Interesting Stuff # 66

PA TV falsifies video of Gaza deaths

Also see:
· Egyptian TV promotes anti-American hatred
· How the PA makes suicide bombers
· Hamas: "Children fight alongside the adults in the resistance"
· Hamas Duplicity: Talk Peace in English and deny it Arabic
· Suicide terror for children glorified on Hamas children's web site
· PFLP forecasts murder of Israeli leaders
· Terrorist-murderer Quntar awarded honorary Palestinian citizenship
· PA daily: Western Leaders are Hitler copies and Neo-cons are Nazis
· Hamas Encouraging Children to Die for Allah on Website
· A Self-Portrait of Suicide Terrorists
· PA TV: Mom sad daughter arrested, but not because of bombing attempt
· Hamas and Nuclear Terror

Abbas's gamble is doomed

Hamas seems incapable of endorsing the "prisoners' covenant." Prime Minister Ismail Hanyeh has excelled in making rhetorical concessions to secure the survival of the government, but will not succumb to the president's pressure and radically change the entire Constitution, and indeed the very raison d'être of Hamas, under the threat of a presidential ultimatum.

The flaws in Abbas's initiative stem not only from his wrong assumption that he can reconcile his domestic needs with his peace policy, but also from the weaknesses of the "prisoners' covenant." The covenant simply falls short of meeting the requirements of the international community for Hamas to be granted international legitimacy. It contains no explicit recognition of Israel, it does not advance a commitment to stop violent activities, and it does not endorse existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

The covenant's provisions are considerably more difficult for Israel to swallow than those of the all-Arab peace initiative of 2002, and will therefore inevitably strengthen the Israeli government in its determination to pursue its unilateral "convergence plan." For example, the prisoners' repetitive insistence on the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their former lands in Israel, using a formula that is considerably less flexible than that of the 2002 Arab League peace initiative, does not exactly serve as an invitation to negotiations that Israel will rush to accept.

In his eagerness to enhance the legitimacy of his challenge to Hamas by enlisting the support of the prisoners, the living martyrs of the Palestinian cause, Abbas has abandoned the legitimacy offered to him by the Arab League's peace plan, and has undermined the efforts of Arab leaders to bring Hamas into the peace process by coaxing it into endorsing the all-Arab peace platform.

Iranian Regime Thrashes Women's Rights Protesters in Tehran!

Improved European Cooperation Is Helping To Connect The Dots On Terrorism Financing

Iran Connects the Dots: The mullahs and the global war on terror

The Beat Didn't Go On

Contrary to the AP's uncorroborated witness who claimed that American servicemen beat Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to death, an autopsy performed on his corpse reveals that the al-Qaeda leader died from injuries consistent with close encounters to two 500-lb bombs. This should put an end to a very strange episode where people accused soldiers of murdering a man by beating him instead of blowing him up:
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi lived for 52 minutes after a U.S. warplane bombed his hideout northeast of Baghdad, and he died of extensive internal injuries consistent with those caused by a bomb blast, the U.S. military said Monday.
Col. Steve Jones, command surgeon for Multinational Forces, said an autopsy concluded that the terrorist leader died from serious injuries to his lungs. An FBI test positively identified al-Zarqawi's remains. ...
"Blast waves from the two bombs caused tearing, bruising of the lungs and bleeding," he said. "There was no evidence of firearm injuries."
The al Qaeda in Iraq leader also suffered head and facial wounds, bleeding in his ears and a fracture of his lower right leg.
Now that we have that information, perhaps someone can explain what the fuss was all about. Zarqawi never operated within the rules of war, and also did not surrender. When faced with such an enemy in the field, soldiers kill them rather than attempt an arrest. Had they discovered that Zarqawi had survived the explosion and could still present a danger, they would either shoot him or attempt to capture him, depending on their orders. If the latter was the case, the methods used to restrain Zarqawi would appear rough and violent -- and since this isn't a law-enforcement exercise, such tactics in handling an enemy would not be out of place.
As it stands, though, the entire story has now been discredited. Now we must ask the AP about their witness and their decision to publish the uncorroborated story. Based on the descriptions of the site and its remarkable isolation, the AP should have treated "Mohammed's" story with considerable skepticism. Without having any sort of corroboration, the editors need to weigh the informative value of the story against the damage done to the soldiers involved and the military as a whole by promulgating what amounted to gossip and conspiracy theorizing. Since the entire point of war is to kill one's enemy -- and no one doubted that Zarqawi qualified as such -- the publishing of this story under the circumstances is indefensible.
The AP owes its readers an apology and a retraction. Will we get either? Doubtful. We must maintain the level of skepticism that the AP itself failed to keep in this instance. Unlike with the US military, we have a long history of transgressions with the AP on its reporting for our assumptions.

Some more good economic news

You probably won't see this story headlining the evening news, but you know it would have when Clinton was president….