By Frank Lea, RIGHT WING NEWS

Donald Trump just signed an ace pitcher and he’s about to take the mound to throw a no-hitter in the game against Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the investigation. The new star taking over is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to join Trump’s legal team and work towards closing up Mueller’s investigation with the Russian collusion conspiracy. They hope to close the investigation in the next week or so.

It’s reported that Giuliani has a good relationship with Mueller, so they might be able to figure out a working conclusion on the investigation. Giuliani might face some backlash if he doesn’t get the job done in the proposed “week or two.” Some politicians might pose a threat to his progress, but it’s hopeful to be resolved sooner than later. If the investigation isn’t solved soon, then it will simply go on for ages and nothing will be accomplished by Mueller. He will have spent the last year or so wasting time with nothing-burgers that come with no toppings. Anyone who interferes with the President of the United States of America, in ways that prohibit accomplishments, is not doing a good job.
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By Hassan Mahmoudi, AMERICAN THINKER

U.S., U.K., and French forces launched air strikes targeting sites associated with Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities, a reprisal for a chemical attack that killed at least 43 civilians and injured hundreds more.
[..]

The U.S., U.K., and French air strikes also escalated the internal situation in Iran to further destabilize the Iranian regime, uniting the different factions of society in Iran.

According to the leading opposition group to the regime, the National Council of Resistance in Iran:
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Some challenges remain or have returned, like military threats in the region and tension with American Jews.

By Daniel Gordis, BLOOMBERG

In November 1947, one day prior to the expected United Nations vote on partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, the CIA urged President Harry Truman not to throw his weight behind the idea. America would have to defend the new Jewish state when it faltered, the CIA’s secret memorandum warned, adding that “the Jews will be able to hold out no longer than two years.”

Several months later, David Ben-Gurion was about to declare the establishment of the State of Israel. Seated among the dozen or so men who would determine the fate of the state-to-be, he famously turned to one of his top military commanders, Yigael Yadin, and asked him if he thought a new Jewish state would survive the military onslaught that the Arabs would inevitably launch. Yadin, who would later serve as chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, replied that he thought the Jewish state would have a 50-50 chance.
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T. Belman. The obvious answer is “Jordan” after it becomes the Palestinian state. That will happen as soon as the King is deposed which may be only weeks away. Then all refugees will be told to go to Jordan for UNRWA services and for citizenship papers. But they will receive the services as citizens rather than refugees.

By Dr Alex Joffe

BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 803, April 20, 2018

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: International political changes and genuine refugee crises have prompted a renewed examination of UNRWA, the internationally funded mechanism for the Palestinians. The problem of transferring UNRWA’s health, welfare, and education responsibilities to other organizations is not easily resolved. Despite obvious problems (primarily the inevitable corruption), absorbing UNRWA into the PA is the least bad alternative, as it offers a path for both capacity-building and real oversight.

UNRWA, the internationally funded “refugee” organization for the Palestinians, is the subject of new scrutiny. Changes are badly needed for several pressing reasons: to reallocate international resources to genuine refugee crises; to advance the cause of a Palestinian state; to remove a ponderous, destructive, and expensive anomaly from the international system; and to improve the chances of peace between the Palestinians and Israel.

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By Barbara Kay, NATIONAL POST

Israel’s 70th birthday will be celebrated Thursday. Note the passive voice. I would have preferred “the world will join in celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday,” but immediately saw its impossibility.

The reality is more people will be cursing than congratulating Israel on this occasion. Cursing, rhetorically speaking, comes easy. Israel haters rely on emotive, triggering words: “occupation,” “stolen land” and “foreign colonialists,” amongst other misleading or downright false statements. Defence of Israel comes hard. There are no similarly succinct countering tropes — or at least none that resonate with social-justice warriors, for whom the words Jews (too white, too successful) and “Indigenous rights” cannot coexist in harmony.
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Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would be expected to take part.

BY Michael Wilner, JPOST

WASHINGTON – Keen to withdraw US troops from the Syrian battlefield, President Donald Trump has asked Arab nations led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia to replace them with their own – a move that could work against the regrowth of terrorist organizations there, but also risk direct conflict between Arab and Persian armies.

The policy is being spearheaded by John Bolton, Trump’s new national security adviser, and Mike Pompeo, his CIA director and choice for secretary of state, according to CNN. Bolton has been in contact with Egypt’s intelligence chief on the matter.

Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would also be expected to take part.
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M. Diamond. When Israel turned 60, I bought a commemorative watch. It’s my favourite watch and its working fine, 10 years later. So is Israel.

Over those 10 years, if anything, the complexities in the Middle East have grown.  And so have the risks, but also the opportunities.   President Obama’s flawed approach to foreign policy left its mark- an emboldened, aggressive, Iran, slowing but not stopping its nuclear WMD progress, in return for tens of billions of dollars being used to facilitate its terrorist activities worldwide, and bolstering and financing its expansion into Syria, aided and abetted by an emboldened Putin who recognized the opportunity to step into the Obama-generated gap in the power vacuum.

Refugees, sometimes called migrants, from Syria and elsewhere in the middle east have continued to flow out of that part of the world into Europe, and to a lesser extent into  Canada and other democracies, in the former case producing increasing levels of dislocation for indigenous populations.  Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are dead, wounded or displaced, and Iran has developed a strong hold in Syria, thus escalating tensions with Israel which it is sworn to destroy.
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By Tabitha Korol 

Fr. Michael Calabria, a Franciscan Friar of Holy Name Province, is director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at St. Bonaventure University.  His extensive travels throughout the Islamic world and the subject matter of his broad list of speaking engagements and presentations appear to indicate that he has drifted from his original path.

The Founder of Calabria’s Order of Franciscans, St Francis, similarly travelled into Islamic Egypt during the Fifth Crusade, in 1219, to meet with Sultan Malik al-Kamil in a courageous, but naïve, attempt to evangelize. He had undoubtedly been shown the censored version of Islam and returned impressed with the frequency of Islamic prayers, their 99 names in praise of God, and their reverence of bowing to the ground, and he adopted the Order’s devotionals accordingly.  Unfortunately, he had not been told that devout Muslim spirituality was largely practiced under threat of the sword. In 1220, five friars were martyred in Morocco, and more were slaughtered in later centuries.  In 1291, Franciscans left the Holy Land when Acre, the last Crusader stronghold, fell.  Fr. Calabria is also bewitched by a mythical Islam.

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If you value my work and agree with my agenda of applying sovereignty to all land to the Jordan River and compensating Arabs to emmigrate, please make a donation

Aside from putting out the blog daily with the best articles I can find on dozens of sites, I am working on two major projects.

The Jordan Option

This option entails replacing King Abdullah of Jordan with the Jordan Opposition Coalition headed by Mudar Zahran.

You will recall that I organized a full day conference on this topic in October of last year at the Begin Center in Jerusalem. It was a great success as many people were intrigued by the possibilities it presented. If we can get Mudar Zahran as head of Jordan, he will open the door to all Palestinians living west of the Jordan River and will reaffirm their Jordanian citizenship. He will take full responsibility to provide health care and education for all. Thus, there will be no need for UNRWA and it can be done away with. Similarly, there will be no need for the PA.

As for the prospects of making this happen soon, they look great.

The creation of a movie studio in Israel

It would produce Hollywood Blockbusters which will reestablish the Jewish narrative and obliterate the Palestinian narrative. These blockbusters will more than substitute for the lack of fully funded public diplomacy. This idea has every chance of succeeding but will take a lot of effort to make it a reality.

Please Donate

The cause is worthy, the effort needed is great and the probability of succeeding significant.

So please do what you can. Show your support of my site and my projects.

James F. Jeffrey and Michael Knights WASHINGTON INSTITUTE

By providing a clear and consistent roadmap for American interests in Iraq and future international support, Washington can help Baghdad steer the country in the right direction after next month’s elections.

On May 12, Iraqis go to the polls to choose their next parliament, after which officials will negotiate to appoint a prime minister and form a government. The country has been through an odyssey since its last general election in April 2014. The Islamic State (IS) overran a swath of territory that held more than three million people, twenty-two cities, and numerous oil fields, all of which have been liberated with the aid of militias and international military forces. Oil prices plummeted by half, and only strict austerity measures, foreign aid, and a partial price recovery saved the country from bankruptcy. The northern Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) approached financial independence and held a referendum on splitting away from Iraq, prompting Baghdad to seize Kirkuk’s oil fields last October. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey signaled a new willingness to work with Iraq’s Shia-led government as a means of offsetting Iranian influence.
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By Evelyn Gordon, COMMENTARY

Last weekend’s demonstrations in Gaza produced smaller crowds and fewer casualties than the protests that occurred over the previous two weekends. What’s more, they were overshadowed by the Western airstrikes on Syria. But earlier and more chaotic demonstrations prompted all the usual suspects (Europe, the UN, and “human rights” organizations) to accuse Israel of using disproportionate, indiscriminate force, and shooting “unarmed civilian demonstrators,” all while dismissing Israel’s insistence that it only targeted terrorists, mainly Hamas members, who were using the demonstrators for cover. Yet it now turns out that one Palestinian organization agrees with Israel–Hamas itself.

In a column published in Haaretz last week, Gaza native Muhammad Shehada defended the demonstrations as a necessary response to Israel’s partial blockade, on which he blamed all of Gaza’s woes. His younger brother, he said, has participated in them almost daily. He himself is currently studying in Sweden but formerly worked for an anti-Israel “human rights” organization in Gaza. In short, he’s hardly an Israeli shill. Nevertheless, he noted that even Hamas believes Israel’s fire has been far from indiscriminate:
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Mudar Zahran. April 15. . Military sources: Strikes have hit more than 70 IRANIAN MILITARY INSTALLATIONS IN #SYRIA.. Killing more than 100 OF THE IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS…

Whether To Respond To Israel’s Operations Against Its Military Expansion In Syria, Which Could Lead To Iran-Israel War
By: Yigal Carmon and A. Savyon*, MEMRI

In light of Israel’s recent military operations against Iran’s military expansion in Syria, comprising strikes against strategic Iranian and Syrian targets such as Iran-controlled airfields, missile bases, and drone bases, Iran now faces a strategic question: whether to respond to these attacks, when doing so could lead to all-out conflict with Israel.

Iran’s long-term goal in Syria is to expand militarily and economically there, giving it control across the country – which will in turn enable it, when the time comes, to act effectively and decisively against Israel. It is in Iran’s interest that it will face all-out war with Israel only after it has finished doing so, and after U.S. forces have left Syria. Other reasons for Iran to postpone responding to Israel’s operations include Iran’s shaky economic situation and the devaluation of its rial on the free currency market in recent weeks; U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming May 12, 2018 decision regarding the future of the JCPOA nuclear deal; the fragility of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad; and Tehran’s inability to ensure that Russia will stand alongside it militarily against Israel.
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T. Belman. My guessing is that they were ID before they were killed. Now that’s what I call deterent.

Initial Analysis of the Identities of Gazans Killed During the “Great Return March” on March 30 and April 6, 2018

Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center Published: 17/04/2018

Overview

During and after the events of “great return march” that began on March 20, 2018, between 32 and 34 Palestinians were killed (as of April 11, 2018). Most of them have been identified as terrorist operatives affiliated with Hamas and the other terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip. Most of them were killed while rioting against IDF forces. Some were killed while carrying out terrorist attacks, attempting to cross the border security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, or in IDF attacks following terrorist activities carried out during the “great return march.”

According to the initial ITIC analysis, 26 of the 32 (about 80%) Gazans killed were terrorist operatives affiliated with terrorist organizations, primarily Hamas. Nine were operatives in military wings and four in the security forces. The others were identified as affiliated with the terrorist organizations after death notices were issued by the organization or when their bodies were wrapped in organization flags at their funerals. Regarding the six whose organizational affiliation was not identified, it can be assumed that they were civilians.
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OBVIOUSLY THE SUBSEQUENT FALSE FLAG REPORT SUPPORTS AL SISI

Following The West’s Attack On Syria, Sharp Dispute Breaks Out Between Egypt That Wants Assad To Remain, And Saudi Arabia That Now Wants Him Gone

MEMRI April 17, 2018 Special Dispatch No.7432

On April 14, 2018, about a week after the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad carried out a chemical attack on the town of Douma near Damascus that killed dozens, the U.S., U.K. and France launched a joint military strike on regime bases and facilities associated with its chemical weapons capabilities. The attack threw into sharp focus the controversy between the two leaders of the Arab world,  Egypt and Saudi Arabia – on the Syrian issue.[1] Even before the strike occurred, Saudi Arabia expressed firm support for military action against the Syrian regime, and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman expressed willingness to take part in such action, “should this become necessary.”[2]

Shortly before the attack, a columnist in the Saudi government daily ‘Okaz even called on the U.S. to target Assad’s palace in Damascus in order to deter him from using chemical weapons again.[3] After the attack, the Saudi authorities welcomed it, while articles in the Saudi press criticized the U.S. and its allies for not launching a more substantial strike that could alter the power balance on the ground.
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It is not uncommon for the Arabs to do this as a means to elicit sympathy.
It is also not uncommon for the US or others in the west to also fabricate false flags.
Recently I wrote, it didn’t matter what happenned. What matters is how much mileage the US can acheive, relying on it.

[Russia rejects UN resolution for independent Douma investigation] Why?

By David Singer, CFP

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – refusing to bow to pressure by President Trump to cease payments to terrorists and their families currently exceeding US$400 million annually – is looming as a potential threat to end 96 years of unbroken Hashemite rule in Jordan.

PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas – addressing the ninth annual Islamic Beit al-Maqdes International Conference in Ramallah last week – has sent a veiled message of the PLO’s intention to challenge Jordan’s ruling Hashemite family if PLO demands for a State in the West Bank with Jerusalem as its capital are not met.
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by Adelle Nazarian, BREITBART

South Korean President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed his intention to end the war between the two Koreas and to establish permanent peace, which he said could be achieved with the denuclearization of North Korea.

A report in the South Korean newspaper Munhwa Ilbo published Tuesday indicated that Seoul was considering officially ending the Korean war, which currently stands at a technical stalemate as no peace treaty was ever signed. According to CNBC’s translation of the report, officials from both sides of the demarcation line are considering releasing a joint statement marking an official end to hostilities, an unnamed South Korean official told the newspaper.
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