http://www.liveleak.com/browse?channel_token=fba_1302948394 Items in channel 'knowsmuslims' Tue, 21 May 2013 08:26:01 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?channel_token=fba_1302948394 Sun, 16 Sep 2012 06:51:13 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cb8_1347792379 knowsmuslims President Obama and his re-election team marked the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and events related to the killing of four Americans abroad that day with a slate of official and somber events. But they also took to Twitter for some campaign business on both days. "The election is in eight weeks. Sign up to volunteer," reads the first tweet, on Wednesday, the 11th anniversary of the deadly attacks, from @BarackObama. The tweet went out at 7:07 a.m. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama then appeared on the White House South Lawn and bowed their heads at 8:46 a.m. -- the exact time the first hijacked plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The event was followed by the president and first lady laying a wreath at the Pentagon, where the third plane struck. The Obama campaign declined to comment Saturday for this story. The second tweet, about a sale of Obama apparel, was posted Friday, about 30 minutes before Obama arrived at Andrews Air Force Base to welcome home the bodies of the four Americans - including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens -- killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. "You would expect nothing less from a president whose priorities have been misplaced ever since he came to office," Paul Lindsay, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Saturday. The second tweet read: "Winter is coming, but these sweatshirts are perfect for fall." http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/15/obama-team-tweets-campaign-message-on-11-anniversary-day-bodies-returned-from/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cb8_1347792379 knowsmuslims Obama team tweets campaign message on 9/11 anniversary, day bodies returned from Libya 911,dead,bodies,obama,failure Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:27:47 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0d6_1302377148 knowsmuslims I was right to worry about what the president might do to demonstrate his virility on the international stage, and the confusion surrounding just about everything having to do with the Libya thing certainly proves that. But I had underestimated this administration's misreading of the situation, and they have dragged most of the pundits along with them, to such an extent that it's nearly impossible to see Libya in context. That's not unusual or even surprising. When Egypt happened, it was all about Egypt. When Tunisia happened, that was the lone subject for analysis. And now it's all Libya, all the time. But it's not about Libya. It's about the big war in which we are involved. That war extends from Somalia to the Persian Gulf, from Sudan into Egypt, and thence to Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, and across North Africa. It reaches South and Central America, and some of its footsoldiers are undoubtedly on our soil. The tensions and passions involved in that war have turned many of those countries into battlefields, and since we have refused to see the war for what it is, we do not have a clear picture of the fighters, nor even a reliable way to anticipate future events. And the hell of it is that we have been in a position to benefit enormously from this war, but instead we find that we might "win" in Libya (topple Qadaffi, empower the "rebels," launch the usual cycle of new constitution, new elections and new government) and utterly lose the day, as enemies even more virulent than the colorful colonel of Tripoli take over. We have to win the big war. Decisions about Libya should be subordinate to a serious big war strategy, which in turn should be aimed against our main enemies. Regime change in Tripoli is a worthy objective, but it's not a crucial strategic mission. We should want regime change in Syria and Iran. There are lots of reasons to criticize Obama for the Libya thing, but the most important is never mentioned: it's the wrong battlefield. The battlefields that will determine the outcome of the big war are Tehran and Damascus, and there are ongoing battles on both. We could make a decisive difference, without bombing anything, without risking any American lives, just by giving political and perhaps some financial and technological support to the Iranian and Syrian rebellions. The tyrannical regimes are hollow, the people have demonstrated great courage, and if - as I keep hearing - we have gone to war in Libya in support of people who are fighting for their freedom against evil dictators, all the more reason to support the Iranians and Syrians, who are fighting against killers of even more Americans than Qadaffi has killed. I don't think that Obama and his three Valkyries (Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice and Samantha Power) see the big war plain, but I hope they see the logic according to which if-it's-right-to-defend-Libyans-it's-even-more-right-to-defend-Iranians-and-Syrians. There is one pretty straw in the wind: Obama's video to the Iranian people on the occasion of the Norooz holiday. "I am with you," he said to young Iranians fighting their evil regime. No more outstretched hand, it seems. It isn't a pretty moment, but as we all know, it's better to be lucky than to be smart. If, through the confused underbrush of mushy internationalism and humanitarian interventionism we arrive at a decision to finally challenge our main enemies, I'll take it. If we get an end to the reign of the fanatics in Damascus and Tehran, the whole world will change, decidedly for the better. Valkyries! If we could bring down the Soviet Empire without bombing Leningrad, we can surely bring down the hollow tyrannies of our mortal enemies in the Middle East in a similar manner. Khamenei's Islamic Republic is even more fragile than Gorbachev's Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. If, on the other hand, we're doing the Libya thing because our leader wants to show the world that he's fully capable of dropping bombs on a madman with oil, then the world will get decidedly grimmer. Obama! Now that your brackets have been busted (yes, I was at the Verizon Center when little Butler brought down big bad Pitt), play in the big leagues. We're America, we dream big dreams, we can change the world. You'll love it. But go for the big win, go for victory in the big war, the real war. The little places will become oh so much easier. http://pajamasmedia.com/michaelledeen/2011/03/22/the-wimp-goes-to-war/?singlepage=true http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0d6_1302377148 knowsmuslims The Wimp Goes to War obama,wimp,libya,egypt,israel,u.s,war,iran,bombing,muslim brotherhood,shite vs sunni Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:13:22 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ebb_1302376281 knowsmuslims News has "leaked" that Barack Obama authorized a secret war in Libya weeks ago. According to Reuters, he "signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi." Imagine if a Republican President ever pulled a fatal stunt like that. And if it was secret, why is Obama leaking it now? Why Libya ? It would be one thing if Obama had been fighting the forces of jihad through a muscular foreign policy. Why wasn't such action taken when millions took to the streets in Iran, so as to cut off the head of the snake? Iran has been supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the unrest in Bahrain, the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Shiite jihadists in Iraq, etc. You don't go to war at once, you go to war at last. And Iran has been at war with us and with the free world for decades. Instead, our finest, bravest Americans are risking their lives to fight alongside al-Qaeda in Libya. That's right, our boys are, in effect, fighting alongside al-Qaeda jihadists and Libyan rebels. Are they forced to pray too? You know, Obama demands that we show respect. Just how far, O? What could possibly be the endgame here, while al-Qaeda is snatching missiles in Libya? The "rebels" that Obama has secretly authorized arming have sold Hezbollah and Hamas chemical shells. I am not a fan of Gaddafi-there are no heroes in this story-but Saddam Hussein made Gaddafi look like Angelina Jolie, and yet the Left is still whining and hand-wringing about that war. But they support this? What is their premise? Bush went to Congress and went to the United Natons (and gave Saddam, the butcher of Baghdad, a year to move and/or destroy his weapons of mass destruction). Obama just went to war-without Congress, without even discussing it with the American people. And again I ask, as I have repeatedly for weeks, why? Why Libya? Why Gaddafi? Assad in Syria is much worse than, say, Mubarak in Egypt, but Obama vows not to interfere in that vassal of Iran, despite the slaughter of its people. And Obama supports the Muslim Brotherhood, which is steadily taking control in Egypt. To what end? Why hasn't Obama taken such action against the jihad pirates in Somalia? Why not a "secret war" in Ethiopia to aid their fight against jihad? Or aid for the fight against jihad in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia? Because we can't be everywhere, nor should we be. So we pick our fights based on where we can do the most good and remove the biggest evil. Iran should have been the target. The mullahcracy should have been removed. The only revolution that was a genuine fight for life, liberty, and freedom was in Iran in the summer of 2009, and Obama ignored it. He sat back and watched the heroic Neda Sultan assassinated in broad daylight on the streets of Tehran, and thousands of others slaughtered. He backed the mullahcracy. He will always be remembered for that, especially after the coming catastrophe. Why Libya? It should have been Iran-if we had picked one country to set the example of muscular diplomacy while removing the gravest threat to the free world. It should have been Iran. Period. Bombing Libya makes no sense. Recipe: disaster. There is one constant in Obama's foreign policy: He has consistently sided with our worst enemies throughout his disastrous presidency. This is very thoroughly explained and meticulously documented in my book, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America. Throughout his presidency, and all of the Islamic revolutions sweeping the Middle East and Africa, he has sided with the Islamic supremacists at every turn. His fierce Islamophilia threatens free men the world over. Taking his marching orders from the vile America-hater and Jew-hater, the devout Muslim Sheik Qaradawi, Obama paves the way for an Islamic state in Libya. Not that it was good before. Hardly. But there are degrees of evil. It can always be worse, but little matches the anti-human brutality of Islamic regimes in the 21st century. What are we doing in Libya, and why is the media aiding and abetting a military invasion to install Islamic fundamentalism, destroyer and annihilationist of the West? http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=42681 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ebb_1302376281 knowsmuslims Why War on Libya, When Iran Is the No. 1 Offender and Threat? iran,libya,israel,u.s,muslim brotherhood,obama,why,war,bombing Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:10:46 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=721_1300129684 knowsmuslims Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is stuck between a diplomatic rock and a political hard place. And his chosen means of extricating himself from the double bind is only making things worse for him and for Israel. Diplomatically, Netanyahu is beset by the Palestinian political war to delegitimize Israel and the Obama administration's escalating hostility. That hostility was most recently expressed during President Barack Obama's meeting with American Jewish leaders on March 1. Insinuating that Israel is to blame for the absence of peace in the Middle East, Obama scolded Jewish leaders telling them to "search your souls," over Israel's seriousness about making peace. Obama's newest threat is that through the so-called Middle East Quartet, (Russia, the UN, the EU and the US), the administration will move towards supporting the Palestinian plan to declare Palestinian statehood. That state would include all of Judea and Samaria, Gaza and eastern, southern and northern Jerusalem. Since it would not be established in the framework of a peace treaty with Israel, and since its leaders reject Israel's right to exist, "Palestine" would be born in a de facto state of war with Israel. To credit this threat, Obama has empowered the Quartet to supplant the US as the mediator between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Buoyed by Obama, Quartet representatives and American and European officials have beaten a steady path to Netanyahu's door over the past several weeks. Their message is always the same: If Israel does not prove that it is serious about peace by giving massive unreciprocated concessions to the Palestinians then they will abandon all remaining pretense of support for Israel and throw their lot in completely with the Palestinians. For the past year and a half Netanyahu's policy for dealing with Obama's animosity has been to try to appease him by making incremental concessions. Netanyahu's rationale for acting in this manner is twofold. First, he has tried to convince Obama that he really does want peace with the Palestinians. Second, when each of his concessions are met with further Palestinian intransigence, Netanyahu has argued that the disparity between Israeli concessions and Palestinian rejectionism and extremism demonstrates that it is Israel, not the Palestinians that should be supported by the West. To date Netanyahu's concessions have included his acceptance of Palestinian statehood and the two-state paradigm for peace; his temporary prohibition on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria; his undeclared prohibition on Jewish building in Jerusalem; his undeclared open-ended prohibition of Jewish building in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem after his temporary building ban expired; his agreement to drastically curtail IDF counterterror operations in Judea and Samaria; his move to enact an undeclared abatement of law enforcement against illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem; and his decision to enable the deployment of the US-trained Palestinian army in Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu's declaration of support for Palestinian statehood required his acceptance of the Palestinian narrative. That narrative blames the absence of peace on Israel's refusal to surrender all of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. Having effectively accepted the blame for the absence of peace, Netanyahu has been unable to wage a coherent political counteroffensive against the Palestinian political war. NOW IN a bid to head off Obama's newest threat to use the Quartet to back the Palestinians' political war against Israel, Netanyahu is considering yet another set of unreciprocated concessions to the Palestinians. For the past week and a half, Netanyahu has been considering a new "diplomatic initiative." According to media reports, he is weighing two options. First, he may end IDF counterterror operations in Palestinian cities in Judea and Samaria. Such a move would involve compromising all of the IDF's military achievements in the areas since 2002 when it first targeted the Palestinian terror factories from Hebron to Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield. The second option he is reportedly considering involves announcing his acceptance of a Palestinian state with non-final borders. Such a move would render it difficult if not impossible for Israel to conduct counterterror operations within those temporary borders. It would also make it all but impossible for Israel to assert its sovereign rights over the areas. Supporters of this initiative argue that not only will it stave off US pressure; it will strengthen Netanyahu's political position at home. Recent polls show that Netanyahu's approval numbers are falling while those of his two main rivals - Opposition leader Tzipi Livni and Foreign Minister and Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Leiberman are rising. Netanyahu reportedly believes that by moving to the Left, he will be able to take support away from Livni and so regain his position as the most popular leader in the country. Given this assessment, Netanyahu's supporters argue that making further concessions to the Palestinians is a win-win prospect. It will strengthen Israel diplomatically and it will strengthen him politically. Sadly for both Israel and Netanyahu, this analysis is completely wrong. Since Obama came into office, he has consistently demonstrated that no Israeli concession will convince him to support Israel against the Palestinians. So too, the fact that every Israeli concession has been met by Palestinian intransigence has had no impact on either Obama or his European counterparts. Netanyahu's correct claims that the Palestinians' intransigence shows they are not interested in peace is of interest to no one. And it is this lack of interest in Palestinian intransigence rather than Palestinian intransigence itself that is remarkable. What it shows is that Obama and his European counterparts don't care about achieving peace. Like the Palestinians, all they want is more Israeli concessions. Since taking office, Obama has only supported Israel against the Palestinians twice. The first time was last December. After months of deliberate ambiguity, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the administration opposes the Palestinian plan to unilaterally declare independence. Then last month the administration grudgingly vetoed the Palestinian-Lebanese draft resolution condemning Israeli construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. In both cases, the administration's actions were not the result of Israeli appeasement, but of massive Congressional pressure. Congress issued bipartisan calls demanding that the administration torpedo both of these anti-Israel initiatives. What this shows is that Netanyahu's strategy for contending with Obama is fundamentally misconstrued and misdirected. Obama will not be moved by Israeli concessions. The only way to stop Obama from moving forward on his anti-Israel policy course is to work through Congress. And the most effective way to work through Congress is for Netanyahu to abandon his current course and tell the truth about the nature of the Palestinians, their rejection of Israel, their anti-Americanism and their support for jihadist terror. At the same time, Netanyahu must speak unambiguously about Israel's national rights to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, our required security borders, and about why US national security requires a strong Israel. The stronger the case Netanyahu makes for Israel, the more support Israel will receive from the Congress. And the more support Israel receives from the Congress, the more Obama will be compelled to temper his anti-Israel agenda. AS FOR domestic politics, Netanyahu's attempt to appease Obama is a major cause of his falling approval numbers among voters. Likud voters do not expect him to outflank Livni from the Left. They voted for Likud and not Kadima because they recognized that Kadima's leftist policies are dangerous and doomed to failure. Kadima's recent increase in domestic support owes more to the breakup of the Labor Party than to Netanyahu's failure to carry out Kadima's policies of territorial surrender and diplomatic kowtowing to the UN, EU and Obama. The main beneficiary of Likud's eroding support has been Leiberman. While Netanyahu has maintained his allegiance to the false, failed, unpopular-outside-of-the-media "peace with the Palestinians" paradigm in the foolish hope of winning over Obama, Leiberman has seized control of the Right's political agenda. While Netanyahu accepts the legitimacy of the Palestinian leadership which rejects Israel's right to exist, Leiberman presents himself as the leader of the majority of Israelis who oppose the Left's agenda of land for war. Moreover, while Netanyahu shunts aside his own party's most popular politicians like Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya'alon in favor of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, he demoralizes his party faithful and his voters. And not only does Barak hurt Netanyahu with voters, this week he took an ax to Israel's most important diplomatic asset - Congressional support. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Barak said that Israel may ask Congress to increase US military support for Israel by $20 billion. Given the US's economic woes, and Congress's commitment to massive budget cuts, at best Barak's statement represented a complete incomprehension about the basic facts of US domestic politics. At worst, it was a supremely unfriendly act towards Israel's friends in Congress who are trying to maintain the current level of US military aid to Israel in the face of a popular push to slash the US's foreign aid budget. Beyond that, the plain fact is that Barak's statement was wrong. Israel's steady economic growth and its recently discovered natural gas fields should make it possible for Israel to decrease the military aid it receives from the US. This is true even though the revolutions in Egypt and throughout the Arab world will require Israel to massively increase its defense budget. If Netanyahu is serious about surmounting his diplomatic and political challenges, his best bet is to abandon his present course altogether. The most effective way to defend Israel against Obama is to boldly assert, defend and implement a unilateral Israeli plan. NETANYAHU HIMSELF gave the broad outlines for such a plan this week when he stated that to defend itself, Israel will need to maintain perpetual control over the Jordan Valley. If Netanyahu were to announce a plan to apply Israeli law to the Jordan Valley and the major blocs of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, he would accomplish several things at once. He would advance Israel's national interests rather than the Palestinians' interests against Israel. He would force the US and Europe to discuss issues that are grounded in strategic rationality rather than leftist-Islamist ideology. Finally, he would take back the leadership of his own political camp from Leiberman and augment his political power domestically. So too, if Netanyahu fired Barak and replaced him with Ya'alon, he would energize his political supporters in a way he has failed to do since taking office. Netanyahu is reportedly considering unveiling his new diplomatic initiative in a speech before Congress in May. If he were to use that venue to unveil this plan and also announce a plan to wean Israel off of US military aid within three years, not only would he blunt Obama's power to threaten Israel. He would secure popular US support for Israel for years to come. And if he did that, he would restore the Israeli voters' support for his leadership and stabilize his government through the next elections. http://bigpeace.com/cglick/2011/03/13/a-winning-plan-for-netanyahu-talk-directly-to-the-american-people-and-congress/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=721_1300129684 knowsmuslims A Winning Plan for Netanyahu: Talk Directly to the American People and Congress netanyahu, israel,palestine,obama,u.s,military aid,war,appeaser Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:26:25 -0500 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=408_1299968657 knowsmuslims RAS LANUF, Libya/CAIRO - Arab countries appealed to the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone on Libya as government troops backed by warplanes fought to drive rebels from remaining strongholds in the west of the country. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said the League, meeting in Cairo on Saturday, had decided that "serious crimes and great violations" committed by the government of Muammar Gaddafi against his people had stripped it of legitimacy. The League's call for a no-fly zone could provide the regional endorsement that NATO has said is needed for any military action to curb Gaddafi. The League also said it had opened contacts with the Libyan rebel leadership. Events on the ground, however, are moving more quickly than international diplomatic efforts. While the EU and Washington hesitate, Gaddafi has marshalled his forces to defy a tide of reform across the Middle East that has seen autocratic rulers in Tunisia and Egypt toppled and unprecedented protest elsewhere. Pro-Gaddafi troops unleashed an assault on the town of Misrata, the only rebel outpost between the capital and the eastern front around the oil town of Ras Lanuf. "We are hearing shelling. We have no choice but to fight," rebel spokesman Gemal said by telephone from Misrata. "I can hear loud explosions," said a resident who would only give his name as Mohammad. "Everybody is rushing home, the shops have closed and the rebels are taking up positions." Mussa Ibrahim, a government spokesman in Tripoli, could neither confirm nor deny a military operation was under way. "There is a hard core of al Qaeda fighters there," he said. "It looks like a Zawiyah scenario. Some people will give up, some will disappear ... Tribal leaders are talking to them. Those who stay behind, we will deal with them accordingly." It took a week of repeated assaults by government troops, backed by tanks and air power, to crush the uprising in Zawiyah, a much smaller town 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli. While the death toll in Zawiyah is unknown, much of the town was destroyed, with buildings around the main square showing gaping holes blown by tank rounds and rockets. Gaddafi's forces bulldozed a cemetery where rebel fighters had been buried. Rebels in Misrata are heavily outgunned. "We are bracing for a massacre," said Mohammad Ahmed, a rebel fighter. "We know it will happen and Misrata will be like Zawiyah, but we believe in God. We do not have the capabilities to fight Gaddafi and his forces. They have tanks and heavy weapons and we have our belief and trust in God." Further east, Gaddafi's troops pushed insurgents out of Ras Lanuf, a day after making an amphibious assault on the oil port and pitting tanks and jets against rebels armed with light weapons and machineguns mounted on pick-up trucks. Dozens of soldiers waved posters of Gaddafi and painted over rebel graffiti at a deserted housing complex for oil industry workers as foreign journalists arrived from Tripoli on a government-run visit to the recaptured city. Thick black smoke billowed from an oil storage facility near the refinery east of the town. Local officials brought to meet the media party said the retreating rebels had bombed it. Libya's flat desert terrain favours the use of heavy armour and air power. The Libyan army is also better trained and more disciplined than the rag-tag, though enthusiastic, rebel force. Arab League Secretary General Moussa told a news conference after Cairo talks: "The Arab League has officially requested the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone against any military action against the Libyan people." It was not immediately clear how Russia and China, who have veto rights in the Security Council and have publicly opposed a no-fly zone, would react to a call for action from a regional body; the more so since the call was, according to Omani Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, backed unanimously. Britain, in the forefront of states advocating preparation for a possible no-fly zone, welcomed the Arab League appeal as significant, but made it clear it remained wary of imposing the zone without unequivocal world backing. "We've said all along that one of the conditions for a no-fly zone must be broad support in the region," Foreign Secretary William Hague told BBC television. "Clearly this is one indicator that there is broad support in that region," he said. "It's not the only condition, it's also necessary to have even broader international support and it's also necessary for it to be clearly legal." The terms of any no-fly zone would have to be agreed carefully and time may be working against the rebels. Its aim would be to stop Gaddafi using his air force in attacking rebel forces and civilians, transport and reconnaissance. President Barack Obama said the United States and its allies were "tightening the noose" on Gaddafi and that he had not taken any options off the table, a hint at military action. But there is little enthusiasm in Washington for enforcing a no-fly zone without United Nations backing. European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday sidestepped a British and French call to draw up a U.N. Security Council resolution to authorise a no-fly zone over Libya. Instead, they called for a three-way summit with the African Union and the Arab League to discuss the crisis further. "The risks of intervening are great," wrote Tomas Avenarius in the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "But the Arabs in revolt share a fundamental value with people in the West - the call of freedom. Whoever does not honour this debt will find himself, five or six years from now, back sitting with Gaddafi in his Bedouin tent. "If Gaddafi goes on slaughtering his people, the Americans and Europeans will have to get involved in the end. Their own claims to morality and the calls from supporters of human rights ... will not let thousands die in Libya while politicians look on idly from the far side of the Mediterranean." http://www.canada.com/news/Arab+League+calls+impose+Libya+zone/4430518/story.html http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=408_1299968657 knowsmuslims Arab states back Libya no-fly zone against Gaddafi libya,arab league,arab states,no-fly zone,gaddafi Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:34:09 -0500 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=910_1299771094 knowsmuslims Rep. Peter King vowed to make Thursday's congressional hearing on Islamic radicalization the first in a series, as he launched the high-profile inquiry amid heated criticism from religious and civil rights groups. The New York Republican, in his opening statement, cited recent terror plots against the United States in defending his decision to hold the hearings. He suggested the hearings could help fulfill the committee's duty to "protect America from a terrorist attack" by examining the root of homegrown radicalism. "This committee cannot live in denial," King said. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said the hearing "must go forward, and they will." He said backing down would amount to a "craven surrender to political correctness." King has had around-the-clock security as he pushes forward with the hearing. But a new Gallup poll shows a majority of Americans support King's plans. The New York Republican will have extra security from Capitol Police who will be securing the congressional hearing room and surrounding areas, as well as his office, as the House Homeland Security Committee takes testimony. That's on top of a larger security detail provided by the New York Police Department and the Nassau County, N.Y., police, who have been guarding King for the past few months. But a new Gallup poll shows that 52 percent of Americans say these hearings are appropriate, though support is split among party lines. Sixty-nine percent of Republicans say the hearings are the right thing, while only 40 percent of Democrats say they are appropriate. Independents' views track closely to the national average at 51 percent supporting the hearings. Overall, 49 percent of Democrats polled on Tuesday say the hearings are not appropriate, compared to 42 percent of independents and 23 percent of Republicans. Rarely does a congressional hearing attract as much advance controversy. Through the years, former Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., held four hearings on extremism while serving as an intelligence subcommittee chairwoman; and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., held several more as head of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. King's hearings have been labeled McCarthy-like for targeting Muslims specifically. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and the first witness at Thursday's hearing, told Fox News that he thinks King is getting flak because he's willing to look for a Muslim solution. "All of a sudden, this becomes politically incorrect and they start attacking the messenger, Congressman King, they start attacking me and others rather than dealing with the hard medicine, the hard treatment of saying, 'You know what? The majority of Muslims want to fix the problem but we have to figure out those that are feeding the problem, how to reform and bring them into modernity.'" Jasser added that some misguided imams are conditioning Muslims to distrust the U.S. government and as a result of political correctness, the nation is failing to prevent homegrown terror. "We've had more radicalization and homegrown terror in the past 18 to 24 months than ever before. And it's a problem that we need to take ownership of. It doesn't mean the majority of Muslims are radicalized. In fact, there are many Muslims who are heroes that have turned them in but we've just been focusing on that last step," he said. "My message is we need to focus on the years before they become violent, on the ideology that feeds that and there's a conditioning, there's a separatism and ideology of political Islam that needs reform to bring Muslim youth back into feeling this country is theirs," Jasser said. In his opening statement, King said he is "well aware" that the hearings have generated "considerable controversy and opposition" but he's not talking about anything different than the Obama administration is considering. "Congressional investigation of Muslim American radicalization is the logical response to the repeated and urgent warnings which the Obama administration has been making in recent months." The Obama administration has tried to frame the discussion around radicalization in general, without singling out Muslims. King has said that's just political correctness since Al Qaeda is the main threat to the U.S. Despite the protests, there's nothing in the prepared testimony that indiscriminately labels Muslims as terrorists, as critics had feared. Melvin Bledsoe, whose son allegedly attacked an Army recruiting center in Arkansas, said in written testimony obtained by Fox News that Americans are ignoring the issue. He plans to describe how his son, Carlos, was radicalized when he went off to college in Nashville, Tenn. In his testimony, Bledsoe will explain how his son's personality changed and how, when he returned home for the holidays in 2005, he told his family he converted to Islam. From that point, he changed his name and eventually traveled to Yemen. "Some Muslim leaders had taken advantage of my son. But he's not the only one being taken advantage of. This is going on in Nashville and in many other cities in America," Bledsoe plans to say. "In Nashville, Carlos was captured by people best described as hunters. He was manipulated and lied to. That's how he made his way to Yemen." Elsewhere at the Capitol, National Intelligence Director James Clapper was scheduled to address the threat of homegrown terrorism. In his prepared remarks, Clapper said 2010 saw more plots involving homegrown Sunni extremists -- those ideologically aligned with Al Qaeda -- than in the previous year. "Key to this trend has been the development of a U.S.-specific narrative that motivates individuals to violence," Clapper said. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/10/king-draws-firing-radicalization-hearings-majority-supports-discussion/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=910_1299771094 knowsmuslims King Launches Hearing on Radical Islam, Says Lawmakers Cannot Live 'in Denial' radical islam,u.s hearing's,terrorist's,law maker denial Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:43:53 -0500 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3c3_1298306454 knowsmuslims Palestinian Authority says regime change in Arab world will strengthen Arab support for Palestinian clause; other officials say events in Egypt will have negative impact: Cairo preoccupied with internal affairs. The Palestinian Authority believes that regime change in the Arab world will strengthen Arab support for the Palestinian cause, PA negotiator Nabil Sha'ath said on Tuesday. Some Palestinian officials, however, expressed fear that the events in Egypt would have a negative impact on the Palestinians because of Cairo's preoccuaption with internal affairs. "The weakness of the Arab position was one of the reasons behind the imbalance between Palestine and Israel," he said. Sha'ath also ruled out the possibility that the PA would return to the negotiating table with Israel under the current circumstances. "Going to any negotiations at this phase would be tantamount to self-deception," he added. "At this stage, the Palestinians should resort to a popular struggle against Israeli occupation." He said that the Palestinians should also continue their efforts in the international arena to achieve their goals. The Palestinians should also focus their efforts on ending the Fatah-Hamas dispute and building state institutions, Sha'ath said. "The revolution in the Arab world will help us achieve national unity and we will continue to urge Hamas again and again," he said. Referring to reports that he may visit the Gaza Strip soon for talks with Hamas leaders on the possibility of forming a Palestinian unity government, he said that he would go there only after he receives a phone call agreeing to the idea. Sha'ath warned that holding new presidential and legislative elections in the West Bank alone would only solidify the split with the Gaza Strip. PA President Mahmoud Abbas declared recently that he intends to hold the elections by September. However, Hamas has said that it would boycott the vote and won't allow it to take place in the Gaza Strip. PA officials said that it would be impossible to hold elections without the Gaza Strip. Some have advised Abbas to call of the elections until an agreement is reached between the PA and Hamas. Nabil Amr, a senior Fatah official and former PA minister, said he expected the Palestinians to "suffer" because of the recent events in Egypt. "For the next few months, Egypt won't be playing any role and the new leadership there will be busy with internal affairs," he said. "Our people must draw the conclusions from what happened in Egypt and move toward ending divisions in the Palestinian arena." Amr said that the Palestinians should be united in order to launch a "revolution against Israeli occupation." Another top Fatah official, Othman Abu Gharbiyeh, also predicted that the Palestinians will be affected by the developments in Egypt. He noted that the Egyptians had played a role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and were also involved in attempts to end the Fatah-Hamas crisis. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=209222 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3c3_1298306454 knowsmuslims Sha'ath: Negotiations with Israel are self-deception self-deception,negotiation,arab world,muslim,jew israel,palestine,egypt,riots,hamas Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:24:26 -0500 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=da0_1298305286 knowsmuslims Canal officials say 2 naval vessels expected to start transit of strategic waterway in next 24 hours; ships expected to pay $290,000 fee. CAIRO - Suez Canal officials said Monday that two Iranian naval vessels were expected to start their passage through the strategic waterway early Tuesday. The ships, a frigate and a supply vessel, are close to the southern entrance of the canal, the Canal officials said. The ships are expected to pay a fee of $290,000 for the crossing, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The two vessels are headed to Syria for a training mission. If the ships make the passage, it would mark the first time in three decades that Iranian military ships have traveled the canal that links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman made clear last week that Israel views the passage as a provocation. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=209196 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=da0_1298305286 knowsmuslims 2 Iranian warships close to southern Suez Canal entrance iran,warship,suez canal,tuesday,isreal,war Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:58:58 -0500 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2c0_1297878967 knowsmuslims Israel is monitoring two Iranian warships about to pass through the Suez Canal for Syria and warn they might act. Israeli's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says that "Israel cannot ignore these provocations," according to ynetnews.com. "Unfortunately, the international community is not ready to deal with Iran's repeated provocations," Lieberman said, according to the Jerusalem Post. Lieberman added that the warships was "a provocation that proves Iran's nerve and self-esteem is growing from day to day." Iran announced plans to deploy warships near Israel and dock at a Syrian port for a year, IsraelNationalNews.com reports. A senior Israeli official tells the site that "Israel will know how to deal with it." Intelligence officials believe that the Iranian warships might be involved in supplying radical Islamic groups in Yemen with weapons, according to UPI.com. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/16/israel-warns-act-iranian-warships-passing-suez-canal/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2c0_1297878967 knowsmuslims Israel Warns It Might Act on Iranian Warships Passing Through Suez Canal iranian warships,israel,iranian distration,protest's,war,u.s,warships,suez canel Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:30:46 -0500 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=87b_1297376836 knowsmuslims Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Thursday he has passed authority to Vice President Omar Suleiman, but will not step down before September elections. The move, announced in a nationally-televised address, means he will retain his title of president and ensures the regime will continue to control the reform process. Immediately after his speech, Suleiman addressed the nation and urged protesters to return to their homes. "To the youth of Egypt, and the heroes of Egypt, go back to your home and your works, the nation needs you so that we can build and develop and innovate," said Suleiman. "Let us walk together, hand in hand, in a new path that achieves the hope of the youth and all generations for a new life, a stable life, and a safe life," he added. Mubarak's announcement was not what hundreds of thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square had hoped for, as they resumed their chants of "Leave! Leave! Leave!" "I will never leave Egypt and Egypt will not leave me until I am buried in the soil of Egypt," Mubarak said in his 15-minute address. Mubarak said the demands of the protesters calling for his immediate ouster are legitimate. He said he had requested the amendment of five articles of the constitution to loosen the now restrictive conditions on who can run for president, to restore judicial supervision of elections, and to impose term limits on the presidency. He also said that he would lift hated emergency laws -- but only when security permitted. Mubarak also vowed to punish those behind violence over the past two weeks and offered condolences to the families of those killed. President Obama said earlier Thursday at a new wireless initiative event in Michigan that "we are witnessing history unfold." "The people of Egypt are calling for a change," Obama said. The president also said the U.S. will do anything it can to support a smooth transition of power in Egypt. "We want all Egyptians to know America will continue to do every thing that we can to support an orderly and genuine transition to democracy in Egypt," he said. The speech came after protests Thursday increasingly spiraled out of the control of efforts led by Suleiman to contain the crisis. Labor strikes erupted around the country in the past two days, showing that the Tahrir protests had tapped into the deep well of anger over economic woes, including inflation, unemployment, corruption, low wages and wide disparities between rich and poor. Hundreds of lawyers in black robes broke through a police cordon Thursday and marched on one of Mubarak's palaces -- a first for the protesters. The president was not in Abdeen Palace, several blocks from Tahrir. The lawyers pushed through a line of police, who did nothing to stop them. Tens of thousands were massed in Tahrir Square itself, joined in the morning by striking doctors who marched in their white lab coats from a state hospital to the square and lawyers who broke with their pro-government union to join in. "Now we're united in one goal. The sun of the people has risen and it will not set again," one of the lawyers, Said Bakri, said before the series of military announcements. Suleiman has led the regime's management of the crisis since he was named to the vice president post soon after protests erupted on Jan. 25. With his efforts failing to bring an end to protests, he and his foreign minister both warned of the possibility of a coup and imposition of martial law if the protesters do not agree to a government-directed framework of negotiations for reforms. The protesters demanded Mubarak step down first. Youth activists organizing the protests planned to up the pressure on the streets even further, calling for an expanded rally on Friday, hoping to repeat a showing earlier this week that drew about a quarter-million people. Friday's protest was to be expanded, with six separate rallies planned around Cairo, all to eventually march on Tahrir, said Khaled Abdel-Hamid, speaking for a coalition of groups behind the protests. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/10/developing-egyptian-president-mubarak-respond-protester-demands/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=87b_1297376836 knowsmuslims Egypt's Mubarak Passes Authority to Vice President but Will Remain in Office Until September Elections egypt,muslim brotherhood,protest's,israel,u.s Sun, 06 Feb 2011 17:35:06 -0500 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b71_1297031547 knowsmuslims US Secretary of State says Egyptian people will ultimately determine if governmental transition meets their needs, US has set forth principles. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday tentatively welcomed the Egyptian government's inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood in negotiations over the future of the country. "Today we learned the Muslim Brotherhood decided to participate, which suggests they at least are now involved in the dialogue that we have encouraged, the US's top diplomat told National Public Radio (NPR). Speaking from Germany on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Clinton added: "We're going to wait and see how this develops, but we've been very clear about what we expect." "The Egyptian people are looking for an orderly transition that can lead to free and fair elections," she said. "That is what the United States has consistently supported." Clarifying that Washington has "set forth the principles" it supports and is "adamant about non-violence," Clinton reiterated that the Egyptian people "will ultimately determine if is or not meeting their needs." Earlier Sunday, Egypt's vice president reached out to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups as part of a new offer of sweeping concessions including press freedom and an eventual end to hated emergency laws that have been in place for decades, the latest attempt to try to calm an anti-government upheaval. But the youthful protesters filling Cairo's main square said they were not represented and were united in rejecting any form of negotiations until Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak steps down, raising questions about whether a rift might be developing that could undermine their campaign. The protesters, skeptical the government will keep any promises to reform, said they will maintain their pressure. Egypt's opposition has long been hampered by a lack of cohesiveness and Sunday's talks could be a sign the government is trying to divide and conquer as it tries to placate protesters without giving in to their chief demand for Mubarak to go now. The Brotherhood and another group that attended the talks both said afterward that this was only a first step in a dialogue which has yet to meet their central demand for Mubarak's immediate ouster, showing the two sides had not reached a consensus. "I think Mubarak will have to stop being stubborn by the end of this week because the country cannot take more million strong protests," said Brotherhood representative Essam el-Erian. Suleiman's invitation to the Muslim Brotherhood to participate in the meeting was the latest in a series of concessions that would have been unimaginable just a month ago in this tightly controlled country. http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=207108 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b71_1297031547 knowsmuslims Clinton tentatively welcomes Muslim Brotherhood involvement israel,muslim brotherhood,war,revolution,u.s Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:40:59 -0500 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ecf_1296679071 knowsmuslims CAIRO - More than 700 people have been injured, and one soldier has been killed, after thousands of anti-government demonstrators and pro-Mubarak supporters clashed in the streets of Cairo Wednesday, hurling Molotov cocktails and rocks at each other. Egypt's state TV broadcast an order for all protesters to leave Tahrir Square because of "provocative elements throwing firebombs." It did not clarify the source of the order. A portion of the famed Egyptian Museum in Cairo is reportedly on fire from one of the Molotov cocktails, according to Al Arabiya. Eyewitnesses say people have taken to the roofs of buildings, throwing tear gas bombs onto Tahrir Square. Gunfire also rang out in central Cairo. With the protests getting increasingly violent, a senior U.S. official told Reuters that the violent protests could convince the Egyptian army to pressure President Hosni Mubarak to meet more demands. The two sides faced off at a front line next to the famed Egyptian Museum at the edge of central Tahrir Square, where they crouched behind abandoned trucks, hurling chunks of concrete and bottles at each other. Government supporters waved machetes, and entire rooftoops of several nearby buildings were covered with their fighters, who hurled rocks, bricks and firebombs on the crowd below and tearing up satellite dishes to use as shields. Bloodied anti-government protesters were taken to makeshift clinics in mosques and alleyways, and some pleaded for protection from soldiers stationed at the square, who refused. Though they occasionally fired warning shots in the air, the soldiers did nothing to stop the fighting. The violence marked a dangerous new phase in Egypt's upheaval -- the first significant violence between supporters of the two camps in more than a week of anti-government protests. It erupted after Mubarak went on national television the night before and rejected demands he step down immediately and said he would serve out the remaining seven months of his term. A military spokesman appeared on state TV Wednesday and asked the protesters to disperse so life in Egypt could get back to normal. The announcement could mark a major turn in the attitude of the army, which for the past two days has allowed protests to swell, reaching their largest size yet on Tuesday when a quarter-million peacefully packed into Cairo's central Tahrir Square. The regime for the first time began to rally supporters in significant numbers to demand an end to the unprecedented protest movement calling for Mubarak's removal. Some 20,000 pro-government demonstrators held an angry but peaceful rally across the Nile River from the violence, saying Mubarak's concessions were enough and demanding protests end. Having the rival sides both on the streets is particularly worrying because there do not appear to be enough police or miliary on the streets to control the situation. Nearly 10,000 anti-government protesters massed again in Tahrir on Wednesday morning, rejecting Mubarak's speech as too little too late and renewing their demands he leave immediately. The violence began in the early afternoon, when around 3,000 Mubarak supporters broke through a human chain of protesters trying to defend the thousands gathered in Tahrir, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. They tore down banners denouncing the president, fistfights broke out as protesters grabbed Mubarak posters from the hands of the supporters and ripped them to pieces. From there, it escalated into outright street battles as hundreds poured in to join each side. They tore up stones from the sidewalks and from a nearby construction site and began hurling stones, chunks of concrete and sticks at each, chasing each other. At one point, a small contingent of pro-Mubarak forces on horseback and camels rushed into the anti-Mubarak crowds, swinging whips and sticks to beat people. Protesters retaliated, dragging some from their mounts, throwing them to the ground and beating their faces bloody. The horses and camels likely were the ones used by touts giving rides for tourists. Gunfire rang out occasionally as some soldiers fired in the air in half-hearted attempts to control the crowd. But fighting was unabated. The front line next to the Egyptian Museum -- the famed treasury of pharaonic antiquities and mummies -- surged back and forth repeatedly for hours on a street littered with stones. Anti-Mubarak protesters held up sheets of corrogated metal ripped from the construction site as shields. Some tried to charge into the buildings from which government supporters on the roofs were pelting them with stones, but they were stopped by plainclothed security forces at the entrances. As night fell, the protesters not engaged in the continued fighting knelt in prayers at the center of Tahrir Square, while others went to get food -- a sign they plan to dig in for a long fight. Protesters were seen running with their shirts or faces bloodied. Men and women in the crowd were weeping. Scores of wounded were carried to a makeshift clinic at a mosque near the square and on other side streets. Doctors in white coats rushed about with bags of cotton, mercurochrome and bandages. One man with blood coming out of his eye stumbled into a side-street clinic. The army troops who have been guarding the square had been keeping the two sides apart earlier in the day, but when the clashes erupted they largely did not intervene. Most took shelter behind or inside the armored vehicles and tanks stationed at the entrances to Tahrir. Some anti-Mubarak protesters argued with soldiers, begging them to help. "Why don't you protect us?" some shouted, while soldiers replied they did not have orders to do so and told people to go home. Many protesters -- who for days have showered the military with love for its neutral stance -- now accused the troops had intentionally allowed the attackers into the square. "Hosni has opened the door for these thugs to attack us," one man with a loudspeaker shouted to the crowds during the fighting. "These are paid thugs," another protester, 52-year-old Emad Nafa, said of the attackers. "The army is neglectful. They let them in." The new tensions began to emerge immediately following Mubarak's speech Tuesday night. Later in the night, clashes erupted between pro- and anti-government demonstrators in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, while in Cairo groups of Mubarak supporters took to the streets, some carrying knives and sticks. Gatherings of Mubarak supporters have also taken a harsher tone against journalists and foreigners. Two Associated Press correspondents and several other journalists were roughed up during various such gatherings. State TV reported Tuesday night that foreigners were caught distributing anti-Mubarak leaflets, apparently trying to depict the movement as foreign-fueled. The violence could represent a dangerous new chapter in the nearly 10 days of upheaval that has shaken Egypt, which has already taken a series of dramatic and unpredictable twists. After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by unrest in Tunisia took to the streets on Jan. 25 and mounted a once-unimaginable series of demonstrations across this nation of 80 million. Initially, police cracked down hard with brutal and deadly clashes on the demonstrators. Then police withdrew completely from the streets for the day, opening a wave of looting, armed robberies and arson -- largely separate from the protests themselves -- that stunned Egyptians. But since Sunday, the army moved in to take control and the situation became more peaceful. The military announced it would not stop protests. As a result, the demonstrations swelled dramatically, protesters gained momentum and enthusiasm and many believed Mubarak's immediate fall was at hand. The United States put intense pressure on Mubarak to bring his rule to an end while ensuring a stable handover. Wednesday's events could mean the regime has had enough, and that it and the military aim to ensure the end of the unrest after the 82-year-old Mubarak made the concession of announcing he would not run for a new six-year term in September elections. As if to show the crisis was ending, the government began to reinstate Internet service after days of an unprecedented cutoff, and state TV announced the easing of a nighttime curfew, which now runs from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. instead of 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. Mubarak supporters were on the street in significant numbers for the first time on Wednesday. Across the Nile River from the chaos in Tahrir Square, around 20,000 pro-government demonstrators held a rally in front of Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in the upper-class neighborhood of Mohandiseen. They waved Egyptian flags, their faces painted with the black-white-and-red national colors, and carried a large printed banner with Mubarak's face as police officers surrounded the area and directed traffic. They cheered as a military helicopter swooped overhead. Many said they came after seeing a notice on state television to attend the protest. Some appeared to be the sort of young toughs that the opposition accuses the regime of paying to be its fist in the streets. But the large majority were middle-class families, some of whom said Mubarak's concessions were enough and that they feared continued instability and shortages of food and other supplies if protests continue. "I want the people in Tahrir Square to understand that Mubarak gave his word that he will give them the country to them through elections, peacefully, now they have no reason for demonstrations," said Ali Mahmoud, 52, who identified himself as middle-class worker from Menoufia, a Nile Delta province north of Cairo. The movement against Mubarak, meanwhile, was working to prevent any slipping in its ranks after the speech and resist any sentiment that the concession may have been enough. "We recognize deceit when we see it," said protester Nasser Saad Abdel-Latif. "No one will lose their energy ... We won't go until he goes." One protest organizer said the regime was going all out to pressure people to stop protesting. "Starting with the emotional speech of Mubarak, to the closure of banks, the shortage of food and commodities and deployment of thugs to intimidate people, these are all means to put pressure on the people," said Ahmed Abdel-Hamid, a representative of the Revolutionary Committee, one of several youth groups that organized the protests. The movement is fueled by deep frustration with an autocratic regime blamed for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant. Tuesday's massive rally in Tahrir showed a large cross-section of Egyptian society. In his 10-minute speech Tuesday night, Mubarak hit on one of the themes that has been his evocative for some Egyptians in justifying his rule during his nearly three decades in power -- that he can keep stability. Now he was promising to do so as he heads out the door. The president, who almost never admits to reversing himself under pressure, insisted that even if the protests demanding his ouster had not broken out, he would not have sought a sixth term in September. Somber but firm -- without an air of defeat -- he said he would serve out the rest of his term working "to accomplish the necessary steps for the peaceful transfer of power." He said he will carry out amendments to rules on presidential elections. He vowed he would not flee the country. "This is my dear homeland," he said. "I have lived in it, I fought for it and defended its soil, sovereignty and interests. On its soil I will die. History will judge me and all of us." The step came after heavy pressure from his top ally, the United States. Soon after Mubarak's address, President Barack Obama said at the White House that he had spoken with Mubarak and "he recognizes that the status quo is not sustainable and a change must take place." Obama said he told Mubarak that an orderly transition must be meaningful and peaceful, must begin now and must include opposition parties. Earlier, a visiting Obama envoy -- former ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner, who is a friend of the Egyptian president -- met with Mubarak and made clear to him that it is the U.S. "view that his tenure as president is coming to a close," according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the ongoing diplomacy. CAIRO - More than 700 people have been injured, and one soldier has been killed, after thousands of anti-government demonstrators and pro-Mubarak supporters clashed in the streets of Cairo Wednesday, hurling Molotov cocktails and rocks at each other. Egypt's state TV broadcast an order for all protesters to leave Tahrir Square because of "provocative elements throwing firebombs." It did not clarify the source of the order. A portion of the famed Egyptian Museum in Cairo is reportedly on fire from one of the Molotov cocktails, according to Al Arabiya. Eyewitnesses say people have taken to the roofs of buildings, throwing tear gas bombs onto Tahrir Square. Gunfire also rang out in central Cairo. With the protests getting increasingly violent, a senior U.S. official told Reuters that the violent protests could convince the Egyptian army to pressure President Hosni Mubarak to meet more demands. Related Links Israel Official: Egyptian Crisis Has Severe Repercussions for U.S. Foreign Policy White House Condemns Violence Surrounding Egyptian Protests Obama Stays Vague on Egypt as Tensions Mount Related Video video Obama on Egypt: Orderly Transition Must Begin Now President calls for change Related Video video Egyptian Protests Turn Into Melee Will White House respond to Egypt uproar Related Video video Google, Twitter Help Launch Revolution in Egypt Protests continue in Egypt Related Video video Is Egypt Better off Without Mubarak? Protests continue in Egypt Related Video video Will U.S. Push for Quick Transition in Egypt? Egypt's president will not seek reelection YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN Thousands of Foreigners Flee Cairo's International Airport 7 Insurance Policies That Aren't Worth the Money 25 Arrested at Meeting of California Political Conservatives 6 Expenses You Should Never Put on a Credit Card 7 Things That Will Cost More in 2011 The two sides faced off at a front line next to the famed Egyptian Museum at the edge of central Tahrir Square, where they crouched behind abandoned trucks, hurling chunks of concrete and bottles at each other. Government supporters waved machetes, and entire rooftoops of several nearby buildings were covered with their fighters, who hurled rocks, bricks and firebombs on the crowd below and tearing up satellite dishes to use as shields. Bloodied anti-government protesters were taken to makeshift clinics in mosques and alleyways, and some pleaded for protection from soldiers stationed at the square, who refused. Though they occasionally fired warning shots in the air, the soldiers did nothing to stop the fighting. The violence marked a dangerous new phase in Egypt's upheaval -- the first significant violence between supporters of the two camps in more than a week of anti-government protests. It erupted after Mubarak went on national television the night before and rejected demands he step down immediately and said he would serve out the remaining seven months of his term. A military spokesman appeared on state TV Wednesday and asked the protesters to disperse so life in Egypt could get back to normal. The announcement could mark a major turn in the attitude of the army, which for the past two days has allowed protests to swell, reaching their largest size yet on Tuesday when a quarter-million peacefully packed into Cairo's central Tahrir Square. The regime for the first time began to rally supporters in significant numbers to demand an end to the unprecedented protest movement calling for Mubarak's removal. Some 20,000 pro-government demonstrators held an angry but peaceful rally across the Nile River from the violence, saying Mubarak's concessions were enough and demanding protests end. Having the rival sides both on the streets is particularly worrying because there do not appear to be enough police or miliary on the streets to control the situation. Nearly 10,000 anti-government protesters massed again in Tahrir on Wednesday morning, rejecting Mubarak's speech as too little too late and renewing their demands he leave immediately. The violence began in the early afternoon, when around 3,000 Mubarak supporters broke through a human chain of protesters trying to defend the thousands gathered in Tahrir, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. They tore down banners denouncing the president, fistfights broke out as protesters grabbed Mubarak posters from the hands of the supporters and ripped them to pieces. From there, it escalated into outright street battles as hundreds poured in to join each side. They tore up stones from the sidewalks and from a nearby construction site and began hurling stones, chunks of concrete and sticks at each, chasing each other. At one point, a small contingent of pro-Mubarak forces on horseback and camels rushed into the anti-Mubarak crowds, swinging whips and sticks to beat people. Protesters retaliated, dragging some from their mounts, throwing them to the ground and beating their faces bloody. The horses and camels likely were the ones used by touts giving rides for tourists. Gunfire rang out occasionally as some soldiers fired in the air in half-hearted attempts to control the crowd. But fighting was unabated. The front line next to the Egyptian Museum -- the famed treasury of pharaonic antiquities and mummies -- surged back and forth repeatedly for hours on a street littered with stones. Anti-Mubarak protesters held up sheets of corrogated metal ripped from the construction site as shields. Some tried to charge into the buildings from which government supporters on the roofs were pelting them with stones, but they were stopped by plainclothed security forces at the entrances. As night fell, the protesters not engaged in the continued fighting knelt in prayers at the center of Tahrir Square, while others went to get food -- a sign they plan to dig in for a long fight. Protesters were seen running with their shirts or faces bloodied. Men and women in the crowd were weeping. Scores of wounded were carried to a makeshift clinic at a mosque near the square and on other side streets. Doctors in white coats rushed about with bags of cotton, mercurochrome and bandages. One man with blood coming out of his eye stumbled into a side-street clinic. The army troops who have been guarding the square had been keeping the two sides apart earlier in the day, but when the clashes erupted they largely did not intervene. Most took shelter behind or inside the armored vehicles and tanks stationed at the entrances to Tahrir. Some anti-Mubarak protesters argued with soldiers, begging them to help. "Why don't you protect us?" some shouted, while soldiers replied they did not have orders to do so and told people to go home. Many protesters -- who for days have showered the military with love for its neutral stance -- now accused the troops had intentionally allowed the attackers into the square. "Hosni has opened the door for these thugs to attack us," one man with a loudspeaker shouted to the crowds during the fighting. "These are paid thugs," another protester, 52-year-old Emad Nafa, said of the attackers. "The army is neglectful. They let them in." The new tensions began to emerge immediately following Mubarak's speech Tuesday night. Later in the night, clashes erupted between pro- and anti-government demonstrators in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, while in Cairo groups of Mubarak supporters took to the streets, some carrying knives and sticks. Gatherings of Mubarak supporters have also taken a harsher tone against journalists and foreigners. Two Associated Press correspondents and several other journalists were roughed up during various such gatherings. State TV reported Tuesday night that foreigners were caught distributing anti-Mubarak leaflets, apparently trying to depict the movement as foreign-fueled. The violence could represent a dangerous new chapter in the nearly 10 days of upheaval that has shaken Egypt, which has already taken a series of dramatic and unpredictable twists. After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by unrest in Tunisia took to the streets on Jan. 25 and mounted a once-unimaginable series of demonstrations across this nation of 80 million. Initially, police cracked down hard with brutal and deadly clashes on the demonstrators. Then police withdrew completely from the streets for the day, opening a wave of looting, armed robberies and arson -- largely separate from the protests themselves -- that stunned Egyptians. But since Sunday, the army moved in to take control and the situation became more peaceful. The military announced it would not stop protests. As a result, the demonstrations swelled dramatically, protesters gained momentum and enthusiasm and many believed Mubarak's immediate fall was at hand. The United States put intense pressure on Mubarak to bring his rule to an end while ensuring a stable handover. Wednesday's events could mean the regime has had enough, and that it and the military aim to ensure the end of the unrest after the 82-year-old Mubarak made the concession of announcing he would not run for a new six-year term in September elections. As if to show the crisis was ending, the government began to reinstate Internet service after days of an unprecedented cutoff, and state TV announced the easing of a nighttime curfew, which now runs from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. instead of 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. Mubarak supporters were on the street in significant numbers for the first time on Wednesday. Across the Nile River from the chaos in Tahrir Square, around 20,000 pro-government demonstrators held a rally in front of Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in the upper-class neighborhood of Mohandiseen. They waved Egyptian flags, their faces painted with the black-white-and-red national colors, and carried a large printed banner with Mubarak's face as police officers surrounded the area and directed traffic. They cheered as a military helicopter swooped overhead. Many said they came after seeing a notice on state television to attend the protest. Some appeared to be the sort of young toughs that the opposition accuses the regime of paying to be its fist in the streets. But the large majority were middle-class families, some of whom said Mubarak's concessions were enough and that they feared continued instability and shortages of food and other supplies if protests continue. "I want the people in Tahrir Square to understand that Mubarak gave his word that he will give them the country to them through elections, peacefully, now they have no reason for demonstrations," said Ali Mahmoud, 52, who identified himself as middle-class worker from Menoufia, a Nile Delta province north of Cairo. The movement against Mubarak, meanwhile, was working to prevent any slipping in its ranks after the speech and resist any sentiment that the concession may have been enough. "We recognize deceit when we see it," said protester Nasser Saad Abdel-Latif. "No one will lose their energy ... We won't go until he goes." One protest organizer said the regime was going all out to pressure people to stop protesting. "Starting with the emotional speech of Mubarak, to the closure of banks, the shortage of food and commodities and deployment of thugs to intimidate people, these are all means to put pressure on the people," said Ahmed Abdel-Hamid, a representative of the Revolutionary Committee, one of several youth groups that organized the protests. The movement is fueled by deep frustration with an autocratic regime blamed for ignoring the needs of the poor and allowing corruption and official abuse to run rampant. Tuesday's massive rally in Tahrir showed a large cross-section of Egyptian society. In his 10-minute speech Tuesday night, Mubarak hit on one of the themes that has been his evocative for some Egyptians in justifying his rule during his nearly three decades in power -- that he can keep stability. Now he was promising to do so as he heads out the door. The president, who almost never admits to reversing himself under pressure, insisted that even if the protests demanding his ouster had not broken out, he would not have sought a sixth term in September. Somber but firm -- without an air of defeat -- he said he would serve out the rest of his term working "to accomplish the necessary steps for the peaceful transfer of power." He said he will carry out amendments to rules on presidential elections. He vowed he would not flee the country. "This is my dear homeland," he said. "I have lived in it, I fought for it and defended its soil, sovereignty and interests. On its soil I will die. History will judge me and all of us." The step came after heavy pressure from his top ally, the United States. Soon after Mubarak's address, President Barack Obama said at the White House that he had spoken with Mubarak and "he recognizes that the status quo is not sustainable and a change must take place." Obama said he told Mubarak that an orderly transition must be meaningful and peaceful, must begin now and must include opposition parties. Earlier, a visiting Obama envoy -- former ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner, who is a friend of the Egyptian president -- met with Mubarak and made clear to him that it is the U.S. "view that his tenure as president is coming to a close," according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the ongoing diplomacy. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/02/egyptian-military-calls-end-demonstrations-1705880116/#ixzz1Cqd5VGaa http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ecf_1296679071 knowsmuslims Violent Protests in Cairo Leave 700 Injured, 1 Dead obama,failure,egypt,israel,u.s,riots