Tragedy is no crime

You are a freshman university student on the first day of a philosophy course. Your professor poses this ethical dilemma: A devoutly religious man is shooting at you with an AK-47. He is determined to kill you and your family. Is it moral to shoot back? Before you answer; consider that he is shielded by his pregnant wife and three young children.

Ordinary Israelis know what any undergraduate not suffering from a death-wish intuitively appreciates – namely, that human beings should not intentionally injure other human beings but may sometimes need to resort to violence to keep themselves and others from harm.

Filed under: Analysis, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Iran, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal

The Muslim-Jewish dialogue

The Gaza Strip violence has chilled a promising interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims in the United States, activists said on Wednesday.

But Israel’s 20-day-old offensive against Hamas that has taken more than the lives of more than 1,000 Palestinians and 13 Israelis has not triggered attacks on synagogues or other Jewish institutions in the United States at the level seen in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

While Jews and Muslims make up a sliver of the U.S. population, efforts at dialogue based on common themes in the two ancient religions had been on the rise in recent years in the United States, an effort billed as perhaps a world model.
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Matthew Weiner, director of programs for the Interfaith Center of New York, which has tried to foster such interreligious dialogue, said the damage from Gaza means “less talking and less trust. There will continue to be less.”

“There is a sense within the Muslim community that they cannot ‘defend their side’ without being accused of being terrorists,” he added.

He said this “creates serious resentment, and cynicism” that does not wipe out the positive steps that have been made, but “it damages what they built.”

Filed under: Analysis, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, MidEast, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, West Bank

Congratulations Mr. President

The Terror Journal wishes Barack H. Obama all the success and good luck, not only to tackle the global recession but also to fight terrorism more determined than ever.

We wish that you may fight terror to keep the democratic, liberal and the freedom values that we all cherish.

We once again wish all the good luck and god bless you!

Filed under: America, Afghanistan, Australia, Baghdad, Berlin, Colombo, Egypt, England, Gaza, Gaza strip, Germany, Hamas, History, IAF, IDF, India, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Madrid, Middle East, MidEast, Mumbai, New York, News, Operation Cast Lead, Pakistan, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Paris, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Spain, Sri Lanka, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, West Bank, World

Taleban kill six men for spying

Suspected Taleban militants have killed six men in north-west Pakistan after accusing them of spying for the United States, local officials say.

The bodies were found on roads in Miranshah and neighbouring Mir Ali in North Waziristan.

The lawless region is known to be a hub of Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.

At least 15 people have been killed by suspected militants in the region in the past two weeks for allegedly spying for US forces or Pakistan.

Filed under: Asia, Afghanistan, Kabul, Pakistan, Russia, Taleban, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, U.S.A, War

New supply route for US forces in Afghanistan

The US says a new supply path to Afghanistan has been agreed with Central Asian states and Russia as an option to the troubled Pakistan route.

US Central Command chief Gen David Petraeus made the announcement on a visit to Islamabad.

The route through the Khyber Pass has been closed several times in recent months after militants attacks.

Gen David Petraeus has met President Asif Ali Zardari and other leading figures on his one-day trip.

The visit comes after a week-long tour of Central Asian states.

Filed under: Asia, Afghanistan, Kabul, Russia, Taleban, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, U.S.A, War

Three losers of Israel war

Strategically, our neighborhood’s Islamists – from Gaza through Beirut to Teheran – have fired one shot too many, not only at us, but also at Egypt, whose rawest nerve they have scratched without anesthesia.

You can’t call on Egypt’s masses to take to the streets and expect Hosni Mubarak to say – as Israeli leaders would in comparable situations – “Words words, let them talk.” For a man whose office is a short car ride away from an airstrip where aircraft are always ready to whisk him to safety lest the mob suddenly erupt, such calls constitute incitement for the worst thing he can think of: revolution.

Filed under: Analysis, Analysis, Egypt, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Iran, Israel, Middle East, MidEast, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, West Bank

Gaza and West Bank: The Growing divide

In the West Bank, the death and suffering of people in Gaza has spurred demonstrations in almost every town, village and refugee camp. The Palestinian public seems united in its grief.

Protest in Ramallah – 15 January
Protests are a show of unity but divisions between Gaza and the West Bank are deep

“Whether we live in Gaza or anywhere else, we all suffer the same, we are united in our hearts,” Ayman Abdullah, 43, tells me.

Nearby, 14-year-old Jalal Abu Khatib looks solemn. He is attending the demonstration with his mother. “What the Israeli forces are doing in Gaza is against the whole Palestinian people, not just against Hamas,” he says.

In spite of the anger and emotion, a protest on Friday in Ramallah’s main square began peacefully.

Chants condemn Israel for its attacks, and Arab governments for their inaction. Palestinian flags are waved, Israeli ones set alight.

Filed under: Analysis, Analysis, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, MidEast, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, West Bank

Civilians ‘killed’ in Sri Lanka

Medical staff in Sri Lanka say at least 18 civilians have been killed as the military continues its offensive on the northern bases of Tamil Tiger rebels.

Hospital officials said the number killed in fighting around Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu could be much higher.

The military said Mullaitivu – the last major rebel stronghold – was now surrounded, but it denied rebel claims that civilians came under attack.

A military spokesman told the BBC that the allegation was propaganda.

Aid agencies say they are concerned about the fate of the 250,000 civilians living in rebel-held territory in the north of the country.

According to a Tamil Tiger statement and reports on the pro-rebel TamilNet website, the Sri Lankan military attacked civilians in rebel-held villages around Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.

Filed under: Asia, Civillians, Colombo, Elephant Pass, Guerrilla Group, Guerrilla war, LTTE, Mahindra Rajapaksa, Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka, Tamil, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War