the land. The Israelites left in such a hurry, in fact, that the bread they baked as provisions for the way did not have time to rise. Six hundred thousand adult males, plus many more women and children, left Egypt on that day, and began the trek to Mount Sinai and their birth as G‑d's chosen people.

 

This video tells the story very well too:

Happy Passover!

NASA To Honor Dead Egyptian Bimbo, Not Once Did NASA Honor One 9/11 Victim!

By Findalis

What is with this government?  Every day there is another slur on American Culture, American Values. This time the agency is NASA.  Instead of naming a new rocket after an American Hero or a victim of the 9/11 attacks, they have decided to name the rocket after an Egyptian Whore Bimbo Woman killed in the riots.

The United States space agency NASA has okayed the naming of one of its spaceships after a young Egyptian woman killed in late January during an anti-goverment protest, according to Egyptian daily Al-Masry-al-Youm.

The paper quoted Essam Mohamed Haji, a young researcher at NASA as saying on Thursday he had received approval to put the young woman Sally Zahran's name on a spaceship heading for Mars.

Zahran, a 23 English graduated and translator died after she was beaten about the head on 28 January with a truncheons during clashes with security forces in in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag. Anti-government protesters claim her killers were thugs in the pay of police.

“This is the least we could provide to Egyptian youth and revolutionaries. This step represents transferring the dreams of Egyptian youth from a small stretch of earth to the enormous expanse of space,” said Haji was cited as telling Al-Masri Al-Youm by phone from California.

Egypt on Thursday entered it 17th day of unrest, with many thousands of people taking to the streets in the capital, Cairo and filling its central Tahrir Square.

Doctors, bus drivers, lawyers and textile workers were on strike in Cairo on Thursday, with trade unions reporting walkouts and protests across the country.

The protesters have vowed to keep up their revolt against authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak, who they want to leave office immediately.

Around 300 people have been killed in clashes with security forces and over 1,400 have been injured since the unrest began on 25 January against Mubarak, who took power in 1981 and whom they blame for widespread poverty, corruption and police brutality.

Mubarak, a staunch ally of the west, has said he will not run for another presidential term in elections due in September, but the anti-government protesters want more rapid political and economic change.

He has come under increasing pressure from the US to speed the transition to democracy. CIA director Leon Panetta, in testimony before an intelligence committee of the US legislature on Thursday said there was "a strong likelihood that Mubarak will step down this evening."

State television interrupted all programming to present a message from the high council of the Egyptian armed forces that promised to to take "necessary measures to protect the nation," the military also said it would "support the legitimate demands of the people" and remain in "continuous session".

How nice.  We are learning to be Dhimmis very fast.  Next it will be like Great Britain with Halal only meats sold in stores, blasphemy laws stifling free speech against Islam, then forced conversions.

Here is a strange idea for NASA.  How about these men and women to name the rocket for:

Apollo 1

Crew of Apollo 1

Virgil "Gus" Ivan Grissom, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF

Edward Higgins White, II, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF

Roger Bruce Chaffee, Lieutenant Commander, USN

Space Shuttle Challenger

Crew of Challenger

(front row) Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair; 

(back row) Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik.

Space Shuttle Columbia

Crew of the Columbia

If NASA wants to honor a foreign hero they could honor Ilan Ramon (Israel) who died on the Columbia.

Or NASA could honor the 2,998 victims of 9/11.  They could put all the names in a box and pull out one.

Some of the victims of 9/11

If you find this appalling what NASA is doing you can contact them here.

If they will not listen to the AMERICAN TAXPAYER, you should contact your Congressional Representative or Senator.

NASA is funded only by the American Taxpayer.  It should be the American Taxpayer who has the final say on the naming of our spacecrafts.

EXODUS!

By Marc Chagall

In the Book of Exodus, the Jewish people, people of G-d, after many years of slavery, after G-d sending to Egypt 10 plagues, after all their troubles, were finally freed from bondage.  Today we are witnessing a modern exodus from Egypt. Not an exodus of one religious group (Although Egypt destroyed its Jewish community in the 1950s.), but of Israelis, Americans, Europeans, and rich Egyptians.

The top shareholder in the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG) has fled Egypt, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Hussein Salem, a close confidant of President Hosni Mubarak and the controlling shareholder in EMG, which holds long-term sales contracts to supply natural gas to Israel, fled the capital over the weekend.

Salem was joined by dozens of other wealthy Egyptian and Arab business leaders who crowded aboard 19 private jets Saturday at Cairo Airport, an unnamed official told AP.

Most of the planes were headed for Dubai

Funny how the rich flee like rats from a sinking ship. They will be able to spend their lives in Dubai living in luxury while their nation suffers.

It took Obama a few days, but he is rescuing stranded Americans.

CAIRO -- The U.S. Embassy in Egypt on Sunday recommended that Americans leave the country as soon as possible, while other nations urged their nationals to avoid traveling to Cairo as days of protests descended into chaos, with looters roaming the streets and travelers stranded in the airport.

The Sunday morning travel warning came as uncertainty mounted over how the demonstrations that have roiled the Arab world's most populous nation will play out. Those questions, coupled with the growing lawlessness, have panicked Egyptians and foreigners alike, with thousands flocking to the airport frantically trying to secure a dwindling number of available seats. Others hopped on private jets and made their escape.

The travel warning said the Embassy will update Americans about departure assistance as soon as possible. Other nations, including China, France, Germany, Belgium and Russia have warned or advised their citizens against travel to Egypt.

The U.S. has yet to send in any special flights, and the only American carrier with direct service to Cairo, Delta Airlines, has suspended that service. Other nations, however, have flown in additional flights to evacuate their citizens as a growing number of commercial flights are either canceled, suspended or delayed because of a curfew that only leaves a few hours in which people can freely move around the city.

Egypt has shut down Al Jazeera.

Egypt has shut down the offices of Al Jazeera after the pan-Arab satellite network interviewed Muslim radicals preaching incitement against the Mubarak regime. The United States has not yet commented.

One Al Jazeera correspondent wrote on his Twitter account, "Don’t worry we’ll still report what’s happening in Egypt no matter what new restrictions they put on us." Al Jazeera's 24-hour news network has been reporting almost exclusively on the uprising in Egypt.

Full Story

Hosni Mubarak still has the support of the Egyptian military as they have tanks on the street and jets in the air.

Egypt sent its tanks into Cairo over the weekend and its fighter planes soared through the skies overhead in an effort to persuade protesters to return home.

Military helicopters hovered over the crowds and trucks of soldiers appeared in the central square of the capital where protesters continued to call for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

State media reported that Mubarak held talks with top military commanders earlier in the day, as troops attempted to enforce a 4:00 p.m. curfew in a city of some 18 million people.

Hundreds of Muslim terrorists and thousands of other inmates were freed by armed gangs from jails across the capital just before dawn on Sunday. The former prisoners rushed into the city with guns, sticks and clubs, indiscriminately smashing cars and robbing people.

As long as the Egyptian military backs Mubarak, he is safe. But for how long.

What started in Tunisia, has spread to Lebanon, Jordan,Egypt, Yemen, but not to the Palestinian Authority (PA).  Though Al Jazeera has tried to formant unrest, their efforts failed miserably.  Where ever Al Jazeera has been successful, the new governments have become Islamic regimes fashioned after Iran's.  Which leads me to wonder if Iran has been planning this all along?

Egypt is falling, Jordan could be next.  Funny how Syria is calm with no rioting, no protests. But Syria is an ally to Iran.


By Findalis

Deja Vu?

By Findalis

The one difference this time is if the Muslim Brotherhood does take over Egypt, one of the first things they have announced they will do is to renege on the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, open up the border with Gaza and flood Gaza with military weapons (tanks, artillery, etc...).  I predict that the whole region will be at war by the end of the year, if not sooner.

Homily To The Muslims.

By Findalis

Book of Obama, Chapter 6

It came to pass that on the 4th day of the month of June, the Anointed One journeyed to the land of the Pharaohs. In the city of Cairo, where no Pharaoh had ever walked, the Anointed One, spoke to the assembled at the Hall of Learning.

I carry to you the goodwill of MY people of America and the peace of the Mosques of America: assalaamu alaykum.

We in the West have kept the Muslim down in the gutter for too long. We have colonized your lands, stolen your property and kept you in ignorance. But I will CHANGE that.

On 9/11 you attacked us, and we were angry. But that is now over. We can work together without us mentioning 9/11, all is forgiven.

This CHANGE will not be easy. This CHANGE will not take place overnight. It will take a year or two, but I will bring CHANGE and HOPE to all the Muslim world.

I tell you that I am a Christian, but MY father, grandfather and brother were all Muslims. I spent many years as a boy in a Muslim land. I worked with Muslims in Chicago. And I learned your history. How you developed Algebra (actually invented in India) , the Magnetic Compass (invented in China), pens and printing(invented in China), all the while bringing peace, prosperity, and harmony to the world ( as long as the Christians, Jews and Hindus paid a special tax and lived as second class citizens). Your level of medicine rivaled that of the modern world of today (that is if you like dipping fly wings into your tea and drinking it to cure disease). How you brought about the Renaissance and Enlightenment (both would have come earlier if Muslim armies hadn't invaded Europe).

I know that Muslims were fundamental to the establishment of the United States. That Muslims fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch (all within the last 50 years). We were first recognized by Morocco (that is after France, Great Britain, and Spain).

You have a bad misconception of ME. MY America is Muslim friendly with a Mosque in every state and 1200 in the nation. We welcome Muslims with open arms. You are free to force your women to wear your burkas, insist on forcing Christians and Jews into a Dhimmi role, and kill your female relatives if they upset your honor. Just don't show anti-Semitic pictures. Don't yell your true feelings of hatred in the world.

We are all humans. We must all respect that.

I will state it again: America is not at war with Islam. (So please don't attack us again, right?)

I will not keep MY troops in Afghanistan or Iraq. I will have them away from those lands within a few years. (I'm gonna need them to destroy Israel.) We will keep up the illusion of fighting the extremists with the help of of the Muslim world. (I know you don't want them to lose and I need to save face.) We will defeat them together. (Or not, they are useful to keep the sheep scared.)

I will bring a solution to the Palestinian problem. It is all the fault of the Israelis. They will do what I will say. There will be peace. For I will make Israel give the Palestinians everything that they want, and the Palestinians will not have to do anything. And if there isn't peace, then I will blame the failure on the Israelis.

I will allow Iran to have Nukes, and will make everyone give up theirs instead. That way the Muslim world can have as many Nukes they wish to force their will on others.

I grant Freedom of Religion to all Muslims. The 7 million Muslims in America (There are no more than 3 million Muslims in America) have such freedom. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's Interfaith dialogue (How many churches and synagogues are there in Saudi Arabia?) and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations (As long as non-Muslims accept the Dhimmitude).

The right of women to wear the hajib I give freely. You should educate them, but remember your faith does not allow them to be treated equally.

I give you the gift of Democracy. But only the Democracy that you want. I urge you to treat your non-Muslims with dignity, but remember they are Dhimmis and you know the rights they are to have.

And then He spoke from the Koran, He spoke the words of peace and understanding.

The assembled in the Hall of Learning rose in great cheers. For He will give them the world on a platter and they have to do almost nothing. No more cries of: "Death to Israel!" No more whispers and planning. All they have to do is sit back and let it happen.

But a wind began to stir. The discord of dissent was coming from the Holy City. The Leader of the Hebrews, Netanyahu arose. He spoke the words of discourse loud enough for all to hear:

NO WE WON'T!!!!!!!

Solving the Palestinian Problem

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle


Daniel Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.

This is his latest essay from the Jerusalem Post

Israel's war against Hamas brings up the old quandary: What to do about the Palestinians? Western states, including Israel, need to set goals to figure out their policy toward the West Bank and Gaza.

Let's first review what we know does not and cannot work:

• Israeli control. Neither side wishes to continue the situation that began in 1967, when the IDF took control of a population that is religiously, culturally, economically and politically different and hostile.
• A Palestinian state. The 1993 Oslo Accords began this process but a toxic brew of anarchy, ideological extremism, anti-Semitism, jihadism and warlordism led to complete Palestinian failure.
• A binational state: Given the two populations' strong mutual antipathy, the prospect of a combined Israel-Palestine (what Muammar Gaddafi calls "Israstine") is as absurd as it seems.

Excluding these three prospects leaves only one practical approach, which worked tolerably well in the period 1948-67: Shared Jordanian-Egyptian rule, with Amman ruling the West Bank and Cairo running Gaza.

TO BE sure, this back-to-the-future approach inspires little enthusiasm. Not only was Jordanian-Egyptian rule undistinguished, but resurrecting this arrangement will frustrate Palestinian impulses, be they nationalist or Islamist. Further, Cairo never wanted Gaza and has vehemently rejected its return. Accordingly, one academic analyst dismisses this idea as "an elusive fantasy that can only obscure real and difficult choices."

It is not. The failures of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and the "peace process," has prompted rethinking in Amman and Jerusalem. Indeed, the Christian Science Monitor's Ilene Prusher found already in 2007 that the idea of a West Bank-Jordan confederation "seems to be gaining traction on both sides of the Jordan River." The Jordanian government, which enthusiastically annexed the West Bank in 1950 and abandoned its claims only under duress in 1988, shows signs of wanting to return. Dan Diker and Pinhas Inbari documented for Middle East Quarterly in 2006 how the PA's "failure to assert control and become a politically viable entity has caused Amman to reconsider whether a hands-off strategy toward the West Bank is in its best interests."

Israeli officialdom has also shown itself open to this idea, occasionally calling for Jordanian troops to enter the West Bank.

Despairing of self-rule, some Palestinians welcome the Jordanian option. An unnamed senior PA official told Diker and Inbari that a form of federation or confederation with Jordan offers "the only reasonable, stable, long-term solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Hanna Seniora opined that "the current weakened prospects for a two-state solution forces us to revisit the possibility of a confederation with Jordan." The New York Times's Hassan Fattah quotes a Palestinian in Jordan: "Everything has been ruined for us - we've been fighting for 60 years and nothing is left. It would be better if Jordan ran things in Palestine, if King Abdullah could take control of the West Bank."

NOR IS this just talk: Diker and Inbari report that back-channel PA-Jordan negotiations in 2003-04 "resulted in an agreement in principle to send 30,000 Badr Force members," to the West Bank.

And while Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak announced a year ago that "Gaza is not part of Egypt, nor will it ever be," his is hardly the last word. First, Mubarak notwithstanding, Egyptians overwhelmingly want a strong tie to Gaza; Hamas concurs; and Israeli leaders sometimes agree. So the basis for an overhaul in policy exists.

Secondly, Gaza is arguably more a part of Egypt than of "Palestine." During most of the Islamic period, it was either controlled by Cairo or part of Egypt administratively. Gazan colloquial Arabic is identical to what Egyptians living in Sinai speak. Economically, Gaza has most connections to Egypt. Hamas itself derives from the Muslim Brethren, an Egyptian organization.

Is it time to think of Gazans as Egyptians?

Thirdly, Jerusalem could out-maneuver Mubarak. Were it to announce a date when it ends the provisioning of all water, electricity, food, medicine and other trade, and accepts enhanced Egyptian security in Gaza, Cairo would have to take responsibility for Gaza. Among other advantages, this would make it accountable for Gazan security, finally putting an end to the thousands of Hamas rocket and mortar assaults.

The Jordan-Egypt option quickens no pulses, but that may be its value. It offers a uniquely sober way to solve the "Palestinian problem."

The Palestinian people have demonstrated that they cannot govern themselves, no matter how many dollars or euros are donated to them. They have not built an infrastructure, working hospitals or schools, roads or sewers, or any of the necessary improvements on their lands that every government must do to maintain law and order.

Instead they allow thugs and murderers to rule over them, imposing 7th Century codes of law, and causing massive shortages in every item except bigotry and anger.

Since they cannot or will not govern themselves, and Israel is fed up with the whole process, the time has come to force Egypt and Jordan to take these troublesome people back.

The Palestinian Problem is not a Jewish or Israeli one, it is an Arab one. And it is time for the Arabs to finally solve it once and for all!