Al-Qaeda and the Jihadists Join the Battle against the Syrian Regime

• The battle over Syria has descended into sectarian strife led by extreme Salafists and other Islamic splinter organizations in a carefully orchestrated uprising coordinated and fueled by al-Qaeda operatives.

• The Syrian National Council, the main opposition group, could well be in a process of disintegration, as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) did not recognize its authority.
  
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Israel revives military option after Obama rejects its nuclear demands of Iran

A fateful decision is reached on Iran

Israel has withdrawn its pledge to US President Barack Obama not to strike Iran’s nuclear sites before the November presidential election after he rejected its minimal demands for nuclear negotiations with Iran.

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Iran refuses to halt enrichment in Baghdad talks; next meeting planned for Moscow

Talks between Iran and world powers over Iran’s disputed nuclear programme ended Thursday with little more than an agreement to meet again next month in Moscow, according to news reports.

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While West Talks, Iran Gets Closer to Nuke

Most Western diplomats have spent the last day patting themselves on the back for showing a little spine during the latest P5+1 nuclear talks in Baghdad. Faced with yet another Iranian refusal to agree to the conciliatory proposal put forward to ease the way toward an end to the crisis, the West did not give in and remove the tough sanctions that have been belatedly imposed on the Islamist regime.

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The peace process battered Israel's reputation

"WHAT HAPPENED," asks Michael Oren, "to Israel's reputation?"

The Israeli ambassador to the United States, a noted historian, combat veteran, and bestselling author, raised that question in a Wall Street Journal essay last week. Writing on the 64th anniversary of Israeli independence, Oren began by quoting from Life magazine's salute to the Jewish state on its 25th birthday in 1973-- a 92-page special issue that honored the "astonishing achievement" of modern Israel, an island of enlightened democratic courage flourishing against all odds amid a sea of Arab hostility and violence.

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