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A recent U.S. National Intelligence Council report suggests Egypt has lost its superior status among Arab states, and that leadership in the Middle East is passing to Saudi Arabia despite the kingdom's efforts to avoid it. The study, "Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan: Policies on Regional Issues and Support for U.S. Goals in the Middle East," is based on a workshop held last summer, but was released only in December, after U.S. President Barack Obama was elected and senior intelligence officials in his administration took office. The National Intelligence Council describes itself as a center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking within the U.S. intelligence community. It is subordinate to the Director of National Intelligence, and provides intelligence estimates to the president and senior decision makers on foreign policy issues. While the council is a government agency, the report emphasizes it does not necessarily reflect the administration's foreign policy....

Israel ' s Next War: Today the Gaza Strip, Tomorrow Lebanon? by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya In the Middle East, it is widely believed that the war against Gaza is an extension of the 2006 war against Lebanon. Without question, the war in the Gaza Strip is a part of the same conflict. Moreover, since the Israeli defeat in 2006, Tel Aviv and Washington have not abandoned their design to turn Lebanon into a client state. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, in so many words, during his visit to Tel Aviv in early January that today Israel was attacking Hamas in the Gaza Strip and that tomorrow it would be fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon .[1] Ehud Olmert and Nicolas Sarkozy Lebanon is still in the cross-hairs. Israel is searching for a justification or a pretext to launch another war against Lebanon. Washington and Tel Aviv had initially hoped to control Beirut through client political forces in the March 14 Alliance . When it became apparent that thes...

Dear Brother and friend AbdelBari Atwan, Editor of Al-Quds London An Open Letter on the Murder of Palestine, from George Galloway MP It has been said that you, Sir, are the "last Arab". We both know that is not true, there are still others, but millions of us know why it was said of you. You are a Knight of the Arabs that's for sure. Born in a Gazan refugee camp, you are a Prince among men. I have known you for thirty years; back then you still had some of the dust of the camp about you. Now you are an ever-present commentator in the media, publish the Arab world's only independent newspaper, and are highly respected by all who know you. Together we have fought in the land of Balfour and Sykes, of Anthony Eden and Anthony Blair, many great political battles. Many tears and much blood has flown over those years, and before, and it's not going to stop now. I am moved to write having seen yet another of your heart-piercing interviews on television. You leave the inte...

The U.S. was to give an estimated $26 billion in foreign aid in 2008 70% more than when President George W. Bush took office (the figure doesn't include funds related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). More than 150 countries get financial assistance from the U.S. Here are the one that received the most in 2008. COUNTRY AID PURPOSE 1. Israel $2.4 billion Virtually all of this money is used to buy weapons (up to 75% made in the U.S.). Beginning in 2009, the U.S. plans to give $30 billion over 10 years. 2. Egypt $1.7 billion $1.3 billion to buy weapons; $103 million for education; $74 million for health care; $45 million to promote civic participation and human rights. 3. Pakistan $798 million $330 million for security efforts, including military-equipment upgrades and border security; $20 million for infrastructure. 4. Jordan $688 million $326 million to fight terrorism and promote regional stability through equ...

If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been Anti - Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that? David Ben Gurion – First Israeli Prime Minister This statement made by Ben Gurion in 1948 reveals a great deal about the status of the Muslim Rulers in the eyes of Zionists. Even Ben Gurion the first prime minister of Israel regarded the act of signing an agreement by a Muslim ruler with the state of Israel as a betrayal of the people they represented. However, today the Muslims rulers are not content in their betrayal by signing treaties with the state of Israel, they are working to normalise relations between this illegal entity and the Muslim countries and they also oppose any resistance...