All Muslims Are Not Terrorists, But All Terrorists Are Muslims

[Baller1]

Originally Posted by Robert

I will continue to post stories of radical Islamic terror on this thread, especially now since I know ignorant people like yourself cannot defend it or refute it.

Since you are the one who said I am ignorant, I can easily rest my case, since I am anything but ignorant. I know where certain problem lie, for instance the afghan insurgency which led at the end to the rise of the Taliban, was U.S. sponsored. Since it was originally against the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan. Robert, care to explain why the US gave money to that cause.?

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Baller1

Since you are the one who said I am ignorant, I can easily rest my case, since I am anything but ignorant. I know where certain problem lie, for instance the afghan insurgency which led at the end to the rise of the Taliban, was U.S. sponsored. Since it was originally against the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan. Robert, care to explain why the US gave money to that cause.?

Who Will Stand Against Terrorism?
Steven Emerson

Eight young men, unarmed and in the relative security of their Jerusalem yeshiva, are gunned down in cold blood. In Gaza, thousands take to the streets to celebrate. Their government encourages them to do so.

How toxic is a society when the governing party suggests celebrating a massacre of teenaged boys?

The brutality of last Thursday's massacre at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva exposes some ugly truths about the blood lust that has been fostered by leaders in Palestinian society and the unwillingness of most American Muslim political organizations and the mainstream media to confront it.

When the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) is accused of raising money for Hamas terrorism, the defendants and their allies say they merely sought to relieve Palestinian suffering. But the silence from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and others shows their unwillingness to condemn the terrorist act and its glorification.

The best hope to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians is to stand against the cycle of violence, not to be complicit in its continuation. That requires a loud and persistent call from American Muslims for Hamas to stop deliberately inciting Israel. That incitement is not the biased perspective of those of us who oppose terrorism, but of former Hamas foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar:

Rockets against Sderot will cause mass migration, greatly disrupt daily lives and government administration and can make a much huger impact on the government.

No country would accept showers of incoming rocket fire without responding. Israel did just that February 27th, in an operation targeting Hamas terrorists that killed 120 people. Sadly, dozens of civilians also were killed.

This triggered no celebration in Israel and the operation ended within days.

Every life lost is a tragedy. But to pretend there's a moral equivalence between the attacks which set out to kill innocents versus those in which civilians are caught in the crossfire is a cruel joke that serves only to perpetuate the violence and keep any hope of peace. In its rocket barrages and in the yeshiva attack, civilians are the target.

In an editorial, the Jerusalem Post points out the distinction.

Article 28 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states, "The presence of a protected person [a civilian] may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations." In other words, the idea that Israel must fight Hamas without endangering civilians is contrary to the letter and spirit of international law.

But the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) tries to blur the vastly different motivations, describing Thursday's attack as "the recent situation in Jerusalem" and using the opportunity to condemn "all forms of violence regardless of the background of the culprits or the victims." Its statement continued:

Experts in the region are asserting that what happened in Jerusalem today was retaliation for the killing of over 120 (Palestinians) in Gaza last week. Whether true or not, it is the U.S. government's responsibility to assert its leadership role in ending the violence now.

What "experts" are these, beyond MPAC officials and Hamas sympathizers? The Action Alert urged people to call their congressmen, "to demand that Israel halt its brutal round of violence against the citizens of Gaza."

It made no call for anyone to demand Hamas cease firing Qassam rockets into Israel. According to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "1,018 rockets and 937 mortar bombs have been fired at Sderot and the western Negev" since Hamas took control of Gaza in June.

CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF trial, has been silent on the attack. MAS issued no statement, but did postpone a planned rally outside the Israeli embassy in Washington. It wasn't out of deference for the murder victims, rather, a release said "It has come to our attention that heavy rains are expected throughout the afternoon and the rush hour."

CAIR has been exposed by evidence at the HLF trial as part of a "Palestine Committee" operating in America on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood. The committee's objective is to advance the Hamas agenda in the United States. Hamas' stated goal is the elimination of the state of Israel. It accepts no negotiated settlement in which the Jewish state survives.

When American Muslim organizations refuse to condemn Hamas, they sign on to a charter that sees violence as the only "solution" to the conflict.

Give credit, however, to MAS civil and human rights director Ibrahim Ramey. He posted a column about the yeshiva attack Friday, asking:

Should Muslims in the United States also feel a sense of joy and vindication? No. We must recognize the attack for what it was: an act of murder. And we must now ask ourselves the difficult question of how we, as activists in support of the people of Gaza and Palestine, can go forward in the wake of an act of senseless brutality that could threaten to derail some significant support for the cause of ending the occupation and respecting the human rights of the people in Gaza and the West Bank.

While Ramey is concerned about the reaction, he seems equally worried about public relations damage "by opponents who are all too anxious to equate the Palestinian cause with savagery and terrorism."

Also encouraging was MAS President Esam Omeish, who previously praised Palestinians for learning "the jihad way is the way to liberate your land." He posted a statement on his blog Thursday condemning "in the highest manner the violence the slaughter of the 15 & 16 year old students that took place in Jerusalem. Sadistic violence like this has no place in our religion and is certainly not ‘heroic.'"

Apparently, it wasn't a terrorist attack either. At least not according to major American newspapers. In its story on the yeshiva massacre, the New York Times used the word terrorist only when quoting an Israeli government official and referred to the killer as a "gunman" four times, not including the headline.

The Washington Post also decided a Hamas-claimed attack on eight Jewish students was not a terrorist attack, but the work of a "gunman." The Post, however, did note the glee the indiscriminate murder generated in Gaza:

Hamas, the radical Islamic movement that controls Gaza, praised the Jerusalem attack. "It was a natural response to Israeli crimes in Gaza," the organization said in a statement. "We bless this act. It won't be the last one." Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City celebrated in the streets, firing guns into the air in jubilation, as word began to spread.

This is the Hamas that CAIR, MPAC, MAS and virtually every other national Muslim political group refuse to condemn. Until they do, nothing will change.

The same is true for the poison spewed forth daily on Palestinian media, teaching toddlers to strive for "martyrdom" while spewing vile toward Israel. Where are these self-appointed leaders of the Muslim American community speaking out against the Palestinian culture that fosters such a blood lust? Where is a program teaching the next generation the benefits of peace?

Hamas-controlled television has introduced a series of death-glorifying, bloodthirsty children's characters on "Tomorrow's Pioneers." They include Farfour, a Mickey Mouse look-alike who CNN described as dancing "with an imaginary gun in his gloved hands and encourages kids to drink milk, study hard – and engage in violent acts of ‘resistance' against their Israeli neighbors and America."

Farfour was "martyred" last June after trying to liberate the land "from the filth of the criminal, plundering Jews," only to be replaced by Nahoul, a bee who wants to follow Farfour's path "of heroism, of martyrdom, and of the muijahideen." Nahoul's death was shown to Palestinian children last month, a result of the blockade on Gaza.

He was replaced by a rabbit named Assud, who tells children "I, Assud, will get rid of the Jews, Allah willing. And I will eat them up, Allah willing, right?"

Then there's "The Gifted," a back-to-school program that showed a small boy, identified as a 2-year-old, skulking around in military garb and aiming an assault weapon "at the occupying terrorists."

"We'll wear the battle-vest of self sacrifice and follow the path of the Shahids," a child narrator says as the younger boy, his face hooded, stoops down with his weapon.

Showcasing these indoctrinations of hate and death, the duplicity of groups like CAIR in standing by Hamas, often brings back accusations of bigotry. And the death toll climbs.

An Israeli was injured by yet another rocket attack last Thursday night. Who will demand it all stop?

[32AATopIPEandDub]

Originally Posted by Sportin' Ravenwood

Again, where does he say that? I admit, I have not read every quote of his and maybe you have. Where does he say deport blacks for heavens sake? And you should post from academia to make your case. All you are doing is attacking without a real opinion. You are doing what you are accusing him of doing. You seem like a sensible guy, it should be easy for you to prove your points rather than attack another person.

He is racist, hegemonic, and a warmonger? It's quite obvious that he hates Blacks and Mexicans. He's all for killing people in the Middle East, but heavens no if they retaliate, that's terrorism and anti-American. You're accusing me of not having an opinion? What good does an opinion do? That's all Robert has. If you really want to know what's going on, I would suggest reading books written by experts.

What Robert has pasted in the previous post is nothing but half-truth partisan propaganda. It totally ignores responsibility that the West must take for their actions. It is absolutely arrogant and despicable.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by 32AATopIPEandDub

He is racist, hegemonic, and a warmonger? It's quite obvious that he hates Blacks and Mexicans. He's all for killing people in the Middle East, but heavens no if they retaliate, that's terrorism and anti-American. You're accusing me of not having an opinion? What good does an opinion do? That's all Robert has. If you really want to know what's going on, I would suggest reading books written by experts.

What Robert has pasted in the previous post is nothing but half-truth partisan propaganda. It totally ignores responsibility that the West must take for their actions. It is absolutely arrogant and despicable.

Hey 32, check this article out. And disprove it by a book written by experts, if you can, lmfao!

For several years now, the Republic of the Philippines has attracted the attention of regional and Western authorities as an emergent hub—both logistically and operationally—for cross-border jihadist extremism in Southeast Asia. Most of this focus has been directed toward the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), largely on account of the group's past historical ties to Osama bin Laden, persistent rejection of any form of religious compromise and/or cohabitation and recent attempts to re-establish itself as a credible and integrated Islamist force (between 1998 and 2001, the group appeared to be motivated more by financial greed than religious fervor). While the ASG is certainly a cause for concern, the activities of extremist Christian converts organized under the auspices of the Rajah Solaiman Revolutionary Movement (RSRM) may represent an even greater threat, not least because of their increasing interaction with militants from the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyya (JI) movement.

The RSRM

The RSRM represents a highly fanatical fringe element of Balik Islam (BI)—a legal movement of Christian converts (or reverts as they like to be known) to the Muslim faith. Official records estimate BI's membership at around 200,000 (out of a total Islamic population of some 6.5 million)—20,000 of whom live in traditionally Catholic Luzon (which makes the movement the seventh largest of the Philippines' local Muslim tribes) (The Manila Times, November 17, 2003; Christian Science Monitor, November 28, 2005).

It is thought that the RSRM was established around 2002 with the ostensible aim of creating a theocratic Islamic state across the Philippines—supposedly to rectify what it views as the artificial influx of Catholic and Christian influences that had been first introduced by the Spanish and then consolidated under the United States. The group is believed to have a special commando unit that is responsible for carrying out acts of urban sabotage and terrorism and is allegedly financed by Saudi money that is channeled through charitable fronts located in Mindanao (The Manila Times, April 12, 2004).

The reputed commander of the RSRM is Ahmed Santos, who was born Hilarion del Rosario Santos III into a landed and squarely Catholic family in 1971 and who took the Islamic testimony of faith 20 years later while working in Riyadh (The Manila Times, November 17, 2003). Also acting as the ostensible and self-defined leader of BI, Santos was arrested in October 2005 and charged with inciting rebellion against the Philippine state (which is a non-bailable offense in the Philippines). He is currently being held in a maximum security facility located at the military's sprawling Camp Aguinaldo complex in Manila. Local sources maintain that while Santos almost certainly remains the undisputed leader of the RSRM, responsibility for the day-to-day running of the group now falls to Sheikh Omar Lavilla (formerly known as Reuben Lavilla)—a shadowy figure with a degree in chemical engineering who is thought to have participated in the Chechen jihad (author interviews with security and intelligence officials, Manila, March and November 2005).

The RSRM is small, probably constituting no more than 50-100 hard-core activists. Despite its size, the group has demonstrated both a willingness and ability to "strike well above its weight," and is now known to have played an important role in some of the more high-profile assaults and plots that have taken place in the Philippines since 2004. The most notable include:

- The 2004 partial sinking of SuperFerry 14, which with 116 fatalities remains the most destructive act of maritime terrorism in the modern age.

- Synchronized bombings in February 2005 that targeted civilian-centric venues in Manila, General Santos City and Davao City.

- A multi-dimensional plan discovered the following month that was allegedly to have involved truck bomb attacks against either the U.S. or Saudi embassies in Manila; mass and light rail transit tracks and stations across the capital region; and nightclubs, restaurants and other venues popular with Western businessmen and tourists in the central commercial district of Makati (author interviews with security and intelligence officials, Manila, March 2006).

For a number of reasons, these incidents generated considerable concern throughout the Philippines as well as among Western government officials and intelligence analysts: they were deliberately calibrated to maximize civilian casualties; they demonstrated that decisive acts of terrorism could be carried out well beyond the Mindanao theater; and at least with regards to the March 2005 plot, they underscored an operational focus on large-scale vehicular-borne devices—a first in the Philippine context—to destroy targets that would have direct implications for wider international interests.

What appears to have especially worried counter-terrorism officials, however, is the fact that the attacks also involved militants associated with JI. More specifically, there is a growing fear that the Indonesian-based movement is now moving to expedite bombings across the Philippines archipelago via the RSRM, which, for its part, appears to be actively prepared to facilitate such endeavors (author interviews with security and intelligence officials, Manila, March and November 2005).

The Rationale Behind the Presumed RSRM-JI Nexus

There are at least four factors that would seem to have salience in terms of explaining the emergent nexus noted above. First, many BI members (the movement from which the RSRM is drawn) are either based in or have intimate knowledge of Manila. This facet makes Christian converts uniquely suited for carrying out attacks that are able to impact directly on the seat of national political, economic and cultural power. JI would presumably have a strong interest in availing itself of such a conduit given the Philippines' overwhelming Catholic character, its universal endorsement of capitalism and liberal democracy and strong defense and security relationship with the United States (all of which symbolize much of what the group is violently opposed to).

Second, and very much related to the above, because RSRM cadres do not originate from ethnic Moro Muslim backgrounds, they are less likely to be identified as Islamist terrorists. Again, this characteristic trait is useful insofar as it provides greater functional and operational latitude for conducting indiscriminate, civilian-oriented attacks in non-Islamic areas. There is good reason to speculate that this has been an equally strong motivating driver behind JI's interest in instituting ties with the RSRM, not least because of the negative backlash it has suffered in Indonesia as a result of bombings that have left large numbers of Muslims killed or maimed (notable cases in point being the attacks on the U.S.-owned Marriott Hotel in 2003 and the Australian Embassy in 2004).

Third, and directly related to the above two points, it would be extremely difficult for JI to act independently in the Philippines given the enormous ethnic and linguistic diversity that exists across the Republic. According to one defense official, because people look, speak and even smell differently from one province to the next, outsiders attempting to infiltrate and operate in local communities under their own auspices would almost certainly stand out and be quickly exposed. Government sources in Manila contend that JI readily appreciates this reality and accepts the necessity of extending its operational and logistical presence in the country primarily by working through homegrown militants that are both known and trusted in their respective regions.

Finally, since the RSRM is made up of converts to Islam, the group arguably has more to prove in validating the credibility of its jihadist credentials. Working in conjunction with an organization that is broadly accepted as presently posing the greatest Islamist threat in Southeast Asia satisfies this requirement and, in so doing, provides a visible ideological fulcrum that can be used to further radicalize existing cadres, mobilize additional recruits, and "positively" sway undecided "fence-sitters" (author interviews with security and intelligence officials, Manila and Singapore, November 2005).

The RSRM and the Question of Future Suicide Terrorism in the Philippines

One additional major question that is occupying the minds of security officials in the Philippines—local, regional and international—is whether the RSRM will emerge as an operational conduit for the execution of JI suicide strikes in the Philippines. As noted, the group is composed of converts to the Muslim religion who are keen to actively and visibly demonstrate their commitment to the militant Islamist cause. One of the defining hallmarks of this ideological movement—and one that is heavily imbued in JI—is a commitment to martyrdom, both as a highly effective force equalizer and, more intrinsically, as the most visible way of establishing a true pioneering vanguard to champion the Islamic faith. Speculation is now mounting that the RSRM, in an effort to burnish its jihadist credentials, will take it on itself to further JI's wider Southeast Asian struggle by either assisting Indonesians in carrying out suicide strikes in the Philippines or conducting such attacks independently. While the culture of militant martyrdom has yet to take hold in the Philippines, it is a potential contingency that cannot be dismissed and, should it occur, is one that many commentators believe will manifest through the RSRM.

Indeed, such a process may already have begun to take place. According to intelligence sources in Manila, during interrogation at Camp Aguinaldo, Santos declared that a small cell of RSRM members have not only affirmed the utility and legitimacy of martyrdom, but have also pledged to carry out suicide strikes should it ever be requested of them. If this is in fact the case, there is every possibility that the Philippines will decisively transplant Indonesia as the main operational center for JI jihadist terrorism in Southeast Asia (author interviews with security and intelligence officials, Manila, November 2005 and January 2006).

[Robert]

Originally Posted by 32AATopIPEandDub

He is racist, hegemonic, and a warmonger? It's quite obvious that he hates Blacks and Mexicans. He's all for killing people in the Middle East, but heavens no if they retaliate, that's terrorism and anti-American. You're accusing me of not having an opinion? What good does an opinion do? That's all Robert has. If you really want to know what's going on, I would suggest reading books written by experts.

What Robert has pasted in the previous post is nothing but half-truth partisan propaganda. It totally ignores responsibility that the West must take for their actions. It is absolutely arrogant and despicable.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the state of Israel is a "stinking corpse" that is destined to disappear, the French news agency AFP reported.




"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as having said.

"Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation."

Ahmadinejad further stated that Israel "has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese" - referring to the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

[32AATopIPEandDub]

Robert, with your reasoning, we should be killing all Christians because Fred Phelps and his Christian followers are evil. What about the Christians that bomb abortion clinics? There are many different kind of Christians ranging from Fundamentalists to Mormons to Catholics and etc... There are many different kind of Muslims as well, with different beliefs. The reason we haven't killed each other in America is because we have SECULAR law and order, something that the Middle East do not have. You're quick to assume that all Muslims are evil just because there are a few extremists in Southeast Asia. Guess what, they're in America too. Perhaps you then believe that all American Muslims are evil too.

Take your head out of Dick Cheney's ass. You should go read some books rather than googling one-sided simplified biased articles. You do the same thing on Mexicans and Blacks and categorize them as races of no-good delinquents.

[Sportin' Ravenwood]

Originally Posted by 32AATopIPEandDub

Robert, with your reasoning, we should be killing all Christians because Fred Phelps and his Christian followers are evil. What about the Christians that bomb abortion clinics? There are many different kind of Christians ranging from Fundamentalists to Mormons to Catholics and etc... There are many different kind of Muslims as well, with different beliefs. The reason we haven't killed each other in America is because we have SECULAR law and order, something that the Middle East do not have. You're quick to assume that all Muslims are evil just because there are a few extremists in Southeast Asia. Guess what, they're in America too. Perhaps you then believe that all American Muslims are evil too.

Take your head out of Dick Cheney's ass. You should go read some books rather than googling one-sided simplified biased articles. You do the same thing on Mexicans and Blacks and categorize them as races of no-good delinquents.

You accuse others of not providing proof while you do exactly the same thing. Why is that?

[Robert]

Originally Posted by 32AATopIPEandDub

Robert, with your reasoning, we should be killing all Christians because Fred Phelps and his Christian followers are evil. What about the Christians that bomb abortion clinics? There are many different kind of Christians ranging from Fundamentalists to Mormons to Catholics and etc... There are many different kind of Muslims as well, with different beliefs. The reason we haven't killed each other in America is because we have SECULAR law and order, something that the Middle East do not have. You're quick to assume that all Muslims are evil just because there are a few extremists in Southeast Asia. Guess what, they're in America too. Perhaps you then believe that all American Muslims are evil too.

Take your head out of Dick Cheney's ass. You should go read some books rather than googling one-sided simplified biased articles. You do the same thing on Mexicans and Blacks and categorize them as races of no-good delinquents.

May 8, 11:07 AM (ET)

By AMIR SHAH

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A suicide bomber in a car blew himself up close to a convoy of foreign troops in Kabul on Thursday, but instead wounded three civilians, officials said.

The bomber in a white Toyota Corolla vehicle died in the blast, which happened in the capital's western outskirts shortly after a convoy carrying foreign troops passed by, said a regional police chief Zulmay Khan.

Three civilians, including a woman and two men, were wounded in the blast, he said. There were no reports of casualties among those in the convoy.

Militants trying to weaken the grip of U.S.-backed Afghan President Hamid Karzai have turned to roadside and suicide bomb attacks against heavily armed foreign troops. Last year, militants launched over 140 suicide missions. Most victims in these attacks have been civilians.

Over 1,200 people, mostly militants, have died so far this year in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan, according to an Associated Press count.

Separately, police clashed with a group of insurgents in the western Ghor province, leaving six Taliban fighters dead, said provincial police chief Shah Jahan Noori.

Among militants killed during the Thursday clash was the Taliban appointed governor for the western province of Ghor, Noor said.

About 10 militants had crossed into Ghor from the neighboring Helmand province before the clash, he said.

Two police and one civilian were wounded during the firefight.

In the areas of the country where the insurgency is active, Taliban militants try to run a parallel administration - collecting taxes and resolving disputes in impromptu created courts

[Robert]

Originally Posted by 32AATopIPEandDub

Robert, with your reasoning, we should be killing all Christians because Fred Phelps and his Christian followers are evil. What about the Christians that bomb abortion clinics? There are many different kind of Christians ranging from Fundamentalists to Mormons to Catholics and etc... There are many different kind of Muslims as well, with different beliefs. The reason we haven't killed each other in America is because we have SECULAR law and order, something that the Middle East do not have. You're quick to assume that all Muslims are evil just because there are a few extremists in Southeast Asia. Guess what, they're in America too. Perhaps you then believe that all American Muslims are evil too.

Take your head out of Dick Cheney's ass. You should go read some books rather than googling one-sided simplified biased articles. You do the same thing on Mexicans and Blacks and categorize them as races of no-good delinquents.

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 1 minute ago



BEIRUT, Lebanon - Shiite Hezbollah gunmen seized nearly all of the Lebanese capital's Muslim sector from Sunni foes loyal to the U.S.-backed government on Friday in the country's worst sectarian clashes since the 15-year civil war.


At least 11 people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in three days of street battles in West Beirut between the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah fighters and gunmen to the government, security officials said.

The satellite TV station affiliated with the party of Lebanon's top Sunni lawmaker, Saad Hariri, was forced off the air. Gunmen set the offices of the party's newspaper, Al-Mustaqbal, on fire in the coastal neighborhood of Ramlet el-Bayda.

Hariri and Druse leader Walid Jumblatt were besieged in their West Beirut residences. Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and several ministers holed up in Saniora's downtown office surrounded by troops and police.

Gunmen loyal to the Syrian Social Nationalist Party set ablaze a two-story building where Hariri's Future TV has its archives in the western neighborhood of Rawche, about 100 yards from the Saudi embassy. The secular pro-Syrian group, a longtime ally of Hezbollah, has dozens of its own gunmen in the streets.

A rocket-propelled grenade hit the fence of Hariri's heavily protected residence, security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.

Pro-government majority officials held an emergency meeting in a mountain town in the Christian heartland northeast of Beirut, according to LBC TV, a pro-government Christian station.

"Even if Hezbollah's militia took everything we remain the constitutional authority," Cabinet Minister Ahmed Fatfat told Al-Arabiya TV from Saniora's compound.

The unrest shut down Lebanon's international airport and barricades set up by both side closed major highways. The seaport also was closed, leaving one land route to Syria as Lebanon's only link to the outside world.

Arab foreign ministers called an emergency meeting for Sunday in Cairo, Egypt to discuss the crisis, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said.

About 100 Shiite Hezbollah militants wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying assault rifles marched down Hamra Street, a normally vibrant commercial strip in a mainly Sunni area of Beirut. They took up positions in corners and sidewalks and stopped the few cars braving the empty streets to search their trunks.

On nearby streets, dozens of fighters from another Hezbollah-allied party appeared, some wearing masks and carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

Lebanon's army, which has stayed out of the sectarian political squabbling that has paralyzed the country for more than a year, did not intervene in the clashes, which had largely tapered off into sporadic gunfire by early afternoon.

Troops then began taking up positions in some Sunni neighborhoods abandoned by the pro-government groups. A senior security official said the army would soon take over the Sunnis' last stronghold of Tarik Jadideh.

In some cases Hezbollah handed over newly won positions to Lebanese troops.

The sectarian tensions are fueled in part by the rivalry between predominantly Shiite Iran which sponsors Hezbollah, and Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The leaders of Syria, Hezbollah's other major backer, and Qatar, which supports the Lebanese government, met in Damascus and Syria's official news agency said both agreed the conflict was an internal affair and hoped the feuding parties would find a solution through dialogue.

France's Foreign Ministry said an evacuation of its citizens in Lebanon was not planned, but warned against travel to the country.

In an online briefing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani called on French nationals in Lebanon to act with the "utmost prudence."

The Lebanese government, which is allied with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, has only a slim majority in parliament. The two sides have been locked in a power struggle that has kept government at a standstill and the country without a president since November.

The eruption of the long-simmering tensions appeared to be triggered by the government's decision this week to confront Hezbollah by declaring its private communications network illegal and replacing the Beirut airport security chief for alleged ties to the militants.

Hezbollah first blocked roads in Beirut on Wednesday. Confrontations quickly spread and became more violent. Factions threw up roadblocks and checkpoints dividing Beirut into sectarian enclaves, and the chattering of automatic weapons and thumps of rocket-propelled grenades echoed across the city overnight.

Street clashes exploded into gunbattles in parts of Beirut on Thursday afternoon after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused Lebanon's Western-backed government of declaring war on his group. It was the militant leader's strongest comments since Lebanon's political crisis erupted 17 months ago.

Hariri later went on television urging Hezbollah to pull its fighters back and "save Lebanon from hell." He proposed a compromise that would involve the army, one of the sole national institutions respected by Lebanon's long deadlocked factions.

But Hezbollah and its allies swiftly rejected the offer.

Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war left 150,000 dead and much of the city devastated and carved into warring sectarian enclaves.

[32AATopIPEandDub]

Originally Posted by Sportin' Ravenwood

You accuse others of not providing proof while you do exactly the same thing. Why is that?

I need to provide proof for the worldwide known facts that Christian extremists have bombed abortion clinics, that Robert is a Nazi Fascist propagandist, and that there are many different kinds of Muslims as there is to different denominations of Christianity?

Are you seriously asking me that? Tell me, have you found a better job than working at Enterprise yet?