Source: Palestinian leader dissolves government amid infighting

[Volker]

Of course. Even the brief successes of the Crusades were only enabled by the divisions among Muslims. People are exaggerating their abilities. They frequently confuse their expressed mission with what is actually practical and what they can achieve. But others underestimate the damage they can bring.

This reads like a contradictionary statement.

People are exaggerating their abilities. They frequently confuse their expressed mission with what is actually practical and what they can achieve. But others underestimate the damage they can bring.

If this part is about Marines and not about Muslims, the whole post makes more sense.
But you should have made it clear.

 

[MSgt]

This reads like a contradictionary statement.

If this part is about Marines and not about Muslims, the whole post makes more sense.
But you should have made it clear.

What are you talking about? I'll write it differently...

The expressed mission of the Radical Islamists is to re-capture "their land." This, according to the conscripts of the Muslim Brotherhood, means that they claim land as far as Spain and the holy structures left behind after the Ottoman's were finally repelled back. When they speak of spreading their brand of Islam throughout the world, they are more focused on this area. However, this doesn't mean that today's more creative and miserable Radicals don't have larger visions in their heads.

Now, this being said, it is quite impossibhle for them to accomplish such a rediculous mission. Not only could they not rally enough hate behind one brand of Islam to unite, but the West is simply too strong to allow such a thing to happen again. Even they know this to be true, which is why the vast majority of violent Radicals are more inclined to wage the war for the sake of the after life reward and not to achieve the goal.

However, where people are too quick to dismiss them in the manner that I stated above...they are also too quick to underestimate the damage that they can bring. Anybody that knew this culture and had the ability to assess the situation for the last two decades would not have been surprised on September the 11, 2001. However, every single government on earth (to include Muslim ones) watched with surprise those two towers coming down. Obviously, they had the ability to do the unthinkable on American soil.

Now, what exactly is contradictory here and what does it have to do with Marines? Or were you just behaving in your typical Volker fashion and seeking petty argument to make yourself feel better about your heritage?

 

[Kandahar]

Well there goes the Palestinian dream of an independent nation for a generation.

I doubt it will EVER happen now. The West Bank may eventually become an independent nation, but not Gaza. The West Bank and Gaza are shaping up to be two separate nations who both claim sovereignty over the other, like China/Taiwan or North/South Korea.

This event is what will finally fracture Palestine forever. Fatah will control the West Bank and Hamas will control Gaza, and I doubt you'll hear much serious talk from either one about a unified independent Palestine ever again, aside from the occasional boasts that they'll crush the other.

 

[TheNextEra]

And we can go back into history and cast blame on who started all of this hate, but there would be no point. Such things is exactly what has perpetuated the violence throughout history.

The problem is and was the creation of Israel. I understand why it was done, but I do not agree that it should have been done either. I think the stance Israel has taken on the matter towards Palestine as if nothing was wrong with that is a key problem as well.

Add in many Palestinians stance of Israel, along with its 7.1 million people, should just somehow leave is equally wrong at this time. Whether or not Israel should have been created or not, 7.1 million people are not going to just up an leave.

Each side now through generations has learned to hate the other side. I don't really know if it will ever get better there, and now without a legitimate government for Palestine, I fear that it will just turn to genocide against the Palestinians eventually because of the actions of a few Palestinians that choose to continue the tactics to get rid of Israel.

 

[GarzaUK]

Or else the word three will replace the word two immediately preceeding the words "state solution".

I doubt it will EVER happen now. The West Bank may eventually become an independent nation, but not Gaza. The West Bank and Gaza are shaping up to be two separate nations who both claim sovereignty over the other, like China/Taiwan or North/South Korea.

This event is what will finally fracture Palestine forever. Fatah will control the West Bank and Hamas will control Gaza, and I doubt you'll hear much serious talk from either one about a unified independent Palestine ever again, aside from the occasional boasts that they'll crush the other.

Jesus, I didn't even think of 3 states. What a big ****ing **** up! Palestinians can be the most stubborn idiotic people in the world. I mean they can literally get an independent state of their own if they lay down their weapons and go Ghandi style, hell they might even get co-ownership of Jerusalem. So used to war they can't even make peace with themselves. Idiots.

I am in big favour now of Eygpt invading Gaza and smacking Hamas back into their place to be honest. There are no gains for Israel to invade Gaza.

 

[Hatuey]

If I were Bush I'd deff push for nations like Egypt and Jordan to step in but I have a feeling he'll just avoid this. Like every other major politician in this country has.

 

[Tashah]

Historically back in the end of WWII Palestine was the country who allowed Israel back in the middle east, and in return many palestinians probably feel they were forced out of their own country because Israel decided to take over. That would explain the hatred for Israel from the palestinian and thus a never ending battle. Historically the mess started again after WW II when the allies decided to subdivide the middle east.

Palestine allowed Israel back in the Middle East? Israel decided to 'take over'? Wrong on both counts. The British Mandate of Palestine was partitioned by United Nations Resolution. The tally was 33 yea and 13 nay. Your understandings above are nothing less than revisionist history.

 

[Tashah]

Fatah Seizes Parliament Building in West Bank
By IAN FISHER and TAGHREED EL-KHODARY
Published: June 16, 2007

JERUSALEM, June 16 — The Fatah faction, crushed in Gaza, moved to consolidate control over the West Bank today, seizing public buildings, including the Parliament, and preparing to swear in a new government that did not include its rival, Hamas.

Foreign governments strongly protested Hamas’s takeover of Gaza — and Palestinian leaders said today that an American official had offered concrete support for a new non-Hamas government led by an independent economist, Salam Fayyad, even if limited only to the West Bank.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/world/middleeast/16cnd-mideast.html?hp

It appears that 'Palestine' has been partitioned... by Palestinians. Believe it or not, this could be the crucial turning point. If Hamas can be isolated in Gaza, the Israel/Palestine equation could change very dramatically. Think about it.

 

[Khayembii Communique]

Fatah and Hamas at odds?

Apparently Hamas has justified this attack by saying that Fatah is funded by the west and is going against Palestinian interests, and that the Fatah-controlled bureaucracy was incredibly corrupt. I wouldn't call Hamas "moderate" in comparison to Fatah.

The Iraqi's turning on Al Queda and other insurgent extremists?

Iraqi factions have always despised al Qa'ida and have been at war with them and other similar foreign groups since day one.

Yeah..sure it is.

Glad you agree.

How many "civilians" have been killed here?

I don't remember the exact number, as I heard it on NPR a few days ago, but I don't believe it was that high. I just remember that it was much lower than I thought it would be. What I do remember, though, is that when Fatah was consolidating its position, they ordered all civilians they could find out of the area and searched those remaining.

How many "civilians" have been killed in Lebanon due to Lebanese military forces fighting the same garbage America is up against everywhere?

That's Fatah al-Islam, not Fatah.

Were this Israel retaliating with a few rockets into a determined military target after enough rocket launches into Israel, pictures of the very few Palestinian dead (no Israelis or the Muslims that live within Israel) would be on front pages everywhere and you wouldn't have to google the numbers.

Source

Hell, even an attack into an internationally recognized terrorist organization in south Lebanon was enough to bring the global critics to their pulpits.

"A state invading and occupying other sections of another people's land is a much more serious crime than political infighting within a state."

Its already ****ed.

No it isn't.

I doubt it will EVER happen now. The West Bank may eventually become an independent nation, but not Gaza. The West Bank and Gaza are shaping up to be two separate nations who both claim sovereignty over the other, like China/Taiwan or North/South Korea.

This event is what will finally fracture Palestine forever. Fatah will control the West Bank and Hamas will control Gaza, and I doubt you'll hear much serious talk from either one about a unified independent Palestine ever again, aside from the occasional boasts that they'll crush the other.

We'll see. Both sides have very powerful allies.

 

[Synch]

Hamas burning, looting homes; rounding up weapons | Jerusalem Post

Fatah officials reported Saturday that the Hamas were burning and looting their offices and homes. Hamas were said to be rounding up weapons from Fatah and security men.

A wanted Fatah official by Israel was reported to say he'd rather be in Israel than caught by the Hamas.

Also, due to the violence in the Strip, all trade connections with Israel have been cut off.

Israel Radio reported that 100 kilograms of bananas and potatoes were left to rot on the Karni Crossing, and that the fighting in the Strip had caused damage of NIS 5 million to the Israeli agricultural industry.

Lovely quote, all evidence confirms that this is civil war. Fatah officials[in Gaza] are being executed one by one. I've got a video of Hamas fighters parading over the corpse of a dead Fatah militant, I wonder if it's okay if I post it here.

Even if Hamas and Fatah become separated and there is peace in the West Bank, Hamas can still cause significant turmoil if backed by Iran. Plus they now control the border with Egypt, meaning they can smuggle weapons with ease.


One the other hand this could improve the economic situation in the West Bank.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/world/middleeast/16cnd-mideast.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The American consul general in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles, met with Fatah leaders in Ramallah, and Palestinian officials said he had indicated that the United States would remove the ban it imposed on direct financial aid after a Hamas-led government came to power in March 2006.
“There won’t be any obstacles economically and politically in terms of re-engaging with this government,” Mr. Walles was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying after the meeting. “ They will have full support.”
He added, “We certainly want to be providing significant assistance again, for economic development and also to support the legitimate security forces.”

 

[Tashah]

Source

Your cited source ( 'ifamericansknew.org' ) is a well known Palestinian propoganda warehouse and is extremely biased against both Israel and the United States.

 

[Tashah]

Abbas to swear in new cabinet
June 17, 2007 05:05pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse

PALESTINIAN president Mahmud Abbas will swear in a new cabinet in the West Bank, further sealing the divide sparked by the bloody seizure of the Gaza Strip by his Islamist rivals.

Palestinian officials hope the creation of an emergency cabinet without Hamas will lead to the lifting of a crippling Western aid boycott, and Israel has already said it will work with the new government.

The United States and European Union, which along with Israel consider Hamas a terrorist group, halted direct aid to the Palestinian Authority last year after Hamas formed a government following its stunning election victory.

The so-called Quartet of international mediators for Middle East peace - the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia - have offered their "full support'' to Abbas.

Abbas to swear in new cabinet | NEWS.com.au

Hamas-run Gaza isolated physically, diplomatically
By Karin Laub
The Associated Press

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Mahmoud Abbas got a major boost in his increasingly bellicose showdown with Hamas on Saturday, with a U.S. diplomat saying he expects a crippling embargo to be lifted once the Palestinian president appoints a government without the Islamic militants.

In Gaza, panicked residents stocked up, fearing growing shortages of food, fuel and other staples as the crossings from the fenced-in strip to Israel and Egypt remained closed. Hundreds of other Gazans rushed to the border crossing with Israel to try to escape Hamas rule, but found gates locked.

Nation & World | Hamas-run Gaza isolated physically, diplomatically | Seattle Times Newspaper

US, Israel seeking new Palestine model
By Steven Erlanger, New York Times News Service | June 17, 2007

JERUSALEM -- With the two Palestinian territories increasingly isolated from each other by a week of fighting between rival factions, Israel and the United States seemed to agree on a policy to treat them as separate entities to boost Fatah in the West Bank and squeeze Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The United States and Israel are each searching for short- and medium-term responses to a collapse neither saw coming. Both want to limit the regional impact of the latest victory of radical Islam over Western-backed, secular forces. And both are worried about the impact on Egypt, which is trying to seal its border from Gazan refugees and where President Hosni Mubarak faces a serious internal challenge from the Muslim Brotherhood, the radical Islamist organization with which Hamas is affiliated.

US, Israel seeking new Palestine model - The Boston Globe

Quartet backs Abbas
JTA News

The "Quartet" backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to fire the Hamas prime minister and declare a state of emergency.

"The Quartet expressed understanding and support for President Abbas' decisions to dissolve the Cabinet and declare an emergency, given the grave circumstances," said the statement issued Saturday by the grouping of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union that guides the Middle East peace process. "The Quartet recognized the necessity and legitimacy of these decisions, taken under Palestinian law, and welcomed President Abbas' stated intention to consult the Palestinian people at the appropriate time."

Abbas sacked Ismail Haniyeh, the P.A. prime minister, after Haniyeh's terrorist Hamas group routed troops loyal to Abbas's relatively moderate Fatah Party and assumed control in the Gaza Strip. The members of the Quartet consulted at foreign minister level by conference call on Friday.

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/102488.html

Arab League stands by Abbas, appeals for calm
AP, CAIRO
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007

rab countries on Friday threw their support behind Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' leadership but also urged an immediate halt to infighting so that the unity of Palestinian lands could be preserved.

The call came after an emergency session of Arab League foreign ministers on how to deal with the Palestinian split after militant Hamas gained full control of Gaza.

While the heads of Arab countries renewed their support for the Palestinian president, neighboring countries were increasing border security. Egypt has beefed up security on its border with Gaza to prevent any mass flight of Palestinians into Egypt. Long term, it faces the possibility the impoverished coastal territory of 1.4 million people -- already awash in weapons -- could become a breeding ground of militancy that could bleed over the porous border.

Meanwhile, in a stark message to Hamas militants now in control of Gaza, Egypt pulled its diplomatic mission out of the coastal strip, citing security reasons. The mission's 18 members crossed into Egypt late on Friday, officials at the Rafah border crossing said.

Earlier, Jordan, which fears instability on its own soil if the Palestinian civil war moves into the neighboring West Bank, underlined its backing for Abbas's government.

The government rejects "any dissent or defiance to the legitimate authority" and stressed "the necessity to protect the Palestinian National Authority and its president Mahmoud Abbas," spokesman Nasser Judeh said in a statement carried by the official Petra news agency.

Taipei Times - archives

Division widens between Fatah and Hamas
BY SONIA VERMA
June 17, 2007

JERUSALEM -- With Islamist Hamas now in control of Gaza and secular Fatah consigned to the West Bank, Palestinians are facing a harsh new reality: Palestinian national unity is dead and any sort of meaningful peace process with Israel is lost.

For Palestinians, the idea of a so-called "Hamastan" in Gaza and "Fatahland" in the West Bank has long been taboo. Any discussion of two separate Palestinian entities was seen as a betrayal of the dream of a future united Palestinian state. But in just five days of fighting, that dream appears to have collapsed.

Gaza under Hamas will be politically cut off from the West Bank. Its 1.5 million residents will be ruled by a movement that is financially and diplomatically isolated from Israel and much of the international community. Because Israel controls its crucial border crossings, fuel and electrical supplies, it is unclear how the poor, densely populated coastal strip would survive.

Since Hamas swept to power in Palestinian parliamentary elections last year, it has struggled to govern. Government salaries went unpaid, hospitals ran out of supplies and much of Hamas' popularity melted away. Palestinians in Gaza also saw the alarming rise of radical groups who attacked symbols of secularism -- Internet cafes, music shops and even primary schools that mix the sexes.

A recent government report showed a record 14,000 Palestinians fled Gaza in the last six months of Hamas rule. Yesterday, hundreds more tried to flee into Israel, only to find the border locked down. "Hamas may be in power, but it will be paralyzed. It has already proven itself utterly incapable of doing its job," said Jihad Hamed, a political science professor at Gaza's Fatah-affiliated Al Azhar University.

Division widens between Fatah and Hamas - Newsday.com

Anyway you look at it, dramatic change is in the wind. Internationally, Abbas holds the commanding hand. I do not forsee Hamas and Fatah reconciling. Beyond the coup violence and summary executions, Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh have irreconcilable ideological differences. Abbas and Fatah are willing to negotiate a comprehensive and final peace agreement with Israel, Haniyeh and Hamas have vowed never to do so. Abbas pleaded with Hamas to end the daily Qassam rocket attacks on Israel, the response of Hamas was instead to increase the daily barrage. I would not be at all surprised if Egypt and the IDF seal the border between Gaza and Egypt to terminate weapons smuggling.

 

[bhkad]

Abbas to swear in new cabinet | NEWS.com.au


Nation & World | Hamas-run Gaza isolated physically, diplomatically | Seattle Times Newspaper


US, Israel seeking new Palestine model - The Boston Globe


http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/102488.html


Taipei Times - archives


Division widens between Fatah and Hamas - Newsday.com

Anyway you look at it, dramatic change is in the wind. Internationally, Abbas holds the commanding hand. I do not forsee Hamas and Fatah reconciling. Beyond the coup violence and summary executions, Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh have irreconcilable ideological differences. Abbas and Fatah are willing to negotiate a comprehensive and final peace agreement with Israel, Haniyeh and Hamas have vowed never to do so. Abbas pleaded with Hamas to end the daily Qassam rocket attacks on Israel, the response of Hamas was instead to increase the daily barrage. I would not be at all surprised if Egypt and the IDF seal the border between Gaza and Egypt to terminate weapons smuggling.

Those Palestinians who have, up until now, gone along with the vaguely anti-Israeli sentiment of both Fatah and Hamas and the generally approved attacks on Israel will now have to choose. And the beautiful thing is that no amount of media manipulation is going to obscure the facts at hand. If they support Hamas and their position of Islamic intransigence with regard to peaceful co-existence, they will suffer the consequences. Say, "good-bye, Hamas!" Say "good-bye," Hamas.

 

[Volker]

What are you talking about? I'll write it differently...

The expressed mission of the Radical Islamists is to re-capture "their land." This, according to the conscripts of the Muslim Brotherhood, means that they claim land as far as Spain and the holy structures left behind after the Ottoman's were finally repelled back. When they speak of spreading their brand of Islam throughout the world, they are more focused on this area. However, this doesn't mean that today's more creative and miserable Radicals don't have larger visions in their heads.

This analysis is ok.

But is here what you wrote before.

Of course. Even the brief successes of the Crusades were only enabled by the divisions among Muslims. People are exaggerating their abilities. They frequently confuse their expressed mission with what is actually practical and what they can achieve. But others underestimate the damage they can bring.

If the brief successes of the Crusades were enabled by division among Muslims, this does not back up what follows.

Now, this being said, it is quite impossibhle for them to accomplish such a rediculous mission. Not only could they not rally enough hate behind one brand of Islam to unite, but the West is simply too strong to allow such a thing to happen again. Even they know this to be true, which is why the vast majority of violent Radicals are more inclined to wage the war for the sake of the after life reward and not to achieve the goal.

Probably many of them overestimate their abilities by far themselves.

Now, what exactly is contradictory here and what does it have to do with Marines? Or were you just behaving in your typical Volker fashion and seeking petty argument to make yourself feel better about your heritage?

I don't see Crusaders being part of my heritage. Well, one branch of my family comes from an area which has been conquered by the Teutonic Order, but they have French roots and therefore so I have I, too.

 

[MSgt]

The problem is and was the creation of Israel. I understand why it was done, but I do not agree that it should have been done either. I think the stance Israel has taken on the matter towards Palestine as if nothing was wrong with that is a key problem as well.

Yeah......The Sunni/Shia hatred that has erupted in violence countless times through history and a civilization that froze four centuries ago is due to the happenings in 1949.


Isreal is a focus of hate. It is not the root disease in this civilization. If Isreal did not exist, they would merely be hating each other with more intense focus. Have any surrounding Muslim state taken them in due to sympathy? No. Would Arabs and Persians elsewhere look on "Palestine" as a free state in the absence of Israel? No. The truth is that Saudi Arabians and Egyptians see Palestinians like our old south looks on blacks. This is historical. Only today, they are of perfect use politically and theologically to those that wish to maintain an oppressive state over their masses. They pretend to "stand by them" in their struggle against the Israeli occupation while they clutch their purse strings and encourage them to commit suicide over something that is quite unachievable.

The stupid struggle that trumps growth and advancement is quite acceptable to relifious zealots who need to keep the vision and past alive.

 

[MSgt]

But is here what you wrote before.
If the brief successes of the Crusades were enabled by division among Muslims, this does not back up what follows.

Probably many of them overestimate their abilities by far themselves.

I don't have a clue what you are talking about. I have explained it two different ways and it still escapes you. You do realize that we are looking at two different time periods? You do realize that just because a person professes to be on a specific mission doesn't mean that he can carry it out? And you do understand that it is quite possible for that individual to know this and therefore bury himself in the mission path rather than the end goal? The Muslim Middle East is as fractured as it always has been, but the Western world isn't as weak as it used to be.

I still don't have a clue where you are confused.

I don't see Crusaders being part of my heritage. Well, one branch of my family comes from an area which has been conquered by the Teutonic Order, but they have French roots and therefore so I have I, too.

I don't see where I stated the Crusades had anything to do with you. I merely see your Marine jabs as some sort of pathetic way to sooth your heritage bruise. Taking cheap adolescent shots at an organization like the U.S. Marine Corps with the German military throughout the twentieth century to look upon certainly does scream out a bit of personal soothing.

 

[Volker]

I don't have a clue what you are talking about.

Probably you don't have.

I have explained it two different ways and it still escapes you. You do realize that we are looking at two different time periods? You do realize that just because a person professes to be on a specific mission doesn't mean that he can carry it out? And you do understand that it is quite possible for that individual to know this and therefore bury himself in the mission path rather than the end goal? The Muslim Middle East is as fractured as it always has been, but the Western world isn't as weak as it used to be.

I still don't have a clue where you are confused.

I'm not confused.

I don't see where I stated the Crusades had anything to do with you. I merely see your Marine jabs as some sort of pathetic way to sooth your heritage bruise. Taking cheap adolescent shots at an organization like the U.S. Marine Corps with the German military throughout the twentieth century to look upon certainly does scream out a bit of personal soothing.

These were your own words. I only brought them to another context.

 

[politic_analyst]

Palestine allowed Israel back in the Middle East? Israel decided to 'take over'? Wrong on both counts. The British Mandate of Palestine was partitioned by United Nations Resolution. The tally was 33 yea and 13 nay. Your understandings above are nothing less than revisionist history.

The jews of palestine were the ones who pushed to a mandate in the UN thus palestine allowed more jews in the region. Why do you think the palestinians think they got the short end of the stick? You take the displaced people out and when they gain strength, they take you out. Sounds like most civilizations in history.

 

[MSgt]

The jews of palestine were the ones who pushed to a mandate in the UN thus palestine allowed more jews in the region. Why do you think the palestinians think they got the short end of the stick? You take the displaced people out and when they gain strength, they take you out. Sounds like most civilizations in history.

Give it a break.

If you are going to attempt to use history to declare ownership, I'm afraid you have to use all of history and not pertend that history began as late as the mid-twentieth century. Most of the present day Palestinians were left over from the Ottomans and before that they were decendents of the Philistines who invaded into Israel.

Of course, we could choose to set history aside and address the UN mandate of 1949 that gave the territory back to the original people who have been fighting for it against arab invasion since they traveled into it from Egypt long before "Palestinians" existed.

You want to complain about displaced people? Do it honestly. Like most civilizations that have fought over land, one wins. Well, one has. Get over it.

The truth is that if Palsetinians chose to embrace this new government instead of catering to the Arab hatred and venom from around the region, the world would see very successful "Palestinian" doctors and scientists emerging along side Israeli doctors and scientists instead of becoming a society of whiners fighting for something that occurred before any of them were even born.

 

[MSgt]

Iraqi factions have always despised al Qa'ida and have been at war with them and other similar foreign groups since day one.

Alright. I'm about fed up. You are either a liar or you truley are clueless and running off of eroneous information.

1) Invasion 2003 - The Rumsfeld coven made the critical error in believing that passing the major cities would be the best thing for the U.S. military and the civilian population. The reasoning was that this would minimize the deaths. However, as was warned, the loyalists merely retreated into the cities to hide out. And in the end, this would be prove to be far more deadly to military personel and civilians. -"If you are unwilling to pay the butcher up front, you will pay in the end with interest."

2) Late 2003 - Sunni insurgent forces (former Baathist loyalists that retreated into the cities) were joining up with the Al-Queda faction bleeding in across the Syrian border to fight American forces. As the new Iraqi government started to take shape, Al-Queda began targetting Iraqi civilians who dared to take part in this path away from fundamental zealousy. The local Sunni participated in this, because the target was Shi'ite Iraqis.

3) Late 2005 - The local Sunni insurgency began to break away from the Al-Queda militants, because they didn't agree with what they were doing to their own citizens - Shi'ite and Sunni. Reports started coming in that showed Muslim fire fights where no American stood. However, this was rare and the insurgency took more of a look the other way approach.

4) Early 2007 - Sunni Insurgency elements began to contact military commanders for aid against their Al-Queda presence in their villages and towns. This is the product of almost a years worth of conduct under a new plan to empower and show respect to the insurgency who see us as an enemy.

I'm afraid they haven't "been at war with them since day one."

That's Fatah al-Islam, not Fatah.

They are a group that is despised by even Fatah, because they resemble the same Al-Queda elements that have been creeping up all over the region since 9/11 and "what we are up against all over." What is your point?

"A state invading and occupying other sections of another people's land is a much more serious crime than political infighting within a state."

This is pathetic. Such blatant exhoneration to justify bigotry. If Al-Queda was positioned on the border of California and frequently executed operations across our border to harass and kill our people, you wouldn't say a word. Face it...you have a problem with it because it is Israel.