Happy New Year to you all. Before we get too far into other activities, we thought we'd leave you with an excellent series of videos of Brigitte Gabriel discussing radical Islam at the Heritage Foundation. Gabriel is a Christian Lebanese-American journalist, author and activist. She is the founder of the American Congress For Truth, a conservative think tank. The videos will take just under an hour to go through.
We're taking a break for Christmas, but we've left something good for you to occupy the next two minutes. Check out the latest from David Zucker - it's a commentary on the ISG recommendations and the implications of engaging Iran.
Here's one more. It's a special message from al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, on the true meaning of Christmas.
President Bush signed into law a bill meant to block U.S. aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government and ban contacts with Hamas until they renounce violence and recognize Israel. It also creates a $20 million fund to promote democracy, human rights, freedom of the press and peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), sponsor of the Senate bill with Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), said the legislation makes clear the Palestinian Authority can expect no U.S. help so long as it continues to be led by Hamas. "The Palestinian people are ill-served by a Hamas-led government that refuses to work toward the betterment of its citizens by failing to renounce terror and work toward peace with Israel," McConnell said.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) said she was pleased the president signed the bill she sponsored in the House. "By fixing his hand to this legislation today, President Bush has indicated that the U.S. will not, directly or indirectly, allow American taxpayer funds to be used to perpetuate the leadership of an Islamist jihadist entity like Hamas."
The White House said the legislation reflects the administration's concern over the current government's failure to renounce violence and terror, recognize Israel and respect previous agreements and obligations. Exceptions are made to provide financial support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has committed to a negotiated two-state solution with Israel.
Here's an interesting story from the Diplomatic Pouch. On December 4, Ariana Outreach of Virginia and International Orphan Care of Los Angeles hosted the first Afghan and American Sisterhood Award Gala to highlight the plight of the Afghan people and the union of Afghan and American women. Members of Capitol Hill as well as first lady Laura Bush attended to celebrate Afghan women and their ties with Americans. Earlier that day, Bush announced a formal partnership between Georgetown University and the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council.
Bush said the council's various initiatives have already helped women reclaim "their place with men at the center of Afghan society. With the support of Georgetown, the council will work to improve the lives of even more women in Afghanistan."
Humira Noorestani, founder of Ariana Outreach, said she was impressed by the turnout at the inaugural gala, which featured more than 200 guests. "The Afghan Diaspora has been present for 25 plus years, yet they do not have a real voice in Washington. As an Afghan-American woman, I will not allow my country to crumble again," she said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has predicted that Britain, Israel and the U.S. would eventually disappear from the world like the Egyptian pharaonic kings.
"The oppressive powers will disappear while the Iranian people will stay. Any power that is close to God will survive while the powers who are far from God will disappear like the pharaohs," he said Wednesday. "Today, it is the United States, Britain and the Zionist regime which are doomed to disappear as they have moved far away from the teachings of God," he said. "It is a divine promise."
Ahmadinejad's comments were the latest salvo against the West and Israel. He has repeatedly predicted that Israel is doomed to disappear. The remarks come amid mounting efforts by the P-5 to agree a resolution imposing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
An Islamist website used by terrorist groups including al-Qaeda is urging Muslims to seek the release of a cleric jailed in the U.S. through "any form of attempt or pressure." The al-Hesbah Network also warned that the U.S. would be held responsible for any harm that came to Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind cleric imprisoned in 1995 for conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks.
U.S. law enforcement officials have said Abdel-Rahman was taken to hospital earlier this month, prompting a warning by the FBI that his death could lead to attacks. The website quoted what it described as the will of Abdel-Rahman as saying: "If they (U.S.) and they certainly will kill me ... forget not my blood and do not let it be wasted. Seek revenge for me in the strongest and most violent fashion."
U.S. officials have said the medical condition of the 68-year-old Abdel-Rahman has subsequently improved, that he had been released from the hospital, that he now is in stable condition and back in a federal prison medical facility. Abdel-Rahman began to spit up blood on December 6 and was taken from the prison to the emergency room at a hospital in Springfield, Missouri, where doctors discovered a tumor on his liver. He has long suffered from a number of medical problems, including diabetes and heart ailments.
Time magazine says it has obtained a secret document that outlines efforts by President Bush to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The plan focuses on providing support for dissidents and groups opposing Assad with the aim of fomenting his downfall. The report sees elections set for March 2007 as "a potentially galvanizing issue" for critics of the regime.
Time reports that because the plan is ultimately a secret effort to influence a foreign government, critics inside the Beltway argue that it requires the White House to inform congressional intelligence committees. That, arguably, would call into question the use of publicly appropriated funds for a covert operation. A key element of the plan focuses on election monitoring. According to the document, "Any information regarding funding for domestic [Syrian] politicians for elections monitoring would have to be protected from public dissemination."
President Bush has deferred by six months the process of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the White House said. In a memo for Secretary Rice, dated Friday, Bush said the decision was "necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States."
"My administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our Embassy to Jerusalem," said Bush, who had pledged during the 2000 campaign to support relocation.
Like former President Bill Clinton, Bush has always used the six-month waiver power provided under the 1995 law that calls for the move to postpone it.
Israel was justified in invading Lebanon in the wake of the kidnapping of two of its soldiers by Hezbollah, respondents to a UPI-Zogby International poll said.
A total of 57.6 percent of the 6,296 U.S. respondents to a Zogby interactive poll said Israel was "justified" in its response while 31.1 percent said it wasn't. Of the 124 respondents who said they were Jewish, 69.9 percent said the invasion was called for and 19.3 percent said it wasn't.
There was a sharp political divide with 85.5 percent of Republicans supporting the Israeli invasion and 52.7 percent of Democrats saying it wasn't justified. Some 57.8 percent of independents agreed that Israel was justified to invade Lebanon. While 16.1 percent of "progressives" said they agreed with Israel's actions, 92.1 percent of those defined as "very conservative" backed the invasion.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) met Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier today, a week after the Iraq Study Group recommended the Bush administration engage Syria to help stabilize Iraq. Nelson was named to the Senate Intelligence Committee this week and said he was on a fact-finding mission to the region.
Members of Congress have shunned Syria since the assassination in neighboring Lebanon of former PM Rafik al-Hariri in February 2005. The State Department and White House both cautioned Nelson over meeting Assad, who supports Hamas and Hezbollah. Later this month, it is expected that Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) will also visit Damascus.
Nelson and Assad discussed instability in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories, the official news agency SANA said. "There was mutual interest to activate dialogue and putting in place mechanisms for cooperation," the agency said.
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