Maybe There Is A Chance

Unbelievably good news today from the town of Jenin, in the West Bank. An Israeli Army Officer mistakenly drove into this town, known as a stronghold for Palestinian militants and was almost immediately surrounded by a mob. Palestinian police rushed to the soldier and escorted him through the mob and to Police Headquarters. He was later turned over to Israeli authorities unharmed. The mob however burned his car.

Seven years ago in the town of Ramallah, two Israeli reservists that accidentally strayed into town were taken by Palestinian Police to their headquarters. A mob then stormed the building and threw the soldiers out of a second story window. The soldiers died.

What a difference a few years makes (along with having the moderate Fatah party in charge on the West Bank. If this had happened in Gaza, that officer would have been toast. Kudos to the Palestinian Police for acting like real peace officers and it is our hope that this governmental cooperation continues. If only the rescue would not have been needed in the first place, this would have been perfect ... oh well, for now we should be happy for this very, very positive sign.

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Bad Days For Terrorists ... Yipee!

Terrorists have been having a string of set-backs lately ...

• Pakistani commando forces have stormed and cleared out the Red Mosque in Islamabad, killing pro-Taliban cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi and 50 of his fighters.
• The Jordanian army is preparing for the final assault on members of Fatah-al-Islam, holed up in a refugee camp in Northern Lebanon ... there will be no terrorist survivors of this assault either.
• The Filipino Air Force has been pounding positions held by the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and has killed at least 67 of them this week. This is in addition to taking out 7 Abu Sayyaf terrorists (including 2 top commanders) on Saturday.
• Operation Phantom Thunder continues to clear insurgents out of Baghdad and Operation Arrowhead Ripper (who comes up with these names?) is having even more success in Baqubah, with coalition forces distributing aid to the residents as the terrorists are driven out of the town or killed.
• Money is pouring into the Fatah controlled West Bank, while the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip is having to make do with considerably less.
• In London, the (4) 2005 failed transit bombers were sentenced to life in prison and their 2007 counterparts succeeded in injuring only themselves.

All in all it's been a good week, and a trend that I hope continues.

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Dateline ... Tripoli

Who would have thought that a front on the "War On Terror" would be fought near a city made famous in the Marine Corps Hymn (from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli), but that is exactly what is happening right now. The Lebanese army has surrounded a Palestinian refugee camp, housing radical Fatah militants who have been holed-up there for 13 days. The Lebanese troops have started tightening the noose, going building to building, and attempting to clear the roughly 400 militants there. Last night they wiped out a unit of these militants, trying to escape the cordon.

Seems that the Lebanese Army seems to know how to deal with terrorists ... Can anyone say Sadr City?

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