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05 May 2011 10:07

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World: Israeli ambassador to the U.S.: We gotta deal with Hamas? Ugh

  • There is no indication that Hamas is willing to give up terror, recognize Israel or recognize the peace process.
  • Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren • Expressing his country’s frustration with the recent unity deal struck between Hamas and Fatah, the two main political sects in Palestine. Oren makes it clear that he considers Hamas’ new role a major setback for Israel. “Hamas has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli citizens, at our towns, at our farms,” he noted, “and Hamas is one of the only elements in the Middle East to condemn the US’s action against [Osama] bin Laden.” While he emphasizes that peace is the goal for Israel, Hamas’ new seat at the bargaining table “is extremely difficult for us.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 May 2011 09:55

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World: Syrian unrest: Troops move into other towns, arrest protesters

  • The mess in Syria stays messy: While troops recently started pulling out of the city of Daraa — a flash point for the initial unrest in the country — after doing what it could to “crush” the protesters (though some protesters deny that they’ve left), it appears troops are moving elsewhere. In the clip above, Syrian troops appear to be moving into the Damascus suburb of Saqba. Hundreds were reportedly arrested. A protest took place there last Friday after residents’ weekly prayer, so the timing is of note. Troops also moved into the coastal town of Banias, home to one of Syria’s oil refineries. This is far from over. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2011 16:17

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World: Fatah, Hamas sign reconciliation deal to Israel’s chagrin

  • Signed on the dotted line: Hamas and Fatah made official their surprising reconciliation deal today, which calls for a new interim government and for elections within one year. This has sparked a lot of angst from Israel, who are fearful of the a unified Palestinian authority that includes Hamas  — they’re also opposed to a Palestinian attempt to get statehood recognition from the United Nations, expected to take place this September. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2011 11:10

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World: NATO head: We’ve significantly weakend Gaddafi in Libya

  • Every week, every day we make new progress, hit important targets. But I’m not able to quantify the degree to which we have degraded Muammar Gaddafi’s military capabilities, but definitely it is much weaker now than when our operation started.
  • NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen • Noting that in the time NATO has tackled the Libyan crisis, they’ve successfully weakened the Gaddafi regime greatly. Now, he can’t quantify this, but he still said it! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2011 10:07

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World: How much money was Osama carrying when he was killed?

  • €500 were on his person — sewn into his clothes source
  • » Ready at the drop of a hat: In case Osama needed to make a run for it, the money sewn in his clothes ensured he might be able to survive for a couple of days. Though … it says a lot about the declining value of the dollar that he chose Euros instead. Among other things officials say they found — 10 cell phones, 10 computers and 100 thumb drives. Since the compound didn’t have internet access, we bet they just tethered their phones like we do.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2011 21:15

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World: Second try: The White House blows pretty major Bin Laden facts

  • yesterday Reports pushed forth by the White House suggested that Osama bin Laden had a weapon, and that he used his wife was a human shield, leading to her death.
  • today The White House changed both stories, noting that Bin Laden was unarmed (though others weren’t) and his wife was in fact not even killed, but just shot in the leg. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2011 20:39

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World: UCLA researchers figured out where Osama was two years ago

  • The theory was basically that if you’re going to try and survive, you’re going to a region with a low extinction rate: a large town. We hypothesized he wouldn’t be in a small town where people could report on him.
  • UCLA geographer Thomas Gillespie • Describing the hypothesis that he, colleague John Agnew, and a bunch of students used to figure out that Osama bin Laden was hiding out in the general region near Abbottabad, Pakistan — back in 2009, when such a revelation was unexpected and amazing. “Caves are cold, and you can’t see people walking up to them,” Gillepsie noted, though also suggested he should’ve had a more inconspicuous home, instead of a fortress that stuck out like a sore thumb. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 May 2011 09:15

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U.S., World: White House’s John Brennan: We can take out al-Qaeda now

  • We’re going to try to take advantage of this opportunity we have now with the death of al Qaeda’s leader, bin Laden, to ensure that we’re able to destroy that organization. We’re determined to do so and we believe we can.
  • White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan • Sounding a little boasty by saying that the next plan, post-Bin Laden, is to basically take down all of al-Qaeda. “We believe that we have damaged the organization, degraded its capability and made it much more difficult for it to operate inside of Pakistan as well as beyond,” he continued. Do you guys think he’s right, or just on a bit of a high right now? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 May 2011 15:52

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World: Bin Laden compound close to Pakistani military academy

  • Where it all went down: The Guardian has a nice article up about the town of Abbottabad, where U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden at his compound, pictured above. One of the big early questions raised by bin Laden’s location was his surprising proximity to the Pakistani capitol of Islamabad, and whether the Pakistani authorities had any inklings the al-Qaeda mastermind was hiding in their midst. A less than encouraging tidbit on that front — bin Laden’s compound sat just a “few streets away” from a sprawling Pakistani military academy specializing in training officers. This is maybe the most relevant ongoing geopolitical story to come out of bin Laden’s death, and one which we’ll be watching with interest in the weeks to come. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 May 2011 03:07

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World: U.S. State Dept.: Travel advisory after Osama bin Laden’s death

  • U.S. citizens in areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence are strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations.
  • A statement from the U.S. State Department • Offering a travel advisory to people in countries which may have “enhanced potential” for a strong anti-American sentiment in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death. The travel warning lasts until August 1st. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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