Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 11, 2008 Page: 8 of 36
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Page 8
Jewish Herald-Voice
September 11, 2008
imion and Editorial
Hezbollah chief vows
to keep fighting Israel
In touch from Jerusalem
FELICE and MICHAEL
FRIEDSON
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o
JH
V ,
Even if its demands are met,
Hezbollah has no intention of laying
down its arms. According to its
chief, Sheikh Hasan Na’srallah, even
after Israel may cede the lands that
Hezbollah has long used as a rallying
cry and justification to bear arms,
“The arms will remain, because we
are talking about a defensive strategy
against a threatening country
such as Israel.” Israeli intelligence
sources have warned Israelis visiting
abroad to be extra careful, because
Hezbollah intends to capture Israeli
citizens, particularly in Turkey,
Thailand and the Sinai Peninsula.
Israel’s police force has
recommended that the state prose-
cution indict the country’s prime
minister, Ehud Olmert. Police
officers have handed three files
over to the attorney general’s office.
Olmert’s alleged activities involve
bribery and other financial crimes.
Olmert strongly denies the charges,
maintaining that he has not misused
ministerial positions for financial
gain. He has indicated he will step
down from office in the wake of a
party primary election, slated for
later this month. His replacement
at the helm of Kadima is expected
to become the next prime minister,
who will have to forge a new
government.
Egyptian rescue workers are
sifting through the remains of dozens
of homes crushed in a rock fall in a
poverty-stricken Cairo neighborhood.
The official death toll is a couple of
dozen, but eyewitnesses say that as
many as 500 people may be trapped.
Locals expressed anger at the slow
response of emergency services,
with some claiming it took six
hours before rescuers arrived at the
scene. The area’s homes were poorly
constructed, and entire buildings
collapsed under the weight of massive
boulders that fell from above.
The widower of former Pakistani
premier, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Zardari,
is the country’s new president. He
defeated his two rivals, winning with
a large majority. Zardari took control
of the Pakistan People’s Party after his
wife was assassinated in December.
The other two candidates were
retired judge Said-uz Zaman Sadiqi
from the Pakistan Muslim League-
N party of former prime minister
Nawaz Sharif, and Mushahid Hussein
Sayed, who represents the party
of the recently resigned president
Pervez Musharraf. Congratulating
Zardari on his victory, United States
officials said they looked forward to
continued cooperation with Pakistan,
particularly in the field of counter
terrorism.
After high-level talks in Libya,
Tunisia and Algeria, U.S. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice was in
Morocco on the last leg of her visit to
North Africa. A traditional regional
ally of the U.S., Morocco is keen to
discuss its efforts in Washington’s
war on terror. Rabat has broken
up numerous terror cells in recent
months, after it was hit on several
occasions by bloody terror attacks.
The Moroccan government is trying
to win American support for its
claims to the Western Sahara, in a
long-running territorial dispute with
the Sahara-based Prolisario Front.
With no end in sight to the fighting
in Sudan’s Darfur region, the United
Nations is warning it may have no
choice other than to stop some of
its deliveries of food supplies. The
World Food Program feeds an
estimated three million people each
month, but repeated attacks on
its truck convoys are making the
organization rethink its operations.
Some 70 WFP trucks and 43 drivers
are currently missing. “Repeated and
targeted attacks on food convoys
are making it extraordinarily
difficult and dangerous for us to feed
hungry people,” said Monika Midel,
the agency’s deputy representative
in Sudan. “Should these attacks
continue, the situation will become
intolerable - to the point that we will
have to suspend operations in some
areas of Darfur.”
Islam’s holy book, the Quran,
can be read in 106 languages at the
International Quran Exhibition,
which is taking place in the Iranian
capital, Tehran. The display also
highlights the various translators. The
event’s organizers are working on an
encyclopedia related to the linguistics
of the Quran. Muslims believe the
holy text was revealed to Muhammad
by the Archangel Gabriel.
The Media Line’s web address:
www.themedialine.org. □
Guest Editorial
Russian aggression and the threat
of a nuclear Iran
By REP. JOHN CULBERSON
R-7th District
On Aug. 8, the world watched as athletes from nations across the
globe gathered in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games. One could
not help getting swept up in the powerful and symbolic unity of the
opening ceremony, with the spectacle of competitors of every race,
gender and nationality proudly displaying their flags under the flame
of the well-traveled torch. But as we watched that first day of the
Olympic competition, destined to become the games where American
swimmer, Michael Phelps, would shatter world records and define
a new caliber of athletic achievement, a very different picture of
political diplomacy was occurring in the country of Georgia.
Georgia has enjoyed economic prosperity and a stable, civil society
since President Mikheil Saakashvili was elected to office in 2004.
His pro-democracy and deregulation policies brought Georgia out of
near bankruptcy to a new level of prosperity. Tourism was up, foreign
investment was pouring in and the promise of a brighter future was
becoming a reality.
However, just as the Olympic torch was lighting up the Games,
Russian tanks crushed through Georgia’s borders, abruptly reversing
the years of peace and progress that Georgians enjoyed. Russia,
uneasy about Georgia’s pro-Western agenda and eager to reestablish
itself as a military superpower, demolished Georgia’s military and
shattered its fragile economy.
America should respond to Russia’s blatant aggression by seeking
Russia’s removal from the G-8 and blocking its admission to the World
Trade Organization. Every diplomatic tool at our disposal should be
used to help deter future Russian aggression, and to punish Moscow
for its actions in Georgia, and for enabling aggression by the extremist
regime in Iran, one of the most, if not the most, dangerous country on
the face of the Earth.
Russia has supplied conventional military weapons in large numbers
to Iran, and now reports have surfaced that Russia is preparing to
supply Tehran with the S-300 missile-defense system. The Russians
have supplied physicists, engineers and other technical assistance to
the Iranian nuclear program, whose primary purpose is to develop a
nuclear weapon to use against us and our strongest ally, Israel.
With blatant disregard for United Nations resolutions to disarm,
Iran is actively pursuing nuclear weapons capability and a uranium-
enrichment program that could yield a weapon as early as the latter
part of 2009. Iran already has a substantial supply of Shihab missiles
capable of reaching Israel and America’s allies in Europe, and the
International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that it is currently
operating nearly 3,500 uranium centrifuges, which are used to produce
enriched uranium.
House Congressional Resolution 362, which I cosponsored in
May 2008, condemns the development of Iran’s nuclear program. It
calls on President Bush to impose strict sanctions on Tehran and
establishes Congressional findings that Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear
weapon would destabilize the strategic balance in the Middle East and
undermine global nonproliferation efforts.
U.S. unilateral sanctions have proved successful so far in
deterring foreign investments in Iran and decreasing Iran’s access to
international markets; but, it’s not enough. Our next step should be to
sanction the Central Bank of Iran completely, which would cripple its
ability to conduct international business through banks. While Iran is
an oil-rich nation, it lacks sufficient refining capacity and, therefore,
is forced to import 40 percent of its refined petroleum and ration its
gasoline supply to its citizens. Further decreasing Iran’s gasoline
imports would put an effective strain on its economy.
I am fully committed to defending America’s strongest ally - the
State of Israel - against the grave threat that Iran poses to Israel’s
safety and security. Therefore, I have cosponsored and am working
hard to pass several other important bills confronting Iran: H.R. 2880,
the Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act; H.R. 1357, the Iran Divestiture
Act; and H.Con.Res. 235, which will end all World Bank disbursements
to Iran until the I.A.E.A. certifies that Iran has complied with the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel is the only nation in the world that can say it has supported
America 100 percent of the time for 100 percent of its existence.
America must always reciprocate by supporting Israel in the same way
- as her sword and shield against all enemies and aggressors. Ensuring
Israel’s security is one of many reasons we must stay the course in
Iraq and eviscerate the terrorist networks there, and why we must
impose sanctions on Iran and, if necessary, support our president if he
decides to bomb Iran’s nuclear reactors to prevent them from building
a nuclear weapon. □
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 11, 2008, newspaper, September 11, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth544306/m1/8/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .