Tuesday, January 07, 2014

It's All In The Location

Would we be able to read this in our media?

Israel's prime minister urged residents of Nablus, Jenin and Hebron on Monday to expel Hamas terrorists to avoid an all-out battle in the besieged cities, a sign that the government could be paving the way for an imminent military push in an attempt to rout hard-line Sunni insurgents challenging its territorial control over the approaches to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

The militants' seizure of the inner cities area and parts of the nearby refugee camps, once bloody battlegrounds for Israel's troops, has marked the most direct challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long-term plans for a possible disengagement from parts of Judea and Samaria, after Israel yielded up the Gaza district in 2005 and the departure of IDF forces eight years ago. Both the U.S. and its longtime rival Israel view the escalating conflict with alarm, with neither wanting to see fundamentalist Islamist terror groups take firmer root inside the area of the Palestinian Authority. Washington has ruled out sending in American troops but recently delivered dozens of Hellfire missiles to help bolster Israeli forces.

Probably not.

But we read it today, in another Middle East location:

Iraq's prime minister urged Fallujah residents on Monday to expel al-Qaida militants to avoid an all-out battle in the besieged city, a sign that the government could be paving the way for an imminent military push in an attempt to rout hard-line Sunni insurgents challenging its territorial control over the western approaches to Baghdad.

The militants' seizure of Fallujah and parts of nearby Ramadi, once bloody battlegrounds for U.S. troops, has marked the most direct challenge to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government since the departure of American forces two years ago. Both the U.S. and its longtime rival Iran view the escalating conflict with alarm, with neither wanting to see al-Qaida take firmer root inside Iraq. Washington has ruled out sending in American troops but recently delivered dozens of Hellfire missiles to help bolster Iraqi forces.

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