SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that he will release 250 Fatah members from Israeli prisons in a goodwill gesture aimed at strengthening Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas' victory in Gaza.
Olmert made the announcement at a meeting with Abbas and the leaders of Egypt and Jordan that the Arabs and Palestinians are hoping can push forward the peace process.
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June 26, 2007 -- DUBAI - Al Qaeda's No. 2 man urged all Muslims yesterday to support Hamas in its battles against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel - which he said was planning to invade Gaza.
"We must today support the mujahedeen of Palestine, including the mujahedeen of Hamas, despite all the mistakes of their government," said a voice, purportedly Egyptian cleric Ayman al-Zawahiri's, on a tape posted online.
"Now that the situation in Gaza is under your control, you must remember two things: first that power is not an end in itself but a means of achieving God's way on Earth . . . second . . . that the theater is being prepared now for the invasion of Gaza, so unite with your mujahedeen brothers in Palestine."
Soldier's voice upstages Middle East summit in support of Abbas
12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 26, 2007
From Wire Reports McClatchy Newspapers and The Washington Post contributed to this report.
We're not stuck indefinitely in Iraq because of WMDs, an Iraqi-al Qaeda connection, the need to establish Mideast democracy, or any other prior rationale.
We're there because of the troops. We have to support the troops by keeping them in Iraq and retaining an open-ended budget for the war they're fighting.
Deadlines for withdrawal would hurt the troops. Cuts in money would hurt the troops. Even discussions about alternative strategies hurt the troops.
There won?t be an official report on the effectiveness of the U.S. military surge in Iraq until September, but sometimes-conflicting reports are already coming daily on operations occurring in and around Baghdad. How will we know whether or not the surge is working?
One obvious answer is that we won?t know whether the surge is working until operations have actually been conducted. That is not so obvious to all, though. On June 13, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told President Bush that his surge policy was a failure.
Reid and Pelosi said in a letter to Bush that ?as many had foreseen, the escalation has failed to produce the intended results.? The letter was sent before all of the additional troops participating in the surge were in place in the region.
New Iraq tribal alliances fighting al-Qaeda (original) - 6/26/2007
Olmert shows support for Abbas (original) - 6/26/2007
Pinkerton: Credit war, not Moore, for health care debate (original) - 6/26/2007
Reporters on the Job (original) - 6/26/2007
Suicide bomber kills 13 at busy Baghdad hotel (original) - 6/26/2007
Sunni leaders assassinated in hotel bombing (original) - 6/26/2007
Sunni leaders targeted in Baghdad blast (original) - 6/26/2007
U.S. Muslims Face Isolation, Radical Threat: Study (original) - 6/26/2007
'Anbar model' under fire (original) - 6/26/2007
Attacker Kills 4 Sunni Sheiks Who Aided U.S. (original) - 6/26/2007
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