Saudi Journalst: Corruption, dictators the enemy, not Israel

An article by a Saudi journalist challenging the conventional wisdom in the Arab world – in particular the view of Israel as the root of the region’s problems – is enjoying skyrocketing popularity online and sparking debate about the Arab Spring.

Under the headline “Arab Spring and the Israeli enemy,” the writer used the occasion of the Yom Kippur War in 1973 to wonder aloud about the resources spent on war, in particular the War of Independence in 1948 and the Six Day War in 1967.

“What was the real cost for not recognizing Israel in 1948 and why didn’t the Arab states spend their assets on education, health care and the infrastructures instead of wars?” asked Abdulateef al-Mulhim in the Arab News, a Saudi Arabian newspaper in English whose website “gets hundreds of thousands of hits every day” from around the world, according to the paper’s site.

“But, the hardest question that no Arab national wants to hear is whether Israel is the real enemy of the Arab world and the Arab people,” wrote al-Mulhim.

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Another blow in the Islamists’ war

By Amir Taheri

The attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, is the latest tragic reminder that America is at war.
Christopher Stevens, the US Ambassador to Libya, and the three other American dead are the latest victims of a war that started decades ago.

To those who knew him, Ambassador Stevens was a model of charm, decency and understanding. During Libya’s painful struggle to shake off despotism, he played a crucial role in helping mobilize international opinion in favor of the popular uprising. To many Libyans, he was not only a friend but something of a hero.

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Jailed doc who helped nail Bin Laden warns Pakistan sees U.S. as 'worst enemy'

Pakistan –  Pakistan’s powerful spy agency regards America as its “worst enemy,” and the government's claims that it is cooperating with the US are a sham to extract billions of dollars in American aid, according to the CIA informant jailed for his role in hunting down Usama bin Laden.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Shakil Afridi, the medical doctor who helped pinpoint bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before last year’s raid by SEAL Team 6, described brutal torture at the hands of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, and said the agency is openly hostile to the U.S.

“They said ‘The Americans are our worst enemies, worse than the Indians,’” Afridi, who spoke from inside Peshawar Central Jail, said as he recalled the brutal interrogation and torture he suffered after he was initially detained.

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How Many Millionaires Live in the "Impoverished" Gaza Strip?

The world often thinks of the Gaza Strip, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, as one of the poorest places on earth, where people live in misery and squalor.

But according to an investigative report published in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, there are at least 600 millionaires living in the Gaza Strip. The newspaper report also refutes the claim that the Gaza Strip has been facing a humanitarian crisis because of an Israeli blockade.

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Former PA security chief Dahlan says Gaza "not under siege", residents "not lacking anything."

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

08/09/2012 19:36

Former PA security chief claims Hamas created atmosphere ripe for "new terror groups"; accuses Gaza leadership of threatening Egypt's national security; says Gaza "not under siege", residents "not lacking anything."

 
Photo: REUTERS
Hamas has created the proper environment for the emergence of new terror groups in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Dahlan, a former Palestinian security commander, said Thursday.

Dahlan, who founded and headed the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Force in the Gaza Strip between 1994 and 2000, also accused Hamas of harboring the terror groups and using their members to kill Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip.

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No comment necessary: Jordanian Minister pulls gun on opponent during talk show

A Jordanian MP is being investigated by police after pulling a gun on an opponent during a televised political debate.

On Thursday (July 5), commentator Mansur Murad was debating the Syrian crisis with MP Mohammed Shawabkeh. The discussion quickly became heated after Mr Murad accused his opponent of buying his way into parliament.  After trading insults, Mr Shawabkeh responded by first throwing his shoe at Murad, who ducked behind his desk, then pulling a snub-nose revolver from under his belt.

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Israeli irrigation expert wins World Food Prize

An Israeli scientist who has reached across political and ethnic boundaries to help dozens of countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America improve agriculture with new irrigation methods will receive the World Food Prize, the prize's foundation announced on Tuesday.

                              Dr. Daniel Hillel with Palestinian Muslim community leaders.Photo by AP Photo / The World Food Prize Foundation

 "It is significant that Dr. Hillel's nomination for the World Food Prize contained letters of support from individuals and organizations in Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates,"

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Sounds reasonable... NOT: Outrage as Egypt plans 'farewell intercourse law' so husbands can have sex with DEAD wives up to six hours after their death

Egyptian husbands will soon be legally allowed to have sex with their dead wives - for up to six hours after their death.

The controversial new law is part of a raft of measures being introduced by the Islamist-dominated parliament.

It will also see the minimum age of marriage lowered to 14 and the ridding of women's rights of getting education and employment.

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UK envoy slams, retracts criticism of J'lem building (Unfortunately there was no such building project commenced)

By HERB KEINON AND MELANIE LIDMAN
01/03/2012 20:33

British ambassador Matthew Gould took Israel to task Tuesday for announcing new building projects beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem, but then retracted the criticism after learning there had been no such new declaration.

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