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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review Jan. 29, 2009 / 4 Shevat 5769

Here's hoping

By Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | "Hope." That was the mantra of Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency. It certainly was the leitmotif of his first week in office. If that hope proves misplaced, the national security may suffer serious harm.


Specifically, hope was the order of the day as Mr. Obama issued executive orders to close within a year the detention and interrogation center at Guantanamo Bay ("Gitmo") - the nation's only state-of-the-art facility for securely holding and systematically debriefing some of our most dangerous enemies.


President Obama's determination to take as one of his first official acts the closure of Gitmo was not simply a gesture designed to placate those among his left-wing constituency, many of whom have been restive about his more "centrist" Cabinet choices. It was also meant to signal to the rest of the world the arrival of a dramatically new order in Washington.


Clearly, Mr. Obama hopes our friends will respond by doing more to help us counter the threat posed to all of us by what he euphemistically - and inaccurately - called in his Inaugural address "a far-reaching network of violence and hatred." For starters, they could take some of the Gitmo detainees off our hands.


Several European nations are said to want to perform this favor for Mr. Obama, one they adamantly refused to do for his predecessor. With luck, any such terrorists will actually be detained for the duration of the conflict.


Unfortunately, past experience suggests that terrorists we turn over to the safekeeping of others may get away. This can happen either as a result of jail breaks (like those we have seen in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen) or because their jailers decide to free them.


In either event, we can always hope they won't resume their previous efforts to destroy us.


Unfortunately, that has not always been the case, either. There are said to be at least 60 of the roughly 550 detainees the U.S. released from Gitmo who have returned to the fight. That number may be wildly conservative as exact data on the status of unlawful combatants let out of Guantanamo is hard to come by.


One case we learned about last week, however, is probably instructive. The New York Times reported that former Gitmo resident Said Ali al-Shihri is now believed to be the deputy commander of al Qaeda in Yemen. He is suspected of masterminding a murderous attack last September on the U.S. Embassy there.


In addition to our allies, Mr. Obama appears intent on affecting another audience - namely, our enemies - not only by closing Guantanamo Bay but by prohibiting the use of aggressive interrogation techniques and so-called "black sites." The latter are secret detention facilities around the world said to have been run in the past by the CIA in order to hold and interrogate high-value detainees like the self-confessed architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.


It is worrying that, if our new president actually thinks we are up against a "far-reaching network of hatred and violence" - as opposed to millions of adherents to a totalitarian theo-political-legal program authoritative Islam calls "Shariah" - he may actually think these gestures will help defeat our foes. At the very least, he believes he will, by so doing, deny them recruiting tools.


But what if the enemy views these steps instead as victories for their cause, further evidence of the fecklessness of liberal democracies and proof positive of the inevitability of the triumph of jihad and the global theocracy administering Shariah for which it is waged? In that event, the central hope underpinning Mr. Obama's first executive orders - that we will never again need such facilities and capabilities - seems likely to be dashed, later if not sooner.


That is especially true insofar as evidence mounts that America may soon experience more, possibly devastating attacks. Late last year, a bipartisan, blue-ribbon commission appointed by Congress and led by former Sens. Bob Graham and Jim Talent issued a stern warning: "It is more likely than not" that nuclear and/or biological attacks will take place somewhere around the world between now and 2013.


Against this backdrop, any gratification one might have felt at hearing reports of bubonic plague killing al Qaeda operatives in North Africa has to be tempered by a sobering thought: At least one of the Shariah-adherents' terrorist franchises may be actively experimenting with weaponized versions of deadly pathogens.


Add in reports that large numbers of young Somali males, many of whom were fraudulently admitted to this country as "refugees," have recently "disappeared" from their expatriate communities. At least some are believe to have made their way to one or more of the 35 paramilitary training camps in the United States and Canada run by terrorism-tied Pakistani Sheik Mubarak Ali Gilani's Jamaat ul-Fuqra.


These ominous camps are the subject of a soon-to-be released film, "Homegrown Jihad: Terrorist Camps around the United States."


Will these facilities prove to be launching pads for the next wave of attacks here in the United States? Is the Obama administration cognizant of this possibility and acting to preclude it? Or is it simply hoping that such dangers will not eventuate?


It has been observed that hope is not a strategy. The question is: When Barack Obama is done with his hope-based initiatives, will America still retain the option to execute more realistic, and more efficacious, strategies?


Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. heads the Center for Security Policy. Comments by clicking here.

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