"Sharon is trying to politically deligitimize Hamas by keeping it out of the elections, while demonizing Abu Mazen for not cracking down on “terror” and using the excuse of having “no partner for peace” as a ploy to further expand settlements, the Apartheid Wall, and to impose greater restrictions on Palestinian life in the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Just this week as half the world was sleeping and the other half was still dazed by the effects of Hurricane Katrina, Sharon stated on Israeli radio referencing the controversial Maale Adumim settlement, "They {Maale Adumim and East Jerusalem}will be connected, and I don't think that this will become a problem."

"By advocating intrusive “monitoring” and “wiretapping” of Massachusetts Islamic centers and foreign students, the Governor has demonstrated not only a lack of cultural understanding and a blithe disregard for civil liberties, but also an alarming ignorance about effective methods of combating radicalism. If Mitt Romney intends to run for president, as seems likely, he needs to learn some basic lessons – about American Muslims, and about uniting Americans in the struggle against extremism of every sort."

"Is Bush serious? And, if he is, is there enough time and trust for the President to change direction? These are the issues we will follow in the weeks and months to come. All prompted by two important speeches."

"The idea of a holy site uniting rather than dividing Jews and Muslims (and Christians) is an intriguing one. Perhaps this is something that religious Jews and Muslims--those who seek to facilitate peace rather than disrupt it for their own cynical ends--could devote their energies to."

"In both Afghanistan and Iraq, the disconnect between talk of troop withdrawal and increased violence can partially be attributed to the U.S. military putting pressure on the Bush administration for relief from its globally overstretched condition. But with next year’s congressional elections in the United States looming, the Republicans would like to show some sort of troop reduction to insulate themselves from Democratic attacks on the issue."

"The recent controversy over the buildings in ex-Gaza settlements can also be considered a crisis created for political reasons. The two sides had earlier agreed that Israel would leave intact only buildings or assets that the Palestinian side would be in need of and would agree to take over. But at the last minute, Israel decided to leave behind these buildings, a move perceived by the Palestinian side as an attempt at embarrassing the Palestinian Authority, which would have difficulty protecting them and difficulties if it failed to protect them."

"War is another centerpiece of the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration. Elective wars should not be financed with public debt, but the American government should have concentrated on paying off the entire Federal debt and saving money in advance to fight elective wars."

"...Sharon did not want a dialogue with the Palestinians that could have become, God forbid, the precedent for a dialogue about the future of the West Bank."