Sunday, February 01, 2009
Turkish Jews Threatened by Rising Islamist Tide
Foreign Confidential....
A 500-year-old Jewish community--one of the world's largest Jewish communities--is threatened by a rising Islamist tide.
This reporter is referring to Turkey, where the military, traditionally the guardian of secular society, has been blocked by the United States from ending the Islamist menace according to China Confidential analysts and intelligence experts. Like the rise of Hamas in Gaza, the rise of a supposedly reformed Islamist party in Turkey is another example of the U.S. democracy promotion project gone horribly wrong. It is an inherently misguided crusade, doomed to fail, which, starting with the Carter administration's disgraceful betrayal of the pro-U.S. Shah of Iran in the hope of hopping aboard a populist, Islamist bandwagon, has brought only death and destruction to the region, helping to elevate right-wing political Islam to once unimaginable heights.
The Carter administration's secret intervention in Afghanistan ahead of the Soviet invasion of that country--which was actually aimed at causing the invasion and which the Reagan administration escalated into the largest covert operation in U.S. history--made matters much worse. But that is another story. Suffice it to say, decades of failed U.S. efforts to exploit radical Islam and promote democracy have helped to make the Middle East safe for the nuclear-arming Ayatollahs and Al Qaeda, whose leader, apparently alive and well more than seven years after ordering the slaughter of 3,000 innocent people on American soil, could probably be elected tomorrow in many Middle Eastern nations should the State Department's drive to transform the region in its image be allowed to succeed.
Back to Turkey and the serious dangers facing its Jewish community. One can only hope the military moves to reverse the Islamist trend. The alternative--for the country's minorities and modern, secular-minded citizens--and for Israel, Europe, and the U.S.--is too terrible to contemplate.
Reuters reports:Turkey's centuries-old Jewish community says it is alarmed by anti-Semitism that emerged during protests at Israel's Gaza assault, and is questioning how this reflects its status in the predominantly Muslim republic.
Click here to continue reading.
Although Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan condemned anti-Semitism, Jews in Turkey and beyond believe the language he employed during the conflict gave some a license to translate their outrage at Israel's action into racial hatred.UAE Firms Have Big Plans for Electric Roadster
Foreign Confidential....
Oil-rich Gulf states are embracing electric cars.
The Green Prophet reports:California-based electric car company Tesla Motors is reportedly in talks which could lead to their vehicles being sold in the United Arab Emirates. Ventures in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar are looking at everything from bringing the vehicles in as rental cars to starting championship electric car racing.
Continue here.Israeli Envoy Indicates Iran Attack Imminent
Is this a case of loose lips ... or a deliberate warning? You decide. Click, watch, listen.
POSTSCRIPT: If the Ambassador screwed up, which is possible, he should be brought home and given a basic media training course, including a few fundamental lessons in journalism. There is no such thing as a private or confidential or off-the-record meeting with a roomful of people, especially when cameras are present. This reporter, who has interviewed and met privately with many heads of state--and nearly every Israeli Prime Minister since the Six-Day War, starting with Golda Meir--would be happy to offer his consulting services.
Sunday 1 February 2009
Foreign Confidential....
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