World News & View

Jan 2005

Kofi Annan UN Secretary General

United Nations critics say they do not trust Secretary General Kofi Annan's promises to clean up the international body. Annan has responded to his wrathful detractors by proposing a plan to address the problems of the scandal-plagued organization, but Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch is not convinced. He says Annan "talked about reforming the U.N. and all he was talking about was making more committees or making them larger. Kofi Annan has overseen a corrupt U.N. bureaucracy. It's been corrupt for many, many years." Multiple instances of fraud and waste have been uncovered over the past few years, and Annan's critics expect more. "The United States gives a ton of money to the United Nations," Fitton says, "and we need to throw our weight around. The U.N.'s got to start paying attention to the concerns of American citizens who've seen this money corrupted." It has been charged that 50 of the U.N. member nation leaders are dictators, despots, terrorist sponsors and "thugs," and that they always vote against U.S. efforts. And Howard Phillips of the group Conservative Caucus asserts that the U.N. itself threatens American sovereignty and freedoms. He contends that the U.S. may be getting sidetracked by focusing on "the imperfections of Kofi Annan" when they ought to be directing their attention to "the fundamental contradiction of our being members of the United Nations while still professing to uphold the Constitution of the United States." Phillips says the likes of Annan will come and go, but unless the United Nations itself goes, America's problems will only get worse.

 

Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria

Many Africans think it's time for one of them to be pope. The Roman Catholic church has lost ground in Europe, but is vibrant in Africa, which is now home to 135 million Catholics -- one-sixth of the church's worldwide membership. Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria is mentioned most often as a possible African successor to the late John Paul II, whose funeral will take place on Friday. Arinze shares John Paul's fervent opposition to abortion and homosexuality. He also was entrusted by the pope to mediate interfaith relations. Two years ago, at the liberal Catholic Georgetown University in Washington, DC, faculty protested after Arinze said in a speech that the family is being "desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce."

Open Doors USA is hoping that a colorful bracelet will remind its wearer to pray for evangelical Christians in Mexico who have been unjustly imprisoned. According to a press release from the ministry, persecution in Chiapas, Mexico, has left more than 35,000 evangelical Christians homeless over the years. Among those is a group of 35 men who Open Doors says have been made scapegoats, imprisoned on charges of committing mass murder in 1997, and separated from their families for the last seven years while serving their sentences. The ministry's youth outreach, known as Underground, has launched the "Chiapas Freedom Campaign" and is offering Freedom Kits that include multi-colored wrist bands handcrafted by Christian women suffering in Chiapas. Each band, the ministry explains, has a prisoner's name sewn into the design and includes a written explanation of that prisoner's story. Jeff Shreve, coordinator of the campaign, says the campaign offers young people and youth leaders an easy but effective way of helping the Chiapas Christians. "We need to let these brothers and sisters in the Lord know that they are not forgotten," Shreve says. "We need to let the world know what they are enduring. We can do all of these great things by selling, buying, and wearing these bracelets." Proceeds from selling the bracelets can be returned to Open Doors for support of persecuted Christians in the Chiapas area.

After the Disengagement: War in Judea and Samaria Expected
Official IDF sources predict that the withdrawal from Gaza will lead to Palestinian terrorism and violence worse than the previous intifadas, writes Yediot Acharonot's senior military correspondent.

IDF sources predict that immediately after the disengagement, the ceasefire is expected to end with terrorist attacks in and from Judea and Samaria. Among the threats are mortar and Kassam rockets on Israel's new toll-way Highway 6, as well as other areas in the coastal plain and the Afula area. The "regular" ambush attacks on roads, as well as attacks on army bases and towns in Judea and Samaria, are also expected.

The IDF Central Command is already preparing for the next round of armed conflict, correspondent Alex Fishman writes. It is assumedthat it will begin in September. The preparations are mainly in the form of trying to stop the massive weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza, and from there to Judea/Samaria.

The Palestinian terrorists are heavily-armed, Fishman writes: "Despite the successes in discovering arms-smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza, in the battle between smuggling and thwarting smuggling, the smugglers have won."

According to army estimates, in the eight-month period between July 2004 and February 2005, over 3,000 assault rifles were smuggled into Gaza, as well as 400,000 bullets, 400 pistols, and 600 kilograms of explosives.

In addition, over 180 anti-tank rocket launchers and 5 anti-aircraft rockets are now in the possession of the Palestinian terrorists.

The army recently intercepted a shipment of RPG anti-tank missile launchers at the Shoket Junction near Be'er Sheva, on their way to the Mt. Hevron region. Some 20 such launchers were recovered over the past year – as opposed to an unknown amount that have made their way in. Once the RPG rockets become a common weapon in Judea and Samaria, Fishman writes, "the IDF will no longer enjoy freedom of movement in its jeeps on the roadways, nor will it be able to use jeeps to pursue terrorists and make arrests in the cities... Is it conceivable that the army will only be able to use armed personnel carriers and tanks in Judea and Samaria? And what about the civilian traffic?"

In short, Fishman sums up, "stopping the smuggling has become a matter of national existence. It is liable to spell the difference between a diplomatic agreement and a comprehensive war against the Palestinians."

The Mossad, the police, the Shabak (General Security Service), government offices, and the army have all begun working in various ways to collect intelligence and try to thwart smugglings, and the work is being concentrated in the office of the Operations Commander in the IDF General Staff.

Fishman notes that three attempts have already been made in the Shomron to launch Kassam rockets. Arutz-7 reported that a plot to manufacture deadly Kassam rockets there was thwarted last week with the arrest of eight Islamic Jihad terrorist cell members in Jenin. Earlier in the month, the IDF discovered a Kassam rocket factory near Jenin.


CG