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Beirut braces for Hizbullah rally marking 'victory over Israel'

George — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:57:57 +0000

Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is set to address the gathering, and according to Lebanese media, he will speak about Israel’s recent threats against the terror organization and Lebanon.

Last week, Defense Minister Barak warned that Israel would consider military action if Hizbullah altered the military balance, and also said that if another war erupted along the northern border, the IDF would have more operational freedom to target Lebanese infrastructure than it had three years ago. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Beirut that if Hizbullah becomes an official member of Lebanon’s government, “we will hold the government accountable for any aggression against Israel coming out of its territory.”

Long list of enemies in Syria blast Blogs

George — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:41:23 +0000

One of the problems with countries like Syria - secretive and authoritarian - is that whenever a bomb goes off or someone is assassinated, the list of possible suspects is...

French extremists dream of jihad in Iraq

George — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:31:38 +0000

Boubakeur el Hakim traded his Paris neighborhood of boulangeries and halal butcher shops for the insurgent camps of Iraq. When he came home, he told his war stories to other young men on the forgotten edges of French society, allegedly persuading some to follow in his footsteps.

After years of investigation by French authorities, el Hakim, 24, went on trial this month in a case exposing how the Iraq war has sucked radical youths from Europe to a battlefield where they have learned skills that officials fear may one day be used in domestic terror attacks.