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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: haqihana who wrote (24263)	2/16/2004 9:13:35 AM
From: Richnorth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27666

As haqihana you should know better than anyone else. What you said was so very enlightening, and revealing, too! Thanks for the info.

To: haqihana who wrote (24263)	2/16/2004 9:54:36 AM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27666

Terror Does Pay by Isaac Kohn Feb 09, '04 / 17 Shevat 5764 israelnationalnews.com Hundreds of thousands have gathered in Ramallah to hear Yasser Arafat speak out for the first time in many months. Raising their fists into the air, the crowd shouted in frenzied expectation of seeing their triumphant ra'is. "Kill the Jews!", "From River To Sea!", the banners proclaimed as reporters from all over the world recorded the scene. One child was holding a large picture of long cattle cars on the way to Auschwitz. "With Blood We Shall Liberate You, O' Palestine!" the huge banner fluttered above the semi-destroyed Mukata, in full view of the soldiers on the hill. Ecstasy ran rampant through the frenzied crowd. And then... "Allahu Akbar!" Resplendent in a new keffiya, his ever-present army uniform crisply starched, a broad ear-to-ear smile across his face, the ra'is stepped out into the sunlight. A tremendous roar rose from the throats of the victory-drunken multitudes. "Allahu Akbar!" they responded in unison. The earth shook from thousands of stomping feet. "Allahu Akbar!" He raised his hand and waived to the crowd; bathed in the glory of the moment, Yasser Arafat stood there, waiting for the crowd to calm down. Slowly, the noise abated as all eyes turned towards him. He began to speak. "Praise our jihad. Bless the Hamas, the Hizbullah, holy Jihad, Tanzim, Fatah, PFLP and all other great freedom organizations whose unflinching struggle against the infidel Jews is bearing wonderful fruit. "Inshallah, my brothers and sisters. The future is ours. The fight to regain our stolen lands is finally cracking the Jews' resolve to remain in the lands they illegally usurped. The Nakba of 1948 and the aggression of 1967 is about to be reversed; the retreat from Gaza is but a tiny step on the road towards total liberation. The sun is beginning to shine once again. Palestine is ours. We are marching forward as the enemy continues to retreat. Our just struggle, coupled with our unrelenting onslaught, has sent a clear message to the enemies of the Prophet Muhammad. They are crumbling, falling apart, unable to sustain the immense pressure brought to bear by our glorious fighters. Our flag shall soon rise above every minaret in occupied Palestine. From the border of Syria to the port of Akkaba and from the Jordan River to the blue Mediterranean Sea, we shall sweep away the Jews from every inch of the land. Justice is here at last." "Hear! Hear!" an ear-splitting roar from the crowd rolled across the nearby hills and valleys; the frenzy of joy was all consuming. The rat-tat-tat of sub-machine guns being fired in the air added to the tumultuous cacophony of thunderous noise. "Brothers! I want to address my former bitter antagonist-turned friend, the esteemed prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon." The crowd hissed and booed loudly at the mention of the hated name. Arafat raised his hand and the crowd fell silent once again. The arch-terrorist continued: "My dear Ariel. Today, I wish to address you not as an enemy, nor an antagonist. I want to address you as a compatriot, a friend, a believer in the Palestinian cause. Your sharp turn around is a welcome step. An ally such as you is something we never dared hope for. In joining our struggle, your place in our hearts is guaranteed. With the prominent triumvirate-gang of Peres-Beilin-Sharon, the creation of Palestine on Israel's grave has received a tremendous shot-in-the-arm. "Our set course of terrorism does pay a handsome dividend; a reward for the bloodshed we visited on you has been achieved. The wait was worthwhile. The galloping horses can no longer be restrained as the race towards the finish-line will now gain momentum. The winner is assured. The winning horse is out of the gate in a gallop. "My dear Ariel, you have reconfirmed my deep belief in the ultimate goodness of mankind. You have reasserted Islam's supremacy in the struggle against Judaism. By abandoning the Jewish creed and tenets, by rejecting your G-d, you have literally embraced our Allah. By succumbing to world pressure, you have taken the lead in nurturing Islam's intentions against your own people. Had I forseen your debacle, I would have applied much more pressure, killed many more of your women and children. Had I done so, your retreat in the face of terror would have been accomplished much sooner. "How right Nasrallah was! When the Israeli army ran away from Lebanon, his admonition was clear: Israel understands only force. Who could have possibly prophecied that the hero of Israel will crumble like wet sand in face of our onslaught? "We admire your heroic defection from the camp you lead to the one I am leading. Bless you. "However, dear Ariel, let it be understood: Gaza is but a small step in the overall scheme and plans. Our Charter will not change, nor be modified. We, the people of Palestine, will continue the march forward in order to obliterate every vestige of Judaism in these lands. Listen, if you will, and hear the chugging of the cattle-cars, the goose-stepping click of the boots.The 'Final Solution' wasn't finalized. We will accomplish what they had failed to do. We will pursue the ultimate goal of sending you all back to the countries you came from. "Or, if you choose, Ariel, you may begin to learn how to swim."

To: haqihana who wrote (24263)	2/17/2004 7:15:43 AM
From: lorne	Respond to of 27666

Arabs in U.S. Raising Money to Back Bush By LESLIE WAYNE Published: February 17, 2004 nytimes.com ealthy Arab-Americans and foreign-born Muslims who strongly back President Bush's decision to invade Iraq are adding their names to the ranks of Pioneers and Rangers, the elite Bush supporters who have raised $100,000 or more for his re-election. This new crop of fund-raisers comes as some opinion polls suggest support for the president among Arab-Americans is sinking and at a time when strategists from both parties say Mr. Bush is losing ground with this group. Mr. Bush has been criticized by Arab-Americans who feel they are being singled out in the fight against terrorism and who are uneasy over the administration's Palestinian-Israeli policies. Advertisement Yet the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq have been a catalyst for some wealthy Arab-Americans to become more involved in politics. And there are still others who have a more practical reason for opening their checkbooks: access to a business-friendly White House. Already, their efforts have brought them visits with the president at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., as well as White House dinners and meetings with top administration officials. The fund-raisers are people like Mori Hosseini, the Iranian-born chief executive of ICI Homes, a home builder in Daytona Beach, Fla. Mr. Hosseini is a Ranger, gaining the top designation after raising $200,000 from his family and acquaintances. (The minimum level of money raised for a Ranger is $200,000, while it takes $100,000 to be a Pioneer.) Never before has Mr. Hosseini been this active politically. But he said he was inspired by Mr. Bush's "decisive" action, especially in Iraq, and Mr. Hosseini's efforts have led to an invitation to a White House Christmas party and a private meeting with the president and a handful of other donors at a recent fund-raiser at Disney World. "He has saved Iraq," said Mr. Hosseini, who left Iran when he was 13. "He's the savior, if not of Iraq, but also of the other countries around Iraq. They want freedom. I am so sure of this because I am from that part of the world." Mr. Hosseini's enthusiasm runs counter to what some polls say is a drop in Mr. Bush's popularity among Arab-Americans. In a recent release, the Arab American Institute, a nonprofit organization representing Arab-American interests in government and politics, said Mr. Bush's support had fallen sharply since the 2000 election. A January poll conducted for the group by Zogby International, which is headed by John Zogby, a Lebanese-American, found that Mr. Bush's approval rating among Arab-Americans had fallen to 38 percent from as high as 83 percent in October 2001. The biggest reason for this drop-off, according to the institute's poll, is concern over Arab-Americans' No. 1 issue, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. To many Arab-Americans, the administration's actions are seen as more pro-Israel than evenhanded, especially its support of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister. In addition, a program begun after 9/11 that required thousands of Arab and Muslim men to register with the immigration officials has sent chills through Arab-Americans, as has the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, which Arab-Americans say is a threat to their civil liberties. Even so, prominent Arab-Americans have kept the money flowing. "It's like the Catholic Church," said Mr. Zogby, whose brother, James, is president of the Arab American Institute. "The total dollars are up, but the number of donors is down." One reason may be that Arab-Americans are not a monolithic group. The term is used generally to refer to people from Arab countries, but they may have diverse religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, like Lebanese and other Arab Christians or Muslims from Egypt and Pakistan. Many Arab-Americans left their countries because of political and economic oppression and are now small-business owners or entrepreneurs who say the Republican Party best represents their values. As with any specific group, it is impossible to determine exactly how much of Mr. Bush's campaign money comes from Arab-Americans.