WAR ON TERROR

[Guest BlackJesus]

[quote]When was the last time Isreal suffered a suicide bomb attack?[/quote]


2005

25 February: Four people are killed and at least 30 people are injured in a bomb blast outside a night club in Tel Aviv, weeks after Israeli and Palestinian leaders declare a truce.


2004

1 November: A teenage suicide bomber kills at least three people in the crowded Carmel market in Tel Aviv.

31 August: At least 16 people are killed and dozens are injured in two near-simultaneous suicide bombings on two buses in the southern city of Beersheba.

11 July: One person is killed and 21 are wounded by a bomb packed with metal bolts, which explodes near a bus stop in Tel Aviv.

14 March: A double suicide bombing kills 10 Israelis in the port of Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast.

22 February: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills eight people and injures dozens in an attack on an Israeli bus in Jerusalem.

29 January: A suicide bomber kills 11 people and injures around 50 on a bus in Jerusalem.

14 January: Hamas female suicide bomber kills four Israelis on the border with Gaza and injures seven.

2003

4 October: A suicide bomber blows herself up in a packed Haifa restaurant, killing at least 19 people including three children.

9 September: Two separate suicide attacks leave at least 15 people dead and scores wounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

In the first attack, at least eight people were killed - including the bomber - at the entrance to the Tzrifin Israeli Defence Force base, near Tel Aviv.

Hours later, a bomb attack outside a popular cafe in west Jerusalem left at least seven dead.

19 August: A suicide bomber wrecks a bus in Jerusalem, killing at least 20 people and injuring up to 100 others, in a serious blow to peace efforts. Hours later, Israel halts the handover of West Bank towns and cuts off contacts with Palestinians officials.

12 August: At least four people are killed and dozens injured in two suicide attacks by Palestinian bombers in Israel and the West Bank.

In the first attack, an explosion rips through a shopping centre in the central Israeli town of Rosh Haayin near Tel Aviv, killing two people and injuring at least 10 others.

Shortly afterwards, another suicide bomber blows himself up among a group of Israeli soldiers at a bus stop outside the Jewish settlement of Ariel, in the West Bank.

19 June: A suicide bomber kills himself and an Israeli man, owner of a grocery shop in Sde Trumot, a small village a few kilometres from the West Bank in northern Israel.

11 June: Sixteen people are killed in a bus bomb in Jerusalem, in the first suicide attack since US President Bush's peace summit a week before. It follows an Israeli air strike on 10 June aimed at killing Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi in Gaza.

Within an hour of the bus attack, Israeli helicopters launch another attack in Gaza, killing several people, reportedly including a top militant.

19 May: At least three people are killed and 18 injured in a suicide attack on a shopping mall in the northern Israeli town of Afula. The bomber is reported to have been a woman.
Earlier, three Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip are injured when a suicide bomber riding a bicycle detonate explosives strapped to his body.

18 May: Seven people are killed when a suicide bomber blows himself up on board a bus in northern Jerusalem. A second attacker kills himself minutes later as emergency crews arrive but no-one else is seriously hurt. The blasts come hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held the first talks with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen.

17 May: A Palestinian suicide bomber disguised as a religious Jew kills an Israeli man and his pregnant wife in the West Bank town of Hebron.


An attacker targeted a popular nightspot in Tel Aviv
30 April: A suicide bomber attacks a popular cafe in Tel Aviv, just hours after a new Palestinian cabinet wins approval under Abu Mazen who has pledged to crack down on militants. At least four people including the bomber are killed and dozens more injured.

24 April: An Israeli security guard is killed as he confronts a Palestinian suicide bomber outside a railway station in the town of Kfar Saba.

5 March: A powerful bomb blast ripped through a bus in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, killing at least 15 people. About 40 people were wounded, some of them seriously, in the explosion.

5 January: At least 23 people are killed and 100 wounded when two suicide attackers set off charges in crowded, parallel and adjacent streets during rush hour in Tel Aviv, echoing an attack in July 2001.

2002

21 November: A suicide bomber blows himself up on a packed rush-hour bus in west Jerusalem, killing 11 passengers and injuring scores more.

21 October:A suicide bomber drives a jeep packed with explosives into a bus near Pardes Hanna, killing at least 14 people, as well as the bomber.

10 October: A suicide bomber kills himself and a woman in an attack on a bus stop near Tel Aviv.

19 September: A suicide attack on a bus in Tel Aviv kills five and injures more than 50. A sixth victim - a medical student from Scotland - dies from his injuries the following day.

18 September: A six-week lull in suicide bombings comes to an end, when an Islamic Jihad militant kills himself and an Israeli policeman in the north of the country.

4 August: At least 10 Israelis are killed in a series of violent incidents, including a suicide bomb attack on a bus near the northern town of Safad.

31 July: A bomb in the students' cafeteria at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem kills seven - five of them Americans - and wounds more than 80.

30 July: A suicide bomber kills himself and wounds several Israelis in a fast-food store in Jerusalem.

17 July: A double suicide bomb attack near the old Tel Aviv bus station leaves five dead, including the two bombers, and injures about 40.

19 June: Eight people die including the bomber and 35 are injured in a suicide attack at a bus stop in the French Hill neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

18 June: A suicide bomber kills himself and 19 civilians in a bomb attack on a bus in southern Jerusalem.

5 June: At least 14 are people killed in an attack on a bus at Megiddo junction, near the border with the West Bank. A suspected suicide attacker is believed to have driven up in a car behind the bus and detonated a bomb.

19 May: Three Israelis killed and nearly 30 injured when suicide bomber disguised in Israeli army uniform blows himself up at market in Netanya.

7 May: Suicide bomber attacks social club in the town of Rishon Letzion, killing 16 people and injuring more than 50. The attack was claimed by the armed wing of Hamas.

12 April: A suicide bomb attack at a bus stop in West Jerusalem, kills the bomber and six other people and injures about 50 more.

10 April: A suicide attack on a bus travelling near the Israeli city of Haifa kills at least eight people and injures dozens more.

31 March: Bomber attacks restaurant in Haifa, northern Israel, killing himself and 14 Israeli Jews and Arabs. On the same day, another bomber kills himself and wounds four people in an attack on an office for paramedics at the Jewish settlement of Efrat, south of Bethlehem.

27 March: In the Israeli resort of Netanya, a bomber blows himself up at a hotel, killing 28 Israelis celebrating Passover. The attack claimed by the armed wing of Hamas was the deadliest since the beginning of the uprising.

20 March: Seven people killed in a suicide bomb attack on a bus carrying mainly Arab labourers near the northern town of Umm el-Fahem.

9 March: At least 11 people killed and 50 injured in suicide bomb attack on a crowded cafe in west Jerusalem, near the official residence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

2 March: Nine people killed including two babies, and 57 injured after suicide bomb attack in an ultra-Orthodox area of Jerusalem.

27 January: Two people - one a female suicide bomber - die in an attack in a busy shopping area of central Jerusalem.

2001

2 December: A Palestinian suicide bomber blows up a bus in the northern coastal city of Haifa, killing 15 people and wounding more than 100 others.

1 December: Twelve people, including two suicide bombers, are killed in an attack on a Jerusalem shopping centre.

29 November: At least four people die in a suicide bomb attack on a bus in the northern town of Hadera. Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.

9 September: Three people are killed in a suicide bombing at a crowded railway station in the town of Naharia. The bomber is the first Israeli Arab to carry out such an attack.

9 August: Fifteen people are killed and about 90 others injured in a suicide attack on a busy restaurant in the heart of Jerusalem. Hamas admits responsibility.

1 June: Suicide bomb attack on a disco in Tel Aviv leaves 21 people dead and more than 60 others injured. Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.

18 May:Five Israelis are killed and around 100 injured when a suicide bomber belonging to Hamas blows himself up outside a shopping centre in Netanya.

28 March: Three people killed and several others severely injured in a nail bomb attack near a bus stop close to the central Israeli town of Kfar Saba. Hamas admits responsibility.

2000

22 November: Two Israelis killed and 55 wounded by a car bomb that explodes during the rush-hour in northern town of Hadera.

2 November: Two Israelis killed by a powerful car bomb at central Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, a frequent target of attacks.

[Storm]

[quote name='BlackJesus' date='Jul 12 2005, 02:20 AM']2005

25 February: Four people are killed and at least 30 people are injured in a bomb blast outside a night club in Tel Aviv, weeks after Israeli and Palestinian leaders declare a truce.
2004

1 November: A teenage suicide bomber kills at least three people in the crowded Carmel market in Tel Aviv.

31 August: At least 16 people are killed and dozens are injured in two near-simultaneous suicide bombings on two buses in the southern city of Beersheba.

11 July: One person is killed and 21 are wounded by a bomb packed with metal bolts, which explodes near a bus stop in Tel Aviv.

14 March: A double suicide bombing kills 10 Israelis in the port of Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast.

22 February: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills eight people and injures dozens in an attack on an Israeli bus in Jerusalem.

29 January: A suicide bomber kills 11 people and injures around 50 on a bus in Jerusalem.

14 January: Hamas female suicide bomber kills four Israelis on the border with Gaza and injures seven.

2003

4 October: A suicide bomber blows herself up in a packed Haifa restaurant, killing at least 19 people including three children.

9 September: Two separate suicide attacks leave at least 15 people dead and scores wounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

In the first attack, at least eight people were killed - including the bomber - at the entrance to the Tzrifin Israeli Defence Force base, near Tel Aviv.

Hours later, a bomb attack outside a popular cafe in west Jerusalem left at least seven dead.

19 August: A suicide bomber wrecks a bus in Jerusalem, killing at least 20 people and injuring up to 100 others, in a serious blow to peace efforts. Hours later, Israel halts the handover of West Bank towns and cuts off contacts with Palestinians officials.

12 August: At least four people are killed and dozens injured in two suicide attacks by Palestinian bombers in Israel and the West Bank.

In the first attack, an explosion rips through a shopping centre in the central Israeli town of Rosh Haayin near Tel Aviv, killing two people and injuring at least 10 others.

Shortly afterwards, another suicide bomber blows himself up among a group of Israeli soldiers at a bus stop outside the Jewish settlement of Ariel, in the West Bank.

19 June: A suicide bomber kills himself and an Israeli man, owner of a grocery shop in Sde Trumot, a small village a few kilometres from the West Bank in northern Israel.

11 June: Sixteen people are killed in a bus bomb in Jerusalem, in the first suicide attack since US President Bush's peace summit a week before. It follows an Israeli air strike on 10 June aimed at killing Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi in Gaza.

Within an hour of the bus attack, Israeli helicopters launch another attack in Gaza, killing several people, reportedly including a top militant.

19 May: At least three people are killed and 18 injured in a suicide attack on a shopping mall in the northern Israeli town of Afula. The bomber is reported to have been a woman.
Earlier, three Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip are injured when a suicide bomber riding a bicycle detonate explosives strapped to his body.

18 May: Seven people are killed when a suicide bomber blows himself up on board a bus in northern Jerusalem. A second attacker kills himself minutes later as emergency crews arrive but no-one else is seriously hurt. The blasts come hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held the first talks with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen.

17 May: A Palestinian suicide bomber disguised as a religious Jew kills an Israeli man and his pregnant wife in the West Bank town of Hebron.


An attacker targeted a popular nightspot in Tel Aviv
30 April: A suicide bomber attacks a popular cafe in Tel Aviv, just hours after a new Palestinian cabinet wins approval under Abu Mazen who has pledged to crack down on militants. At least four people including the bomber are killed and dozens more injured.

24 April: An Israeli security guard is killed as he confronts a Palestinian suicide bomber outside a railway station in the town of Kfar Saba.

5 March: A powerful bomb blast ripped through a bus in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, killing at least 15 people. About 40 people were wounded, some of them seriously, in the explosion.

5 January: At least 23 people are killed and 100 wounded when two suicide attackers set off charges in crowded, parallel and adjacent streets during rush hour in Tel Aviv, echoing an attack in July 2001.

2002

21 November: A suicide bomber blows himself up on a packed rush-hour bus in west Jerusalem, killing 11 passengers and injuring scores more.

21 October:A suicide bomber drives a jeep packed with explosives into a bus near Pardes Hanna, killing at least 14 people, as well as the bomber.

10 October: A suicide bomber kills himself and a woman in an attack on a bus stop near Tel Aviv.

19 September: A suicide attack on a bus in Tel Aviv kills five and injures more than 50. A sixth victim - a medical student from Scotland - dies from his injuries the following day.

18 September: A six-week lull in suicide bombings comes to an end, when an Islamic Jihad militant kills himself and an Israeli policeman in the north of the country.

4 August: At least 10 Israelis are killed in a series of violent incidents, including a suicide bomb attack on a bus near the northern town of Safad.

31 July: A bomb in the students' cafeteria at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem kills seven - five of them Americans - and wounds more than 80.

30 July: A suicide bomber kills himself and wounds several Israelis in a fast-food store in Jerusalem.

17 July: A double suicide bomb attack near the old Tel Aviv bus station leaves five dead, including the two bombers, and injures about 40.

19 June: Eight people die including the bomber and 35 are injured in a suicide attack at a bus stop in the French Hill neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

18 June: A suicide bomber kills himself and 19 civilians in a bomb attack on a bus in southern Jerusalem.

5 June: At least 14 are people killed in an attack on a bus at Megiddo junction, near the border with the West Bank. A suspected suicide attacker is believed to have driven up in a car behind the bus and detonated a bomb.

19 May: Three Israelis killed and nearly 30 injured when suicide bomber disguised in Israeli army uniform blows himself up at market in Netanya.

7 May: Suicide bomber attacks social club in the town of Rishon Letzion, killing 16 people and injuring more than 50. The attack was claimed by the armed wing of Hamas.

12 April: A suicide bomb attack at a bus stop in West Jerusalem, kills the bomber and six other people and injures about 50 more.

10 April: A suicide attack on a bus travelling near the Israeli city of Haifa kills at least eight people and injures dozens more.

31 March: Bomber attacks restaurant in Haifa, northern Israel, killing himself and 14 Israeli Jews and Arabs. On the same day, another bomber kills himself and wounds four people in an attack on an office for paramedics at the Jewish settlement of Efrat, south of Bethlehem.

27 March: In the Israeli resort of Netanya, a bomber blows himself up at a hotel, killing 28 Israelis celebrating Passover. The attack claimed by the armed wing of Hamas was the deadliest since the beginning of the uprising.

20 March: Seven people killed in a suicide bomb attack on a bus carrying mainly Arab labourers near the northern town of Umm el-Fahem.

9 March: At least 11 people killed and 50 injured in suicide bomb attack on a crowded cafe in west Jerusalem, near the official residence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

2 March: Nine people killed including two babies, and 57 injured after suicide bomb attack in an ultra-Orthodox area of Jerusalem.

27 January: Two people - one a female suicide bomber - die in an attack in a busy shopping area of central Jerusalem.

2001

2 December: A Palestinian suicide bomber blows up a bus in the northern coastal city of Haifa, killing 15 people and wounding more than 100 others.

1 December: Twelve people, including two suicide bombers, are killed in an attack on a Jerusalem shopping centre.

29 November: At least four people die in a suicide bomb attack on a bus in the northern town of Hadera. Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.

9 September: Three people are killed in a suicide bombing at a crowded railway station in the town of Naharia. The bomber is the first Israeli Arab to carry out such an attack.

9 August: Fifteen people are killed and about 90 others injured in a suicide attack on a busy restaurant in the heart of Jerusalem. Hamas admits responsibility.

1 June: Suicide bomb attack on a disco in Tel Aviv leaves 21 people dead and more than 60 others injured. Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.

18 May:Five Israelis are killed and around 100 injured when a suicide bomber belonging to Hamas blows himself up outside a shopping centre in Netanya.

28 March: Three people killed and several others severely injured in a nail bomb attack near a bus stop close to the central Israeli town of Kfar Saba. Hamas admits responsibility.

2000

22 November: Two Israelis killed and 55 wounded by a car bomb that explodes during the rush-hour in northern town of Hadera.

2 November: Two Israelis killed by a powerful car bomb at central Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, a frequent target of attacks.
[right][post="113303"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

Feb? it is now July, its been 5 months since the last attack? I bet its the longest stretch in 5 years! They should have built the wall sooner! If you have wild animals running amuck its best to cage them up

[Chris Henrys Dealer]

Streak comes to an end unfortunately. Breaking news:

[quote]12:46 12Jul2005 WRAPUP 1-Suicide bomber kills 3 Israelis in blow to truce

    By Matt Spetalnick
    NETANYA, Israel, July 12 (Reuters) - A Palestinian suicide bomber killed at least three people at an Israeli shopping mall on Tuesday in the first such attack for nearly four months, dealing a heavy blow to a shaky truce, Israeli media said.
    A unit of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed the attack on the coastal city of Netanya, which lies 12 km (8 miles) from the West Bank and has been a frequent target for bombers during an uprising that began in 2000.
    "We heard an explosion, people began to scream and ran to the other exit of the mall," Laura, a shop assistant at the mall told Israeli radio.
    Israeli television, quoting police, said at least three people were killed. Security sources said at least 30 were wounded.
    Violence has fallen sharply since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a ceasefire in February.
    The last suicide bombing -- also claimed by Islamic Jihad -- killed five Israelis on Feb. 25 outside a nightclub in Tel Aviv. The group later agreed with Abbas to follow a period of calm until the end of the year.
    The military wing of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank city of Tulkarm said the bombing was "in response to Israeli violations of calm and the desecration of the Koran in the Megiddo prison".
    The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack.
    "We condemn this attack; all factions must abide by the truce," said Jibril Rajoub, a security aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "These acts only cause harm to Palestinian unity and serve the right wing in Israel."
    Any resurgence of violence could complicate Israel's plan to withdraw settlers from the occupied Gaza Strip and a little of the northern West Bank, starting next month.
    Western countries hope the withdrawal could lead to renewed talks on a "road map" for Palestinian statehood, but Sharon has repeatedly said there will be no peace talks until militants are disarmed.
    Sharon's cabinet agreed earlier on Tuesday that the military would keep its grip on the northern West Bank after it evacuates four isolated Jewish settlements in the area in parallel to withdrawing from the occupied Gaza Strip.
    The Israeli decision, which drew Palestinian censure, appeared to be a departure from Sharon's "disengagement" plan, which says the Jewish state will evacuate "all military installations" in the northern West Bank.
    Palestinians fear the withdrawal plan will give them tiny, impoverished Gaza, while Israel strengthens its hold on much bigger West Bank settlements.
((Writing by Matthew Tostevin; editing by Rex Merrifield; Reuters messaging)
  Tuesday, 12 July 2005 12:46:42RTRS [nL1295931 ] {C}ENDS[/quote]

[Guest bengalrick]

[url="http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3cba03dc-f2fb-11d9-843f-00000e2511c8.html"]ft.com[/url]

[quote][b]Suicide bomb breaks five-month truce in Israel[/b]
By Harvey Morrish in Jerusalem
Published: July 12 2005 18:51 | Last updated: July 12 2005 18:51


A bomb killed at least three people and wounded 30 at a shopping centre in the Israeli coastal town of Netanya yesterday, the first suicide attack since militant groups agreed in February to abide by a period of calm.

[b]Islamic Jihad, which was a party to the truce, claimed responsibility for the blast in a call to Reuters news agency. The attack came just over a month before the start of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and amid efforts by the Palestinian Authority to ensure that calm prevails during the withdrawal.[/b]

Eyewitnesses said the bomber had tried to enter the shopping centre but detonated the bomb at the entrance.

[b]Islamic Jihad, which Israeli officials allege is being sponsored by Iran to carry out attacks, was responsible for an upsurge in violence in the Gaza Strip last month. However, Tuesday's bombing was the first suicide attack in Israel since a nightclub bombing in Tel Aviv on February. [/b]

[b]Political analysts in Gaza said Islamic Jihad had hinted it could disrupt the truce, in order not to be left out of efforts by the larger Hamas to gain a political role in the territory alongside the ruling Fatah party. They said last month's violence had created friction between Hamas and Islamic Jihad.[/b]

[b]Militant groups have said previous violations of the ceasefire were in response to Israeli military action in the Palestinian territories. [/b]

[b]Ariel Sharon, Israeli prime minister, has warned that Israeli forces will not withdraw from Gaza under fire and will take action against militants who attempt to disrupt the pullout if the PA fails to do so. [/b]

Netanya is about 12 miles from the West Bank and has been the target of previous suicide attacks since the Palestinian uprising began in autumn 2000.[/quote]

[Guest bengalrick]

what do you think stanley... you think we can get passed this?? it sounds to me, that they were throwing a hissy fit, b/c hamas is getting what they want, and they want them to know that there is more than one terrorist organization to deal w/... i can't figure out if this will be as bad of a thing as it sounds on the surface (besides the 3 or so people that died)... hamas seems to be on the side of democracy all the sudden, and they even said the london attacks were wrong...

the only good news (from your article) is that palestine is denouncing the attacks... much better than arafat having a press conference, praising their families, the bombers, and allah, and offering money to the families... it is much better w/out arafat around...

[sean]

I can't vote. I would have voted for.... You can't win a war on a "tactic"
but you had to add....the real enemy is U.S. policy.
You can't win a war on terror because there is no tangible enemy. The only way to win a war on terror would be to have one world government, governing a utopia. Never happen. We're all too self centered and bent on being right.

[Guest bengalrick]

i have never been more proud of a poll than the one i just read...

[url="http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=248"]Pew Research Center - actual poll results[/url]
[url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050714/ts_nm/muslims_binladen_dc&printer=1;_ylt=Ap_gAVoD1LZEgR9lC_MGgTtg.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-"]yahoo story about it[/url]

[quote][b]Support for bin Laden falls in Muslim countries[/b]

By Alan ElsnerThu Jul 14, 2:10 PM ET

Support for Osama bin Laden and suicide bombings have fallen sharply in much of the Muslim world, according to a multicountry poll released on Thursday.

[b]The survey by the Pew Research Center examined public opinion in six predominantly Muslim nations: Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Jordan and Lebanon. It also examined views in nine North American and European countries as well as in India and China. In all, more than 17,000 people were questioned either by telephone of face-to-face.[/b]

"There's declining support for terrorism in the Muslim countries and support for Osama bin Laden is declining. There's also less support for suicide bombings," said Pew Center director Andrew Kohut.

"This is good news, but still there are substantial numbers who support bin Laden in some of these countries," he told a news conference.

[b]In Morocco, 26 percent of the public now say they have a lot or some confidence in bin Laden, down from 49 percent in a similar poll two years ago.[/b]

[b]In Lebanon, where both Muslims and Christians took part in the survey, only 2 percent expressed some confidence in the Saudi-born al Qaeda leader, down from 14 percent in 2003.[/b]

In Turkey, bin Laden's support has fallen to 7 percent from 15 percent in the past two years. In Indonesia, it has dropped to 35 percent from 58 percent.

However, in Jordan, confidence in bin Laden, who took responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and many other attacks, rose to 60 percent from 55 percent. In Pakistan, it went to 51 percent from 45 percent.

[b]A similar picture emerged when respondents were asked whether suicide bombings were justifiable. In Morocco, 13 percent said they often or sometimes could be justified, down from 40 percent in 2004.[/b]

MORE JORDANIANS SUPPORT BOMBINGS

In Indonesia, 15 percent expressed that view, down from 27 percent in the summer of 2002. Support for suicide bombings also fell in Pakistan and dropped dramatically in Lebanon. However, support rose in Jordan, to 57 percent from 43 percent in 2002.

Kohut noted there had been devastating attacks on civilians in Indonesia, Morocco and Turkey in recent years and a rash of assassinations and bombings recently in Lebanon.

Both in western countries and the Muslim world, respondents expressed fears about Islamic extremism.

[b]Seventy-three percent in Morocco and 52 percent in Pakistan saw Islamic extremism as a threat to their country. The figure was 84 percent in Russia, 78 percent in Germany, and an identical 70 percent in Britain and the United States. The poll was taken well before last week's bombings in London.[/b] [i]i bet this will rise after london...[/i]

[b]When asked what caused Islamic extremism, 40 percent in Lebanon and 38 percent in Jordan blamed U.S. policies and influence; in Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey, respondents were more likely to blame poverty, unemployment or poor education.[/b]

[b]Despite terrorism fears, majorities in Britain, the United States, France, Canada and Russia and pluralities in Spain and Poland expressed favorable views about Muslims.[/b]

But in Germany and the Netherlands, opinion swung to an unfavorable view. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed in the Netherlands expressed an unfavorable view of Muslims. In Germany, 47 percent were unfavorable, compared with 40 percent who expressed favorable views.

[b]Anti-Jewish sentiment was overwhelming in the Muslim countries. In Lebanon, 100 percent of Muslims and 99 percent of Christians said they had a very unfavorable view of Jews, while 99 percent of Jordanians also viewed Jews very unfavorably.   [/b][/quote]


a couple of notes... very encouraging poll that was taken here.. there is a lot less support for terrorism than two years ago, and that is while conducting a war in two muslim nations... very, very good news... we need to keep up the trend...

this is a great indicator b/c this is from the muslim nations theirselves and their views are changing about how change needs to happen... step one... if this keeps up, it will be up to us to go to step two and actually changing it...

if your wondering why the opinion polls are switching, it isn't hard to figure out... how about a few days ago, when a homicide bomber drive into a crowd of iraqi children, and blow up his truck, killing like 13 kids and one us marine... they are targeting anyone that is w/ america, and that includes muslims...

one thing else is apparent after reading that poll... if israel was militarily helping us right now, we'd be much much worse off... muslims HATE jews... i knew it wasn't good, but 99 and 100 percent

[Chris Henrys Dealer]

This article was in the UK papers this morning.


[quote]Ostracising Hamas will not help in the search for peace

The west has to recognise this group's growing popularity

Jonathan Steele in Gaza
Friday July 15, 2005
The Guardian

It seemed bizarre at first, in the wake of the London attacks, to sit down with men whose organisation has sent hundreds of suicide bombers into Israeli cities. But it was a valuable reminder that the use of political violence on civilians, however brutal, always has a specific context. To respond by declaring a generalised "war on terror" or condemning "this assault on civilised values" obscures the problem and makes the search for solutions harder.

Hamas - or the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine, to give its full name - denounced the London bombs within the first hours. They give both moral and pragmatic reasons. The victims were not legitimate targets - too remote to bear any responsibility for the crimes the bombers were avenging.

[b]"One of our aims is to have good relations with Europe and all peoples of the world," says Salah al-Bardawil, chief columnist for al-Risala, the Hamas weekly. "There is a big difference between our attitude towards Israel and our view of Europe. Hamas decided 15 years ago not to transfer the struggle outside Palestine." [/b]

The target of his anger stares him in the face daily. The high concrete walls of the Gush Katif settlement, with its gun towers and mine-strewn death strip, is less than 200 yards from his book-lined study. These are not random commuters at King's Cross but armed occupiers who had no hesitation in supporting their own government's use of violence against civilians, and only rebelled when Sharon chose to close the Gaza settlements.

Hamas regularly hit the settlements with mortars and home-made rockets. When the Gaza withdrawal began to seem genuine early this year, Hamas declared a ceasefire, which included a halt to its suicide bombers going into Israel (this week's bombing in Netanya was carried out by another group, Islamic Jihad).

Al-Bardawil talks of the "logic of war, which Israel imposed on us, forcing Palestinians to do the same". And he says: "When I see a bombing in Tel Aviv on TV, I sometimes cry. We have not lost our humanity."

Ghazi Hamed, al-Risala's editor, says: "Hamas killed around 300 people in the four years of the intifada. Israel killed about 4,000, including 400 children under 16."

Tit-for-tat arguments about the cycle of terror are not the main feature of the Hamas story. More relevant is the fact that the movement is rapidly gaining strength among Palestinians.

After a decade of frustration since the Oslo agreement - with no peace, no prosperity, and still no internationally recognised state - people are looking for new flagbearers. They feel Hamas has upheld Palestinian dignity and can offer a chance of ending corruption.

Voters rewarded it with a string of victories in local and municipal polls this year, in the West Bank as well as Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement did so poorly that he is delaying the parliamentary elections for fear that Hamas would win them too.

So the crusade for democracy that Bush has been pushing in the Middle East is facing its greatest challenge not in Iraq, Saudi Arabia or Lebanon but in Palestine, where large turnouts are freely choosing leaders whose suspicions of western policy could hardly be deeper. Will the US press for early elections and accept the result?

"Hamas supporters are in every home and every family," says Ziad Abu-Amr, an independent MP and analyst. "They are the new power. They are part of our claim to pluralism."

The green flag of Hamas provocatively flutters on lamp-posts along the roads outside the ministry buildings in Gaza City, where Fatah appointees still cling to power.

In Bani Suheila, where Hamas won 12 of the 13 seats, the new mayor is a 69-year-old businessman who draws no salary, and uses his own battered Mazda instead of the official car. A cultural centre financed by western aid that only used to admit Fatah loyalists now hosts women's sewing classes and computer courses for young people on an open-door basis. Along with its municipal functions, Hamas retains the movement's network of private welfare centres.

Yet Hamas's short-term confidence is coupled with a sense of Palestine's strategic weakness. The movement's meteoric rise goes along with nervousness about taking power at this stage and a feeling that Palestinians would do better with a government of national unity after the elections than with another round of single-party rule.

The imminent departure of Jewish settlers is seen as a trap. Palestinians will be able to travel freely within Gaza without Israeli checkpoints and road closures. But Israel will retain control over access to the outside world, turning Gaza into a giant prison. The withdrawal, Hamas says, has won Sharon western praise and bought him more time to expand settlements on the West Bank. "Sharon will say he's testing the Palestinians to see whether they are civilised or barbarians," says Ghazi Hamed. "We will be worrying about mounds of garbage and trying to get investment, while he carries on building a wall around Jerusalem."

Mahmoud al-Zahar, known as one of the more hawkish Hamas leaders, says the agenda behind Sharon's withdrawal is "to minimise Israeli suffering, reduce international pressure and get round the intifada". "It is a waste of time to talk to him. Do you think Palestinians sacrificed in order just to secure Gaza? The intifada should continue," he insists.

Where does this leave the west? The G8 summit produced impressive promises of cash - $3bn a year over the next three years. But "throwing money at the problem is not as useful as throwing politics at it", in the words of an official in the current government. He wants western pressure on Sharon to allow Gaza's airport to reopen, let its exports move quickly to market, and guarantee no more attacks on its infrastructure.

The west must also recognise Hamas's popularity. The Palestinian population is becoming more militant, not less. Caught between a rampant Sharon and a declining Abbas, the European Union, if not Washington, has to define a new policy.

It is not enough to clutch at the hope that, once in power, Hamas will be de-fanged. Hamas is starting a difficult internal debate over the terms on which it might negotiate with Israel. But to expect it to abandon its armed struggle before a peace agreement is foolish.

Western governments that go on ostracising Hamas as a terrorist organisation and make vacuous calls on Abbas to "crack down on the militants" only disarm themselves. The "war on terror" rhetoric makes things harder, and the London attacks do not help to bring reason. But the need for even-handedness and cool western heads in the search for peace between Israel and the Palestinians has never been more urgent.[/quote]

[Guest bengalrick]

actions are speaking louder than word in this thread i should say the lack of actions...

i am very confussed about what is up w/ hamas... i guess this article explains it better for me, b/c they have decided to only hate the jews and try to not hate the west in general... not to say they don't and/or won't in the future, but nothing like the jews...

it is encouraging on one hand that they are condemming the attacks, but they aren't saying they are wrong... just that in this case, they are wrong... either way, it helps to have such a strong voice in the middle east, saying that al qaeda is doing wrong...

but for a powerful group like this to get so much power, is scary... they remind me of hillary... we all know she is liberal, but she is doing a good job of hiding it b/c she is running for president... hamas seems to be hiding their extremism to better appeal to the moderate muslims... i knew that al qaeda was screwing up by targeting other muslims... hamas is smarter than that, and are trying to appeal politically... scary shit really... but it is much better than say 5 years ago....

[Chris Henrys Dealer]

I think it's an interesting tactic on their part. They've obviously come to the conclusion, that besides North America and the UK, there really isn't that great a hotbed of support for the Jewish cause. Certainly, that's the case in most of Europe where in many cases the Jewish populations are leaving for Israel. And pretty much the European countries join the vocal criticism of expanded settlements any time it comes up.

Attempting to recast themselves as moderates just looking out for the Palestinian people makes sense in terms of their foreign image, image amongst local people and other Arabs. How much is a broke ass Arab in the occupied territories concerned with striking at the "Great Satan - America"? Pretty low I think. He's more concerned with just getting by day to day and getting some cash in. Obviously if he sees Hamas saying, look we're not in for the world struggle, we just want to improve your plight, he's drawn to it more...rather than groups like Islamic Jihad...who want to go pure Islamic state in the whole region. Etc. Purely political.

[Guest BlackJesus]

[img]http://www.anntelnaes.com/images/DailyCartoon.gif[/img]

[Guest bengalrick]

bj, what did you think about the poll that i posted? how about the hamas article that stanley posted?

did you just "look over" them or something??

[Guest BlackJesus]

[quote]bj, what did you think about the poll that i posted?[/quote]

[i][b]Althogh some of the results show promise.... I think the poll is not effective because of the countries chosen.

[quote]six predominantly Muslim nations: Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Jordan and Lebanon.[/quote]

Indonesia just recieved Millions in Aid from the US for the Tsunamis and is not Arab so the results in Iraq are not as detrimental. After all the aid of coruse there would be a spike in approval.


Lebanon - Also is happy with the US because Bush is forcing Syria out of their country, [color="purple"](ONE OF THE FEW THINGS BUSH HAS DONE RIGHT)[/color] .... I know you may need to sit down after than ommission


Turkey - Is happy because the US is making the Kurds in N Iraq be part of a state that they will never have fair representation in. The US is also turning a blind eye to the torture and terror the Turkish govt is committing in E Tyrkey on the Kurds, in exchange for Turkey giving us more Space for our military bases.


Pakistan - there #'s are positive but they were so high to begin with that natuarally they would drop down to normal levels of disapproval


Morocco & Jordan who knows.[/b][/i]

[Guest BlackJesus]

[i][color="green"]From this morning....seems to be what I have been saying for a while now... there is not a Nation of Iraq to begin with, Saddam the evil dictator had to kill and tortue to hold it together, Now will we???[/color][/i]


[u]Iraq battered
CNN.com
July 17th, 2005[/u]


Insurgents unleashed more deadly violence across the country, [b][u]with experts cautioning the nation may be moving towards a civil war.[/u][/b]

"What we are seeing is the escalation of the fighting and attacks targeting civilians based on religious ID," Edmund Ghareeb, an Iraq and Middle Eastern expert at the American University in Washington, told CNN.

"The specter of conflict has never been closer."

On Sunday morning, two suicide car bombs targeted commando patrols on Mohammed al-Qasim highway in southeastern Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 19 others.

In a village near the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside an police station on Saturday, killing six police officers and wounding 16 other people, police and the U.S. military said.

In the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Dora, a suicide car bomb targeting a police commando convoy killed a police commando, a civilian and two children, police told CNN.

Also wounded were 11 people, police said.

The attacks come a day after insurgents launched seven deadly car bomb attacks across the capital. (Full story)

British military officials said three British soldiers died early Saturday from injuries they received in hostile action in southern Maysan province.

They were from the 1st Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment, based at Tidworth in Wiltshire.

Two other soldiers were wounded and treated at a facility near Basra.

According to CNN research, 93 British troops have died in the Iraq war.