Return to Common Sense

October 23, 2008

Section: Foreign – Middle East

“Iraq and Afghanistan today are the central front in the Global War on Terror and both have shown tremendous success, but Iran continues to foment terror across many countries in the Middle East.”

 

Philosophy (Background, Issues, Objectives):

Economic, social and political globalization has passed most of the recalcitrant Middle East by.

• Despite an early history of innovation, few inventions and little science has come from Islam.
• At one time or another, bankrupt ideas have been embraced: fascism, communism, Baathism, Pan-Arabism, and most recently, Islamic fundamentalism.

Israel has been under siege since it was formed by the UN in 1948.

• Upon independence in 1948, Israel was attacked by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq in their War of Liberation.
• In 1956 Israel fought in the Suez War.
• In 1967 Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon again in the “Six Day War.”
• From 1968-1970 Israel fought in the War of Attrition.
• In 1973, Israel defeated Egypt and Syria in the Yom Kippur War.
• From 1978-2000 Israel fought in the Lebanon War.
• Arabs are taught to hate Jews beginning in grade school.

o       Terror technique of suicide bombing was extensively used in Israel from 1982-1986.

• In 2006 Israel fought in the Lebanon War to drive Hezbollah away from the rocket launch sites.

o       UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1982 and ineffective in south Lebanon enforcing resolution forbidding Hezbollah attacks.

o       Hamas and Hezbollah answered concession with rocket attacks and kidnapping.

o       Hezbollah locate military in populated areas creating human shields, violating Article 58 of Protocol 1.

o       Israel pursued Hezbollah in populated areas which is permitted by Article 28 of 4th Geneva Convention.

o       Hezbollah is undermining and attempting to take over the Lebanese government.

• In 2006 Israel withdrew from Lebanon and gave the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians.

o       Israel built a security fence on the Lebanon border, which has reduced attacks by 90%.

o       Hamas has undermined and taken over the Gaza government.

• United States has attempted repeatedly to mediate Arab-Israeli peace.
• Over 51,000 fatalities since 1950, which ranks 49^th among histories conflicts.

Palestine has never been a discrete Middle East country.

• When Britain defied the terms of the League of Nations in 1923 and created the protectorate of TransJordan from the territory earmarked for Israel, it artificially established a de facto Palestinian state which the West Bank was never intended to be a part of.
• When the UN proposed its 1947 partition plan, further dividing up the Israeli allodium, it was rejected by the Arabs who responded by launching a massive attack against the fledgling Jewish state.

o       UN non-binding Resolution 194 allowed refugees to return “to live in peace with their neighbors.”

o       Arab Palestinians never advocated for statehood while Gaza Strip was ruled by Egypt and the West Bank by Jordan.

o       Right of Return also applies to Jews who were forced to flee oppression.

• Palestinian Authority, a crypro-political construct invented by the West with Arab backing that has necessarily proven incapable of governing, controlling its bellicose factions and creating the conditions for peace and normal civil life.

o       Arab Palestinians claim all of Israel as their homeland

o       PLO, Hamas, and Islamic Resistance Movement are based on jihad as only solution.

• Metula News Agency defines “Palestine” as “A small piece of paper stuck on Arab maps and atlases to hide Israel.”

Arab-Israeli conflict is governed by some long term realities:

• Arab leaders have no interest in genuine peace in Israel.
• Israeli-Arab peace will come on the Arabs’ timetable.
• All minorities living within the Arab world are under siege.
• The Arab world is not about to make an exception for Jews.
• Arab regimes also demonize non-Muslim and non-Arab peoples living beyond the Arab world.
• The concern of so-called “moderate” regimes with the threat posed by radical forces in the region has not altered these realities.

Afghanistan was the first country engaged in the War on Terror.

• Taliban was an Islamo-fascist organization that hijacked the Afghan government.
• Osama bin Laden was reported to use Afghanistan as the Al-Qaeda base of operations.
• A representative democratic government was created to replace defeated Taliban elements.
• Coalition forces seek out and destroy terrorist elements anywhere they are found.

Pakistan signed up as one of the first allies in the War on Terror.

• Pakistan is known to have nuclear weapons.
• Pakistan has provided reluctant support to ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.
• Pakistan has negotiated a separate peace with northern region, Wakistan, allowing a new al Qaeda base.

o       Evidence has been uncovered that terrorists are being trained for attacks outside Pakistan.

o       Attacks in Afghanistan are being staged in northwestern Pakistan.

Iraq is recovering from its war, has elected a representative government, but needs time to mature.

• Four reasons were justified for the war in Iraq and each was proven during the reconstruction:

o       Iraq repeatedly violated the UN resolutions and expelled the UN inspectors in 1998.

o       Evidence of Iraq WMD weapons and development programs were uncovered awaiting the opportunity for reconstituting their development programs.

o       Evidence has been uncovered to implicate Saddam Hussein training and supporting Islamo-fascist terrorist organizations.

o       The war freed 25 million Iraqis and reconstruction is underway to build a stable pro-American democracy.

·        The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Phase II Iraq Report substantiated all the reasons that President Bush cited as rationale for invading Iraq:

o       Nuclear weapons program: "generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates."

o       Biological weapons, production capability and those infamous mobile laboratories: "substantiated by intelligence information."

o       Chemical weapons: "substantiated by intelligence information."

o       Weapons of Mass Destruction overall: "generally substantiated by intelligence information."

o       Delivery vehicles such as ballistic missiles: "generally substantiated by available intelligence."

o       Unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to deliver WMDs: "generally substantiated by intelligence information."

o       Iraq's support for terrorist groups other than al-Qaeda: "substantiated by intelligence information."

o       Iraq provided safe haven for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other terrorists with ties to al-Qaeda: "substantiated by the intelligence assessments."

o       Iraq's contacts with al-Qaeda: "substantiated by intelligence information."

• Lies about Iraq continue to be repeated despite easily disproven:

o       We took our eye of the ball in Afghanistan by going into Iraq, thereby allowing the Taliban to regain the advantage.

o       Bush lied about the war and entered it under false circumstances of fears of WMD and Iraqi ties to al Qaeda.

o       Mistakes in Iraq were legion and irreversible.

o       Democratization was naοve and bound to fail, given the realities of the tribal Middle East.

o       The real winner of the war was Iran.

o       President Bush’s presidency was ruined in Iraq.

o       Our military is nearly ruined and the war was never worth the cost.

• Iran, and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, have been actively involved in supporting Shia militias and encouraging sectarian violence in Iraq since the invasion of 2003.
• Al Qaeda in Iraq grew after invasion but has been defeated during the military surge campaign.

Iraq today is the central battlefield in the global war on terror and the terrorists are losing!

• Jihadists know they can not win on the battlefield.

o       They have not won control of any territory or even broadened their constituency.

o       After 3 years of near daily killings, the jihadists have failed to alter Iraq’s political agenda.

o       Meanwhile they have suffered thousands of casualties, with many captured.

o       Despite more than 120 suicide operations, the jihadists have been on the defensive.

o       Tribal alliances are forming to chase al Qaeda out of Iraq.

• The jihadists kill teachers and children, but schools stay open.
• They blow up pipelines and kill oil works, but oil still flows.
• They kill judges and lawyers, but Iraq’s new courts keep on working.
• Iraq’s National Assembly gave near unanimous approval to a plan for peace and reconciliation.

Iran remains an Islamic nation supporting unrest across the Middle East.

• Iran possesses an estimated 125 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, 10% of world totals.
• Iran also possesses the second largest reserves of natural gas, after Russia.
• Iran seized 3 islands from UAE in 1992 and retains ambitions to reclaim Bahrain.
• Iran is building its own underground nuclear weapon facilities.

o       UN economic sanctions to stop Iranian nuclear development have been ineffectual.

• UN Security Council Resolution demands Iran suspend uranium enrichment.
• Iran is a leading supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.
• Iran is believed to have provided sanctuary to leading Al-Qaeda terrorists.
• Iran’s Quds Force, external wing of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, has been identified as a terrorist organization supporting terrorist attacks in Iraq.

Syria has ties to several Islamo-fascist organizations.

• Syria is actively working to develop a nuclear program

o       Iraq is believed to have shipped much of their WMD material to Syria prior to invasion.

o       Syria has developed a very close relationship with North Korea in their nuclear development program.

o       In 2007 Israel destroyed a secret plutonium reactor to slow nuclear development effort.

• Syria provides support to Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.
• Syrian military was forced to withdraw from Lebanon.

 

Principles:

Continue to reinforce the vision of peace and democracy contained in the Bush Doctrine.

• Enforce UN resolution against Iranian nuclear development program.
• Nonviolent solutions that allow the terrorists to become better trained, organized, or better armed is a defeat.

Only negotiate with governments that renounce terrorist organizations.

• Negotiations are notorious for trading time to rearm for reneged concessions.

 

Recommendations:

Define the conflicts in the Middle East as one major theater in the Global War on Terror.

• Educate American public on true nature of Al-Qaeda jihad which is to:

o       Expel Americans from Iraq.

o       Establish an Islamic emirate in Iraq and develop it into a caliphate.

o       Extend the jihad to Iraq’s secular neighbors.

o       Win the inevitable battle with Israel.

• De-legitimize the immorality and hypocrisy of Islamic fundamentalists.
• Label terrorists as the cowards and “useful idiots” that they are.
• Promote the values of Western democratic modernity.
• Encourage moderate Muslims to condemn terror as a tactic and Islamo-fascism as the cause.

Endorse moderate Muslims attempts to distance themselves from the Islamic extremists.

• Charter of Muslim Understanding
• St. Petersburg Declaration.
• Deobandi Fatwa.
• Promote the values that can’t be found under retrogressive Sharia model.

Allow Israel to defend themselves against the terrorist organizations to the South and North.

• Destroy preemptively any WMD sites before they become functional at producing weaponsl
• Capture and defend ownership of Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria, and other key defensive areas.
• Root out and destroy Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.
• Restore dignity and hope to every Arab with system or earned income and earned property rights.
• Replace Muslim schools with real education teaching human rights rather than jihad and hatred.
• Close down mosques that preach hatred and violence.
• Stop funding Middle East governments that support and fund terrorism.

Pressure Lebanon to regain control and not allow terrorist organizations to operate inside their borders

• Remove UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) out as ineffective meddlers and terrorist human shields.

Pressure Syria, diplomatically and economically, to stop support for terrorist organizations.

• Pressure Syria to cease their nuclear development program.
1. Pressure Syria to surrender Iraqi WMDs hidden in the days prior to Iraq invasion.

• Pressure Syria to withdraw support for Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.

Work with Pakistan to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries.

• Work with coalition forces, including Iraq and Afghanistan, to defeat terrorists.
• Discourage Pashtun support for Afghanistan Pashtun terrorists.
• Improve local governance and development in the impoverished areas that have become breeding grounds for militants.  

Allow Iraq government time to mature to defend themselves against terrorists and Baathists.

• Complete training of Iraq homeland security (police and Army) forces.
• Phase down coalition forces as the Iraq government matures and is able to defend itself.

o       Honor security agreements should violence escalate after we leave

• Publicize widely progress made rebuilding Iraq economic infrastructure.
• Interdict Iran from supplying al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq.
• Expand number of political refugees to come to the United States.

Continue to support the Afghan government to rid the country of Taliban and Al-Qaeda elements.

• Employ a multidimensional strategy to rebuild security, intelligence, and reconnaissance capabilities.
• Phase down coalition forces as the Afghanistan government matures and defends itself.

Pressure Iran, diplomatically and economically, to withdraw support for terrorist organizations.

• Support UN resolution on Iran to stop development of nuclear weapons.
• Consider all options in dealing with Iranian military ambitions.

 

References:

“To Beat the Axis of Evil, Confront the Axis of Anti-Semitism” by Jonathan Rauch dated July 7, 2003 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=8768 .

“Saddam Hussein’s Philanthropy of Terror” by Deroy Murdock dated February 11, 2004 published by National Review Online at http://www.nationalreview.com/murdock/murdock200402110521.asp .

“Liberals, Leftists, in a Time of War” by David Horowitz dated December 10, 2004 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16259 .

“Open Letter to Opponents of the War in Iraq” by Herb Meyer dated January 6, 2005 published by The American Thinker at http://www.stormkingpress.com/iraqletter.htm .

“Winning the Peace: Principles for Post-Conflict Operations” by James Jay Carafano and Dana Dillon dated June 13, 2005 published by The Heritage Foundation on http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/bg1859.cfm .

“Marrying foreign policy views” by Lee Hamilton dated November 7, 2005 published by The Indianapolis Star on Indystar.Com.

“Who is Lying About Iraq” by Norman Podhoretz dated November 14, 2005 published by Wall Street Journal at http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007540 .

“Dems lied to get us into war!” by J. James Estrada dated November 16, 2005 published by Free Republic at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1523361/posts .

“National Strategy for Victory in Iraq” by the National Security Council, dated November 2005 at http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/iraq_strategy_nov2005.html .

“Smoking in the Background” by Deroy Murdock dated December 21, 2005 published by National Review Online at http://www.nationalreview.com/murdock/murdock200512211625.asp .

“The Panic over Iraq” by Norman Podhoretz dated January 2006 published by Commentary Magazine at http://www.commentarymagazine.com/Production/files/podhoretz0106advance.html .

“Time to Acknowledge the Reality of War” by Frank Salvato dated July 14, 2006 published by American Chronicle at http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=11466 .

“Disarm or Death” by Emanuele Ottolenghi dated July 27, 2006 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2IzOTlmMGIyNjQ5OTYxMWRkNTNkNmQ3YzZjMDA1NzU= .

“Stuck in a Quagmire” by Joseph Loconte dated July 27, 2006 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTIzZmE3YTBmNDE0OGQ2MTM2ZDBjZDM2NmNkODU5MWQ= .

“The Vocabulary of Untruth” by Victor Davis Hanson dated July 28, 2006 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjI4MWIzODNlYjM3Yzg1M2FiNTEzMWMyNzg1ZDIzNzQ= .

“The U.N.’s Complicity in Hezbollah Kidnapping” by Julia Weller dated August 2, 2006 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=23634 .

“It’s Not Just About Land” by Victor Davis Hanson dated August 3, 2006 published by Real Clear Politics at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/08/its_not_just_about_land.html .

“Surmounting manipulation” by Ariel Chen dated August 3, 2006 published by Washington Times at http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20060802-085913-2085r.htm .

“The Only Option is to Win” by Newt Gingrich dated August 11, 2006 published by Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/10/AR2006081001311.html .

“A battle lost in the war on terror” by Tony Blankley dated September 27, 2006 published by Real Clear Politics at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/09/a_battle_lost_in_the_war_on_te.html .

“Iraq: Uniting Against the Jihadis” by Amir Taheri dated October 20, 2006 published by New York Post at http://www.nypost.com/seven/10202006/postopinion/opedcolumnists/iraq__uniting_against_the_jihadis_opedcolumnists_amir_taheri.htm .

“If we had known then….“ by Jeff Jacoby dated October 22, 2006 published by Boston Globe at http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/10/22/if_we_had_known_then/ .

“In Iraq, Stay the Course – But Change It” by Daniel Pipes dated October 25, 2006 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=25112 .

“The Beltway Retreat” dated October 25, 2006 published by Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal at http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009147 .

“James Baker and the Desert Storm Legacy” by Austin Bay dated November 15, 2006 published by Real Clear Politics at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/11/james_baker_and_the_desert_sto.html .

“Our Enemies’ Glee” by Amir Taheri dated November 17, 2006 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=25547 .

“Reality Check II” by Frederick W. Kagan dated November 17, 2006 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=25545 .

“Rebuilding in Iraq tops 4,000 projects” by Rowan Scarborough dated November 20, 2006 published by Washington Times at http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20061120-123520-8853r.htm .

“New Directions for Iraq” by Lynn Woolley dated November 21, 2006 published by Human Events Online at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18131 .

“The Iraq Study Group Report: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” by James Phillips and James Jay Carafano dated December 6, 2006 published by The Heritage Foundation at http://www.heritage.org/Research/MiddleEast/upload/wm_1278.pdf .

“Cycle of Conflict” by Clark S. Judge dated December 8, 2006 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWI3YmE1NTdjMDFiZjg1ODQ2YWY0MTVmYzVlYmM2NTY= .

“Our Unceasing Ambivalence” By Steele dated December 8, 2006 published by Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal at http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009356 .

“Negotiate with Iran?” by Andrew C. McCarthy dated December 8, 2006 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2ViMTQ1NTllMjAxZDVmNjg3ZjIyMWRlMWU5OWE3N2M= .

“Baker-Hamilton Lunacy” by Kenneth R. Timmerman dated December 15, 2006 published by Front Page Magazine at http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=26002 .

“Baghdad Economy Starting to Boom” by Niles Lathem dated December 19, 2006 published by New York Post at http://www.nypost.com/seven/12192006/news/worldnews/baghdad_economy_starting_to_boom_worldnews_niles_lathem.htm .

“The Four Wars of Iraq – The Northern Ireland Connection” by Arthur Bruzzone dated December 27, 2006 published by American Daily at http://www.americandaily.com/article/16969 .

“How the West Could Lose” by Daniel Pipes dated December 27, 2006 published by American Daily at http://www.americandaily.com/article/16966 .

“America’s many failed attempts at Mideast peace” by Michael Oren dated January 2, 2007 published by Boston Globe at http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/01/02/americas_many_failed_attempts_at_mideast_peace/ .

“Insurgencies Rarely Win – And Iraq Won’t Be Any Different (Maybe)” by Donald Stoker dated January 2007 published by Foreign Policy at http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3689 .

“Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success In Iraq – Phase I Report” by Frederick W. Kagan dated January 5, 2007 published by American Enterprise Institute at http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.25396/pub_detail.asp .

“Iraq 101” by Bridget Johnson dated January 18, 2007 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzQ0MjBkNWI2Zjk1MDA0MWFjMDY1NzhjN2RhMTkwYmI= .

“Iraq’s Armchair Quarterbacks” by Mark Goldblatt dated January 19, 2007 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=26490 .

“Petraeus lists mistakes in Iraq” by Pamela Hess dated January 25, 2007 published by Monsters and Critics at http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/features/article_1251533.php/Petraeus_lists_mistakes_in_Iraq .

“The Reconstruction” by Bill Crawford dated January 25, 2007 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzRhMzI1ODExYWNhYThmNzRkY2UzYWJhMzQwYzFjNjM= .

“Rice’s Mideast Realignment Strategy” by David Ignatius dated January 25, 2007 published by Real Clear Politics at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/01/rices_realignment_strategy.html .

“Many Democrats Won’t Stand For Victory in Iraq” by lorie Byrd dated January 26, 2007 published by Town Hall at http://www.townhall.com/columnists/LorieByrd/2007/01/26/many_democrats_wont_stand_for_victory_in_iraq .

“Next come the killing fields” dated January 29, 2007 published by Washington Examiner at http://www.examiner.com/a-534532~Editorial__Next_come_the_killing_fields.html .

“Not One Thin Dime for Abbas” by Andrew C. McCarthy dated January 31, 2007 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NjU2N2Q5NzJiYjRlOTA0MjNjOTc0NGU5OTY2NTdmYmQ= .

“Not This Time – Don’t give up when victory is at hand” by Fred Barnes dated February 5, 2007 published by Weekly Standard at http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/206ifjmh.asp .

“Winning on the Home Front” by Dinesh D’Souza dated February 13, 2007 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=26914

 .

“The Negotiations Hoax” by Michael A. Ledeen dated March 1, 2007 published by American Enterprise Institute at http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.25701,filter.all/pub_detail.asp .

“Iraq’s Accomplishments in Perspective” by Austin Bay dated March 13, 2007 published by Real Clear Politics at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/03/iraqs_accomplishments_in_persp.html .

“3,200 Dead, 26 Million Freed, and a Long Ways Yet to Go” by Jeff Emanuel dated March 21, 2007 published by Human Events Online at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19900 .

“Promoting Stability and Democracy in Pakistan” by Lisa Curtis dated March 21, 2007 published by The Heritage Foundation at http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/hl1009.cfm .

“Seven Pillars of Middle East Reality” by Kenneth Levin dated April 10, 2007 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27781 .

“I found Saddam’s WMD bunkers’” by Melanie Phillips dated April 19, 2007 published by Free Republic at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1819879/posts .

“The middle of nowhere” by Edward Luttwak dated May 2007 published by Prospect Magazine at http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9302.

“The Case for Bombing Iran” by Norman Podhoretz dated May 30, 2007 published by Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal at http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110010139 .

“Six Days, and Forty Years” by Adam Garfinkle dated June 5, 2007 published by The American Spectator at Six Days, and Forty Years http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11533 .

“Our Common Struggle” by Nouri Al-Maliki dated June 13, 2007 published by The Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal at http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010203 .

“Peace In Our Time?” by Chuck Freilich dated June 13, 2007 published by Human Events Online at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21105 .

“An Examination of the Palestinian Demand for a Right of Return” by Maurice Ostroff dated June 13, 2007 published by Intellectual Conservative at http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2007/06/13/an-examination-of-the-palestinian-demand-for-a-right-of-return/ .

“Will promoting democracy backfire?” dated June 15, 2007 published by Los Angeles Times at http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-democracy15jun15,0,5186714.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail .

“Land for Peace…” by Seth Leibsohn dated June 18, 2007 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDNjZjY0YjZjNzJkZmUwZjUwNWE5YzdiOTU5ZGU3NTk= .

“The Left and the Six Day War” by Aaron Goldstein dated June 19, 2007 published by Intellectual Conservative at http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2007/06/19/the-left-and-the-six-day-war/ .

“Let Beasts Devour Beasts” by Nibras Kazimi dated June 19, 2007 published by New York Sun at http://www.nysun.com/article/56857 .

“Warning from Gaza” by Newt Gingrich dated June 26, 2007 published by American Enterprise Institute at http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.26396/pub_detail.asp .

“Why We Went to War in Iraq” by David Horowitz dated June 29, 2007 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=28944 .

“Understanding Al-Qaeda” by Greg Reeson dated July 31, 2007 published by American Daily at http://www.americandaily.com/article/19769

“A Cause for Hope – Economic Revitalization in Iraq” by Paul Brinkley dated July – August 2007 published by Military Review at http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/JulAug07/Brinkley.pdf .

“The Truth About Iraq and Vietnam” by Alan W. Dowd dated August 3, 2007 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=BDB0C575-96F9-4553-AB4B-B38E6EFC1453

“How a ‘Good War’ in Afghanistan Went Bad” by David Rohde and David E. Sanger dated August 12, 2007 published by New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin .

“Hamas Rules” by Jonathan Schanzer dated August 15, 2007 published by National Review Online at http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YWQ1NjU1MjBkMWU4NDc3MTkyM2RhYzg4MTk2YjExNGI= .

“Genesis of an Anti-Semitic State” by David Bedein dated August 15, 2007 published by Front Page Magazine at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=CA8C6EAE-CB7F-4BCF-B070-2AC80BDC